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Skagway White Pass Railway -- booking on our own vs w/ship


cljohnst
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My boyfriend and I are looking to take the 3.5 hour White Pass train ride when we're in Skagway. It looks like we can buy tickets directly through the rail site for $122. The excursion through the cruise is $149 each. Is there any benefit to booking through the cruise line? We can't tell exactly where the train leaves from -- on one map, it doesn't look far at all.

 

Has anyone booked the train on their own? Can we walk to the station easily enough? Besides transport to the station, is there any other benefit to booking through NCL?

 

Thanks so much!

 

**Also, if anyone has tips for what to do in Skagway after the train, that would be great. Looks like there are a couple short walks in the area along with a brewery.

 

**Also, also: Everyone talks about the White Pass railway, so I'm assuming that's the best one? Anyone ever done Bennett or Fraser? Any preference among the three?

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We opted to book with Chilkoot (a very popular private company) and did the bus up train down ...you might want to consider this instead..it worked out so well not only for us but for many on these boards also.

 

We returned back into town around noon and then had lunch at the Skagway Brewery....perfect port visit.

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As I understand it, the bus follows the path the original prospectors took before the train was built.

 

This message may have been entered via voice recognition. Please excuse any typos.

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We booked through the ship, took the bus up into Canada and the train back. The benefit is if anything happens and you don't get back on time, the ship will wait if you booked thru them.

 

Example: in Icy strait point we booked the whale watching. We didn't get back until 2:30pm. Our all aboard was 2:30pm and the ship was to leave at 3pm. It's a good walk from the excursion dock to the ship, so we didn't leave at 3pm and the ship waited.

 

enjoy your trip.

 

Charlie

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We booked through the ship, took the bus up into Canada and the train back. The benefit is if anything happens and you don't get back on time, the ship will wait if you booked thru them.

 

Example: in Icy strait point we booked the whale watching. We didn't get back until 2:30pm. Our all aboard was 2:30pm and the ship was to leave at 3pm. It's a good walk from the excursion dock to the ship, so we didn't leave at 3pm and the ship waited.

 

enjoy your trip.

 

Charlie

Yes...while this is a valid point...remember the train will be full of a combination of those that have booked one of three ways....through the cruiseline, direct with the railroad and privately. So booking an excursion that will have cruise booked passengers along with privately booked passengers is usually a safe bet to book direct. JMHO

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What's the benefit to the bus? Seems like a less comfortable way to travel than train. Do we go further inland or see different views? Seems like it could be cool.

 

Thanks for the tip!

The bus (very comfortable) portion was absolutely great...small group (14 people) local driver with lots of information and the small bus could stop at lookout points for views and pictures...certainly a different perspective. I don't think just the train up and down would have been as appealing....and many on here agree. You do what you prefer I was just giving you something to consider. Google Chilkoot to get more info on their bus/train combo...You can easily book online with them and they will email you a ticket with all the details you need. Enjoy

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The bus (very comfortable) portion was absolutely great...small group (14 people) local driver with lots of information and the small bus could stop at lookout points for views and pictures...certainly a different perspective. I don't think just the train up and down would have been as appealing....and many on here agree. You do what you prefer I was just giving you something to consider. Google Chilkoot to get more info on their bus/train combo...You can easily book online with them and they will email you a ticket with all the details you need. Enjoy

 

We're so glad you suggested this! The extra look out points and stops is a definite bonus. Thank you!

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As I understand it, the bus follows the path the original prospectors took before the train was built.

 

This message may have been entered via voice recognition. Please excuse any typos.

 

No, the Klondike Highway is only a parallel, not the White Pass or the Chilkoot Trail. which were both trails to the gold fields.

from the Klondike. If you take a look at the highway, easily you can see the it is machine made YEARS later. Only opened in the 70's.

The While pass, is on the other side of the Valley

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We booked directly through the rail line and stuck with the White Pass Summit because I hadn't gotten passports for my kids (every thing else requires a passport). If you book through the cruise line, you get on the train in front of the ship, otherwise you board the train at the train depot which is a very short walk. They had us board in the front two cars (make sure you get the very first car!) and that meant on the way back, that first car becomes the caboose. We had amazing views! Since we had 5 tickets, saving $20/person really added up.

 

For the afternoon I took my older two kids zipping and we had a blast with that. The town itself is very small and VERY touristy.

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We sailed on NCL Pearl last year. We were going to book on our own because it was cheaper on the web site. HOWEVER, found out that the morning and early afternoon were book solid. Only the last trip was open and we didn't want to take a chance of missing the ship. Looks like the cruise ship has a block of tickets for them.

 

Boarding the train is no problem. It's practically next to the ship. Was enjoyable and did it twice. Even saw a bear!!

 

 

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I would second what others have said regarding the train. It appears they dedicate cars to particular sources (i.e., this car is for passengers booking through this ship, the next car is for people who book directly, etc.), so there may be availability in one place but not another for the same train. The walk from the pier to the train station is pretty flat and short, maybe 5-7 minutes, so if you're mobile that shouldn't be a deciding factor.

 

Our ship actually stopped in Haines, so we had to take the ferry back and forth, but the ferry company has a combined deal. On the ferry + train I think we saved about $50/person versus booking through the cruise line.

 

I'd also like to put in a recommendation for Olivia's restaurant. It's a little farther from the piers than some places, but not that much of a walk and we had a great lunch there.

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Thanks, Yosef! We've put Olivia's on our list.

 

We booked the train/bus combo for the morning and plan on spending the rest of the afternoon exploring. We have a decent amount of time. Any recommendations outside of Olivia's and Skagway Brewing for how to spend the afternoon in Skagway would be great!

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Thanks, Yosef! We've put Olivia's on our list.

 

We booked the train/bus combo for the morning and plan on spending the rest of the afternoon exploring. We have a decent amount of time. Any recommendations outside of Olivia's and Skagway Brewing for how to spend the afternoon in Skagway would be great!

Again...just a suggestion to opt for the bus up train down (instead of the reverse). Chilkoot picks you up at the ship and of course you get off the train right in town....We did the 8:30am bus and we were back into town approx noon.

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Thanks, Yosef! We've put Olivia's on our list.

 

 

 

We booked the train/bus combo for the morning and plan on spending the rest of the afternoon exploring. We have a decent amount of time. Any recommendations outside of Olivia's and Skagway Brewing for how to spend the afternoon in Skagway would be great!

 

 

 

We did the train round trip through the ship and loved the beautiful scenery but it was exactly the same route both ways so I think your plan of train/bus sounds great. Note that on our trip, the better view was on the left on the way up and the narration mostly referred to what was on our left. For the way back, the train employees helped the passengers flip the seat backs (so that they would be facing the opposite direction as the train would be going back to the starting point in reverse) and asked all the passengers to switch sides. Many passengers chose to spend a good part of the ride outside on the little platforms taking photos when they were on the less scenic side or if they felt a little uncomfortable in their seats (the train seats were basic... not very roomy or comfy and we noticed many couples who weren't slim looked squished)... another reason your train/bus option sounds like a great idea.

 

Another idea for Skagway, if your port time is long enough as ours was... we did the train in the morning and then went on a helicopter ride to walk on a glacier with Temsco in the afternoon from about 2-4pm (we booked through the ship as they seemed to have booked all the space for our day) and that was an extraordinary experience that our whole family enjoyed tremendously.

 

Enjoy your trip!

 

 

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Thanks everyone! We are doing the bus up, train down at 8:30 a.m.

 

Would love to do the helicopter ride to the glacier, but we're out of cash for big excursions at this point.

Good choice...exactly what we did...you'll be glad you chose this option...sit on the right side of the bus when facing forward and the right side of the train...enjoy !

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We prebooked a rental car through Avis for Skagway. I printed out Murry's Guide to the Klondike Highway and highlighted all the stops we wanted to make. We drove 230 miles, all the way to Whitehorse! Had a great day, took our time, saw many more sights and stops than the train allows and it cost $167. The video we got of a mama bear and her 2 cubs on the side of the road is amazing!!

If you do decide to rent a car, you need to book before you leave home. A gentleman in front of us just walked in off the streets and couldn't get a rental.

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