AKStafford

Avis is the only car rental in Whittier: https://www.avisalaska.com/locations/whittier/ Other options would be spending the day on a 26 Glacier cruise with Phillips Cruises: https://phillipscruises.com/26-glacier-cruise/ Here's our pictures from our last time: http://akstafford.blogspot.com/2021/08/glaciers-7-31-2021.html Or joining the Alaska Railroad on their Glacier Discovery train to either Spencer or Grandview: http://akstafford.blogspot.com/2019/07/grandview-on-alaska-railroad.html http://akstafford.blogspot.com/2017/08/spencer-glacier-via-alaska-railroad.html https://www.alaskarailroad.com/ride-a-train/our-trains/glacier-discovery

The Haines dock sits pretty much right in town. You can see it here: https://goo.gl/maps/z9wZYr3CxHhcp8Uc6 Sitka is about 5 miles to town: https://goo.gl/maps/12YzZHNahwujT1uo6

I would do this: https://www.kroschelfilms.com/

May 26th is going to be an insanely long day. Figure almost 3 hours to Anchorage and then another 6 hours to Denali. So probably about 9 hours on a bus.

No infrastructure to support a ship showing up with a couple of thousand people...

I think you'll be fine: https://www.cruisehive.com/alaska-port-rockslide-work-to-be-done-by-cruise-season/94215

https://www.ktoo.org/2023/03/30/record-number-of-cruise-passengers-expected-in-skagway-this-year/ The town of Skagway is preparing for tourists to rush in. With increased docking capacity at the port and a longer season, the municipality is expecting a record number of visitors this year. The tourism industry in Skagway is on track to recover from its pandemic slump, with 1.2 million cruise passengers expected this year. That’s almost double last year’s numbers, and a 25% increase over the previous record year, 2019. Renee Limoge-Reeve is vice president of community relations with the Cruise Lines International Association. She sees an increase in passenger numbers throughout the industry. “We know from our research that intent to cruise is higher than pre-pandemic levels,” she said. “And that’s both among people who have cruised in the past, and people who have never cruised. Intent to cruise is through the roof, I think there is definitely a pent-up demand.” All these passengers will visit multiple ports, making the boom regionwide. Ketchikan is also expecting a record-setting year. “The Alaska market remains very very strong,” Limoge-Reeve said. “It’s a bucket-list destination, we know that. When you talk about cruising in the Caribbean, the ship is the destination. In Alaska, Alaska is the destination.” Jaime Bricker is the town’s tourism director. She says she loves seeing the town come to life. “It’s”I just had coffee with a friend this morning, and there were a ton of new people walking into the coffee shop, lots of hustle and bustle on Broadway,” she said. “Everybody is moving around and preparing for the season around here.” The first cruise ship will arrive on April 18, and the last one is scheduled for Oct 25. This makes for a longer tourism season than in years past. Businesses will have to adapt to that timeline. “I think there is a varying degree of acceptance in terms of opening earlier and staying open later, there are also other factors that each business has to consider,” Bricker said. “Like whether or not they have enough staff to cater to that early group of people or staff that will stay late into the season. And does it justify them staying open. I think it’s a decision that each business will have to make for themselves, and it will be interesting to see how that unfolds in Skagway.” Bricker is optimistic staffing needs will be met. “I have heard great things about the hiring for this year as opposed to the last several years in particular. It is refreshing to hear that people are ready to come back to Skagway and ready to work for the summer,” she said. Changes on the waterfront also contribute to the increased number of visitors. “There is a trend within the industry of having the larger ships that can accommodate more passengers, and we’ve got four berths that have been improved to accept some of those larger ships. Right now we are maximizing this infrastructure in the best way possible to maximize the number of people that can come to Skagway. And so all of those things have led to that growth,” she said. Renee Limoge-Reeves, of the cruise lines association, sums up why so many visitors want to go to Skagway in the first place. “It’s a gem in Alaska’s jewelry box,” she said. “We know that people go to Skagway, they see a beautiful little town that is extremely welcoming, we have wonderful excursion opportunities there, it’s a historical location, and we are thrilled to go.” This year a part of the waterfront is returning under the municipality’s control, after a 55-year lease to a private company. Associated docking fees from now on are paid to the municipality. To mark the occasion, there will be a ceremony at Skagway’s shoreline park on April 19, the day after the first docking, at 5 pm.

If you get to Whittier, Whittier Fudge has good stuff. They also have a table set up at the Alaska State Fair each year.

https://micaguides.com/ https://www.novalaska.com/trip/mantanuska-glacier-hike/ https://glacier-tours.com/

The Coastal Classic has you in Seward by 11:20am: https://www.alaskarailroad.com/ride-a-train/our-trains/coastal-classic

I've got some shoes from Columbia that are waterproof and work great. I can find the exact shoe, but here's their stuff: https://www.columbia.com/c/waterproof-boots-shoes/?cgid=waterproofShoes&pagesize=144

There's very limited lodging available in Seward and Whittier, so they don't base drivers there. When I drove (again, about 20 years ago) we had a mobile home at the McKinley Chalet that we'd overnight in when doing Denali runs, unless it was a turn and burn. But no bus yard or maintenance shop. Infrastructure cost money and everyone wants their cheap cruise...

I drove for Holland America a couple decades ago, when they still docked in Seward... Ship days started at 2am in the yard in Anchorage. We were to be on the road by 3am, on the dock in Seward by 6am. Over the next few hours we'd all get passengers and head off, most of us headed to the Anchorage Airport or the hotels or the Egan Center in Anchorage. We'd dump them off, head back to the Yard to refuel, clean our coaches, load on snack boxes and head back to the Egan Center, hotels or airport to load on passengers headed to catch the ship in Seward. The last coach would be out of Anchorage by about 4pm. We'd drop our passengers and head back to Anchorage, with the last of us rolling in at 10pm. A grueling 20 hour day. Eight hours off and we'd start the next day at 6am.

If you can add an extra couple of days, you could transfer to Anchorage from Seward, rent a car and drive to the Matanuska Glacier for a guided glacier hike.

I'd rent a couple of cars and head to the Matanuska Glacier for a guided glacier hike.

Alaska has special rules: https://www.freightwaves.com/news/hours-of-service-and-the-alaska-exemption

To simply things, I'd buy in advance. This link has locations to buy it, or you can buy online. https://www.nps.gov/planyourvisit/passes.htm But, since it's good for just one year from purchase, buy at the beginning of the month that you'll be cruising.

Princess and Holland America have lodges outside the entrance to Denali National Park in "Glitter Gulch". Princess also has their McKinley Princess Lodge about an hour from Talkeetna that they warehouse cruisetour people in to break up the long drive to Denali National Park.

I think renting a car to explore is a great idea.

The TripAdvisor Forum for Alaska Travel can be a big help: https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowForum-g28923-i349-Alaska.html

The cruise lines doe a great job of cruising Southeast Alaska. Their cruisetours on land in Southcentral Alaska are lacking... Would you be opening to renting a car and putting together your own great trip on land?

The Shrine of St. Therese is nice and so is the drive: https://www.shrineofsainttherese.org/

I would consider ditching the cruise line tour and renting a car for your own trip. There's nothing on a cruisetour that you can't do on your own, often for cheaper. On the cruisetour you have very little time at Denali National Park. And McKinley Princess Lodge is in the middle of no where will very little options. But, your trip. So choose what you want... Just a suggestion.

Just a note for other travelers... Icy Strait Lodge rents cars: https://icystraitlodge.com/car-rentals

This would be my choice: http://jetboatalaska.com/