Clarise Larson

1 week ago | alaskapublic.org | Clarise Larson

Safety cameras along the Juneau Seawalk, a covered bus stop in the Mendenhall Valley and public Wi-Fi downtown are some of the new projects that could be funded by the fees paid by cruise ship passengers this year. Every season, the City and Borough of Juneau collects a $5 fee from each cruise ship passenger who comes into port. That money is pooled together and can go toward paying for projects in Juneau that serve visitors or ease tourism impacts on locals.

1 week ago | ktoo.org | Clarise Larson |Yvonne Krumrey

https://media.ktoo.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/14firstship_.wavThe Norwegian Bliss and its more than 4,000 passengers arrived in Juneau this afternoon to kick off the 2025 cruise ship season. City officials say tourism this year is uncertain, but visitors and vendors started the season with  optimism. The familiar sounds of tourists chatting on the seawalk, shuttle buses in the street and chicken sizzling at Bernadette’s barbecue filled the air.

1 week ago | ktoo.org | Clarise Larson

Safety cameras along the Juneau Seawalk, a covered bus stop in the Mendenhall Valley and public Wi-Fi downtown are some of the new projects that could be funded by the fees paid by cruise ship passengers this year. Every season, the City and Borough of Juneau collects a $5 fee from each cruise ship passenger who comes into port. That money is pooled together and can go toward paying for projects in Juneau that serve visitors or ease tourism impacts on locals.

1 week ago | ktoo.org | Clarise Larson

The first cruise ship of the 2025 tourism season, the Norwegian Bliss, is set to sail into Gastineau Channel and arrive in downtown Juneau Monday afternoon. The season kicks off as the Trump Administration’s tariffs shake the global economy and federal firings leave dozens of residents in Juneau without jobs. Juneau’s Tourism Director Alix Pierce said that puts the city’s tourism industry in a state of uncertainty.

2 weeks ago | alaskapublic.org | Clarise Larson

Less than a year after Juneau voters shot down a ballot initiative to ban large cruise ships on Saturdays, advocates are trying again to put hard limits on tourism’s growth. On Monday, local advocates went to City Hall to file a petition that would impose a five-ship daily limit, cap the annual number of passengers at 1.5 million a year and impose a daily limit of 16,000 people on most days and 12,000 on Saturdays.