Kodiak is slated to see its first cruise ships since 2019. Nick Szabo is the resident port agent for Kodiak with Alaska Maritime Agencies. He says 15 large and small cruise ships are scheduled to call in Kodiak — unless COVID-19 or the situation in Ukraine disrupts those plans.
“If we have another variant that is as severe as some of the others, the CDC is probably going to put a no-sail order out,” said Szabo. “But if things keep getting better, then I expect we will have a cruise ship season.”
Kodiak Island doesn’t see as many cruise ships as places like Skagway and Ketchikan do. Szabo says in a normal summer, about 25 ships carrying summer tourists dock in Kodiak. And back in 2019, 30 cruises visited the island.
But COVID isn’t the only thing that might affect cruise operations this summer.
“Some of the cruise ships in the past, they stop at Russian ports,” said Szabo. “So, that’s not going to happen for sure. And then there’s a lot of apprehension about just how this whole Ukraine thing is going to play out.”
The situation in Ukraine could affect island’s first cruise ship of the season. The Minerva, a 152-passenger cruise ship, is scheduled to dock in Kodiak on May 19 before making its way to Russia and ultimately Japan.
