FACTS, NOT FEAR AT ASSEMBLY MEETING
Cruise industry leaders reassured the Juneau Assembly and an overflow crowd on Monday evening that there has never been a case of coronavirus on the cruise ship Westerdam, which is now making its way to Honolulu before heading to Juneau for a few weeks later this month.
Juneau, a port city with a lot of cruise ship traffic in the summer months, conducted a special meeting that checked all of the boxes for crisis management — they brought in the experts, they took questions on paper, not by allowing grandstanding in front of microphones, and they answered every concern that was brought up: How many crew will there be? (up to 700). Is there a medical doctor on board? (Yes, and nurses). Where will the ship put its trash? (In ports along the way, such as Hawaii and Vancouver).
Some in the community, including letter writers to the Juneau Empire, and on Facebook, have objected to the cruise ship docking in Juneau, pointing out that it had been turned away from ports in Asia, and that Juneau didn’t need the coronavirus infection coming from crew.
But, as industry leader Ralph Samuels explained to the Assembly, the only person ever believed to have the virus on board the Westerdam turned out to not have it at all. It was a case of a false positive test, which has been negated in subsequent tests.
All passengers on the ship headed home on commercial airlines, none has turned up with the virus, and the crew has been cleared as well, said the Holland America Line vice president of government and community relations. The ship will have been without passengers for more than a month when it gets to Juneau.
A mix of people from the community attended the presentation. Some of those showed concern about infection. Others were those who own businesses catering to the cruise trade, who are concerned about both the wellness of the community and an economic disaster brought on by panic-mongerers.
But it was a “facts, not fear” evening of rational information delivered by industry and health professionals. By the end of their presentation, most of the seven pages of questions that had been submitted to the Assembly were already answered. There weren’t that many left.
The cruise industry showed itself as knowledgeable, and the meeting structure itself prevented those with a penchant for screaming out emotionally based untruths from getting the stage.
Juneau City Manager Rorie Watt led off, saying he asked the Centers for Disease Control if the Westerdam was safe to allow into port. The CDC said yes, and Watt noted that if it is good enough for the CDC, it is good enough for him.
The one ship is truly Juneau’s smallest concern. For a town that routinely gets four to six cruise ships a day during high season, the national panic over the coronavirus could devastate the city’s revenue stream, which it factors into its budget each year.
The Assembly was supportive of Watt’s rational approach, and industry leaders such as Kirby Day and Mike Tibbles reiterated that all sectors are working together to prepare.
Tibbles, of Cruise Lines International Association, said it’s still unclear what will unfold for the season, as things are changing fast and the cruise season is weeks away. Some ships taken out of Asia waters are adding trips on the West Coast, he noted.
CHANGING DEMOGRAPHICS
One thing all of the Alaska cruise-related businesses be now factoring: There will be a lot fewer elderly people coming to Alaska this year — the trend will be younger cruisers. And that means there will be a lot fewer T-shirts sold that say” “Nana went to Alaska and all I got was this T-shirt!”
But there may be a lot more beer poured at microbreweries and more adventure tours sold, although travelers will likely be looking for deep discounts this year.
