The above route is one I'd like to take this year, as it checks off all the places I want to see on a 7-day Alaska cruise. The underlying price, inclusive of airfare, taxes, port fees and gratuities is more than acceptable for me as a solo traveler. However, I won't even consider it due to circumstances not mentioned in any travel agency site, or the cruise line site itself. (This is not just an NCL issue, as Princess, RCL and other cruise lines have the same problem.) But what is the unadvertised problem?
Last year, there was a rock slide which made it unsafe to make port at Skagway's railroad pier. At a moment's notice, cruise lines changed their ships' itineraries from Skagway to ports such as Icy Strait Point (Hoonah) and Sitka. This year, Skagway has done what it can to stabilize the rock face overlooking the railroad pier, but it is only a short term fix. And it is a fix that (at worst) can only give 12 seconds' warning before a rock slide. Although Skagway can keep people safe, this is not enough for the people who run the cruise lines. They are just not comfortable bringing their newest and biggest ships to this port due to liability issues.
For me, a stop in Skagway is a must on any Inside Passage cruise. And I feel it almost criminal that at least one cruise line has failed to update its site to indicate itinerary changes that now bypass Skagway. As a result of this, I will not take a last minute Alaska cruise this year, no matter what discount I get, as the advertisement for these cruises no longer reflects the true itinerary that these cruises will follow.
PS: From what I've been told, there are still ships stopping at Skagway. It seems as if only the older, smaller ships are making it to this port, as they can use an alternate way of bringing people into this little town. Hopefully, cruisers on these ships will get to enjoy this port the way I did 25 years ago.
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