Getting from Anchorage to Vancouver but not on a ship?

[poohbear8]

Due to Royal's Radiance mechanical issues, I am looking to see if there are other options to get me from Anchorage to Vancouver while seeing Alaska.

 

I have a S2S booked. I arrive Sept 13th in Anchorage. I have the train booked from Anchorage to Seaward on the morning of the 15th.

If Royal cancels, I would still need to get to Vancouver by the 22nd to board another ship.

 

Can anyone suggest ways to get to Vancouver (other than flying) to do this when not on a ship? Ideally, I would love to stop and explore / spend a few nights along the way.

 

I am flying Alaska Air and can change the flight, so I could consider a new starting point. I have spent months researching the cruises, but don't know enough to replan the Alaska part quickly.

[Glaciers]

The only practical way would be flying from Anchorage. Even then, depending on schedules, you may need to fly to Seattle and then back up to Vancouver for your cruise. You may be able to rent a vehicle from GoNorth and drive although the problem will be that this may be last minute which may be problem with booking a flight too.  Hopefully you purchased insurance. You may have already seen this but there is a thread for others with the same problem.

 

 

[dfilpus]

Flying is by far the easiest and most likely the only way to get to Vancouver from Alaska. There are ferries that might work. You would have to look at the Alaska Maritime Highway and the Canadian ferry system. These ferries do not run often and would require overnight ferries. I have heard that the ferry across the Gulf of Alaska is not running at all, so you would have to fly from Anchorage to Juneau to catch the ferry south.

[poohbear8]

Could we make this a road trip over the 8 days before I leave Vancouver? Hubby looked and thinks we can, but I feel like it not as simple as drive, explore, spend the night and repeat. 

[Glaciers]

@poohbear8 

I’ve driven it twice in about 4 days in the early 80’s before most of it was paved. 8 days is certainly doable although the difficulties are in the details.  Are there rentals available? How would you get from Seattle to Vancouver after dropping the car?  The drive is nice although not really a good last minute decision. There is a lot of planning involved. There are folks over at Trip Advisor that can give you some better advice regarding this.  There are many posts now on Facebook that appear to indicate that RCL is really stepping up to help those affected. 

[poohbear8]

@Glaciers Figuring out the car rental return in Seattle when I need to be in Vancouver is a good point. 

 

Royal does seem to be doing a good job taking care of the passengers. I have been planning for 6 months and am a planner and the small chance they might cancel is stressful, so I am looking at options instead of waiting to see if they cancel. 

 

My airfare to anchorage is changeable, so I could start somewhere else to explore Alaska, but still have to make my way back to Vancouver. 

[GTJ]

8 hours ago, poohbear8 said:

Due to Royal's Radiance mechanical issues, I am looking to see if there are other options to get me from Anchorage to Vancouver while seeing Alaska. * * * Can anyone suggest ways to get to Vancouver (other than flying) to do this when not on a ship? Ideally, I would love to stop and explore / spend a few nights along the way.

Unfortunately, most of the overland routes to and from Alaska have been discontinued. It has been some time now that the bus services connecting Anchorage and Fairbanks with Whitehorse were discontinued, and more recently Greyhound Canada went out of business completely, resulting in discontinuance of its bus route between Whitehorse and Vancouver without replacement by any other bus company.

 

As to ferries, the vessel Kennicott typically operates every two weeks in the summer between Whittier (south of Anchorage) and Bellingham (south of Vancouver). However, this year a shortage of crew has caused the Alaska Marine Highway to suspend service on this route. As a result, there is no ferry service between any port proximate to Anchorage and the panhandle of the state. At best, one could fly from Anchorage to Juneau, and join the Columbia at Juneau for its voyage to Bellingham. The Columbia does have a departure from Juneau on the evening of Monday, September 18, at 11:30 p.m., arriving in Bellingham on the morning of Friday, September 22, at 8:00 a.m. This should be enough time to get from Bellingham to Vancouver. The Columbia stops at Sitka, Petersburg, Wrangell, and Ketchikan, with relatively short port times (at most, there is 4 hours 15 minutes in Ketchikan). For a more extensive itinerary, the Columbia will depart Juneau earlier in the day on September 18, at 3:45 a.m., making stops in Haines and Skagway before returning to Juneau at 8:45 p.m., and so this earlier departure would provide short visits to those two intermediate ports.

 

You might be able to travel on a different cruise. If you're planning to arrive into Anchorage early enough on September 13, there is a departure that same day on the Sapphire Princess from Whittier, scheduled to leave at 8:30 p.m. If your arrival is early enough, you could possibly board this vessel, even if you have to arrange for a private transfer to get to Whittier. You would have to leave the airport no later than 5:00 p.m. It takes 1 hour 15 minutes in ordinary traffic to get to the Whittier tunnel. You would need to get the 6:30 p.m. tunnel to get to the port by 7:00 p.m. (and having checked in online in advance). I see that space is available on the vessel, starting at $199 per person. Itinerary is Skagway, Juneau, and Ketchikan, arriving in Vancouver on September 20. You should move quickly before everyone else on the annulled Royal Caribbean departure attempts the same thing.

 

There's also another departure on September 13, but it is from Seward on the Seven Seas Explorer. However, its minimum fare per passenger is $18,699, so it might not be a practicable option.

[donaldsc]

If it comes to it you have 9 days between Sept 12 - 22nd.  The distance between the 2 cities is 2164 miles.  The road is paved and is an easy drive.  That is only 240 miles per day which will even give you some time to a a little bit of sightseeing.  

 

DON

[GTJ]

15 minutes ago, donaldsc said:

The distance between the 2 cities is 2164 miles.

If you're referring to the Alcan Highway, that route would require going outside the United States. Would the owner allow its vehicle to be removed from the United States?

 

I note section 7(d) of the ticket contract, which reads in relevant part:

"In the event that a Cruise (or the cruise component of a CruiseTour) is canceled or terminated early due to mechanical failures: * * * iii) If the Passenger has travelled [sic] to the Vessel, Passenger shall have a right to transportation (by means selected by the Carrier) to the Vessel’s scheduled port of disembarkation or the Passenger’s home city * * *"

That is to say, Royal Caribbean has the obligation to provide transportation from Seward to Vancouver. That means travel via common carrier. But it is Royal Caribbean's choice of carriage. Arranging one's own carriage, such as travel by Princess Cruises from Whittier to Vancouver, might be acceptable to Royal Caribbean for reimbursement, but it is up to their discretion as to the acceptability of such carriage. Renting a vehicle and driving it oneself is yet a second step removed from the ticket contract terms, and thus less likely (compared to arranging common carriage) to be acceptable to Royal Caribbean. While it is important to act quickly, given the essence of time at this moment, including the likely disappearing of alternatives as they become filled, it is also important to keep in mind the likelihood of actions taken being acceptable to Royal Caribbean (or the willingness of the passenger to bring an arbitration claim against Royal Caribbean).

[poohbear8]

Thank you everyone! This does help and gives us some options and clears up some questions.