Which shuttle from Anchorage to Whittier: "Leopard Shuttle" or "Whittier Shuttle"

[MsCool]

Let me try this again without a website name in my subject that was starred out the first time I posted:

 

I need to decide which shuttle service to use for Anchorage to Whittier on September 11. I have narrowed it down to AlaskanLeopard.com and Whittier Shuttle . com

 

I find several favorable reviews for the Alaskan Leopard shuttle, with the *side note* that that humor/comedy is a bit corny. I can find references to the Whittier Shuttle . com but not many actual reviews, so I don't have much to compare the two. Is it possible the second has been banned from the forum?

 

It appears that the sights and stops for both companies are very similar. The major difference (if you can call them "major") are:

 

Leopard: $9 more pp; 2:45 travel time with stop at wildlife center; includes snack

Whittier Shuttle . com :$9 cheaper; 3:45 travel time (hour longer) with stop at wildlife center, includes snack.

 

I am interested in reviews of actual content of tours (what did you see, where did you stop) to see if I can figure out where the additional hour goes on the Whittier Shuttle (is it just picking up more people?), and what the snack consisted of. I can't imagine the snack will make-or-break any deal, but with all else being equal, I might as well ask :)!

 

Thanks as always for the great feedback.

[LA_FadeAway]

Just curious, have you considered the train? We opted for it on our upcoming cruise, rather than yet another bus tour.

[MsCool]

We were looking at one of these two shuttles for a couple reasons:

 

1) they are both cheaper than the train yet follow the same path

2) there is some narrative that goes with the ride

3) they stop at the wildlife conservation center for short visit, which interests us.

[c-cruise]

Wildlife conservation center is worth seeing, but I wouldn't decided to take the bus just based on that. We drove down to the Center and Portage Glacier from Anchorage the day before our cruise and then the next day took the train from Anchorage to Whittier. Having done the route both driving and on the train I would definitely do the train again.

 

Don't know if you are in a "hurry" to get to Whittier and get on the ship or take a PWS tour, but the train is only a 2hr trip (vs 3-4 on the bus) and gets you to Whittier at noon. Other nice thing about the train is you check your bags in Anchorage and they truck them down for you and you don't see them again until they arrive in your cabin. Don't know if the bus companies provide that same service or not.

[Marie321]

We took the Leopard tour. We had a brief stop at Portage Glacier for dessert and a short walk around. We stopped at the wildlife center. The stop times were about right for both. Yes, the humor is corny, but if you have kids, you don't have to worry about off color comments. We had trouble getting off our ship and they went out of their way to accomodate us and make sure they got us.

[NHsnowpup]

We took the Leopard tour. . . The stop times were about right for both. Yes, the humor is corny, but . . . We had trouble getting off our ship and they went out of their way to accomodate us and make sure they got us.

 

This information makes me breathe a little easier.

 

We are trying to get from Seward to Whittier without breaking the bank or "Taking the Long Way Home" (Sew-Anch-Whitt). From searching, and searching it seems that Leopard might work for us by switching off the Seward trip to the Whittier trip at the Conservation Center. Their times also would let us stay in Seward to do Exit Glacier in the AM. I'm waiting for Leopard to respond to my e-mail request. I'm OK with lame humor, (I teach and my principal . . .), just don't leave me standing on a corner with my bags!!

 

Last part of our trip to plan, and it's been the toughest!!:eek: