Alaska ballot initiatives seek to curb cruise ships

[insureman]

Looks like they are taking a page from the Key West playbook to limit cruise ships in Juneau. Too bad.

https://www.juneauempire.com/news/ballot-initiatives-seek-to-curb-cruise-ships/

 

[Cruising Engineer]

Great article on current events with cruise tourism in the capital city. Just like Key West, the residents may want one thing but the state may say something else about limitations and banning cruise ships. We have been on two Alaska cruises so far and found Juneau to be the least hospitable towards tourists of all the ports. We definitely felt the "this is a government city" vibe when walking through the area and visiting the shops. The shopkeepers were extremely friendly and liked to talk about their wares and the native Alaskans that made them. But go to a restaurant or cafe around lunchtime near government buildings and it was a different atmosphere.

 

[DCLDVC1]

I don't have a problem with this or Key West. If the local residents want to limit cruise ships, so be it.

 

[MickeySwirl]

It's certainly a tough issue and unfortunately pits the locals against the rest of the state and the cruisers.

 

[Cheburashka]

It's certainly a tough issue and unfortunately pits the locals against the rest of the state and the cruisers.

I think it's important to remember that "locals" can have different meanings. Some of these tourist areas are now highly gentrified, so that the locals who spend their days there fall into two groups: prosperous residents who can afford to live there and as a result can vote in local elections, and working/lower-middle class workers and shopkeepers, many of whom work in the area all day every day but can't afford to sleep there and as a result cannot vote in local elections, even elections that will decide whether or not their livelihoods will be taken away.

So when you read about "locals" not wanting cruise ships around, realize that is only referring to the ones who are eligible to vote. There can be many other locals who spend their working lives in the area, but have no say over local policy because of their lower income.

 

[MickeySwirl]

I think it's important to remember that "locals" can have different meanings. Some of these tourist areas are now highly gentrified, so that the locals who spend their days there fall into two groups: prosperous residents who can afford to live there and a result can vote in local elections, and working/lower-middle class workers and shopkeepers, many of whom work in the area all day every day but can't afford to sleep there and as a result cannot vote in local elections.

So when you read about "locals" not wanting cruise ships around, realize that is only referring to the ones who are eligible to vote. There can be many other locals who spend their working lives in the area, but have no say over local policy because of their lower income.

This dynamic is true of inland resort towns in the US as well. The people who work there to support the tourists can't afford to live there and commute in from another location.

 

[tvguy]

Great article on current events with cruise tourism in the capital city. Just like Key West, the residents may want one thing but the state may say something else about limitations and banning cruise ships. We have been on two Alaska cruises so far and found Juneau to be the least hospitable towards tourists of all the ports. We definitely felt the "this is a government city" vibe when walking through the area and visiting the shops. The shopkeepers were extremely friendly and liked to talk about their wares and the native Alaskans that made them. But go to a restaurant or cafe around lunchtime near government buildings and it was a different atmosphere.

We've been twice also, but did excursions so never ventured into town.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Some of these tourist areas are now highly gentrified, so that the locals who spend their days there fall into two groups: prosperous residents who can afford to live there and a result can vote in local elections, and working/lower-middle class workers and shopkeepers, many of whom work in the area all day every day but can't afford to sleep there and as a result cannot vote in local elections.

This is a lot less true of Juneau.

Where nonvoters come in is not so much the people living in Wasila as it is "most of the summer staff come from the lower 48 for the summer and would have to find gigs down there instead."

 

[insureman]

The group in Alaska, Global Cruise Activist Network, seems to be part of the network to eliminate cruising altogether. It seems like the anti-cruising groups get most of the press on these issues which unfortunately is not surprising to me.

 

[bigAWL]

Looking at the three ballot initiatives, it doesn't appear they would much affect the Wonder.

• The Wonder is well under the 100,000 tonnage limit. (Can't say blame the residents for not wanting the really big ships there.)
• Based on 2019 schedules, the Wonder docked in Juneau only on Fridays, so the Saturday ban wouldn't directly affect DCL (except the Saturday ships would likely try to squeeze into other days).
• And the Wonder typically docked from 6:45-16:45. So arriving 15 minutes later should be ok.

 

[belle032]

I saw this feeling around Charleston, SC as well. I don't know how prevalent it is overall, but lots of signs in yards and such. They don't want their city used as a cruise port.

 

[ofcabbagesandkings]

I think it would be fair to limit mega ships, if they really are flooding the town with too many people at a time. But the Wonder is relatively small, and most folks go on excursions that don't disrupt the locals, I imagine. I hope we get to visit Juneau again on a future close so we can visit Mendenhall glacier, as we went on a whale watching trip last time.

 

[Snowwhyt]

I just looked it up population it’s around 33,000. So smaller ships seems kinda fair. It could always change later?

 

[Joe Brig]

I don't have a problem with this or Key West. If the local residents want to limit cruise ships, so be it.

There is a bridge into my town. We are going to vote to stop people from crossing it. The people that cross the bridge look funny and pollute a lot.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

FWIW even a lot of the locals who own tourism businesses are in favor of limiting volume. At over a million visitors in 5 months each year, many of them don't feel that the volume can be supported. Most of them bring in 95% of their staff from the lower 48 for summer and have to put them up in bunkhouses.

 

[jtntx34]

I personally would trade a stop in Juneau for Sitka. Juneau was my least
Favorite port personally though I know many who really like it, and I really want to stop there one day.

 

[MomOTwins]

Don't have direct experience living in a cruise ship stop, but I lived a decade in Washington D.C., and am well familiar with the headaches caused by massive tourism influxes. During fourth of july celebrations, inaugurations, protest marches, or cherry blossom season, the downtown area could get so congested you sometimes genuinely couldn't move, and it took 2 hours just to enter a metro station. And even at regular times, navigating around big tour groups on the metro station who weren't used to it was a pain (they'd block the escalators or congregate near the train doors blocking you from getting on or off, sit in the handicapped spots, and the school groups were often loud and roudy). The airport, which I frequented for business travel, was always a zoo. Competition for parking and restaurants was always worst during peak tourist times.

But you know what, there was a reason tourists came to DC and it was because it was an exciting place to be. We spent so many memorable weekends taking our kids to the museums, monuments and parks. We ate at incredible restaurants. We enjoyed many festivals, concerts, and cultural events. We got to live and enjoy a place that was so awesome, people wanted to spend their vacations there. We got to enjoy all the benefits of living in a tourist town year round, and putting up with crowds in the summer and during special events was a fair trade--it wouldn't have been right for us to hoard all the fun and keep out non-residents.

I'd challenge the residents of Key West and Alaska to recognize that places as special as where they live are meant to be shared and enjoyed by everyone.

 

[71 Truck]

Think of this
Could you imagine if Residents of Orange county,Lake county,Polk County and Osceola county Florida voted to limit the number of People aloud to visit the central Florida theme parks due to the volume of tourist in the area and large volume of traffic on the roads.
How well do you this would go over with the tourist and the people who earn their living in the tourist industry.

 

[Ronneeaght]

I personally would trade a stop in Juneau for Sitka. Juneau was my least
Favorite port personally though I know many who really like it, and I really want to stop there one day.

This was my exact thought. I did enjoy my visit to Juneau (touring the Alaskan Brewing Company was SUPER interesting), but I'd be really interested in a stop in Sitka.

 

[bwmjam]

Hello, do you know how much we paid for excursions on our Alaska cruise? It cost almost as much as the cruise itself. People in Alaska are making big bucks off of cruise tourists - helicopter tours, boat tours, plane tours, etc. There is no way those businesses want to lose business - it's too good a racket. I'm still in shock I paid $600/pp for my family to take a helicopter ride.