White Pass Railway/Yukon excursion cancellation

[redbicycle]

I'm on the 6/19 NCL Encore Alaskan cruise departing Seattle and just got notice the White Pass Railway and Yukon Expedition has been cancelled due to "operational needs." Anyone know if that means the White Pass Railway is not operating that day at all? I did not see anything on their website, but cannot find any other bookings for that day (6/22 for our cruise). Alaska Shore Tours said it was sold out, so I was only able to book a half day Yukon excursion.

[mrsturkelton]

White Pass is operating just not going into Canada.  They might be all booked already for the day you are in port.  We ended up booking through Chilkoot tours for their trip into the Yukon to Carcross.

[reporterjen]

I'm in the exact same boat -- literally! -- having just gotten that cancellation notification re the "White Pass Railway & Yukon Expedition" for the June 26 Encore sailing.

 

It appears to be a railway cancellation, per notice below. And perhaps it's only affecting all of us who booked the longer excursion on the train, versus smaller segments.

 

I've been on many cruises and understand that things happen -- and I recognize I perhaps should have been cautious by avoiding this train itinerary given some uncertainty around covid and the border crossing.  But all that said, I'm also pretty upset since of course I made decisions about some other excursions based on what we'd be diong here. And most important, there are zero other open options from NCL right now out of Seward; it's tough to be scrambling to find third-party or even in-house options that will fall short just a few weeks out.

 

[reporterjen]

Ooops. Mrs. Turkelton already made it clear, but here's the notice:

https://wpyr.com/updates/

Cross Border Tours – Service Suspended for 2022 Operating Season

After months of working towards restoring the Carcross and Fraser Train Service Combination, we unfortunately must announce that we are unable to provide these offerings for the 2022 Season.  We have delayed this difficult decision for several months in the hopes that we could find a workable solution for all involved and provide passenger service on these international routes.  The challenges of logistics, restrictions, and uncertainty around wait times would have made it impossible for us to provide a consistent high quality service without delays and would create significant disruption to the passenger experience.

We respect and appreciate the time and efforts of our communities, staff, partners, customers, and governmental agencies at all levels in both Canada and the United States over the last year to try to bring this to fruition.  Though we could not complete the task in time for this season, we will continue to work together towards restoring this service for 2023.

For those booked on Fraser and Carcross train service this summer, our reservation staff will be reaching out to discuss your travel options and provide an alternative service on our White Pass Summit Excursion offering.

[redbicycle]

6 minutes ago, mrsturkelton said:

White Pass is operating just not going into Canada.  They might be all booked already for the day you are in port.  We ended up booking through Chilkoot tours for their trip into the Yukon to Carcross.

 

Thank you! I see Chilkoot added a White Pass Summit Train and City Tour that could be a good option for others in the same boat. It's $159 or 3.75 hours. I also found a half day Yukon Tour through Alaska Shore Tours for $89.

[redbicycle]

4 minutes ago, reporterjen said:

Ooops. Mrs. Turkelton already made it clear, but here's the notice:

https://wpyr.com/updates/

Cross Border Tours – Service Suspended for 2022 Operating Season

After months of working towards restoring the Carcross and Fraser Train Service Combination, we unfortunately must announce that we are unable to provide these offerings for the 2022 Season.  We have delayed this difficult decision for several months in the hopes that we could find a workable solution for all involved and provide passenger service on these international routes.  The challenges of logistics, restrictions, and uncertainty around wait times would have made it impossible for us to provide a consistent high quality service without delays and would create significant disruption to the passenger experience.

We respect and appreciate the time and efforts of our communities, staff, partners, customers, and governmental agencies at all levels in both Canada and the United States over the last year to try to bring this to fruition.  Though we could not complete the task in time for this season, we will continue to work together towards restoring this service for 2023.

For those booked on Fraser and Carcross train service this summer, our reservation staff will be reaching out to discuss your travel options and provide an alternative service on our White Pass Summit Excursion offering.

Thank you! I saw that and wasn't sure if it was connected.  Appreciate all the info.

[SightCRR]

fyi a youtube vlogger (shiplife) was in Skagway two weeks ago. He said that for train online tickets only 90% are sold and 10% are reserved for walk up on the pier or in the train station. He went on dog sled tour but talks about the train at about 5:30 of this video. 

I TOOK MY MOM DOG SLEDDING IN SKAGWAY ALASKA! | PLAYING WITH HUSKY PUPPIES - YouTube

ymmv. 

sightcrr