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Seward

I really liked Seward. It is an attractive little town in a gorgeous setting. I don't know if I just had good timing, but it didn't seem to be overwhelmed by cruise ship passengers as much as some other places. Also I spent most of the tine in the downtown area, which is 1-2 miles from the boat harbor where the cruise ships pull in, so maybe a lot of passengers hit the shops in that area and don't get to the downtown area.

I stayed at Alaska's Point of View Suites in the studio suite. It's in a quiet residential neighborhood just a few blocks from downtown. It is comfortable and private and has lots of amenities - kitchenette with minifridge and microwave and stocked with milk, juice, coffee, tea and cereal. It has cable TV/VCR, boombox, books, Alaska videos, jacuzzi and gas fireplace. The room has a private porch overlooking the yard (that you share with the owner's small nice dog) and the neighborhood. Comfortable bed but the pillows are really really fat (I ended up using one of the accent pillows).You can use the owner's laundry room when they aren't using it ($3 per load - wash and dry) via a connecting door to the owner's residence. I do think the place smelled ever so slightly of dog, but I'm really sensitive to odors and it wasn't enough to bother me; for all I know it could have been some potpourri - I'm not crazy about any kind of smelly stuff. But I would definitely stay there again. The owner also runs a reservation service for people looking for lodging in Seward.

I went on the Kenai Fjords National Park Cruise. We didn't see any whales, but did see a bald eagle, sea otter, sea lions and Dall porpoises. Beautiful scenery and a close-up view of Holgate Glacier. I took Dramamine ahead of time just in case. The water was rough at times but I felt fine.

I liked Apollo's Restaurant (229 Fourth Avenue) where I had a delicious salmon sandwich. Ranting Raven (238 Fourth Avenue) is a nice gift shop and bakery. There are a couple of places that have Internet access, I used Grant Electronics (222 Fourth Avenue).