Juneau to limit cruise passengers

[dmwnc1959]

Alaska’s capital city, Juneau, is in a conceptual agreement with cruise lines to cap passengers in the 2026 season

 

https://www.cruisehive.com/juneau-takes-steps-to-limit-cruise-ship-passengers/128027?fbclid=IwAR04obDq5YGhp3YP8jDfYsXFRCdZCA-xiAICT3Jmc53NyisbQdEVgR0Ozvs

 

🥸

Edited April 7 by dmwnc1959

[Coral]

This is great news. It would help if cruise lines didn't send their largest ship's to Alaska. The ports just can't handle them.

[AKJonesy]

I think we will see more and more of this.  My husband would love cruises to nowhere.  

[dmwnc1959]

26 minutes ago, Coral said:

This is great news. It would help if cruise lines didn't send their largest ship's to Alaska. The ports just can't handle them.

Totally, totally, TOTALLY agree. I wish they would restrict the size of cruise ships cruising the Inside Passage to something less than 100,000 tons and 2000 passengers. 

[Coral]

4 minutes ago, dmwnc1959 said:

Totally, totally, TOTALLY agree. I wish they would restrict the size of cruise ships cruising the Inside Passage to something less than 100,000 tons and 2000 passengers. 

I know this won't happen but I would love for something like this would create demand for cruise lines to build some smaller ships.

 

I would love to see a ban of the very large ships overall for the ports (not just inside passage). I am ok with 109K tonnage ships on inside passage but that would be my limit.

[Coral]

27 minutes ago, AKJonesy said:

My husband would love cruises to nowhere.  

This would drive me crazy. Though I don't consider the ship the destination. I am all about the ports.

[Coral]

I was on a ship that went to Sitka last year. I think we had 2400 passengers on our sailing. I can't imagine that port with more passengers than that. I hear 2 ships can dock there. Can't even imagine it. Many attractions in Sikta are small interior wise.

[dmwnc1959]

27 minutes ago, Coral said:

I know this won't happen but I would love for something like this would create demand for cruise lines to build some smaller ships.

 

I would love to see a ban of the very large ships overall for the ports (not just inside passage). I am ok with 109K tonnage ships on inside passage but that would be my limit.

Of the ships I’ve cruise in Alaska (you can tell it’s been a while) they were all ‘smaller’ - the Dawn Princess and Sun Princess; Volendam, Celebrity Galaxy, and a very small ship from Cruise West called Spirit of Oceanus.
 

In 2025 it’s Norwegian Jade on a sort of B2B. And I’m booked on Holland-America’s Noordam in April 2026 for what’s being billed as ‘Great Bear Rainforest’ and focuses on the Canadian Inside Passage from Prince Rupert to Vancouver.
 

https://www.hollandamerica.com/en/us/find-a-cruise?shipId:(NO)&departDate:[2026-04-01T00%3A00%3A00Z TO 2026-04-01T00%3A00%3A00Z%2B1MONTH-1DAY]

 

When their 2026 schedule is fully released I want to do it as a B2B into the Alaskan Inside and those ports. 
 

😆

 

 

Edited April 7 by dmwnc1959

[Coral]

1 minute ago, dmwnc1959 said:

Of the ships I’ve cruise in Alaska (you can tell it’s been a while) they were all ‘smaller’ - the Dawn Princess and Sun Princess; Volendam, Celebrity Galaxy, and a very small ship from Cruise West called Spirit of Oceanus.

 

I have done several including the Sun Princess, Dawn Princess, Sea Princess, Sapphire Princess, Crown Princess, Radiance of the Seas, Star Princess, Golden Princess, Coral Princess and probably some I can't remember.

 

I think it is fine up to the Sapphire Princess (2600 passengers). Obviously I prefer the smaller ones also and most were done on 77,000 tonnage ships.

[dmwnc1959]

Just now, Coral said:

I have done several including the Sun Princess, Dawn Princess, Sea Princess, Sapphire Princess, Crown Princess, Radiance of the Seas, Star Princess, Golden Princess, Coral Princess and probably some I can't remember.

 

I think it is fine up to the Sapphire Princess (2600 passengers). Obviously I prefer the smaller ones also and most were done on 77,000 tonnage ships.

We are obviously addicted!!!  🥰 

[Coral]

20 minutes ago, dmwnc1959 said:

We are obviously addicted!!!  🥰 

Becoming less so with really large ships, crowded ports, etc..... Next trips are places where ships can not go (obviously land trips).

[aussielozzie18]

1 hour ago, Coral said:

I was on a ship that went to Sitka last year. I think we had 2400 passengers on our sailing. I can't imagine that port with more passengers than that. I hear 2 ships can dock there. Can't even imagine it. Many attractions in Sikta are small interior wise.

I was so looking forward to our first visit to Sitka next month on the Grand Princess THEN I discovered that we will be in port with the Quantum of the Seas!  So disappointed.  My friend has cruised to New Zealand on the Ovation of the Sea four times.  When she returned from their most recent cruise, even she said she became aware of how the smaller NZ towns are completely overwhelmed when all the Ovation passengers disembark for the day in port.  Unfortunately, that will be our experience in Sitka.  Sigh.  

Smart move by Junea.

Edited April 7 by aussielozzie18

[Glaciers]

Better late than never, I suppose. In addition to having a bit more control with fewer or smaller ships the other side of this is that when supply is limited with the demand so high, Alaska cruises will be even more expensive than they are now.

[Coral]

 

 

24 minutes ago, aussielozzie18 said:

I was so looking forward to our first visit to Sitka next month on the Grand Princess THEN I discovered that we will be in port with the Quantum of the Seas!  So disappointed.  My friend has cruised to New Zealand on the Ovation of the Sea four times.  When she returned from their most recent cruise, even she said she became aware of how the smaller NZ towns are completely overwhelmed when all the Ovation passengers disembark for the day in port.  Unfortunately, that will be our experience in Sitka.  Sigh.  

 

I am so sorry. I don't know if you are best to go with ship's excursion to make sure you can get into the spots. Fortress of the Bear is pretty small and I know they were limiting groups last year. The Rapture Center was small inside but outside can probably handle the crowds. Though it was nice when there were not that many people (there were no buses when we were there). 

 

I guess I was lucky as we didn't have any cruise line buses when we hit the sites. The park is pretty and the walk back to the center of town is nice.

 

I hope you have a good cruise. I have a friend who is on the Grand right now and just hit their last port in New Zealand before the ship heads to SFO.

[karatemom2]

1 hour ago, Coral said:

I was on a ship that went to Sitka last year. I think we had 2400 passengers on our sailing. I can't imagine that port with more passengers than that. I hear 2 ships can dock there. Can't even imagine it. Many attractions in Sikta are small interior wise.

It creates a nightmare! Our last visit to Sitka in 2022 was on the Royal Princess which is already a larger ship holding over 3,000 passengers. We were lucky we got there first and we had early plans so we were up and off the ship as soon as it cleared and immediately got the shuttle into town. 
 

However, Ovation of the Seas, which holds nearly 5,000 passengers arrived shortly after us, and I heard the waits for people trying to get the shuttle after that ship arrived were hours long. 
 

Getting back on the ship was a cluster. The line for the shuttles in town was ridiculously long, and the port was a complete zoo when we got back - no way was I even attempting to go into the few local businesses or eateries there. It took us around 90 minutes to get back from town and back onboard the ship. 

[Coral]

34 minutes ago, karatemom2 said:

It creates a nightmare! Our last visit to Sitka in 2022 was on the Royal Princess which is already a larger ship holding over 3,000 passengers. We were lucky we got there first and we had early plans so we were up and off the ship as soon as it cleared and immediately got the shuttle into town. 
 

However, Ovation of the Seas, which holds nearly 5,000 passengers arrived shortly after us, and I heard the waits for people trying to get the shuttle after that ship arrived were hours long. 
 

Getting back on the ship was a cluster. The line for the shuttles in town was ridiculously long, and the port was a complete zoo when we got back - no way was I even attempting to go into the few local businesses or eateries there. It took us around 90 minutes to get back from town and back onboard the ship. 

I can see up to 2600 or so in Sitka but nothing more than that. I am surprised Sitka is allowing for 2 ships, especially large ones. I can see 2 smaller ships (Viking, Oceania, etc...)

 

I have to say the large RCCL ships (and other ones such as NCL) really shouldn't be sailing in Alaska. The ports just can't handle them well, especially when more than one is in port.

 

I am glad I did Alaska many times when I did in the late 90's and early 2000's. 

Edited April 7 by Coral

[Paula_MacFan]

Interesting that the article attached by the OP states ships will be capped at 5 per day in 2024, but according to the CLAA schedule there are many days this year with 6 ships.  Granted, they are staggered in port times, but that's not the way the article reads.  We will be in Juneau the first week of June so I've been keeping an eye on the schedule.  We have our excursion booked for early in the morning to hopefully avoid some of the port congestion.

 

https://claalaska.com/?page_id=1551

Edited April 7 by Paula_MacFan

[MudbugsTherapist]

From what I have read in local Juneau sites, there was a handshake agreement with CLIA to not have more than 5 ships in port.  This has gone well until the ships became Monster of the Seas and 6000 pax.  Now, when they squeeze in a 6th or sometimes 7th ship (which was just looked over in the past) it is crowded like a 90s rave through the streets in port.  So the immediate ask from Juneau is to formally limit the port to 5 ships ASAP.  Then, there are smaller groups that are arguing back and forth locally in Juneau on whether there should be a pax limit in addition to the 5-ship limit.  But many businesses seeing what has happened in Bar Harbor don't want to put a pax limit on Juneau for fear that some cruise lines will skip the port completely, especially when other ports are now being developed in a private, Coco Cay/Half Moon Cay/Castaway Cay/Great Stirrup Cay sort of fashion.  NCL figured it out in Ketchikan... Other cruise lines will do the same and avoid the issues in Juneau.

[dmwnc1959]

12 minutes ago, Paula_MacFan said:

Interesting that the article attached by the OP states ships will be capped at 5 per day in 2024, but according to the CLAA schedule there are many days this year with 6 ships.  Granted, they are staggered in port times, but that's not the way the article reads.  We will be in Juneau the first week of June so I've been keeping an eye on the schedule.  We have our excursion booked for early in the morning to hopefully avoid some of the port congestion.

 

https://claalaska.com/?page_id=1551

I think it’s that ‘staggered scheduling’ (hot berthing) that keeps the cruise lines complaint with the limit of five ships ‘docked’ (at the same time) per day. 

[1025cruise]

There is a difference between Bar Harbor and Juneau. Bar Harbor has a good enough tourist season without the cruise ships. Juneau is more dependent on the cruise ships for business. In other words, Bar Harbor can afford to upset the cruise lines, Juneau can't.

[Coral]

28 minutes ago, MudbugsTherapist said:

  NCL figured it out in Ketchikan... Other cruise lines will do the same and avoid the issues in Juneau.

I don't think anyone likes the solution NCL has in Ketchikan (tons of complaints on this board of Ward Cove) and it still brings people into port. Not a great solution IMO.

[NengEuis]

28 minutes ago, dmwnc1959 said:

I think it’s that ‘staggered scheduling’ (hot berthing) that keeps the cruise lines complaint with the limit of five ships ‘docked’ (at the same time) per day. 

Yes, the Bliss and Encore often visit Juneau on the same day, but one leaves and the other scoots in an hour later. Busy, busy day for those folks working on land. 

[MudbugsTherapist]

1 minute ago, 1025cruise said:

There is a difference between Bar Harbor and Juneau. Bar Harbor has a good enough tourist season without the cruise ships. Juneau is more dependent on the cruise ships for business. In other words, Bar Harbor can afford to upset the cruise lines, Juneau can't.

Bar Harbor is only 3200 people, with almost 80% depending on hospitality/tourism for their income.  They are now getting rocked with 20% increases on property taxes to fund local infrastructure and programs.

 

Juneau is 32,000 people, with 1100+ millionaires and an average household income of 90k.  If Juneau limits ships to 5 per day, or maybe 15000 pax per day, it won't change a thing for them.  They already have the infrastructure to support that with three docks.  The 6k ships can build a dock in Auke Bay or Thane, put a little shopping area like NCL's place in Ketchikan, and shuttle excursions straight from that point.  I think the major cruise lines will start doing this instead of battling with local city councils about pax limits.  It costs the cruise lines more in fees and legal than if they just buy a plot and develop it.  

 

https://www.bangordailynews.com/2024/04/04/hancock/hancock-police-courts/bar-harbor-resident-sues-town-cruise-ship-visits-n6hjn1me0n/

[MudbugsTherapist]

41 minutes ago, Coral said:

I don't think anyone likes the solution NCL has in Ketchikan (tons of complaints on this board of Ward Cove) and it still brings people into port. Not a great solution IMO.

The same thing was said when they added the 2nd port in Cozumel.  Now, nobody even notices.  The NCL Hawaiian ships don't port in any downtowns or beaches, except for the tender into Kona. The complainers are the people who want to get off the ship and be surrounded by crap to purchase, like in the Caribbean.  Hawaii and Alaska aren't like that - they are excursion-heavy cruises.  Even if the Bliss has 3000 on excursions and 1000 complainers on a shuttle bus to downtown, it is still counted as a win for NCL. The complainers come on CC because "someone moved their cheese."  Change is hard for people that are set in their ways about what a cruise port should look like.   Ketchikan is LOVING the fact that the bulk of NCL pax are leaving from Ward Cove for excursions, hiking, etc., because the city still benefits from those excursion dollars and jobs created in Ward Cove. 

Edited April 7 by MudbugsTherapist

[Coral]

9 minutes ago, MudbugsTherapist said:

The same thing was said when they added the 2nd port in Cozumel.  Now, nobody even notices.  The NCL Hawaiian ships don't port in any downtowns or beaches, except for the tender into Kona. The complainers are the people who want to get off the ship and be surrounded by crap to purchase, like in the Caribbean.  Hawaii and Alaska aren't like that - they are excursion-heavy cruises.  Even if the Bliss has 3000 on excursions and 1000 complainers on a shuttle bus to downtown, it is still counted as a win for NCL. The complainers come on CC because "someone moved their cheese."  Change is hard for people that are set in their ways about what a cruise port should look like.   Ketchikan is LOVING the fact that the bulk of NCL pax are leaving from Ward Cove for excursions, hiking, etc., because the city still benefits from those excursion dollars and jobs created in Ward Cove. 

It is not a win as NCL has really crappy times in Ketchikan that their cruisers can barely do anything in port. Unfortunately - many don't realize it until after they have booked.

 

If you consider it a win, good for you.