HAINES -- A longtime fixture on Southeast Alaska cruise ship schedules won't be back this year.
Citing low passenger bookings, CruiseWest announced Feb. 11 it would not operate the Spirit of Alaska in the 2002 cruise season. In addition, the cruise line is closing its Anchorage reservation office and plans to lay off 20 to 25 workers at its Seattle headquarters.
The cutbacks are the result of a "miserable" fall reservation season, said company spokeswoman Maureen Camandona.
Bookings for CruiseWest seven- to 10-day Southeast Alaska tours slumped after Sept. 11, and didn't recover until January, Camandona said.
Camandona wouldn't reveal the company's percentage drop in business compared to 2001, but said it was enough to drop the 52-passenger vessel from the schedule and transfer pending reservations on the Spirit of Alaska to its sister ship, the Spirit of Endeavor.
CruiseWest formerly operated as Alaska Sightseeing-CruiseWest. The company was started in the early 1980s by Alaska tourism pioneer Chuck West.
