The Alaska cruise market will go from 71,000 berths to approximately 1,100 should the big ships not be able to operate due to Canada’s cruise ship ban for 2021.
Without a foreign port to satisfy regulatory requirements, big ships won’t be able to cruise in Alaska, taking 70,000 foreign-flagged berths out of the market, according to data in the 2021 Cruise Industry News Annual Report.
Some cruise lines may have had an early indication there could be challenges. Windstar opted to postpone its Alaska program to 2022, instead concentrating on start ups in Tahiti and the Caribbean, while Royal Caribbean International trimmed capacity by keeping the Quantum of the Seas in Singapore.