Departure port in Whittier - Anchorage flights not available till night??

[chrismch]

Checked bus and train schedules and they show 2hr 15 min but available flights from Anchorage...but flights that go to Florida are after 8 pm. Suggestions for what to do other than sit in an airport all day?

Edited May 14 by chrismch

[iowananny]

We had a similar experience in Miami.  We wanted the direct flight to Des Moines but it didn't leave until 9:00 p.m. and we were off the ship by 9:00 a.m.  We thought we'd take a tour in Miami but didn't know what we'd do with our luggage while on the tour.  I called our travel agent for some advice, and she found us a tour.  It was through Tours by Locals and it was very good.  Our guide picked us up at the ship and dropped us off at the airport.  I think it was seven hours long and we really had a good time.  He was a young man who had been raised in Cuba and came to the US about 5 years ago and he had some stories to tell.  The tour included sampling food in Little Havana and a very nice lunch.  Yes, it was expensive, about $900 but so much better than sitting in the airport all day and we learned so much.  In my opinion it was money well spent.

 

I'm sure there are similar tours in the Anchorage area that may even take you out of town to see the scenery.  Just a suggestion.

 

 

 

 

 

[LuAnn]

You could see if you could find a "day room" in Anchorage and spend the day looking around town. 

[alcpa1]

Day rooms in Anchorage will be hard to find if you are sailing this summer.

There are tours available to see the city. You can wing it too. A few hours at the Anchorage Museum or the Alaska Native Heritage Center will fill you in on the things you missed in your ports of call. I can't remember if the Heritage Center has a cafe but the Anchorage museum has a lovely cafe. 

Cabs and Ubers are plentiful and the airport is not too far. There is luggage storage at the airport. 

[GeezerCouple]

On 5/14/2024 at 2:04 PM, LuAnn said:

You could see if you could find a "day room" in Anchorage and spend the day looking around town. 

 

Our Alaska cruise was pre-Covid, so I have no idea if things are the same or not.

As far as "day rooms", this was the situation at our hotel, and note that we were already "guests" there, not strangers walking in the door.

 

MANY flights leave late in the evening, due to the length of many flights combined with the time zone changes.  (Otherwise, a lot of flights would be arriving on the East Coast in the wee hours.  Some people might not mind that, but most probably would, plus for those needing a connection to smaller airports from major East Coast hubs... probably not a lot of connections during the wee hours.)

 

So... there were people and luggage, LOTS of people and LOTS of luggage, sprawled just about everywhere in the lobby and *any* seating area.  And the hotel had what we thought was a lot more than usual "seating and seating areas".

We vacated our room at the last possible moment, after requesting a late checkout (a minimally "later" check out was granted; I suspect many of their guests were making the same request), and then we became part of the "general public" spread around the hotel.  We did decide to have a nice meal, a "proper dinner" in their dining room, so that gave us something to do, and a somewhat nicer place to sit for a couple of hours.

 

Anyway, one method to guarantee a "day room" would be to make a regular reservation, and just not spend the night!  Depending upon how long you'd be waiting and how late your flight departs, that may/may not make sense.

OTOH, it never hurts to *ask*!  Or perhaps have a regular travel agent call around on your behalf to try to find one.  (Some of those may have a bit of "pull" at some hotels... maybe?)

 

Is it possible to enjoy a short excursion in Whittier, and head to Anchorage later in the day?

Enjoy your cruise.  We absolutely loved our Alaska cruise; it was one of our favorites. 🙂 

 

GC