Flying into Anchorage as a red-eye

[cruisingnewtoit]

Hi all

 

My DH & I are thinking about flying into Anchorage at 2:05 am the day of our cruise. The 

train for Seaward leaves at 6:45 am. We have a 3.5 hour layover at Seattle before boarding the plane to Ancirage.

 

We will.need to collect our baggage after we get off the plane. Are there places to sit in baggage area or a coffee shop. Are there taxis available at 5:30am in front of the airport.

 

Thanks for an info.

[Northern Aurora]

Please consider flying in to Anchorage a day earlier.  If you persist in flying in the day of the cruise I can't imagine what it will be like to start your vacation so sleep deprived.  Hopefully both of you really can sleep on a plane.  I certainly can't.  And hopefully there won't be any weather delays.  One major weather system in one part of the country can disrupt air traffic nationally.

 

But to answer your question, there are places to sit in proximity to the Anchorage airport baggage claim carousels.  And there will be taxis available at 5:30 AM.

[kennicott]

I agree with Northern Aurora. Also there is a restaurant in the non secure area where you will be and I'm pretty certain it is open then, just above the baggage claim area.

 

But I really agree with the day before suggestion. We travel the world. Sometimes on the opposite side of the globe we do two nights pre-cruise just to get  acclimatized. Nothing I hate more than arriving in a new part of the world with all sorts of interesting attractions and I'm all owl eyed and my rear is dragging. Just this last November, my sister in law, who was joining us in Europe, tried something like you are doing and ended up getting to Venice a day late but fortunately still in time to catch our vessel.  

[cruisingnewtoit]

6 minutes ago, Northern Aurora said:

Please consider flying in to Anchorage a day earlier.  If you persist in flying in the day of the cruise I can't imagine what it will be like to start your vacation so sleep deprived.  Hopefully both of you really can sleep on a plane.  I certainly can't.  And hopefully there won't be any weather delays.  One major weather system in one part of the country can disrupt air traffic nationally.

 

But to answer your question, there are places to sit in proximity to the Anchorage airport baggage claim carousels.  And there will be taxis available at 5:30 AM.

Thank you for the info I appreciate it. I'm also worried about being tired. 

 

We also could come in at 12:05 am instead of 2:05 am.

 

We do have a motel booked if we decide to take the fight that comes in at 3:30 the day before. Once we get to the motel it will be 5:00. We will eat dinner and go back to the motel and than arrive at the train at 5;:45 am. It seems like a waste of money. But I will get some sleep & won't have to worry about flight delays. Our connection is 3.5 hours but if the flight is cancelled we are 🤯.

[Northern Aurora]

15 minutes ago, cruisingnewtoit said:

Thank you for the info I appreciate it. I'm also worried about being tired. 

 

We also could come in at 12:05 am instead of 2:05 am.

 

We do have a motel booked if we decide to take the fight that comes in at 3:30 the day before. Once we get to the motel it will be 5:00. We will eat dinner and go back to the motel and than arrive at the train at 5;:45 am. It seems like a waste of money. But I will get some sleep & won't have to worry about flight delays. Our connection is 3.5 hours but if the flight is cancelled we are 🤯.

 

 

I don't think that arriving a day earlier and staying at a motel is a bad idea at all.  It certainly isn't a waste of money.  That train trip from Anchorage to Seward is considered to be extremely scenic.  You don't want to be so tired you can't enjoy it.

 

And we fly overseas twice a year.  In 2015 we flew into  Buenos Aires four days early for the first leg of a B2B2B.  The first cruise was one to Antarctica.  That year there was a major ice storm which started in the mid-West and then also hit eastern North America.  In Ushuaia we had 15 staterooms worth of passengers board.  They missed several ports due to severe disruption of the air system which lasted more than 24 hours.  At least we were heading south to Antarctica, but they missed a chunk of that cruise.

 

 

[Budget Queen]

Frankly come in early.   You do NOT want to be dosing off on the train- it is breathtaking scenery and for me I would never miss a Kenai Fjords boat tour.   

[geoherb]

I'm in a similar situation with my cruise from Vancouver. My flight gets in a little after midnight. I bit the bullet and booked a hotel so I can get some sleep. Is there just one train to Seward, or is that the time you've been assigned, or is it just the earliest one?

[cruisingnewtoit]

1 hour ago, geoherb said:

I'm in a similar situation with my cruise from Vancouver. My flight gets in a little after midnight. I bit the bullet and booked a hotel so I can get some sleep. Is there just one train to Seward, or is that the time you've been assigned, or is it just the earliest one?

There is only 1 train. I'm on a X cruise some cruise lines will have private chater services that leave later.  

[misguy]

We just did this and we stayed at a Staybridge Inn by the airport and we were so glad we did.  We left the East Coast at 7:00 AM, and got into Seattle about 5:30 PM.  We were exhausted, ordered delivery and went to sleep.  We got up early and went to the train station and we were able to enjoy the ride.  Here is a link to the video of the train trip. 

 

[cruisingnewtoit]

2 minutes ago, misguy said:

We just did this and we stayed at a Staybridge Inn by the airport and we were so glad we did.  We left the East Coast at 7:00 AM, and got into Seattle about 5:30 PM.  We were exhausted, ordered delivery and went to sleep.  We got up early and went to the train station and we were able to enjoy the ride.  Here is a link to the video of the train trip. 

 

How did you get to the train station?

[misguy]

We took a taxi, we were traveling with a wheelchair and 10 days luggage for 3 people so that seemed the best option.  

 

[cruisingnewtoit]

20 minutes ago, misguy said:

We took a taxi, we were traveling with a wheelchair and 10 days luggage for 3 people so that seemed the best option.  

 

The railroad recommends pax arrive at 5:45 am (hr) before departure.  

 

I was worried that it would be difficult getting a taxi around 6 am.

[AKStafford]

25 minutes ago, cruisingnewtoit said:

I was worried that it would be difficult getting a taxi around 6 am.

That won't be a problem. If you are concerned though, you could make arrangements the night before.

[Northern Aurora]

I also don't foresee any issues with catching a taxi around 6 AM.  

[misguy]

We didn't have any issue, we had the hotel call for a handicapped taxi for 5:45.

 

[donaldsc]

On 6/7/2019 at 5:07 PM, cruisingnewtoit said:

Thank you for the info I appreciate it. I'm also worried about being tired. 

 

We also could come in at 12:05 am instead of 2:05 am.

 

We do have a motel booked if we decide to take the fight that comes in at 3:30 the day before. Once we get to the motel it will be 5:00. We will eat dinner and go back to the motel and than arrive at the train at 5;:45 am. It seems like a waste of money. But I will get some sleep & won't have to worry about flight delays. Our connection is 3.5 hours but if the flight is cancelled we are 🤯.

 

What is the value of the first day of your trip if you end up sleeping through it?  Also, what is the cost of the motel percentage of the total cost of the trip?  Finally, what is the value of whatever you lose if you have some flight delays and miss the train?

 

I am not specifically picking on the OP but I often notice on CC that many people practice what I consider false economies when they travel.

 

DON

Edited June 14, 2019 by donaldsc

[cruisingnewtoit]

9 minutes ago, donaldsc said:

 

What is the value of the first day of your trip if you end up sleeping through it?  Also, what is the cost of the motel percentage of the total cost of the trip?  Finally, what is the value of whatever you lose if you have some flight delays and miss the train?

 

I am not specifically picking on the OP but I often notice on CC that many people practice what I consider false economies when they travel.

 

DON

Lol I'm the OP  My DH & I already asked ourselves the same questions last week. 

 

We got excited that we didn't have to spend money on the hotel by doing the redeye. It's not a big deal that we have to come in the night before or spend the money. We have decided to fly in a day earlier.