Royal Caribbean Group Shares Plans to Build New Cruise Port in Juneau

Royal Caribbean Group (parent company of Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, and Silversea Cruises) has announced that it will partner with Goldbelt Incorporated (the urban Alaska Native, for-profit corporation of Juneau) to explore co-developing a new port on Juneau’s Douglas Island. 

Situated on Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act land, the port's preliminary designs have two floating berths that overlook the Chilkat Range. 

Visitors will be transported from their cruise ship through a recreated 1800s Alaska Native Tlingit village. Here they will learn about the region’s ancestral history through stories, art, songs, dance, and traditional foods.

The project plans for visitors to depart directly from West Douglas Island to popular whale-watching tours or shuttle boats to the Mendenhall Glacier to counter downtown Juneau traffic. According to Goldbelt Incorporated, this will remove nearly one-third of the bus traffic from Juneau's most impacted roadways, from downtown Franklin Street to the Glacier Highway. It aims to enhance the overall guest and resident experience, also paying testament to Alaska Native culture.

"Goldbelt has long sought to establish a cruise terminal and destination centered around Tlingit history on the backside of Douglas Island," stated McHugh Pierre, President & CEO of Goldbelt, Inc. "We look forward to the prospect of bringing this sustainable, culture-rich cruise ship terminal to life in partnership with Royal Caribbean Group, providing community solutions to local transportation and economic development issues."

The new port plan includes support for on-site employee housing as well as serving as an economic driver for the second Juneau-Douglas crossing and Douglas Bench Road. The future port’s position on the backside of Douglas Island is located directly on major shipping routes alongside Steven's Passage. The project blueprint would offer an environmental advantage, reducing time, speed, and fuel requirements for ships sailing north to Skagway or west to the Gulf of Alaska. 

"We are thankful to Goldbelt Incorporated and to the Juneau community for the partnership to bring solution-oriented initiatives, such as this port, to life," said Preston Carnahan, AVP West Coast Destinations for Royal Caribbean Group. "We look forward to continuing to support Juneau as the cruise capital of Alaska by offering award-winning guest experiences through responsible destination management."

This is the second project in Juneau between Goldbelt and Royal Caribbean Group. This past season, the two companies worked together to donate wireless internet equipment that provides public access to high-speed Starlink Wi-Fi. 

The agreement between Goldbelt and Royal Caribbean Group has named the Port of Tomorrow as the developer alongside integrated design-builder Turnagain Marine. 

This new Juneau port facility is projected for completion during the 2027 Alaska cruise season.

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