Juneau Empire reporting local tourism officials are hopeful for a successful summer season

Omicron causing concerns as bookings are not at their normal level.

Juneau Empire reporting local tourism officials are hopeful for a successful summer season.

Alexandra Pierce, tourism manager for the City and Borough of Juneau, recently told the Juneau Empire that the CDC's recent Level 4 Warning, about cruising and the emergence of Omicron, has helped make it difficult to predict what will happen this Alaska summer season.

She told the local paper, "If I were asked, under duress, to place a bet, I'd say we will probably see all the ships that are scheduled, but they probably won't be at full capacity," Pierce said. She added that when asked about safety, "I have not heard about any lines making any changes to the way they are operating. I'm hopeful they will continue to do that."

The article explained that small ships seem to be doing better when it comes to bookings for the summer. According to Liz Galloway, director of marketing and communications for UnCruise Adventures, the company is on pace with pre-pandemic booking levels — which she attributes to passengers rebooking and "pent up demand and new bookings for adventure." "We still have the largest selection of small ship cruises, and itineraries in Alaska within our industry, and we have seen a growing interest for the 2022 summer season," Galloway said in an email.

"We are almost at pace with our pre-COVID year for bookings, and website traffic is above double last year's. Domestic wilderness travel is in demand, and we are uniquely positioned to provide that with six vessels in Alaska this summer filling up," Galloway said.