Whittier help

[Putterdude]

We are doing a b/b on the Diamond Princess and are in Whittier for a full day on 9/4. I can't seem to find an independent tour and the train doesn't do a round trip daily. What have others done? Also if we we do a Prince William Sound cruise excursion can they be booked on day of arrival? By the way DW suffers from MS so things that require a lot of walking or hiking are out of the question. TIA.

[Travel_Maven]

We just got back from a southbound cruise on the Diamond and thoroughly enjoyed our PWS day cruise. We only did the 4 hr cruise but saw so much I can't imagine what the longer cruises are like. We saw whales, otters, harbor seals, all sorts of birds and got really close to 2-3 glaciers with calving. It was great with lots of scenery! I highly recommend the cruise! There were a couple of people in wheel chairs as there are lots of indoor seats with plenty of window space! Don't know the capabilities of your DW but I think she would be fine. The water is usually very calm.

 

I would recommend reservations ahead of time though. Our cruise was full!

 

Good luck!

[karatemom2]

Hi PD! Last year on our B2B on the Diamond we rented a car from Avis and drove to Anchorage along Turnagain Arm. It was a beautiful, leisurely drive. It was cool driving through the tunnel and we stopped at the Alaska Wildlife Center which was a pleasant diversion. Just the drive itself was worth the trip, but it was nice to see a little bit of Anchorage. We visited the Alaska Experience Theater for the Imax movie on Alaska which was lovely and we also did the Earthquake movie and demo which the kids liked. The Alaska Native Heritage Center was on my list as well, but family wasn't really up to museum visiting that day so we headed back and got to see the bore tide on the way back to the ship. I liked having our own car so we could go at our own pace and see the things we wanted to see.

[Chenega]

We are doing a b/b on the Diamond Princess and are in Whittier for a full day on 9/4. I can't seem to find an independent tour and the train doesn't do a round trip daily. What have others done? Also if we we do a Prince William Sound cruise excursion can they be booked on day of arrival? By the way DW suffers from MS so things that require a lot of walking or hiking are out of the question. TIA.

 

All the Whittier day cruise companies will pick you up right at the cruise ship via shuttle and take you back when your cruise is completed.

 

The Prince William Sound cruises are wonderful. I prefer the 6 hour cruise but the 4 hour trip is pretty special too. The dates you gave shouldn't be a problem with space but I'd book ahead just in case. Boats are running pretty full right now and you have three companies to choose from (all are excellent):

 

Prince William Sound Glacier Cruises http://www.princewilliamsound.com

26 Glaciers Cruises http://www.26glaciers.com (this boat holds 300 people)

Major Marine http://www.majormarine.com

[hollon]

Where do you get on for the PWS tour - What is the difference between the 4 and 6 hr.? Do you get on in Anchorage or Whitter? thanks

[Travel_Maven]

Where do you get on for the PWS tour - What is the difference between the 4 and 6 hr.? Do you get on in Anchorage or Whitter? thanks

 

You board the PWS boat in Whittier. From what I understand, they will pick you up at your ship in Whittier if northbound. We were southbound and took a shuttle from Anchorage to Whittier after checking our bags through to the ship the morning of our cruise. The shuttle dropped us off at the PWS cruise dock, we took the 4hr. cruise and were on our ship by 6:00pm. The ship left at 8:30pm. It worked out perfectly!

[PennyAgain]

You will enjoy the boat tour out of Whittier. The town itself is tiny and quite curious.

 

But nothing much to see.

 

Book ahead to get your best choice.

[Chenega]

If you are in Anchorage, they do bus you down. You can also take the Alaska Railroad to connect with the shorter cruise. If your ship is arriving in Whittier, several companies do early morning excursions that are booked directly with the ship.

 

Both the 4 and 6 hour trips are excellent but your chances of seeing wildlife are greater on the longer trip and the 6 hour tours do go through Esther Passage which is one of the hidden gems of Prince William Sound.

[luvlake]

We are doing a b/b on the Diamond Princess and are in Whittier for a full day on 9/4. I can't seem to find an independent tour and the train doesn't do a round trip daily. What have others done? Also if we we do a Prince William Sound cruise excursion can they be booked on day of arrival? By the way DW suffers from MS so things that require a lot of walking or hiking are out of the question. TIA.

 

We took the 26 Glacier excursion while in Whittier. The boat is docked right next door to where the cruise ship will dock. The Klondike is a great boat with good facilities and a great lunch. There were 19 of us that went on this excursion and it was a great day trip!:) You will be back by 6:00 pm with plenty of time to get back on the ship. I also think you would want to make your reservations ahead of time, our boat was quite full the day of our trip.

[Putterdude]

Thanks everyone, I am kind of leaning towards karatemom2's idea, (thanks M.) but find it interesting that it is only a PWS excrusion or a rental car...any other thoughts.

[NHsnowpup]

Thanks everyone, I am kind of leaning towards karatemom2's idea, (thanks M.) but find it interesting that it is only a PWS excrusion or a rental car...any other thoughts.

 

 

Putter, I am a newbie and haven't went anywhere, YET. But I have tracked this board and researched for over a year. DH and I chose not to do the small boat cruises, but scenery and culture in our planning so a few pags from my notebook . . .

 

The little Portage glacier cruise seems fun and short enough to allow you some other options. The Conservation Center rehabs the big wildlife and is very eco-friendly. Turnagain Arm is always mentioned as a must see. The mountain pass heading down toward Seward is supposed to be beautiful. Anchorage isn't that far and there goes a few pages of choices.

 

Quite a few posters have mentioned this company in their plans. They report that they are very friendly and will customize it seems. They do Whittier options, so should know the timelines you would need to follow.There may be something here that interests you and the missus and you might get lucky and have the option of connecting with others somewhere along the line.

http://www.salmonberrytours.com/summer

 

Another option is PJ's in Seward. Renee will take you "anywhere you want to be" and she will give you a quote, replies to e-mails quickly. She gets consistent positive reviews and does the Whittier run enough to know her timelines, too.

 

Both of these give you some personal options, not mass crowds. After seeing what's available, you can make some good choices here. Run yourselves as ragged as you want;)

[TXTraveler76]

Hi,

 

In May, 2010, we did a b2b on the Coral Princess. On our day in Whittier, we booked through the ship the PWS 6 hour tour to Surprise Glacier. It was the best tour I took. We saw so many animals, were served a great lunch and had fresh baked cookies in the afternoon. They provided free coffee and lemondade throughout the cruise. The boat has large with very clean windows. The ride was smooth and the seats were very comfortable. The boat has 2 floors with an upper observation deck. My Mom was brought on via wheelchair and she was well taken care of. I stayed with her most of the trip and only visited the outside decks to take pictures. If you like seals, otters, killer whales and eagles, you will love this cruise. Bonus was being so close to a glacier. Highly recommend this excursion.