Cruise Lines Score Win in Alaska

Looks like the tax the the government approved the tax to be lowered. And at the bottom of the article, it's rumored that Royal Caribbean is leaving the Port of Miami.

Cruise Lines Score Win in Alaska

Alaska's Senate has agreed to roll back a tax on cruise ship passengers that has angered the industry and led some lines to cut back on ships visiting the state.

The tax would be lowered o $34.50 from, according to news reports. The bill still must be approved by the Alaskan House.

The cruise industry has challenged the tax in federal court as an illegal entry tax and the Senate bill would reportedly settle the issue if enacted.

The Alaska Cruise Association said the state will see a 14.2 percent drop in cruise capacity this year, which is 140,000 passengers.

Association officials could not be reached immediately for comment, but the group's Web site noted: Miami-based Carnival Corp. & PLC (NYSE: CCL; NYSE: CUK) previously stated that the move of Holland America's 1,270-passenger Ryndam to Europe in 2011 and Princess Cruises' 710-passenger Royal Princess to P&O Cruises were in line with the continued drop in Alaskan deployments.

Carnival Corp. and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE: RCL) spokespersons did not have immediate comment on the bill's passage.

Richard Sasso, who leads the marketing committee for the Cruise Lines International Association in Fort Lauderdale, said: "We need to be careful that destinations don't underestimate the value of cruise ships going to destinations and the economic contribution that makes."

Overly aggressive taxation can put a burden on guests, adding to the cost of a cruise and generate concern among cruise operators that the taxes aren't justified, especially if the proceeds aren't being used to enhance infrastructure related to cruise ships, he said. "What happened in Alaska over the years is they escalated the tax to a point where it seemed to be not only unconstitutional but also not a favorable cost structure for cruise lines to wanting to operate there."

Maritime lawyer Jim Walker of Miami, who is critical of pollution caused by cruise ships in Alaska, wrote on his blog that the vote is a big win for Carnival and its subsidiaries.

In other news

USA Today's Gene Sloan has written an article about what he describes as "Royal Caribbean's slow-motion pullout" from its longtime hub at the Port of Miami.

His posting followed Royal Caribbean's announcement that the 3,634-passenger Liberty of the Seas will move to Port Everglades in November 2011.

Royal Caribbean's Oasis of the Seas, which is the world's largest cruise ship, is already based at Port Everglades and the sister ship, Allure of the Seas, will be based there later this year.

The tent-like roof of Royal Caribbean's terminal is a landmark at the Port of Miami, but Sloan noted the company will have only one ship left in Miami in the winter of 2011-2012.

Royal Caribbean can utilize the state-of-the art Terminal 18 at Port Everglades, which is the world's largest cruise terminal. Port Everglades officials have touted the port's next-door proximity to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport as a key marketing advantage because it's the discount airline hub for South Florida.

Royal Caribbean's move may put pressure on the Port of Miami, which is contemplating building a new cruise terminal, as previously reported on Cruise Industry report.

The move could also enhance Port Everglades' efforts to challenge the Port of Miami as the world's busiest cruise port in upcoming years.

Student Cruise Terminal Project - Reuse

Doesn't seem like they're designing a building... just reusing an old building. But interesting anyways...

UF students design cruise terminal for old Ford site

The former Ford assembly plant that sits at the base of the Mathews Bridge could one day be a cruise ship terminal and destination port, according to a study conducted by a group of students at the University of Florida.

A group of 16 students in the university’s College of Design, Construction and Planning department of interior design created design possibilities for the 86-year-old building that include 60,000 square feet of cruise ship terminal space, 50,000 square feet of boutique hotel space, 10,000 square feet of restaurant/lounge space and 40,000 square feet of what the students termed “wild card” space that included a variety of possible uses including a cinema, convention space and art display space.

Preliminary cost estimates for the project from cruise ship consultants are around $30 million.

The Jacksonville Port Authority is considering moving the cruise terminal at Dames Point to Mayport or two other unnamed sites east of the Dames Point Bridge. The authority needs a new terminal because the site of the present cruise terminal at Dames Point will become home to Hanjin Shipping Co.’s new container terminal.

About 80 percent of major cruise line ships can’t pass under Dames Point bridge and nearby wires, said port authority CEO Rick Ferrin.

Sonny Redmond, one of the partners in the investment group that owns the property, Hill Street LLC, said he hopes to use the students’ design suggestions as the basis for a future development plan for the site, but not unless he earns the support of the community for the idea.

“In order to have a project like this work, you have to have 100 percent support from all the stakeholders,” Redmond said.

The 165,000-square-foot facility is part of a 35-acre tract that Hill Street owns that stretches from the base of the bridge to Talleyrand Avenue. The facility was built for the Ford Motor Co. in 1924-25. It was used as an assembly plant until the mid-1930s and then for storage and shipping through the 1950s. Although the property has been through a succession of owners until Hill Street acquired it in 2001, it has continued to be leased out to various industrial users over the years.

Redmond said the group didn’t have any specific development plans for the property when it bought it, but when the president of the Florida chapter of the nonprofit group DOCOMOMO, which advocates for preserving historic structures, asked Assistant Professor Marty Hylton to have his students review the project as a possible cruise ship terminal, he decided to take him up on the offer.

The idea has already gotten the attention of some in the cruise ship industry. Mike Greve, president of the Miami cruise ship development consultation company Global Destinations, said he likes the site because of its history, because it is an existing building that would reduce the capital expense of construction and because it’s a Downtown site.

The owner of the property now plans to contract with Global Destinations to have the site evaluated and graded for its potential as a cruise ship terminal site. If it grades well, Redmond said the next step would be approaching the city about the idea.

Officials Outline Problems with Alaska Cruise Picture

Here's a link to a good article on recent problems with taxes for the cruise industry in Alaska.

http://www.travelagentcentral.com/home-based/conferences/officials-outline-problems-alaska-cruise-picture-20371

2 more cruise ships to be pulled from Alaska waters in 2011

http://www.adn.com/2009/12/09/1048348/2-more-cruise-ships-to-be-pulled.html

Takin' a look at coastal development

Abu Dhabi and Dubai are both investing heavily in marine/coastal development ventures in a renewed hope to attract [luxury] yachts and increased sailing.

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Alaska Governor's Infrastructure Plan Appears Shot

Gov. Sean Parnell's $100 million deferred maintenance proposal is unlikely to pass the Legislature by next week's target date, and his administration is partly to blame, a Republican state lawmaker said Monday.

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=9919527

Princess Cruises Investment in Alaskan Excursions

Not related directly to Anchorage... but still shows investment by the cruising industry in Alaska.

http://www.usatoday.com/travel/cruises/item.aspx?type=blog&ak=78446.blog

WIND ENERGY

CIRI is investing in innovation, technology and a diverse portfolio of clean, dependable and economic energy options, including wind power.

FIRE ISLAND

A photo simulation demonstrates a possible wind farm on Fire Island. Image courtesy of Chugach Electric Association.

CIRI is developing Alaska's first commercial-scale wind energy project on company land on Fire Island, in Cook Inlet just west of Anchorage.

Southcentral Alaska uses natural gas to generate more than 90 percent of its electricity. However, Cook Inlet gas reserves are running out. Clean, renewable wind energy could diversify Railbelt power resources, which would increase reliability and decrease ratepayers' vulnerability to gas shortages and price increases.

The project is expected to include 36 turbines capable of producing 54 megawatts of electricity, enough to power more than 19,000 homes.

Site preparation on Fire Island is underway, with infrastructure work to commence in 2010.

The location was initially selected by Chugach Electric Association as a site that could provide commercial quantities of electric power to key load centers on the Railbelt grid.

WHY WIND?

- Wind energy is renewable, so it won't run out
- The long-term cost of wind-generated electricity is cheaper and more predictable than fossil-fuel powered sources
- Wind power reduces greenhouse gas emissions and other environmental impacts
- Wind power could offset the need to burn natural gas, so that Cook Inlet oil and gas reserves would last longer
- Using wind energy locally could let the state take full advantage of escalating petroleum prices by selling more Alaska oil and gas to the rest of the world
- Alaska wind energy resources would be built and operated in-state by Alaskans

http://www.ciri.com/content/company/FireIsland.aspx

Uh-oh!

2 more cruise ships to be pulled from Alaska waters in 2011

With Alaska already facing big cuts in cruise-ship visits next summer, the state's two largest operators announced plans Wednesday to remove even more ships in 2011.

Holland America Lines and Princess Cruises said that they will redeploy one ship each from Alaska to Europe in 2011.

The two operators are among six cruise lines that plan to either cancel or reroute ships to Alaska next year, reducing the number of cruise visitors by more than 100,000.

The owner of the two lines, Carnival Corp., has been one of the harshest critics of the increased taxation and regulation of the cruise industry approved by Alaska voters in 2006.

During a Carnival investor meeting last spring, the company's chief executive, Micky Arison, railed against the voter-approved law, which created a passenger levy and other taxes, blaming it for the lack of growth in Alaska's cruise industry in the past two years and for turning away budget-conscious travelers during this year's recession...

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