The City of Juneau Just Implemented Restrictions on Cruise Ships

The Alaskan city of Juneau will cap cruise ship visitors in the coming years in an effort to combat overtourism in the popular state capital.

The City and Borough of Juneau (CBJ) reached an agreement with cruise lines to establish limits of 16,000 lower berths per day on Sundays through Fridays and a limit of 12,000 lower berths per day on Saturdays, according to the city. The new agreement will go into effect during the 2026 Alaska cruise season.

Lower berths essentially refer to passenger capacity on a ship.

“The cruise industry is vital to our local economy, and we need to improve our infrastructure and grow our tour capacity to create a great guest experience and reduce impacts on residents,” Juneau Visitor Industry Director Alexandra Pierce said in a statement. “With this agreement, we are committing to a cap to manage our busiest days and to meet annually to ensure that our visitor numbers remain sustainable.”

The agreement was signed by major cruise lines that stop in the city, including Carnival Corporation, Disney Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean, and Norwegian Cruise Line. 

Renée Limoge Reeve, the vice president of government and community relations at the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), said the agreement “reflects the industry’s ongoing commitment to work with CBJ and the residents of Juneau to deliver win-win partnerships.”

This isn’t the first time the city has implemented rules to limit crowds. Last year, the city passed a similar measure limiting large ships to a maximum of five ships on the same day. That agreement went into effect this year. 

Juneau also isn’t alone in placing restrictions on cruise ships. In 2022, the town of Bar Harbor, Maine, voted to limit disembarking passengers to no more than 1,000 people each day; and last year, the California city of Monterey effectively banned cruise ships by voting to terminate city services for them.