buckeyedonna Posted August 16, 2020 #1 Share Posted August 16, 2020 If the planets align before May, I am going on my first Alaska cruise! I have already booked excursions for Ketchikan and Victoria. I am torn between two in Skagway. Actually I would like to do both since we are in port all day. I'm looking for first-hand experience with these two excursions, and whether it's possible to do both in one day. The two choices are a To the Summit drive that is 90 minutes, and an Alaska sled dogs and mushers camp that is 3 hours and 15 minutes. I have no idea how far apart these are, and if I could get from one to the other. We are in port from 7 AM to 6 PM. Thanks to anyone who has info for me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northern Aurora Posted August 17, 2020 #2 Share Posted August 17, 2020 buckeyedoonna: Welcome to Cruise Critic! Skagway was an entrance point for those heading to the Klondike gold fields during the Klondike gold rush. While I find the community to be rather touristy, it has a historic feel to it due to the strong presence of the National Park Service. Are these excursions offered through Celebrity or private vendors? Celebrity sponsored excursions generally pick up and return folks to the cruise ship berth. Also, check the Alaska Cruise Critic forum (located under "Ports of Call"). There you will find a wealth of information including a number of trip reports (the threads are organized by year and listed at the top of the index page). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buckeyedonna Posted August 17, 2020 Author #3 Share Posted August 17, 2020 Thank you. Yes, we are booking directly through Celebrity. We're thinking if the cruise is canceled, we'll have a better chance of getting our money back! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arizona Wildcat Posted August 17, 2020 #4 Share Posted August 17, 2020 Best deal is renting a car from Sourdough Car Rentals. Only a few dollars and you can go everywhere. Into Yukon, Dyea and visit the muster. They have vans for up to 8. Sourdough takes a deposit only. No charge till you arrive was their rule last year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeaBag Posted August 17, 2020 #5 Share Posted August 17, 2020 (edited) 1 hour ago, Arizona Wildcat said: Best deal is renting a car from Sourdough Car Rentals. Only a few dollars and you can go everywhere. Into Yukon, Dyea and visit the muster. They have vans for up to 8. Sourdough takes a deposit only. No charge till you arrive was their rule last year. Renting a car and driving to the Yukon will only work for Americans. We tried to do that and got turned back. DH even offered to put a large deposit on Amex, indicating we were not going to steal the car but it was a no go! We went to Dyea then and got the picture of a lifetime. A bear standing in the water with a huge salmon in his mouth, 'See what I got?" I would also recommend taking the White Pass Railroad excursion, bus up, train down or the other way around. It gets 5 stars. I hope your cruise sails. Edited August 17, 2020 by TeaBag 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jelayne Posted August 17, 2020 #6 Share Posted August 17, 2020 We rented a car and headed to Emerald Lake. But when cruising restarts I think in many places the only way to get off the ship will be cruise line excursions. In your cruise planner do a mock booking and see what the departure times are for the 2 excursions If you have 75+ minutes between them you should be okay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wolfie11 Posted August 17, 2020 #7 Share Posted August 17, 2020 I loved the sled dog camp. It was lots of fun. I would never drive to the summit in a bus. Train is the only way to go, or as others have suggested, rent a car for the day. I also enjoy walking around in Skagway, hiking Lower Dewey Lake trail, going to ranger talks, and eating halibut and drinking spruce tip beer at the brewery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hvbaskey Posted August 17, 2020 #8 Share Posted August 17, 2020 My review of Skagway (private excursion, shared with others from the cruise critic roll call):https://baskeytravels.com/skagway/ Cheers, Heather 🐳 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RNCheryl Posted August 17, 2020 #9 Share Posted August 17, 2020 I can't say enough good things about this company. http://tntours98.com/index.html Our 10 family members on one comfortable van, driven by company owner. They worked closely with us to perfect our itinerary. Had games like nature bingo for the kids. Immaculately clean. We saw Emerald Lake, the Tutshi dog camp (even went on a "sled" ride), made several photo/walk around stops. Stopped for lunch at a cute little place that was not overrun with tourists. One of the very best excursions I have ever taken. When I last looked, all Trip Advisor reviews were excellent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lonedaddy Posted August 17, 2020 #10 Share Posted August 17, 2020 we booked a private tour that stopped at the sled dogs and went to Carcross with several stops and beautiful scenery. As an option they drop you off for the train ride home which was spectacular. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhillyTravelBug Posted August 17, 2020 #11 Share Posted August 17, 2020 I’ve included my trip report, but I cannot recommend the train ride that goes into the Yukon. It’s worth the price. We stopped along the way and ended in carcross, and then had a driver (included in price) take us back with stops along lake Bennett. Possible, the best excursion I’ve ever been on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare lyndarra Posted August 17, 2020 #12 Share Posted August 17, 2020 From experience (two X Alaska cruises) I can recommend the White Pass train tour. We went up and back by train but, IIRC, an alternative is up by train and return by bus and vice versa. We booked that one with Celebrity. Another time we did the Grizzly Falls zip line/s which was amazing/exciting (we were in our mid 60s at the time). I was due to go back there on a HAL cruise last June and had intended to do the zip line thing again but we all know what happened to that. IIRC it may have been possible to pair up a dog sled ride with the zip line tour as I remember the bus from the ship went at a dog camp which was where we transferred to a Unimog to get to the zip line start point. https://www.tripadvisor.com.au/ShowUserReviews-g60877-d2172599-r167238750-Alaska_Excursions-Skagway_Alaska.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wickets Posted August 17, 2020 #13 Share Posted August 17, 2020 Skagway toursWe did a Dyea Dave private tour with White Pass rail back two years ago. Best tour in over 20 cruises and we were planning on doing it again last spring before everything was canceled. It was early May and first run for the train. We stopped side of the road to watch bear other side of guard rail watching us. Driver was amazing spotting wild life. Snow drifts that were cleared for train were crazy.Sent from my iPad using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dani negreanu Posted August 18, 2020 #14 Share Posted August 18, 2020 16 hours ago, Wickets said: Dyea Dave Another recommendation for this company. We opted to see the Emerald lake and Carcross. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix_dream Posted August 18, 2020 #15 Share Posted August 18, 2020 For those who can, I also highly recommend renting a car and driving to the Yukon - up to Carcross with a stop at Emerald Lake. Beautiful drive, and you can make stops along the way for a bit of hiking. Keep your eyes open for bears - we got some great pictures (from the car - we're not crazy🙂) of a couple of bears right by the side of the highway. If you go this route, make sure to reserve far in advance as they only have so many cars and they book up early. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare NutsAboutGolf Posted August 18, 2020 #16 Share Posted August 18, 2020 I did Southeast tours, many stops including the sled dogs and emerald lake. While on vacation I generally prefer to not drive unless there are big benefits to do so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buckeyedonna Posted August 18, 2020 Author #17 Share Posted August 18, 2020 Thanks for all the input. We went with the Number 1 recommended tour - the White Pass Railway. Hoping we get to go! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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