Glaciers

Everyone is not telling you no. You were actually given a couple of suggestions in that area on TripAdvisor. Did those not work out for you? It’s not the most popular area to stay in so you’re not going to get a ton of suggestions. We’ve hiked in the area and caught water taxis to a remote cabin from there but we find it so much more convenient to stay in town. You’re late to the party and it will be increasing difficult to find a different place around your critieria. Sounds as though the accommodation you originally booked is still available and it’s due to the restaurant closer that’s the problem. Seems if you’re good with driving the road into town that’s a minor issue. You might contact the Seward Visitor Center/Chamber to see what they suggest. https://www.seward.com/

I think you’ll get more responses if you post your questions on TripAdvisor. There are several locals, particularly in Seward, that will be able to tell you exactly what you’re looking for, they know the area and accommodations. https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowForum-g28923-i349-Alaska.html

For 3 days, I’d avoid Millers Landing if you stay in Seward. Although the drive is fairly short back into town you’ll find you are driving it a lot as most of the activities will be in that direction including restaurants. You may find a diamond-in-the-rough place to stay out there but the area in general is unappealing other than the views. Just based on “driving around”, I’d choose Girdwood. The drive along Turnagain Arm is one of the most scenic in the state. You’d be about 45 minutes from Anchorage and 1.5 hours from Seward. You can catch the Glacier Discover train at the Portage station just south of Girdwood at 1:25pm and returns at 5:15pm. Although fairly short, it packs in some great scenery including Spencer Glacier and Grandview.

@Mountaineer0313 You’ll find rentals around your criteria in Seward but also in Girdwood. For 3 days in the same spot, which is a bit long really, I do wonder what activities you are looking at which would be a bigger priority on where we’d stay.

The Edgewater would work well and they have a great view of Elliott Bay from the lobby and restaurant. Another option if you want to get out for a short walk would be Macrina Bakery 3 blocks up from the Edgewater on 1st Ave. They have lighter fare with wonderful hoity toity breakfast sandwiches and the such as well as some incredible pastries. It would also give you a quick peek at the Belltown neighborhood.

@Italy52Check out the photo on Jeff Schultz FB page. Looks like Jayleen's boat the Sea Raider with a good description of the trip. https://www.facebook.com/jeffschultzphoto

The Edgewater Hotel next door to Pier 66 stores luggage for non-guests. It used to be $5/bag.

@kstetser Yours is the 3rd ship into Juneau on the day you arrive so as rubytue mentioned it can be very busy at Mendenhall Glacier as the tour buses will have already started arriving from earlier ships by the time you get your rental. You may want to make that an afternoon visit. The Shrine of St Therese as well as Eagle Beach are good visits. Another option for hiking is the West Glacier Trail. It’s located across the lake from the Mendenhall Visitor Center near Skaters Cabin. The trail gives you fantastic views from above the glacier.

I walked down the Expedia side to the Helix Bridge this morning and Expedia is no longer allowing pedestrians to walk on the east side of their building like the link I provided shows. After crossing the bridge you would need to walk around the water side. https://goo.gl/maps/ZpqzYKPML3ABA3rs5

The Mediterranean Inn just north of the downtown area is one of the closest hotels to where you will be departing from at Pier 91. It’s across the street from a Safeway with several restaurants within a few blocks and a 5 minute walk to the Seattle Center/Space Needle where you can also catch the monorail to the downtown core.

@likejudo This is just another option but not necessarily a good one. Any transportation that includes a city bus is not the most convenient. Also, I stopped by there on the way from the store this morning and noticed a sign that indicate the elevators are down for maintenance through 9/16/22.

And, to add yet another bus/walking option. By taking the bus to the Helix Bridge at Expedia across the street from Fuji Bakery, there are elevators at the pedestrian bridge over the railroad tracks and then about ½ mile walk to the pier from there with no stairs. Or, about 1 mile if walking through the Elliott Bay Park on the water side of Expedia. https://goo.gl/maps/WV3nPtkQ2obEPfjD7

If you watch to see if the lights are out via websites such as the aurora forecast and weather sites you can just take a cab out to Pt Woronzof or the Downtown Anchorage Viewpoint for 20 bucks each way. Both are out by the airport. Not the best spots in Alaska but a cheap way to see the lights if they’re out. If there is a potential for a good showing they will announce it on the local evening news channels as well as Facebook pages.

Dandy little YouTube video on how to use the bus to/from Pier 91.

It’s the Elliott Bay Trail that runs from downtown to the Smith Cove Cruise Terminal. Everybody has their line and mine would be to take a cab/uber from Westlake to the terminal for about 20 bucks. Actually, I’d take it from the airport but this thread isn’t going in that direction. Not worth the hassle of schlepping bags on a city bus although it may be the frugal option the OP is looking for.

We always do a whale watch trip in Juneau although if that’s not a priority, Juneau is an excellent place to rent a car for value exploring. In the past, renting a car has been cheaper than purchasing 3 R/T tickets to the glacier. Mendenhall Glacier, Shrine of Saint Therese, Eagle Beach, Douglas Island, just a lot of good, free stuff. If you are hikers, the West Glacier Trail with its views from above Mendenhall Glacier are amazing. Ketchikan has the $2 city bus that goes to both Totem Bight and Saxman as well as numerous places around town. As mentioned, the Bering Sea Crab Fishermen’s Tour has always been popular. We’re glad we did it….once.

@WDCCruiser The Royal had unhosted pickleball in May this year. It was noted in the Patter and held in the mornings around 9am-11am or so. I didn't play this trip but last year we had so many we were stacking paddles.

Alaska is so much more about what’s off ship rather than onboard. Any ship departing from Vancouver is going to have decent port times. The consideration and priority should be best viewing from the ship. The royal class ships have no unobstructed forward viewing. The best viewing is from the sanctuary although through glass and closed during glacier days unless you pay a fee. They are really poor ships due to lack of good viewing. The older ships as Blondilu noted have wrap-around promenade decks which are perfect for Alaska. We did a 14 night on the Royal Princess in May and of 12 Alaska trips, it was one of the worst ships for good viewing.

Rob Raincock is the naturalist on Royal this season. He is very good. We went to his first presentation on the Royal in May. Afterwards he met anyone interested in the possibility of seeing the northern lights and writing down their cabin numbers. He would call them in the middle of the night if the lights showed. Certainly much more of a benefit during the shoulder season and darker skies. In addition to several presentations he has informal Q&A sessions by the excursions desk daily. He is active on Instagram, “the_ship_naturalist”.

I do wonder if having the ability to get up and walk on the train may lessen the effect of potential motion sickness.

There’s no way around it, you’d be arriving the pier too early and there’s nothing really near Smith Cove. If you can drop your luggage at the pier or even find a place to plop them down someplace that’s secure, you could walk back along the Elliott Bay Trail towards Elliott Bay Park. Its about1/2 mile+ from the terminal. Expedia completed the park project a couple years ago and it turned out very nice. Walking a bit further you’ll pass the grain terminal and then the rose garden with a great view of the bay and downtown. There are no amenities along the way other than a public restroom. https://goo.gl/maps/RXZseWSPQWYkyUAz9

Look at some of the small ship lines. They avoid the normal cruise ports the large lines stop at and visit areas that are off the beaten path. UnCruise, Alaskan Dream, Linblad. They provide a very special Alaska experience at very special prices.

The map Gardyloo provided shows the path along the Elliott Bay Trail and is the best way to get there. It also avoids the Magnolia Bridge so there are no stairs whatsoever. You’ll access the pier by going through Gate A just prior to going under the bridge, it’s well marked. There are public restrooms just past the grain terminal, about ¾ mile from Pier 91 at the fishing dock, if needed. Keep an eye out for Bald Eagles and Osprey that fish along the waterfront as well as Peregrine Falcons that have been plucking off pigeons and gulls at the grain terminal. Great Blue Herons often fish along the waterway just before entering the gate at the pier…..if you’re into that kind of thing.

Depending on where exactly you’re starting from, I’d suggest heading north on Western Ave to Elliott Ave to Bell St. Pier 66 is one block west down Bell St. There is an elevator down to street level. It would be about ½ mile and fairly flat. You can go direct down to the waterfront and walk along Alaskan Way but there is a lot of pedestrian traffic that route. https://goo.gl/maps/GVAoaeqBrTe8Gmdd9

The Mayflower is in a better location for the reasons SLC mentioned. You have better transportation options and the Mayflower is in the downtown core with a short walk to Westlake Center for the light rail and monorail as well as Pike Place Market.