Goldbelt Inc. has unveiled more information about its proposed cruise ship port on the backside of Juneau’s Douglas Island, but city officials say they are still largely in the dark.
Earlier this summer, the local Alaska Native corporation released a new website for the project that includes a timeline for the port’s opening, details about tourist attractions on the site, and conceptual drawings. The project is named Goldbelt Aaní.
Most existing cruise ship docks are along the downtown waterfront, on Gastineau Channel between Juneau and Douglas Island.
Goldbelt originally announced plans to develop the new port last fall, in partnership with Royal Caribbean Group. At the time of the announcement, city officials said they felt blindsided by the news. And now, more than nine months later, Juneau’s Visitor Industry Director Alix Pierce said she still doesn’t know much about the project.
“We haven’t received any sort of permit applications, we haven’t had any formal dialogue about their plans,” she said.
Goldbelt President and CEO McHugh Pierre said the corporation plans to submit a conditional use permit application to the city, but declined to comment further.
Goldbelt is an Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act beneficiary and owns land along the northwest coastline of Douglas between False Outer Point and Point Hilda. The port will be located on about 250 acres just beyond where the road ends on North Douglas.
On its website, Goldbelt describes the port as an “immersive Tlingit-themed and inspired modern cruise destination.” It’s designed to replicate a Lingít village from the 1800s. The corporation says it plans to offer other tourist attractions like floatplane and whale watching docks, and wants to develop on-site employee housing and a child care center.
The corporation says the new port will help reduce downtown visitor traffic and congestion, and will uplift Alaska Native culture in Juneau.
The company has begun the groundwork for permitting the dock and amenities with the state and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
The project will need approvals from both the city’s planning commission and the Juneau Assembly to move forward. Pierce said it’s hard to say how long that process will take. According to the website, Goldbelt expects to welcome its first cruise ship during the 2028 tourism season.
“There are a lot of considerations to developing in that area, but without seeing a formal application from them, it’s very difficult to speak to the process,” she said.
Goldbelt’s plan coincides with another dock development by Huna Totem Corp., an Alaska Native village corporation based in Hoonah. The Assembly approved the corporation’s plan to build a new cruise ship dock in downtown Juneau earlier this year.
Copyright 2025 KTOO