It’s anchors aweigh for Juneau’s cruise season. The last ship, the Norwegian Encore, leaves Tuesday night. And it won’t be back til next year… despite its ironic name.
This year’s season kicked off relatively smoothly compared to last year’s tumultuous season amid federal layoffs and economic uncertainty. The final tally of passengers who stepped off cruise ships into Juneau this year hasn’t been released yet, but it’s expected to be close to 1.7 million people.
This was the first year Juneau implemented a cap on the number of daily passengers that come off cruise ships: 16,000 people on most days and 12,000 on Saturdays – limits that were negotiated with cruise lines. In previous seasons, Juneau could see up to 21,000 visitors on its busiest days.
City officials said the goal of the cap is to provide some stability to residents while both curbing future growth and protecting local businesses that rely on the industry.
Juneau did face one major curveball this season, which was the unexpected closure of Goldbelt’s Tram downtown. It’s been closed off to riders for almost the entire season after it crashed at the end of April. The tram is one of Juneau’s most popular visitor attractions, bringing hundreds of thousands of riders up and down Mount Roberts each summer.
Goldbelt says it plans to have it reopened before next season.
Tonight, once the Norwegian Encore leaves at 10 p.m., Juneau won’t see another cruise ship until next year. The first ship of the 2027 season is slated to arrive on Saturday, April 24.
