Here’s a look at this summer’s schedule.

By Delcenia Cosman

Reporter, Homer Independent Press

The forecast still might say otherwise, but summer has officially hit Homer. The peak season brings with it an influx of statewide and Outside visitors via car, plane, bus and, of course, cruise ship. 

The first cruise ships arrived in May — the Viking Venus brought about 930 guests to Homer’s shores for a day trip on May 19, followed by the Ritz Carlton Luminara on May 26 with fewer than 300 guests. Both ships, according to Homer Chamber of Commerce executive director Brad Anderson, were making their way to Alaska from Japan and stopped first in Kodiak before arriving in Homer. 

The number of passengers visiting this summer ranges from about 200 on The World of Residensea, arriving in August, to about 1,400 on the Holland America Zaandam, arriving in September. Visits from large cruise ships like the Zaandam have in the past prompted city officials to evaluate the future of cruise ships in Homer. 

Representatives from the chamber met each ship at the Deep Water Dock, as is custom, to welcome the disembarking passengers to Homer and provide visitors’ guides and other information.

The Luminara, the newest superyacht in the Ritz-Carlton yacht collection, has a capacity of up to 425 guests, but Anderson said Tuesday that there were fewer than 300 passengers aboard, and a large number elected to not disembark.

“It was surprising; there was a very slow exit of people coming off the ship into town,” he said. “The passengers, to a large part, just stayed on the ship. We didn’t have the normal impact that we usually do.”

The next ship is due to arrive Sunday morning at 8 a.m., right after HarborFest. The Viking Orion will bring up to another 930 visitors in for the day before departing at 6 p.m.

“Viking passengers like to get into town and experience Homer,” Anderson said. “We really enjoy the Viking experiences we’ve had so far.”

Thirteen cruise ships in all are currently scheduled to call into Homer’s port over the next several months, culminating in one last visit by the Orion on Oct 1. 

Most of the ships are expected to spend just one day berthed at the Deep Water Dock, with the exception of The World of Residensea, which carries up to 200 guests and will spend nearly three full days in port. The ship is scheduled to arrive at 9 a.m. on Aug. 8 and depart by 10 p.m. on Aug. 10. 

The World is “the largest private residential yacht on Earth,” where the passengers have the opportunity to own one of the 165 residences aboard, which are operated like condominiums. Residents can live on board The World full-time or part-time as they travel the globe. Anderson said that this year will be the first time The World of Residences sea has traveled to Alaska since 2018. 

Homer welcomed another residential ship last summer, which Anderson called a “distinctly different experience” and described how some passengers spent hours simply hanging out at the Visitor Center and chatting with chamber representatives, learning about Homer. 

He added that visitor center director Jan Knutson was invited onto The World when it arrives in August to talk to the guests before they disembark about Homer and the various activities and experiences that will be going on at that time, such as the annual Peony Celebration. 

The World of Residensea marks the lower end of the scale in terms of passenger capacity. Several other ships calling into port this summer will bring between 450-600 guests, while the two Viking-owned ships returning to Homer several times this year each carry about 930 passengers. 

The highest-capacity ship scheduled to call into Homer this year is the Holland America Zaandam, arriving Sept. 23 with up to 1,432 passengers. 

Two years ago, another Holland America ship, the MS Westerdam — along with a growing trend throughout coastal Alaska of increased port calls by cruise ships — instigated an evaluation by the City of Homer as to what the future of cruise ships in Homer would look like. 

Homer began seeing a trend shift in the size of ships wanting to visit the Cosmic Hamlet in 2024 when four cruise ships with a 2,500-person capacity requested to call into port. Three of those ships were turned away because the Homer Harbor did not have the capacity to safely accommodate them, but the fourth — the Westerdam — was granted permission to come in. 

Typically, cruise ships dock at the Deep Water Dock, which has berthing limits of 800 linear feet and up to 65,000 displacement tons. The Westerdam, measuring at 936 linear feet and more than 82,000 displacement tons, was required to anchor out in Kachemak Bay.

The ship arrived in late June 2024, at a time when the fishing fleet was absent from the harbor, which allowed for passengers to be lightered from the ship to the harbor dock system. 

The Westerdam’s visit was deemed largely a success, but both city officials and the Homer Chamber of Commerce recognized the challenges posed to existing infrastructure and staffing requirements by allowing such a large ship to call into port. The Homer City Council and city commissions evaluated whether there was a need to adopt official policy to address future large cruise ship calls. 

To date, no official written cruise ship policy has been put into place by the city. Port Director Bryan Hawkins confirmed Tuesday that the decision on whether or not to admit a cruise ship remains up to Homer Port and Harbor, as has historically been done. He noted that existing limitations — namely, whether a ship can dock at the Deep Water Dock — has helped to guide those decisions since the Westerdam. 

Hawkins confirmed Wednesday that the Zaandam is scheduled to dock at the Deep Water Dock on the Homer Spit.

He also noted that, because of the Kachemak Bay’s extreme tides, some of the smaller ships also are unable to dock at the Deep Water Dock, but because of their lower passenger capacity, Homer is able to accommodate lightering guests in from the ship to the harbor. 

As for accommodating ships like the Westerdam, which are beyond the Homer Harbor’s current infrastructure capacity, “we don’t want to do that again,” he said. 

Hawkins also offered a comparison of Homer’s cruise ship experience to ports of call that see higher demand, such as Juneau. During a recent visit, he saw six cruise ships docked in the harbor of Alaska’s capitol. On Wednesday, he also noted that Juneau had approximately 650 cruise ships called into port last year, compared to Homer’s 14.

The Juneau Independent reported in November that more than 1.6 million passengers from large cruise ships visited Juneau in 2025, setting a new record from 2024.

According to the Cruise Line Agencies of Alaska schedule, Kodiak will host 30 ships and Seward close to 60 this year.

“It puts things into perspective,” Hawkins said.

According to Anderson, while cruise ships do play a role in Homer’s tourism industry, they’re not the greatest factor — the majority of visitors “experience” Homer by driving in on buses or in cars and motorhomes. 

That said, an additional way that Homer interacts with cruise ship passengers is through tour bus excursions.

Homer has recently seen an uptick in busing excursions, and Anderson said Tuesday that the biggest increase in visitor traffic during peak season is through tour bus companies.

“Premier (Alaska) Tours regularly come down, and they’ve added more tour buses. Last year we started getting some from Holland America as well, where passengers are coming off a cruise ship elsewhere and doing land excursions,” he said. “Their bookings doubled for this year, and we have smaller tour groups coming down, too, with increasing numbers of people.”

Anderson added that the Holland America buses typically arrive on Fridays and depart Sundays, allowing visitors more chances to immerse themselves in the community. 

For more information on the 2026 cruise ship schedule, contact the Homer chamber by calling 907-235-7740 or visit them in person at 201 Sterling Highway, or find the Deep Water Dock Scheduling on the Homer Port & Harbor website.

2026 Cruise Ship Schedule — Port of Homer

June 7: Viking Orion, 930 passengers, arrive 8 a.m., depart 6 p.m.

June 22: Crystal Symphony, 606 passengers, arrive 8 a.m., depart 5 p.m.

July 7: Hanseatic Inspiration, 230 passengers, arrive 6 a.m., depart 10 p.m.

July 11: Hanseatic Inspiration, 230 passengers, arrive 6 a.m., depart 10 p.m.

Aug. 4: Hanseatic Inspiration, 230 passengers, arrive 6 a.m., depart 10 p.m.

Aug. 8-10: World of Residensea, 200 passengers, arrive Aug. 8 at 9 a.m., depart Aug. 10 at 10 p.m.

Aug. 22: Viking Orion, 930 passengers, arrive 9 a.m., depart 7 p.m.

Sept. 4: Silversea Silver Moon, 596 passengers, arrive 8 a.m., depart 6 p.m.

Sept. 12: Viking Venus, 930 passengers, arrive 8 a.m., depart 6 p.m.

Sept 23: Holland America Zaandam, 1,432 passengers, arrive 8 a.m., depart 5 p.m. 
Oct. 1: Viking Orion, 930 guests, arrive 8 a.m., depart 6 p.m.