Seven-ships-a-day future? City officials looking at big jump in visitors with Goldbelt’s private cruise port

"Additional berths signal future growth," director of community development tells Juneau Assembly ahead of Monday meeting that includes update about project

A proposed two-ship private cruise ship port on land along northwest Douglas Island owned by Goldbelt Inc. is shown in a conceptual illustration. (Image by Port of Tomorrow MG)

By Mark Sabbatini

Juneau Independent

Juneau may soon have seven cruise ship berths, so it’s time to start considering tourism growth beyond the current voluntary five-ship-a-day agreement with the cruise industry, city administrators are telling the Juneau Assembly.

A private two-berth cruise port on Goldbelt Inc. land along the west side of Douglas Island is scheduled to be discussed by the Assembly at a Committee of the Whole meeting at 6 p.m. Monday. City leaders have previously stated there was at least a strong probability the five-ship limit would apply to the new dock — meaning a dispersal of existing total passengers rather than an increase of them — but memos for Monday’s meeting are striking a different tone.

"Even with current visitation limits in place through 2027, additional berths signal future growth," Jill Lawhorne, community development director for the City and Borough of Juneau, wrote on Thursday. "Infrastructure capacity must be evaluated to match potential increases in visitors."

Goldbelt has stated its goal is to open the port, named Goldbelt Aaní, for the 2028 cruise ship season. Among the possible impacts noted in documents for Monday’s meeting is "500,000 Royal Caribbean guests to (Mendenhall) Glacier" who would bypass downtown getting there from the West Douglas port.

CBJ Tourism Director Alexandra Pierce, in her report to the Assembly, notes "the Assembly’s current direction to staff, which is supported by several years of community survey data, is to maintain visitor volume at a steady level." However, she stated that seven cruise berths will "substantially increase the community’s visitor capacity" and city leaders should be thinking ahead accordingly.

"To responsibly consider this level of potential growth, CBJ must evaluate both the offsite impacts and the capacity of Juneau’s infrastructure to accommodate increased visitation," she wrote.

Pierce recommends Juneau’s Visitor Industry Task Force be asked "to develop 10-year tourism goals for Juneau, including data-supported parameters for sustainable growth." That would be a change from current policy that sought to reduce the adverse impacts of current tourism levels on local residents.

Juneau has set records with between 1.6 million and 1.7 million cruise passengers during the past three years. The voluntary five-ship limit went into effect during the 2024 season, with passenger numbers remaining high as ships of continuously increasing size visit Juneau.

In addition to the five-ship limit, a similar voluntary pact setting a limit of 16,000 cruise passengers a day (12,000 on Saturdays) is set to take effect next year, Pierce wrote. She stated consideration of expanding tourism beyond those limits will largely involve assessing the city’s land-use permitting and master planning — but measures beyond the city’s bureaucratic processes are possible as well.

One such measure is formal berthing agreements the city is already working on with cruise companies, which would bring more predictability to the dates and times of dockings, she noted. Another possibility is legislating passenger limits, but she cautions there are risks about their legality that could make Juneau "a model for other communities or a cautionary tale."

Goldbelt, along with the Port of Tomorrow Management Group, earlier this month submitted a narrative for a conditional use permit application to build the infrastructure to support the private cruise port. The document details a range of anticipated benefits including increased local economic activity, infrastructure improvements and reduced congestion downtown.

Two project officials met with Lawhorne and another CBJ official on Oct. 21 to discuss the proposal and permitting process. A summary of the meeting being presented to the Assembly notes discussion items included the 500,000 potential glacier tourists, how staff will be housed and emergency services plans.

Also discussed with the project officials — one representative each from Royal Caribbean and Turnagain Marine Construction — was Juneau’s five-ship limit.

"Applicant was not aware of the limit; staff referred applicant to follow up with Tourism Director," the summary notes.

• Contact Mark Sabbatini at editor@juneauindependent.com or (907) 957-2306.