Public tours of the USS Anchorage, being offered for two days before the Navy warship's Saturday commissioning at the Port of Anchorage, experienced severe delays Thursday with significant changes to tour plans for Friday.
Aves Thompson, the USS Anchorage Commissioning Committee's transportation coordinator, says waits at the Sears Mall reached three hours for bus rides to the port to tour the amphibious transport dock ship from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday afternoon, with officials shutting down the line at 5 p.m. due to heavy demand.
"We've been waiting for 5 hour," said Steven Gomez of Big Lake. "It's been frustrating."
Thompson says tours of the ship will be shortened Friday to expedite wait times.
In addition, the Sears Mall collection point will move to the Sullivan Arena Friday, with the same Friday hours for tours -- 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. -- as the Northway Mall. Buses will still depart from the Northway Mall as planned.
Channel 2 Facebook users reported widespread delays waiting for coaches at the Sears Mall, with some not sticking around to tour the ship.
"We waited in line at Sears for 2 1/2 hours & never made it on the shuttle. We quit!" wrote Rhiannon Willard, who said she had waited to take the tour with four children. "The kids were all amazingly well behaved but it's too much!"
The wait was apparently easier at the Northway Mall, where Facebook users said people could wait inside rather than outdoors, as at the Sears Mall.
"Latest update from organizers at Northway Mall - 150 people per hour getting on the shuttles, currently 456 people in line, last shuttle leaves here at 8:15pm.," wrote Vanessa Reinhardt.
Additional delays were apparently taking place at the port itself, due to significant tidal shifts complicating access to the ship.
"Everything is stopped," wrote Mary Helen Schanda Snider. "There is a problem related to the gangway and the dropping tides we hear. There are people in a building who haven't gotten on the ship, people who can't get off the ship, and those of us stuck in the shuttle waiting for our turn. We've been in this shuttle sitting at the port for about an hour."
Lindsey Whitt, a spokesperson for Mayor Dan Sullivan's office, says people should plan for waits Friday, bringing umbrellas and cold-weather gear in preparation.
"We expected a large group of people to come down for this," Whitt said. "People just have to be patient."
Whitt says there aren't any plans to add tours or buses Friday, because the current system is operating at capacity.
"The tours and buses are on schedule and moving as fast as they can," Whitt said.
Whitt earlier released details on the tour, as well as details on security requirements.
Because the Port of Anchorage is a secured facility and does not allow civilians to drive onto it, buses will be picking up visitors during tour hours at the parking lots of the Sears Mall in Midtown and the Northway Mall in East Anchorage. The buses will arrive every 15 minutes.
Security teams will be screening individuals at the mall parking lots before they board the shuttles, allowing people to return any prohibited items to their vehicles. Prohibited items include real, replica, or toy weapons, pocket knives and multi-tools. Alcohol, glass containers, pets (other than service animals), and large backpacks or handbags are also prohibited.
Cameras and photography are allowed aboard the USS Anchorage, but smoking and weapons are not permitted at the Port of Anchorage. In addition, extra security requirements apply before boarding the ship itself.
"Visitors, both adults and children, must be prepared to walk through a metal detector," Whitt wrote in a list of tour guidelines. "Adults, over the age of 18, must provide government-issued identification, such as a driver's license, passport or military credentials."
According to Whitt, the USS Anchorage, which has many ramps and ladders, is not handicapped-accessible.
"The ship definitely isn't handicapped, wheelchair, or stroller-friendly," said Whitt.
She says baby strollers will be added to the list of prohibited items for the tour.
For those with mobility issues, a virtual tour of the ship has been posted on the commissioning website.
Whitt says the total time from departing one of the malls to returning, including 45 minutes for the tour itself, is expected to take up to two hours depending on traffic.
Free tours will also continue on Friday from 2:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Channel Two's Adam Pinsker contributed to this report.
Contact Chris Klint