Train to Seward and/or white pass train in Skagway.

[elcid79]

We needed to get from ANC to Seward for our cruise embarkation.  I booked us gold star class on the coastal classic train.  
 

A few days later we port into Skagway.   They have the white pass historic railroad.  I hear it’s amazing.   Would this be worth doing in addition to the transit train?  Or will it be a similar experience and we should try something different? 
 

thanks. 

[quack2]

To me, these trips are very different.  I would do both.

 

After you take train to Seward (6:45 a.m. departure), you need to do 6 hour boat tour on Kenai Fjords.  Just spectacular.  May be the best thing you do in Alaska.  Boat gets back in plenty of time to board your ship.  Alaska RR will ship your bags all way to your stateroom on the cruise ship.  Just make sure you have your boarding materials, warm clothing and camera in your personal carry-on bag.

[Gia2cats]

With regards to the train, both are enjoyable and the scenery is gorgeous. But I’m going to suggest another option for Skagway. We have used the Frontier Tours small busses for Skagway and they were great. Last month we had only 13 people on the bus. The nice thing about taking the bus is the numerous stops you make. You can get out and take pictures. We stopped along the road for about 10 minutes to watch 2 bears eat dandelions. And the drivers are a wealth of knowledge.

[Gia2cats]

[GTJ]

58 minutes ago, elcid79 said:

We needed to get from ANC to Seward for our cruise embarkation. I booked us gold star class on the coastal classic train. A few days later we port into Skagway. They have the white pass historic railroad. I hear it’s amazing. Would this be worth doing in addition to the transit train? Or will it be a similar experience and we should try something different?

Essentially there are two things to consider. First, the scenery. Second, the railroad itself.

 

Both routes have gorgeous scenery. From a broad a perspective, both are similar, though each is, of course, unique. Moreover, the route out of Skagway reaches higher elevations, with the White Pass summit at nearly 2,900 feet, whereas the route to Seward the highest elevation is about 1,000 feet.

 

As to the railroad itself, both the track and the cars differ substantially. The Alaska Railroad is a typical standard gauge railroad, 4'8½" between the center of the rails, while the White Pass Route is a narrow gauge railroad, only 3' between the rails. The Alaska Railroad has long used traditional American railroad cars, including a Vista-Dome car on the Coastal Classic route. It also uses relatively modern Ultra Dome cars for the first class "GoldStar" service. All the cars are designed for comfortable travel. The railroad provides point-to-point transportation. The White Pass Route uses a handful of historic narrow gauge cars, though most of the cars are of recent vintage but designed in a classic manner with distinct clerestory rooflines. The narrow gauge makes for a tighter car interior, and most seating is adequate but not especially comfortable. The railroad has some new and distinct narrow-gauge 2020 diesel-electric NRE locomotives, class E3000CC-DC, and occasionally brings out its no. 73, a 1947 2-8-2 Mikado type Baldwin steam locomotive. Most travel on this railroad consists of round-trip excursion trains, though a small number of trains do provide point-to-point transportation. Railroad enthusiasts views these two railroads as entirely distinct from each other.

[cmmaxwell03]

1 hour ago, quack2 said:

To me, these trips are very different.  I would do both.

 

After you take train to Seward (6:45 a.m. departure), you need to do 6 hour boat tour on Kenai Fjords.  Just spectacular.  May be the best thing you do in Alaska.  Boat gets back in plenty of time to board your ship.  Alaska RR will ship your bags all way to your stateroom on the cruise ship.  Just make sure you have your boarding materials, warm clothing and camera in your personal carry-on bag.

 

I have not been able to confirm that tickets purchased directly with Alaska RR are taken straight to the boat.  That might happen if you are on the cruise line sponsored train.  However, it's always best to ask when you hand over your luggage in Anchorage.

[cmmaxwell03]

2 hours ago, elcid79 said:

We needed to get from ANC to Seward for our cruise embarkation.  I booked us gold star class on the coastal classic train.  
 

A few days later we port into Skagway.   They have the white pass historic railroad.  I hear it’s amazing.   Would this be worth doing in addition to the transit train?  Or will it be a similar experience and we should try something different? 
 

thanks. 

I have also booked the gold star class rom ANC to Seward.  Before I had learned that our ship would skip Skagway, I was also going to try the White Pass train excursion.  However, we like trains more than most people and do not want to travel much by bus if it can be avoided. 

 

If you skipped the train in Skagway, is there something else your group would prefer to do? When planning out trip, I tried to vary our excursions so that we did not repeat similar things too often.  We chose the following:

Anchorage - Helicopter/dog sled trip

Seward - Resurrection Bay wildlife cruise

Valdez - on our own (2 museums, taco truck/brewery for lunch)

Haines - on our own

Juneau - Seaplane to Taku Lodge (includes lunch)

Sitka - RIB/Zodiac ride to Fin Island Lodge (includes lunch)

Ketchikan - Bering Sea Fisherman's tour

[GTJ]

1 hour ago, cmmaxwell03 said:

 

I have not been able to confirm that tickets purchased directly with Alaska RR are taken straight to the boat. That might happen if you are on the cruise line sponsored train. However, it's always best to ask when you hand over your luggage in Anchorage.

Generally, the railroad transports baggage by railroad, while the cruise lines transport baggage by truck. (I am not certain if the cruise lines use their own company-owned trucks and drivers, or if the services are contracted out.) Thus, the cruise line may have representatives at the downtown Anchorage station who will accept, and be liable for, baggage to be delivered directly to the vessel, while the railroad will accept, and be liable for, baggage to be delivered to the Seward railroad station. Where an entire train is operated by the Alaska Railroad pursuant to contract with a cruise line, including those services operated with the "Grandview" charter train equipment and composed entirely of private cars, there are no railroad baggage cars and all baggage is transported by trucks arranged by the cruise lines.

 

As an aside, a "boat" is that which is pictured below, and the master of a cruise line vessel would likely not take kindly to that word being used to describe the vessel that he or she controls. A better word is "ship." The best all-purpose word, however, is "vessel," which can be used with any type of craft, ship, or other contrivance used as a means of transportation on water . . . you cannot go wrong with using the word "vessel."

 

[quack2]

2 hours ago, cmmaxwell03 said:

 

I have not been able to confirm that tickets purchased directly with Alaska RR are taken straight to the boat.  That might happen if you are on the cruise line sponsored train.  However, it's always best to ask when you hand over your luggage in Anchorage.

 

I have NEVER purchased the cruise line train transportation to Seward.  I have ALWAYS dropped my bags, with cruise tags attached, at the Anchorage baggage tent.  I have ALWAYS received my bag in my stateroom (after returning from my Kenai Fjords "vessel" tour).

[cmmaxwell03]

That's great to hear.  I was secretly hoping that was the case.  When we arrive in Seward we are not taking any excursions since our cruise is in Seward for day 1 and 2.  We are signed up for a tour in Resurrection Bay on day 2.

[Coral]

The two train trips are entirely different, both great.

 

I would recommend in Skagway to do the Chilkoot tours bus/train combination. The train ride is the same both directions - if you do the combination, you see a different view from the road in a van (in some areas the view is the same and others, it is different). You also can get out several times and can take pictures. 

[Northern Aurora]

I also think that the two train trips are very different, and both very enjoyable.  I would not have an issue in booking both.

 

Folks who plan to purchase tickets for the coastal Classic (directly from the Alaska Alaska Railroad) and expect to have the ARR staff deliver their bags to the cruise terminal in Seward need to contact the ARR and confirm that the information in post #9 in both accurate and available currently.  I can't find any confirmation on the ARR website and given their current staffing issues I am surprised this would be a possibility.

[quack2]

On 7/12/2023 at 5:18 PM, Northern Aurora said:

I also think that the two train trips are very different, and both very enjoyable.  I would not have an issue in booking both.

 

Folks who plan to purchase tickets for the coastal Classic (directly from the Alaska Alaska Railroad) and expect to have the ARR staff deliver their bags to the cruise terminal in Seward need to contact the ARR and confirm that the information in post #9 in both accurate and available currently.  I can't find any confirmation on the ARR website and given their current staffing issues I am surprised this would be a possibility.

Sigh.

[Jeeden]

From what I have read they have some desks at the station in Anchorage for some of the cruise lines including RCCL where you can drop off the bags. I assume anyone manning that desk would have the information. If the desk is closed then I would assume that the luggage gets checked on the train as a normal train passenger, but I hear even in that case you just need to pick it up on the other end and there are often porters and/or luggage carts standing by for luggage to go on the ship. 

 

We are headed out in 3 days and taking the CC to Seward and while I'm a planning nut, I'm not worried about figuring out this detail right now.

 

Jeremy

 

[disneyochem]

When dropping off luggage in Anchorage, be sure to have your cruise line’s luggage tags on your bags—the staff at ARR will load it in the appropriate truck and you’ll see it onboard your ship.  This is what we’ve done for the past two summers (2022, 2023) when traveling on the train.

 

The cruise port in Seward is close enough that one can walk from town after spending the day in Seward.  My only advice is to make sure you get to the port before the cruise-sponsored train arrives!  Otherwise, it will be a long wait to get on board!

 

To the OP:  we are train buffs so we always recommend taking the train.  However, my suggestion for Skagway to take the train in one direction and then take a small group tour back to town.  You’ll get the train experience as well as the opportunity to visit the Yukon and make scenic stops.

[disneyochem]

On 7/12/2023 at 3:28 PM, cmmaxwell03 said:

That's great to hear.  I was secretly hoping that was the case.  When we arrive in Seward we are not taking any excursions since our cruise is in Seward for day 1 and 2.  We are signed up for a tour in Resurrection Bay on day 2.

Sounds fun!  
 

My only suggestion is to take a Kenai Fjords wildlife cruise (at least six hours).  The longer you spend on the water, the more opportunities you will have to see wildlife!  
 

Also, while Resurrection Bay is scenic, the Kenai Fjords are spectacular!