Thousands of residents in Juneau, Alaska, are voting through next Tuesday on an initiative to ban any cruise ship with a capacity of over 250 passengers from docking in their city on Saturdays and the Fourth of July.
The initiative, called “Ship-Free Saturday,” aims to “reclaim” Saturdays for Juneau residents who feel they have been pushed out of their city by overtourism, said Karla Hart, one of the residents who gathered enough signatures — 2,359 — on a petition to place the proposal on the ballot.
Residents received mail-in ballots on September 12 and have until October 1 to vote. The initiative requires a majority to pass.
Juneau is a major stop for the cruise industry. Royal Caribbean Group, Norwegian Cruise Line, and Carnival — along with Disney, Viking, and other companies — all offer itineraries that include Juneau.
Cruise travel has grown faster than air travel to Alaska in recent years. Cruises account for 65% of Alaska’s summer visitors, said Jillian Simpson, CEO of Alaska Travel.
Juneau, a city of 32,000 people, received a record 1.65 million visitors last year, up from 1.31 million in 2019, according to the city government. On some days 20,000 cruise passengers descend on the city.
In 2023, cruise visitors generated $30 million in direct spending and $3.7 million in revenue for the municipal government on Saturdays, according to the city’s FAQ on the ballot initiative. The cruise season runs from April to October.
Given the potential impact on business, there is also a movement to block the initiative.
Royal Caribbean Group and other businesses have threatened to sue the city if the initiative passes. Two of the docks are owned by the city, and two are privately owned.
“It’s a no-brainer bad idea, a selfish proposal by folks who want to live in a world that doesn’t exist anymore or in some romanticized version of the past that never really was,” said McHugh Pierre, chairman of Protect Juneau’s Future, a coalition of cruise, tour operators and local businesses, which has raised over $350,000 to oppose the measure.
“The best-case scenario is if this passes, the city says, ‘We choose not to accept cruise ships at our docks.’ But the private companies can’t be told not to accept ships at their private docks. It’s not constitutional,” said Pierre.
Cruise Industry Impact
After disembarking, cruise passengers typically explore the downtown, take bus or helicopter tours, enjoy whale watching, hike local trails, or visit attractions like Mendenhall Glacier, Nugget Falls, and the Goldbelt Tram.
Locals feel crowded out of their city due to noise pollution and congestion on hiking trails, local waters, and popular attractions, which has taken a toll on quality of life. Some leave the city in the summer to escape the “chaos,” said Hart.
About 63% of residents said they were affected or somewhat affected by crowding at Mendenhall Glacier, one of the city’s most popular attractions, according to Juneau’s Tourism Survey.
“If you go to the Glacier between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m., you’ll share the trail to Nugget Falls with hundreds of people,” said Adam Dordea, a resident and owner of Juneau Vacation Homes.
Dordea also said he no longer takes his daughter to the Goldbelt Tram due to long lines. “Sometimes we’d wait over an hour to come back down from the tram,” he said. Some of Dordea’s guests enjoy the bustling atmosphere, while others are overwhelmed by the “sea of humanity” coming and going, he said. Dordea is not sure if a Saturday ban is the right move.
Under the proposed ban for Juneau, cruise lines might move their ships to another day or even remove Juneau from their itineraries, according to the municipal government’s FAQ.
The “Ship-Free Saturdays” group chose Saturdays to be free of large cruise ships because it is typically a slower day for cruises and a traditional day of recreation in Juneau. It was also the most popular option out of the three ideas circulated in the community, said Hart.
While some businesses may take a hit in revenue, Hart argues that more residents will stay in the city and spend money at local businesses. She accuses businesses of using scare tactics that emphasize and exaggerate economic impact.
Juneau’s Ongoing Efforts to Manage Cruise Tourism
In other destinations, locals have had mixed feelings toward the cruise industry. In the past few years, politicians have enacted restrictions or are planning to restrict cruises in Venice, Amsterdam, and other popular destinations to reduce overcrowding in their city centers.
In Juneau, the Saturday ban would be the latest effort by the city to manage cruise tourism. It has signed multiple agreements with cruise lines to “reduce the possibility of exponential growth,” said Pierre.
These agreements were based on recommendations from a 2019 task force made up of representatives from the city, residents, cruise operators, and local businesses.
This year, the city and the cruise industry capped the number of large cruise ships docking each day to five. Starting next year, the number of daily passengers will be capped at 16,000 from Sunday to Friday and 12,000 on Saturdays.
However, some locals feel these agreements do not go far enough. These measures were “not aligned in my opinion with a lot of the community desires,” said Hart.
According to the city’s tourism survey, 50% of Juneau residents would prefer cruise passenger volume to be lower, including 19% who would like it to be much lower, even with the five-ship cap.
Cruise and tourism businesses argue that the Saturday ban would undermine the agreements signed with the city.
“If you create a litigious environment that throws out all the memoranda, people will stop participating. They’ll stop talking, and that’s not how you create a successful and harmonious environment,” said Pierre.
“It’s important this initiative is defeated to show that this isn’t the way to solve growth challenges,” said Alaska Travel’s Simpson. “Collaboration is key for the community to find the right balance.”
Other Alaskan destinations may follow suit with similar ballot measures. In Sitka, Alaska, locals attempted to petition for a ballot measure to restrict cruises, but it was denied by local authorities for not meeting requirements and was “confusing, misleading, and incomplete.”
Correction: This article has been updated to correct the description of agreements between Juneau and cruise lines.
