Royal Caribbean Group and Alaska Railroad Company have opened the Dale R. and Carol Ann Lindsey Alaska Railroad Terminal in Seward, replacing mid-1960s dock facilities with Alaska’s largest cruise terminal, according to Royal Caribbean Group.
The new terminal is designed to strengthen Seward’s role as a cruise turn port for cross-gulf itineraries and improve passenger handling at one of Alaska’s key cruise gateways. The facility has 41,500 square feet of enclosed space and 27,000 square feet of open, pass-through luggage transfer layout. Its location next to the Alaska Railroad station gives cruise passengers onward rail access to Anchorage, Fairbanks and other Alaska communities.
The pier modernization includes a shore power system developed through the US Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Ports Grant. Excess power generated during winter months will be stored in battery systems to provide backup power for Seward during severe winter weather.
The terminal has been built for year-round use and will serve as Seward’s largest indoor space for recreational sports, concerts, festivals and community gatherings outside the cruise season. Royal Caribbean Group also marked the completion of its Port Partners small business accelerator programme, awarding Exit Glacier Greenhouses a $20,000 grant to scale operations.
Royal Caribbean Group is a vacation company with cruise, destination and land-based holiday operations through Royal Caribbean, Celebrity Cruises and Silversea, and a 50% joint venture interest in TUI Cruises.
Alaska Railroad Company owns and operates the Seward passenger dock and terminal and provides passenger and freight rail services in Alaska.
The Seward Company and Turnagain Marine Construction were project partners in the terminal opening.
Exit Glacier Greenhouses is a Seward business named as the grant recipient under Royal Caribbean Group’s Port Partners programme.