Railroad Excursion Question

[Upper Deck Dad]

I'm thinking of taking the 7-1/2 hour White Pass/Yukon Excursion with Chilkoot leaving at 8:30am Bus Up/Train Back. My ship is in port 7am-6:15pm that day.

 

They guarantee you'll be back in time or they'll take you to your next port. The next day for my ship is Glacier Bay with the next port being the following day in Ketchikan. I wouldn't want to miss Glacier Bay. The ships excursion for the same itinerary is $62 more but it would be guaranteed they would wait for me.

 

Should I opt out of the longer excursion and take the 3-1/2 hour White Pass Tour that doesn't go as far inland just to be on the safe side and just do something in town with the extra time? It covers most of the same area, just doesn't go up into the Yukon, you miss some of the waterfalls, you don't get the BBQ lunch and you don't get to see the husky puppies. It's still bus up/train back. Should I spend the extra for the ships excursion?

 

Anyone ever do both excursions? Would I be missing a lot by doing the shorter one?

[Peace2U]

I'm thinking of taking the 7-1/2 hour White Pass/Yukon Excursion with Chilkoot leaving at 8:30am Bus Up/Train Back. My ship is in port 7am-6:15pm that day.

 

They guarantee you'll be back in time or they'll take you to your next port. The next day for my ship is Glacier Bay with the next port being the following day in Ketchikan. I wouldn't want to miss Glacier Bay. The ships excursion for the same itinerary is $62 more but it would be guaranteed they would wait for me.

 

Should I opt out of the longer excursion and take the 3-1/2 hour White Pass Tour that doesn't go as far inland just to be on the safe side and just do something in town with the extra time? It covers most of the same area, just doesn't go up into the Yukon, you miss some of the waterfalls, you don't get the BBQ lunch and you don't get to see the husky puppies. It's still bus up/train back. Should I spend the extra for the ships excursion?

 

Anyone ever do both excursions? Would I be missing a lot by doing the shorter one?

 

We did the shorter one and it was great. We always try to book with the cruise line, since they won't leave without you.

[JT1962]

The ship and private excursions are usually on the same train, just different cars. If the train is late, then the ship would be waiting for those who do the ship excursion who are on the same train.

 

Sent from my LGL31L using Forums mobile app

[xlxo]

This is what you are missing going to the Yukon....

 

[YOUTUBE]rvbqT7ox7UM[/YOUTUBE]

[TheCalicoCat]

I'm thinking of taking the 7-1/2 hour White Pass/Yukon Excursion with Chilkoot leaving at 8:30am Bus Up/Train Back. My ship is in port 7am-6:15pm

 

1. Chilkoot has been in business & gets great reviews partially because people don't miss their ship. Think about it, if your tour had been "AWESOME could not compare it to anything else" & you missed you ship - you would complain that you missed you ship & completely forget about how awesome the tour itself was. It's human nature. AND this is how they make their living, they are invested in getting you back to the ship on time.

 

2. How comfortable would YOU be? If you will be asking, "Are you sure we will get back on time?" Save yourself the anxiety & take the ships tour. (All of the asking will irritate the other people on the bus.)

 

3. When we were in Skagway, we just took a car tour (privately - only my family with Beyond Skagway with Becky), so I can't speak to the train ride - lengths. I do recommend going as far into the Yukon as you can. The landscape is truly beautiful.

Edited January 24, 2017 by TheCalicoCat

[dustyroad]

Even though Chilkoot gives a wonderful tour, I would either go with the shorter timed tour or change too the ships tour. I would not worry the whole time that you wont get back in time. Once on my tour, we had too wait at the customs stop for some reason or other in the line and a couple on the van were really worried that they would not get back too the ship in time. They did, but not by much. The one port you do not want too miss is Glacier Bay. And Skagway is a nice port to browse in. Have stress less day and enjoy your cruise.

[Glaciers]

Check with Chilkoot. If they say they will be back to the ship on time then they will barring something rare. I’ve never heard of them returning late and you have a 2 hour buffer. This is really a non-issue.

 

Tour operators consider getting passengers back to the ship on time a priority. They wouldn’t last long if they didn’t.

[Coral]

Check with Chilkoot. If they say they will be back to the ship on time then they will barring something rare. I’ve never heard of them returning late and you have a 2 hour buffer. This is really a non-issue.

 

Tour operators consider getting passengers back to the ship on time a priority. They wouldn’t last long if they didn’t.

 

I agree with this. Chilkoot can tell you if the time works with their tour. These companies rely almost entirely on cruise ship passengers. They do this daily - they know their times.