Royal Caribbean Group officially celebrated the opening of the Dale R. and Carol Ann Lindsey Alaska Railroad Terminal with partners Alaska Railroad –the longtime owner and operator of the Seward passenger dock and terminal, The Seward Company and Turnagain Marine Construction at a ribbon cutting ceremony on June 10th.
The new terminal, which has been under development for nearly a decade, replaces aging dock facilities that date to the mid-1960s, and aims to position Seward as a premier cruise turn port.
As the largest cruise terminal in Alaska, the state-of-the-art facility is designed to optimize passenger flows and provide sheltered queuing and efficient passenger processing. The facility’s direct adjacency to the Alaska Railroad station opens convenient onward travel to Anchorage, Fairbanks, and the broader communities of Alaska.
The terminal is divided into 41,500 square feet of enclosed space and 27,000 square feet of open, pass-through luggage transfer layout.
The modernization of the pier includes a shore power system, developed through the US Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Ports Grant. With this alternative energy capability, any excess power generated during winter months will be stored in battery systems, serving as a backup power grid for Seward during unpredictable winter weather.
Built for year-round operations, the terminal serves as the community’s largest indoor space, enabling ongoing recreational sports, concerts, festivals, and community gatherings, amidst winter weather conditions in the cruise off-season.
Royal Caribbean Group invited the entire Seward community to help celebrate the culmination of their Port Partners small business accelerator program where standout business Exit Glacier Greenhouses received a $20,000 grant to help scale operations. This underscored RCL’s “longstanding commitment to economic development in coastal communities,” says the company.
