Seward Cruise Terminal Opening Delayed After Inspe...

Seward’s revitalized cruise terminal is sort of prepared to start out welcoming cruise ships for the 2026 Alaska season, however wants just a bit bit extra time.

By way of a partnership with the Alaska Railroad Firm, Royal Caribbean Group, and Turnagain Marine, your complete port has basically been rebuilt to feature a state-of-the-art double-berth floating pier and a 41,500-square-foot cruise terminal.

The key funding, which was first introduced as the “Port of Tomorrow” in 2022, value an estimated $137 million.

Whereas the brand new and improved services are nonetheless anticipated to be prepared this spring, as was initially deliberate, the official opening date has been pushed again from Might 14, 2026, till Might 22, 2026.

“The Cruise Ship Terminal will delay opening and receiving passengers till Might twenty second (slightly than the initially scheduled date, Might 14th),” the Seward Chamber of Commerce posted on social media.

“The delay is because of a latest inspection that exposed a number of massive clusters of piles that should be eliminated previous to receiving ships,” the submit continued.

The clusters of piles, that are heavy vertical metal or concrete columns pushed into the seabed to assist in docking which might be often known as marine dolphins, should be eliminated previous to receiving cruise ships.

After Might 22, a short lived trestle and mooring dolphin might be used for the rest of the season. These marine constructions will have the ability to enable bigger ships to dock safely, together with Royal Caribbean’s Quantum-class ship, Ovation of the Seas.

The place Will Cruise Ships Go As an alternative?

Throughout the delay, impacted vessels will dock in Whittier, Alaska, as an alternative of Seward. Whittier is just about 88.5 miles away from Seward by land, which is a drive that takes round an hour and 45 minutes.

“The ships that have been to dock in Seward previous to Might twenty second might be rerouted to Whittier, AK,” the Seward Chamber of Commerce confirmed.

Cruise Hive also previously reported that that is precisely what Royal Caribbean’s Ovation of the Seas can be doing for its Might 15 and Might 22 itineraries.

Finally, the 168,666-gross ton vessel will break up homeporting operations between Vancouver, British Columbia, and Seward because it sails one-way, 7-night itineraries backwards and forwards between the 2 locations.

Assuming there are not any additional opening delays, the 4,180-guest ship ought to lastly make it to Seward on the finish of its Might 29 crusing, which is scheduled to reach in Seward for debarkation on June 5.

What Different Cruise Ships are Impacted?

Due to the surprising delay, three different vessels have been rerouted from Seward to Whittier.

These included Silversea Cruises’ Silver Moon, Celeb Cruises’ Celeb Summit, and Viking Cruises’ Viking Venus.

The 596-guest Silver Moon was supposed to go to Seward first on Might 14 to start a one-way, 7-night crusing from Seward to Vancouver. Celeb Summit was up subsequent on Might 15, starting its personal one-way crusing to Vancouver.

Viking Venus’s cancelled go to date remains to be sooner or later. The 930-guest ship would have stopped within the port as a part of a 35-night, one-way crusing from Hong Kong, China, to Vancouver, on Might 20.

Cruise tracking data also shows that two ships from UnCruise Adventures, Wilderness Explorer and Safari Explorer, additionally stopped in Seward on Might 15. Right now, it seems these vessels have been the exception that weren’t rerouted.

Maybe as a result of these vessels are so small, with a capability for lower than 100 visitors on every ship, they have been simpler to accommodate as deliberate.

Even with the delay, Seward remains to be anticipating a busy Alaska season. By way of its partnership with the port, Royal Caribbean alone guarantees 140,000 passengers per yr.