Glacier boat tour before boarding ship in Whitter?

We are sailing on Coral Princess next June, departing Whittier at 8.30pm. I was thinking we could take the train from Anchorage at 9.45am, arriving Whittier at 12.05pm, then onto a 26 glaciers boat tour (boat operator would hold our bags?), departing 12.30pm, arriving back at 5.30pm then short walk to board Coral.

My husband thinks its too risky, what if the train runs late and we miss the boat, what if the boat is late back and we miss the ship. Just wondered if this is common practice or I am trying to squeeze too much into the trip and we should just go straight from train to ship?

Many thanks for any suggestions.

Lou :)

The boat tour companies in Whittier depend upon ensuring that their customers do not miss the ship. Missing a ship gets them very bad reviews and no repeat customers. They know how to do it. I would not worry.

DON

They often book tours with train service. This is how they expect many to get to Whittier.

No worries.

I'm planning on doing this next year. From what I can tell it's pretty standard, and lots of people do it before boarding. In fact I believe it's a princess excursion offer for passengers doing the immediate round trip back.

I'm planning on doing this next year. From what I can tell it's pretty standard, and lots of people do it before boarding. In fact I believe it's a princess excursion offer for passengers doing the immediate round trip back.

A lot of people do it as a day trip from Anchorage. Train to Whittier, 26 glacier and then train back to Anchorage.

I doubt that any train would be off schedule unless there is a catastrophic failure. And as someone said, Phillips Cruises are very careful with their times. I've even read stories of other boats coming to rescue folks on a broke down charter. Although with the 26 Glacier tour that could be an issue since the tour boat, the M/V Klondike Express, hold over 300 folks.

Lou, you might also consider staying in Whittier overnight.

Lou, you might also consider staying in Whittier overnight.

There is only 1 hotel. I wouldn't bother.

B4 I would give up on a glacier tour while in Whittier, I would Bing search "whittier hotel alaska" and also do a VRBO search for that area. Also Alyeska Resort in Girdwood might be an option. Check with their Concierge staff at 907-754-2108 for transportation options. Make sure to know when you will need to be at the Whittier Tunnel - looks like the 11:30 opening would work for that glacier tour you mentioned. One more thing. Consider looking at glacier tours with Lazy Otter Charters. They have some 4-5 hour tours that use small boats instead of the massive "fastest boat in Alaska" that Phillips uses

B4 I would give up on a glacier tour while in Whittier, I would Bing search "whittier hotel alaska" and also do a VRBO search for that area.

Definitely look at a glacier tour in Whittier:

https://www.phillipscruises.com

They are amazing! There is no way I would stay in Whittier. More choices in Anchorage. Unless you are spending a few more days there, I would also skip Alyeska resort.

On 10/9/2018 at 6:22 AM, Coral said:

 

Definitely look at a glacier tour in Whittier:

https://www.phillipscruises.com

I see Phillips has two options, 26 Glacier for 5 hours, $247.95 for coach and cruise combo  and Glacier Quest for 3.75 hours, $192.95 for coach and cruise combo. I plan to do one of these on June 19 before boarding the Coral Princess. I will get the package with bus transportation from anchorage, even though we will use only the one way. Any comparison between the shorter cruise and longer one? Does Phillips ever have a discount on these trips?

I always say the longer the better when it comes to glacier tours. I would definitely call them and make sure you don't pay for transportation both ways. There are several positive reviews for 26 Glacier cruise, I haven't heard about Glacier Quest.

7 minutes ago, Coral said:

I always say the longer the better when it comes to glacier tours. I would definitely call them and make sure you don't pay for transportation both ways. There are several positive reviews for 26 Glacier cruise, I haven't heard about Glacier Quest.

The other difference in the two trips is the size of the boat. The 26 Glacier boat has twice the passengers as the Glacier Quest boat.

I have emailed them to ask about paying only for one way transportation or a suggestion of who to use for one way if they cannot give a discount. I will wait to see what they say before calling them.

I looked at the 26 Glacier Cruise fairly closely but chose another. The two boats that Phillips uses are the M/V Bravest - 120' length, 285 guest and the M/V Klondike Express - 137', 332 guest. Both large boats. Phillips says " largest, fastest and most luxurious catamaran in Alaska ". They claim it explores over 140 miles of Prince William Sound. If you figure that the full 5 hour tour is in the water cruising, then your average speed will be ~28MPH. It's top speed loaded is ~32MPH. That's a pretty fast clip for sight seeing. You can read a lot more about the Klondike Express at http://www.nicholsboats.com/portfolio/project/klondike-express.  That's twice what we cruise Lake Conroe in our 25' pontoon party boat. I choose not to book their tour due to big crowd and fast touring speed.

This is an awesome tour.  I try to go on it at least once or twice during the summer.  The distance to and from the glaciers is considerable and the boat is fast.  However, much of that is transit.  They will slow down or stop for any wildlife and the speed means you get to see a variety of glaciers and stop and spend time at each one.  The "long" glacier is usually Surprise Glacier with about 45 minutes spent watching it calve.  

There are a number of cruise ship passengers on these cruises.  It is quite popular with people on back to backs as something to do on turnaround day.  You will not be late and you will definitely not miss the ship.  They are normally back by about 5:30 and dock next to the ship so you have time to get onboard and have dinner before the drill.

19 hours ago, masterdrago said:

I looked at the 26 Glacier Cruise fairly closely but chose another. The two boats that Phillips uses are the M/V Bravest - 120' length, 285 guest and the M/V Klondike Express - 137', 332 guest. Both large boats. Phillips says " largest, fastest and most luxurious catamaran in Alaska ". They claim it explores over 140 miles of Prince William Sound. If you figure that the full 5 hour tour is in the water cruising, then your average speed will be ~28MPH. It's top speed loaded is ~32MPH. That's a pretty fast clip for sight seeing. You can read a lot more about the Klondike Express at http://www.nicholsboats.com/portfolio/project/klondike-express.  That's twice what we cruise Lake Conroe in our 25' pontoon party boat. I choose not to book their tour due to big crowd and fast touring speed.

So which company/boat did you choose? I would also like to do a trip like this on a smaller boat.

On 10/18/2018 at 1:16 PM, susiesan said:

 

I have emailed them to ask about paying only for one way transportation or a suggestion of who to use for one way if they cannot give a discount. I will wait to see what they say before calling them.

I heard back by email from Phillips. They will do a one way by coach but they will charge the same as two ways, no discount.

With only two people, is there a more economical way to get to Whittier on time for the Phillips cruises i the afternoon? Phillips is charging $69 for the coach transfer. That's $140 for the 2 of us.

2 hours ago, susiesan said:

So which company/boat did you choose? I would also like to do a trip like this on a smaller boat.

www.lazyottercharters.com

Best Of Prince William Sound Cruise (Shared) 2 Guest(s) --- 22 May 2019 10:00 AM to 22 May 2019 06:30 PM

Contact:

Kelly Bender
Lazy Otter Charters, Inc.
694-6887 cell 529-0235 or 1 800-587-6887
info@lazyottercharters.com

masterdrago: how will you get to Whittier? I looked at Lazy otter web site and their shared tours depart at 10:00am. None of the buses or trains arrive by that time.

I did ask Phillips about a discount for AAA members:

The cost of the 26 Glacier Cruise with the AAA discount and including the coach is $232.05 vs $247.95

The cost of the Glacier Quest Cruise with the AAA discount and including the coach is $182.05 vs $192,95

It is not much, but every little bit will help. I though I had read somewhere that Phillips usually has aa Black friday sale if you book that day. If this is true, I will wait a month or so to make a reservation and decide which of the two boats to go on.

We'll be staying in Alyeska with a rent car and catching the 9:30 tunnel to Whittier. Had we not been in Girdwood/Alyeska, we would have stayed in Anchorage or Whittier VRBO and tried a one day car rental or worked with Phillips to do the full transport thing. We had just made up our mind to do Alyeska and Lazy Otter instead. It really can be a logistical nightmare.

2 hours ago, masterdrago said:

We'll be staying in Alyeska with a rent car and catching the 9:30 tunnel to Whittier. Had we not been in Girdwood/Alyeska, we would have stayed in Anchorage or Whittier VRBO and tried a one day car rental or worked with Phillips to do the full transport thing. We had just made up our mind to do Alyeska and Lazy Otter instead. It really can be a logistical nightmare.

Have you been to Whittier before? Good luck with VRBO. I did a search to even see if they had any and there was 1 listed at $850/night. 

Right. It's a pretty appalling list. Have to go up to Alyeska and Girdwood to find the real deals. We've spent a lot of time looking through our options for our May '19 DIY land tour. The OP should have no problem getting to Whittier from Anchorage in time to do the glacier tour and make their boat. I think her hubby can get past his fear.

Thank you to everyone who has replied. We're taking the train from anchorage to Whittier. So now to decide between lazy otters or Phillips, and if Phillips then the 26 glacier or the slightly shorter tour. Lazy otter might not be an option due to timing. I am leaning toward the shorter Phillips trip, if the boat is smaller and less ground covered so less of a rush. 

Lou :)

FYI - Major Marine, one of the other tour operators in Whittier, has moved their entire operation to Seward for Kenai Fjords trips.