Regent flights from NY to Anchorage

[fishgirl123]

When Regent books your flights from NY (JFK or LaGuardia) to Anchorage, what airline do they use and what kind of connections do they make. We are a group of 12 traveling to Alaska in August for the Navigator cruise. Do they just assign flights or consult you in advance.

We are thinking of booking our own flights. Are there any disadvantages to this.

Is it easy to get transportation from the airport to the Hilton in Anchorage?

[cruiseluv]

I don't know what flights they use to Anchorage, hopefully somebody will chime in about that.

 

Regarding transport from Anchorage airport to Hilton, yes its very easy , plenty of cabs at the airport. It'll cost about $25. Are you traveling on a date prior to the cruise or are you doing the hotel through Regent and sticking with their dates? If the latter, my understanding is that they will provide transport to hotel. If you're traveling on a prior date selected by you you need to pay deviation fee and this allows you to select your flights.

 

I usually book my own flights if I can get them at a better price or with FF miles. The disadvantage is that you have to get yourself to the port. Be aware that the port of embarkation in Alaska is Seward, which is close to 4 hrs from Anchorage. When we did Alaska with Regent we booked our own flights, flew to Anchorage the day before and took the train to Seward very early in the morning on embarkation day. This was some years ago, maybe there are other options these days.

[fishgirl123]

Thanks for that info

I was thinking of making my own plane reservations (12) of us, booking the Hilton myself (already did that) and taking the train to Seward with Regent.

Plan to stay an extra day in Vancouver with the whole family. I think if I make my own plane reservations, there is no deviation fee for the extra day. Plenty of good hotels like Four Seasons to stay at in Vancouver. Don't know which hotel Regent uses.

[RachelG]

Anchorage is probably on of the few places I would consider using regent air, because of the included transfer.

 

That said we have been to Alaska many times, rented cars in anchorage and driven to Seward. It is a very scenic drive, and you can stop at the wildlife refuge on you way which is outstanding. Also if you fly in a couple of days early, the salmon fishing in kenai is wonderful, and on the way to Seward.

[tate23]

We booked our own flights to Anchorage from the New York area a couple of years ago and also (like an previous poster) took the early train to Seward, arriving around 11:30 AM, giving us time to visit this stunningly beautiful but small town before boarding the ship in early afternoon. Our luggage was handled by the Alaska RR, so once we checked onto the train (showing them our Regent tags), we did not see our bags again until we reached our suite onboard. The train ride was spectacular.

In Vancouver, Regent probably still uses the Pan Pacific at Canada Place. I would highly recommend the Fairmont Pacific Rim, directly across the street or the Westin Bayshore. Both are beautiful and in great locations. (An interesting "perk" at the Fairmont was that they had a Golden Retriever "on staff". We were able to reserve time to take her for a walk around town -- which was lots of fun, since she pretty much walked us along her favorite routes. :))

[tallship]

Anchorage is probably on of the few places I would consider using regent air, because of the included transfer.

 

That said we have been to Alaska many times, rented cars in anchorage and driven to Seward. It is a very scenic drive, and you can stop at the wildlife refuge on you way which is outstanding. Also if you fly in a couple of days early, the salmon fishing in kenai is wonderful, and on the way to Seward.

 

Rachel-

Do you do the drop off in Seward? What company did you book with?

Thx

[cruiseej]

Yes, you can do one-way rentals from Anchorage to Seward. Hertz is the only rental company in Seward. Be prepared for a rate which, relative to normal car rental rates, will knock your socks off! But it can still be worth it for the flexibility. We did it in the opposite direction when our Regent cruise ended in Seward.

 

If you decide to book you own air and drive, consider whether you can fly in a day early. If you have a night to stay in Seward (the Holiday Inn Express is perfectly located), you can go out for a morning cruise in Kenai Fjords National Park (8 am-2 pm) before returning and boarding Navigator. Or, depending on your timing, you could drive halfway from Anchorage towards Seward and take a short side trip to Whittier to take the 26 Glacier day cruise there, and then continue on to Seward to overnight. One of these trips is particularly desirable if you don't have the Tracy Arm excursion booked on Regent. (But I enjoyed them in addition to Tracy Arm!) Even if you don't have time for one of these half-day cruises, driving allows you to do any of the following: stop at some of the many pull-offs during the scenic drive along Turnagain Sound, take the tram to the top of the mountain at the Alyeska resort, visit the Alaska Conservation Wildlife Center, take a short side trip to Portage Glacier (with or without the one-hour boat trip to the glacier), visit Exit Glacier outside Seward, visit the Alaska SeaLife Center in Seward. Lots of fun things to do if you can plan an extra day before your cruise!

 

-- Eric

[RachelG]

Ditto to everything Eric said. Yes, the car rental rates in Alaska are high, but for our family of 4, it was less expensive than the train ride. Plus we stayed at Alyeska one night and at the Kenai Princess for 2 so the boys could go fishing.

As noted above, Hertz is your only option if you are dropping off in Seward.

[nana541]

Just a word of caution... I am from Alaska and visit family in Anchorage a couple times a year. If you are doing hotel on your own, make your reservations immediately... Do not delay! During the cruising season multiple cruiselines block entire hotels for there guest on the nights prior to the cruise... So availability if you wait until 2,3 or even 4,5 months out is a crap shoot! Rooms during tourist and cruise week- ends are expensive and hard to come by.

So book very early!! As to airfares... In Alaska we love Alaska Airlines and I can't remember in the last 10 or more years finding cheaper fares anywhere else. An Alaska Visa card thru Bank of America comes with a $99 companion ticket immediately upon approval and 25,000 airmiles (must apply on line thru the link on the Alaska Airline website).....

so our family flies to Alaska using a combination of Alaska Miles, companion tickets that I use for First Class, buy one 1st Class and hubbies 1st Class is only $99 round trip :)

Finally the Train to Seward: you need to check the train schedule online as the schedules have really changed and aren't always what they used to be.

I luv the train as you can see so much and leave the worry and driving to someone else!

Safe journeys to all... :)

[tallship]

We plan to arrive 2 days before. Our flight arrives in Anchorage around 2 pm on Mon and the cruise departs 2 days later on Wed. We have hotels booked in both Anchorage and Seward. Trying to decide what to do and what will be easier. Would lie to do the Kenai cruise or Glacier cruise. What would you recommend?

[nana541]

Portage glacier is about 45 min drive out of town toward Alyeska! This was a huge glacier when I was a girl but now nearly 42 yrs after high school the glacier has shrunk to near nothing and the pond in front of the glacier is now a large lake. They do run hour and half or so tours but not really much to write home about. My favorite thing to do is to drive up to Alyeska Resort about an hour ish down Kenai Penn. and take the Tram to the top of the Mountain and have lunch. The scenery is gorgious, the trip generally pleases everyone....for the more adventure seeker in your group in the summer months they usually offer "hang glidding" where the expert has you hooked in front of him or her. You need to get up there earlier to do this and I would even suggest calling to inquire if this is still offered. Once you have reserved a spot to do this you take a 45 min or so class before they take you to the top of the mountian, strap you on and off the top of Mt Alyeska you go landing in a huge field in the valley below....

 

When you live in Alaska you kind of forget what a wonderous place Alaska is....

[RachelG]

With that amount of time, I would go to the wildlife refuge by alyeska. The I would go on the glacier cruise at kenai. Lots of time to explore on your own if you have 2 days. We also did a really fun float trip on the kenai several years ago.

[tallship]

Thanks. Am starting to take a serious look at getting this all planned.

[cruiseej]

We plan to arrive 2 days before. Our flight arrives in Anchorage around 2 pm on Mon and the cruise departs 2 days later on Wed. We have hotels booked in both Anchorage and Seward. Trying to decide what to do and what will be easier. Would lie to do the Kenai cruise or Glacier cruise. What would you recommend?

 

This sounds like a great plan! Your can explore Anchorage a bit and have a nice dinner Monday (a number of good choices, but for one night, I'd pick Glacier Brewhouse), get up early and drive to Seward Tuesday in time to take the 11:30 Kenai Fjords tour. Enjoy dinner at Ray's on the water. Wednesday morning, you could explore Exit Glacier or the SeaLife Center before boarding Navigator.

 

I enjoyed both the Kenai Fjord cruise and the 26 Glacier cruise out of Whittier. There are some similarities, but also some real differences in terrain and scenery, so it wasn't overkill for me to do both on our trip a couple years ago. I don't think you can go wrong either way, but I think I'd lean towards recommending the trip out of Seward for you. Going to Whittier requires you to time your travel to make it through the one-way-at-a-time tunnel; miss it, and you'll miss your cruise. If the weather isn't optimal, Kenai Fjords tours can offer you a shorter trip heavy on wildlife but not reaching the glaciers; the 26 Glacier trip pretty much goes even visibility isn't good. My recollection is that there's more wildlife (in regular locations on the rocks)on the Kenai Fjords trip. When you're done with the trip in Seward, you don't have further to drive if you're feeling tired after the early morning start. (But since it's daylight late, if you want more activity, you could pop over to Exit Glacier for an hour.)

 

-- Eric

 

Some pics...

 

Driving along Turnagain Sound, about 30 minutes south of Anchorage

 

On the Kenai Fjords trip, at Holgate Glacier. Is that boat close enough to the glacier for you?

 

 

 

Some of the wildlife on the trip...

 

[cruiseej]

Portage glacier is about 45 min drive out of town toward Alyeska! This was a huge glacier when I was a girl but now nearly 42 yrs after high school the glacier has shrunk to near nothing and the pond in front of the glacier is now a large lake. They do run hour and half or so tours but not really much to write home about.

 

I'm sure it's not what it once was, but I still found the short drive from the Seward highway had some nice sightseeing...

 

 

And the scenery at the lake in front of Portage Glacier -- not visible from the road -- was pretty darn nice as well! :)

 

 

-- Eric

[nana541]

Eric.... We are talking about two differant directions! i think heading down towards Seward is the way to go....down the Kenai leads to Portage Glacier and Alyeska ..... Portage Glacier is in MHO a waste of time and resources...I agree with you......sadly I had little opportunity to enjoy and explore the beautiful State of Alaska...even now visiting family we just don't get out! Another great tr is the Alaska Rail Road to Denali....stay a couple days and then head back to Anchorage and on to Seward to catch the Ship :)

[cruiseej]

Nana, I think you're saying something wrong; these are not in different directions. Let me trace the stops along the Seward Highway, heading south from Anchorage to Seward...

 

About 50 minutes south of Anchorage on the Seward Highway (unless you stop along Turnagain Arm for pictures, which you will!) you come to the Alyeska Resort. Continue about 20 minutes further south on the Seward Highway, and there's the the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center. Less than a mile further down the road is Portage Glacier Road, the cutoff to Portage Glacier a short 8 miles east. (This is is also the road to Whittier, with the amazing 2.5 mile Anderson tunnel into Whittier just past Portage Glacier). Continuing south on Seward Highway from Portage Glacier Road, the highway leaves Turnagain Sound and begins its climb inland on the Kenai peninsula. It's about an hour and a half from the Conservation Center/Portage Road to Seward. Exit Glacier, which you can drive to and walk up to, is just before you enter Seward.

 

So really, all these potential stops are pretty much on a line from Anchorage to Seward; it just depends how much time one has to make stops and which things you want to do along the way. With one full day, I would definitely prioritize the Kenai Fjords 6 hour day cruise out of Seward -- and getting there in time for the 11:30 departure pretty much dictates timing and pretty much precludes other stops, except for some photos along the two and a half hour drive. But if one decides not to do the excursion in Seward, then any of these other stops becomes possible during a leisurely drive to Seward. I included the photo of Portage Lake just to show it's pretty, even without taking the little one-hour boat ride on the lake to view the glacier; the glacier viewing there definitely isn't anything compared to one of the boat trips from Seward or Whittier.

 

If you Google Map from Anchorage to Seward and zoom in along the route, you can see the places mentioned above.

 

As for Denali, that's definitely another exciting part of Alaska very worth visiting -- but it requires more than the day tallship has to work with.

 

-- Eric

[nana541]

Eric, don't mean litterally two differant directions ....just that Portage Glacier is IMHO not worth the time when their are so many beautiful stops as shown in your gorgious pictures! There are so called Glaciers and then there are GLACIERS :) yes so continue down the Old Seward Hwy ..... Have many memories of driving that Hwy as a teenager. The Alaska of my youth is very differant from today!

Enjoy all the beauty Alaska has to offer....I am also a fan of the railroad to Denali....the trip is stunning as is the train to Seward.

[tallship]

This is wonderful information. Thank you so much. We will stay in Anchorage both nights...and meet up with friends the night before the cruise. There is a 100 dollar drop off charge for the rental in Seward.

[tallship]

Ok, so I spent the evening scouring the web and am a bit undecided between a day trip from Anchorage to Whittier versus Seward. I am also trying to decide whether to stay one night in Anchorage and then one night in Seward. Currently have booked 2 nights hotel in Anchorage using points versus staying one night in Anchorage and then the second night pre-cruise at the Holiday Inn Express in Seward which will be about $300 all in. Is is too far to drive into Seward for a day trip? Is Seward better than Whittier?

Both have cruises departing for the day.

[nana541]

I'd head down to Seward and do a fabulous tour down there! Anchorage is just a big city like so many others, I personally don't think it has much to offer, just a Gateway to the wonders of Alaska!

[jhp]

Nana541, I understand you grew up there, but I have loved Anchorage on every one of my 3 Alaska cruises! Had time there pre-cruise twice, and post cruise once, for only a day. The museum is wonderful for young and old, loved the shopping, too, along that street, what 5th Avenue? I loved how all around town, there were hanging baskets of pretty flowers to dress up the streets, the pretty little building that housed the visitors center, the "animals" outside the shops. All were nice, and local, not like a lot of ports where you see the same chains like every port in the Caribbean. I didn't even realize until the last time I was there that there was a department store. That was a pre-cruise stop, and I needed a jacket. I loved the restaurants,, the people, well, it is just a different part of the world to me. I guess you think of it as a "city", I thought it was lovely.

 

Maybe when we are crusing next week, we can chat a bit more about your hometown!

[nana541]

It is funny that when you live somewhere you don't notice what is right under your nose! My all time favorite cruise was Alaska Inside Passage it was magical!

The Alaska I lived in in the 60's & 70's ... Anchorage was a very small town, fishing inside the city limits was wonderful... To get across town was 6 minutes! Today, if you could actually catch something I would not eat it and across town can be an hour from my mom's (near Earthquake Park) to my brothers near Fort Rich or much much longer to my sister in Wasilla! I must admit I am sad about the out of control growth that has happened in this beautiful corner of the world.

 

I will be in Anchorage during the summer solstice (late June) and of course will visit family in a subdivision like any Other and once again not see the beauty around me!

 

Jhp - would luv to buy you a drink :) track us down Our cabin is 781.

Enjoy your mariner and safe journey to everyone on board.

[ededmd]

I loved how all around town, there were hanging baskets of pretty flowers to dress up the streets, - YES! One of the most remarkable things. Not surprising Alaskans win largest vegetable contests given how impressively large and beautiful the flower growth.

 

I didn't even realize until the last time I was there that there was a department store. - A Nordstrom no less though a very small one.

 

Any time I think back to Anchorage, I can't help but think fondly about our wonderful breakfasts at Snow City Cafe. Very local, crunchy granola vibe with great coffee, good servers, and nice food.

[DaveFr]

Ok, so I spent the evening scouring the web and am a bit undecided between a day trip from Anchorage to Whittier versus Seward. I am also trying to decide whether to stay one night in Anchorage and then one night in Seward. Currently have booked 2 nights hotel in Anchorage using points versus staying one night in Anchorage and then the second night pre-cruise at the Holiday Inn Express in Seward which will be about $300 all in. Is is too far to drive into Seward for a day trip? Is Seward better than Whittier?

Both have cruises departing for the day.

I wouldn't recommend a day trip from Anchorage to Seward since you'll spend about five hours driving from Anchorage to Seward and back. When we did the drive in 2009, we found the following website very helpful for the drive: http://alaska.org/driving/seward-drive.htm.

 

Hope this helps.