The first cruise ship to pass through the Port of Nome will arrive in July. According to Lucas Stotts, Nome’s harbormaster, the port is expected to receive the most cruise ships the city has ever had come through Nome waters in one summer.
Robin Johnson of Nome Discovery Tours confirms that, so far, seven ships have booked arrangements to stop in Nome, with a few making multiple layovers through town during the cruise season.
Kenia Najera is one of the spokespeople representing the travel company Hurtigruten. One of the company’s vessels, the Roald Amundsen, plans to make port in Nome at the end of its three-week journey through the Northwest Passage.
“Hurtigruten is an expedition cruise line, so for them, it’s all about adventure and exploring untouched waters and different environments,” Najera said. “So I think Alaska is definitely on their radar, and they expanded in Alaska because of that. There are a lot of things that aren’t explored.”
The Hurtigruten vessel is expected to spend a full day in Nome with a capacity of more than 500 passengers during the month of September. Other scheduled ships include The World and National Geographic Orion.
Stotts said the port’s services to accommodate the Roald Amundsen and other cruise ships will remain the same, allowing some to dock and others to anchor outside the Nome harbor.