Alaska recorded more cruise passengers than ever last year. But that growth has stressed out locals and infrastructure in some communities, such as Juneau, where in June officials struck a deal with cruise lines to limit lower berths starting in 2026. Tyler Hickman, senior vice president of Icy Strait Point, a cruise port less than 70 miles from Juneau, spoke with cruise editor Andrea Zelinski about how the destination, and others being built by parent company Huna Totem Corp., can help absorb the state's growing cruise crowds.
Tyler Hickman
Q: What is the Icy Strait Point experience like right now?
A: After 20 years, it has changed dramatically. We've got two cruise ship docks. We have gondolas that spread people out to get their own little piece of Alaska. When ships arrive, you don't see buses, you don't see parking lots, you don't see busy downtown areas. You see the wilderness.
Q: Can you accommodate more than two ships?
A: We'll have days where we'll have up to five ships in port. It's more about the arrival times of the ships. Sometimes the ships will go back-to-back on the docks. The property is huge. Our parent corporation, Huna Totem, owns 32,000 acres of land in and all around Icy Strait Point. It's private land, so we actually have the ability to design the experience and spread people out. When we put in the second cruise ship dock that opened in 2021, we put it a half a mile away from the first dock because we could. Everybody else would have just stacked them on top of each other.
Q: Juneau is capping lower berths. What does that mean for Icy Strait Point?
A: Hopefully more ships. We still have plenty of capacity. We still have open days available, and we can take those guests and give them this great experience that you just can't get anywhere else. It's very different than just walking into a busy downtown area as you step off the ship.
Q: What was the reaction to Juneau's berth cap?
A: There is great interest in bringing more ships here because we can do it, and we can still give people a great experience. When you hear from communities around Alaska that are pushing back on the number of cruise passengers, locally we hear from residents that, 'Hey, we want more.' Part of that is because of the private port experience. We're a mile and a half from the town. Probably 20% to 25% of the guests will independently go into the town of Hoonah. It doesn't impact the community like it does in other places. Many local businesses have flourished and have built businesses off the industry. Hoonah has a population of 921 people. Last year, the economic impact from the cruise port was more than $12 million to the community.
Q: Are there plans to build additional ports or berths?
A: Huna Totem is in the port development business. We're opening up a port in Whittier this summer. That's going to be a turnaround port, and that place is spectacular. We're looking forward to getting it open. We did open Port Klawock on Prince of Wales Island. We got that open this year, and we're looking at more.
Q: Is there a need to tap the brakes on cruising volume in Alaska?
A: I don't think Alaska needs to tap the brakes at all. I think there's demand, and we can help cruise companies with itineraries that are out of the usual. Before, there was a lot of hesitation to do itineraries without Juneau or Skagway. There are companies that do it, and then they come back and go, "Yeah, that was great. It sold well." The feedback that we're getting is that you don't have to have Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway in every itinerary. And now that the hand is getting forced, we're showing that there are a lot of great places in Alaska.