It wouldn’t be all that crazy for nervous travelers to feel anxious about something going wrong at sea, such as the ship sinking or getting caught in a dangerous storm – both of which are highly unlikely.
But what seems even more unlikely is missing your cruise ship because of a rockslide.
However, this is exactly what happened to more than 100 passengers from Princess Cruises’ Discovery Princess and Holland America’s Koningsdam on Tuesday, July 23, 2024.
Approximately 150 guests across the ships – both of which are from sister brands owned by Carnival Corporation – were visiting Skagway, where the passengers signed up for the famous sightseeing tour offered by the White Pass & Yukon Route Railway.
However, the guests became stranded in Canada – where the Yukon is located. A landslide consumed the tracks and roadway between markers 80 and 86 of the South Klondike Highway, with the blockage spanning around 50 miles from Fraser, British Columbia, to Carcross, Canada (near the Yukon).
According to a Nixle alert sent out around 5:30 p.m. local time, both the U.S. border station and Canadian customs closed the Skagway Port of Entry after the slide to keep unqualified people safely distanced from the natural disaster site – effectively blocking passengers from returning to their vessels in the Port of Skagway.
For context, Nixle alerts are sent out to spread the word about particularly severe weather, traffic, criminal activities, missing persons, and other local events.
With no quick fix available after a rockslide of this scale, the cruise ships had to make the difficult decision to leave the impacted passengers behind.
As of the morning of July 24 – two days after the incident – the Klondike Highway remains closed as crews from Yukon Protective Services work to clear the damage.
“The South Klondike Highway remains closed between KM 106 and 24, from Carcross to Fraser due to a rock slide. Our crews are working diligently to clear the road, but progress has been delayed due to weather conditions and the risk of further slides. The slide is approximately 110-150 m wide and 20 m high and fully covers both lanes of the highway,” Yukon Protective Services posted on Facebook at 8:30 a.m local time.
As of the time of publication, there is no estimated time or date for the reopening of the busy highway – and interestingly, this is not the first rockslide to impact cruise lines in Skagway.
Two rockslides occurred within weeks of each other at Skagway’s White Pass Railroad Dock in the summer of 2022, causing damage to and around the port and cosmetic damage to Discovery Princess.
Stranded Passengers Rejoin Their Cruise Ships In Alaska
Fortunately, the guests who were impacted by the rockslide did not stay stranded for long.
Cruise line management, port staff, and other local authorities worked quickly to arrange a solution – and had the displaced guests packed onto four massive Holland America tour buses making the six to seven hour commute to Haines, Alaska, before the night was through.
The Port Chilkoot cruise dock, located within Haines, was chosen as the rendezvous point because it is close to Glacier Bay, the next stop for both Discovery Princess and Koningsdam.
By 4 a.m. the next morning, July 24, 2024, the relieved passengers had arrived in the port and were boarded onto tender boats to rejoin their prospective vessels.
Luckily, none of the impacted cruisers were harmed in the rockslide and some were even able to laugh about the experience.
“We didn’t expect to make it here. We got a bonus tour,” a Koningsdam passenger, named Arthur Green, jokingly told a local outlet called Chilkat Valley News.
The guests were then able to participate in the remainder of their prospective 7-night Alaska sailings – and still had the whole day ahead of them to get some rest and enjoy Glacier Bay, which is home to massive tidewater glaciers and an abundance of marine wildlife.
Read Also: The Best Time to Cruise Alaska: Months to Choose
The 2,650-passenger Koningsdam has one more stop in Ketchikan, Alaska, on July 25, before disembarking in Vancouver, Canada, on July 27.
Meanwhile, the 3,660-guest Discovery Princess is scheduled to call on both Ketchikan and Vancouver, before concluding in Seattle, Washington, on July 27.
Both vessels will continue to operate 7-night Alaska sailings through September of 2024 – hopefully without any further interference from Mother Nature.
