Getting Ready for Guests: Routine Maintenance, the Northern Lights and Enjoying the Quiet
Carnival Corporation’s Alaskan land operations prepare for the busy season
Two decades ago, Tom Lux’s car broke down during a vacation in Skagway, Alaska, and he needed money to fix it. Bob Chase spent 20 years working for a mining company in Oregon and experienced a self-proclaimed midlife crisis. To repair his car, Tom began working in the kitchen of a Skagway lodge while Bob packed up his truck and boat and moved to Alaska in search of freedom. He started as a wrangler, providing trail rides at the Mt. McKinley Princess Wilderness Lodge.
They never left.
Today, they both serve as maintenance managers at two lodges within Carnival Corporation & plc’s Holland America Line and Princess Cruises Alaska Operations. Alaska’s long winters allow them to prepare their respective properties for the busy summer season while enjoying the tranquility and solitude of remote Alaska.
Getting Ready
Winter is also the season for building improvements and upgrades, ensuring that all facilities are in top shape for the upcoming season.
“Our primary purpose in the wintertime is life and property safety. We’re trying to keep the property safe,” said Tom Lux, the Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge maintenance manager. “We’re doing snow plowing, responding to alarms and here for power outages. Alaska is a difficult place to live. It’s very remote. With all the construction going on on-site, we’ve got to be here for safety reasons, always watching out. I’ve got over 30 buildings on my property.”
Bob Chase is doing something similar at the Copper River Princess Wilderness Lodge, situated along the Copper River, but on a somewhat smaller scale.
“We are a little community,” said Chase. “Everything to do with the lodge we do within the maintenance department. I even treat my own water. As far as getting the property ready, four guys take care of it. We’ll have employee housing and the lodge, and they’ll all be heated up, watered up and functioning fully. I like to have a buffer if we run into some problems, but by mid-April, we’re ready to rock and roll.”
Over the summer, guests inadvertently bang suitcases against the walls. There is the usual wear and tear from constant packing and unpacking. Kitchens need to be stocked, and stoves must be prepared for continuous use. The properties sit on permafrost, causing the ground to be occasionally unstable and shift with the seasons, which requires wall repairs. They inspect every room in the fall for maintenance while the weather is still warm. When temperatures drop to minus 30 degrees, it becomes challenging to heat the building enough to perform any work, says Lux.
The Guests Arrive
May marks the beginning of the tour season across Alaska. Approximately 4,000 seasonal employees assist the 300 full-time Carnival Corporation staff members in the region.
Guests disembark from Holland America Line and Princess Cruises ships and continue their journey on land at one of the company’s many lodges. With guided tours, wildlife spotting, scenic rail journeys, visits to national parks and glacier viewing, it offers the ultimate vacation experience.
The properties are in top shape and sparkle in the clear Alaskan air. It’s an exciting time for Chase but also an end to the off-season, where he appreciates the quiet and the chance to ice fish and have stellar views of the Northern Lights. As he snowmachines across the frozen ground in winter, he wears gloves lined with thick fur, the only way to prevent his hands from freezing in the unrelenting cold.
“At Copper River Princess Wilderness Lodge, I have always seen and heard from guests that it’s so much more relaxed here because we’re off the beaten path,” Chase adds.
Winter Isolation
It takes a unique person to do what Chase and Lux do. They’re never bored and wouldn’t trade it for anything. There isn’t much within 10 miles of where Lux lives – and perhaps even more distance for Chase. They share the winter season with dog mushers, cross-country skiers, snowshoers and curious wildlife wandering across the properties.
“There’s usually a lot of community activities happening in the winter, primarily focused on schools, youth sports and youth programs. Down in Skagway, they publish a calendar in the local newspaper, and there is something to do every single day for the entire month of December,” Lux reports. “Whether gathering at someone’s house or attending an event at a fire department, police station or tree lighting ceremony, I feel like the communities do a good job of creating opportunities for people to come together because, in the summertime, it’s hard for that to happen.”
And there’s always a chance to get out of town. Once Lux left Denali, where it was minus 50 degrees, and landed in Las Vegas, where it was 85—a 135-degree temperature swing in just one day.
Lux and Chase emphasize the need to balance tourism with preservation in a state noted for its vast natural beauty and abundant resources.
As the snow melts and the days grow longer, they and their teams are prepared to welcome guests to Alaska’s pristine wilderness. Their year-round efforts ensure that every lodge is fully operational, serving as a haven of comfort and adventure for visitors. The tranquility of winter gives way to the bustling excitement of summer, when Alaska’s beauty is on full display.
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