Photo Credit: May Stokes, Visit Anchorage
Anchorage, Alaska
Port of Alaska
May 8th, 2026
The first cruise ship to Anchorage, MS Nieuw Amsterdam by Holland America, docked at the Port of Alaska on Friday. Over 1,000 tourists descended upon downtown Anchorage in fashionable outerwear to assist the acclimation to the northern climate. Hotels were abuzz with guests, motor coaches, and luggage of all shapes and sizes. Cruise ship tourism to Anchorage has been a recent economic opportunity to the port city. While Anchorage lacks the traditional embarcadero for passenger vessels, plans are underway with the port expansion funding to update infrastructure and provide more adequate facilities. The ship schedules for Anchorage shows waves of tourist scheduled to arrive all the way into September. View Visit Anchorage’s list here.
Footage from last year’s inaugural ship visit to Anchorage.