Late train from Whittier to Anchorage - Luggage?

[kaisatsu]

My sister got us a good deal on rail tickets from Whittier to Anchorage, but since the train doesn't depart until 6:45 pm, what can we do with our luggage until then? Can we check it in at the train station hours ahead of time? Otherwise, any suggestions for what to do with it?

[cindep]

We got off the Island Princess on June 1 in Whittier. We were the last people off the ship (also took the evening train from Whittier to Anchorage). The porter in the cruise terminal got us tags for our luggage. They actually put it on a Princess bus that was headed to Anchorage and delivered it to the railroad station. It was there waiting for us when we got off the train. All we had to deal with was our "carry on" luggage. Be sure to keep your valuables and cameras with you!

 

We took the Major Marine Prince William Sound tour that afternoon. I had purchased the Northern Lights coupon book and they had bogo so it only cost us $119 for two. You can get a prime rib and salmon lunch (very good) for an additional $18 per person. This is a wonderful cruise as you get MUCH closer to the glaciers than you do on the ship. It was a perfect way to spend the afternoon. We literally got off the cruise, walked up the pier, and the Alaska railroad was there waiting for us. We got our tickets from the conductor and was off shortly thereafter.

 

We really enjoyed this experience and I honestly feel sorry for the other 2000 people who rushed out of Whittier and missed the awesome glaciers we saw calving and all the sea otters. It was one of the highlights of the trip for me.

[Cruisin Oma]

My sister got us a good deal on rail tickets from Whittier to Anchorage, but since the train doesn't depart until 6:45 pm, what can we do with our luggage until then? Can we check it in at the train station hours ahead of time? Otherwise, any suggestions for what to do with it?

 

I am plannng just what people said here about the PWS tours. Can I ask how your sister got a great deal on the train???? It looks pretty pricey!!!

[kaisatsu]

I am plannng just what people said here about the PWS tours. Can I ask how your sister got a great deal on the train???? It looks pretty pricey!!!

She's actually an Alaska resident and has a friend who works for Alaska Railroad who bought our tickets for us. :o

[Cruisin Oma]

She's actually an Alaska resident and has a friend who works for Alaska Railroad who bought our tickets for us. :o

 

Guess I'll have to keep looking for the deal! :D Don't have those kind of connections!

[ajwu]

We got off the Island Princess on June 1 in Whittier. We were the last people off the ship (also took the evening train from Whittier to Anchorage). The porter in the cruise terminal got us tags for our luggage. They actually put it on a Princess bus that was headed to Anchorage and delivered it to the railroad station. It was there waiting for us when we got off the train. All we had to deal with was our "carry on" luggage. Be sure to keep your valuables and cameras with you!

 

We took the Major Marine Prince William Sound tour that afternoon. I had purchased the Northern Lights coupon book and they had bogo so it only cost us $119 for two. You can get a prime rib and salmon lunch (very good) for an additional $18 per person. This is a wonderful cruise as you get MUCH closer to the glaciers than you do on the ship. It was a perfect way to spend the afternoon. We literally got off the cruise, walked up the pier, and the Alaska railroad was there waiting for us. We got our tickets from the conductor and was off shortly thereafter.

 

We really enjoyed this experience and I honestly feel sorry for the other 2000 people who rushed out of Whittier and missed the awesome glaciers we saw calving and all the sea otters. It was one of the highlights of the trip for me.

 

Did Princess charge you for your luggage transfer from Whittier to Anchorage?

[kaisatsu]

Princess didn't charge us for transferring luggage. We did get mixed stories from people working around the pier facility. Some of the people outside the arrivals hall (where the shuttles and buses loaded) were a little on the rude side and just kept telling us that there was absolutely no place to store our bags (which was true, but not particularly helpful). The staff inside the hall were much more helpful and explained that as a convenience Princess would be willing to transfer the bags to Anchorage for us and helped us get the bags tagged and sent off in the right direction.

 

Having read this thread, I was ready to ask about this right away, as soon as we'd collected our bags. But my family seemed convinced they'd be able to check their bags in with the railroad (which you can't, especially since there's no rail depot). So we ended up dragging them a few blocks before they realized this and then dragged them all back. :rolleyes:

 

Princess did advise us that the bags would be sitting around the railroad terminal in Anchorage all day, so we were glad our bags were locked. When we finally did go to pick them up, there didn't seem to be a lot of security. They were in a roped area, but we just ducked under the rope and grabbed our bags. So just remember to think twice about leaving any valuables in your transfer luggage.

 

PS - Thanks to everyone who's shared their experience before! Even after the Princess people explained all this, my parents were still a little hesitant, and I could say, "Oh, I've heard of people doing this before, and it worked out just fine!" ;)

[ajwu]

Princess didn't charge us for transferring luggage. We did get mixed stories from people working around the pier facility. Some of the people outside the arrivals hall (where the shuttles and buses loaded) were a little on the rude side and just kept telling us that there was absolutely no place to store our bags (which was true, but not particularly helpful). The staff inside the hall were much more helpful and explained that as a convenience Princess would be willing to transfer the bags to Anchorage for us and helped us get the bags tagged and sent off in the right direction.

 

Having read this thread, I was ready to ask about this right away, as soon as we'd collected our bags. But my family seemed convinced they'd be able to check their bags in with the railroad (which you can't, especially since there's no rail depot). So we ended up dragging them a few blocks before they realized this and then dragged them all back. :rolleyes:

 

Princess did advise us that the bags would be sitting around the railroad terminal in Anchorage all day, so we were glad our bags were locked. When we finally did go to pick them up, there didn't seem to be a lot of security. They were in a roped area, but we just ducked under the rope and grabbed our bags. So just remember to think twice about leaving any valuables in your transfer luggage.

 

PS - Thanks to everyone who's shared their experience before! Even after the Princess people explained all this, my parents were still a little hesitant, and I could say, "Oh, I've heard of people doing this before, and it worked out just fine!" ;)

Thanks very much for your reply. Can you please tell me what color of tag they used for your luggage?

[cindep]

There was no charge for the transfer of the luggage by Princess. They're headed to Anchorage with their buses to pick up new passengers anyway, so it really isn't any extra expense for them. I don't recall the color of our luggage tags. We had to ask a porter, who had to ask someone else, but there was no problem once the right people were asked. Of course, we tipped the porter who was so helpful!

 

Also, we made sure we had luggage tags for the last group off the ship. Actually, we hung around until they asked us to leave ... so we had a couple of hours before we actually took our PWS tour to check out the town of Whittier!

 

The MOST important thing is you MUST have prepaid tickets on the Alaska railroad as they have no way to ticket you at Whittier. They had our tickets in a jacket ready for us when we boarded. We just gave them our names.

[kaisatsu]

I believe the tags they put on for the transfer to Anchorage were Red, but I'm not certain. (They were separate from the ship's disembarkation group tags.)