Why some Juneau residents want to ban cruise ships on Saturdays this election — and what’s at stake if it passes

Imagine one day a week in the summertime when there are no large cruise ships floating in the harbor, no tourists bustling down the docks and no buses driving people to the Mendenhall Glacier. 

If Proposition 2 is passed by Juneau voters this fall, that could become a reality.

The proposition, known as Ship Free Saturdays, asks voters whether to ban all cruise ships that carry 250 or more passengers from visiting on Saturdays and on the Fourth of July as soon as next summer. Throughout the spring, supporters gathered over 2,300 signatures to get it on the ballot. 

Advocates for the proposition say enough is enough and the reins need to be pulled on the growth of tourism, but opponents say the financial and legal implications could hurt the local economy.

Who’s for it, and who’s against it?

Karla Hart is a longtime activist against tourism growth in Juneau. She was at the forefront of getting the proposition on the ballot. 

“Ship-Free Saturdays would give us a relief,” she said during a recent forum. “Every week we will have one day of a pause. We can breathe, we can do things in our homes without helicopter noise. We can go out in the community and not be diluted by all the people who are here who aren’t from here.”

According to data provided by the city, Juneau’s cruise passenger volume has more than tripled in the last three decades.

At the forum, Hart and other residents like Steve Krall said the growth of tourism has drowned them out. Krall said they simply want one day a week during the summer to get a break from it. 

“What would we do if we had Saturdays? We’d actually live our lives like we used to, like we hoped to,” he said. “I used to be able to launch a kayak from downtown. I’ve got a sailboat, I could sail it in the harbor. I could actually maybe walk downtown and not wonder if I was going to get hit by a car.”

Hart said the Ship Free Saturdays campaign is a grassroots effort made up of everyday residents. According to campaign finance records, the group has only raised $380.

On the other side, hundreds of thousands of dollars have poured in from cruise ship company affiliates and businesses that want to stop the proposition in its tracks. Campaign records show that the group advocating against the proposition, Protect Juneau’s Future, has raised more than $300,000. That money has gone toward banners across town, social media ads and mailers. Big donors for the opposition campaign include a Norwegian Cruise Line affiliate and Westmark Hotels, which have each given $75,000 to the cause. 

It’s not just big companies that are against the proposition — many local businesses are too. Wings Airways & Taku Glacier Lodge, a local tourism business, has donated $10,000. Holly Johnson is its chief marketing officer.   

“This is not about Saturdays. It will never be good enough,” Johnson said at a panel hosted in August. “All days of the week would never be good enough for the people that are really pushing this. But they tacked on to something that was really emotional.”

Johnson and other members of Protect Juneau’s Future said during the panel that their businesses rely on tourism, and even taking away one day of the week would be a major financial blow.

According to data shared by the city, cruise visitors to Juneau in 2023 directly spent $30 million on Saturdays alone. They also produced $3.7 million in revenue for the city on those days. 

McHugh Pierre is the president and CEO of Goldbelt, Inc., a local Alaska Native corporation. The company owns the popular Goldbelt Tram tourist attraction downtown and has invested millions into a gondola project at Eaglecrest Ski Area. 

“I don’t want to be told when to do things and when not to do things, because when does it stop and start? Is it just visitors on Saturdays? Is it truck drivers on Tuesdays? Is it cultural storytellers on Wednesdays?” Pierre said during the August panel. “I don’t like any of it. It’s bad, and we just need to vote against it.”

What happens if it passes?

Some companies are already putting legal pressure on the city too, according to Juneau Municipal Attorney Emily Wright. 

“If this moves forward we likely would get sued,” she said in an interview.

Since April, the city has received three letters threatening lawsuits if voters pass the proposition. 

In a letter sent to the city attorney’s office in June, Royal Caribbean Cruises called the proposition unlawful under state and federal law. Allen Marine Tours said it violated federal maritime law and citizens’ constitutional right to travel. And, a law firm that represents the privately owned A.J. Dock also voiced legal concerns. 

“We could have multiple lawsuits that come in that get joined together because it’s the same issue. We could have the dock owners. We could have businesses who are having their businesses impacted. We’ve got the two private docks, and then we’ve got the cruise lines themselves,” Wright said. 

If voters pass the proposition, it becomes law. That means it’s the city’s responsibility to defend against lawsuits — using taxpayer dollars. 

This wouldn’t be the first time the city has been sued over conflicts with cruise lines. The industry previously sued Juneau over how it spends the money earned from passenger fees.

That three-year legal fight was settled in 2019. Juneau agreed to pay Cruise Lines International Association Alaska $1.5 million to cover legal fees, and both parties agreed to settle future disputes outside of court.

Juneau’s law department is closely watching a legal battle over limiting cruise ships in Bar Harbor, Maine. That’s where a ballot initiative to limit cruise passengers passed in 2022. A local business group tried unsuccessfully to sue the town and is in the process of appealing the ruling. 

Wright said if Ship Free Saturdays passes in Juneau, there could be injunctions filed over the proposition.

“An injunction means to stop something. So we would say, ‘Okay, guys, you’re not allowed here on Saturdays’ and the cruise ships would ask the court to stop us from enforcing that until the court makes a final decision about whether this is legal or not,” she said.

The business group in Bar Harbor tried to do that but failed. Wright said it’s hard to know how things will play out in Juneau if it comes to that. 

Voters have until Tuesday, Oct. 1 to make their choice. The final results of the by-mail election won’t be certified until Oct. 15. 

Find more election coverage at ktoo.org/elections.