Seward

Seward is the alternative Gulf of Alaska turnaround port — smaller than Whittier but more tourist-oriented, sitting at the head of Resurrection Bay with a walkable downtown of galleries, seafood restaurants, and a small-boat harbor. The Alaska SeaLife Center, on the waterfront a short walk from the cruise pier, is both a public aquarium and a marine-mammal rehabilitation facility that cares for orphaned Steller sea lions and harbor seals. The most popular shore excursion is a full-day wildlife cruise into Kenai Fjords National Park to see tidewater glaciers, orcas, puffins, and sea otters. Like Whittier, most turnaround passengers transfer onward by motorcoach or on the Alaska Railroad's Coastal Classic to Anchorage.