Alaska Railroad Anchorage to Seward

[AZprioritymale]

We are taking the train to Seward from Anchorage before boarding the Orion on June 2nd.  Friends of mine had taken the train before their cruise on Royal Caribbean and said that they dropped off their bags at the depot at a specially marked area for Royal Caribbean.  The bags were put on a truck and driven to

Seward and taken directly to the ship.  My question is does anyone know if Viking would be doing this?  My travel agent had no direct knowledge of Viking guests being able to do this so I thought I would put the question out here.  Thanks for any additional information.

[longterm]

I can't address that question, but I've taken the Alaska RR from Anchorage to Seward with my son in 2007.

It was one of the highlights of our trip; there is a float trip you can take, that the Alaska RR does, that allows people to get on the train, and then it stops halfway between the 2 cities; participants get on a rubber boat and float in a calm river to a small glacier--we got about 10 feet from it--and then float on down the river. It was really amazing.

Then the boat gets back to a spot on the rail line, and you simply walk back to the train (only a few feet) and get back on board and continue your journey.

When my son and I did it, we were almost the only people on the train, and they let him stand in the very front of the train as we went from Seward to Anchorage--we were literally looking out the window onto the tracks.. They even stopped the train, opened the door, so they could show my son Steven a bird's nest right next to the rails. So wonderful.

Highly recommended.

[philw1776]

Took the Anchorage to Seward RR with Silversea, a fabulous train ride. Don't miss it if possible.

[longterm]

Doesn't look like Alaska RR does the rubber raft part of the excursion, but they still do the stop at Spencer Glacier:

 

https://www.alaskarailroad.com/ride-a-train/our-trains/glacier-discovery

[Flyer55]

That is a 6 star rail journey.  We didn't go directly to a ship so our procedure was to check our luggage with  the RR and then check in at the terminal and get our Gold Star pins.  Gold Star is worth every penny.  Both time we took the train to Seward I spent the times from Girdwood through the mountain passes on the observation platform. Fantastic photo opportunity.

Edited May 10, 2022 by Flyer55
correct error

[Peregrina651]

11 hours ago, AZprioritymale said:

My travel agent had no direct knowledge of Viking guests being able to do this

 

Why didn't the TA call their go-to person at Viking to ask? 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Heidi13]

21 hours ago, AZprioritymale said:

We are taking the train to Seward from Anchorage before boarding the Orion on June 2nd.  Friends of mine had taken the train before their cruise on Royal Caribbean and said that they dropped off their bags at the depot at a specially marked area for Royal Caribbean.  The bags were put on a truck and driven to

Seward and taken directly to the ship.  My question is does anyone know if Viking would be doing this?  My travel agent had no direct knowledge of Viking guests being able to do this so I thought I would put the question out here.  Thanks for any additional information.

 

I don't expect my TA to know everything, but if she doesn't know the answer, her response is always that she will get back to us.

 

This is only Viking's 2nd Alaska season, so you may get answers, but you should make your TA do their job and call Viking directly. Make the TA provide you with the answers, that's why they get paid commission.

 

If they don't, time for a new TA.

[Jim Avery]

In addition to Andy's good advice, the coach ride down is very scenic as well.  And the coach drops you off right at the ship.   The train station is a short walk away.  

[bobitegirl]

We will be with you on that train on Jun 2, so if you find an answer, please let us know!