White Pass Rail Excursions Celebrity Cruises

[Shlee2TheSea]

I am looking at a few different options for an Alaska July 2020 cruise on Celebrity. I wanted to know if any one had experience doing any of the below excursions as I am trying to figure out the main difference between each above and beyond what is in the cruise planner descriptions.  

 

White Pass Scenic Railway

• Climb aboard the White Pass & Yukon Route Railroad, build in 1898.
• Sit back in a restored vintage railcar as you wind through the majestic Alaskan wilderness.
• Follow the same route take by stampeders during the legendary Klondike Gold Rush.

Best of Skagway 

• Travel the White Pass and Yukon Railway, following the footsteps of miners who travelled into the mountains on foot.
• Discover the incredible beauty of British Columbia’s Tormented Valley and Pitchfork Falls.
• Immerse yourself in gold rush life at the Gold Rush Trail Camp where you’ll learn how to pan for gold.
• Savor a delicious meal of wild Alaskan salmon, baked chicken, rice pilaf, salads, baked beans, cornbread, and dessert.
• Sip a glass of champagne at the famous Red Onion Saloon.

White Pass Railway & Klondike Highway Journey

• Experience the beauty of the Yukon’s White Pass Summit by both train and motor coach.
• Relive the history of Alaska’s Gold Rush era, following in the footsteps of the early gold seekers, as you ride the White Pass Railway and climb the same route as Gold Rush Stampeders.
• Journey 20 miles from tidewater to the summit of the White Pass - a 2,865-foot elevation.
• Soak in the magnificent panorama of mountains, gorges, waterfalls, tunnels, trestles, and historic sites from the comfort of a vintage railcar.
• Learn about the significance of the White Pass & Yukon Route Railroad, built in 1898 during the Klondike Gold Rush and regarded a Historic Civil Engineering Landmark.

 

Thank you for your help

 

Edited October 8, 2019 by Shlee2TheSea
Update list of excursions

[mskaufman]

I would vote for the third one.  On the RR only excursion you see the same thing in both directions.  On the bus one way - train the other you get a different vantage point in each direction. Not clear from the description exactly where you get to go.  For example, does the bus take you as far as Emerald Lake and then drop you in Fraser for the trip back?

[quilty964]

We were there in June.  In the morning we did a tour with the park service Rangers...walked around the town and learned the gold rush history.  In the afternoon we did the train ride.  We had a nice day!  (i'm not sure how to link the National Park Service website here...)  Have fun whatever you do!  Alaska was great!  (If you are a quilter or knit/crochet, there is a great quilt shop and a yarn shop there!)

[masterdrago]

Alaska is/was for us all about the incredible scenery. Depending on how much time you have in Skagway would dictate what tour you will fit in. We had a full day when there in May. At first we wanted to rent a jeep and do our own tour into the Yukon. After much research on this Alaska board, decided that a morning small bus tour with Dyea Dave and a short train ride back from Fraser just made more sense. The scenery is simply to die for and the small bus/van tour gives you a huge number of stops and with Dyea Dave, excellent knowledge and narration by someone like Rose who did our van tour. We made reservations with them and the Fraser One Way Service with WPYR. Rose picked us up at the dock, gave us a short tour of Skagway and went by the WPYR office to pick up our train tickets. We had 11 in the van including Rose (driver/tour guide). We made countless stops along the trek to Emerald Lake/Carcross. We even stopped to view the small Carcross Desert.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our final stop was at the rail depot in Fraser where Rose got us in the end car that was nearly empty for our 45 minute journey back to Skagway. She then made sure we were picked up at the station in Skagway for return to the dock. I thought that a full day on the train might be just too much and the plan we did worked perfectly. Stick with the video below to get a good feel for the train ride.

 

 

 

Edited October 10, 2019 by masterdrago

[LEtue]

Thanks for the video.  I have been looking for options in Skagway that didn't involve the entire day on the train so this sounds great!   

[newcruzer2]

We do #1 in May and I would recommend #3 because going back the same way in the train lost most of the appeal, don't get me wrong it was awesome but wish I had done rail\bus

[LEtue]

I think most people report that the bus up and train down is best for visibility?  The rail/bis option sounds the best for me too!

[Rode Warrior]

I did the train trip, taking the bus up and train back down. We loved it but somehow missed Emerald Lake. That was a miss on my part. I thought the excursion I bought went there. Be sure to ask.

[katrina915]

I don't think any of the cruiselines go to Emerald Lake.  Dyea Dave and Chilkot charters do if you don't want to drive it yourself.

[mskaufman]

We went to Emerald Lake on a HAL excursion.  Took the train back.

[Azfunseeker]

The train doesn't take you to Emerald Lake which is one of the most beautiful places on the planet! We choose to drive ourselves so we could be sure to get there.