Princess Transfers Anchorage to Whittier

[FoghornLeghorn]

Flying into Anchorage next August for a southbound cruise. (Coral Princess) We'll stay at the Captain Cook the night before.

Hotel and transfers booked through Princess.

 

Can someone give me an idea of the procedure and times on embarkation day?

I assume we'll get instructions when we check in the hotel.

Will we put luggage out for pickup and then just board the transfer bus and see our luggage later in our room?

 

Since the ship doesn't leave until 8:30 pm.....what time does the transfer bus, or buses, start leaving the hotel?

 

Are there several options of when to board the motorcoach? Can we stay at the hotel and have a leisurely breakfast? look around Anchorage, or is there only one bus?

 

Any informaton on the transfer and embarkation process would be appreciated :)

[Budget Queen]

You get on the bus when you want, they leave over several hours, which will be told to you. Once a bus loads up, it leaves.

 

Being you only have this single day- do you really want to do nothing? There are options for some touring, if of interest, with a stand out, being a Prince William Sound boat tour, which would be simple to book on your own, getting an earlier bus to Whittier.

 

Up to you certainly, but I would at least suggest you look at enjoying an activity in Anchorage and get a late bus- I've seen then arriving 5:30pm in Whittier.

[FoghornLeghorn]

Thank you!

 

Yes, exactly what we would like to do. Have breakfast and do something in or around Anchorage.

 

Now that I know there are several buses at different times, we can look for something to do before we head to Whittier.

[world_traveler_et]

We sailed on the Coral Princess this past June. Let me say that the Princess transfers to/from the Captain Cook Hotel worked like clock work and I would recommend taking the Princess transfers.

 

This was our experience in 2013--

 

We arrived at the Anchorage Airport around 1PM June. We were met by a Princess agent in the baggage claim area. All we had to do is collect our luggage and dropped our bags off a short distance at the luggage collection area for both Princess & HAL cruisers.

 

We were than instructed to proceed to another line where we received information and maps on the Anchorage area. Than we were to go outside and wait for the motor coaches. The wait was brief.

 

The motor coaches were taking the Princess passengers to the Captain Cook Hotel and the HAL passengers to the Westmark Hotel. The driver gave us a brief tour of the area. The driver said that Denali was visible and took a slight detour and stopped the bus so we could take photographs.

 

When we arrived at the hotel we were told that check in time was 3PM. We were instructed to come back the princess desk at 3PM (not the hotel front desk) where we would receive our room key and an informational package for the next day. If you had any hand luggage you could drop it off with the Bellman and than have lunch, walk around the city, or sit in the comfortable chairs at the Captain Cook Hotel. Your luggage will be brought directly to your hotel room.

 

The package contained instructions for the next day. Basically, we were given luggage tags for the transfer and instructed to have our bags ready at 8AM and left inside your room (and not outside the door). The next time you will see your luggage will be inside your stateroom aboard the Coral Princess.

 

Our package stated that we were to leave the Captain Cook Hotel at 11AM and instructed to be in the waiting area fifteen minutes prior to our scheduled departure time. Our motor coach left directly for Whittier and did not stop to pick up any additional passengers.

 

The transfer took around 90 minutes. We did make a brief stop at a scenic area of the Chugach National Park. The stop was made because we were a little ahead of schedule and had to wait shortly for our turn to proceed in the tunnel.

 

From the time we arrived at the check-in line at the pier to the time we boarded the ship was around fifteen minutes.

 

Let me know if you have any follow up questions. Have a wonderful cruise!

[FoghornLeghorn]

Thank you World Traveler! Very helpful.

 

Budget Queen had stated there were several buses going to the ship at different times.....did you pick the 11:00 time spot, or was it just assigned to you?

 

Do you know when the other buses left?

 

Thanks so much

[peety3]

Whatever you do, please realize that to get to Whittier, you'll have to pass through a 2.5 mile tunnel through a mountain. It's a single-lane tunnel, which integrates both vehicular traffic and train traffic on a carefully-sequenced ballet. No matter what you do, don't be late for your transfers, or you're in big trouble to make the ship. It's a neat experience, and then stunning to see how small Whittier is (it's a deep-water port that was very useful to the military in wartime).

[world_traveler_et]

Thank you World Traveler! Very helpful.

 

Budget Queen had stated there were several buses going to the ship at different times.....did you pick the 11:00 time spot, or was it just assigned to you?

 

Do you know when the other buses left?

 

Thanks so much

 

Foghorn Leghorn,

Our time slots were assigned by Princess. We didn't check to see if they could be changed to a later time slot. The time slot worked for us. We were amongst the earlier passengers to arrive and didn't have long lines to wait in to check-in. It also gave us time to explore the ship, explore the little town of Whittier, and than relax. We weren't sure what time we would arrive in Whittier so we didn't book any on our own excursions. There are a few Glacier tours that you could take from Whittier.

 

Princess also does transfers from the airport and another location in town if you aren't staying at the Captain Cook Hotel. I have heard that those buses leave when full and have time range when you can catch them.

 

The Princess agent do check your names off to make sure you are on the motor coach leaving from the Captain Cook.