Update on Skagway Rock Slide Issue

[JT1962]

Looks like there may be some major work needed in Skagway to prevent a much larger rock slide that could be tragic. 

https://thepointsguy.com/news/alaska-cruise-port-rockslide-threat/

https://alaskapublic.org/2022/07/25/skagways-busiest-cruise-ship-dock-at-risk-of-catastrophic-rockslide-study-says/

 

Edited July 26, 2022 by JT1962

[itsanita]

We were there last week on Celebrity.  They are using all the docks, we did not have to tender.  They have a 'walk around' so we were able to get into town via the dock.   There was a lot of work going on.  You can see where the rock slide was.  

[JT1962]

Looks like they are closing the forward berth on the Railroad Dock and a few itineraries have been changed. 
 

https://cruisefever.net/princess-alters-a-few-itineraries-on-cruises-to-alaska/

[Italy52]

56 minutes ago, JT1962 said:

Looks like they are closing the forward berth on the Railroad Dock and a few itineraries have been changed. 
 

https://cruisefever.net/princess-alters-a-few-itineraries-on-cruises-to-alaska/

I will be watching this closely as we will be on the Discovery Princess the week of August 14th.  While the change is not ideal, safety is of the utmost importance and I can live with that.

[pupntaco]

On the Discovery Princess right now. Skagway was just cancelled and we are headed to Sitka instead 😩

[Dancing Shoes]

Celebrity has said nothing.  Scheduled to dock Aug 15th at that berth.  In the dark.........

[HalfWhit]

I haven't heard from Royal, we are on the Ovation next week. If I need to cancel my rental car I need to know. I hope they let us know what's going on soon. 

 

[NanaPam00]

We're on a Celebrity sailing docking 8/16.  The schedule shows us docking at the aft Railroad berth - if that doesn't change, how do we get from the aft berth past the slide area to downtown?

[JT1962]

22 minutes ago, NanaPam00 said:

We're on a Celebrity sailing docking 8/16.  The schedule shows us docking at the aft Railroad berth - if that doesn't change, how do we get from the aft berth past the slide area to downtown?

They were using tenders originally to take passengers from the Railroad Dock Aft Berth to a different dock, then opened a walkway to get past the original slide. It is likely they have closed the walkway now due to the new report and will be using tenders again.

Edited July 28, 2022 by JT1962

[Dancing Shoes]

4 hours ago, HalfWhit said:

I haven't heard from Royal, we are on the Ovation next week. If I need to cancel my rental car I need to know. I hope they let us know what's going on soon. 

 

Your name sounds so familiar.  I use to live in Portland.  Did you sell cosmetics or something from home?  I know off topic.  

[jolinda]

According to this interview (https://khns.org/skagways-busiest-cruise-ship-dock-at-significant-risk-of-catastrophic-rockslide) it sounds like the Skagway Assembly wanted to require tenders, but the dock owners talked them into using the walkway and moving some things around instead.

[Shel71]

We docked at the front section of the Railroad dock on the NCL Spirit last Friday. There was another NCL ship docked behind us as well. You could clearly see where the rockslide was and it made me a little nervous being parked there and walking along there, honestly!

 

What irked me  is the other docks sat empty all day so we could have and should have been docked in one of those!

 

Edited July 28, 2022 by Shel71

[HalfWhit]

4 hours ago, Dancing Shoes said:

Your name sounds so familiar.  I use to live in Portland.  Did you sell cosmetics or something from home?  I know off topic.  

I live in the Pacific Northwest, but never Portland and I've haven't sold anything cosmetic for 30 years. 

 

[harryfat1]

We were scheduled to be in Skagway on the Majestic Princess on August 9 but just checked our itinerary online and ISP has been substituted for Skagway. 

 

Depending on your sailing on whichever Princess ship, you may be going to Sitka instead of Skagway for at least next 2 weeks, maybe longer.

[Italy52]

58 minutes ago, harryfat1 said:

We were scheduled to be in Skagway on the Majestic Princess on August 9 but just checked our itinerary online and ISP has been substituted for Skagway. 

 

Depending on your sailing on whichever Princess ship, you may be going to Sitka instead of Skagway for at least next 2 weeks, maybe longer.

Thanks.  We are on the Discovery Princess with a sailing date of August 14th.  Our Skagway port day is supposed to be August 18th.  I have been checking our itinerary and no change as of yet --- hope we hear soon.

[harryfat1]

5 minutes ago, Italy52 said:

Thanks.  We are on the Discovery Princess with a sailing date of August 14th.  Our Skagway port day is supposed to be August 18th.  I have been checking our itinerary and no change as of yet --- hope we hear soon.

I posted this screen shot over at the Princess board as well.  You see the August 8 port has been swapped out with ISP.  It's so new that it has no hyperlink to see what excursions are available.  Maybe Princess will update it next few days or maybe we won't find out until after we get on the ship on August 6.

 

I have to imagine the excursion desks will be very busy on the ship with people trying to ask questions on the new tour options.

 

For folks on the Discovery next couple of weeks, I think you are going to Sitka instead of Skagway.  Think any sailing originating from the south will go to Sitka and any sailing starting from the north will go to ISP as Princess is playing it week by week on what to do the rest of the Alaska season.

 

 

 

 

 

[JT1962]

Looks like the front berth on the Railroad Dock will be closed at least through the rest of the 2022 cruise season. It is likely most of the ships affected recently will have itinerary changes the rest of 2022. 
 

Also, apparently the White Pass Railroad contract for operating the other 2 docks - Broadway & Ore - is ending this year. The Railroad is planning on removing equipment they own from the docks that would prevent ships from docking until it is replaced. This would prevent those docks from operating in 2023 and possibly 2024, per the Skagway Mayor, due to the time needed to get the proper permits and install the equipment.
 

This sounds like a tactic by the Railroad to force the city to extend the contract to operate the Broadway & Ore docks, since they are losing revenue on the closed berth on the Railroad dock. That closure may extend into next year due to the complicated process of resolving the issues with the mountainside, including who will pay for it. Hopefully they can come to an agreement, otherwise there could potentially be only one berth available for cruise ships next year. 
 

https://khns.org/wpyr-closes-half-of-skagways-busiest-cruise-dock-plans-to-disable-other-docks-before-next-spring

 

 

[JT1962]

Another article regarding the issues at the Railroad Dock: 

https://www.travelawaits.com/2786577/rockslide-risk-closes-alaskan-cruise-port-in-skagway/