Juneau Assembly Delays Five-Ship Cruise Limit Ordinance

The Juneau Assembly’s Committee of the Whole voted 5-4 on Monday to delay a proposed ordinance that would place the city’s voluntary limit of five large cruise ships per day into local law. The measure would make it illegal for a sixth large ship to berth within the City and Borough of Juneau.

The decision leaves the existing agreement with cruise lines voluntary and nonbinding while the Assembly awaits recommendations from its Visitor Industry Task Force. Juneau, Alaska’s busiest cruise port, recorded 1,700,842 cruise passengers in 2025, including 1,688,738 aboard large ships.

Bar Harbor ruling shapes legal debate

Juneau and cruise lines began negotiating the daily ship limit in 2023, and it has operated since 2024. The city had not previously attempted to codify the restriction because of uncertainty over whether municipalities could impose their own cruise traffic limits.

That question was tested in Bar Harbor, Maine, where local business owners sued after voters approved a 1,000-passenger daily limit in 2022. A federal judge ruled in May that Bar Harbor could enforce the restriction during the peak months of July and August, when the town showed the greatest impacts.

Juneau City Attorney Emily Wright told Assembly members that the narrower ruling requires the city to document the burdens and benefits of any ordinance. In a memo, she also advised the Assembly to consider less restrictive options and explain why those alternatives were rejected.

“There is no scenario where you don’t get sued in this,” Wright said. She estimated that defending the ordinance could cost Juneau between $1 million and $4 million. She could not predict whether the city would prevail.

Assembly divides over timing

Mayor Beth Weldon proposed the postponement because of the city’s financial position and the pending task force work. Deputy Mayor Greg Smith and Assembly members Nano Brooks, Maureen Hall and Neil Steininger joined her in voting to wait. Alicia Hughes-Skandijs, Christine Woll, Paul Kelly and Ella Adkison opposed the delay.

Weldon said the current agreement qualifies as a less burdensome alternative and that cruise lines have complied. The industry has also accepted a daily passenger ceiling that began this year, later ship arrivals and the elimination of hot berthing.

Smith said the city’s negotiations with cruise operators were producing results. “Don’t kick the dog if it’s not misbehaving,” he said.

Supporters of codification argued that the ordinance should advance to the full Assembly so residents could comment. “I have seen overwhelming support for the five-ship limit,” said Adkison, who chairs the Visitor Industry Task Force. Hughes-Skandijs also noted that the task force’s assigned work did not specifically include deciding whether the cap should become law.

Douglas Island terminal raises capacity questions

The draft ordinance would apply throughout the borough, including Douglas Island, where Goldbelt Inc. is proposing a private terminal with berths for two ships. Woll said the ordinance would carry the existing policy into code and would not prevent the Goldbelt project from proceeding.

Downtown businesses have warned that allocating two of the five calls to the proposed terminal could reduce the number of ships at nearby docks from five to three. Some residents have objected to any scenario that excludes the Douglas facility from the cap, which could allow seven ships and well over 2 million passengers per season.

The Visitor Industry Task Force is scheduled to submit its recommendations this fall. Hughes-Skandijs said that if the Assembly ultimately declines to legislate, she expects residents may pursue another ballot initiative and would likely support that effort after leaving office.

Compare current Alaska cruise fares on Cruise Lookup.