This summer, the Alaska Native-owned cruise destination Icy Strait Point will welcome 160,000 passengers with a newly built floating dock.
Located near Hoonah and 35 miles west of Juneau, the 400-foot floating dock is 99 percent complete and will feature a new Adventure Center and restaurant.
Constructed in partnership with the City of Hoonah, it is expected to be complete well in advance of the first cruise ship call on May 11.
The dock will accommodate the next generation of larger ships anticipated to call on the Alaska market in the coming years.
The 7,000-square-foot Adventure Center is located in front of the dock’s wood-beam, Tlingit-style trestle. It will serve as the welcome center, departure lounge and tour booking center for shore excursions.
Adjacent to the Adventure Center, the Duck Point Smokehouse restaurant will offer outdoor seating on a covered patio with views of Port Frederick and marine wildlife.
“With these new investments, we are confident that Icy Strait Point will offer guests the best arrival experience of anywhere in the world,” said Tyler Hickman, Icy Strait Point’s vice president of operations. “Having eliminated the need to tender, more guests will have more time to experience our shore excursions, delicious dining options and the historic cannery site surrounded by unspoiled Alaska wilderness.”
Icy Strait Point’s restored 1912 salmon cannery is a short walk down the trail or boardwalk along the shore. It is home to a local history museum, Alaskan-owned shops and two other restaurants.
This year, Celebrity Cruises, Royal Caribbean International, Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises, Regent Seven Seas, Holland America Line, Princess Cruises and Crystal Cruises will make 78 ship calls on Icy Strait Point between May and September.
Icy Strait Point is the United States’ only private large-ship cruise destination. It utilizes approximately 85 percent local hire, holding true to the mission of advancing the economic aspirations and culture of the ”Xúna Kaawu” (the people of Hoonah).
More information about the Icy Straight Point is available at www.icystraitpoint.com.
