An international cruise ship line wants to donate $1 million to the City of Sitka, with “no strings attached.”
When the Sitka Assembly meets tonight (4-27-21) it will consider the offer from Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, which the company says is to help mitigate the economic impact of the ongoing cruise suspension in Alaska.
According to Fred Reeder at the Cruise Lines Agencies of Alaska, Norwegian Cruise Line’s ships have been coming to Sitka for more than two decades. Two of the company’s smaller ships, the Regatta and the Seven Seas Mariner, which are operated by the company’s subsidiaries, call to port regularly each season. The Norwegian Spirit will sail to Sitka in 2022, and the 1900 passenger Norwegian Sun is set to sail from Japan to Alaska in April 2023.
In an email to KCAW, Public and Government Relations Director Melissa Henshaw said she and City Administrator John Leach were notified of the million-dollar offer during a phone meeting with representatives from the cruise line. The company plans to offer other Alaska communities donations, but Henshaw said NCLH did not specify which or how many communities will receive similar offers.
The assembly will discuss the offer and could decide to vote on it. According to language in the assembly’s packet, there are no strings attached to the money, and “no quid pro quo.” It’s up to the city to decide how to distribute the donation, should the assembly accept it.
The Sitka Assembly meets at 6 p.m. tonight at Harrigan Centennial Hall. Raven News will broadcast the meeting live, following Alaska News Nightly.
