Juneau cruise port

Mendenhall Glacier, humpbacks and king crab, steps from a downtown dock.

Juneau is Alaska’s capital and the busiest stop on every Inside Passage cruise, with four downtown docks along South Franklin Street, so most ships put you a few minutes’ walk from the shops, the Red Dog Saloon and the Mount Roberts tram base. Nearly everyone does one of two things: a bus or helicopter to Mendenhall Glacier, 12 miles out, or a whale-watching boat from Auke Bay, where humpbacks are so reliable the operators guarantee a sighting. SmartCruiser lists every cruise that calls at Juneau from every line, priced with taxes and fees included, with the sailings that carry SmartCruiser bonus onboard credit or instant savings at the top.

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Docked4 downtown docks; tender only on 5-ship days
USD, Alaska timeone hour behind Seattle and Vancouver
Jun to Augwarmest and driest, highs 60 to 70
All inevery price includes taxes and fees
Start here

Three ways to do Juneau

Pick the glacier, the whales or the town on foot, and the buttons filter the list of sailings below by where they leave from or how long they run.

Glacier

Mendenhall Glacier and Nugget Falls

  • A 1.5-mile glacier face with a visitor center, the easy 2-mile round-trip trail to Nugget Falls and bears on Steep Creek in late summer
  • Shuttle buses from the docks run about $45 to $50 round trip; a ship excursion with a guide and timed return is about $70 to $90
  • Helicopter landings on the icefield, with or without dog sledding, run about $600 to $800 and sell out months ahead

Best for: first-timers, families, photographers

Whales

Humpbacks guaranteed from Auke Bay

  • Three to four hour boat trips from Auke Bay, 12 miles from the docks, with a bus transfer included; about $150 to $190 per person
  • May through September the humpbacks are feeding; many operators refund if you see none, and orcas and sea lions are common bonuses
  • Combination tours add a Mendenhall stop or the salmon bake and run about $190 to $300

Best for: couples, wildlife lovers, anyone who has seen a glacier already

Town

Juneau on foot

  • The Goldbelt Tram climbs 1,800 feet from the dock to trails and the Mountain House, about $60 adults when running (closed after an April 2026 incident; check status before you count on it)
  • Tracy’s King Crab Shack is a block from the Franklin Dock; the Red Dog Saloon, the Alaska State Museum and the State Capitol are all within a half mile
  • The Sea Walk connects the docks, and the AJ Dock shuttle into town is about $5

Best for: budget days, mobility-limited travelers, repeat Alaska cruisers

Live from the cruise lines

Juneau cruises: SmartCruiser picks first

Every cruise that calls at Juneau from every line, priced live with taxes, fees and port expenses included. The picks at the top are sailings where booking with SmartCruiser gets you something extra: instant savings or bonus onboard credit. Below them, every other sailing that stops here, with full sorting by home port, line, month, length and price.

SmartCruiser picks

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Every cruise that calls at Juneau

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Prices are per person, double occupancy, in US dollars, and include cruise fare, taxes, fees and port expenses as published by the cruise line at the moment you load this page. Fares are capacity controlled and change daily; the fare is confirmed when you book. Flights, hotels and transfers are extra unless the line’s offer says otherwise. SmartCruiser instant savings and bonus onboard credit are provided by SmartCruiser on top of the cruise line’s price and are not available when booking direct; amounts are per stateroom, vary by stateroom category and are shown for the lowest category offered. Special SmartCruiser rates are pricing SmartCruiser holds on that sailing for its clients, with extra onboard credit; you book your own stateroom and travel on your own. Senior fares apply to guests 55 and over; resident fares need proof of residency in a listed state or province at check-in; police and fire fares apply to active or retired police, fire and EMT personnel with ID. Qualifier-fare savings are measured against the best fare the cruise line offers the general public for the same stateroom category on the day the list was pulled, updated weekly.

In port

Things to do in Juneau

Most ships give you eight to twelve hours here, enough for one big tour plus the town; here is how to spend them.

Mendenhall GlacierAlaska’s most visited glacier, 12 miles from the docks: visitor center, the flat 2-mile Nugget Falls trail and Steep Creek salmon and bears in July and August. Shuttles from the pier run about $45 to $50 round trip; the $2 city bus stops 1.5 miles short of the visitor center.
Whale watching from Auke BayThree to four hour trips with a guaranteed humpback sighting from May through September, about $150 to $190 with the bus transfer; book through the ship or a reputable local operator and allow five hours door to door.
Goldbelt Tram (Mount Roberts)Six minutes from the Cruise Ship Terminal to 1,800 feet, with alpine trails, a nature center and the Timberline restaurant; about $60 adults and $45 kids when operating. It has been closed since an April 30, 2026 incident, so check Goldbelt’s status before you plan around it.
Helicopter glacier landing and dog sleddingFlights from the Juneau airport land on the Juneau Icefield or at a summer dog camp on Herbert or Mendenhall glacier; about $400 for a landing and $600 to $800 with dog sledding, weather dependent, and the first thing to sell out.
Tracy’s King Crab ShackA block from the Franklin Dock, buckets of Bristol Bay king crab legs, crab bisque and the crab cakes everyone talks about; the mini bucket is the sensible lunch for two. Expect a line when four ships are in.
Salmon bake and Taku Glacier LodgeThe Gold Creek salmon bake is an all-you-can-eat grilled salmon lunch under the trees about 10 minutes from town (about $80 to $90 with transfer); the Taku Lodge floatplane flight and salmon feast is the splurge version at about $350 and up.
Downtown and the Red Dog SaloonThe sawdust-floor Red Dog is three blocks from the docks; add the Alaska State Museum, the State Capitol tour, the St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church and the Sea Walk along the waterfront for a free afternoon.
Tracy Arm fjord and Dawes GlacierFull-day catamaran trips through the fjord to a tidewater glacier with icebergs and seals, about $200 to $300; only possible on long port days, and a good substitute if your ship does not scenic-cruise a glacier.
Pick your style

Which lines call at Juneau?

Every major line that sails Alaska calls at Juneau, most of them several times a week from May through September.

Princess CruisesThe biggest Alaska fleet: round trips from Seattle, Vancouver, San Francisco and Los Angeles plus one-way Voyage of the Glaciers sailings between Vancouver and WhittierSmartCruiser bonus onboard credit Holland America LineInside Passage round trips from Seattle and Vancouver and Glacier Route one-ways to Whittier, every one of them with a Juneau daySmartCruiser bonus onboard credit Royal CaribbeanQuantum and Radiance-class ships from Seattle and Vancouver on 7 night Inside Passage loops and Seward one-waysSmartCruiser bonus onboard credit Celebrity CruisesCelebrity Edge and Solstice-class ships on 7 night Alaska Dawes Glacier and Hubbard Glacier sailings from Seattle and VancouverSmartCruiser bonus onboard credit Norwegian Cruise LineNorwegian Bliss, Encore and Joy on 7 night Seattle round trips plus Vancouver and Seward one-waysSmartCruiser bonus onboard credit Carnival Cruise LineCarnival Luminosa and Spirit-class ships from Seattle, with longer round trips from Long Beach and San FranciscoSmartCruiser bonus onboard credit Disney Cruise LineDisney Wonder’s summer season of 7 night Vancouver round trips with a full Juneau daySmartCruiser bonus onboard credit SeabournSeabourn’s 7 to 14 day Alaska and Inside Passage voyages from Vancouver and Juneau itself, with Zodiac and kayak excursionsSmartCruiser bonus onboard credit VikingViking Orion’s 10 night Alaska and Inside Passage sailings between Vancouver and Seward with a long Juneau callLive prices
Timing

When to go

Juneau is a temperate rainforest with more than 60 inches of rain a year, so pack layers and a shell in any month; June and July are the warmest and driest and the busiest, and September is the wettest and the cheapest.

April to MayHighs in the 50s, snow still on the peaks, the fewest ships and the lowest fares; whales arrive in May and some trails and the tram open late. Rain about one day in two.
June to JulyHighs in the 60s, sometimes 70, with 18 hours of daylight and the driest weeks of the season; peak bear and whale viewing and the busiest, priciest sailings. Book excursions at the 90-day mark.
AugustHighs in the low 60s, salmon running in Steep Creek with bears to match, and rain picking up in the second half; still full ships and good value in the last two weeks.
September to early OctoberHighs in the 50s, rain on roughly six days in ten and the first fall color on the mountains; thinner crowds, the best deals of the year and the whales still feeding into late September.
Good to know

Juneau questions we answer every day

Where do ships dock in Juneau, and how far is town?

Four downtown berths along South Franklin Street: the Cruise Ship Terminal (two piers, next to the tram base), the Franklin Dock, the small Intermediate Vessel Float used by boutique ships and tenders, and the AJ Dock about a mile south, where a $5 shuttle runs into town. Juneau and the lines hold the daily limit to five large ships; a fifth ship anchors and tenders to the float. From the three main docks you are two to five minutes’ walk from the shops.

How do I get to Mendenhall Glacier and what does it cost?

It is 12 miles from the docks. Shuttle buses sold at booths on the pier and on board run about $45 to $50 round trip, leaving every 30 minutes with 90 minutes at the glacier. The $2 Capital Transit city bus is the budget route but stops 1.5 miles from the visitor center and takes about two hours round trip. Ship excursions with a guide run about $70 to $90 and time your return. Taxis are about $45 each way for up to four.

What about money, phone service and the time zone?

Juneau is the United States: US dollars, US phone plans with no roaming, and ATMs and card readers everywhere. It runs on Alaska time, one hour behind Seattle and Vancouver, so check whether your ship keeps ship’s time or local time; most keep local time in Alaska. The library two minutes from the Franklin Dock has free Wi-Fi.

Is Juneau safe?

Yes. It is a small state capital with a visible police presence on the waterfront and no particular warnings. The real risks are weather and wildlife: wear a waterproof layer, stay on marked trails, keep distance from bears at Steep Creek and give yourself a buffer on any tour that is not booked through the ship, because the road to Mendenhall and Auke Bay carries every bus in town.

Whales or glacier: which should I book, and through the ship?

If you only have one tour, take the whale watch in May through September; sightings are close to guaranteed and Mendenhall can be done on your own by shuttle. Helicopter glacier landings and dog sledding are the memory of a lifetime but weather-dependent, so book those through the ship for the refund protection and the guaranteed return. Independent operators are fine for whales and the glacier if your port day is eight hours or more.

Do I need a passport for an Alaska cruise?

Round trips from Seattle, San Francisco or Los Angeles are closed-loop, so US citizens can sail with a government photo ID plus an original or certified birth certificate, but every Alaska itinerary stops in Canada and we recommend a passport for everyone. One-way cruises between Vancouver and Seward or Whittier, and any sailing starting or ending in Vancouver, require a passport. Non-US citizens need a passport and any Canadian and US visas or an eTA.

Are taxes and fees included in the prices here?

Yes. Every price on this page includes the cruise fare, taxes, fees and port expenses. Flights, hotels, shore excursions, drinks and gratuities are extra.

Talk to a Juneau cruise specialist

Tell us your dates and which coast you want to fly to and we will check availability on every Alaska sailing that calls at Juneau, including the ones with SmartCruiser bonus onboard credit. Monday to Thursday 9 to 6, Friday 9 to 5, Saturday 10 to 6 ET.

1-800-444-1560