Votes Against Cruise Restrictions Have the Edge in Juneau, Alaska

The final vote isn’t in yet, but it looks like large cruise ships will continue to be allowed to dock on Saturdays in Alaska’s capital.

A majority of Juneau residents have voted “No” on a ballot measure (called “Ship-Free Saturdays“) that would have banned cruise ships with capacities of over 250 passengers from docking on Saturdays and July 4th, according to election results released on Friday.

Out of the 9,633 votes cast, 5,788 residents voted “No” and 3,751 voted “Yes.” Over 1,000 ballots need to be processed before the the final certification on October 15. The next round of electoral results will be released on October 11.

The vote took place by mail between September 12 and October 1.

“I think that Ship-Free Saturdays is voted down, but it’s possible that the spread may be less than it is now,” said Karla Hart, one of the locals who put the initiative up for a vote, on Thursday.

Cruise Industry Impact

Locals behind the ballot measure say they’ve been pushed out of the city due to overtourism caused by the cruise industry.

Juneau, a city of 32,000 people, received a record 1.65 million visitors last year, according to the city government. On some days, 20,000 cruise passengers arrive at the city.

Juneau is a popular cruise port for Alaska itineraries. Royal Caribbean Group, Norwegian Cruise Line, and Carnival — along with Disney, Viking, and other companies — all offer itineraries that include Juneau.

Hart doesn’t expect the final electoral outcome to change. She said the thousands of votes the measure received will raise awareness that the cruise industry and city leaders need to do more to lessen the impact on locals.

“It’s sort of our job now to move forward over the next few months by giving the leadership a chance to respond in a way that moves us toward some resolution,” said Hart.

Fighting the Ballot Measure

The ballot initiative had unified opposition from the cruise and tourism industries. The Alaska Travel Industry Association had vocally opposed it, and several companies had threatened to sue the city if the measure passed.

Protect Juneau’s Future, a coalition of businesses and cruise lines, will have spent over $600,000 to fight the ballot initiative by the end of the election cycle.

Protect Juneau’s Future Chair McHugh Pierre said on Thursday it was “premature” to claim victory, but “we are winning, and we are interested to see how the results come in.”

If the ballot measure is defeated, it will “send the message that governing by initiative is not the way to address the issue,” said Pierre.

This year, the city and the cruise industry capped the number of large cruise ships docking each day at five. Starting next year, the number of daily passengers will be capped at 16,000 from Sunday to Friday and 12,000 on Saturdays.

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.

Alaska has been a very popular cruise stop this year. “Demand for Alaska, in particular, for this past year was off the charts,” said Josh Weinstein, president, CEO, and chief climate officer, during a third-quarter earnings call.