Disembarkation in Whittier

[melsal]

With the ship arriving in Whittier at 12:30 am, does disembarkation still start around 7:00 am? Also, if doing a B2B will there be time to tour Girdwood or possibily Tallkeenta (pardon the spelling) if renting a car through Avis? If I remember correctly the 2nd leg leaves at 8:30 pm.

[Essiesmom]

Yes, but don't expect to be off that early. On a B2B, they will send your new card to your cabin the last night of the first leg, with instructions...You will be meeting in the Explorers lounge AFTER everyone else has left the ship, to go out to zero the ship, and then you can return and get the new picture taken for your card. You will then be free to go back off the ship and do whatever. In returning, you have to be aware that there is a tunnel at Whittier, and it is only one lane. It opens for 15 minutes for one way traffic, then is closed while the reverse the sir flow to clear the fumes, then open for 15 minutes for traffic the other direction. Then another 15 min. to clear the air...And the train also uses the tunnel. High occupancy vehicles have priority, so any buses would go through first. You might end up waiting an hour to leave through the tunnel, and another coming back. EM

[scrufgrove]

It is also possible to make special arrangements to disembark before the main disembarks begin. In fact you can leave when the ship arrives in Whittier - but the tunnel won't be open that late, nor will Avis. If you are willing to take all your own bags off, arrange for the earlier disembark. The first train people disembark around 6 a.m.

[caribill]

You will be meeting in the Explorers lounge AFTER everyone else has left the ship, to go out to zero the ship, and then you can return and get the new picture taken for your card. You will then be free to go back off the ship and do whatever.

 

However, you are free to leave the ship anytime after disembarkation is started and do whatever you have arranged for the day. You do not have to wait for when everyone else has left the ship. Once you have left the ship, you will not be allowed back on until all passengers have disembarked.

[Grannycb]

You might want to take a day trip around Prince William Sound. The smaller boats get close to wildlife and the glaciers. It was more impressive than Glacier Bay or Tracy Arm. The boats for the tour were right next to where the ship docked.

 

B2B in Alaska was one of our most relaxing cruises. Enjoy!

[CaribbeanIsland]

Ask on the Alaska board. I would suggest doing a boat ride in Whittier with your time.

[ARRTrain]

It is possible to do Talkeetna, but.

 

You can't get to Avis until 8 or 9am

 

That will be a 9 or 10am tunnel out of Whittier

 

Whittier to Talkeetna with no stops is about a 3 1/2 hour drive, not counting slow motorhomes, some road construction, and no road closures due to fatal accidents. Fatal accidents close roads up here for 4 - 6 hours.

 

Then you'll have to be back in Whittier on the 7:30pm tunnel opening.

[karatemom2]

However, you are free to leave the ship anytime after disembarkation is started and do whatever you have arranged for the day. You do not have to wait for when everyone else has left the ship. Once you have left the ship, you will not be allowed back on until all passengers have disembarked.

 

That's right. We did not have to report to a lounge prior to leaving the ship last year on our B2B on the Diamond. We received our new cruise cards the day before, so we made sure we took them with us and walked off the ship just before 9 a.m. We walked over to Avis, picked up our car and were in line for the 10 a.m. opening to go through the tunnel. You definitely have time to drive along Turnagain arm, explore Girdwood and visit Anchorage. We did a lot and were still back for a 5:30 p.m. return through the tunnel. Not sure I would drive all the way to Talkeetna, but there is much to see just driving to Anchorage and back. When we returned we easily checked through with our new cruise cards. If you are not doing a boat tour, renting a car is a great way to spend your day exploring the area since it amounts to quite a long port day for those on B2B cruises.

[cbowler]

We spent the day in Whittier after our cruise last summer. I really have to recommend taking a 4 or 6 hour boat cruise of Prince William Sound.

 

"But I'm already going to PWS twice with Princess", you ask??? True! But what you see on the much smaller day cruises of Prince William Sound does not even compare to what you see from the cruise ship!!! We saw a ton of wildlife in addition to glaciers up close and beautiful scenery.

 

But, if you choose to leave Whittier I'd recommend taking a leisurely drive up the Turnagain Arm towards Anchorage and go to Girdwood. There are several very scenic stops to pull over along the way and some hiking to if that's of interest. In Girdwood, there's plenty to do for just an afternoon. We took the gondola up to the top of Alyeska ski resort and that was fun and full of great scenery. There's also a great bakery and cafe in Girdwood too!

 

Whatever you choose, enjoy! Alaska is great - wish I was going back this summer..

[Feebarn]

It took us 6 hours round trip to get to Talkeetna from Anchorage, I think you would struggle to make it all the way there and back from Whittier.

 

When we did get to Talkeetna, there was no view of the mountain due to the weather and nothing much of anything else to do unless we were going on a flightseeing trip. The few shops and things that are there didn't really catch our attention. :(

[melsal]

Thank you everyone for your responses. I thought it would be too rushed to go to Talkeetna on the turn around day. So we'll either cruise Prince William Sound or take the gondola at Alyeska. Whatever the decision, it will be beautiful and we'll have a great time.