Would love to do Alaska, but need to keep it simple - getting to & from

[dcsam]

We’ve cruised Alaska many times.  We’ve either cruised RT out of Seattle or Vancouver. Easy for us since it’s just a drive. I But the logistics for a Biking cruise seem daunting for someone who is ‘walking challenged’. We could fly to Anchorage, but what would be the easiest mode of transportation to Seward? Then once we disembark in Vancouver, how would we get back to our car in Seattle?  Seabourn has RT out of Vancouver (easy), but we’d love to cruise with Viking. Any ideas or suggestions?

Thank you

[Pushka]

We did it from Australia. Aussies are used to complicated logistics. We flew to Vancouver. We trained from Seward to Alaska then flew to Hawaii then Australia. 

[Jim Avery]

41 minutes ago, dcsam said:

We’ve cruised Alaska many times.  We’ve either cruised RT out of Seattle or Vancouver. Easy for us since it’s just a drive. I But the logistics for a Biking cruise seem daunting for someone who is ‘walking challenged’. We could fly to Anchorage, but what would be the easiest mode of transportation to Seward? Then once we disembark in Vancouver, how would we get back to our car in Seattle?  Seabourn has RT out of Vancouver (easy), but we’d love to cruise with Viking. Any ideas or suggestions?

Thank you

The simplest way back would be to book a back to back with Viking.  Not having looked at the schedule I don't know if that is even offered.  If not take a look at the Alaska Marine Highway (ferries).  They run from Seattle and Vancouver to most points on the coast of Alaska.  Spartan but comfy cabins and decent food.  You would get spectacular scenery and stop in ports cruise ships have never heard of.  Just a thought.  BTW from Anchorage to Seward the train is nice.  Otherwise coaches run all the time in season.

[SantaFe1]

43 minutes ago, dcsam said:

We’ve cruised Alaska many times.  We’ve either cruised RT out of Seattle or Vancouver. Easy for us since it’s just a drive. I But the logistics for a Biking cruise seem daunting for someone who is ‘walking challenged’. We could fly to Anchorage, but what would be the easiest mode of transportation to Seward? Then once we disembark in Vancouver, how would we get back to our car in Seattle?  Seabourn has RT out of Vancouver (easy), but we’d love to cruise with Viking. Any ideas or suggestions?

Thank you

Well, maybe the easiest is to leave the car out of the picture.  For our upcoming Alaska cruise we have flights on Alaska airlines from Seattle to Anchorage and the from Vancouver to Seattle.  We have Viking pre and post excursions, so we also have Viking transfers.  But if you don’t want to do the excursions and don’t want to use Viking air, you can still buy the transfers, $49pp last I heard.  

[jebbs]

Hey Dcsam!

Please look at the train!!!!  It goes from downtown Anchorage, there are a few hotels within walking distance, to Seward.  The down side is it leaves at 6:45am!  It’s once a day. Consider purchasing tickets for the glass domed car, the views are spectacular. But, book early for best seats.  When I went, the trains were not running due to border closers (Covid) but check the Alaska boards.  I was on Princess, and they did buses from Vancouver to Seattle.

I hope to go again soon.  I thought the Seward area was spectacular !!

 

 

[The Other Tom]

Rent a car in Vancouver and drive to Seattle? 

I think most people take the train.

Vancouver to Seattle - 3 ways to travel via train, car, tram, and plane (rome2rio.com)

[dcsam]

Thank you. 
Jim, the back-to-back option has certainly crossed my mind… more than a few times.   But 20 nights?🤔    Okay, twist my wrists.  My husband isn’t as keen about that idea.  
But it certainly eliminates several steps (transfer to or from Anchorage, overnight in Anchorage, shuttle back to Seattle…).  Keeping it simple is highest priority. 

[Jim Avery]

20 nights? Piece of cake.🥃😎

[DrKoob]

If you live in the Seattle area (as we do—Redmond Ridge) you should consider driving your car to YVR and flying from there. We have done this numerous times. Parking at off-site airport lots at YVR is cheap. Especially when you consider the 35% Canadian exchange rate discount. 

 

Fly from there to Anchorage. Sorry, I can't help you with getting from Anchorage to Seward but I am sure that won't be hard. Just Google "transport from Anchorage to Seward." When you are done with the cruise, take the Sky Train from the waterfront to YVR and drive home. 

[DrKoob]

1 hour ago, The Other Tom said:

Rent a car in Vancouver and drive to Seattle? 

I think most people take the train.

Vancouver to Seattle - 3 ways to travel via train, car, tram, and plane (rome2rio.com)

We have done this. Cost us more than $275. You can park at YVR for about half that. You pay $100 penalty for dropping it in the USA.

[Heidi13]

3 hours ago, dcsam said:

We’ve cruised Alaska many times.  We’ve either cruised RT out of Seattle or Vancouver. Easy for us since it’s just a drive. I But the logistics for a Biking cruise seem daunting for someone who is ‘walking challenged’. We could fly to Anchorage, but what would be the easiest mode of transportation to Seward? Then once we disembark in Vancouver, how would we get back to our car in Seattle?  Seabourn has RT out of Vancouver (easy), but we’d love to cruise with Viking. Any ideas or suggestions?

Thank you

 

I'll suggest you have a number of options:

 - Drive to Vancouver, park in long term parking at YVR and take a taxi to Canada Place (fixed rate fares from YVR). You can book a 20-day B2B, and upon disembarkation, take a taxi or Skytrain out to YVR to pick up your car.

 

 - Drive to Vancouver, park in long term parking and take a direct flight to ANC. Air Canada has a daily direct flight. Not sure about other airlines. From ANC, you can take the train or bus to Seward.

 

 - Parking at SEATAC, on disembarkation, you can catch the train or bus back to Seattle. You can even hire a car for a 1-way rental.

[LindaS272]

Being locals, I wouldn’t recommend parking at SeaTac. 1.) It would be very expensive for three weeks; 2.) If you’re parking during any busy season (summer or near any major holidays/school vacations), there’s no guarantee you can find a spot, and it might take you 30-40 minutes of driving floor to floor to find one. (Right before Covid, they had a guaranteed advanced booking trial which was never fully implemented.); 3.) The garage seems to always be under construction and several areas are blocked off. As a result, airport staff are now parking in the main areas (or so our news media reported), so there’s an ever decreasing number of parking spots available. 
 

These days, we just take a shuttle, taxi, or limo service to the airport and leave our car at home.

 

[dcsam]

We always overnight at SeaTac prior to flying and leave the car at the hotel or other secure parking. It’s not cheap, but it works for us since it’s a 3 hour drive to SeaTac.  

[longterm]

On 1/10/2023 at 5:32 PM, dcsam said:

We’ve cruised Alaska many times.  We’ve either cruised RT out of Seattle or Vancouver. Easy for us since it’s just a drive. I But the logistics for a Biking cruise seem daunting for someone who is ‘walking challenged’. We could fly to Anchorage, but what would be the easiest mode of transportation to Seward? Then once we disembark in Vancouver, how would we get back to our car in Seattle?  Seabourn has RT out of Vancouver (easy), but we’d love to cruise with Viking. Any ideas or suggestions?

Thank you

Hop on the Alaska RR; it's a great trip, follows the water; I took it with my son, and we stopped halfway to get on a short excursion to Spencer Glacier, where we were able to float within 30 feet of it. 

 

On the return trip, my 10-year-old son and I were the only passengers, so they let Steven stand in the doorway (we were traveling backwards so the back door was at the "head" of the train as it went backwards); it was fantastic to stand and look down the track as we went into the tunnel. The conductor even stopped to show Steven a bird's nest that was resting next to the rail at one point. Great memories.

[Coastaljewel]

Same issue..  I’d rather book our flights for better “control”, but Viking Pre-cruise hotel options in Anchorage are “Sold out”.  If we could get a hotel to ship transfer to Seward, I’d be happy.  Think we can handle Vancouver to airport.  It’s just the Anchorage to Seward (and my husband will shoot me if I make this a challenge!)..  

[Sunflower & The Scientist]

On 1/13/2023 at 8:17 PM, Coastaljewel said:

Same issue..  I’d rather book our flights for better “control”, but Viking Pre-cruise hotel options in Anchorage are “Sold out”.  If we could get a hotel to ship transfer to Seward, I’d be happy.  Think we can handle Vancouver to airport.  It’s just the Anchorage to Seward (and my husband will shoot me if I make this a challenge!)..  

Anchorage can be very difficult booking hotels, at least at a reasonable price. You can easily pay resort hotel prices for low end hotels, and often there are other issues as well. We either book B&B's or AirBnB's. 

[angelhelly]

If you flight independently to anchorage the morning before the cruise, you can use Viking transfer at 49pp from anchorage airport to the ship in Seward. It's about a 2 1/2 hour bus drive. Not perfect, but it would take the guessing game out of the equation.

 

And since the first night of the cruise is an overnight in Seward, it minimizes the risk as well.

Edited January 16, 2023 by angelhelly