Anchorage to seward train

[LINDAE3213]

I posted this on my roll call too...but in reading my roll call many are doing pre land tours.

 

Anyone taking the train from anchorage to seward?

 

If so....are you taking the railroad train that leaves 645 am and gets to seward at 1105 am or the rccl train that leaves anchorage at 1 pm and for some reason takes longer and gets to seward at 6.

 

With check in time for the rsdiance 230 pm to 630pm I am trying to understand why rccl would get you to port so late....sailing is at 8 pm.

 

Aside from that the prior cruise arrives seward at 5 am....is 230 really the earliest onboard?

 

Living in and sailing from NJ port liberty quite often..I am generally onboard by noon even with the ship arriving to port at 7 am from prior cruise.

 

Linda

[Coral]

I have taken the early train trip! It is great, very scenic. Plus, lots to do in Seward. You may want to consider going in a day before so that you can spend more time in Seward.

 

If you can go in the day of the cruise, you can drop your luggage off and see Seward. I wouldn't hurry to get onboard. Sorry, I don't remember what time I embarked. It seemed earlier then 2:30.

Edited January 19, 2017 by Coral

[LINDAE3213]

So you took the 645 am from the 1st ave train depot in anchorage? I believe you have to get there 1 hour early....did you taxi from your hotel or walk? I still need to book hotel too in anchorage...right now earliest flight from nj to anchorage on june 8th only arrive at 330 pm earliest

There are no nonstops...can only.fly in the day before sailing.....even with that I need 7 days off work.

Linda

[Coral]

So you took the 645 am from the 1st ave train depot in anchorage? I believe you have to get there 1 hour early....did you taxi from your hotel or walk? I still need to book hotel too in anchorage...right now earliest flight from nj to anchorage on june 8th only arrive at 330 pm earliest

There are no nonstops...can only.fly in the day before sailing.....even with that I need 7 days off work.

Linda

 

I live where there are no non-stops! I think I had to take a total of 3 planes to get to Anchorage.

 

I stayed at Captain Cook and took a taxi to the train station. Yes, I had to be there early. The train ride is amazing, very scenic. I prefer this to the train ride in Skagway (White Pass and Yukon) as far as scenery is concerned - Skagway train has a great history.

 

If you get there at 3:30, that gives you time for a good dinner and to get to sleep early so you can be at the train station early!

Edited January 19, 2017 by Coral

[Ashland]

I posted this on my roll call too...but in reading my roll call many are doing pre land tours.

 

Anyone taking the train from anchorage to seward?

 

If so....are you taking the railroad train that leaves 645 am and gets to seward at 1105 am or the rccl train that leaves anchorage at 1 pm and for some reason takes longer and gets to seward at 6.

 

With check in time for the rsdiance 230 pm to 630pm I am trying to understand why rccl would get you to port so late....sailing is at 8 pm.

 

Aside from that the prior cruise arrives seward at 5 am....is 230 really the earliest onboard?

 

Living in and sailing from NJ port liberty quite often..I am generally onboard by noon even with the ship arriving to port at 7 am from prior cruise.

 

Linda

 

We've done the RCI cruiseline train transfer option from Seward to ANC....it arrived at ANC at 11:00am...We saw people lined up to board for the return from ANC to Seward. It's a 3 1/2 hour trip...double check you times with RCI and remember you have to book this directly with RCI.

 

If you would prefer to get there a bit quicker by bus you can try..

 

http://www.alaskacruisetransfer.com

 

Hope this info will help you....Best of luck

 

[nparmelee]

We're taking the Alaska Railroad train at 6:45 am, we figure we'll walk the luggage down to the pier, drop it off and then go to the Alaska Sealife Center for a while.

[LINDAE3213]

That train seems to be our best option too....and you need to get there an hour before train leaves...so very early day! Are you staying in a hotel near train station to walk over or taking taxi? I have just started researching all of this so suggestions are welcome.

[nparmelee]

the hotel we are staying at in Anchorage has a shuttle that will take us to the train station. We're visiting with family for a few days so staying near them at the Dimond Center. Many of the hotels have shuttles and those that don't can easily call you a cab.

[canuck059]

When we took the 6:45am train for a Celebrity cruise a number of years ago, we arrived at the Anchorage train station to find that the cruise line had set-up so you could check your bags there and they would deliver them to the ship. We booked the train independently (not a ship tour) so were not expecting this but it was wonderful not having to deal with luggage in Seward.

 

We found the 6:45am train to be fine even if we had to be there early. We had flown in the day before so were still on east coast time!

[LINDAE3213]

We are only doing carry on for the entire trip....so.I am ok with luggage...I know Alaska is all lsyers so it is easy to pack light...wear everything twice and bring disposable clothes and shoes to toss which makes room for souvenirs.

Looks like the early train is best..now I just need to make.a hotel choice near the station.

[Cruise_More_Often]

I would definitely book the 6:45 a.m. train over the one RCI does later, and if you can afford it, book Gold Star service. Here's a link to the Alaska Railroad website describing it: https://www.alaskarailroad.com/travel-planning/onboard-experience/goldstar-service. It's worth the price, in my opinion, and I'm already dreaming about repeating it for our Alaska cruise in 2018.

 

. . . The train ride is amazing, very scenic. I prefer this to the train ride in Skagway (White Pass and Yukon) as far as scenery is concerned - Skagway train has a great history. . . .

Coral, yours is the first report I've read comparing the Alaska Railroad trip vs. White Pass Railway in Skagway. I feel the same way! When we got on the White Pass Railroad car, all I could think about was what a fantastic experience we had on Alaska Railroad. The scenery was just unbelievably beautiful. It remains one of our favorite Alaska experiences.

[zqvol]

We're taking the Alaska Railroad train at 6:45 am, we figure we'll walk the luggage down to the pier, drop it off and then go to the Alaska Sealife Center for a while.

 

You should be able to check it right to the ship at the train station in Anchorage. Be advised that it is about 1.5 miles from the train station to the Sea Life Center. The walk along the shore is nice, but longer than you realize.

 

The afternoon train goes directly to the ship, it does not go to the regular train station. On the afternoon train you do your cruise checkin on the ship, and when you get to Seward you go right to your cabin. Often your luggage is already there because it is trucked down, it doesn't come on the train with you. In the morning, on the scheduled train, your luggage is on the train with you.

Edited January 19, 2017 by zqvol

[flipflop59]

Flying in from the east coast we are arriving the day before for our Radiance cruise. Arriving @ 2:30 pm

Our hotel downtown has both an airport shuttle and a train shuttle. Already booked the 6:45 am train the next morning and expect to enjoy Seward until cruise check in time.

We are fine with booking the early train on our own without going thru RCL.

Edited January 19, 2017 by flipflop59

[LINDAE3213]

husband got work approval today so I emailed my travel agent for air2sea and booked the air while at work today... we are doing ewr to sea to anc arrive 2:12 pm on alaska air the day prior to sail and then yvr to ewr nonstop the day after disembark... it was $638 each roundtrip.

 

just booked the 6:45 am train from anchorage to take us to the ship.

 

found comfort inn near train station which also has airport shuttle so that is my next thing to book tonight... then the hotel in vancouver -

[Coral]

I would definitely book the 6:45 a.m. train over the one RCI does later, and if you can afford it, book Gold Star service. Here's a link to the Alaska Railroad website describing it: https://www.alaskarailroad.com/travel-planning/onboard-experience/goldstar-service. It's worth the price, in my opinion, and I'm already dreaming about repeating it for our Alaska cruise in 2018.

 

Coral, yours is the first report I've read comparing the Alaska Railroad trip vs. White Pass Railway in Skagway. I feel the same way! When we got on the White Pass Railroad car, all I could think about was what a fantastic experience we had on Alaska Railroad. The scenery was just unbelievably beautiful. It remains one of our favorite Alaska experiences.

 

I agree - I would go early in the day. Love Seward - so much to see and do. Don't rush to get on the ship. Would rather spend more time in Seward than Anchorage.

 

The Anchorage to Seward trip is often mentioned in the "Top 10 train trips in USA or North America". I think National Geographic has ranked it and many others have also.

 

The White Pass is definitely interesting and gives you a great perspective for historical purposes and is quite beautiful also but I agree with you - the Anchorage to Seward train trip is spectacular.

Edited January 20, 2017 by Coral

[SF2AA]

You should be able to check it right to the ship at the train station in Anchorage. Be advised that it is about 1.5 miles from the train station to the Sea Life Center. The walk along the shore is nice, but longer than you realize.

 

The afternoon train goes directly to the ship, it does not go to the regular train station. On the afternoon train you do your cruise checkin on the ship, and when you get to Seward you go right to your cabin. Often your luggage is already there because it is trucked down, it doesn't come on the train with you. In the morning, on the scheduled train, your luggage is on the train with you.

 

Hi- We're booked on our first Celebrity cruise leaving from Seward (in June 2017). I didn't know that on departure day there are two trains from Anchorage to Seward.

 

Is it correct that if I book the Anchorage-Seward train transfer thru Celebrity then I can get on the ~noon train? And that train is for Celebrity cruisers only? Is that why you can a cruise check in on the train? And that it uses a different train stop at Seward to get you right to the ship?

 

On the other hand, if I book directly with Alaska Railroad, I can get on the regularly scheduled 6:45am Anchorage-Seward train and that train uses the regular train station at Seward, which is about .5 miles from the cruise pier. Is that correct?

 

I called Celebrity today and the agent could not give me a link that would explain these important details. Is there a website that explains all this to a newbie?

 

Thanks.

[Missymssy]

For those of you that booked the train on your own (not through cruise), how far in advance were you able to? And did you just contact the Alaskan RR?

[new_cruiser]

Hi- We're booked on our first Celebrity cruise leaving from Seward (in June 2017). I didn't know that on departure day there are two trains from Anchorage to Seward.

 

Is it correct that if I book the Anchorage-Seward train transfer thru Celebrity then I can get on the ~noon train? And that train is for Celebrity cruisers only? Is that why you can a cruise check in on the train? And that it uses a different train stop at Seward to get you right to the ship?

 

On the other hand, if I book directly with Alaska Railroad, I can get on the regularly scheduled 6:45am Anchorage-Seward train and that train uses the regular train station at Seward, which is about .5 miles from the cruise pier. Is that correct?

 

I called Celebrity today and the agent could not give me a link that would explain these important details. Is there a website that explains all this to a newbie?

 

Thanks.

 

There is only one train station in Seward. All trains stop at the same place. What someone posted above about being different with the afternoon train is the luggage handling - that when you check your luggage in Anchorage, it will be checked through to the ship so it goes straight to the ship.

 

There is a free shuttle (a school bus) in Seward that meets the train. It goes to the port when cruise ships are in and it goes to the rest of town including the Alaska Sealife Center.

 

The afternoon train is a charter for cruise ships so it will have only cruise ship passengers on it. If there is more than one ship in port, it might have passengers from both but there were only a few times this season that the port schedule shows 2 ships on the same day.

 

One other thing that may be different about the charter is that in Anchorage you may be able to board it at the airport.

 

A nice option for those taking the early train is to do a Kenai Fjords boat tour before going to their ships. Both Major Marine and Kenai Fjords Tours have tours that are scheduled so that they fit between arriving on the early train and boarding a ship (or between ship and train for North bound cruises).

[Budget Queen]

We've done the RCI cruiseline train transfer option from Seward to ANC....it arrived at ANC at 11:00am...We saw people lined up to board for the return from ANC to Seward. It's a 3 1/2 hour trip...double check you times with RCI and remember you have to book this directly with RCI.

 

If you would prefer to get there a bit quicker by bus you can try..

 

www.alaskacruisetransfer.com

 

Hope this info will help you....Best of luck

 

 

The train is a 4.25 hour trip at least.

[Budget Queen]

Especially with not having any more time mainland- it is a whole lot of difference sailing out of Manhattan or Bayonne and you may want to take advantage of being in Alaska. this is never a place where I am ever in rush to get on a ship and never do do before 6p I simply take advantage of my day in Seward which is loaded with activities. http://www.seward.com For me, it's a Kenai Fjords boat trip, which I just did again before boarding the cruise 10 days ago. There is no urgency and absolutely no problem boarding late. I have taken the Radiance again this year, along with that ship 5/6 additional times in Alaska. Always the same routine for me.

 

Don't forget that 6am is hardly "early". Especially with you only getting in the day prior, it would be 10am at home. :)

[mapleleaves]

For those of you that booked the train on your own (not through cruise), how far in advance were you able to? And did you just contact the Alaskan RR?

This is an old thread so people are responding to the OP, and many people ignore old threads.

You'll get more responses if you start your own.

[new_cruiser]

For those of you that booked the train on your own (not through cruise), how far in advance were you able to? And did you just contact the Alaskan RR?

 

I booked on Alaska Railroads website:

https://www.alaskarailroad.com/ride-a-train/our-trains/coastal-classic

 

I don't remember how soon I booked. We booked our cruise in October and it would have been after that. They aren't open for booking currently.

[quack2]

I've taken the 6:45 train three times to Seward, most recently two weeks ago. Beautiful trip.

 

After reaching Seward, I've taken the 6 hour boat tour of Kenai National Park. This can be some of the best scenery and wildlife viewing of the entire cruise.

 

You end up boarding the ship sometime around 5:30 or 6:00.

 

One other note: someone said your luggage accompanies you on the early train. My experience has been that you check your luggage at the Anchorage train station, it is transported by truck to Seward, and its waiting for you on the ship.