A Quick stop in Anchorage, Alaska
The last thing we wanted to do was arrive in Alaska on our departure day. Too many things could go wrong, and we could wind up missing our train to Seward, or even worse, miss our ship’s departure, so we decided to call NCL to book an earlier flight and arrange to land in Anchorage a day early. There are restrictions as to how close to your departure date you can make changes, so be aware of your timeline. When booking flights through someone else instead of doing it yourself, you always run the risk of not liking the departure time or the number of stops, but we live close to an international airport, so it worked out well for us. Your milage may vary.
View from the shuttle stop at the Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport
Oh, and don’t forget to click or tap on the photos to enlarge. And, as always, photos are best viewed on a larger screen, and not your phone!
After landing at the Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport in Anchorage, we grabbed our bags, called our hotel, The Lakefront Anchorage, and waited for a shuttle. We arrived at the hotel in time to check in, take a walk around the adjacent lake, and grab a few photos before walking to a nearby Korean restaurant for dinner where the service was friendly, and the food was excellent.
This was the first time I was really able to work my rented 200-500mm lens, and it took some practice to get everything dialed in to track and focus on moving subjects. Between the birds and the seaplanes, however, I had lots of good subjects to practice on. They are not terribly interesting shots, but they were just for practice.
Still working the kinks out
We could have, just as easily, taken an Uber into downtown anchorage, however, since this was our first time in Alaska, we wanted to get out and see the scenery, and we thought that would be better right where we were.
Even though the main restaurant at the hotel was under construction, we still enjoyed a great breakfast in the hotel (not complementary). We were happy with our hotel stay but be aware that during cruise season the rates are double what they are in the off-season; a practice that seemed to be standard for all hotels in Anchorage.
Tomorrow, we’ll catch a shuttle from the hotel back to the airport, which also is home to the Bill Sheffield Alaska Railroad Depot, were we’ll start of our journey from Anchorage to Vancouver.
If you would like to read more about our Alaskan cruise, see Cruising Alaska with Norwegian Cruise Line.
