belle3388,

Sorry I forgot that not everyone sails. Starboard = right-side (get a window seat) on your northbound trip, and port = left-hand (window seat, of course) on your southbound trip. They used to teach us, "There is plenty of red (for the running light colors) port left in the glass" to help us remember.

When the glaciers are out, it is something to behold and by far the high point of my trips to and from Anchorage.

As for where to stay, I am not much help as I only stay at the Hilton which is OK in an Alaska sort of way. It is actually in the process of being remodeled so the room I had last week was passable.

Just be careful about the view from the bar. If you go up for a drink before dinner and think maybe you'll wait 'til the sun sets before you eat, you might run into problems.
I went up to the bar check out the mountains after dinner last trip and got involved in a great conversation with a gal who was an avid sailer and extensive traveler and was shocked to find that all of a sudden it was almost midnight in the middle of the afternoon.