Homer’s cruise ship season is set to begin with the arrival of a ship making an impromptu stop.
On Wednesday, Apr. 24, the Regent Seven Seas Explorer Cruise Ship will make a previously unplanned stop in Homer. The ship is coming from Japan, and Homer will be one of its first stops after 10 days at sea, so most passengers will likely want to get off the ship for a bit.
The ship is carrying 671 passengers plus 500 crew members.
Passengers will start deboarding at 8:00 AM at the Cruise Ship Dock and depart at 5:00 PM to have a full day in town.
Premier Tours is arranging for shuttle buses to loop passengers around town.
To help provide the best possible experience for these visitors to Homer, the Chamber of Commerce asked its local businesses to open slightly earlier on Wednesday to accommodate the influx of guests.
Controversy regarding the cruise ship industry arose last year after residents of Sitka demanded a reduction in the number of cruise ship visitors to the city. Among other complaints, Sitka locals claimed extreme fatigue after hosting more than 560,000 visitors from ships in the coastal community with a population of just over 8,000.
Comparatively, the seven ships coming to Homer this year will likely bring less than 10,000 visitors.
According to a schedule provided by the Homer Chamber of Commerce of cruise ships visiting the city this season, eight ships, including the one on Wednesday, will make port in the southern Kenai Peninsula community: two in May, one in June, two in July, and one each in August and September.
