{"id":109,"date":"2026-05-20T19:38:58","date_gmt":"2026-05-20T19:38:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alaskamovingnetwork.com\/?p=109"},"modified":"2026-05-20T19:38:58","modified_gmt":"2026-05-20T19:38:58","slug":"snag-with-seward-cruise-dock-reroutes-ships-to-whittier","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alaskamovingnetwork.com\/?p=109","title":{"rendered":"Snag with Seward cruise dock reroutes ships to Whittier"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Cruise ships planning to stop in Seward have had to dock in Whittier instead.<\/p>\n

Three ships that were set to visit Seward in the last week were rerouted nearly 90 land miles north to Whittier, according<\/u> to a social media post from the Seward Chamber of Commerce. A new dock in Seward was scheduled to open on May 14 but has been delayed.<\/p>\n

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The Alaska Railroad owns and operates the dock<\/u>. Railroad external affairs director Meghan Clemens said the project was delayed because underwater piles need to be removed. Piles are large beams often made of<\/u> steel, concrete or timber that provide foundational support for offshore structures.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe contractor is working to finalize that work now and we\u2019re looking forward to welcoming ships into the new dock this summer,\u201d she said Tuesday evening.<\/p>\n

Clemens didn\u2019t have a timeline for when the terminal would be fully operational. The railroad is collaborating with other transportation providers to ensure visiting guests reach their destinations amid schedule changes, she said.<\/p>\n

The construction is part of a nearly $140 million project<\/u> that includes a floating double-berth pier, and a nearly 42,000-square-foot terminal. It\u2019s expected to be the in Alaska. The port\u2019s original terminal was constructed in 1966.<\/p>\n

Clemens said the dock is important to Alaska\u2019s tourism industry and the local community. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis project has been a big focus of the Alaska Railroad since it became clear that the old dock needed to be replaced,\u201d she said. \u201cRight now we’re focused on getting this facility ready to receive ships, so that it can continue to serve Seward for decades to come.\u201d<\/p>\n

The facility has a 30-year agreement<\/u> with anchor tenant Royal Caribbean Group, which guarantees at least 140,000 passengers annually. Two of the rerouted ships in mid-May were operated by the group<\/u>, and another, the Ovation of the Seas, was set to dock in Resurrection Bay Friday. Officials said that ship would instead disembark in Whittier. The company said in an email that impacted guests would be notified directly. <\/p>\n

Brian Stewart of Florida is on that sailing. It\u2019s his first time visiting Alaska but he\u2019s a frequent cruiser. Stewart said he was notified about the itinerary change the night before they sailed out of Vancouver.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt was pretty late in the day that the plans had changed, and we had to make alternate arrangements, so it was a shock. It’s not the end of the world. Everybody can pivot, but it was certainly a shocking way to start the trip,\u201d Stewart said Tuesday while visiting Sitka.<\/p>\n

Stewart said he\u2019s been looking forward to spending his tourism dollars in Seward and is still planning to. He\u2019s scheduled to visit the Alaska Sea Life Center, go dog mushing and experience a marine wildlife tour. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhen a ship doesn’t go there, that affects them greatly,\u201d he said. \u201cI know we’re a small group, but to be able to go down to Seward and stay a couple of days and do the things that we’re going to do was important.\u201d<\/p>\n

The last minute change cost his group of twelve about $500 in added transportation expenses, he said.<\/p>\n

A ship operated by Viking Cruises was also rerouted to Whittier on Wednesday. Two Star Seeker cruises scheduled for June 2 and 24 will also visit the tunnel town instead of Seward, according to a post from the Whittier Chamber of Commerce.<\/u><\/p>\n

Despite the change, Stewart said passengers are in high spirits.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome people are even saying it\u2019s exciting to see another place I never would have gone,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Less than 300 people live in Whittier, which is only accessible by water, train or a single-lane tunnel through a mountain. Over 5,000 people live in and around Seward, but the population nearly doubles with seasonal workers in the summer.<\/u><\/p>\n

Seward hosted 140,700 cruise passengers in 2025, about 80,000 fewer than the previous year, During that time, Whittier saw an increase of nearly 25% in passenger volume, or an additional 55,500 people.<\/p>\n

Read more Dunleavy calls special session on Alaska gasline tax break<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Officials say the delay stems from underwater piles that contractors are still working to remove.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":108,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-109","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nSnag with Seward cruise dock reroutes ships to Whittier - Alaska Moving Network<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/alaskamovingnetwork.com\/?p=109\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Snag with Seward cruise dock reroutes ships to Whittier - Alaska Moving Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Officials say the delay stems from underwater piles that contractors are still working to remove.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/alaskamovingnetwork.com\/?p=109\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Alaska Moving Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-20T19:38:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alaskamovingnetwork.com\\\/?p=109#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alaskamovingnetwork.com\\\/?p=109\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alaskamovingnetwork.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4e09896005b88414084eb4bd3215ab0a\"},\"headline\":\"Snag with Seward cruise dock reroutes ships to Whittier\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-20T19:38:58+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alaskamovingnetwork.com\\\/?p=109\"},\"wordCount\":706,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alaskamovingnetwork.com\\\/?p=109#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alaskamovingnetwork.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/cb89382eb26b445fbf70411283712d22.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/alaskamovingnetwork.com\\\/?p=109#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alaskamovingnetwork.com\\\/?p=109\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alaskamovingnetwork.com\\\/?p=109\",\"name\":\"Snag with Seward cruise dock reroutes ships to Whittier - 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