Park Connection Seward to Anchorage

[Rick2594]

My cruise on the Radiance of the Seas ends in Seward on Sep 15. I booked the Park Connection bus that day to get from Seward to Anchorage airport. I’m then flying to Fairbanks for a few days hoping to see the Northern Lights. The bus is scheduled to depart Seward at 9:45 am and arrive at Anchorage airport at 12:30 pm. My flight to Anchorage was originally scheduled for 3:25 pm but Alaska Air changed it to 2:10 pm. Given the size of the airport I think that’s plenty of time as long as the bus isn’t late. 
 

Does anyone have any experience with the bus and know if the schedules are fairly reliable? I can change my flight to depart at 4:45 pm but would rather not hang around the airport for hours if I can avoid it. Appreciate any feedback.

[Northern Aurora]

The last time I was in the Ted Stevens Anchorage Airport was in late April.  But we didn't have to go through security as we arrived into Anchorage and then took a connecting flight to Fairbanks.  I hope someone who has recently cleared security there will comment, but in the past a "choke point" was the security clearance.  I wonder if the number of security X-ray machines has been increased as for a number of years there were only two.  In comparison, the Fairbanks airport, with only eight gates, also has two X-ray machines.  

[GTJ]

On 8/29/2023 at 11:26 AM, Rick2594 said:

My cruise on the Radiance of the Seas ends in Seward on Sep 15. I booked the Park Connection bus that day to get from Seward to Anchorage airport. . . . The bus is scheduled to depart Seward at 9:45 am and arrive at Anchorage airport at 12:30 pm. My flight to Anchorage was originally scheduled for 3:25 pm but Alaska Air changed it to 2:10 pm. . . . Does anyone have any experience with the bus and know if the schedules are fairly reliable? I can change my flight to depart at 4:45 pm but would rather not hang around the airport for hours if I can avoid it.

The bus is scheduled to depart from the Intermodal Terminal (cruise vessel terminal) in Seward at 9:45 a.m., and arrive in Anchorage, at the downtown Dena'ina Civic Center terminal at 12:30 p.m., and at the Anchorage airport also at 12:30 p.m. That the same bus is scheduled to be at both drop-off locations at the same time should tell you that at least one of these times is not accurate. The downtown Dena'ina Civic Center terminal is the primary Anchorage bus stop for the Park Connection, and the bus stops at the airport only its northbound trips (no service from the airport to Seward). Historically, the bus drops off passengers first in downtown Anchorage, then it goes to the airport, though on any particular day the driver might reverse the order of the two drop-off locations. Actual travel time between those two drop-off locations is 15 minutes, but you should allow 30 minutes given the need to actually drop-off passengers and their baggage at the first drop-off location. Actual travel times by bus, direct without stops, is 2 hours 30 minutes from Seward to Anchorage. Putting together all of the bus, a realistic timetable is as follows. Depart Seward at 9:45 a.m. Arrive first drop-off location in Anchorage at 12:15 p.m. Arrive second drop-off location in Anchorage at 12:45 p.m. So worst case is 1 hour 25 minutes from bus drop-off to aircraft departure; best case is 1 hour 55 minutes.

 

Note that the Park Connection bus service continues northward on a connecting coach that departs the downtown Dena'ina Civic Center terminal at 3:00 p.m., destined for Denali National Park, arriving at 8:30 p.m. No same-day service is available to points further north, including Fairbanks (four hours overland from Denali), and so the only same-day option is to fly from Anchorage to Fairbanks.

 

A word about the bus operation itself. The name of the service, "Park Connection," is a marketing term, not the name of the bus company. The marketing term reflects the fact that the bus service operates on the George Parks Highway, named after the territorial governor from 1925 to 1933. The bus service is operated by Premier Alaska Tours, Inc., USDOT 878784, MC-406910. This company not only operates the Park Connection service but also operates the buses used by most cruise lines not owned by Carnival Corporation to transport their passengers for tours and transfers. The company also operates the "Wilderness Express" private railcar, which is transported by the Alaska Railroad Corporation between Anchorage, Fairbanks, and intermediate points. Premier Alaska Tours, Inc., does not operate the Park Connection bus service entirely on its own, but utilizes a broker for its marketing and ticket sales. That broker is "Windsong Alaska Properties, L.L.C.," which does business as Alaska Tour & Travel. So it is a bit convoluted, but these are the legitimate companies behind the bus service. Alaska Tour & Travel is the legitimate place to buy tickets for the service without any unnecessary intermediary.