Help in Skagway! White pass only or continue to Yukon?

[ccmcg]

Hi,

 

My husband and I (ages 38, 39) are leaving on 9/6 for AK on the Norwegian Pearl. I am so conflicted about Skagway. Please HELP!!! We are definitely going to do the train one-way, and the bus/van the other, with Dyea Dave or Chilkoot Charters, if possible The question is, where to and for how long? Initially, I thought 8 hours sounded way too long for one tour. I even called my travel agent and asked his opinion, and he said that the Yukon "add-on" to the White Pass tour is really just more of the same. So I thought I had decided to do the White Pass Summit only, and spend the extra time doing other things in town.

 

Well . . . then I read more on CC, and saw some pictures of Emerald Lake, and now I am wondering if I should reconsider. I would love to hear your opinions, especially those of you who have done the longer haul. Eight hours in any vehicle is a long time, but I don't want to miss anything either. After all, seeing and learning is what we're there for, right?

 

Please respond . . .We sail in 16 days and I feel a sense of urgency about getting this decision made!

 

To all you kindred cruise-lovers, thanks in advance for any wisdom you can share.

[vegs1]

We did the 7.5 hour tour this past July with Chilkoot. It was fabulous and I was glad we chose the longer one.

 

You are only 1 3/4 hours on the train, then get off and get in the van. Onwards to Caribou Crossing for the sled dog carting ride (if you choose it - we did and loved it). You eat lunch there, visit the little museum which is quite good. They also have a really lovely gift shop there with some beautiful pieces in it. Then onwards to Emerald Lake and back.

 

It was really enjoyable and next time, I'd go on the even longer one.

 

Happy planning and have a wonderful trip.

[hon2u]

Hi,

 

My husband and I (ages 38, 39) are leaving on 9/6 for AK on the Norwegian Pearl. I am so conflicted about Skagway. Please HELP!!! We are definitely going to do the train one-way, and the bus/van the other, with Dyea Dave or Chilkoot Charters, if possible The question is, where to and for how long? Initially, I thought 8 hours sounded way too long for one tour. I even called my travel agent and asked his opinion, and he said that the Yukon "add-on" to the White Pass tour is really just more of the same. So I thought I had decided to do the White Pass Summit only, and spend the extra time doing other things in town.

 

Well . . . then I read more on CC, and saw some pictures of Emerald Lake, and now I am wondering if I should reconsider. I would love to hear your opinions, especially those of you who have done the longer haul. Eight hours in any vehicle is a long time, but I don't want to miss anything either. After all, seeing and learning is what we're there for, right?

 

Please respond . . .We sail in 16 days and I feel a sense of urgency about getting this decision made!

 

To all you kindred cruise-lovers, thanks in advance for any wisdom you can share.

 

 

I would highly suggest you do the "add on" especially if you can get Dave.

 

Tell him I send my best! (Debbie from Chapel Hill NC!) :D

 

If you want to read more about both - here you go!

 

http://hon2u.shutterfly.com/

[2tnts]

ccmcg - there is a roll call for the Pearl Sept 6th sailing. Check out the roll call board for information and also if you are interested in joinng out meet and greet.

[stevecmo]

We too took the Chilkoot 7.5 hour van / train trip to the Yukon in June. Because of the timing of our ship arriving in port, we took the van up the pass and then the train down. Great trip. The time flies by with many photo stops and the lunch stop in Carcross. We were fortunate to have great weather. You can see our pic's here if you're interested:

 

 

Have a great trip! :)

[GE Mom]

We just returned from this trip, and we rented a car from Avis and drove up to Whitehorse. Although the scenery in Yukon is not as astounding as it is in BC, we felt a sense of accomplishment just getting all the way to Whitehorse and seeing the Yukon River. The scenery along the way is the best I've ever seen in my whole life, and I'm so glad I went. We enjoyed the sense of freedom from having the car.

[Napi's Mom]

Hi,

 

My husband and I (ages 38, 39) are leaving on 9/6 for AK on the Norwegian Pearl. I am so conflicted about Skagway. Please HELP!!! We are definitely going to do the train one-way, and the bus/van the other, with Dyea Dave or Chilkoot Charters, if possible The question is, where to and for how long? Initially, I thought 8 hours sounded way too long for one tour. I even called my travel agent and asked his opinion, and he said that the Yukon "add-on" to the White Pass tour is really just more of the same. So I thought I had decided to do the White Pass Summit only, and spend the extra time doing other things in town.

 

Well . . . then I read more on CC, and saw some pictures of Emerald Lake, and now I am wondering if I should reconsider. I would love to hear your opinions, especially those of you who have done the longer haul. Eight hours in any vehicle is a long time, but I don't want to miss anything either. After all, seeing and learning is what we're there for, right?

 

Please respond . . .We sail in 16 days and I feel a sense of urgency about getting this decision made!

 

To all you kindred cruise-lovers, thanks in advance for any wisdom you can share.

We did the car rental thing, and found that Emerald Lake was the most beautiful thing on the trip, but all around the Mountains are lovely The road was NOT in any way scary driving

[Tx Sunshine]

We too took the Chilkoot 7.5 hour van / train trip to the Yukon in June. Because of the timing of our ship arriving in port, we took the van up the pass and then the train down. Great trip. The time flies by with many photo stops and the lunch stop in Carcross. We were fortunate to have great weather. You can see our pic's here if you're interested:

 

 

Have a great trip! :)

Stevecmeo, I would love to talk to you about your trip. Your pictures are wonderful. We are going to Alaska on Carnival Spirit next June. We are going to : Skagway, Juneau, Ketchikan and Victoria. We are cruising Tracy Arm Fjord. I was really wanting to see Glacier Bay. We were trying to cut corners with the economy the way it is. I hope it is nice to see. Did you get to go to Victoria and if so what did you do? What would you suggest us seeing at the other 3 stops? Also, did you see the eagles, whales and the seals from your ship or did you do excursions? I figure if we see them from the ship, why pay extra for an excursion to see them, then we can go on other types of excursiosn. We have seen whales already in New Hampshire. Any advise would be appreciated! Thanks for sharing your beautiful pictures!

[ourfamilylovescruising]

for those of you that rented a car how long did it take you to do the round trip from skagway to emerald lake. thanks for your imput.

[MercedMike]

Stevecmeo, I would love to talk to you about your trip. Your pictures are wonderful. We are going to Alaska on Carnival Spirit next June. We are going to : Skagway, Juneau, Ketchikan and Victoria. We are cruising Tracy Arm Fjord. I was really wanting to see Glacier Bay. We were trying to cut corners with the economy the way it is. I hope it is nice to see. Did you get to go to Victoria and if so what did you do? What would you suggest us seeing at the other 3 stops? Also, did you see the eagles, whales and the seals from your ship or did you do excursions? I figure if we see them from the ship, why pay extra for an excursion to see them, then we can go on other types of excursiosn. We have seen whales already in New Hampshire. Any advise would be appreciated! Thanks for sharing your beautiful pictures!

 

Tracy Arm Fjord is beautiful. It is like Yosemite with water in the bottom. Big chunks of glacier ice float by. BUT -- from a cruise ship, the Twin Sawyer Glaciers at the end are disappointing. In no way can the glaciers in Tracy Arm compare with Glacier Bay.

 

Check out our review and pics at http://www.bully4.us/ct.html and http://www.elite.net/~thehalls/alaskaZ.html for some comparison.

 

Viewing wildlife from the ship is chancy at best, and usually very far away. On one of our eight cruises to Alaska we saw a pod of humpbacks from the lounge, close enough to see the fins and flukes and watch them breach. That was extremely unusual. On other trips we have seen none at all. The way to see wildlife is to take one of the wildlife search tours. The ship's excursion in Juneau is a very good one.

 

There are many threads on this board about renting a car in Skagway. It is a great idea. Check out our review and pics at http://www.elite.net/~thehalls/skagway.html

 

Have a GREAT cruise!

[#1survivorfan]

We just got back 2 weeks ago from our spectacular 2nd vacation to Alaska. We were 2 adult couples 45-50 who are very active. In Skagway we rented a car and drove to Emerald Lake where we did horseback riding with Joni around the lake. http://www.yukonhorses.com/

It was sooooo much fun. We all had very limited experience with horses but Joni's were pretty easy to handle. It was an absolutely awesome experience. I would have been so disappointed if we had only stopped at the Summit on a train. We took a couple of hours to drive to Emerald Lake....stopping for many pictures and checking out the "smallest desert" and then drove straight back after horseback riding. Still had plenty of time to gas and turn in the car, go out for lunch in Skagway and do a little shopping before getting back on the ship. The drive in the Yukon is absolutely beautiful. And.....

just my personal opinion.....but the BBQ in Carcross looks pretty hokey. We talked to some locals who find a lot of humor in all the cruise people being bussed to that spot for a BBQ and taken back to the ship. It was a little tooo canned to me....I know a lot of people like it but it just wouldn't be my thing

[abrowncow]

we just started looking into this (we'll be on the Pearl in May) and have decided on booking with Southeast Tours (southeasttours.com) for when we're in Skagway - they have a lot of different tours going out to Emerald Lake. they do transportation in partnership with Joni with horseback riding if you don't want to rent a car to get out there.

[knorrisb07]

Tracy Arm Fjord is beautiful. It is like Yosemite with water in the bottom. Big chunks of glacier ice float by. BUT -- from a cruise ship, the Twin Sawyer Glaciers at the end are disappointing. In no way can the glaciers in Tracy Arm compare with Glacier Bay.

 

Check out our review and pics at http://www.bully4.us/ct.html and http://www.elite.net/~thehalls/alaskaZ.html for some comparison.

 

Viewing wildlife from the ship is chancy at best, and usually very far away. On one of our eight cruises to Alaska we saw a pod of humpbacks from the lounge, close enough to see the fins and flukes and watch them breach. That was extremely unusual. On other trips we have seen none at all. The way to see wildlife is to take one of the wildlife search tours. The ship's excursion in Juneau is a very good one.

 

There are many threads on this board about renting a car in Skagway. It is a great idea. Check out our review and pics at http://www.elite.net/~thehalls/skagway.html

 

Have a GREAT cruise!

nice pix. thank you

[NancyIL]

And.....just my personal opinion.....but the BBQ in Carcross looks pretty hokey. We talked to some locals who find a lot of humor in all the cruise people being bussed to that spot for a BBQ and taken back to the ship. It was a little tooo canned to me....I know a lot of people like it but it just wouldn't be my thing

 

I've done the rail/bus trip to the Yukon with Chilkoot Charters twice. Both times I originally booked the longer train all the way to Carcross with bus back, and both years the rain washed out part of the tracks and that excursion was cancelled. I enjoyed the 7.5-hour rail/bus excursion a lot, including the BBQ lunch. You have to eat somewhere, and there aren't a lot of places to eat around Carcross.

[Tx Sunshine]

Mike,Thanks for responding! Thanks for the links and sharing your albums! They are wonderful. I'd like to find out how you did your albums like this. I see what you are talking about when comparing Tracy Arm to Glacier Bay. I wish we could see it, however, Carnival isn't going there during the summer time. I'll have to accept it and hopefully we can go back to Alaska for another cruise!

[gene48]

I'm allergic to cigarette smoke and was hoping Dyea Dave didn't allow smoking in his vans. Does anyone know the answer?

 

Gene

[tetleytea]

Continue to the Yukon! That's where the other 2/3rds of interesting stuff is!

[martinsfo]

We did the bus ride to CarCross and it was well worth it. The scenery, especially through BC on the way to the Yukon is some of the most incredible stuff you will see anywhere. Carcross is interesting as it is home to the world's smallest desert. We then caught the train back to Skagway. Seeing the trails that the goldrushers took really drove home how moticated or insane they must have been to even attempt to make it to the goldfields. It was a full day, but worth every second. We then capped the day off with a spectacular sunset sail away from Skagway. It was one of my favorites on this trip. We are going back in July 2011.

[oldengine]

We had a great day going to Emerald Lake and taking the train back from Fraser. I don't like huge packed motor coaches, but the train ride was excellent.

 

You can see our photos and report here.

 

The only way it could be better is to rent a car at Skagway, but then you'd miss the train!

[tetleytea]

Carcross is interesting as it is home to the world's smallest desert.

 

It is interesting, but the whole "desert" thing is just a gimmick. Looks like their rainfall is fine; it's just the glaciers ground up the ground into a really fine sand and it looks like the Sahara--with a bunch of conifer trees growing in it. It's okay--it's a good gimmick.

[Yukon]

It is interesting, but the whole "desert" thing is just a gimmick.

 

Technically it's a fraction of an inch of precip from being a desert - we get 10 inches a year. It's officially called the Carcross Dune System, formed by the glacial silt coming down the Watson River and home to some exceptionally rare plants and a very interesting place to watch very active dune formation. It you walk to the top of the main dunes seen from the tourist area, you'll see how the 100+ foot high dunes are taking over the forest. "Gimmick" - well, it's a lot more honest than a lot of the schlock you'll see on a cruise.

[MercedMike]

Mike,Thanks for responding! Thanks for the links and sharing your albums! They are wonderful. I'd like to find out how you did your albums like this. I see what you are talking about when comparing Tracy Arm to Glacier Bay. I wish we could see it, however, Carnival isn't going there during the summer time. I'll have to accept it and hopefully we can go back to Alaska for another cruise!

 

Thanks for the kind words. Actually, as far as doing the albums, I am an old fashioned guy and when the net first came along I learned html as about the 10th computer language I have learned in many years. So my pages are in fact just plain simple html programming, and by now I have done so many that I have a template in place and just fill in the words and img sources. They are stodgy and old fashioned to modern web page designers,but I like to think they have a certain simple efficiency in doing what they are designed to do, which is help others get an idea of what we have done and liked.

 

The wonderful thing about Alaska is that there are sooooo many things to do! We are planning on returning in May next year for our eighth Alaskan cruise and are already considering a nice mix of old favorites and new things to do! So I am sure you can get back some day and visit the wonderful scenery of Tracy Arm!

 

Have a GREAT cruise!

[MizzouMary]

Hi,

We are cruising Alaska for the first time in Sept., taking my in-laws. Our itinerary is below. After reading about cruising through the Tracy Arm and Glacier Bay, should we change our cruise since ours doesn't include either? This may be our one and only trip to Alaska and we want to see the most we can.

Please help!

Thanks.

Saturday, September 25, 2010 Seattle -- 04:00 PM

Sunday, September 26, 2010 At Sea -- --

Monday, September 27, 2010 Ketchikan 07:00 AM 03:00 PM

Tuesday, September 28, 2010 Juneau 02:00 PM 10:00 PM

Wednesday, September 29, 2010 Skagway 07:00 AM 05:00 PM

Thursday, September 30, 2010 Prince Rupert, Bc, Canada 04:00 PM 10:00 PM

Friday, October 1, 2010 At Sea -- --

Saturday, October 2, 2010 Vancouver 08:00 AM --

[andynapril]

Tracy Arm Fjord is beautiful. It is like Yosemite with water in the bottom. Big chunks of glacier ice float by. BUT -- from a cruise ship, the Twin Sawyer Glaciers at the end are disappointing. In no way can the glaciers in Tracy Arm compare with Glacier Bay.

 

Check out our review and pics at http://www.bully4.us/ct.html and http://www.elite.net/~thehalls/alaskaZ.html for some comparison.

 

Viewing wildlife from the ship is chancy at best, and usually very far away. On one of our eight cruises to Alaska we saw a pod of humpbacks from the lounge, close enough to see the fins and flukes and watch them breach. That was extremely unusual. On other trips we have seen none at all. The way to see wildlife is to take one of the wildlife search tours. The ship's excursion in Juneau is a very good one.

 

There are many threads on this board about renting a car in Skagway. It is a great idea. Check out our review and pics at http://www.elite.net/~thehalls/skagway.html

 

Have a GREAT cruise!

 

Mike,

Thanks so much for the great information on renting a car in Skagway. We're definitely considering it & I've bookmarked your page. I also spent quite a while on your website looking at all of your wonderful adventures. You and Renee look like you've had a great time in your travels. Hopefully I'll run into you one day!

[Yukon]

We are cruising Alaska for the first time in Sept., taking my in-laws. Our itinerary is below. After reading about cruising through the Tracy Arm and Glacier Bay, should we change our cruise since ours doesn't include either? This may be our one and only trip to Alaska and we want to see the most we can.

 

That is an awful itinerary at the absolute worst time of year to come. It must have been dirt cheap.