What do you think? It’s pretty nice having just one or two mega-cruise ships in town each day as we have been enjoying the past couple weeks. I could get used to that schedule really fast! Nevertheless, the City and Borough of Juneau leadership believes we must have five mega-ships and a variety of “small” cruise ships (those under 950 passengers) every day since the industry evidently won’t settle for less. So don’t get too comfortable driving downtown or visiting the glacier because as of May 6, our town of 31,000 is greeting four to six jumbo cruise ships nearly every day till well after Labor Day.
Are you already looking forward to the Fourth of July celebrations? Get to your favorite parade-watching spot early: on Tuesday, July 4, we will be sharing our holiday with 23,000 cruise passengers if the six ships in port that day are near-capacity.
Here’s a suggestion: add the Tourism Hotline number (907)586-6774 to your cellphone or keep the email address handy: hotline@traveljuneau.com. When that tourist van sits for 10 minutes at the trailhead with its engine idling, when the tourist bus dallies down Egan at 45 mph as the driver points out the bald eagles, or when the bike tour leader has her group slow down and pull over to the side of the trail so you can pass, give the hotline a call with your complaint or your compliment. Cruising has consequences; our community is the priority!
Sue Schrader,
West Juneau
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