Cruise ships full: fewer ships visit Alaska.

• Author: Cutler, Debbie

Holland America Line, owned by Carnival Corp., is only one of many cruise ships that come to Alaska. Also under the Carnival Corp. brand is Princess Cruises and Carnival Cruise Line. There is also Norwegian Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity and new-to-Alaska Regent Seven Seas. Smaller ships, which house as many as 250 (average 50 to 100) guests include Cruise West and Lindblad.

But despite full boats, many holding as many as 2,000 individuals, not all is well in the cruise industry in Alaska, said Ron Peck, president and chief operating officer of the Alaska Travel Industry Association.

This year Alaska expects to see 1 million visitors to their ports of call and destinations in Southeast Alaska such as Tracy Arm, Ketchikan, Juneau, Sitka, Skagway, Icy Strait Point (Hoonab), Wrangell, Glacier Bay, Haines, Hubbard Glacier (Yakatat), Valdez, Seward, Whittier, Homer and Kodiak. Last year there were 1.017 million.

"Next year's loss is 142,000, about a 14 percent loss," said Peck. "There's not as many ships arriving next year."

In other words, cruise lines are full, sometimes with discounted rates as low as $400 (including taxes) for an inside room on a seven-day cruise, but some ships are pulling out. This year, about 28 ships will be in Alaska, however there will be three fewer in 2010.

"The cruise industry does what it thinks it should to operate in a sound business manner," said Peck. "And as costs go up and revenues go down, as is the case in Alaska, they will make appropriate deployment decisions."

The reason, according to Peck, is the voter-approved (2006) Ballot Initiative 2, which most people recognize as a head tax of $50 on cruises to Alaska. "It wasn't just a head tax," said Peck. "It was a $46 head tax and a $4 ocean ranger fee." It was also a state income tax to arriving vessels, a casino gaming tax (taking a percentage of the profits), additional restrictions on wastewater discharge systems, and a burdensome commission disclosure requirement on small visitor businesses.

"It was anti-business," said Peck. "The point is, the ballot initiative essentially made operation in Alaska more difficult for...