Here’s the bucket list for your day ashore: the most extraordinary thing to do at each stop, and the private, small-group, or expert-led way to make it yours — your own pace, real access, none of the crowd.
In port at Whittier, the bucket-list move is 26-Glacier Catamaran Cruise: Prince William Sound. Phillips Cruises & Tours runs it — a private, expert-led experience at your own pace, not a 40-person coach. Below: all 6 bucket-list things to do on a Whittier port day, each with the independent way to make it yours.
1scenic
Board a sleek three-deck catamaran and count glaciers — 26 of them — as you glide deep into Prince William Sound. Thundering calving ice, harbor seals hauled out on floes, and Kittiwake colonies make this the defining Alaskan day on water.
Book it withPhillips Cruises & ToursUSD 199 per adult (standard); USD 229 per adult (upper deck reserved seating)
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2wildlife
Charter an intimate private vessel exclusively for your group and venture into the wild heart of Prince William Sound — glaciers, sea otters, orcas, mountain goats, and black bears on your own unhurried schedule. This is Prince William Sound the way it should be experienced: yours alone.
Book it withLazy Otter ChartersUSD 1,200–USD 2,400 per charter (private group, varies by vessel and duration)
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3landmark
Journey through the legendary Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel — the longest highway tunnel in North America — and emerge into the Portage Valley, where the lake-blue face of Portage Glacier commands the horizon. A profound Alaskan landscape just minutes from port.
Book it withAlaska Shore ExcursionsUSD 95–USD 110 per adult (shared scenic transfer); private group pricing available on request
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4adventure
Paddle a stable sea kayak through the mirror-calm inlets of Prince William Sound, ghosting past iceberg fragments and otter-draped kelp beds to the face of a tidewater glacier. One of the most viscerally immersive ways to inhabit the Alaskan wilderness.
Book it withAlaska Shore ExcursionsUSD 139–USD 169 per adult (small-group guided kayak tour from Whittier)
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5scenic
Travel the storied Seward Highway — a National Scenic Byway — from Whittier to Anchorage, skirting Turnagain Arm's bore tides, Dall sheep cliffs, and bald eagle perches. A rolling gallery of Alaskan grandeur that doubles as a seamless disembarkation transfer.
Book it withAlaska Shore ExcursionsUSD 110 per adult (shared cultural tour & transfer to Anchorage)
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6history
Peel back the extraordinary, slightly surreal history of Whittier — a former top-secret WWII and Cold War military port where nearly the entire population still lives in a single building. An offbeat, utterly unique slice of American history hiding in plain sight.
Book it withAlaska Shore ExcursionsUSD 45–USD 65 per adult (walking history tour, Whittier)
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