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Our Cruise is Seward to Vancouver: Friends whom have taken the cruise add on noted that it was too much bus time ... next time they'd do the land part on their own. Sooo... we considered flying to Fairbanks, renting an SUV and making our way to Seward. The wheels started to come off the idea when a few places we wished to stay overnight had mandatory multi-night minimums. We are locked in (for better or worse) to fly to Anchorage – weather permitting a day trip to Talkeetna for a flight around Denali (glacier landing) and train to Seward / trip to Kenai fjords before we board cruise. Got a lot of info from this board, weighed the opinions and made the plans on our own.

1st Alaska "makeup" cruise coming up in June. Had a previous cruise planned and cancelled during Covid. At that time was not interested in a huge ship... wanted a 1-way for more port stops and longer time at each port; cruising to the east of Vancouver island felt like it offered the potential for a smoother sail versus open ocean to the west. Traveling with kids and wanted a 2- bedroom suite. Ended up choosing the NCL Jewel / Havan. To get the trip kicked off... arriving a few days early and will take small plane from Talkeetna around Denali/glacier landing (weather permitting); train from Anchorage to Seward and 6-hr boat ride to Kenai Fjords before boarding. Have fun with whomever you choose .

Just bought the new ZEISS SFL 10x40's. The big draw for me is the low weight at 22.6oz combined with a decent field of view & 90% light transmission. We'll see.

I was going to use Alaska auto rental to get us from Fairbanks to Seward but changed our plans. I took a quick look and they do offer 1-way rentals between Seward and Anchorage and have 15 person vans. Good Luck

Karri - Once I understood that our luggage is checked at the train station and taken to our ship room, it was an easier decision to be adventurous in Seward. We booked the 6 hr Kenai Fjord tour … step off the train – 5 min walk to Kenai boat and away we go..back at 5:30 with plenty of time to board our cruise. (hopefully it works this smoothly 🙂 )

Karri...Had same issue with alaskarailroad.com website a few weeks ago. Instead I booked my tickets through Alaskatrain.com (tour operator)

Interesting idea .... had not considered this

June 3, 2024 NCl Jewel Cruise: (redo for our 2020 cruise cancelled due to Covid) Arriving in Seward on train from Anchorage at 11:20 am. A couple of questions: - is our baggage still checked at the rail terminal "tent" in Anchorage... and then trucked to Seward and dropped off at our cruise ship room? - Is it possible to make the Major Marine Kenai Fjords 6 hour tour that departs at 11:30am? - the tour returns at 5:30 pm. I assume this gives plenty of time to board the ship (debarkation at 9:00 pm)? Tx Kevin