Train from Whittier to Anchorage Princess how to?

[mattR]

How do you book the train from Whittier to Anchorage?  Princess doesn't show any transfers or tour options for the Royal Princess disembarking on Jul 20th.  Is there different classes of tickets? Is there commentary? 

[GTJ]

3 hours ago, mattR said:

How do you book the train from Whittier to Anchorage?

One way of doing so is by going to the railroad's website, http://www.alaskarailroad.com, and purchasing tickets there. You can also call the railroad, (800) 544-0552, and purchase tickets over the telephone. Should you not purchase tickets in advance, then you would need to pay the fare to the conductor on board the train since there is no station with ticket sales in Whittier.

 

There is a single class of service. There is no formal commentary. Just an ordinary train, not much different from a typical commuter train that many people ride to and from work each day. Two regular chair cars plus a bilevel car with café service.

 

Be aware that the direct service, northward from Whittier to Anchorage, departs at 6:45 p.m., so you would like have a much longer wait in Whittier compared to using a bus transfer that leaves earlier in the day. However, do have the option of traveling from Whittier southward, and enjoying either a scenic rail trip or a tour, before the train turns around and goes northward to Anchorage. The southbound train departs Whittier at 12:45 p.m. You could travel southward to Spencer, where you could hike on your own or join the "Spence Iceberg and Placer River Float," and later board the same train northward; or remain on the train to Grandview for a scenic ride and return. These options are shown on the railroad's website, http://www.alaskarailroad.com/travel-planning/day-trips.

[mattR]

Is there private charter trains directly through the cruise ship?  I seen a video of people on a train with a Princess car that was two levels with a bubble roof.

[GTJ]

8 hours ago, mattR said:

Is there private charter trains directly through the cruise ship?  I seen a video of people on a train with a Princess car that was two levels with a bubble roof.

Yes, there is a train that Princess Cruises charters for its passengers, but not between Whittier and Anchorage. In total there are three different trains that one can travel upon from Whittier, each to a different destination and each with different types of cars. Let me expand upon that by explaining all of the passenger train services from Whittier.

 

As already noted, the Alaska Railroad operates an ordinary coach train from Anchorage to Whittier and points further south, and then return. It is named "Glacier Discovery." Its schedule is as follows (not shown in this condensed schedule are the station times at Girdwood and Portage).

Southbound

Anchorage 9:45 a.m., Whittier 12:05-12:45 p.m., Spencer 1:45-1:55 p.m., Grandview 3:20 p.m.

Northbound

Grandview 3:30 p.m., Spencer 4:30-4:40 p.m., Whittier 6:05-6:45 p.m., Anchorage 9:00 p.m.

 

There is an Alaska Railroad train that Princess Cruises charters for its passengers. It is a single-level train with glass dome roof. It is named "McKinley Express," and is used to transport Princess Cruises passengers between its vessels at Whittier and the Mt. McKinley Princess Wilderness Lodge near Talkeetna (a bus is used to shuttle passengers between the McKinley station and the lodge). Its schedule is as follows.

Northbound

Whittier 7:15 a.m., McKinley 12:40 p.m.

Southbound

McKinley 1:30 p.m., Whittier 6:35 p.m.

 

There is a pair of Princess Rail trains operated by Alaska Railroad under contract. It is a bi-level train with glass dome roof. It is named "Denali Express," and is used to transport Princess Cruises passengers between its vessels at Whittier at the Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge (a bus is used to shuttle passengers between the Denali station and the lodge). Its schedule is as follows.

Northbound

Whittier 8:15 a.m., Denali 5:45 p.m.

Southbound

Denali 8:15 a.m., Whittier 5:35 p.m.

 

Hopefully this explanation makes clear the available options. If you desire to travel on the bi-level cars with a glass dome roof from Whittier, then you would need to book one of the Princess tours that goes to Denali (but read the tour descriptions carefully as not all tours going to Denali use this particular train).

 

 

Edited December 9, 2023 by GTJ

[LynnSD]

My travel agent gave me all the princess transfer information when I asked for it.  I ended up booking a car through Viator. 

[mattR]

On 12/9/2023 at 2:47 AM, GTJ said:

Yes, there is a train that Princess Cruises charters for its passengers, but not between Whittier and Anchorage. In total there are three different trains that one can travel upon from Whittier, each to a different destination and each with different types of cars. Let me expand upon that by explaining all of the passenger train services from Whittier.

 

As already noted, the Alaska Railroad operates an ordinary coach train from Anchorage to Whittier and points further south, and then return. It is named "Glacier Discovery." Its schedule is as follows (not shown in this condensed schedule are the station times at Girdwood and Portage).

Southbound

Anchorage 9:45 a.m., Whittier 12:05-12:45 p.m., Spencer 1:45-1:55 p.m., Grandview 3:20 p.m.

Northbound

Grandview 3:30 p.m., Spencer 4:30-4:40 p.m., Whittier 6:05-6:45 p.m., Anchorage 9:00 p.m.

 

There is an Alaska Railroad train that Princess Cruises charters for its passengers. It is a single-level train with glass dome roof. It is named "McKinley Express," and is used to transport Princess Cruises passengers between its vessels at Whittier and the Mt. McKinley Princess Wilderness Lodge near Talkeetna (a bus is used to shuttle passengers between the McKinley station and the lodge). Its schedule is as follows.

Northbound

Whittier 7:15 a.m., McKinley 12:40 p.m.

Southbound

McKinley 1:30 p.m., Whittier 6:35 p.m.

 

There is a pair of Princess Rail trains operated by Alaska Railroad under contract. It is a bi-level train with glass dome roof. It is named "Denali Express," and is used to transport Princess Cruises passengers between its vessels at Whittier at the Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge (a bus is used to shuttle passengers between the Denali station and the lodge). Its schedule is as follows.

Northbound

Whittier 8:15 a.m., Denali 5:45 p.m.

Southbound

Denali 8:15 a.m., Whittier 5:35 p.m.

 

Hopefully this explanation makes clear the available options. If you desire to travel on the bi-level cars with a glass dome roof from Whittier, then you would need to book one of the Princess tours that goes to Denali (but read the tour descriptions carefully as not all tours going to Denali use this particular train).

 

 

Does the Denali train make a stop in Anchorage to let people off?  It kind of sounds like the train that I watched a video of someone who posted where they got off in Anchorage and mentioned most people were continuing on. 

[GTJ]

3 hours ago, mattR said:

Does the Denali train make a stop in Anchorage to let people off? It kind of sounds like the train that I watched a video of someone who posted where they got off in Anchorage and mentioned most people were continuing on. 

The Princess Rail train between Denali and Whittier, known as the "Denali Express," passes through Anchorage. The train might (or might not) stop in Anchorage for the purpose of allowing Princess Rail and/or Alaska Railroad crew to board or alight the train, or to otherwise address railroad operations matters, but it is not intended to a stop at which passengers routinely board or alight. Were the train to stop in Anchorage and a passenger already on the train attempt to alight, it is unlikely that anything could be done to prevent that from happening.

 

Among the reasons that passengers do not board or alight the "Denali Express" at Anchorage is that there are other trains that do transport passengers between Anchorage and each of Whittier and Denali. Already noted above is the description of the train providing passenger service between Anchorage and Whittier, the "Glacier Discovery" train (and I will further note that this train does have one bi-level car, which can be self-propelled, but it does not have a glass dome roof). In addition, on Sundays, Holland America Line charters an additional train from the Alaska Railroad to transport its passengers between Anchorage and Whittier (this is the same set of railcars chartered by Princess Cruises operating between McKinley and Whittier, the "McKinley Express," already noted above); this additional train does not operate on Saturdays, when the Royal Princess will be in port. Other trains operate between Anchorage, Denali, and Fairbanks. The "Denali Star" is an Alaska Railroad train operating between Anchorage, Denali, and Fairbanks. It utilizes bi-level cars with glass dome roof, similar to those used by Princess Rail, for its first class ("GoldStar") passengers and ordinary chair cars (plus a Vista-Dome car) for its coach ("Adventure") class passengers. The "Wilderness Express" is a Premier Alaska Tours train (used by Royal Caribbean Cruises for its passengers) operating between It utilizes bi-level cars with glass dome roof, similar to those used by Princess Rail, for its passengers. The "Wilderness Express" is combined with the "Denali Star" into a single train. The "McKinley Explorer" is a Princess Rail train operating between Anchorage and Denali. It uses bi-level cars with glass dome roof for its passengers.

 

This explanation is a bit lengthy and detailed, but that's really necessary to provide the full answer to your question. To further assist, I have attached to this response a schematic map of the various rail routes in this part of Alaska. Some passengers might use one of the Anchorage trains, and spend a night or two in Anchorage, before "continuing on." This might have been the case with the video that you watched.

 

The short of it is that if you're arriving into Whittier on a Princess Cruises vessel, you will need to travel beyond Anchorage to ride one of the bi-level cars with glass dome roof. The options for doing so include: (1) "Denali Express" from Whittier to Denali, accessible by booking a Princess Cruisetour, (2) "Denali Star," "Wilderness Express," or "McKinley Explorer," from Anchorage to Denali or Fairbanks after having spent a night in Anchorage, accessible by independent booking or through a Princess Cruisetour, and (3) "Coastal Classic," from Anchorage to Seward, accessible by independent booking (an Alaska Railroad train I have not otherwise mentioned here).

Alaska Railroad Map and Service 3.pdf

[mattR]

Thank you very much