Alaskan Cruise Ending in Seward

[sabrefan]

I am booked on an Alaskan cruise from Vancouver to Seward in June 2022. Right now I am planning on taking the transportation offered by the ship when the cruise ends back to the airport in Anchorage. I then plan on renting a car for a few days and spending more time in the Homer, Alaska. My question is for anyone who took the ship transportation from Seward to the airport in Anchorage, did this bus go directly to the airport or make some scenic stops before arriving at the airport? 

[Jim Avery]

37 minutes ago, sabrefan said:

I am booked on an Alaskan cruise from Vancouver to Seward in June 2022. Right now I am planning on taking the transportation offered by the ship when the cruise ends back to the airport in Anchorage. I then plan on renting a car for a few days and spending more time in the Homer, Alaska. My question is for anyone who took the ship transportation from Seward to the airport in Anchorage, did this bus go directly to the airport or make some scenic stops before arriving at the airport? 

I have not done this with Viking but have done it with Seabourn.  Since the coaches are chartered, likely from the same companies, I would think the experience would be much the same.  There are two ways to get to Anchorage from Seward, the coaches and the train.  There are those here that have taken the train and I hear it is spectacular.  The drive ain"t bad either.  Spectacular scenery and the driver pointing out things to watch for as well as some history.  We saw a fair amount of wildlife and the long drive went by seemingly quickly.  To the airport.  I suspect the airport is a good place to grab a cab to where ever you want.  Alaska is truly different and spectacular.

[LindaS272]

5 hours ago, sabrefan said:

I am booked on an Alaskan cruise from Vancouver to Seward in June 2022. Right now I am planning on taking the transportation offered by the ship when the cruise ends back to the airport in Anchorage. I then plan on renting a car for a few days and spending more time in the Homer, Alaska. My question is for anyone who took the ship transportation from Seward to the airport in Anchorage, did this bus go directly to the airport or make some scenic stops before arriving at the airport? 

Not sure why you would spend all that time to go to Anchorage from Seward as you are already on the peninsula in Seward and closer to Homer. You can rent a car in Seward, go to Homer area, return to Seward, and take the train to Anchorage to fly home. We lived in Anchorage in the 1980s but never had to rent a car—I imagine the prices are high no matter where you rent.

[Flyer55]

27 minutes ago, LindaS272 said:

Not sure why you would spend all that time to go to Anchorage from Seward as you are already on the peninsula in Seward and closer to Homer. You can rent a car in Seward, go to Homer area, return to Seward, and take the train to Anchorage to fly home. We lived in Anchorage in the 1980s but never had to rent a car—I imagine the prices are high no matter where you rent.

^^^^ This.  I've used alaskatravel.com several times to book most of what we wanted to do on land.  Seward is worth a couple of days and Homer deserves more than a day trip.  The Alaska Rail Road is the way to travel to Seward.  The small ship glacier cruises out of Whittier were spectacular when we were there.  So much to see and do on the peninsula and too often to few days to do it.

[Clay Clayton]

16 hours ago, LindaS272 said:

Not sure why you would spend all that time to go to Anchorage from Seward as you are already on the peninsula in Seward and closer to Homer. You can rent a car in Seward, go to Homer area, return to Seward, and take the train to Anchorage to fly home. We lived in Anchorage in the 1980s but never had to rent a car—I imagine the prices are high no matter where you rent.

Agreed!  When we sailed out of Seward, we spent two nights in Anchorage pre cruise (day trips to Denali and Talkitna) before driving to Seward. It’s something like 120 miles but it took us most of the day as we kept stopping for the scenery. 
 

At that time there wasn’t a drop off charge so we just paid the per day rate for the car.  If it was me I would look into renting a car in Seward and returning it at the airport.  

[philw1776]

Agree that the train is spectacular!
 

[Jim Avery]

We have said "next time we will take the train".  I know it has to be just fantastic as even the coach ride is pretty spectacular scenery.   We have taken other trains in Alaska and agree to the specialness of them.  Having worked in AK a few years running a ship up to St. Paul in the Pribiloff Islands I really feel for the workers that built all the train lines in Alaska.  That had to be really hard work.  One wonders if it could even be accomplished in the current world....

[rnrcruzin]

Wow, you have a tough decision. We've done all three, Coach, Train, and Car, and each have their advantages. With the coach you just sit back and watch the world pass. Most drivers/tour guides will give you a running commentary at points of interest. The train is much the same except you can get up and walk around. If you are booking your own train passage you'll see there are different packages offered. We enjoyed our meals on the train. The train doesn't stop at the airport so you'll have to get a taxi or take a bus to the airport. 

 

We really liked traveling by car. First and foremost you must do your research. We spent three days in the Anchorage area hitting the different sites. We drove up to Palmer and visited the Musk Ox Farm up there and wow what a drive. Then down the Kenai that eventually ended up turning around at Homer. The car gave us the freedom to stop and explore. The trip along Turnagain Arm is amazing and the same whether your on train, car, or coach. But by car you can stop at Baluga point or Potters Marsh.

 

We stayed in the Hilton while in Anchorage which is right up the hill from the train station. We stayed in a B&B in Soldotna, but there are plenty of places to stay down in Homer too. It's just your personal choice.

 

One last suggestion. Read Mitchener's book Alaska. You will get a great background into Alaskan history.

[Jim Avery]

I heartily endorse the Mitchener suggestion.

[duquephart]

6 hours ago, Jim Avery said:

I heartily endorse the Mitchener suggestion.

 

Indeed! But don't stop at Alaska.