 When the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel opened to public access in 2000, it became the first highway to connect Whittier to Anchorage and inner Alaska—previously, the only ways to reach the town had been rail, boat and plane.After the tunnel expanded access to Whittier, it began to be visited by larger cruise lines.It is the embarkation/debarkation point of one-way cruises from Anchorage to Vancouver by Princess Tours.