Whittier to Anchorage Transfer Help!

[mahuwf]

What is the earliest time Princess will start shuttles from the ship to Anchorage airport? The ship arrives into Whittier at around midnight, but it's unclear what time they'll begin shuttles.

 

Long story short:

I booked my flights directly with Delta (for the extra points), but only after Princess said they could guarantee a transfer early enough for flight out of ANC at 11:15am. However, Delta has changed the flight to now depart at 10:46 and I'm wondering if Princess will still be able to get us there early enough. Does anyone have any experience with early morning transfers from Whittier to Anchorage?

 

Thanks!

[CruiserBruce]

Probably about 7am. That flight is going to be a challenge.

[Kathscof]

HOLY COW, good luck 🙂

[Northern Aurora]

I also think that flight will be a challenge.  Consider calling Delta.  If they don't have a suitable flight later in the day then consider overnighting at an Anchorage hotel close to the airport and flying the next day.

[AKStafford]

You probably wouldn't make the 11:15 flight. You definitely aren't making a 10:46am flight.

Edited April 25, 2023 by AKStafford

[wolfie11]

You can plan on 3 hours at least from your tunnel time.  First tunnel opening is 0600, but I don't think they disembark people that early.  Next tunnel is 0700, which would be iffy.  Depends on how fast you can get thru the airport.  

[GTJ]

8 minutes ago, wolfie11 said:

First tunnel opening is 0600, but I don't think they disembark people that early.

What issues exist that would cause the carrier to prevent passengers from disembarking at an early hour? I am thinking of passengers who reside in Whittier, and who might want to sleep in their own bed that night, after its midnight arrival, instead of having to sleep on board the vessel and disembarking in the morning.

[CruiserBruce]

54 minutes ago, GTJ said:

What issues exist that would cause the carrier to prevent passengers from disembarking at an early hour? I am thinking of passengers who reside in Whittier, and who might want to sleep in their own bed that night, after its midnight arrival, instead of having to sleep on board the vessel and disembarking in the morning.

A Whittier resident could walk off the ship after docking and go home, if they wish.

[wolfie11]

1 hour ago, GTJ said:

What issues exist that would cause the carrier to prevent passengers from disembarking at an early hour? I am thinking of passengers who reside in Whittier, and who might want to sleep in their own bed that night, after its midnight arrival, instead of having to sleep on board the vessel and disembarking in the morning.

It would depend on whether or not the captain opened the doors and let people off.  Back in the day, the bar in Whitter would stay open all night when the ships came in and the crew, along with a few passengers in the know, would get off and party. I used to meet a friend who worked in Whittier when I was on a Princess ship.  However, drunk international crew and drunk local fishermen don't always mix well and there was only one real bar (not counting the fancy hotel one), The captain decided after a couple of incidents that no one would be allowed off the ship until the next morning.  That was years ago, so I don't know what the policy is these days. 

 

I'm sure that if one of the town's 270 residents really wanted to get off the ship at 2 am and go home to their condo in Begich Towers instead of spending the night in their comfy cabin and having a nice breakfast the following morning, the ship would let them off.  You would have to live in Whittier though because the tunnel is closed from 11pm to 6am and you would be a "POW" (as the locals say) wandering the street of Whittier for the rest of the night.

[mahuwf]

Thanks for all the great information!

 

So since it's pretty clear that Princess won't be able to get me to that flight, I'm about to book a private van transfer that morning. If the ship docks at 12:30am, what time will they begin letting guests off the ship? Would I be safe to book a 6:30am pickup time?

[CruiserBruce]

5 minutes ago, mahuwf said:

Thanks for all the great information!

 

So since it's pretty clear that Princess won't be able to get me to that flight, I'm about to book a private van transfer that morning. If the ship docks at 12:30am, what time will they begin letting guests off the ship? Would I be safe to book a 6:30am pickup time?

You need to read the posts above. The one way tunnel...the only way out of Whittier.. is closed from 11pm to 6am. The tunnel allows outbound traffic every hour, on the hour, as I understand. Your transport would have to be in Whittier overnight, have you on the vehicle for the 6am passage, or wait until 7am.

[mahuwf]

If I'm reading the schedule for the tunnel correctly, the tunnel actually opens at 5:30am coming INTO Whittier...which would mean that our driver could come from Anchorage during either the 5:30 or 6:30 openings to pick us up and get us back through the tunnel at the 7:00 opening. This would be plenty of time to make it to the airport for the 10:46am flight, right? Seems this is a much better option that trying to change my flight.

 

Am I understanding this correctly?

 

Tunnel schedule:

https://dot.alaska.gov/creg/whittiertunnel/schedule.shtml

[CruiserBruce]

You might be correct, but I think you are counting on a lot of things to come together perfectly. 

[disneyochem]

Good luck to you but I would think it easier to change the flight!  People on this board who have travelled from Whittier to Anchorage post cruise AND Alaskans (folks who there!) have all encouraged you to do so.

 

I’ve disembarked at Whittier a few times but my flights out of Anchorage were around noon or later.  Once left at 8 for a noonish flight— we were stopped by road construction and barely made the flight!  Lots of RV traffic that significantly affect the speed.  You just never know driving in Alaska.  

[AKJonesy]

Work has continued on the Seward Hwy and there are a few slow down work areas posted at 45 mph.   Go to alaska.511.gov then click on the information you want to see on the right hand side of the page - such as scheduled work, road cameras, and more.  

[mahuwf]

OK, I just got off the phone with Delta and they switched us to the 2:00pm flight. Thanks for all the help!

 

You guys are awesome.

[GTJ]

12 minutes ago, mahuwf said:

I just got off the phone with Delta and they switched us to the 2:00pm flight.

A good decision.

[Northern Aurora]

Thank you so much for the update.  Moving the flight to 2 PM is a great solution.  

 

I really doubt you could have made that 10:46 AM flight.  In addition to the factors already the security checkpoint at the Anchorage airport could also have been an issue.  It can be a choke-point.  Sometimes folks just breeze right through, but other times there are long slow lines to get through security.

[mattR]

On 4/25/2023 at 4:22 PM, wolfie11 said:

You can plan on 3 hours at least from your tunnel time.  First tunnel opening is 0600, but I don't think they disembark people that early.  Next tunnel is 0700, which would be iffy.  Depends on how fast you can get thru the airport.  

Google maps shows 90 minutes.  Is google maps that far off?

[Northern Aurora]

The aforementioned tunnel accommodates both rail and vehicle traffic, but not both at the same time.  I doubt that google maps takes the tunnel delays into consideration.

[AKStafford]

16 hours ago, mattR said:

Google maps shows 90 minutes.  Is google maps that far off?

Google Maps does not take into account the tunnel timing and construction and slow traffic in Anchorage.

[mattR]

Has anyone been able to arrange a private transfer for pickup at 6:45am from the ship?  This would enable access to the 7am tunnel opening getting to Anchorage in time for a 11:15 flight.  Flying to Alberta Canada so no other flight options that don't require staying overnight somewhere other then ones even earlier that morning. 

[GTJ]

7 hours ago, AKStafford said:

Google Maps does not take into account the tunnel timing * * *

Until you mentioned it, I had not considered that missing attribute of Google maps. But given that Google does a decent job in being able to plan trips using public transportation timetables, it seems to me that their people should be able to integrate schedules into its highway route planning algorithm. Indeed, such algorithm would be applicable whenever driving is time-restricted in some manner, be it the Anderson Tunnel at Whittier, a ferry, an international border crossing open less than 24 hours daily, or any other route that operates on a fixed timetable (the inclined plane in Johnstown, Pennsylvania?!). Google should be up for that challenge.

Edited November 25, 2023 by GTJ

[AKStafford]

On 11/24/2023 at 6:19 PM, mattR said:

Has anyone been able to arrange a private transfer for pickup at 6:45am from the ship?  

I'd reach out BAC Transportation and see what they can do: https://www.bactrans.com/

[mglg]

What is the earliest flight to book.  On Holland America and want to make a noon flight out of Anchorage.