Thousands affected by Alaskan cancellations as Royal Caribbean fueds with Juneau

• Royal Caribbean have cancelled their Juneau port stops on several upcoming cruises.
• Royal Caribbean and the town of Juneau have had a very fractured relationship over recent years.
• This has included law suits, anti cruise campaigns, the potential building of a new port.

It’s fair to say that recently, Royal Caribbean and Juneau haven’t exactly seen eye to eye. The large cruise line and the small Alaskan town of around 30,000 people have been clashing over their differing visions for the port in Juneau. 

The latest chapter in their rift appears to be the cancellation of stops in Juneau for several Royal Caribbean itineraries, which comes shortly after Juneau increased docking fees about two weeks ago.

Thousands of Royal Caribbean passengers will no longer get to visit Juneau on their cruise, and local businesses will see fewer customers on the days that the Royal Caribbean cruises were set to arrive.

It isn’t yet confirmed if the cruises were cancelled because of the increased fees or the tension between the two parties, but the events appear to be linked.

It remains to be seen if more cruises this season will suffer the same fate.

The tensions between Royal Caribbean and Juneau have been growing over recent years, with Royal Caribbean arranging to build a private port without the Juneau local council being informed.

To understand why Royal Caribbean and this Alaskan town are at odds with each other, here’s what you need to know.

Why are Royal Caribbean and Juneau unhappy with each other?

Last year, when citizens of Juneau put forward a proposal for ‘ship-free Saturdays, Royal Caribbean pushed back heavily and even threatened legal action against the town.

Royal Caribbean also donated $75,000 towards the campaign against the proposal, which totalled about $500,000 in donations. In comparison, the community campaign against the ships raised about $500 to make their case.

The heavy campaign spending was successful, and the vote didn’t pass. However, the issue didn’t end there.

Less than a month later, Royal Caribbean suddenly revealed it would be building its own cruise port in Juneau, something which was apparently news to the Juneau local government, who said they were ‘blindsided’ by the announcement. 

Royal Caribbean is organising the construction of the port with a local Indigenous group, and made the point that its location won’t contribute to traffic in the city, a primary concern of high visitation at the current.

Since then, things have stayed fairly quiet, apart from some unsuccessful attempts from community organisers to put forward another vote on cruise caps and new rules, such as a 1.5 million passenger limit per season.

However, on May 19, Juneau announced higher docking fees at its port, a plan they’ve had for a while that has also faced significant opposition from the cruise industry. 

The local government operates two of the four cruise ship docks in the area, and until now, has charged significantly less than the other two, which are privately owned.

Juneau is expecting to earn a total of about USD$5 million extra throughout the season after the change. Cruise lines are not expected to be happy.

Following this news, some cruises aboard Ovation of the Seas are confirmed to be no longer visiting Juneau. One June sailing and one July sailing each are no longer be visiting Juneau. 

Royal Caribbean told guests it was due to “port availability changes in Juneau, Alaska”. It isn’t known if the cancellations are in relation to the ongoing problems between Royal Caribbean and Juneau, however, it certainly appears to be a factor.

Royal Caribbean doesn’t yet have its private port, but it’s possible the cruise line will look to make a statement and divert even more cruises away from Juneau.

Unfortunately, this means many passengers will miss out on visiting Juneau, a key port in Alaska with plenty of local sights and ecotourism offerings alike.