Alaska continues to be one of the most popular cruise destinations setting new passenger records since resuming operations after the pandemic. Based on the popularity with travelers seeking to experience the wilderness and scenery of Alaska, both MSC Cruises and Virgin Voyages announced they will enter the market in 2026.
Final figures for the 2024 Alaska cruise season are yet to be released, but the last cruise ship of the year, the Norwegian Jewel departed Vancouver, Canada on October 29, more than seven months after the Disney Wonder started the season in Canada on March 11. Both Vancouver and Juneau, Alaska, released data highlighting that it was another record year and the second straight record after the pandemic. Vancouver reopened to cruises for the 2022 season and quickly resumed the strong growth in passenger numbers.
The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority is reporting that it recorded a seven percent increase in passengers for 2024. It welcomed 327 cruise ship visits and a total of 1.32 million passengers. This was an increase of more than 80,000 people over 2023.
Juneau is reporting an even higher total as not all cruise ships to Alaska call in Vancouver. The capital of Alaska calculates that 1,677,935 passengers arrived aboard cruise ships during its 2024 season. This was a small percentage increase (2.4 percent) or just over 39,000 passengers, but part of it is due to the high occupancy on Alaska cruises. In 2023, cruise ships calling at Juneau averaged 101 percent occupancy (meaning they had more than two people in every cabin) and in 2024 the average increased to 104 percent of capacity.
Alaska cruises are capacity constrained with many of the ships selling out for the season. The market also commands premium prices which make it especially attractive for the cruise lines despite the limited season and the cost of repositioning ships each spring and fall. Many of the ships winter in the Caribbean requiring a Panama Canal transit to reach Alaska.
The high occupancy and total passenger counts caused concerns in Juneau with demands to impose caps. The city and the cruise industry agreed to a daily limit of five ships. Residents however recently voted down an additional limit that would have excluded large cruise ships for the port on Saturdays and the July 4 holiday.
The limits on ships and capacity constraints led Juneau tourism manager Alexandra Pierce to predict that the passenger count will plateau in 2025. Early forecasts for next year show the total slipping to 1,625,950 passengers, which would be below the 2023 figure.
The popularity of the market however is also attracting more cruise lines. MSC Cruises announced it will make Seattle its fifth U.S. homeport starting in May 2026. The company plans a unique repositioning which will see MSC Poesia (92,627 tons with a capacity for 3,223 passengers) sailing from Civitavecchia, Italy in April to Miami and then the following day departing for the Panama Canal and Alaska. It will offer MSC’s first cruises to Alaska operating seven-day trips from Seattle between May and September.
Virgin Voyages also announced that its fourth cruise ship, Brilliant Lady (110,000 gross tons) will sail from Seattle and Vancouver for seven to 12-night cruises to Alaska between May and September 2026. The cruise ship was delivered earlier this year by Fincantieri but is laid up and not due to enter service till September 2025 sailing first on the U.S. East Coast and then to the Caribbean.
Royal Caribbean Group has also announced plans to expand its presence in 2025 with additional cruise ships and recently reached an agreement to develop a new private cruise terminal in Juneau. Due to open in 2027, the port at Goldbelt would have two berths for large cruise ships, a location for staging shore excursions, and a recreated Tlingit village.
Juneau officials were surprised by Royal Caribbean’s announcement. While it would move ships and passengers away from downtown, others are concerned that it would bypass the efforts to limit daily passenger counts. Norwegian Cruise Line had also proposed to build an additional dock in downtown Juneau to further increase the capacity to handle large ships.