Alaska’s cruise market reached 1,785,000 cruise visitors in summer 2024, while the state recorded 2,702,900 summer visitors across air, cruise, and highway/ferry transportation. The figures below show how cruise traffic changed by season, where passengers went, and how vessel capacity was distributed.
Table of contents
- Alaska cruise passenger totals by season
- Leading Alaska cruise ports in 2024
- How major ports compare with 2019
- Smaller Alaska cruise ports and emerging stops
- Cruise passengers in Alaska’s wider visitor market
- 2024 ship capacity and vessel activity
Alaska cruise passenger totals by season
The Alaska Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development’s Commercial Passenger Vessel Tax: FY 2016-2025 report gives a consistent view of statewide summer cruise visitors. The series measures cruise visitors across Alaska’s air, cruise, and highway/ferry transportation markets, so it is distinct from a port-by-port tally of passenger visits.
| Summer season | Cruise visitors |
|---|---|
| 2016 | 1,025,900 |
| 2017 | 1,089,700 |
| 2018 | 1,169,000 |
| 2019 | 1,331,600 |
| 2023 | 1,719,000 |
| 2024 | 1,785,000 |
The statewide total rose from 1,025,900 cruise visitors in summer 2016 to 1,089,700 in 2017. It reached 1,169,000 in 2018 and 1,331,600 in 2019. These are seasonal measurements, not calendar-year totals.
The same report records 1,719,000 summer cruise visitors in 2023 and 1,785,000 in 2024. The 2024 cruise figure sits alongside a total summer visitor count of 2,702,900 for all three transportation markets. That broader number should not be read as cruise-only traffic.
The report also includes a separate 2025 community cruise passenger-volume table. It totals 6,162,573 CLAA-serviced passenger visits across reporting Alaska communities. This is a community-volume measure, not a unique statewide passenger count: one traveler can generate visits at multiple ports during the same itinerary. Comparing it directly with the statewide seasonal cruise-visitor series would mix different measures.
Leading Alaska cruise ports in 2024
Juneau was Alaska’s largest listed cruise destination in 2024, with 1,732,000 cruise passengers. Ketchikan followed with 1,497,700, and Skagway recorded 1,257,000. These three ports formed the largest concentration in the supplied 2024 port figures.
| Port or destination | 2024 cruise passengers |
|---|---|
| Juneau | 1,732,000 |
| Ketchikan | 1,497,700 |
| Skagway | 1,257,000 |
| Glacier Bay | 702,200 |
| Sitka | 602,600 |
| Hoonah, Icy Strait Point | 541,200 |
| Whittier | 240,800 |
| Seward | 220,200 |
Glacier Bay recorded 702,200 cruise passenger visits in 2024, according to Alaska Visitor Volume Summer 2024 & Winter 2024-25. Because this is described as passenger visits, it belongs in the same interpretive category as port or destination volume rather than a unique-person count.
Sitka received 602,600 cruise passengers, while Hoonah’s Icy Strait Point received 541,200. The two Southcentral gateway ports in the supplied figures were Whittier, with 240,800, and Seward, with 220,200. These numbers help distinguish high-volume port calls from the much smaller passenger totals reported for other Alaska communities.
The port figures are useful for trip planning because they indicate the scale of cruise activity at individual destinations. They do not say how many passengers disembarked, stayed overnight, booked an excursion, or visited more than one port. The available measurement is cruise passenger volume for the named port or destination.
How major ports compare with 2019
The same state commercial-passenger-vessel report provides pre-pandemic 2019 figures for many major ports. Juneau had 1,294,598 cruise passengers, Ketchikan had 1,185,753, and Skagway had 1,036,452.
| Port | 2019 cruise passengers | 2024 cruise passengers |
|---|---|---|
| Juneau | 1,294,598 | 1,732,000 |
| Ketchikan | 1,185,753 | 1,497,700 |
| Skagway | 1,036,452 | 1,257,000 |
| Hoonah | 267,013 | 541,200 |
| Sitka | 212,662 | 602,600 |
| Whittier | 193,790 | 240,800 |
| Seward | 237,925 | 220,200 |
Hoonah recorded 267,013 cruise passengers in 2019, compared with 541,200 in 2024. Sitka’s 2019 figure was 212,662, while its 2024 volume was 602,600. The supplied figures therefore show different scales of change among ports, with Sitka and Hoonah having much larger 2024 listed volumes than their 2019 values.
The 2019 figures for Whittier and Seward were 193,790 and 237,925, respectively. In 2024, Whittier’s listed volume was 240,800 and Seward’s was 220,200. These comparisons should remain port-specific because the statewide seasonal series and the community or port measures are not identical.
Several smaller or less frequently listed destinations also had quantified 2019 activity. Anchorage recorded 13,689 cruise passengers, Kodiak recorded 26,259, Wrangell recorded 17,309, and Unalaska received 8,336. Those figures show that Alaska’s cruise network included communities far beyond the largest Southeast ports.
Smaller Alaska cruise ports and emerging stops
The 2024 community figures include a wide range of smaller destinations. Anchorage recorded 9,429 cruise passengers, while Cordova recorded 403. Homer received 3,027, and Klawock had 3,392 in its first reported 2024 season.
Kodiak recorded 20,300 cruise passengers in 2024, and Nome received 3,816. Petersburg recorded 6,139, Saint Paul recorded 1,399, and Unalaska had 13,600. Valdez received 27,500, while Wrangell recorded 16,900.
| Smaller or emerging stop | 2024 cruise passengers |
|---|---|
| Valdez | 27,500 |
| Kodiak | 20,300 |
| Wrangell | 16,900 |
| Unalaska | 13,600 |
| Petersburg | 6,139 |
| Nome | 3,816 |
| Klawock | 3,392 |
| Homer | 3,027 |
| Saint Paul | 1,399 |
| Cordova | 403 |
These values are especially relevant for travelers interested in less concentrated itineraries. A community with 403 reported cruise passengers has a very different visitor scale from a destination with 27,500, even though both are part of the same statewide cruise system. Klawock’s 3,392 passengers are identified as a first reported 2024 season, so that number should be treated as an initial measurement rather than a long historical trend.
Cruise passengers in Alaska’s wider visitor market
Cruise travel is a major component of Alaska tourism, but it is not the entire visitor market. The DAAPS Population and Economic Forecast reports that cruise passengers represented 55% of Alaska visitors during the 2018-2019 visitor-profile period. In the 2022-2023 visitor-profile period, cruise passengers accounted for 43%.
For the complete summer 2023 to spring 2024 data-collection season, the same source reports that cruise passengers made up 56% of Alaska visitors. The periods are not identical, so the percentages should be read as period-specific visitor-profile results rather than as a single uninterrupted annual series.
The Alaska Travel Industry Association’s 2023-2024 Annual Report says that Alaska welcomed more than 3,000,000 visitors between May 2023 and April 2024. That statewide visitor total included cruise travelers and visitors arriving by other modes. The report also describes independent travelers declining from 40% to 35% of Alaska’s total summer visitors in the year summarized, comparing the reported summer with the prior summer.
The Alaska Travel Industry Association’s annual-report page describes 2024-2025 as the state’s second consecutive year with more than 3,000,000 visitors, driven by cruise-industry strength. This is a description of the visitor-volume report for that period, not a cruise-passenger-only total.
Together, these measurements put cruise statistics in context. A cruise passenger percentage describes the composition of the visitor market, while a port total describes passenger volume at a destination. Neither measure alone identifies unique visitors statewide or the number of nights spent in Alaska.
2024 ship capacity and vessel activity
Alaska’s 2024 large-vessel activity can be viewed through the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation’s 2024 Large Commercial Passenger Vessel Report. It lists 1,677,249 total passenger-capacity spaces across reported large-vessel voyages, assuming every voyage sailed at full capacity. This is capacity, not an observed count of passengers who actually sailed.
The report lists Norwegian Bliss with a passenger capacity of 4,002, 29 Alaska voyages, and 116,058 capacity-passenger spaces. Norwegian Encore had capacity of 4,004, made 24 voyages, and represented 96,096 capacity-passenger spaces.
| Vessel | Passenger capacity | Alaska voyages | Capacity-passenger spaces |
|---|---|---|---|
| Norwegian Bliss | 4,002 | 29 | 116,058 |
| Norwegian Encore | 4,004 | 24 | 96,096 |
| Quantum of the Seas | 4,188 | 22 | 92,136 |
| Ovation of the Seas | 4,182 | 21 | 87,822 |
| Majestic Princess | 3,560 | 20 | 71,200 |
| Royal Princess | 3,560 | 19 | 67,640 |
| Koningsdam | 2,650 | 23 | 60,950 |
| Regatta | 684 | 15 | 10,260 |
Quantum of the Seas was listed at 4,188 passengers per voyage, with 22 Alaska voyages and 92,136 capacity-passenger spaces. Ovation of the Seas was listed at 4,182 passengers, 21 voyages, and 87,822 capacity-passenger spaces.
Majestic Princess and Royal Princess each had a listed capacity of 3,560. Majestic Princess made 20 voyages and represented 71,200 capacity-passenger spaces; Royal Princess made 19 voyages and represented 67,640. Koningsdam had capacity of 2,650, made 23 voyages, and represented 60,950 spaces.
At the smaller-capacity end of this selected vessel list, Regatta was listed with capacity of 684, 15 Alaska voyages, and 10,260 capacity-passenger spaces. The contrast between Regatta’s 684-passenger capacity and the more than 4,000-passenger capacities listed for Quantum of the Seas, Ovation of the Seas, Norwegian Bliss, and Norwegian Encore illustrates the range of ship sizes operating in Alaska during 2024.