Juneau Alaska

1819 Cruises availables At departure or passage at this port

American Cruise Lines (198 Cruises)

American Constellation

217 Passengers
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American Constitution

217 Passengers
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Carnival Cruise Line (53 Cruises)

Celebrity Cruises (112 Cruises)

Cruise celebrity edge ship

Celebrity Edge

2918 Passengers
130818 tons
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Cruise CEL Celebrity Ship Solstice

Celebrity Solstice

2852 Passengers
121878 tons
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Cruise CEL Celebrity Ship Summit

Celebrity Summit

2218 Passengers
91003 tons
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Disney Cruise Line (19 Cruises)

Holland America Line (368 Cruises)

Cruise HAL Holland America Line ms Eurodam ship

ms Eurodam

2104 Passengers
86273 tons
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Cruise HAL Holland America Line ms Koningsdam ship

ms Koningsdam

2650 Passengers
99836 tons
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Cruise HAL Holland America Line ms Nieuw Amsterdam ship

ms Nieuw Amsterdam

2106 Passengers
86273 tons
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ms Nieuw Statendam.

ms Nieuw Statendam

2666 Passengers
99902 tons
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Cruise HAL Holland America Line ms Noordam ship

ms Noordam

1972 Passengers
82897 tons
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Cruise HAL Holland America Line ms Westerdam ship

ms Westerdam

1968 Passengers
82862 tons
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Cruise HAL Holland America Line ms Zaandam ship

ms Zaandam

1432 Passengers
61396 tons
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Lindblad Expeditions (44 Cruises)

National Geographic Quest

National Geographic Quest

135 Passengers
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National Geographic Venture.

National Geographic Venture

150 Passengers
2920 tons
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Norwegian Cruise Line (128 Cruises)

Cruise NCL Norwegian Cruise Line Bliss Ship

Norwegian Bliss

4004 Passengers
168000 tons
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Norwegian Jade

2402 Passengers
93558 tons
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Oceania Cruises (26 Cruises)

Cruise OCE Oceania Cruises Riviera ship

Oceania Riviera

1250 Passengers
66084 tons
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Princess Cruises (310 Cruises)

Cruise PCL Princess Coral ship

Coral Princess

2000 Passengers
91627 tons
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Cruise PCL Princess Crown Ship

Crown Princess

3080 Passengers
113561 tons
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Discovery Princess.

Discovery Princess

3660 Passengers
145 tons
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Cruise PCL Princess Emerald ship

Emerald Princess

3080 Passengers
113561 tons
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Cruise PCL Princess Island Ship

Island Princess

2200 Passengers
92822 tons
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Star Princess.

Star Princess

2600 Passengers
108977 tons
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Regent Seven Seas Cruises (86 Cruises)

Cruise REG Regent Seven Seas Cruises Explorer ship

Seven Seas Explorer

1294 Passengers
55254 tons
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Seven Seas Splendor.

Seven Seas Splendor

1296 Passengers
55254 tons
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Royal Caribbean Cruises (122 Cruises)

Quantum of the Seas ship

Quantum of the Seas

4152 Passengers
168666 tons
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royal caribbean  serenade of the seas cruise ship

Serenade of the Seas

2110 Passengers
90090 tons
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royal caribbean voyager of the seas cruise ship

Voyager of the Seas

3286 Passengers
137276 tons
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Seabourn Cruise Line (106 Cruises)

Seabourn Encore.

Seabourn Encore

40350 tons
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Silversea Cruises (99 Cruises)

Silver Moon

Silver Moon

1007 Passengers
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Cruise SIL Silversea Cruises Silver Muse ship

Silver Muse

1007 Passengers
40700 tons
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Cruise SIL Silversea Cruises Silver Whisper ship

Silver Whisper

694 Passengers
28258 tons
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Viking Ocean Cruises (85 Cruises)

Viking Orion.

Viking Orion

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Viking Venus

Viking Venus

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Port of Juneau, Alaska | Cruise Port Guide

No road leads to Juneau. Alaska's capital can only be reached by sea or by air, wedged between the Gastineau Channel and mountains covered in rainforest that rise straight up behind the streets. The ship threads its way in at the end of a long corridor of dark water, often beneath a ceiling of clouds caught on the peaks, with bald eagles perched on the pilings. The stop opens up three worlds in a single day: a small frontier town, a glacier, and whales.

A Dock Right Downtown

Ships dock along the waterfront, just steps from Franklin Street and its gold rush-era façades. The whole downtown can be explored on foot. Shops sit alongside the Red Dog Saloon, with its sawdust-covered floor and prospector memorabilia, and, a few streets up, the modest state capitol, which many visitors mistake for a plain office building. Juneau owns that mix: a city of civil servants and fishermen, born of a gold strike in 1880, that today lives by the rhythm of the tides and the ships.

Mount Roberts, the Immediate Ascent

Directly above the dock, the Mount Roberts Tramway lifts its cars more than 500 metres above the channel. In six minutes, the town shrinks away and the forest takes over. Up top, developed trails wind between spruce and hemlock, with sweeping views down over the ships and, often, porcupines or Sitka deer along the path. A visitor centre presents Tlingit culture, whose memory this land carries. On a clear day, it's the first thing to do once off the gangway, before the clouds close back over the view.

Mendenhall Glacier

About twenty kilometres from the dock, at the end of a valley reached by a half-hour drive, Mendenhall Glacier descends from the Juneau Icefield down to its iceberg-studded lake. The visitor centre overlooks the scene, and a flat trail of about two kilometres leads to Nugget Falls, a curtain of water falling just beside the glacier's face. The ice, deep blue in its crevasses, retreats a little further every year; guides point out markers showing its former extent, a full-scale lesson in climate change. Shuttles and excursions run back and forth from the dock; in summer, black bears sometimes come to fish for salmon in Steep Creek, right beneath the viewing platforms.

The Whales of Auke Bay

The other great encounter happens out on the water. From Auke Bay, a half-hour drive away, whale-watching boats head out to meet the humpback whales that spend the summer in these rich waters. Sightings are so reliable that most operators guarantee them. Watch for the distant spout, then the tail rising before the dive; with luck, a group may practise bubble-net feeding, a rare cooperative hunting technique better observed here than almost anywhere else. Sea lions, seals, and bald eagles round out the scene almost every time. Several excursions combine whales and glacier in the same half-day, the most efficient option for this stop.

A Taste of Alaska

Between outings, the waterfront shacks serve king crab legs straight from the steamer, fried halibut, and salmon in every form. Nothing fancy, everything fresh. Meals are eaten facing the channel, watching the floatplanes take off and land without pause, the everyday taxis of a territory with no roads.

Leaving the Channel

On departure, the ship sails back down the Gastineau between mountains that darken as the light fades. Juneau's lights quickly disappear behind a headland, leaving only the forest, the water, and the shifting sky of Southeast Alaska. That may be the real lesson of this stop: the town was only a parenthesis. Here, nature doesn't frame the landscape. It is the landscape.

Frequently Asked Questions

At the downtown docks, at the foot of the mountain. It is one of the rare Alaska calls where you step ashore right in town: shops, restaurants and museums begin a few minutes' walk away.
Downtown, yes, entirely, and the Mount Roberts Tramway leaves from the dock itself. For Mendenhall Glacier, about twenty kilometres out, you need a shuttle, taxi or excursion.
About twenty kilometres from downtown, roughly 25 minutes by shuttle or taxi. The visitor centre looks straight at the glacier face, and short trails lead to nearby Nugget Falls.
Mendenhall Glacier first, then the Mount Roberts Tramway or downtown on foot. Adding a whale-watching trip the same afternoon is ambitious.
A cable car leaving directly from the dock and climbing about 550 metres above the city in a few minutes. At the top: forest trails, views over Gastineau Channel and a Tlingit cultural centre.
Yes, it is one of Alaska's best calls for it. Trips leave from Auke Bay, about twenty minutes from downtown, and regularly encounter humpbacks and orcas from May to September.
Because no road connects it to the rest of the continent: mountains, glaciers and fjords block every route. It is the only US state capital in that situation, and it shapes all of local life.
The US dollar and English, with Tlingit present in place names and local culture. Credit cards are accepted everywhere.
Cool and wet: Juneau is among the rainiest cities in the United States. Dress in layers with a rain shell, even in July, and bring shoes that grip when wet.
Yes. The tramway leaves from the dock, the glacier is viewed without difficult walking, and the whales leave a lasting impression on young visitors. Above all, bring rain gear.