NCL Seward to Anchorage Airport Disembarkation Cruise Train July 2023

[*MoonLady*]

Hi, I just booked the disembarkation Cruise Train to the airport. Has anyone taken it? What was it like? It looks like I will have to disembark very early before restaurants open. Are there food options? Is it assigned seating, etc. 

 

Please no comments if you have not experienced directly. Thanks.

[The Traveling Man]

On 4/13/2023 at 11:21 AM, *MoonLady* said:

Hi, I just booked the disembarkation Cruise Train to the airport. Has anyone taken it? What was it like? It looks like I will have to disembark very early before restaurants open. Are there food options? Is it assigned seating, etc. 

 

Please no comments if you have not experienced directly. Thanks.

We did it several years ago, so things may have changed since then.  As I recall, we were able to get breakfast on board the ship, although it still was dark when we disembarked.  If you pack your bags the night before and leave them outside your room with the appropriate tags on them, the staff will handle them for you and they will be waiting for you when you get off the train.  You book the Cruise Train as a shore excursion and you will receive standard shorex tickets and bag tags.  Once you’re off the ship, you’ll walk a short distance to the “train station” which was just a tent when we were there.  You then will exchange your shorex ticket for an actual train ticket which has an assigned seat.  If you don’t ask for a specific seat, they simply will hand you the next ticket in their stack of available tickets.  You can specify which seats you prefer, however, either left or right side and either forward or backward facing.  We found the railroad station agent to be quite accommodating.  We asked for forward facing on the left side.  The trip takes several hours, about four as I recall.  That’s longer than the bus ride which NCL also offers, and it costs a bit more than the bus, but the scenery makes it well worthwhile.  Food and beverages are available for purchase on board the train and there are tables at all the seats on board.

[*MoonLady*]

5 minutes ago, The Traveling Man said:

We did it several years ago, so things may have changed since then.  As I recall, we were able to get breakfast on board the ship, although it still was dark when we disembarked.  If you pack your bags the night before and leave them outside your room with the appropriate tags on them, the staff will handle them for you and they will be waiting for you when you get off the train.  You book the Cruise Train as a shore excursion and you will receive standard shorex tickets and bag tags.  Once you’re off the ship, you’ll walk a short distance to the “train station” which was just a tent when we were there.  You then will exchange your shorex ticket for an actual train ticket which has an assigned seat.  If you don’t ask for a specific seat, they simply will hand you the next ticket in their stack of available tickets.  You can specify which seats you prefer, however, either left or right side and either forward or backward facing.  We found the railroad station agent to be quite accommodating.  We asked for forward facing on the left side.  The trip takes several hours, about four as I recall.  That’s longer than the bus ride which NCL also offers, and it costs a bit more than the bus, but the scenery makes it well worthwhile.  Food and beverages are available for purchase on board the train and there are tables at all the seats on board.

Thank you, Traveling Man! very informative and helpful.

[libtrek]

We’ve booked this train excursion for June 2023 on the Jewel. Our information says we will be taken to the hospitality station in Anchorage. Our luggage will be there and I guess we will be shuttled to the airport. Since we’re spending the night in Anchorage, I assume we can collect our bags and go to our hotel instead of the airport. Can anyone verify?

[bonvoyagie]

the AKRR has a station at both downtown Anchorage and at the airport. I believe that NCL offers stops at either location based on if you are continuing with a land tour or just want to stay a few days on your own. 

[CaptainBazz]

I know you have already booked this but we did a Bus Tour from Seward to Anchorage after the cruise. Pick up at 8am, a full day touring a glacier, wild life sanctuary and with lunch included at a ski resort. Dropped us at the airport in plenty of time for our flight which was not until 8pm. A great alternative to the train.

[libtrek]

58 minutes ago, CaptainBazz said:

I know you have already booked this but we did a Bus Tour from Seward to Anchorage after the cruise. Pick up at 8am, a full day touring a glacier, wild life sanctuary and with lunch included at a ski resort. Dropped us at the airport in plenty of time for our flight which was not until 8pm. A great alternative to the train.

We did this excursion on a previous trip. You will enjoy. The wildlife sanctuary is very interesting.

Edited April 18, 2023 by libtrek

[The Traveling Man]

22 hours ago, libtrek said:

We’ve booked this train excursion for June 2023 on the Jewel. Our information says we will be taken to the hospitality station in Anchorage. Our luggage will be there and I guess we will be shuttled to the airport. Since we’re spending the night in Anchorage, I assume we can collect our bags and go to our hotel instead of the airport. Can anyone verify?

 

20 hours ago, bonvoyagie said:

the AKRR has a station at both downtown Anchorage and at the airport. I believe that NCL offers stops at either location based on if you are continuing with a land tour or just want to stay a few days on your own. 

Here's how it worked for us a few years ago.  Things may have changed since then, but this may help with your planning.  NCL charters a train from the AAR (Alaska Railroad) to travel from Seward to the Anchorage airport, then back to Seward.  It only runs between these two points and only carries NCL passengers on the days when NCL ships dock in Seward.  When we rode it, the train did not continue on to the downtown Anchorage train station.  Northbound passengers getting off the ship in Seward, whether they are going to the airport to fly home that day or if they are headed to downtown Anchorage to spend the night, are all transported on the same train which ends its run at the airport.  The train then returns to Seward with those passengers who will board the ship that afternoon.  Passengers who are going into town are directed to shuttle buses which drive you to the welcome center in Anchorage.  Your bags will be waiting for you at the welcome center, which is close to several hotels, but quite a few blocks away from the downtown train station.  I think NCL also provides bus service from downtown to the airport for passengers taking the train to Seward.  I can't verify that, but I do know that there were hundreds of passengers waiting at the airport to board the train when we got off from Seward.  There also were a number of buses waiting for us which I think had been used to take those folks from downtown to the airport.  Other cruise lines with cruises terminating or originating in Seward on a different day of the week than NCL probably charter the same ARR train and run the same route as NCL.

[libtrek]

Thanks for the info. I’m flexible so we’ll just grab our suitcase each, look at the map app on my phone, and either walk to the hotel or call Uber. Still trying to keep those suitcases as light as possible for our trekking around. We just aren’t as young as we used to be. L O L.

[don't-use-real-name]

On 4/17/2023 at 6:20 PM, bonvoyagie said:

the AKRR has a station at both downtown Anchorage and at the airport. I believe that NCL offers stops at either location based on if you are continuing with a land tour or just want to stay a few days on your own. 

 

The scheduled Alaska RR Coastal Classic train (NOT NCL charter train) arrives and departs from the Depot about 5 some blocks away (map image) and

arrives and departs from the downtown AK RR Depot.

 

The cruise line charter trains arrive and depart from the Anchorage airport

and a siding adjacent to the Seward Cruise Terminal (photo)

The cruise line charter trains do not have all the fancy double deck cars that the AK RR Coastal Classic does.

 

The Alaska RR does not have service between the downtown Depot and the

Anchorage Airport (at least for the present time) - 2 totally different separate

operations - the Charter cruise line trains ONLY operate in conjunction with

the ship movement.

 

 

Map Image - Cruise Terminal is white rectangular building in lower right -

The AK RR Depot is in the upper left adjacent to Hy 9

Zooom in/out for more/less detail

 

.Google Maps

 

Photo of Airport to Cruise Terminal late afternoon - train leave airport around noon and

arrives on the siding next to the cruise terminal around 5 pm.

 

 

Edited April 19, 2023 by don't-use-real-name
add data

[Elsammo46]

I’m thinking of doing this excursion for my spirit cruise in August, but it’d be in embarkation day from Anchorage TO Seward. Has anyone done the excursion that way?  If so how did you like it? Seems like you’d get to the ship kind of later in the day is all that would deter me from potentially doing it (around 6pm)

Edited April 19, 2023 by Elsammo46

[SkeeterPilot]

We did the Anchorage to Seward train through NCL in 2019.  It was one of the highlights of the entire trip.  The veiws from the train are amazing.  The train leaves around 1:00pm so we had the morning to explore around Anchorage.  One benifit was when you check in at the airport you check in for the cruise.  There were no lines and it went really quick.  They take your luggage and you don't see it again until it appears outside your cabin door.  You do board the ship in the late afternoon but it was well worth it.

[vacation44]

7 hours ago, Elsammo46 said:

I’m thinking of doing this excursion for my spirit cruise in August, but it’d be in embarkation day from Anchorage TO Seward. Has anyone done the excursion that way?  If so how did you like it? Seems like you’d get to the ship kind of later in the day is all that would deter me from potentially doing it (around 6pm)

We are taking the earlier train the morning of our cruise.   I booked it directly with the railway company.   Our luggage will also be forwarded directly to our cabin.

[julig22]

31 minutes ago, SkeeterPilot said:

We did the Anchorage to Seward train through NCL in 2019.  It was one of the highlights of the entire trip.  The veiws from the train are amazing.  The train leaves around 1:00pm so we had the morning to explore around Anchorage.  One benifit was when you check in at the airport you check in for the cruise.  There were no lines and it went really quick.  They take your luggage and you don't see it again until it appears outside your cabin door.  You do board the ship in the late afternoon but it was well worth it.

I'm still wrestling with taking the NCL train in the afternoon or the morning train so I can spend some time in Seward.  Or going to Seward a day early...

I have a few months to decide and already have refundable hotel reservations in both Anchorage and Seward but so many different options to consider!  Plus looking into staying over in Vancouver after the cruise as well.

 

[GeezerCouple]

5 hours ago, julig22 said:

I'm still wrestling with taking the NCL train in the afternoon or the morning train so I can spend some time in Seward.  Or going to Seward a day early...

I have a few months to decide and already have refundable hotel reservations in both Anchorage and Seward but so many different options to consider!  Plus looking into staying over in Vancouver after the cruise as well.

 

 

We took the later train, on our own, for a few reasons.

Mainly, we wanted to spend some extra time in Seward.  We went on one of the all-day boat tours down along the Kenai Peninsula the day after we arrived in Seward.  

https://majormarine.com/full-day-tours/

That was just beautiful.  The captain was in touch with others on the water there, so we made a few detours to find/follow some of the marine wildlife.  The longer day trip goes just a bit further, and has some especially nice scenery compared with the half-day tour.

 

We also ate a *LOT* of very fresh halibut.  🙂  Amazing!  It was some of the best fish we have ever eaten.  And through the window of the restaurant right in the small-boat dock area, we could see some of the halibut.   That was quite a sight; those fish can be *huge*.   They had information posted about the heaviest ever halibut caught there (well, relatively recently, anyway), and ditto for "this year", etc.

 

We also wanted to take the regular (non-cruise) train, because it has the "gold service" (I think that's the name) where one sits in an observation car, with very high domed windows, so it's almost full overhead visibility (not quite, but incredible viewing), plus a small outside area at the back of the car.  

This next part may be for all trains including the cruise train, but it stopped several times for photo opportunities.

 

We happened to catch a "bore tide", which was a treat even though it was a relatively small vore tide.

https://www.alaska.org/advice/alaska-bore-tide

What we saw was not at all as dramatic as the photo in the above link, but it was still a fascinating phenomenon to see.  We hadn't realized we'd actually be able to see it from the train.

Nice surprise!

 

We had also been fortunate to catch some very active calving at Hubbard Glacier en route to Seward, another major treat.

 

It was a very special trip from start to finish.

 

GC

[Brian V]

6 hours ago, SkeeterPilot said:

One benefit was when you check in at the airport you check in for the cruise.  There were no lines and it went really quick.

 

I was wondering about that @SkeeterPilot, we will be on the train to Seward in September 🙂

 

Getting to the ship later in the day...it's not a real issue for us, we will have booked our dining already so muster station, bar, enjoy! Looking forward to some great scenery 👍

[julig22]

1 hour ago, GeezerCouple said:

 

We took the later train, on our own, for a few reasons.

Mainly, we wanted to spend some extra time in Seward.  We went on one of the all-day boat tours down along the Kenai Peninsula the day after we arrived in Seward.  

https://majormarine.com/full-day-tours/

That was just beautiful.  The captain was in touch with others on the water there, so we made a few detours to find/follow some of the marine wildlife.  The longer day trip goes just a bit further, and has some especially nice scenery compared with the half-day tour.

 

We also ate a *LOT* of very fresh halibut.  🙂  Amazing!  It was some of the best fish we have ever eaten.  And through the window of the restaurant right in the small-boat dock area, we could see some of the halibut.   That was quite a sight; those fish can be *huge*.   They had information posted about the heaviest ever halibut caught there (well, relatively recently, anyway), and ditto for "this year", etc.

 

We also wanted to take the regular (non-cruise) train, because it has the "gold service" (I think that's the name) where one sits in an observation car, with very high domed windows, so it's almost full overhead visibility (not quite, but incredible viewing), plus a small outside area at the back of the car.  

This next part may be for all trains including the cruise train, but it stopped several times for photo opportunities.

 

We happened to catch a "bore tide", which was a treat even though it was a relatively small vore tide.

https://www.alaska.org/advice/alaska-bore-tide

What we saw was not at all as dramatic as the photo in the above link, but it was still a fascinating phenomenon to see.  We hadn't realized we'd actually be able to see it from the train.

Nice surprise!

 

We had also been fortunate to catch some very active calving at Hubbard Glacier en route to Seward, another major treat.

 

It was a very special trip from start to finish.

 

GC

I'm going the other direction this time, my cruise starts in Seward. But seriously looking at spending a day in Seward, specifically for Kenai.

Saw some serious calving at Hubbard a few years ago, on my first Alaska trip.  Have trips 5 & 6 booked this summer, doing the transpacific from Tokyo next year.  Can't get enough!!

[don't-use-real-name]

Take the "AM" train departs Downtown Anchorage Depot at 6:45am and arrives Seward at 11:15am.

Time to take a 6+ hour excursion - board your ship and sail off into the Resurrection Bay sunset

around 9 pm. Your luggage is handled directly from the Depot and taken directly to the ship for

placement at your cabin door (this on cruise days only).

 

Check in is done inside the Seward Cruise Terminal.

 

Your ship having arrived early in the morning and being cleaned and prepared for boarding

generally around 11 am - thus you can check in at that time and then leave the ship taking

that 6+ hour excursion or simply just do a walk-about of Seward or take the excursion now

and do the check-in later.

 

 

Take the "PM" Charter train departing the Airport station afternoon and arrives at the Seward

Cruise Terminal around 5pm -

your luggage is take directly to your cabin door -

you have until about 7pm or so to be on board your ship -

check having been done at the airport leaving a couple hours of time to walk-about Seward

but not enough time for an extended excursion.

[Let Me Travel!]

Hi! We are getting into Anchorage a day before the cruise…our flight doesn’t get in from Atlanta until about 6:30PM…spending the night in Anchorage then catching the train at about 1:00PM the next day and getting to Seward by 6:00PM or so…we did the train last time we were in Alaska on our post cruise land tour and it was definitely a highlight.   Traveling with family members this time and by taking the pre-cruise train it will feel like we are taking a land tour while still allowing working folks to only take a week off work.

 

Does anyone have suggestions about great restaurants in Anchorage?