Whittier, Alaska (embarkation port) Shore Excursions: 2 Independent Operators Compared

Will it fit your day in Whittier?

Put in your ship's arrival and all-aboard times from your cruise planner. Each tour is checked against the time you have, minus the buffer you choose for getting off the ship and back to the pier.

Alaska Sea Kayakers: Kittiwake3 hours (9:00 am or 1:00 pm)
Phillips Cruises & Tours: Glacier Quest Cruise3 hours 45 minutes (1:00 pm to 4:45 pm), May 15 to September 12, 2027
Phillips Cruises & Tours: 26 Glacier Cruise5 hours 15 minutes (12:00 pm to 5:15 pm), May 1 to October 10, 2027

Example times are filled in. Your cruise line's daily planner has the real ones, and a tender port needs more buffer.

Every option side by side

Operator	What you get	From	Length	Min age	Back-to-ship	Cancellation	Book
Alaska Sea Kayakers	KittiwakeIncludes Basic kayaking instruction in the harbor	$110 per person	3 hours (9:00 am or 1:00 pm)		Not stated		Check dates
Phillips Cruises & Tours	Glacier Quest Cruise	$169 per adult	3 hours 45 minutes (1:00 pm to 4:45 pm), May 15 to September 12, 2027	Guests 2 to 14 must be with an adult 18 or older	Not stated	Full refund 15+ days out; 25% kept from 14 days to 73 hours; none within 72 hours; refunded if Phillips cancels and cannot reschedule.	Check dates
Phillips Cruises & Tours	26 Glacier Cruise	$219 per adult	5 hours 15 minutes (12:00 pm to 5:15 pm), May 1 to October 10, 2027	Guests 2 to 14 must be with an adult 18 or older	Not stated	Full refund 15+ days out; 25% kept from 14 days to 73 hours; none within 72 hours; refunded if Phillips cancels and cannot reschedule.	Check dates

From each operator's own website, checked October 22, 2026. How we compare.

The same day through your cruise line

What the cruise lines list for their own excursions in Whittier, from their websites.

Line	Excursion	From	Length
Norwegian (NCL)	Exclusive Whittier City Tour	$249 per adult	2 hrs (estimated)
Holland America	26 Glaciers Cruise - Intransit Guests	$269 per person	5.25 Hours
Holland America	Disembarkation Tour: 26 Glaciers Cruise with Airport or Downtown Hotel Transfer	$359 per person	8¾ Hours

Read on each cruise line's website on October 22, 2026. Lines change these prices often, so check the page before you book.

Cliffside Marina terminal and the Glacier Creek fire

Whittier has two cruise docks. The Whittier Cruise Terminal stands right beside Cliffside Marina, where Phillips Cruises & Tours checks in its day-cruise guests, and Phillips says Holland America and Princess use it. Cruise Line Agencies of Alaska's 2026 schedule lists 55 calls there, by ships such as Coral Princess, Westerdam and Nieuw Amsterdam. The same schedule put 42 calls at the Glacier Creek dock's south and north berths, 1.4 miles from the marina, among them Norwegian Jade, Seven Seas Explorer, Riviera and Azamara Pursuit.

Huna Totem finished Glacier Creek, which Seatrade Cruise News calls the Chugach Glacier Gateway, late in 2024, in partnership with Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings. On Monday, September 14, 2026, fire broke out there around 11 am with Norwegian Jade alongside. The ship left without damage. The Coast Guard said the tour boat Klondike Express, moored with no passengers aboard, was harmed only by flames and smoke spreading from the dock. Crews from Whittier, Anchorage and Girdwood fought the blaze until about 12:30 am the next day.

Alaska's fire marshal called the $80 million dock a "total loss," Seatrade reported on September 18, and Alaska Public Media said the marshal's office was investigating the cause. In a statement quoted by Seatrade, Huna Totem said it was still assessing the damage and that its "goal is to be operational for the 2027 season." CruiseMapper reports that Norwegian Jade's operations moved to the older terminal. As of October 23, 2026, the City of Whittier's news page carried no item on the fire. Phillips asks guests of the Glacier Creek lines who book direct to arrange their own ride to Cliffside Marina.

Begich Towers in Whittier, where most residents live — Photo: sf-dvs, CC BY 2.0

Half-hour tunnel windows and all-day ship calls

Whittier is an embarkation port, and ships stay from the small hours to the evening. Cruise Line Agencies of Alaska's 2026 calendar gives estimated times. It shows most Princess calls at the Whittier Cruise Terminal from 12:30 am to 8:30 pm, and Westerdam and Nieuw Amsterdam from 1 am to 7:30 or 8 pm. Norwegian Jade was listed at Glacier Creek from 5 am to 7 pm on September 14 and 5 am to 3 pm on September 26. The season ran from April 28 to October 5.

Road access is through the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel, a single lane of 13,300 ft (4,100 m) shared with trains, opened to the public in 2000. From May 1 to September 30 it runs 5:30 am to 11:15 pm. Cars enter Whittier on the half hour and leave on the hour, in 15-minute windows. From October 1 to April 30 it runs 7 am to 10:45 pm, and at 32°F or below it opens only for the last 5 minutes of each window. The last summer opening out of Whittier is at 11 pm, and unscheduled trains can add 15 to 30 minutes.

The City of Whittier asks drivers to reach the staging area 10 minutes before an opening and to allow 20 to 30 more minutes for the passage. For cruise departures it advises at least an hour for the drive from Anchorage to the tunnel's Bear Valley end, and 1.5 hours in summer. Phillips recommends the 10:30 am tunnel for self-drive guests on its noon cruise, leaving Anchorage by 9 am. Its coach leaves Cliffside Marina at 5:45 pm and reaches Anchorage airport about 8 pm; the Glacier Discovery train leaves at 6:45 pm.

College Fjord, Blackstone Bay and the kittiwake rookery

Phillips' 26 Glacier Cruise covers 120 miles of College Fjord and Prince William Sound from noon to 5:15 pm, with a hot meal, between May 1 and October 10, 2027. Adults pay $219 plus $32.95 in taxes and fees ($251.95), and children 2 to 11 pay $169.95. Holland America's 26 Glaciers Cruise, open only to guests whose cruise neither starts nor ends in Whittier, costs $269 for 5.25 hours. Its guests walk a short way from the ship to the catamaran, and a hot meal is included.

The Glacier Quest Cruise runs 1:00 to 4:45 pm over 45 miles of Blackstone Bay and Passage Canal at 19 knots, passing 10 glaciers and a kittiwake rookery. It costs $169 plus $32.95 for adults ($201.95) and $131.95 for children, from May 15 to September 12, 2027. It is the only Phillips cruise the Anchorage train reaches in time, and the rail package is $338.95. Phillips lists sea otters, harbor seals, Steller sea lions, Dall's porpoise, whales, mountain goats and black bears among the wildlife.

Alaska Sea Kayakers' most popular trip, the 3-hour Kittiwake, leaves at 9 am or 1 pm. It begins with basic instruction in the harbor and heads for a black-legged kittiwake rookery 2 miles across the fjord, for $110 plus 5% sales tax with a two-person minimum. Longer days cost $210 for 7 to 10 miles of Passage Canal and $325 for a 5-hour Shotgun Cove paddle reached by charter boat. Blackstone Bay is $435, for ages 10 and up with four or more. NCL's 2-hour van tour of Whittier is $249 per adult.

Luggage storage, 72-hour cutoffs and a two-paddler minimum

We list two local operators for Whittier. Phillips Cruises & Tours, which says it has cruised Alaska's waters since 1958, checks guests in at Cliffside Marina beside the Whittier Cruise Terminal. It will hold bags in a secure spot by its office during the cruise, though guests move their own luggage, and coolers, luggage and large bags are not allowed aboard. Its 26 Glacier Cruise takes wheelchairs, with boarding by ramp and an ADA-accessible restroom. Every guest shows photo ID at check-in.

Phillips refunds individual bookings in full 15 or more days out, keeps 25% from 14 days to 73 hours, and refunds nothing within 72 hours. Groups of 15 or more adults lose 50% in the middle band. Date changes need 72 hours' notice and cost $25 per reservation. Weather can change the route without a refund. If Phillips cancels and cannot reschedule, it refunds the cruise fare but not rental cars, parking or tunnel tolls. Its coach is refundable up to 74 hours ahead and its rail up to 8 days.

Alaska Sea Kayakers opens daily from 7 am to 5 pm between May 1 and September 15 and books by phone (1-907-278-2534) or through its contact page. Every trip needs at least two paddlers, Blackstone Bay four, and only Blackstone Bay states an age limit. Its pages give no meeting point, no notes for cruise passengers and no cancellation or weather terms. Neither operator publishes a back-to-ship guarantee.

Watching from shore

Portage Pass Trail. The trailhead lies about 1.5 miles west of town, on the right just after the tunnel for drivers arriving from Anchorage, and can be reached on foot beside the railroad tracks. The trail climbs 800 ft in 2 miles one way, takes about 2 hours, and from the pass looks west over the retreating Portage Glacier. The Forest Service rates it more difficult, steep and rocky, and asks hikers to be bear aware.
Begich Towers. The 14-story Hodge Building, completed in 1957 and later renamed Begich Towers, houses almost all of Whittier's 272 residents (2020 census), according to Wikipedia. Wikipedia also notes that the Buckner Building was eventually abandoned.

Before you book

Pack rain gear. Whittier averages 197 inches of precipitation a year, and September (22.52 in) and October (21.05 in) are its wettest months, per Wikipedia.
Be in the tunnel staging area 10 minutes before the window opens. In winter, at 32°F or below, the tunnel opens only for the last 5 minutes of each window, and unscheduled trains can add 15 to 30 minutes.
Phillips bars coolers, luggage and large hand-carried bags from its boats, may search carry-ons and serves only its own alcohol aboard. Bring photo ID for check-in.
Guests whose ship uses Glacier Creek must arrange their own transport to Cliffside Marina, 1.4 miles away, unless they book Phillips through the cruise line.

The operators

Alaska Sea Kayakers

from $110 per person

Kittiwake

Length: 3 hours (9:00 am or 1:00 pm)

No back-to-ship policy stated

Open daily 7 am to 5 pm, May 1 to September 15

Check dates All details

Phillips Cruises & Tours

from $169 per adult

Glacier Quest Cruise and 1 more option

Length: 3 hours 45 minutes (1:00 pm to 4:45 pm), May 15 to September 12, 2027
Age: Guests 2 to 14 must be with an adult 18 or older

No back-to-ship policy stated

Stores luggage in a secure spot next to its office during the cruise; guests move their own bags

Check dates All details

Whittier questions

How much are shore excursions in Whittier?

Phillips charges $169 (Glacier Quest) or $219 (26 Glacier Cruise) per adult plus $32.95 in taxes and fees, and Alaska Sea Kayakers' shortest paddle is $110. Holland America lists its 26 Glaciers Cruise from $269 for in-transit guests.

Can you take a glacier cruise on the day your cruise ends in Whittier?

Phillips says guests at the Whittier Cruise Terminal have time to join a day cruise before or after their sailing, and it can store luggage by its office. Its disembarking coach leaves Cliffside Marina at 5:45 pm and reaches Anchorage airport about 8:00 pm. Guests of the lines that used the Glacier Creek dock who book direct arrange their own ride to Cliffside Marina, 1.4 miles away.

More shore excursions in Alaska

Juneau, Alaska from $65
Ketchikan, Alaska from $79
Skagway, Alaska from $70
Sitka, Alaska from $125
Icy Strait Point (Hoonah), Alaska from $120
Seward, Alaska (embarkation port) from $129
Haines, Alaska from $111

Sources

Prices and policies come from each operator's own pages, read on October 22, 2026. Seasons, rules and local details come from the pages below.