This is a developing story.
A storm that brought strong winds to some parts of Southeast Alaska resulted in the cancellation of cruise ship stops in Sitka and other ports, with two of the three ships arriving in Juneau on Monday remaining overnight until Tuesday evening, according to officials.
Winds were most severe along the outer coast of the Southeast Panhandle, with a peak speed of 81 miles per hour on Annette Island near Ketchikan, according to National Weather Service Juneau. The strongest winds in Juneau were 62 mph at the AJ Dock and 59 mph in south Douglas — causing rough waves were the two ships were docked overnight — although peak winds only reached 46 mph at the Juneau Public Library several hundred yards away.
The storm had passed in Juneau by early Tuesday morning and a high wind alert for other parts of Southeast was canceled at about 6:30 a.m., although winds gusts up to 40 mph were forecast in some areas for the remainder of the day, according to NWS Juneau.
An alert issued by the National Weather Service on Sunday shows high winds forecast in many coastal areas of Southeast Alaska on Monday and Tuesday. (National Weather Service Juneau)
The 2,650-passenger Koningsdam arrived early in Juneau at about 9:30 a.m. Monday — instead of its originally scheduled 1:30 p.m. — after skipping its Monday stop in Skagway, according to Cruise Line Agencies of Alaska. The ship was scheduled to depart at 7 p.m. Tuesday instead of 10:30 p.m. Monday.
The other ship remaining overnight was the 2,104-passenger Eurodam, which arrived as planned at midday Monday and was scheduled to depart at 6 p.m. Tuesday instead of 10 p.m. Monday.
Also docking in Juneau on Monday was the 4,004-passenger Norwegian Bliss from 2:30-10 p.m. It departed as scheduled and was heading toward Skagway on Tuesday.
Among the other schedule changes due to the storm, Ovation of the Seas, which was in Juneau on Sunday, canceled its scheduled Monday in Skagway due to the storm forecast. Drew Green, port director for Cruise Line Agencies of Alaska in Juneau, said the ship is also skipping a stop in Ketchikan as it heads south.
The Noordam is also “pursuing an alternate itinerary due to the storm,” with a stop in Juneau planned from noon to 8 p.m. Tuesday, according to Cruise Line Agencies.
• Contact Mark Sabbatini at mark.sabbatini@juneauempire.com or (907) 957-2306.
