The highlight in Seward for us was taking a Major Marine boat tour to Kenai Fjords National park - we were able to take a 7.5 hour tour and it was well worth it - we saw an otter, humpback whales, orcas, glaciers, and just had a great ...
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The highlight in Seward for us was taking a Major Marine boat tour to Kenai Fjords National park - we were able to take a 7.5 hour tour and it was well worth it - we saw an otter, humpback whales, orcas, glaciers, and just had a great trip. The captain really seemed to communicate with other boats in the area, and knew where the wildlife was active on the day we were there. Also, the onboard meal is also well worth the additional cost - as a matter of fact, you won't really need dinner that night. Very good food, and most passengers did seem to buy it, so you will feel like you are missing out if you skip it!
We stayed at the Breeze Inn in Seward - which is like taking a step back in time, as far as motels are concerned. I wrote a Trip Advisor review if you want more info on it.
If you are staying in Seward overnight, know there are 2 hubs of this small town; the harbor and the downtown - which is about a mile away. And, the hotels in the harbor area are actually further away than they appear on a map - it's about 3/4 mile walk from the CRUISE SHIP port to the harbor town area. That isn't bad if you are just walking, but if you have luggage, the sidewalk is gravel, which is hard on those wheels. I recommend calling for either a courtesy shuttle from your motel, or trying to find a cab. It's about the same distance to the train depot for the Alaska RR train from Seward to Anchorage.
Seward also has a free city shuttle bus/minivan system, too, during their operating hours (may be only 10 am-5 pm - not sure). Anyway, if you are in Seward for the day, just know that is an option for getting around, too.
The dining options are less plentiful, in my opinion. We didn't have too much success with dinner or breakfast here. We had lunch at the Sea Bean in the downtown Seward area, and that was delicious.
I think staying in Seward long enough before or after your cruise to take the Kenai Fjords boat trip is well worth the additional time and money - this is the only place on our Alaska trip where we saw otters and whales.
We also took the Alaska RR evening trip from Seward to Anchorage; which, if you haven't taken a RR trip like that before is really a fun way to go - we got lots of good pics from that 4 hour trip, as well!
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