Landing in Anchorage at 4am. Then what??

[cgdev1]

Our plane is scheduled to land in Anchorage at 4:19am (ugh). Our ship is scheduled to depart Whittier at 8:30pm that night. Any suggestions for what to do once we land? If I make a hotel reservation for the night before, would it automatically cancel if we don't show up by a certain hour? Seems like a waste for just a few hours (when hotels are SO expensive) - any properties that don't cost an arm and a leg that we can get to at that time of day? Or, do you have another suggestion? I still need to research options for getting to Whittier, but I'm guessing we'll have to wait around until noon for a bus/etc?

[CowPrincess]

You can guarantee your hotel room for late arrival, meaning you will be charged whether or not you show up, but they will hold the room for you. Make sure you find out what time check-out is, would suck in a major fashion to arrive at the hotel at 6 am, only to find out you need to be out by 11 am, imho.

[cgdev1]

You can guarantee your hotel room for late arrival, meaning you will be charged whether or not you show up, but they will hold the room for you. Make sure you find out what time check-out is, would suck in a major fashion to arrive at the hotel at 6 am, only to find out you need to be out by 11 am, imho.

 

Thanks for replying. Yes that is exactly how I feel about a reservation for only a few hours. It'd be one thing if it was $80 and included bfast. But when even Motel 6 is $162... sigh. Sheraton and similar chains are over $300 a night

[Glaciers]

There’s the Alaska Railroad that departs Anchorage for Whittier at 9:45am. Arrives Whittier at about noon. If you don’t mind skipping the hotel and traveling to Whitter like a zombie, take the train. You could grab a cab from the airport, get some breakfast downtown and then hop on the train. You would be able to board the ship as soon as you arrive Whitter. I think if I did this I’d be sleeping on the train although this section between Anchorage and Whittier is extremely scenic.

 

Some other transportation options:

http://www.anchorage.net/plan-your-trip/getting-around/

[cgdev1]

There’s the Alaska Railroad that departs Anchorage for Whittier at 9:45am. Arrives Whittier at about noon. If you don’t mind skipping the hotel and traveling to Whitter like a zombie, take the train. You could grab a cab from the airport, get some breakfast downtown and then hop on the train. You would be able to board the ship as soon as you arrive Whitter. I think if I did this I’d be sleeping on the train although this section between Anchorage and Whittier is extremely scenic.

 

Some other transportation options:

http://www.anchorage.net/plan-your-trip/getting-around/

 

I certainly don't mind skipping the hotel prices, lol! This sounds like a great idea. I would like to see the scenery - but yeah after a red eye I know my DH will fall asleep... I'm a lousy sleeper though. I'll for sure be a zombie that night. Thanks for the suggestions and link!

[AKStafford]

I'd rent a car. Grab a couple of hours of sleep in it and then head towards Whittier. You'd have time to explore the Turnagain Arm and/or do a Prince William Sound glacier cruise.

Avis is the only rental car company, so you'll need to rent from them. This late in the game it won't be cheap.

[hapster85]

I certainly don't mind skipping the hotel prices, lol! This sounds like a great idea. I would like to see the scenery - but yeah after a red eye I know my DH will fall asleep... I'm a lousy sleeper though. I'll for sure be a zombie that night. Thanks for the suggestions and link!

I don't know where you are coming from, but a lack of sleep may be a blessing in disguise. For us, coming from the Eastern Time Zone, Alaska is a 4 hour time change. Doing the zombie walk that first day makes the transition easier for us. Just a thought.

[cgdev1]

I'd rent a car. Grab a couple of hours of sleep in it and then head towards Whittier. You'd have time to explore the Turnagain Arm and/or do a Prince William Sound glacier cruise.

Avis is the only rental car company, so you'll need to rent from them. This late in the game it won't be cheap.

 

Thank you for the suggestion and for letting me know which car company is an option. I just looked at their site and, though the base rate isn't bad, but the time they add in taxes, fees and an $89 one way drop off charge, the price shot up to $239, lol

 

I once sailed through Prince William Sound (1998) - I remember it being the most pristine, glassy body of water I had ever seen. Absolutely beautiful. It was an unexpected surprise to see dolphins swimming alongside our cruise ship - esp so late at night!

[cgdev1]

I don't know where you are coming from, but a lack of sleep may be a blessing in disguise. For us, coming from the Eastern Time Zone, Alaska is a 4 hour time change. Doing the zombie walk that first day makes the transition easier for us. Just a thought.

 

Oh my goodness, I didn't even realize that Anchorage is an hour behind California. So I guess 4 will feel like 5? But I know what you mean... when I take a red eye to FL, I get very sleepy the first afternoon I'm there, but by the next day I seem to have adjusted more quickly to the 3 hour time difference. Still, it's having nowhere to go at that hour that is what concerns me. Even the car rental doesn't open until 5:30am. I'm guessing with my luck it will either be worse case scenario (flight cancelled) or Murphy's Law will kick in and the plane will land early... because planes only land late when I have a short connection :rolleyes:

[hapster85]

Oh my goodness, I didn't even realize that Anchorage is an hour behind California.

 

We didn't realize it either until our first trip there.

[DougH]

Make sure you get some sleep somewhere along the way. IMHO the scenery for the first couple of hours after you sail away from Whittier is some of the most spectacular on your trip. Time after time I see very little people outside enjoying it as they just boarded the ship after a land tour or like you just arrived and went to bed early

 

To me its magical to be outside on deck in the long twilight hours with magnificent scenery all around. After 20+ trips that is still for me one of the main reasons I keep returning.

[cgdev1]

Make sure you get some sleep somewhere along the way. IMHO the scenery for the first couple of hours after you sail away from Whittier is some of the most spectacular on your trip. Time after time I see very little people outside enjoying it as they just boarded the ship after a land tour or like you just arrived and went to bed early

 

To me its magical to be outside on deck in the long twilight hours with magnificent scenery all around. After 20+ trips that is still for me one of the main reasons I keep returning.

 

Thank you - I'm really looking forward to it! Ideally we can catch a few zz's in our room before sailaway. But at the moment we are scheduled for second seating so I think we'd miss the scenery :(

 

We are sailing on the Star Princess. Since I see from your signature that you have sailed with Princess a number of times, what can we expect once we get to the pier? i.e. what time (roughly) will they start boarding the ship? What time (roughly) will our cabins be ready? Will there be a lot of sitting around and waiting to board? Some cruises has been virtually no wait - just took as long as needed to process paperwork etc. But once we had to wait about 2 hours for our names to be called (embarrassingly, it was out of the port in our own city).

[DougH]

I usually do a B2B so haven't actually checked in from Whittier in years. I'd guess they start check in around 11am, 12 noon at the latest. To get into Whittier you have to go thru a tunnel that is only open in one direction which switches every 1/2 hour. Because of this passengers arrive in waves, one minute the terminal is empty then the busses and train arrive all at once. This is usually mid to late afternoon as a lot of people are coming from the land portion of their trip in Denali.

 

Even with a crowd you should be on board pretty fast, cabins on Princess are ready as soon as you board. There will be no waiting in Whittier aside from the length of the check in line FYI there is really nothing to do in Whittier itself, you will see how tiny it is when you arrive.

If you have a rental car and you arrive early there is a very nice small museum in what passes for downtown Whittier. Its a combination museum/ general store/hotel/bar. lol

 

A great option is to arrange a day cruise into PWS, there are several different companies. I believe they also offer transportation from Anchorage so you might inquire. These usually sail from about 12 noon until 5-6pm leaving you plenty of time to be back on board and/or check in.

 

First night dinner is usually open seating for everyone because boarding times will be so different for everyone. Your 2nd seating will start the next night. For me scenery beats eating every time. I usually spend 3-4 hours on deck after sailaway so you will easily have time for the sights after dinner. For me the long summer twilight hours as the sun drops are the best time. That and the scenery is hard to beat.

[cgdev1]

I usually do a B2B so haven't actually checked in from Whittier in years. I'd guess they start check in around 11am, 12 noon at the latest. To get into Whittier you have to go thru a tunnel that is only open in one direction which switches every 1/2 hour. Because of this passengers arrive in waves, one minute the terminal is empty then the busses and train arrive all at once. This is usually mid to late afternoon as a lot of people are coming from the land portion of their trip in Denali.

 

Even with a crowd you should be on board pretty fast, cabins on Princess are ready as soon as you board. There will be no waiting in Whittier aside from the length of the check in line FYI there is really nothing to do in Whittier itself, you will see how tiny it is when you arrive.

If you have a rental car and you arrive early there is a very nice small museum in what passes for downtown Whittier. Its a combination museum/ general store/hotel/bar. lol

 

A great option is to arrange a day cruise into PWS, there are several different companies. I believe they also offer transportation from Anchorage so you might inquire. These usually sail from about 12 noon until 5-6pm leaving you plenty of time to be back on board and/or check in.

 

First night dinner is usually open seating for everyone because boarding times will be so different for everyone. Your 2nd seating will start the next night. For me scenery beats eating every time. I usually spend 3-4 hours on deck after sailaway so you will easily have time for the sights after dinner. For me the long summer twilight hours as the sun drops are the best time. That and the scenery is hard to beat.

 

Very helpful information... thank you very much!

[Planning is Half the Fun]

Hi, we too are riding the train in at noon. Some in our group will want to go straight to nap. I was wondering if I could come on board, have lunch, settle in, and then get back off for a few hours to look at that museum and wander on the dock. Is it an option to get back off after you've checked in?

Another question - when the cruise ship leaves Whittier, are we passing through the same area that the PWS boats go through? One of my hopes for this trip is to see seals and otters and puffins and such.

 

Appreciate the wisdom and experience!

[idahospud]

Hi, we too are riding the train in at noon. Some in our group will want to go straight to nap. I was wondering if I could come on board, have lunch, settle in, and then get back off for a few hours to look at that museum and wander on the dock. Is it an option to get back off after you've checked in?

Another question - when the cruise ship leaves Whittier, are we passing through the same area that the PWS boats go through? One of my hopes for this trip is to see seals and otters and puffins and such.

 

Appreciate the wisdom and experience!

I've walked the town once to kill some time but wouldn't do it again. Someone might feel differently, but there really isn't much to see in town or on the dock and the museum is very small. I'd be for enjoying the ship or opting for a nap.

 

I've attached a couple pictures. One is of the entire town and the other of the one-way tunnel you'll be coming through that shares the road with the train. (Tunnel pic is from the Whittier side.)

[zqvol]

I'd rent a car. Grab a couple of hours of sleep in it and then head towards Whittier. You'd have time to explore the Turnagain Arm and/or do a Prince William Sound glacier cruise.

Avis is the only rental car company, so you'll need to rent from them. This late in the game it won't be cheap.

 

 

I would not even think about doing this. You are going to be flying in right at the summer solstice. It is going to already be light when you arrive and sleeping in a car is simply not going to work. Your best bet is what someone else recommended. Go grab breakfast and then take the train to Whittier. You can board the ship when you arrive and get some rest before your cruise starts.

 

Renting a car and driving to Whittier after having been up all night is simply not a good idea from a safety standpoint. Too easy to fall asleep at the wheel.

[zqvol]

Hi, we too are riding the train in at noon. Some in our group will want to go straight to nap. I was wondering if I could come on board, have lunch, settle in, and then get back off for a few hours to look at that museum and wander on the dock. Is it an option to get back off after you've checked in?

Another question - when the cruise ship leaves Whittier, are we passing through the same area that the PWS boats go through? One of my hopes for this trip is to see seals and otters and puffins and such.

 

Appreciate the wisdom and experience!

 

 

Of course you can get back off after you have checked in, just make sure you are back on board at the appropriate time.

[cgdev1]

I would not even think about doing this. You are going to be flying in right at the summer solstice. It is going to already be light when you arrive and sleeping in a car is simply not going to work. Your best bet is what someone else recommended. Go grab breakfast and then take the train to Whittier. You can board the ship when you arrive and get some rest before your cruise starts.

 

Renting a car and driving to Whittier after having been up all night is simply not a good idea from a safety standpoint. Too easy to fall asleep at the wheel.

 

I am 98% sure my DH would be drowsy. It is times like those where I have to be the one to drive since I don't fall asleep as easily. But I know it would be a challenge... And the tunnel may stress me. So yeah, I had the same concerns. Plus the price is a deterrent. The train for two is cheaper, lol.

 

So far the earliest departure from Anchorage I have come across is the train at 9:45. The time is perfect, though I'd be happy with a bus if it meant a lower price. If anyone knows of a motor coach (I.e. Something more affordable than $80 each) that has a morning departure, please let me know. :)

[Glaciers]

In addition to being the most scenic section of highway in Alaska it's also the most dangerous with many accidents each year. Not a good area to be driving dozy.

Edited May 7, 2016 by Glaciers

[CowPrincess]

In addition to being the most scenic section of highway in Alaska it's also the most dangerous with many accidents each year. Not a good area to be driving dozy.

 

I agree. A basic rule of road safety is "don't drive when tired".

[cgdev1]

In addition to being the most scenic section of highway in Alaska it's also the most dangerous with many accidents each year. Not a good area to be driving dozy.

 

I noticed you edited out your "no frills" suggestion. It seemed like a great option... Was there a reason you removed it? Is there something about it I should be concerned about?

 

Thanks

[Glaciers]

I noticed you edited out your "no frills" suggestion. It seemed like a great option... Was there a reason you removed it? Is there something about it I should be concerned about?

 

Thanks

 

My bad. It appears that although they do go to Whittier they don't have a direct Anchorage-Whittier shuttle.

 

These folks will know if there is such a service that has a morning departure. They don't charge for this info and you can book directly with them. http://www.downtowntourgroup.com/

Edited May 9, 2016 by Glaciers

[cgdev1]

My bad. It appears that although they do go to Whittier they don't have a direct Anchorage-Whittier shuttle.

 

These folks will know if there is such a service that has a morning departure. They don't charge for this info and you can book directly with them. http://www.downtowntourgroup.com/

 

Ah... I'm glad you pointed that out. It states an arrival time in Whittier, but I guess that bus is coming from Seward. I misread it and assumed it was from Anchorage. Thanks

 

Thanks for the link. I'll check it out