gianmatt

It's a small tour given by some locals, called the "Over The Top" tour. They drive you around to hit the high points, and they know the history of the town. It looked like fun and it's not expensive. For us, it will work.

I ended up picking a tour that starts at 1:30 and ends at 4, so that's safe. It's not a Princess excursion, but it meets at the Visitors' Center near the ship. Thanks!

If my Princess itinerary says it will be in Ketchikan from 10 AM to 6 PM, what does that mean in practical terms? The boat docks at 10? I'm basically asking what is the earliest excursion time I can book, given that I have to get off the ship. Are cruises ever late to port?

I found this older post that explains what to do: "We booked our train to Whittier like you last year independently and we were on Princess. This is how it works. Have your cabin tags on your suitcases so when you get the depot you will see a check in area outside the depot that is accepting luggage. Have your cruise document and ID ready. A worker will then verify your information and take your luggage. Since the train can't take all that luggage, Princess will come down with trucks and put them on for the drive to Whitter. Then you'll go inside, check in for your train ride, have a nice journey, get to Whittier, check in and board. Then sometime later, just like magic, your bags will be delivered to your cabin."

We are taking the railroad from Anchorage to Whittier. Arrival time is around noon. Princess cruise departs 8:30 PM. We're looking at the Phillips Glacier Quest Cruise. Departs at 1, returns 4:45. That leaves 3.5 hours before Princess departure, which seems like plenty of time to check in and all that. The one question I have is: what do we do with our luggage? There's only an hour between the time the train arrives and the glacier cruise departs. Do we take it on the train?

We booked a nice hotel downtown (not the Captain Cook, but nearby.) Getting there from the airport should be easy. As for cruise day, we decided to book a trip to Whittier on the Alaska Railroad. That gives us some time in Whittier in case we want to do one of those scenic cruises.

So, basically any reasonable hotel downtown so that I can get to the bus or train easily. What about transport from airport to Anchorage? p.s. I'm on Princess.

OK, I found a good suggestion in another thread re: getting to Whittier. If boat leaves at 8:30, what time would you recommend getting there to board? I'm sure it takes time. "Best solution: use a bus or a train to get to and from Whittier. There's two train departures from downtown Anchorage, the first being a regularly scheduled train departing at 9:45 a.m., arriving at 12:05 p.m., with tickets sold by the Alaska Railroad; the second being a train chartered by Holland America Line departing at 12:45 p.m., arriving at 3:35 p.m., with tickets sold by Holland America Line. There's a bus departure from downtown Anchorage departing at 3:00 p.m., arriving at 4:45 p.m., operated as the "Park Connection" with tickets sold by Alaska Tour & Travel. There's a bus departure from downtown Anchorage at 1:00 p.m., from the Anchorage airport departing at 2:00 p.m., arriving at 3:45 p.m., operating as, with tickets sold by, "Alaska Cruise Transportation."

I'm sure this has been asked a million times. Princess cruise departs Whittier at 8:30 PM. We will fly into Anchorage the day before. Convenient place to stay? Getting there from airport? And most important, getting from hotel to Whittier the next day in time to get on the boat? (Unsure where the boat dock is in Whittier.) There is a train, correct? I looked at the Princess "Captain Cook" transfer package, but that place is insanely priced (279 per person for one night.)