Princess Rail Transfer to Anchorage

[p&d1996]

Disembark in Whittier, rail transfer to Anchorage. Has anyone done this? Where does the train drop you off? What time do we get to Anchorage? Our flight is not until the evening. Just trying to figure out how much time we have in Anchorage. What to do with the luggage, etc..... Any help would be appreciated.

 

Thanks!

 

Pam

[ARRTrain]

Princess will deliver your luggage to the Egan Center or the Airport luggage room. Depending on your airline and flight time. Most likely the Egan Center.

 

Your train will probably arrive around 10-11am. It will drop you off at the Downtown ARR Depot. A bus will probably pick you up and bring you to the Egan Center.

[p&d1996]

ARRTrain - Thanks for the information. We'll have fun exploring downtown Anchorage. So much to see, so little time:) !

[cwestbrook]

Nearly everyone on the train will be going from your ship to Anchorage, whether you're on the Princess car or reserve it on your own.

[ARRTrain]

Nearly everyone on the train will be going from your ship to Anchorage, whether you're on the Princess car or reserve it on your own.

 

Whittier Princess trains:

 

The only passengers that get dropped off in Anchorage are the ones who buy the train transfer on the ship.

 

The rest of the passengers on the MSE train, are on Cruisetours and get dropped off in Denali.

 

The Princess train with the ARR railcars are Cruisetours that get dropped off in Talkeetna.

[cwestbrook]

You were asking "has anyone done this" regarding taking rail from Whittier to Anchorage. It sounded like you were talking about the regular ARR cars instead of the ship transfer. I worded my answer in a way to help you see that the ARR cars would be full of people doing just that (at a much cheaper cost). Princess transfer is around $100, ARR is $55 and you still don't have to worry about your luggage once you drop it off at the ARR station.

 

When we took the ARR from Anchorage to Whittier, there was one lady left in our car that wasn't going on a cruise--she was just taking a scenic roundtrip train ride.

 

We were worried about not taking the Princess transfer until we realized that practically everyone on the ARR was going on the Princess cruise too. Hope this help.

[p&d1996]

I did book this through Princess because the train schedule I found online didn't say anything about running after mid September (we disembark on the 18th). I wanted to take the train instead of a crowded bus plus we don't have the opportunity to ride a train often. Wish I would have found these boards sooner! Day late and several dollars short:D.

 

Still unsure about the luggage thing. I would like it to be at the airport so I wouldn't have to worry about getting to the Egan Center to get the luggage before it closes. I think I read where it closes around 5. Our flight isn't until 8:30 so we were hoping to grab a bite downtown before heading to the airport. We have an all night flight so eating before we left is our plan (at the moment).

 

I appreciate everyone's response on this.

[Budget Queen]

I did book this through Princess because the train schedule I found online didn't say anything about running after mid September (we disembark on the 18th). I wanted to take the train instead of a crowded bus plus we don't have the opportunity to ride a train often. Wish I would have found these boards sooner! Day late and several dollars short:D.

 

Still unsure about the luggage thing. I would like it to be at the airport so I wouldn't have to worry about getting to the Egan Center to get the luggage before it closes. I think I read where it closes around 5. Our flight isn't until 8:30 so we were hoping to grab a bite downtown before heading to the airport. We have an all night flight so eating before we left is our plan (at the moment).

 

I appreciate everyone's response on this.

 

 

You have to claim your bags at the Egan center by 6pm. I suggest you just go directly there and forget about dropping off your bags at the airport earlier. You are wasting valuable time, which in my opinion is better used touring downtown. You would have to add at least an hour to run back and forth. Just have your dinner, pick up your bags at 6 and either get the crusieline tranfer - if still available?? or a cab to the airport. On cruise days, you are best to allow a 2 hour window at the Anchorage airport, extremely congested.