Docking in Seward - Best Way to Go to Whittier for 26 Glacier Tour?

[MississippiMom]

We were hoping to visit Kenjai Fjords in Seward on the day we dock in Seward.  Instead of going straight to Anchorage afterward, we would like to stay in Seward for the night and head to Whittier the following day for a 26 glacier tour.  Do we rent a car?  Take the train from Seward to Whittier?  Or is there a local company that will transport us from Seward to Whittier?  Or do we just skip the 26 glacier tour?

[wolfie11]

I would skip it.  Getting to Whittier is a pain.  You will have to get a very expensive one-way car rental in Seward.  Or you can take the train or a transfer to Anchorage and rent a car to drive back to Whittier.

[Suzanne123]

We did this pre-Covid, so I’m not sure if the times are still the same, but after your Kenai tour, take the train to Girdwood. Stay at Mt. Alyska for the night and get the Glacier tour bus to Whittier from the hotel. 

We have also done a taxi to Whittier. Glacier Lady, who used to post on Cruise Critic,  ran Rene’s Taxi out of Seward. I don’t know if she is still around. 

[AKStafford]

See if Bear Valley Road Runner fits your needs: https://www.bearvalleyroadrunner.com/

[MississippiMom]

On 10/3/2024 at 12:47 AM, wolfie11 said:

I would skip it.  Getting to Whittier is a pain.  You will have to get a very expensive one-way car rental in Seward.  Or you can take the train or a transfer to Anchorage and rent a car to drive back to Whittier.

Thanks for the honesty.  For our travel date, the train from Seward to Girdwood (one-way) costs the same amount as from Seward to Anchorage.  Not a typo.  And we were really hoping to avoid the expense of a one-way car rental from Seward to Anchorage.

 

Unless Celebrity tosses out some option post-cruise, we may just need to skip the 26 glacier tour.  It’s a LONG WAY back to the Central Time Zone, so I suspect we will be more than ready to start heading back toward the Anchorage airport, especially when both of us will need to return to work.

[wolfie11]

The 26 Glacier cruise no longer goes into Harriman Fjord because of a potential landslide area.  This was always the highlight for me.  College Fjord is beautiful but it’s a long way there and they don’t hang around very long.

[MississippiMom]

I responded too quickly.  The hubby would definitely like to go on the 26 Glacier Tour, so . . . looks like we will be investigating our best options between Seward and Whittier.

 

Right now, we cruise will dock in Seward on a Friday and we plan on going on one of the Kenjai Fjord tours.  It seems like staying in Seward for the night might be the easiest option.  We will look at a car service, hopefully, between Seward and Whittier, first thing Saturday morning.  That should get us to Whittier in time for the 26 Glacier Tour.  We plan on taking the evening train from Whittier to Anchorage that Saturday, then flying toward home on Sunday.

 

Of course, now I’m wondering who holds luggage for us on Saturday, since it appears the Whittier train stop is not full service.

[Suzanne123]

You can leave your luggage with the glacier cruise people. 

[KruisinKath]

On 10/5/2024 at 11:04 PM, MississippiMom said:

I responded too quickly.  The hubby would definitely like to go on the 26 Glacier Tour, so . . . looks like we will be investigating our best options between Seward and Whittier.

 

Right now, we cruise will dock in Seward on a Friday and we plan on going on one of the Kenjai Fjord tours.  It seems like staying in Seward for the night might be the easiest option.  We will look at a car service, hopefully, between Seward and Whittier, first thing Saturday morning.  That should get us to Whittier in time for the 26 Glacier Tour.  We plan on taking the evening train from Whittier to Anchorage that Saturday, then flying toward home on Sunday.

 

Of course, now I’m wondering who holds luggage for us on Saturday, since it appears the Whittier train stop is not full service.

We are doing our land portion in July and taking the train to Seward for 4-hour Bay tour, overnighting in Seward. Next day we are taking PJ’s Taxi to Whittier, doing the Glacier Quest tour, then getting on the ship!