Hi there!
Do you want to take the train from Whittier to Anchorage?
A “cruise from Vancouver to Anchorage” is actually a cruise from Vancouver to Whittier.
Anchorage is the major city with an airport “near” Whittier.
I was flying out of the Anchorage airport after my Vancouver to Anchorage cruise with Princess, so I was looking at how to get from Whittier to Anchorage.
First, there are airport shuttles that you can book through the cruise ship.
If your flight from Anchorage is not until later in the evening or the next day, there are combination tours in which you can do another activity before they take you to the airport.
The offerings may vary based on time of year and other things.
Here is what is offered on my Princess cruise arriving in Whittier on May 20:
- Portage Glacier boat tour with airport transfer
- Turnagain Arm, Wildlife Conservation Center, and tram with airport transfer
- 26 glacier boat tour with transfer to Anchorage (transfer is NOT to the airport, this is if you have an overnight in Anchorage)
You can also book Whittier to Anchorage bus shuttles directly.
Whether you book through Princess or direct, you will want to pay special attention to the timings to make sure it will work out with your flight departure out of Anchorage.
There was also the option to book a 26 glacier tour only through Princess. You can also do the 26 glacier tour on your own. It is easy to get from the cruise ship to this tour.
Can you take the train from Whittier to Anchorage?
Alaska is known for its train rides, so you want to take a train if you can, right?! (In addition to the White Pass Railway that you’re already taking in Skagway that is… ðĪŠ)
Yes, there is a train from Whittier to Anchorage.
ð There is a train from near the Whittier cruise port to Anchorage.
The train from Whittier to Anchorage is called the Glacier Discovery train.
But if your flight out of Anchorage is already booked, it might not be possible to take it.
If you want to take the train from Whittier to Anchorage after your one-way northbound cruise from Vancouver, you will need to stay overnight in Anchorage.
Or, if you can get a midnight flight, maybe you won’t want the overnight in Anchorage!
The Whittier to Anchorage train is in the evening.
The Glacier Discovery train is scheduled to arrive at the Anchorage train station from Whittier at 9pm.
Does Princess offer another earlier train from Whittier to Anchorage? See notes below.
How long is the train from Whittier to Anchorage?
For the Whittier to Anchorage route, the train departs Whittier at 6:45pm and arrives in Anchorage at 9:00pm.
So this makes it a 2 hour 15 minute train ride.
Confirm the train schedule for the Glacier Discovery train.
In the summer, the sunset isn’t until after 9pm so it will still be light! You can search for the sunset time in Anchorage on the day you’ll be there!
Photo tip: In order to reduce the glare from the windows, put your phone directly against the window when taking a picture!
ð 9:34pm on May 20, 2023. It was a delayed train ride which is apparently unusual. When one train is delayed, there’s a domino effect which makes for more delayed trains.
ð 9:11pm on the left side of the train.
ð 9:14pm, looking to the back side of the train.
ð 9:36pm
ð 9:37pm
How much does the Whittier to Anchorage train ticket cost?
For the Whittier to Anchorage route, the train tickets are $98 per person.
Confirm the prices for the Glacier Discovery train.
If you’ve been reading about Alaska trains, you may have read about 2 types of train cars you can reserve: the normal Adventure class ticket and the “premium” GoldStar class ticket.
The Whittier to Anchorage route doesn’t offer the GoldStar ticket, so that’s one less decision you have to make! ðĪŠ
You don’t have to figure out whether or not it’s worth the extra money to book the Goldstar!
You can check the availability of train tickets to Anchorage.
Should you book your train ticket for Whittier to Anchorage NOW… or will you probably be safe by waiting a bit?
Luckily, the official Alaska Railroad website makes it easy to figure out!
There’s an availability calendar!
It will tell you whether there are a good number of tickets left for any given day, or if there are only a limited number of tickets left… or worse, if they are sold out for that day!
Luggage storage in Whittier?!
If you want to take the train, you will be in Whittier until 6:45pm.
What to do until then?!
More importantly, what to do with luggage until then?!
Well, “everyone” seems to say that Whittier is basically just the cruise port and there’s not much to do.
Which pretty much goes in line with what I was finding… not much.
It also really doesn’t seem like there’s a designated luggage storage space anywhere in Whittier.
So if you want to take the train from Whittier to Anchorage, you will need to think about what you want to do during the day, and if you will think it’s still worth it to wait around for the train.
My solution for luggage storage in Whittier was a glacier boat tour with Phillips Cruises.
This is the same company that you can book the 26 glacier boat tour through Princess for a transfer to Anchorage.
Here is what Phillips Cruises says about luggage storage in Whittier if you do a boat tour (cruise) with them:
While you will be responsible for transferring your luggage between the transportation provider and the cruise ship terminal, we can provide assistance with storing your luggage during the cruise.
Your luggage may be stored in a secure location next to our office and reclaimed after the day cruise.
The Cruise Ship Terminal is adjacent to our pier and the ground surface is paved for an easy transition between the day cruise and the cruise ship.
There are 2 glacier boat tours that Phillips Cruises offers:
You can do either when you are taking the train from Whittier to Anchorage.
The difference is the length of the tour and the boat route.
The 26 glacier tour covers more area, is longer, and therefore is more expensive. ($190 per person before taxes and fees)
The Glacier Quest tour focuses on just a single area, the Blackstone Bay. ($150 per person before taxes and fees)
See my pictures: 26 glacier cruise
Does Princess offer a train from Whittier to Anchorage?
In the information about disembarking at Whittier on princess.com, there is mention of a “scenic railway transfer.”
I don’t see a specific railway transfer offered in my account under excursions or the travel / transfers / post-cruise transfer section, but maybe there is another way to book it.
So I am not sure what this is about.
If Princess does off you a scenic railway transfer, based on their suggested flight time out of Anchorage, it seems it would be a morning train, and that would mean you don’t need an overnight in Anchorage.
According to princess.com about disembarking in Anchorage and the earliest to schedule your flight from Anchorage:
Disembarking Passengers
For voyages arriving in Whittier at 12:30 am, the earliest flight departure from Anchorage is 10 hours and 30 minutes after ship’s arrival.
For voyages arriving in Whittier at 5:00 am, the earliest flight departure from Anchorage is 8 hours and 50 minutes after ship’s arrival.
For voyages arriving in Whittier at 7:00 am, the earliest flight departure from Anchorage is 6 hours and 30 minutes after ship’s arrival.
For passengers on the Scenic Rail transfer, the earliest flight departure from Anchorage is 1:00 pm.
More below about my day in Whittier!
ð
My one day in Whittier
I arrived to Whittier by cruise ship on a one-way northbound cruise from Vancouver to Whittier, and then I took the train from Whittier to Anchorage.
I did the 26 glacier cruise to pass time until the train to Anchorage, and it was a great way to end my time in Alaska.
I got to see glaciers up close in a way that I didn’t on the cruise ship, and I saw glaciers calving several times. (aka big chunks of ice breaking off the glacier and splashing into the water.) I saw dalls porpoises swimming right next to the boat, a whale bringing its fin up to the surface so many times, a harbor seal jump into the water from a chunk of ice it was laying on, and lots of sea otters!
Now, calving is not guaranteed, and neither is wildlife sighting! But on the day I did the boat tour, it was pretty spectacular!
The cruise ship and the boat tour both go through College Fjord.
But even though the cruise ship went through College Fjord, the 26 glacier boat tour through College Fjord was a different experience.
So I disembarked from the cruise ship in Whittier the latest possible time for self-assist (aka carrying off my own luggage), and that was at 9:30am.
I was actually assigned the 8:45am time, but I called guest services on disembarkation day to ask if I could leave at 9:30am. I was asked if I have all my luggage with me, I said yes, and she said I could leave at 9:30.
Then after I got off the cruise ship, I waited inside the Whittier cruise terminal until I checked in for the 26 glacier tour.
I do recommend staying inside the terminal until it’s check-in time.
The Whittier cruise terminal was a little cold, but the only waiting area after you check in for the boat tour is outside, and that’s even colder! (Well, it was on the day I did it.) And once you leave the terminal, you probably won’t be able to get back in. So I’m glad I didn’t leave.
The 26 glacier boat dock is literally right next to the Whittier cruise port.
And the spot to get on the train to Anchorage is literally across from the 26 glacier boat dock (and Whittier cruise port).
So it was all very simple!
And yes, the 26 glacier boat tour company also did do luggage storage and that was simple too!
My Whittier to Anchorage train ride was on May 20, 2023.
More for planning your Alaska train ride from Whittier
Official Alaska Railroad stuff you’ll want:
- Availability calendar
- Whittier to Anchorage train timings (Glacier Discovery)
- Cost of Whittier to Anchorage train tickets (Glacier Discovery)
- How to book train tickets
HAPPY GETTING FROM WHITTIER TO ANCHORAGE!
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