Almost 20 years ago, we embarked on a 7-day cruise from Seward, Alaska, with our son and his wife. The trip was our wedding gift to them and we were thrilled to be invited along! We clearly remember our day in Seward, visiting the Alaska SeaLife Center.
Here we are today, once again standing in front of the beautiful SeaLife Center complex. It is an aquarium, a wildlife response unit, an educational center, and a sophisticated research facility. It has become a focal point for tourists and tour groups. The rest of the town looks very much the same to us. It had a rugged frontier feel to it back then in 2004 and still does today. That feeling was magnified by the dense fog that covered everything at our arrival.
Rediscovering Downtown Seward
Downtown is an eclectic mix of hotels, restaurants, and tour operators offering every kind of outdoor activity - including whale and wildlife watching, fishing, Iditarod dog sled tours, and glacier discovery. Exit Glacier in the Kenai Fjords National Park is the local star and unfortunately has been receding dramatically because of climate change.
Seward advertises itself as the mural capital of Alaska. As we made our way along the shoreline and through the city streets, we saw dozens of them painted by local artists.
RVs and tents of every shape and size filled the campgrounds all around town, especially along the waterfront.
The highlight of our day came when we were walking along a quiet side road near the elementary school. We looked up to see a mother moose with two babies come out of the woods. They ignored us at first and then watched us for a few minutes, to be sure we weren’t going to come any closer and then they wandered back into the woods. - What a treat!
SELECT & REPLACE WITH ANOTHER TEMPLATE
SELECT & REPLACE WITH ANOTHER TEMPLATE
The fog eventually lifted by mid-day, revealing the spectacular mountain peaks surrounding the town. Still snow covered, they are a gorgeous backdrop to our visit.
The town operates a free shuttle for cruise passengers and makes stops along the main street, but we chose to walk from the pier to town and back, clocking a little over 11 miles and a dozen geocaches along the way.
Leaving Seward, we appreciated having our first real day at sea after a hectic week of ports and scenic cruising opportunities, although it wasn’t exactly quiet. We had a large turn-out at our Chat Time in the morning, enjoyed lunch in the Pinnacle Grill, attended a Cocktail Party for high-level Mariners, took part in the Ballroom Dance hour before dinner, and happily retired early after dinner.
Exploring Dutch Harbor
Our next scheduled stop was Dutch Harbor, a somewhat remote spot toward the end of the Aleutian Islands. It is located on Amaknak Island in the town of Unalaska. It is one of the very few sites in the USA that was subjected to aerial bombardment by a foreign power in World War II.
With a noon arrival, everyone was anxious to get off at the same time. We were a mile from the Visitor’s Center and 2.25 miles from the town. There were a few taxis and vans offering rides or tours, but we passed them by in favor of a walk in the opposite direction from the town. We followed Ballyhoo Road along the coast until it turned right and went out on to a 1-mile long jetty heading back in the direction of our ship on the opposite side of the harbor. It was a beautiful walk, next to huge fish processing facilities. We were surrounded by steep, treeless cliffs, where bald eagles were hanging out and where sea otters were playing in the water. We saw thousands of giant crab traps stacked along the shore, not currently in use but looking clean and ready for the next permitted fishing season. Our 2.5-mile journey got us 2 geocaches, one right near the ship, and one at the very end of the jetty, under a bridge and almost in the water.
Those who ventured to town reported a bigger than expected area with a museum at the Visitor’s Center, a large and well-stocked supermarket, a church, a pub or two, and an interesting airport runway that crosses the road. Seems most people just appreciated the eagles flying and landing close by, the milder than expected temperatures, and the dramatic scenery that surrounded them.
Unexpected Itinerary Changes
Our first disappointment of the Voyage came by way of a Captain’s announcement. He had to cancel a scenic cruising opportunity at Little Diomede Island, located in the Bering Strait, between Russia and Alaska. The local community requested we alter our route so as not to endanger the local wildlife. We understand the request and agree with the Captain’s decision.
Disappointment number two came on Thursday, when we were supposed to have crossed the Arctic Circle. We watched all morning as the amount of pack ice in our path increased. We went from little bits to larger bits, to large sheets. It was beautiful to watch and very unexpected with some very close to the ship. We had a perfect view from our Chat Time location on Deck 2, close to the water line and with big windows.
Then we noticed the ship’s direction had changed on the tracking map and the Captain announced that the ice was much heavier than predicted and the visibility was deteriorating. For the safety of us all, we turned around about 150 miles from the Arctic Circle and headed south toward our next stop of Nome. We are however here at the summer solstice and are enjoying over 21 hours of daylight.
Arriving in Nome
We have been looking forward to our visit to Nome. It is a new city for us, certainly not one often included on cruise ship itineraries. Smaller expedition type ships make their way there during the summer months. It is the first time a Holland America ship has called there.
Nome is the finish line for the famous 1,000-mile Iditarod Dog Sled Race. You can explore Gold Rush History here and connect with the native cultures of the Inupiaq and Siberian Yupik tribes. Or get your cardio workout on a hike up Newton Peak, the highest point in the area.
SELECT & REPLACE WITH ANOTHER TEMPLATE
SELECT & REPLACE WITH ANOTHER TEMPLATE
In conjunction with our visit, the town organized a Berry Festival at their Recreation Center. It was a food and craft fair with local musical entertainers. We took a quick walk around before continuing our big circle route around the city.
We had arrived by early tender and once again bypassed the free town shuttles in favor of walking. This is another town with a frontier feel, characterized by unpaved streets, lack of sidewalks, and modest homes. The two impressive buildings we saw were the new hospital and the huge museum/library complex. Both seemed a bit out of place among the rest of the old-fashioned structures. We saw the local radio station, the expansive Cemetery with its white crosses, the Anvil City Square, and the large supermarket. The bustling Visitor's Center, a geocache location for us, is also the marker for the end of the Iditarod. Although we looked long and hard, we did not see any of the herd of musk ox that freely roam this town.
The people here are wonderful. We were greeted with a sincere “Welcome to Nome” by multiple residents as we walked the town and were offered rides twice when we found ourselves outside the tourist areas. This seems to be much more authentic Alaska than more popular destinations like Juneau and Ketchikan.
It was a pleasant day with a 10-mile walk, and 10 geocaches, and a sense of accomplishment for having reached this remote destination.
With three days at sea ahead, we look forward to our next port, Kodiak. Stay tuned for more updates as we continue our Alaskan journey!
Fondly,
Wendy and Steve
See all blog posts:
Pre-Cruise, Alaska Awaits! | Our Adventure Begins! | Discovering Alaska | Kodiak & Anchorage | Glacier Bay | Juneau & Misty Fjords | Summary
Join Cruise Specialists on the 2025 Alaska Arctic Circle Solstice Cruise >>