Alaska trains, Anchorage to Seward - which one?

[judebarsto]

My group of friends and I are doing our own air/hotel prior to our Alaskan cruise in June, and staying in downtown Anchorage the night before the cruise leaves. We would like to take the train to Seward, and are debating whether to take the Grandview train option ($179pp) or the Gold Star Service on the Coastal Classic ($130pp). The service seems similar; main differences are the time they leave (1 pm for Grandview vs. 6:45 am for CC), the depot (at the airport for Grandview, downtown Anchorage for CC) and, of course, the time of arrival at the ship: (5:45 pm or later for the Grandview - ship leaves around 6 pm, but of course waits for the passengers; and 11 am for the CC, and embarkation is supposed to be at 3 pm - or is it earlier??)

 

Other differences: I was also told that the Coastal Classic will check your luggage through to the ship and it will be in your cabin in the afternoon, but you still have to check in. I know that on the Grandview, you are checked into your room while on the train, but that doesn't appear to me to be a huge advantage.

 

My questions are:

 

Has anyone felt that arriving for an early embarkation on the CC (and I've heard that you can often board as early as 12:30 pm) is an advantage? My gut reaction is that it would be nice to settle in early, maybe have lunch, rest a bit. Obviously, some people do NOT want to get up so early, but I don't mind that.

 

Does arriving so late on the Grandview, i.e., right before the boat leaves, feel rushed? I would assume that you barely have time to down your champagne before it's time for the lifeboat drill, etc, and then, getting ready for dinner.

 

Any thoughts? Has anyone done both?

 

Thanks in advance! Judy

[Mark_T]

We used the Gold Star option on the Coastal Classic and went down to Seward two days before we boarded the ship.

 

This gave us plenty of time to take a full day Kenai Fjords trip out of Seward with Major Marine. On the first day of our cruise we boarded around midday, had a leisurely lunch on the ship and we comfortably settled into our suite in plenty of time to be relaxing on our balcony sipping champagne while watching those that took the Grandview arriving en mass barely in time for the departure.

 

If you can't spare the days to go down that early you can still fit in a shorter trip out of Seward as the boat operators will meet the train, take care of your luggage and whisk you out to sea and have you back in time for departure, as long as you are on the Coastal Classic.

 

We saw our best sightings of Orca on our Kenai trip so I'd have hated to have missed it.

[IndiTravler]

We took a multi-generation trip last summer. The "young folks" took the early train with the oldest couple taking the late train from Regent. I was in the young group.

 

We took the early train (Gold Service) to do some sightseeing in Seward and in particular to take the kids to the Sealife Center. It worked out great and we weren't the only Regent folks on the early train. While the RR website says there is no luggage storage, they cheerfully took the luggage for the pile to be delivered to the ship and we were done. Everyone had a good time in Seward and we were told to board the ship before the late train arrive.

 

The oldest couple was whisked from the train (along with the rest of the Regent Train folks) onto the boat. As soon as the last person from the train was on the ship, we departed.

 

When we all compared notes later the train experience was almost identical. We all had a great time and thus recommend either train. The key is if you want to see Seward at all. If you do, you have to get up early and take the early train.

 

Oh -- the lifeboat drill - we actually did that the next morning.

[alwayscoldmom]

I would choose the early train to Seward. Since you are staying downtown already it will be very easy for you to get to the train station. Both trains use the same tracks to Seward so the scenery will be the same but wild animals tend to be more active in the morning and sleep during the day so you might have a better chance of seeing some on the morning train. I haven't seen the cars that the Grandview train is using but my guess is they would be very simialr to the ones that the Gold Star Service uses.

 

I hope this helps.

[judebarsto]

Thanks for your reply. I'm inclined to take the early train; I just have to convince my friend that she wants to get up that early! Does anyone remember how early they could board the ship?

[Mark_T]

Thanks for your reply. I'm inclined to take the early train; I just have to convince my friend that she wants to get up that early! Does anyone remember how early they could board the ship?

 

Boarding generally starts around 12:00.

[judebarsto]

Thanks to all. I'm still not seeing any great benefit in spending $50 extra just to sleep late in Anchorage and get checked in on the train. Any other reason to choose the Grandview over the Goldstar Coastal Classic?

[RachelG]

If you want to see anything in Seward, you need to take the earlier train. And I think Seward is worthwhile to see. Highly recommend the Sealife Center. We actually drove a rental car from Anchorage to Seward and spent a couple of nights in the Kenai Princess Lodge on the way down. Strongly recommend this approach if you have the time.

[Nashna]

Take the Gold Star Train. We loved it! The train stopped and slowed and we saw bears, eagles, goats. The service was outstanding. If you take this train, go to breakfast right as you are leaving Anchorage. The scenery is industrial and there is usually no wait for the dining car as soon as the train leaves Anchorage. Be sure to take the Goldstar Service. The later train did not arrive until 6:00pm, so the passengers were taken right to the ship just in time for dinner. We spoke to lots of Regent passengers who were on the later train and since the train was running late, they never experienced the wildlife that we did on the Gold Star. Seward was a neat town to explore and we boarded the ship around one. We arrived the day before and had a great time walking around the town, watching the fisherman come in with their catch and dining on some great crab legs.