Port of Call: Whittier, AK

From Anchorage, we caught a cruise transfer bus that took us to the small town of Whittier, Alaska. The bus ride took about an hour and a half. It was a good way to see a part of the state not accessible by the cruise. The bus driver narrated most of the drive and pointed out wildlife along the way. He also provided many facts about small cities we passed and facts on the tide that were quite interesting.

Pro Tip: If you are headed from Anchorage to Whittier, sit on the left side of the bus. This side has gorgeous water views. If you happen to sit on the right side (like I did) it’s fine. There are still some pretty views. Plus, if you are headed to a cruise, you are about to spend seven days with gorgeous water views.

The city of Whittier is accessible through the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel. It is about 2.5 miles and runs through a mountain. The tunnel is one-way and opens for road and train traffic to Whittier on the half-hour and for traffic from Whittier on the hour. Before arriving in Whittier, I was curious to see how the tunnel system worked. Here are the details:

• We arrived about 10 minutes before the half-hour and waited in a line with several cars, busses and RVs.
• A few minutes before the half-hour, our bus driver was able to pull up to the toll station.
• Once we finished at the toll station, we entered a staging area with several lanes. The lanes appeared to be organized by vehicle type (ex: personal vehicles, RVs, and busses). Our bus driver explained that our lane would get to go through the tunnel first since busses carry so many people.
• We waited in these lanes for a few more minutes until we saw the last car go through headed from Whittier.
• Once we could go, an arm similar to one you would see at a railroad stop opened up to allow traffic to flow through. The traffic was monitored to allow for several car lengths in between each vehicle.
• Once in the tunnel, we saw eight safehouses with turnaround areas. Our bus driver explained that these areas were provided for cars to pull over in the event of any car troubles. The safehouses are available to use in the event of an avalanche or any other such disaster. The safehouses were clearly labeled and well-lit inside the tunnel.

For more detail about the tunnel, here is a link: Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel.

Once we made it through the tunnel, we were immediately greeted by our cruise ship and could see the town of Whittier. Within minutes, we had gone through security at the cruise terminal and were headed through a short tunnel to begin our week of adventures aboard the Royal Princess.

From our cruise ship balcony, we were able to get a great view of the cruise terminal and the city of Whittier. The cruise terminal is the large building in the foreground of the photo below. Directly above the terminal, there is a 14-story building named Begich Towers. This one building houses most of the residents in Whittier and many of the community necessities such as a post office and grocery store. Here are couple of interesting articles about the building and the history of Whittier:

• Welcome to Whittier, Alaska, a Community Under One Roof
• Inside Whittier, the Remote Alaskan Town Almost All Under One Roof

Before our ship debarked, we spent quite a bit of time on our balcony enjoying the views of the town, the small harbor, and the road from the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel. It would be the last time we saw a town until we arrived in Skagway, AK a couple of days later.