Princess Cruises is marking the end of the Alaska season with shipboard awards ceremonies celebrating the year’s top-rated local tour operators. The line’s 11th annual C.R.U.I.S.E. service awards used passenger feedback throughout the season to determine the best shore excursion experiences and guides in each port on Alaska itineraries.
Award winners were chosen from Princess’ extensive line-up of more than 200 Alaska shore excursion options, and recognize the most popular tours, individual guides and dock representatives in the communities where Princess ships call. The awards underscore the important role that local tour operators in each community play in a passenger’s cruise experience, and winners are determined primarily by tour scores and comments made on passenger surveys throughout the season.
“A passenger’s adventures in port significantly contribute to the cruise experience, especially in such a vast and amazing place as Alaska,” said Jan Swartz, Princess Cruises executive vice president. “So the local tour operators who provide these unforgettable excursions definitely deserve our recognition and thanks for making our passengers’ visits so memorable.”
The C.R.U.I.S.E. program is the longest running customer service program in the cruise industry. The Alaska awards were begun in 2000 and cap off a season-long effort to recognize the role that Alaskan-owned tour partners play in passengers’ cruise experiences. Tour Guide of the Season and Dock Representative of the Season award winners receive $100, a letter of commendation, a plaque, a ship tour and lunch onboard with their family. Operators of the Shore Excursion of the Season receive a plaque and a letter of commendation, a tour of the ship, and lunch onboard for company officials.
The 2010 winners are:
Icy Strait Point:
Shore Excursion:
Whale & Wildlife Cruise, Icy Strait Point
Tour Guide:
Annette McLaughlin, Icy Strait Point
Juneau:
Co-Shore Excursions:
Helicopter Glacier Trek, Northstar Trekking
Rainforest Canopy & Zipline Expedition, Alaska Canopy Adventures
Taku Glacier Lodge Flight & Feast, Wings Airways and Taku Lodge
Co-Tour Guides:
Collin Pilcher, Gastineau Guiding Company
Joel Kersting, Gold Rush Tours
Dock Representative:
Dawn Dulebohn, Dolphin Jet Boat Tours
Ketchikan:
Co-Shore Excursions:
Bering Sea Crab Fisherman’s Tour, Commercial Fishing Adventures
Moutain Point Snorkeling Adventure, Snorkel Alaska
Rainforest Canopy & Zipline Expedition, Alaska Canopy Adventures
Co-Tour Guides:
Joe Williams, Where the Eagle Walks
Rob Holston, Lighthouse Excursions
Dock Representative:
Jill Gates, The Great Alasakan Lumberjack Show
Kodiak:
Shore Excursion:
Best of Kodiak, First Group
Tour Guide:
Dee Ann Valdivia, Kodiak Tours
Seward:
Shore Excursion:
Alaska SeaLife Center & Puffin Experience, Alaska SeaLife Center
Tour Guide:
Danny Seavey, IdidaRide Sled Dog Tours
Skagway:
Co-Shore Excursions:
Glacier Discovery by Helicopter, TEMSCO Helicopters
Glacier Point Wilderness Safari, Chilkat Guides
White Pass Bennett Lake Adventure, White Pass & Yukon Route
Co-Tour Guides:
Steve Merrow, Chilkat Guides
Tyler Geist, Alaska Mountain Guides
Dock Representative:
Jeff Neis, Skagway Street Car Co.
Vancouver:
Shore Excursion:
Capilano Canyon’s Natural Beauty, Rockwood Adventures
Tour Guide:
Bill Reaugh, TMS Gateway Tours
Victoria:
Shore Excursion:
Butchart & Butterfly Gardens, Gray Line West
Tour Guide:
Norman Archer, D’Costa Ports of Call
Whittier:
Shore Excursion:
Wilderness Explorer Glacier Cruise, Prince William Sound Cruise & Tours
Tour Guides:
Richard DiJulia, Alaska Sea Kayakers
