Royal Caribbean opens Alaska's largest cruise terminal
After nearly a decade of planning and a construction delay in May that impacted multiple sailings, Royal Caribbean Group and its partners have officially opened the highly anticipated new cruise terminal in Seward, Alaska.
A partnership between the Alaska Railroad Company (the port's longtime owner), Royal Caribbean Group, Turnagain Marine, and the Seward Company, the new cruise terminal is part of a "Port of Tomorrow" redevelopment project announced in 2022. Construction was green light in 2024 after the Alaska Railroad Company Board of Directors approved the purchase of the new $137 million cruise facility.
The project rebuilt, expanded, and modernized Seward's aging port infrastructure that dated to the 1960s to transform Seward into a leading cruise turnaround port and seamless gateway to Alaska.
Want the latest cruise news and deals? Sign up for the Come Cruise With Me newsletter.
New Seward cruise port to elevate Alaska cruise embarkation and disembarkation
With an integrated transportation hub, a 41,500-square-foot enclosed terminal building, and a modern, double-berth floating pier that can accommodate today's large ships, the new Dale R. and Carol Ann Lindsey Alaska Railroad Terminal is Alaska's largest cruise terminal. It promises to significantly upgrade the passenger experience with a design that prioritizes optimized passenger flows, sheltered queuing, and efficient passenger processing.
Directly adjacent to the Alaska Railroad station, Seward's new cruise terminal also makes land-based exploration of Alaska before or after a cruise simple. Whether passengers are taking a land-based cruisetour, exploring on their own, or traveling to or from the Anchorage airport, the port's transportation hub makes taking a train or bus from Seward easy.
Related: A wildlife lover's guide to seeing whales on an Alaska cruise
Even outside of the cruise season, the facility will continue to support railroad travel through the region and host community events like sports, concerts, festivals, and community gatherings as the community's largest indoor space, ideally suited for events during the winter.
Royal Caribbean Group brands - Royal Caribbean, Celebrity Cruises, and Silversea Cruises - are expected to sail 140,000 cruise passengers from the new port annually. While Royal Caribbean Group cruise lines have preferential berthing rights, the Alaska Railroad Company will continue to own and operate the facility as an open dock, allowing other cruise lines to sail from Seward as well.
New Seward cruise port will anchor land-based cruisetours
Royal Caribbean's Ovation of the Seas and Celebrity Cruises' Celebrity Summit are sailing between Seward and Vancouver, British Columbia during the 2026 season. With alternating northbound and southbound voyages, sailings on both ships invite passengers to extend their Alaska adventures with a land-based cruisetour before or after a cruise.
On sailings between Seward and Vancouver, both ships visit popular Alaska ports like Juneau, Skagway, and Icy Strait Point, and offer scenic cruising to Hubbard Glacier, one of the state's largest tidewater glaciers. Land-based cruisetours for voyages starting or ending in Seward explore Interior Alaska, traveling between Fairbanks, Denali National Park, Talkeetna, and Anchorage.
The new terminal will not only make it easier for cruise travelers to experience more of Alaska, it will help boost tourism revenue in parts of Alaska not as heavily visited by Alaska cruise passengers, since most cruise travelers visit Alaska on Inside Passage cruises that sail round trip from Seattle or Vancouver.
Related: 4 new ways to cruise to Alaska this summer
"We know how important the terminal is not just to Seward, but to communities across Southcentral and Interior Alaska as these cross-Gulf cruise guests take the opportunity to explore Alaska by land as well," Alaska Railroad CEO Bill O'Leary said during the terminal's ribbon-cutting ceremony.
In summer 2027, travelers can pair Alaska land adventures with cruises between Seward and Vancouver on Royal Caribbean's Anthem of the Seas and Celebrity Cruises' recently reimagined Celebrity Solstice.
Other cruise lines, such as Norwegian, Princess, and Holland America Line, offer similar land-based Alaska cruisetours paired with cruises starting or ending in Whittier, Alaska.
(The Arena Group will earn a commission if you book a cruise.)
Make a free appointment with Come Cruise With Me's Travel Agent Partner, Postcard Travel, or email Amy Post at amypost@postcardtravelplanning.com or call or text her at 386-383-2472.
Copyright 2026 The Arena Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved
This story was originally published June 11, 2026 at 10:15 AM.