Cruise ships come into Seward in the early morning,  so we see them in port when we get up. They are huge, compared with anything else around, so they dominate the view. Knowing when a cruise ship is in town is pretty obvious.







Cruise ships seems to stay one day and depart in the evening; it is a treat to watch them leave. When we were here four years ago, the cruise ships we saw were pulled out of port and turned around by a tug boat, before they could head out to sea.  Now they have thrusters that allow the cruise ships to back out of the harbor and turn around on their own power; this one is backing up.




After backing up about three quarters of a mile, the ship started turning around, which it can do "on a dime".





The turn has been completed; the ship is now ready to head out to sea.








On both of our two earlier trips to Seward, we have seen one sea otter swimming in the bay near the town. The "neighborhood" otter was waiting for us as we arrived this time. But he was too far away to get a good picture. This time he came back a couple of days later with a buddy, which was rather nice of him.  Not sure if it is the same sea otter (they all look alike to us), but we named him "Sammy". Sea otters swim on their bellies, but float on their backs. Since there is no fur on their feet and hands, they hold them out of the water when floating to keep them warm. Sea otters are easily recognized; look for two dark "blobs" floating in the water next to each other.







The Alaska Sea Life Center, which was funded by Exxon as a result of the Valdez oil spill, is located in Seward. It has excellent displays and viewing tanks to watch marine life under water. This is a stellar sea lion posing for a picture.