Sea/Land Alaska ?s about transferring from ship

[kathyemma]

This will be my first sea/land vacation. How does it work? Do we put our luggage out the night before, collect it by customs and bring to the bus ourselves - or will they bring to the bus for us? Do we have free time between the ship docking and the bus leaving? We are on Westerdam, northbound, docking in Seward. I would like to bring a few bottles of wine with me for the land portion. I am assuming if I bring on board with me in Anchorage they ship will hold them for me until the last night, correct?

 

TIA

[CruiserBruce]

You will not have Immigration or Customs...that is taken care of when you board the ship in Vancouver.

[Krazy Kruizers]

The day before you get to Seward you will be given specific luggage tags for your land portion. Luggage will go out the night before. I seen it done both ways -- sometimes people had to claim their luggage and take it to the bus -- other times there was enough staff to do that for you.

Most of the times when we were in Seward, the train to Anchorage left early -- anywhere from 6:30 - 7 AM. They filled up first.

Then the buses going to Anchorage left shortly after that.

The buses for the various land portion had different leave times. Doubt if you will have any time to shop for wine.

[kathyemma]

The day before you get to Seward you will be given specific luggage tags for your land portion. Luggage will go out the night before. I seen it done both ways -- sometimes people had to claim their luggage and take it to the bus -- other times there was enough staff to do that for you.

Most of the times when we were in Seward, the train to Anchorage left early -- anywhere from 6:30 - 7 AM. They filled up first.

Then the buses going to Anchorage left shortly after that.

The buses for the various land portion had different leave times. Doubt if you will have any time to shop for wine.

 

Thanks! Guess I will shop in Vancouver. We will be heading to Denali. I have yet to tell my family how long of a drive it is.

 

Kathy

[kwb101]

We were on a Y2L Alaska-Yukon trip last summer, and on the land portion, luggage had to be out early (between 6 and 7) each morning. We're early risers, so that wasn't a problem. IIRC, buses usually left around 8 or 8.30 (including the bus to the railroad station in Anchorage). On the ship at the end of the voyage, we were surprised that luggage had to be out the night before.

[oaktreerb]

You need to check the cruiseline policies on bringing wine onboard. If you want to carry your wine on the bus you need to decide how you will carry it.

[sue1898]

We did the reverse (land tour first) but my understanding is that in either direction you make the same lunch stop at a buffet in Wasilla. Next door there is a convenience store that has a large and varied selection of wine.