GTJ

No. It would huge hike, going from the glacier back to the highway (where there is no established trail and where one would need serious hiking equipment and experience). I have never heard of anyone attempting such a hike from the glacier to the highway, I would doubt most cruise line passengers being able to do so timely. Perhaps you have confused the Laughton Glacier with something else? Also, the issue is not so much how much time a vessel is in port, but rather how the timing of the vessel in port matches up with the railroad timetable. In the case of the Quantum of the Seas, on Thursday, June 1, 2023, the vessel is scheduled to be in port from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and railroad timetable for service from Skagway to Glacier and return, including the walk between the port and the railroad station, will likely be within that time period, so it is possible to do. It is not yet certain, however, as the railroad has not formally published its 2023 timetable for this service. (Also, there could be delays with the vessel in arriving in Skagway, and with passengers disembarking the vessel, that might, in the end, cause a missed departure from Skagway, but it is possible that the train departure could be met.) Whether it is possible to do so with any other vessel is a question of the vessel's timing on the particular day at issue. Packer Expeditions offers a longer version of the Laughton Glacier trip. It utilizes the first train of the day from Skagway to Glacier, but instead of returning from Glacier to Skagway on the corresponding first train back, their tour remains in the mountains, and does not return from Glacier to Skagway until the second (final) train back. Thus, their overall excursion time is longer than that advertised by the railroad itself.

Some clarification may be helpful. Passengers who travel aboard the trains to or from Fraser require a passport . . . only if those passengers cross the international border between the United States and Canada. Passengers who travel aboard the trains to or from Fraser but do not cross the international border, such as those alighting at Glacier station and doing the Laughton Glacier hike, do not require a passport. In other words, the requirement for a passport is based on a passenger's crossing of an international border, and not merely boarding a train that will cross an international border. (In this regard, the Fraser trains operated by the White Pass Route are much like Vancouver trains operated by Amtrak . . . even though the trains from Seattle cross the international border, you don't need a passport to travel on these Amtrak trains from Seattle to Bellingham, Washington, because you don't cross an international border in doing so.)

It is not clear who the "they" is, who "said it wouldn't work." According to the Royal Caribbean International website, the Quantum of the Seas will be in port at Skagway on Thursday, June 1, 2023, from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The White Pass Route has not published its finalized timetable on its website yet. As well, the White Pass Route website is not entirely accurate or precise with its schedule times. Nonetheless, based on services and schedules from prior years, you should expect that the trains between Skagway and Fraser will depart from Skagway at, or about, 7:40 a.m. and 12:40 p.m., and return to Skagway at, or about, 12:20 p.m. and 5:20 p.m. (Persons destined for Laughton Glacier ride one of the two Fraser trains as far as Glacier station--about 14 miles from Skagway--alighting there for the hike; these persons then hike back to Glacier station and board one of the two trains returning from Fraser back to Skagway.) Based on these times, you should be able to do this trip on your own, provided that the vessel docks in Skagway timely and you're able to make it from the dock to the railroad station (less than one-half mile) in time for the morning departure to Fraser. The afternoon departure from Skagway would not be practicable because the train would not return to Skagway prior to the vessel's departure at 5:00 p.m. I imagine that Royal Caribbean International would not offer this trip to its passengers because of its likely inability to assure that all of its passengers could get from the vessel to the railroad station timely (larger groups of people take longer to walk, and will include people who walk very slowly), but as an individual, you could do so. Nonetheless, you would need to be prepared to miss the departure from Skagway should anything go awry . . . it would not be guaranteed that you could make it on time. So the answer to the question is, yes, it is possible.

Transportation should not be a stumbling block. Effectively, the ADA requires all of the service providers to offer accessible transportation--without extra cost--and there are several resources where compliance assistance can help if a transportation is reluctant (though with a law that is over 30 years old it amazes me that some people continue being ignorant of its requirements). I think that what should be the focus of your inquiry is the various activities that are, themselves accessible, and don't worry so much about the transportation part. I also endorse the comment of riffatsea, to address Royal Caribbean International at the specialized contact portal, as companies with such departments tend to take their accessibility responsibilities seriously, and they have the information and resources to do these things well. They usually work closely with their legal departments, to make certain they understand what is required and do it right. Their challenges are people in other departments (including sales people), many of whom are ignorant, indifferent, or sometimes hostile.

I am somewhat confused here as to what it is for which you are seeking accessibility. Transportation and other public accommodations are required to be accessible to persons with disabilities, pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and its implementing regulations, but I suspect that you already know that. So is it that you're looking for tour destinations that are, themselves, inherently accessible? For example, tour destinations involving hiking may not be inherently accessible. On the other hand, some activities, such as kayaking, might be adaptable for persons with disabilities. So is that you're looking for activities (i.e., tour destinations) that are accessible? Or is it that you have real concerns over the provider of transportation that the buses might not be accessible? (I note that Royal Caribbean International generally relies upon Premier Alaska Tours, Inc., as its contract motor carrier for bus tours, that carrier being of substantial size and experience, and for which I would expect it to be familiar with all the legal details of providing accessible transportation.)

If the schedule works out, Quick Coach Lines is certainly the least complicated service to use, given its pick-up at the airport in Bellingham and its drop-off at the port in Vancouver. The company is still recovering from the pandemic, and has not yet revived its full schedule. Thus, do check to see if, at the time of your anticipated travels, that the schedule will be sufficient. One other option to consider is the bus line MTR Western, for which tickets are sold by FlixBus. Okay, I'm impressed here. Time permitting I would be tempted. That said, I am not particularly thrilled with having to walk alongside highway 99 between the border and Eighth Avenue. Nonetheless, there does appear to be, on the east side of the highway, a parallel local road, and a pathway, both of which lead to the exit ramp for Eighth Avenue, all of which could be walked with reasonable safety. The bus stop on King George Boulevard appears to be a bit desolate and remote, with only a bench and waste can, but the half-hour frequency on weekdays, and every 20 minutes minutes on weekends, on route 375 to the Guildford Exchange, is not bad service. You imply that the 321 route is better, since it goes direct to the King George station, but that route only makes a few trips in the morning and late night, and would seemingly be impracticable at most times.

While many New Yorkers will stand up to harassing taxi drivers--the scene from "Midnight Cowboy," with Dustin Hoffman yelling, "I'm walking here," while banging on the hood of an aggressive taxi, comes to mind--doing so can be intimidating to others, especially those from out of town. It is important to keep taxi drivers in line, so if one does not stand up to a taxi driver acting unlawfully, do be certain to capture all the relevant facts and evidence to submit with a complaint and to be used in prosecuting the taxi driver. Most important, of course, is the medallion (it is the alpha-numeric illuminated on the roof the taxi), with date, time, and place at a minimum, and preferably a description of the driver, the driver's license number, and photographs or video. Understand that while a taxi driver might plead guilty to a complaint, in the absence of such a plea the complainant will almost certainly be needed to appear at trial. Not necessarily to appear in person--the complainant can provide testimony by telephone (which the prosecutor will arrange with the complainant)--but the complainant needs to be able to follow-through with the provision of testimony and other evidence. https://www.nyc.gov/site/tlc/passengers/consumer-complainant-hearing-guide.page So if some people are unwilling to stand up to a taxi driver at the time of a service refusal, then they can follow through with a complaint, providing evidence including testimony. But I don't think that most people do actually follow-up, and in that case taxi drivers get away with their antics. So that's why I think people standing up for themselves at the time of the service refusal--including the summoning of police--is the better path to take. Most NYC taxi drivers are good people. But there is a subset that is bad, and we should all do whatever can be done to these rotten apples off the city streets so that they are unable to victimize innocent persons. Earlier today I was reading of one recent administrative trial where there was a refusal to transport. http://archive.citylaw.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/17/oath/20_cases/20-1683.pdf The testimony was that the taxi driver, Liang Jiang, had transported two passengers part of the way to their destination. While driving Mr. Jiang had been talking to himself, and when approaching Grand Central Terminal he suddenly swerved to the right, stopped, and shouted to his passengers, "Get the f*** out, get the f*** out!" The female passenger told the driver that the fare was already $10 and asked him to finish the trip; the driver replied, "$10 for your p****," using a vulgar term for part of her anatomy. The two passengers then exited the taxi, whereupon the taxi driver directly towards them, and possibly would have killed them but for stopping his taxi "about 10 inches from [the female passenger's] knee." The Taxi and Limousine Commission accepted the administrative law judge's penalty recommendation against this taxi driver, for this and one other incident, and revoked the taxi driver's license and imposed a fine of $6,950. There are many other stories of bad taxi drivers. Be careful when interacting with taxi drivers, and in particular always protect yourself from their ire. If you choose to leave a taxi as a result of a refusal to transport, or any other reason, be careful that the driver does not attempt to run you over with his or her taxi cab. Keep in mind that the NYPD know the taxi laws. Don't be afraid of calling the police; the NYPD will protect you if called upon.

Yes, if connecting to or from the Denali Star train, an overnight stay in Anchorage is required because the Denali Star is the first train departing northbound from Anchorage, and the last train arriving southbound into Anchorage, and no other trains directly connect with that train in Anchorage. However, Princess Cruises and Holland America Line saw that dilemma, and arranged, for their passengers, trains that operate directly between Whittier and either McKinley (McKinley Express) or Denali (Denali Express), both trains bypassing the passenger stop in Anchorage, and allowing a single-day journey without having to stay overnight in Anchorage. Indeed, the cruise lines market these services as "Direct-to-the-Wilderness" to highlight the fact that no connection or overnight stay in Anchorage is required. Anchorage was not enumerated on the list of places desired for a visit, so the use of either of these "Direct-to-the-Wilderness" trains might constitute a good plan, at least for a portion of the larger travel plan. Again, refer to the map previously provided for further details. If a goal is to travel through Alaska as quickly as possible, then one might always choose to travel by bus instead of railroad, for the train is universally slower than the parallel bus services. (Indeed, you might just as well travel by airplane, instead of bus, train, or cruise vessel, for aircraft travel even faster.) Generally, one chooses to travel by train for reasons other than fastest travel. Perhaps greater comfort and accommodations, maybe being less to motion sickness, possibly being a railroad enthusiast. Consider as well that one may have traveled many days to get to central Alaska, and "saving" 90 minutes of travel time by using a bus, instead of a train, between Denali and Fairbanks (or between other points), may not make much a difference in the overall scheme of things . . . how else might you use that 90 minutes saved? People who live in Alaska, and have viewed the scenery many times, might value travel time greatly; but that may not be the same for those not living there . . . sometimes it is best not to view the choices not from the perspective of an Alaskan local but from the perspective of a tourist or visitor. The point is that racing through Alaska as quickly as possible may not the determining factor is choosing how to travel. Think of the various attributes of travel, and balance them accordingly based on one's own values and preferences.

I am not following entirely. If the taxi driver does not want to take a fare to Red Hook, and the would-be passenger then chooses to travel by Uber instead, then why would the taxi driver be upset? He or she prevailed in not providing transportation . . . what am I missing here? Was the initial refusal just a shakedown to go off the meter? As for the greater issue of taxi drivers refusing to follow the law (which includes not refusing a fare within the city of New York), I do wish more would-be passengers not be so meek. First, get into the taxi before giving the destination; second, do not exit the taxi upon refusal. If driver continues to refuse to provide transportation, remain seated in the taxi and call for police. The NYPD know and enforce the law. Indeed, the mere threat of calling for NYPD may, by itself, inspire a change of taxi driver mind. Finally, if it becomes necessary to call for police, reconsider if a gratuity is appropriate (it is optional). Yes, I know being an out-of-towner in New York is hard enough, and engaging in arguments with taxi drivers and getting involved with the police is not at the top of the list of things to do while here. But rolling over in the face of illegal taxi operations merely encourages taxi drivers to ignore the law and take advantage of those most vulnerable.

You're really asking a two-part question. First, can one travel by railroad from Whittier to Fairbanks; second, if so, are there tours that include such rail travel? The answer to the first part is yes, but not continuously on a single train service. The map below illustrates the various passenger train services in central Alaska. As you can see, there is no single train that connects Whittier with Fairbanks. To make that trip by railroad, you would need to utilize multiple trains, stopping enroute to change trains, possibly requiring an overnight stay. That, by itself, would seem not to be a deterrent for making the trip entirely by train, as you have indicated a desire to alight from the train, and to stay overnight at several intermediate lodges. So there is a clear "yes" to the first part of the question. The answer to the second part is probably no, at least to the extent of booking a single tour that is entirely rail (as outlined in the answer to the first part of the question). To the best of my knowledge, no single tour does all that you would like to do. Such a tour might exist, but I do not know of it. To do what you want might require multiple tours, or a tour plus making some independent arrangements. For example, you should be able to find a tour, from Princess Cruises, that includes travel on the McKinley Express train from Whittier to McKinley (including a motorcoach transfer between the station and the Mt. McKinley Princess Wilderness Lodge, and return), plus travel on the McKinley Explorer train from McKinley to Denali, and a stay at the Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge. If not, then you could arrange independently travel from McKinley to Denali on any of three trains: the McKinley Explorer, the Wilderness Express, or the Denali Star. Here, too, there would be a motorcoach transfer between the station and the Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge, and return. In any case, you would then make independent arrangements to travel from Denali to Fairbanks on either of two trains: the Wilderness Express or the Denali Star. (Note that the Denali Star and the Wilderness Express are combined, and operate on the same schedule; the McKinley Explorer operates separately on its own schedule.) It is almost certainly the case that doing what you desire will require some effort on your part, possibly even forgoing one or more elements of the tour so that all the pieces you desire fit together. If you're not facile with making these types of arrangements yourself, then you might want to engage a travel agent or planner to do so on your behalf. I don't understand why there are not tours that do what you desire. I would think that many people would like to do it all by railroad . . . especially railroad enthusiasts. I wish I could provide some reasoning. Alaska Railroad Map and Service 2.pdf

Virtually everyplace in the United States is legally accessible on foot. The important question is whether or not it is convenient and pleasant, both in terms of distance and safety. That answer is yes, it can be both. The City of Long Beach did a horrible job with the engineering of Queensway Drive. On one portion the sidewalk meanders away from the drive, and elsewhere a complete absence of sidewalk requiring pedestrians to walk in the roadway itself. The City should be shamed. The waterfront walkway would be the best route, in terms of safety, and you can see it clearly in Google Maps (satellite view). The waterfront walkway does not add appreciably to the overall distance, a bit under 1-1/2 miles . . . a flat and easy walk for most people. While there might be a shuttle service available, that, of course, would defeat the entire purpose of walking and enjoying a pleasant stroll.

A very good perspective of San Francisco, and my quibbles are very minor. It is not that BART has no purpose whatsoever for local travel within the City, but only very limited purpose. (1) Travel to very specific and narrow neighborhoods (i.e., the Mission, Glen Park, Balboa Park) might be facilitated with BART (much as travel to other very specific neighborhoods might be facilitated with Golden Gate Transit), but otherwise and more generally the Muni is the go-to service provider for San Francisco. (2) The ability to travel with baggage on public transit is generally not an absolute yes-or-no, but is a continuum that depends on, among other things, type of vehicle and time of day. As to types of vehicles, a rail car with level boarding (e.g., BART, Muni Metro) is easiest for boarding and alighting, a rail car with steps (e.g., historic PCC car, Caltrain), and buses (even if low-floor) can be more cumbersome, while most cable cars are virtually impossible to travel upon with baggage because of both steps, exceptional crowding, and limited room for circulation. But the ability to travel with baggage on public transportation is really best judged by each individual and by asking, are you travel with baggage on your hometown public transportation system? In my case, I routinely do so, both at home and while traveling elsewhere, and I would not think twice about traveling by streetcar with my baggage . . . but that's me and it may not be the same for you.

It really depends on "how much," and "when." If you're traveling to the vessel between 10:00 a.m. and noon, buses and cars will be least crowded and relatively easy to navigate. Between 4:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m., everything will be crowded! In comparing travel with baggage on a street car versus a BART train, they are largely the same. But among the differences are that BART stations have elevators from the sidewalk to the underground, whereas streetcars board on the street but do require one to lift the baggage up the steps into the car. When I travel, it is usually with a single piece of baggage on wheels (and if on business, possibly a garment bag as well), which I find to be very maneuverable, and almost always I have no problem using public transport. But with much more baggage it can be a bit cumbersome. The distance between your hotel and the pier is not that far, so a taxi would be relatively inexpensive. Making a decision while there, depending on circumstances then, might be best! It was in San Francisco that I first boarded a cruise liner. It was the vessel Sagafjord in the early 1980s, and I recall it being docked at Pier 35. Those were the good days, prior to security concerns, and so a friend of mine and I were able to go to the pier, and without ticket or even knowing anyone traveling on the vessel we were able to board the vessel and see its facilities. It was the same time period when Delta Line was still operating its vessels around South America, and we visited their offices in San Francisco. They had made the decision to discontinue their passenger operations, so we invited to take all sorts of Delta Line souvenirs from their offices that would have otherwise been discarded. Despite this affinity for cruise liners in San Francisco, the largest vessel I ever departed on from San Francisco remains one of the Golden Gate vessels to Marin.

Having lived in the Bay Area for many years, with alma mater in Berkeley, and having been engaged there as a transit planning professional, it is a subject matter I know fairly well. I remember the first trolley "festival" in 1983. The prior year, the PCC streetcars on Market Street had been completely supplanted by the then-new Boeing-Vertol LRVs operating in the upper level of the subway, the cable cars were being shut down for a full rehabilitation, and a new Muni general manager, Harold Geissenheimer, had been brought in from the Chicago Transit Authority. Both Harold and then-mayor Dianne Feinstein strongly supported the establishment of a summer trolley "festival" as a replacement for the shut-down cable cars. Plans coalesced and on June 23, 1983, there was a large inaugural ceremony on the ramp in front of the East Bay Terminal. I remember standing in the crowd, admiring Municipal Railway car no. 1, front windshield open with Mayor Feinstein waving to the cheering crowd. She then actually powered the car herself (under the direction of long-time Muni supervisor Reno Bini, who was standing beside and guiding her; I don't recall seeing Harold then, but I imagine he was also inside car no. 1) from the terminal and out onto Market Street, leading an entire parade of historic cars behind. Thereafter, historic cars began providing regular service, summer only, between the East Bay Terminal and the intersection of 17th Street and Castro Street; I would take many rides on the cars, including not only car no. 1 but also nos. 130 and 178 (both iron monsters), 1040 (last PCC built), 122 (Porto single truck Birney), 228 (Blackpool "boat" car), and 648 (Melbourne Type W2). A few years later both Harold and I returned to the east coast, where we both continued working on public transportation projects (Harold coming to my office on some projects). The "festival" would continue, not always continuously, and ultimately evolve into the present-day "F" car service. Tracks were laid on upper Market Street, between Duboce Avenue (next to the U.S. Mint, where alongside cars would be stored) and Castro Street, and on the Embaradero, between the Ferry Building and Fisherman's Wharf. The East Bay Terminal would be demolished and replaced, leaving the "F" car service in its present day form. If this is in the case, then it would be a relatively new rule of which I have never heard. Most of the cars now being operated on the "F" service are the PCC cars, all of which are, in fact, huge. The regular PCC cars are 46-1/2 feet long, and the Magic Carpet PCC cars (designed for two-man operation) are 50-1/2 feet long . . . this compares with 40 feet for a standard transit bus. With double width entrance doors making access and egress from the cars easy, and 2x1 seating providing plenty of circulation within, a rule restricting baggage from being carried on the cars--while continuing to permit baggage on the more constricted buses--would seem to make no sense at all. And with the "F" cars having supplanted the former 8-Market trolley coach service, I would think that the implementation of such a restriction would be deemed an outrage by residents of the Castro. Nor could I find any evidence of such a rule having been formally adopted anywhere on the Muni website. I am unaware of other cities operating PCC-type streetcars, such as Boston and El Paso, having such concerns about carrying baggage on the cars. I would expect to carry my baggage with me on a PCC car, and so I would be curious to know more about the origins and the specific details of such a rule, preferably with a citation thereto. (I have a colleague, also now here in New York, who retired from having operated the historic cars in San Francisco for many years, so when I next see him I may ask if he knows anything about this supposed rule.)

Not a good plan. The BART system was designed to be a regional transportation service, bringing commuters from outlying suburbs into San Francisco; the system has very limited utility for local transportation within the city of San Francisco. Additionally, most cruise vessels board passengers at either pier 27 or pier 35. While both piers are on the Embarcadero, a waterfront boulevard, the Embarcadero station for the BART system is not especially close to either of the two piers, and you would be engaged in good amount of walking between the station and the pier. (Indeed, the distance one would travel on a BART train, from Powell station to Embarcadero station, is about the same distance one would have to walk from Embaradero station to the pier.) A better plan is to use the local public transportation system, the San Francisco Municipal Railway, usually referred to as the "Muni." Most convenient from your hotel would be to board a streetcar on Market Street, at Powell Street and directly about the BART station. Board an "F" car destined for Fisherman's Wharf, and you will be taken directly to the piers. Cars operate about every 12 minutes, and the fare is $3.00 adults, $1.50 seniors (exact fare required). Should you plan to travel elsewhere while in San Francisco, then you might want to consider purchasing a visitor's "passport" for unlimited Muni transportation. However, these "passports" can be rather expensive ($24.00 for a single day's travel), and it is likely to be a better deal to just pay bus or car fares as traveled. One can also optionally buy a fare card (known as "Clipper"), but with the hassle of doing so, especially if in San Francisco only for one day, it is probably easier just paying bus or car fares with cash as needed. f_market_and_wharves_pdf_map_20210515-1.pdf

Yes, with the exception of the Alaska Marine Highway, they are all at a fare level generally higher than the mass market lines. My thought is that Silversea might offer more discounted fares because it is, in 2023, doubling its Alaska presence, and may have staterooms to fill. As to having distinct ports of call that might justify a greater expenditure, I note (1) Viking Ocean Cruises offers 6 ports of call on its 10-night one-way sailing, more than the typical 3 or 4 ports visited by most 7-night sailings by other lines, though the ports themselves are not particularly distinct, and (2) American Queen Voyages, after departing Sitka, offers 4 ports of call on its 11-night one-way sailing, including 2 ports rarely visited by cruise lines, Kake and Wrangell (though both are regularly served by the Alaska Marine Highway), and the small size of the vessel generally offers a more intimate experience. Would either of these two lines be worth the extra cost? Alaska Marine Highway would have cost comparable to the mass market lines though very much a different type of sailing, one emphasizing basic and less touristic transportation, with scant regard for entertainment or other indulgences (think "cafeteria" instead of "main dining room," and tents pitched on outside decks), but with the benefit of flexibility in itinerary design. The other lines, both Regent Seven Seas Cruises and Silversea Cruises, offer a standardized itinerary largely available from the mass market lines.

Back when I was still flying, my best flight was not first class but regular coach on Midwest Express. The comfort and service provided was fabulous, and no other carrier could compare. (The airline is now gone, and the absence of such comfort and service, coupled with TSA security theatre, is the reason I no longer fly commercially.) I've also stayed up late to check on good travel deals. I think my favorite story was being up late on a Sunday night (actually after midnight so early Monday morning), finding a good deal with Norwegian Cruise Line, 7 nights one-way from Québec to Boston for just over $200 each, and two days later, Wednesday morning, my wife and I are on the Amtrak train heading to Montréal. Stayed with friends in Montréal for two nights, and on Friday we're on Orléans Express to Québec for boarding the vessel. Nice itinerary (Saguenay Fjord, Sept-Îles, Charlottetown, Halifax, Portland). A week later we're in Boston and on the BoltBus back home . . . total of less than $1,000 for both of us, including cruise, railroad, and motorcoach, and meals off the vessel. Late night last minute travel can bring some good deals!

Possibly. But Jeb Brooks, at Greener Grass, just posted a video about one week ago entitled "The TRUTH About FIRST CLASS in the USA." If you're not already used to traveling first class by domestic air carrier, you may come away a bit wide-eyed from Mr. Brooks' largely objective assessment. That said, given that LAX is a large station for Delta Air Lines, I would anticipate class segregation at check-in lines . . . but how many people will be on the presumably-shorter first class line? (Disclosure: I gave up on commercial air travel over two decades ago, and so when I travel first class it is typically by railroad. One of the nice things about railroad travel, is that, generally and regardless of class of service, there are no lines to "check-in." Unless one is checking baggage--usually unnecessary--one can arrive at the station five minutes or less before departure time!)

You may not find much in Corner Brook itself. I've passed through a few times on the bus from St. John's to Port-aux-Basques, but there was never much to draw me into Corner Brook. Instead, I found Gros Morne most interesting. It is about 90 minutes north of Corner Brook by highway. In particular, consider the Tablelands, Trout River and the pond tour, and the Discovery Centre, all south of Bonne Bay; and Rocky Harbour and Western Brook Pond, all north of Bonne Bay (there's a ferry across the bay). Consider some tours that would visit some of these places.

For visiting Sitka southbound from Seward, consider Regent Seven Seas Cruises, Silversea Cruises, and Viking Ocean Cruises. Also, consider American Queen Voyages, which operates one-way from Sitka to Vancouver. Finally, it might be noted that Alaska Marine Highway had operated during summer 2022 one-way from Skagway to Bellingham, via Sitka, every four weeks (future summer schedules are not yet available).

My mother was homeless for many years. It was uncomfortable knowing that a sizeable number of persons disliked my mother on account of her status. There had never been any true "solution," the politics of which rarely have winners. The causes are numerous, and there are no simple one-size-fits-all solutions. As you do walk past and decide how to respond, if at all, at least consider that the person may be someone's mother.

Why?

That is a very important point that I have tried to make in various fora, but not always well-received. We're all different, and so what's "best" for you may well be quite different from what's "best" for me. And when someone posts here, asking for the "best" way to do this or to do that, I hesitate to respond respond directly because I don't know what their values might be. A train ride will never be best if one despises trains, no matter how many objective reasons are enumerated to "prove" otherwise. I think I have been fair here, in characterizing choices as being "competitive." I gave some pluses and minuses of each, without ever choosing a "best." And I think that's the proper approach. Not to characterize any one choice as the hands-down, no-doubt, best, but instead to provide the choices, along with their respective advantages and disadvantages. Maybe I will provide my preference, including the reasons therefor, but it need not be your preference.

I do not have direct experience with AlaskaRail. This company, formally known as Discover Holidays, Inc., and located in Vancouver, British Columbia, offers a number of Alaska vacation land packages. I reviewed their website, and from that I have these impressions. It appears as though this travel agency will put together several discrete elements to form a complete package. Among the elements are tickets for Alaska Railroad passenger trains and scheduled motorcoach services. In other words, tickets that anyone could purchase themselves directly from carriers or brokers, without the use of a travel agency. It does not appear that the tours are escorted. I am not confident that all the transfers would be included, and there may instances where, for example, you would need to make your own way from, say, hotel to train station . . . check the specifics for any particular package to confirm. It would be worthwhile to compare the price of one of their packages with the combined price of its individual elements to get a good sense of the premium you may be paying for their packaging services. Their sales people are referred to as travel “designers,” which I find to be a bit kitschy (I would prefer the simpler term of travel “planner”). I think you may find among their packages a few that utilize smaller suppliers, which could alleviate that sensation of being dragged about in a larger group tour. But I don’t see any sort of specialized travel being arranged; most everything is fairly standard. In sum, this appears to be a competent travel agency. I would not use the agency myself because I prefer controlling planning details myself. However, for someone who does not want to bother with the details of making arrangements themselves, this could be a good travel agent.

Full fare coach by railroad, between Anchorage and Seward, is $119; by motorcoach, fare is $65. Are the searched Uber fares fixed and available for summer travel? The tradeoffs between going by bus or train and by private car seem valid as well here. That is to say, if you fit a number of people into a single hired taxi, the fare can be lower than paying for each person individually by train or bus; and you can choose your own schedule. On the negative side, however, is that being in a taxi for 2-1/2 hours can be rather uncomfortable (especially for a person in a middle seat!), compared to train or bus travel. It is a competitive choice.