Nome’s bustling summer season is taking shape with the announcement of the 2025 cruise ship schedule. While the Port of Nome is currently covered in ice, come June the first cruise will dock just offshore.
Nome Discovery Tour’s Robin Johnson said the schedule is largely unchanged from last year, including a return visit by Holland America’s MS Westerdam. The 1,848 passenger ship arrived on the weekend of the Midnight Sun Festival last year and will return at the same time for 2025.
The ship was the largest to ever visit Nome and took over the town as vendors and tour guides took full advantage of the business opportunity. This year, Johnson hopes to add even more offerings for the passengers.
“They loved everything we had but everything was full, so we're trying to find more for them to do,” Johnson said. “They love to see muskox, we'll probably add another hike, maybe, if we can figure out a way to schedule that with the buses we have.”
Notably, the Westerdam will make a “port of call” stop, meaning the passengers spend the better part of a day exploring Nome. Other ships like the Sylvia Earle stop by for “turns” where passengers disembark and often head straight to the airport. New passengers will then board the ships, all in the span of a few hours.
“They're taking on fuel, they're taking on water, they take on provisions. They're getting the vessel new for a whole new tour,” Johnson explained. “So a lot of times they'll say, ‘don't bring them until four’. We just try to keep them busy and happy.”
There are 11 arrivals scheduled, with the familiar Roald Amundsen ship visiting twice in July and August. Not including the Westerdam, the average ship is capable of carrying 330 passengers. Le Commandant Charcot is scheduled to be the last cruise to depart on September 25.
Plans for the Berry Festival, rescheduled last year to early June to align with the arrival of the Westerdam, have yet to take form. Johnson said she’s collaborating with organizations like the National Park Service and City of Nome, and hopes Mother Nature will work with her too.
“The most stressful part is the weather, hopefully we'll have good weather. If you could put in an order to Mother Nature, that'd be great,” Johnson said.
