Question about White Pass RR/Skagway:

[SEPyle]

We'll be on the 5/20 Summit and want to go on this train tour. Celebrity doesn't have excursions listed yet however RCCL does. My guess is that they are pretty much the same. RCCL shows $99pp, thru the ship it looks as though it will be $89. I know Celebrity has their own train cars on the train and you can pick it up right at the dock. My question: It seems to me that we'll be in town anyway. Are there any advantages by going w/ the cruise line and paying $10 more? $10 isn't much money but I don't want to throw it away either.

 

Thanks in advance for your first hand experience!

Sharon

[42trvl]

The only risk you run is in case they don't have any tickets left at the station in town. But, even when we went in the summer at "peak" season, people were able to get tix at the last minute in town. Otherwise, it should be the same trip.

[Yukon]

The only advantage (if it is an advantage) is that if you book through the ship you get picked up at or very near the ship (depending on which dock position you're at). The railcars are all similar - the cruise lines don't get the newer ones or anything - and the tours are identical. Since there is only one track, if one train is late, they all are, so the common comment that the ship will wait if the train booked by the ship is late just isn't valid.

[aussie jb]

We chose to buy our tickets for the trip at the railway station itself, and the reason for doing that was that we could see what the weather was like and sure enough it rained all morning and we got clearer skies in the afternoon with only a light shower.

[Mike2131]

We'll be on the 5/20 Summit and want to go on this train tour. Celebrity doesn't have excursions listed yet however RCCL does. My guess is that they are pretty much the same. RCCL shows $99pp, thru the ship it looks as though it will be $89. I know Celebrity has their own train cars on the train and you can pick it up right at the dock. My question: It seems to me that we'll be in town anyway. Are there any advantages by going w/ the cruise line and paying $10 more? $10 isn't much money but I don't want to throw it away either.

 

Thanks in advance for your first hand experience!

Sharon

 

Hi Sharon!

We have taken variations of this trip twice - a straight RT on the train and an extended excursion that included a coach into the Yukon. Both were enjoyable. There is also a trip that takes the train one way and a coach back (either with or without a stop at a re-creation of an old mining camp).

Advantages of booking through the ship? Just the knowledge of getting the time you want so you can plan the rest of your time in port. Tickets on your own? We have not done it, but, per the other posters, you will probably be OK. Most of historic Skagway is compact and very walkable. You should have plenty of time to explore after the train trip.

 

Enjoy Skagway!

[SEPyle]

Thanks for all the feedback. I hadn't thought of the weather factor. Waiting to see about the weather in the am is very valid. Since we're going in early season I don't think there should be a problem with getting a ticket.

 

Thanks again!

Sharon

[Budget Queen]

I have done both, you may want to just confirm how many ships in port that day???

[CEWayfarer]

I have done both, you may want to just confirm how many ships in port that day???

 

 

How do you do that?

[Host Caroline]

If you definitely want to do this tour I would book through the ship for the convenience and the fact that by boarding at the ship you can probably (hopefully) get a seat so you'll be on the left side heading up the Pass.

There are also days when the Railway doesn't sell tickets on a walk-up basis until the afternoon (sometimes later afternoon) departures. If you don't book through the ship and then find you can't buy a ticket that day you will really have no back up plan for this port of call with so much to offer. Book through the ship and then plan the rest of your day around the trip.

There's a link at the bottom left on http://www.skagway.com/ It is for last year, not updated yet but if you're there Tuesday-Wednesday (especially) -Thursday there are 4-7 ships there, many carrying thousands of passengers. There are other sites that list cruise ship schedules but don't see any with Skagway for '05 on a quick look

[seattlecruiser]

http://www.cruisecal.com is a website that has a database of all cruise ships and ports of call. You can put in a date and port and it will list all ships in port that day.

[Deb in Cali]

I looked up Regal's schedule. It shows the ship in SF and then it disappears. It isn't on a single port schedule after that. Does this mean we are tendered in or does that matter? Or we are going to sink before we get to Alaska?

[ladysail2]

Thank you, seattlecruiser. I see that there will be 4 ships in Skagway on May 23 when we're there. This may alter our plans about booking the train. Sharon and I are on the same cruise and were hoping to book this on our own. I wonder if we should take the chance? With 4 ships in, that is alot of passenger traffic. Hmm, we'll do some more thinking on our plan.

 

Deb in Cali, I saw the Regal in Skagway with our ship (May 23). That proves that it isn't going to sink on the way there at least on that cruise!

 

Thanks for everyone's help.

 

Joyce

[MontiD]

You might check the excursions again on the website for Celebrity. I am going on the 6/24 Summit cruise, and I booked the Skagway train trip online just 2 days ago. I did however, notice that most of the other ports were not open for bookings yet. I was thrilled to see that the Skagway link was open so I pulled the ol' credit card out and got our place! Yippeee! :)

[SEPyle]

Good feedback...Thanks! As Joyce said, we'll be on the Summit, and I checked out the website as well and there are 4 ships in town the day we'll be there. Deb in Cali, you;ll also be in Skagway on May 23rd-maybe we'll see you!

 

Ok, here's another question: Is it true it's likely to be foggy in the morning? If that's true, booking early with the ship wouldn't be the way to go. Is this true?

 

Thanks again-in advance!

Sharon

[Budget Queen]

There can be fog ANYTIME. But it is better to take the pm train for the opportunity to get to the Park Service Visitor center before- Everything there will enhance your later train ride. http://www.nps.gov/klgo/schedule.htm

[Deb in Cali]

Sharon,

 

As much as I would like to be in Skagway on May 23rd, I won't be. I most likely will be taking a final that day. Our sail date is June 7th. :eek:

 

Deb

[SEPyle]

Thanks Budget Queen for the link to the Park Service Website. That makes sense-RR AFTER

 

Let me ask this. The RR is a must do for us. We'll be in Skagway from 10am to 8pm. Would we have time to also rent a car and drive to Emerald Lake?

 

Thanks for you feedback!

Sharon

[Yukon]

Sharon, that will depend on how you schedule, but it's possible in theory. Four hours for the train (figuring in the pre-boarding time needed) and 4+ for the 150-mile car trip. Researching online beforehand will negate the need to spend much time at the NPS.

 

Murray

[morgan1929]

We are going to be in Skagway on July 7th on the Veendam. My 82 year old Mother is travelling with us. It will be her one and only trip to Alaska.

 

So, trying to decide which train trip to take - either train both ways, or train up, bus back, stop in Liarsville. She is still physically active, but is the stop in Liarsville worth the extra effort involved in riding the bus, getting on and off the bus and walking around tthe town. And do you see different scenery?

 

I would like for not to be to tired after the train trip, so that she can walk around Skagway.

 

All opinions and suggestions appreciated.

[Budget Queen]

Liarsville is a recreated gold camp- totally fake. :) But enjoyable for most- the bus ride will give a little different scenery, and you don't have to get off the bus at stops if you don't want to. There will also be a shuttle bus into town from the cruise ships- can be a long walk - $1.50 per ride.

[Budget Queen]

Thanks Budget Queen for the link to the Park Service Website. That makes sense-RR AFTER

 

Let me ask this. The RR is a must do for us. We'll be in Skagway from 10am to 8pm. Would we have time to also rent a car and drive to Emerald Lake?

 

Thanks for you feedback!

Sharon

 

 

 

Yes you could- but you would have to take the first train out- that gets back around noon. Probably even enough time for a quick lunch on board then head out by 1pm?

[Singinman]

If you take a combo ride, you get to go to Carcross, you have to have a birth certifcate or passport. Usually the Canadians and the Americans do a perfunctory check or wave through the cruise ship buses, but there is one hard core agent for the Canadians and one for the Americans. We got both. They checked every document and checked the bathroom for stowaways.

 

We enjoyed Carcross. The prices were better then in Skagway. They were about the same on the price tag, but the Canadian prices were in Canadian $$.

 

If you take a combo, bus in train out, sit on the right side of the bus. This will put you on the scenic side.

[Yukon]

>>If you take a combo ride, you get to go to Carcross...<<

 

Some combos do, but most don't. They pick you up at Fraser, British Columbia and head south to Skagway again - you don't go into the Yukon at all.

 

Murray

[rhoeffner]

We visited Alaska last year around the first part of June. In Skagway, we rented a car and drove up to Emerald Lake. This was my favorite port and favorite excursion. IMHO this is a must do!

 

We were on the Celebrity Summit - unfortunately there were no shuttles from the pier into town - and it is quite a walk. There were also no shuttles at the end of the day either back to the pier.

 

Apparently we left at about the same time as the train - we saw it off and on throughout our drive. Although we travelled at a faster speed, we stopped at all the great little pull-outs to take pictures (at the Alaska Sign and the Yukon Sign for sure!). There were many nice water falls all along the way. If you stop in at the Park Service building in Skagway you can get a map that will tell you exactly what you are seeing all the way up. There is also a website (not sure of the address) giving a blow by blow of the drive up with mile markers.

 

Although it was a tad chilly when we left, there was no wind at all. All the lakes we saw on the way up were perfectly still, giving us great pictures of mirrored mountains. Same when we got to Emerald Lake - the water was perfectly still. About 20 minutes after we arrived, there was a slight breeze and the picture taking was over as the lake didn't have the same appearance or emerald affect. I only mention this because we had no idea that the wind would kick up and had messed around not taking alot of pictures before hand. So...if you have a still day, try to take your pictures before the wind arrives!!! ;-)

 

Half way through the trip up, we started shedding our clothes as it started warming up. When we arrived back in town, I had taken all my layers of clothes off, down to a tank top! It got to 85 degrees that day. It was the warmest day of our cruise - it was great!

 

I highly recommend renting a car - from what I could see, the road takes a very similar route to the train, we kept seeing the train peeking in and out of the mountain side - and we continued on up way past where the train stops.

 

Excellent trip up to the Yukon! Would do it again next time we go to Skagway.

[Yukon]

We visited Alaska last year around the first part of June. In Skagway, we rented a car and drove up to Emerald Lake. This was my favorite port and favorite excursion. IMHO this is a must do!

 

There is also a website (not sure of the address) giving a blow by blow of the drive up with mile markers..

 

It's http://www.explorenorth.com/library/roads/sklondike-photos1.html