Ah, scenic Juneau, Alaska — where the allure of lush forests, cascading waterfalls and majestic glaciers draws as many as 16,000 cruise passengers a day. The downside? The constant influx of visitors is putting a strain on local infrastructure.
Royal Caribbean Group — which operates Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises and Silversea Cruises — has partnered with Alaska Native corporation Goldbelt, Inc., to eliminate the problem of slow, unreliable Wi-Fi in port by bringing Starlink to several public areas and Juneau businesses.
You might think connectivity isn’t a big concern for people visiting the 49th state’s remote, nature-forward capital, which can only be reached by air or sea, but it turns out that isn’t the case. When the port is at maximum capacity, up to six ships can call there in a single day. With that many people in town, public Wi-Fi offered by local businesses is often difficult and frustrating to use for both visitors and locals.
“The number one complaint from this summer was a slow-down of internet speed during busy days downtown,” McHugh Pierre, Goldbelt’s president and CEO, said in a press release. “We are excited to collaborate with Royal Caribbean Group to explore a solution and add satellite internet capacity to town. This project will help locals and visitors have a better internet experience every day of the week.”
Installation began the week of Aug. 26 at the Goldbelt Tram Lower Terminal and will continue north on Franklin Street. The pilot program’s full range will be activated in the coming weeks. As each new hub becomes available, passengers, other visitors and locals will be able to connect for free and stay connected via one seamless network as they move about Juneau’s downtown.
Royal Caribbean isn’t new to Starlink, which was developed by Elon Musk’s SpaceX company. In 2022, the Royal Caribbean family of brands was the first to commit to adding Starlink to its ships for faster connections at sea that allow everything from surfing the internet and checking email to video calling and streaming.
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Cruise terminals where Royal Caribbean home ports its ships also provide connectivity for passengers, but this is the first time a cruise line has outfitted a large part of a downtown port area ashore with Wi-Fi.
“We are constantly striving to find innovative solutions to support our communities and enhance the travel experience for residents and cruise guests alike,” Preston Carnahan, associate vice president of West Coast destinations for Royal Caribbean Group, said. “Our new pilot program aims to alleviate internet congestion and provide additional bandwidth for locals while providing internet connectivity for our guests from ship to shore.”
The line’s statement also stresses the need for user feedback to evaluate the program’s effectiveness and determine whether similar initiatives will be rolled out in other ports.
For years, Juneau’s borough officials have heard complaints that the influx of cruise passengers detracts from everyone’s enjoyment of the city. On June 3, several major cruise lines — including Royal Caribbean, Carnival Cruise Line, Norwegian Cruise Line and others that are members of the Cruise Lines International Association — agreed to limit the total number of ships per day to five and the total number of passengers to 16,000 Sunday through Friday and 12,000 on Saturdays.
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