Juneau Cruise Dock Plan Shrinks by Almost Two-Thirds
If you're sailing to Juneau, this concerns the planned Aakw Landing private dock, not existing port infrastructure. Huna Totem still aims for a 2028 opening, but the project must clear Juneau's Planning Commission again for a modified permit, and Bell has acknowledged the timeline could slip. Once operating, it's built for one large ship at a time, up to 4,500 passengers, letting passengers walk into downtown instead of tendering from Gastineau Channel. Check with your cruise line closer to your 2028 sailing for updates on this dock's status.
The numbers here tell the real story: costs jumped from about $150 million in 2023 to more than $250 million now, driven by a yearlong legal appeal, tariffs on steel, and a geotechnical finding that the original waterfront design over pilings wasn't safely buildable. My read is that Huna Totem chose a smaller, single-story build over eating those costs or risking further delay, and cutting underground parking and shoreline construction was the fastest way to make the math work again. Norwegian's original $20 million land purchase in 2019, later donated to Huna Totem, looks like the cheap part of this deal now. Guests lose some retail scale but keep the welcome center, dining, cultural center, and Seawalk extension. If you're booked for a 2028 Juneau call expecting a downtown walk-off dock instead of a tender, I'd watch for permitting news out of the Planning Commission before counting on it.