Sitka, a Small Town in Alaska, Resoundingly Rejects Cruise Ship Limits

Sitka resoundingly rejected cruise limits although on busy days visitors outnumber residents (Sitka Sound Cruise Terminal)

Published May 29, 2025 9:19 PM by The Maritime Executive

 

 

There has been a growing focus in many destinations around the world on the challenges as cruise ships get larger and efforts to limit or even ban large cruise ships grow. A small town in southern Alaska, Sitka (population 8,300) however bucked the trend by rejecting proposed cruise ship limits.

A popular cruise ship destination because of its heritage as a Russian outpost in Alaska, Sitka like many ports has grappled with the surge of passengers during the summer busy season. The cruise passenger problem has grown more acute in the small town as the number of visitors more than doubled over two seasons in the years 2022 and 2023. At its peak, the city can receive as many as 13,000 or more visitors a day so that they exceed the number of residents.

Opponents of the cruise ships have been fighting for years to have a public referendum, and they succeeded on their fourth try with a special election called for May 28. The sole issue on the ballot was proposed limits on cruise ships. They called for a daily limit of 4,500 visitors and an annual limit of 300,000 visitors. In addition, they were proposing implementing a permitting system for ship visits and requiring that one day each week be without large cruise ships.

Town fathers however surprised with a total of nearly 3,000 votes cast, higher than the last regular elections and less than 10 percent from their all-time high for a special election. The unofficial results showed 73 percent of the people rejected the limits with only 27 percent (773 people) voting in favor of the proposed limits.

The private operator of the dock however did admit that more than a quarter of the voters supported limits and it said that it was working with the town on possible solutions. Historically, Sitka was an anchorage port with passengers having to land by tender which helped to disperse some of the crowds. The dock, which handles two large cruise ships at a time, requires shuttle buses as it is five miles away, and that people say is part of the problem creating congestion.

The dock operator and tour operators report they are working to build more options to better disperse passengers. They are also working with the cruise lines to stagger the arrival and departure times of the ships and brought in new smaller shuttle buses to also disperse the crowds. Also in a memorandum of understanding with the city, they proposed a limit of 7,000 daily passengers and not accepting ships with more than 1,000 passengers at the dock when the limit would be surpassed.

The outcome of the vote is different from elsewhere in Alaska where efforts to limit cruise ship arrivals have gained momentum. Juneau, a larger city with a population of 31,500, and the trade group Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) agreed to daily limits. Other smaller towns, such as Ketchikan (population 8,000) have also discussed the best steps to manage the volume of visitors.

In 2024, an estimated 1.68 million cruise passengers visited Southeast Alaska, making it a record year for tourism in the region.  The Alaska Travel Industry Association however calculates when cross-gulf and other destinations are included along with the ferries the total in 2024 was 1.785 million people by ship which was two-thirds of the total 2.7 million visitors to the state in 2024. 

Some early forecasts for the 2025 season which began in April projected a leveling off this year due to capacity constraints, but the Port of Seattle forecasted the number could reach as high as 1.9 million cruise visitors from May through October 2025. The following year, 2026, will see further growth as both MSC Cruises and Virgin Voyages launch their first Alaska seasons and for 2027 MSC’s luxury brand Explora Journeys has also announced it will be joining the market. Most analysts agree that Alaska will remain one of the top summer cruise destinations.

Cruise Industry Re-Starts Large Revitalizations as Growth Continues

Rendering showing the new livery after the modernization in 2026 of the Celebrity Solstice (Celebrity Cruises)

Published May 29, 2025 6:45 PM by The Maritime Executive

With strong advance bookings and a positive outlook, the cruise industry is moving forward with the planned but delayed large revitalizations of existing ships. Brands including Royal Caribbean’s Celebrity Cruises, MSC Cruises, and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings’ Regent Seven Seas Cruises have each recently announced large investments into existing ships in the fleet in addition to their newbuilding efforts.

When the COVID-19 pandemic overtook the industry in 2020, plans for the modernization of ships in the fleets were put on hold and canceled as the cruise lines worked to reduce capital expenditures. None of the major brands canceled new ship orders and recently they have placed the first large cruise ship orders since the pandemic. Now with strong demand from travelers, the lines are resuming their efforts at revitalizing existing ships.

The strength of the industry was highlighted last week when the trade group Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) released its 2025 State of the Industry report. It is projecting approximately nine percent growth in passenger counts for its member lines or a total of 37.7 million passengers in 2025. Especially encouraging was the fact that nearly a third (31 percent) of passengers in the past two years on its members’ ships were first-time cruisers.

Celebrity Cruises announced today, May 29, that it is resuming its efforts at modernizing its Solstice class cruise ships. Built by Meyer Werft, the first of the ships, Celebrity Solstice entered service in November 2008 and was scheduled for a large refit as part of the $500 million Revolution program launched in 2018. The program was deferred mid-way due to the pandemic, but now the company reports it is launching a new investment program spending more than $250 million on the five ships of the Solstice class.

Celebrity Solstice (121,878 gross tons) will be first with an extensive dry dock renovation in early 2026 and introduce her new amenities in March 2026. Celebrity reports they will be adding eight new experiences, four new spaces, reinventing outdoor spaces, and a ship-wide stateroom and suite upgrades. All the 1,479 staterooms will be upgraded as well as adding new entertainment venues, an elevated sports bar, a new Italian restaurant, a redone steakhouse, and more. renderings also show a new livery matching the newbuild Celebrity Xcel.

MSC Cruises is undertaking the most extensive renovation since it stretched cruise ships a decade ago. The MSC Magnifica (95,128 gross tons) had been scheduled to be lengthened by 75 feet adding 215 cabins in 2021 at a cost of $143 million. Now the company reports she will undergo a substantial dry dock refurbishment before the summer of 2026. Included in this will be the first time the line has retrofitted its suite enclave concept, the Yacht Club, onto an existing ship.

“The MSC Yacht Club is one of our most highly regarded products, loved by guests for its outstanding level of service, elegant spaces, and exclusive facilities, so we are proud to be bringing this to MSC Magnifica,” said Gianni Onorato, CEO of MSC Cruises. “The extensive remodeling is the largest we’ve undertaken in the last ten years and underlines our commitment to offer our guests the best possible guest experience across our entire fleet.”

Among the changes are 63 suites on the ship which will make up the new club as well as a private sun deck, lounge, and restaurant for the suite club. Other changes include an upgraded spa and fitness center and changes to the spaces dedicated to children. 

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings also recently announced that two ships for Regent Seven Seas Cruises will undergo extensive renovations. Seven Seas Mariner (48,000 gross tons) introduced in 2001 will go into dry dock in Marseille, France in November 2025. Seven Seas Voyager (42,300 gross tons) completed in 2003, will go into dry dock in late April 2026. The company plans investments to refurbish staterooms and upgrade public areas to prepare the ships to match the new cruise ships it introduced in the past few years and is currently building at Fincantieri in Italy.

Other cruise lines are planning similar large investments into existing ships to upgrade them to rival newbuilds. At the same time the industry has according to Seatrade's estimates more than $55 billion in new orders for 69 or more new ships due by the early 2030s.