Anchorage, Alaska, USA

ANCHORAGE : Overview

OVERVIEW

Anchorage, Alaska is a wonderful place to visit for people who love wildlife and the outdoors. Alaska has relatively good accessibility features, and people of all disabilities can enjoy this wonderful place. Summers are typically mild, and is the best time to visit.

LANGUAGE

The official language is English

CURRENCY

The U.S. Dollar

QUICKLINKS

LOGISTICS: Air – Water – Ground
ACCOMMODATIONS: Hotels – Resorts
ENTERTAINMENT: Tours – Activities – Restaurants & Nightlife
EMERGENCY SERVICES: Hospitals – Medical Equipment
ABILITYTIPS: Precautions

ANCHORAGE : Logistics

AIR TRANSPORTATION/AIRPORT

Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport: Travelers with a disability should make arrangements through their airlines if assistance is required (arrangements for an aisle chair, help with transfer) before departure so that they can easily plan for your arrival.

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GROUND TRANSPORTATION

TAXI

Alaska Yellow Dispatch: Contact the Alaska Yellow Dispatch if for your accessible transportation needs. The Alaska Yellow Dispatch has 2 wheelchair accessible vehicles. Reservations should be made well in advance!

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SHUTTLE

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BUS

“Buses from the airport to downtown and around the city are also wheelchair accessible. Paratransit service is also available. The trick is the transit service between Anchorage and Seaward and the closer port where the glacial cruises leave from. The service that provides ground transportation for the glacial crew services only have one wheelchair accessible Boston must rent from another service and they do not like to run it unless they have a full bus since it costs them more. the owner sits on the panel concerning accessibility accommodations, but our partners at Assistive Technology of Alaska mentioned people knew his own minibuses were not wheelchair accessible.” Mark, 7/19/2010

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TRAIN (Light Rail)

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TRAIN (Heavy Rail)

Alaska Railroad: The Alaska Railroad trains are ADA compliant. They offer wheelchair lifts at each station. Passengers are able to remain in their wheelchair for the duration of the ride, if they wish. There are designated areas which allow space for wheelchairs. If special needs are required, please advise the railroad in advance.

 Note that the Hurricane Turn would not offer any stopping along the way, since there are no stations along the route. However, passengers can still ride roundtrip.

 Also Spencer and Grandview would not be available since they are more remote. Passengers can still ride to those areas, but would not be able to disembark.

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ANCHORAGE : Accommodations

HOTELS

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ANCHORAGE : Entertainment

SIGHTSEEING TOURS

Boat Tours: “Also certain boats provided and run by the glacial crew services are far more wheelchair accessible and enjoyable than others. 2 of them are more modern and do not have a large threshold you must step over when going outside the heated cabin area. Otherwise as a wheelchair user you are relegated to one spot and are not able to take in the sites like all of the other clients.” Mark, 7/19/2010

Sightseeing by Air: ”For flight seeing services there is one that actually operates off of floats and has a mini ramp to get you into a small aircraft, I looked for one that operated off of wheels and found one willing to accommodate me with my Comfort Carrier Travel, Recreation, and Emergency Preparedness Transfer Sling that I patented and manufacture.” Mark, 7/19/2010

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ACTIVITIES

Denali National Park: The Denali National Park has accessible features for people who utilize mobility devices and for individuals who have hearing impairments. Please visit the link listed to learn more about the park’s accessible features and accessible transportation.

RESTAURANTS/NIGHTLIFE

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Emergency Services

MEDICAL SERVICES/HOSPITAL

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MEDICAL EQUIPMENT RENTALS

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ANCHORAGE : AbilityTips

PRECAUTIONS

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ADDITIONAL LINKS

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ANCHORAGE : Questions and Responses

“I have done a few carribean cruises on Carnival and loved them. The staff was great and very helpful. I would love to travel to Alaska, but would like to know more. If anyone has ever gone and can recommend a ship PLEASE SHARE. You can also email me at [email protected] “  Joe, 9/22/10 

“My grandmother and I took a trip to Alaska this past summer. She is on oxygen and only able to walk short distances so we used a wheelchair for most of the trip. We traveled with Royal Caribbean on their ship “Radiance of the Seas.” My assessment:

PROS:

+ Staff was very accommodating and willing to help my grandma in and out of her wheelchair when needed (at meal times, when boarding smaller vessels, etc)

+ If they take any excursions where they need to travel by smaller vessels to reach land, the smaller vessels abord the ship had wheelchair “parking” and they had a ramp for my grandma

+ A wheelchair ramp and crew assistance was always provided upon entering/exiting the ship

+ On a few occasions we had to take a bus or taxi. Official bus drivers of Royal Caribbean (those responsible for shuttling you to and from the airport) had wheelchair accommodations and knew precisely what to do to help us.

+ The ship was well equipped with wheelchair accessible restrooms and several family restrooms.

Because my grandmother had some mobility, we did not stay in a room designed for a wheelchair so I cannot comment on that.

CONS:

- The hallway to our room was VERY narrow. There was enough room to push a chair through, but hardly enough room for use to maneuver around people standing in the halls leading to the rooms. I’m not aware if the hallways leading to the wheelchair accessible rooms are different.

- If you’re traveling with batteries, be ready to have some spares on hand. Because my grandma had oxygen and the tours would take us far from the ship, we carried around 8, dry cell batteries with us at all times. That was a hassle.

- Icy Straight Point (Royal Caribbean’s own port of call) had wheelchair accessibility in the main shopping area, but accessibility is limited if you want to watch people go down the zip line or eat at the main restaurant.

- In Juneau there are numerous tour buses ready to take you on (overpriced) tours, however it did not appear that many of these had good wheelchair access. We opted for a taxi – a much better option from the reports we got from our friends on the cruise.

- Most of the excursions were too rigorous for my grandma. Additionally, many did not seem to be very wheelchair friendly.

OVERALL: Royal Caribbean is great and we’d all do the cruise again! However, if you’re looking to really get off the ship and have some adventures, be sure to look carefully at the accessibility since many excursions take you into the wilderness and off the beaten path.” Dustin, 9/23/10

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