All cruise ships originally scheduled to stop in Nome this summer have been cancelled.

City Manager Glenn Steckman gave the announcement at the local City Council meeting on Monday, June 14.

“Our cruise ships have cancelled out for the rest of the year… We were holding out hope, but Robin Johnson [of Nome Discovery Tours] told us it was not going to happen, and it was confirmed by [Harbormaster Lucas Stotts.]”

– Glenn Steckman

Steckman says Nome’s five Ports of Call, each with 100-150 passengers onboard, were cancelled.

Jen Martin with Lindblad Expeditions explains that the cancellations in part were caused by issues with docking in Provideniya. Russia’s ports are currently closed to tourists for the summer season. Unable to find an alternative itinerary, Lindblad cancelled their Ports of Call for Nome, which included the National Geographic’s Orion.

“We tried extremely hard to make these voyages happen,” said Martin, “but found ourselves with no alternative options.”

Lindblad Expeditions says these cancellations will not likely change next year’s expected cruise schedule for Nome.

Image at top: The cruise liner Crystal Serenity anchored offshore at Nome, 2017. (Photo: Gabe Colombo, KNOM)