Alaska Braces for This Year’s Supersize Cruise Season
Photo Credit: Norwegian Bliss is shown in the Lynn Canal in Southeast Alaska in this promotional photo. The destination is anticipating a major increase in passengers this year. Norwegian Cruise Line
Skift Take
Cruise operators go where they see demand, and Alaska has been a hot market for a while now. Will the introduction of more and bigger ships change that dynamic?
Kirby Day remembers the last time cruise passenger growth was exploding in Juneau, Alaska, more than two decades ago: Annual increases approached 14 percent, and locals were worried that the new total of 600,000 visitors was way too much.
"It's interesting at the time that people were thinking that was too many," said Day, Holland America Group's manager of port operations for regions including Alaska and director of Tourism Best Management Practices in Juneau. "We were behind the eight ball, the city was behind the eight ball, people weren't prepared for it."
The refrain sounds familiar this year, with record numbers on tap when the parade of seasonal ships begins Sunday as operators send newer, bigger vessels to a market that has consistently delivered high prices. More than 1.3 million passengers are expected this summer, a 16 percent increase from last year; a single-digit bump on top of this year’s gains is on the horizon for 2020. Juneau, where the vast majority of Ala
