White Pass Excursion

[RazorPokesHoney]

1 hour ago, JT1962 said:

I emailed Chilkoot about the possibility of testing prior to booking online and they are hopeful the testing requirement will be lifted soon. They said they hope to have a final decision by April 1 and if testing is still required to enter Canada, they would not operate for this season and would refund any payments already made.  

We booked the White Pass Summit & Rail with them. We're on the May 2 Splendor, hopefully the requirement is lifted by then. 

[Cali Viajera]

We booked with Chilkoot this morning when they opened their bookings.

[mrsturkelton]

I'm hoping to wait until closer to my cruise (June 19th) and booking once we know if Chilkoot is going to have their Yukon tour.

[jchowze]

For what it's worth, @JT1962 & @5waldos, we booked with Chilkoot in Feb of 2020 for a tour that summer that was obviously cancelled (and a few reschedules since then).  They have been exceptional about communicating with us, offering refunds or rescheduling, and staying on top of everything proactively.  I wouldn't hesitate to book with them again!

[nini]

On 3/7/2022 at 9:16 PM, donaldsc said:

 

You are completely correct.  According to Google Maps, the whole main street of the town is 1.9 miles long.

 

DON

Yes, we have been there 4 times.

[5waldos]

10 hours ago, jchowze said:

For what it's worth, @JT1962 & @5waldos, we booked with Chilkoot in Feb of 2020 for a tour that summer that was obviously cancelled (and a few reschedules since then).  They have been exceptional about communicating with us, offering refunds or rescheduling, and staying on top of everything proactively.  I wouldn't hesitate to book with them again!

That was my feeling so far- we are booked with them. But nice to hear such good report on the past behavior. I guess almost anything will trigger a bit of anxiety these day when it comes to travel. I'm still semi-house bound with all the Covid stuff.

[JT1962]

11 hours ago, jchowze said:

For what it's worth, @JT1962 & @5waldos, we booked with Chilkoot in Feb of 2020 for a tour that summer that was obviously cancelled (and a few reschedules since then).  They have been exceptional about communicating with us, offering refunds or rescheduling, and staying on top of everything proactively.  I wouldn't hesitate to book with them again!

I have booked with them before and had a great experience. I don’t think they would do anything intentionally, But I also was booked with very reputable vendors on our May 2020 Mediterranean cruise that was canceled due to Covid, and 2 of them changed their refund policy after I had paid when Covid hit. Instead of a refund, they only offered vouchers good for one year. One vendor eventually went out of business. Luckily I contested the charges on my credit card and got refunded. I’m not sure if I want that hassle again.

[cruisingrandy]

I was on their list, but I think I will wait a little longer to book with Chilkoot for our May Jewel cruise.  I looked today and we are the only ship in port that day so should not fill up ahead of time.  Some days it looks like there are 3 or 4 ships in Skagway.

[jchowze]

9 hours ago, JT1962 said:

I have booked with them before and had a great experience. I don’t think they would do anything intentionally, But I also was booked with very reputable vendors on our May 2020 Mediterranean cruise that was canceled due to Covid, and 2 of them changed their refund policy after I had paid when Covid hit. Instead of a refund, they only offered vouchers good for one year. One vendor eventually went out of business. Luckily I contested the charges on my credit card and got refunded. I’m not sure if I want that hassle again.

Totally understandable!  That does sound like a tremendous hassle that I would not be eager to replicate either!

[jchowze]

10 hours ago, 5waldos said:

almost anything will trigger a bit of anxiety these day when it comes to travel. I'm still semi-house bound with all the Covid stuff.

Same here!  Keeping fingers crossed everything will be a go for this summer!!

[Lorey2007]

On 1/9/2022 at 1:48 PM, JT1962 said:

We did a train / bus combination tour to Emerald Lake with Chilkoot Tours and  loved it. It goes much further than the Summit excursion and included lunch.

We did this a few years ago it was wonderful.  The train car we were in, last car, was just for the Chilkoot Tour and went all the way to Canada we needed to show our passports. We went back in a smaller bus that made a couple of stops and were then let out in town and walked back to the ship.

[Kissfan44]

We are sailing Quantum of the Seas on September 12, this will be our first time in Alaska. I just booked the White Pass Railway and Skagway Highlights tour through RCI. It was the only White Pass excursion with spots left four our cruise. It is $239/person for a 4hr 15 min tour, there are three of us going on this tour (myself, my husband and our 5 year old son). My question for all you experienced alaska-goers is...are there better options out there? Is there a better/more cost effective way to accomplish this?

 

Link to the tour through RCI:

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/account/cruise-planner/category/pt_shoreX/product/SKRK?bookingId=9952465&shipCode=QN&sailDate=20220912

[Mary229]

12 minutes ago, Kissfan44 said:

We are sailing Quantum of the Seas on September 12, this will be our first time in Alaska. I just booked the White Pass Railway and Skagway Highlights tour through RCI. It was the only White Pass excursion with spots left four our cruise. It is $239/person for a 4hr 15 min tour, there are three of us going on this tour (myself, my husband and our 5 year old son). My question for all you experienced alaska-goers is...are there better options out there? Is there a better/more cost effective way to accomplish this?

 

Link to the tour through RCI:

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/account/cruise-planner/category/pt_shoreX/product/SKRK?bookingId=9952465&shipCode=QN&sailDate=20220912

During high season the White Pass gets busy and the best option may be the cruise line excursion,  You are going in shoulder to late season and may do better to simply book direct with the railroad.  Have you looked at their costs.  Skagway is a small town, really a village so it is not difficult to get your bearings.    https://wpyr.com

[Illbcruzn4life]

I believe this is who we booked with and it was awesome.

White Pass Summit Rail & Bus Excursion | Chilkoot Charters & Tours

[Kissfan44]

16 hours ago, Illbcruzn4life said:

I believe this is who we booked with and it was awesome.

White Pass Summit Rail & Bus Excursion | Chilkoot Charters & Tours

Thank you, this looks amazing! And it’s a considerable savings over the Royal Caribbean excursion. I think I’m going to cancel through the cruise line and book this one instead. 

[Illbcruzn4life]

8 hours ago, Kissfan44 said:

Thank you, this looks amazing! And it’s a considerable savings over the Royal Caribbean excursion. I think I’m going to cancel through the cruise line and book this one instead. 

you're welcome. I hope you have as much fun as we did. Out of 30+ that has to be right there at the top of excursions we have done. Also if you are going on your cruise that late in the season be on the lookout for a lot of bargains in the souvenir shops as they had a lot of things marked down to get rid of them since the season is coming to a close.

[Illbcruzn4life]

On 4/4/2022 at 4:19 PM, Kissfan44 said:

Thank you, this looks amazing! And it’s a considerable savings over the Royal Caribbean excursion. I think I’m going to cancel through the cruise line and book this one instead. 

were you able to book this? I have been reading that the train isn't going into Canada this year.

[jerseygirl629]

9 hours ago, Illbcruzn4life said:

were you able to book this? I have been reading that the train isn't going into Canada this year.

 

I'm not the OP of the post you're inquiring about but I had the same tour booked for my cruise and it was canceled. It is no longer bookable as the train is not going into Canada.

[5arbusto]

I was booked with chilkoot tours for the train one way and shuttle one way and they emailed me with the cancellation.  
 

As an alternative, they are offering a skagway city shuttle tour (30min) and then drop you off at train depot for 2.5 hr rd trip ride to white pass.   
 

is that worth it or is it better to just buy tix through wpyr website?  Cost difference is $159 for city tour + train (per adult) with chilkoot tours vs $134 (per adult) for train only directly from wpyr website.  
 

$25 difference doesnt seem too much but multiply that with 6 ppl in our grp… it adds up. 
 

It pays for the ride to the train depot and a little talk abt the town.  In the pass chilkoot tours reserve the caboose so if thats still the case…. Its good for pics.  

[Mary229]

I am on a Holland America tour coming from Yukon with the rail to Skagway.   They wrote this morning that we will pick up the train at the summit.  Obviously there is a way to get there by bus. 

[JT1962]

1 hour ago, Mary229 said:

I am on a Holland America tour coming from Yukon with the rail to Skagway.   They wrote this morning that we will pick up the train at the summit.  Obviously there is a way to get there by bus. 

The issue is not the train getting to Canada, it is verifying the ArriveCAN certifications for everyone on the train entering Canada from the US in a timely manner. The railroad could not get a commitment from the Canadian Border Authorities on a quick processing time for each train to guarantee a smooth schedule for the trains.
 

 If you are on a HAL tour that comes from Whitehorse to meet the ship in Skagway, you will already have been approved through ArriveCAN when you enter the Yukon going to Whitehorse. There will be no need for them to verify those going from Canada to the US again. It is likely that the train will arrive empty from Skagway to pick up the passengers from Whitehorse or will bring those on a HAL tour headed to Whitehorse on the train to transfer to the buses your group will be getting off. It is much easier to certify a few dozen on the HAL tour vs several hundred on a typical train tour.

[Mary229]

51 minutes ago, JT1962 said:

The issue is not the train getting to Canada, it is verifying the ArriveCAN certifications for everyone on the train entering Canada from the US in a timely manner. The railroad could not get a commitment from the Canadian Border Authorities on a quick processing time for each train to guarantee a smooth schedule for the trains.
 

 If you are on a HAL tour that comes from Whitehorse to meet the ship in Skagway, you will already have been approved through ArriveCAN when you enter the Yukon going to Whitehorse. There will be no need for them to verify those going from Canada to the US again. It is likely that the train will arrive empty from Skagway to pick up the passengers from Whitehorse or will bring those on a HAL tour headed to Whitehorse on the train to transfer to the buses your group will be getting off. It is much easier to certify a few dozen on the HAL tour vs several hundred on a typical train tour.

Since everyone is stopping in Canada to satisfy PVSA I am pretty sure that is done

[SightCRR]

I could be all wrong about this but I think the HAL response is wrong given the current info. There is no road to the AK White Pass summit railroad tracks. No rail trips into Canada. I think what will happen is ride the bus all the way to Skagway then round trip to AK summit on train from Skagway. Again I could be all goofed up about this but things aren't adding up. sightcrr

[JT1962]

1 hour ago, SightCRR said:

I could be all wrong about this but I think the HAL response is wrong given the current info. There is no road to the AK White Pass summit railroad tracks. No rail trips into Canada. I think what will happen is ride the bus all the way to Skagway then round trip to AK summit on train from Skagway. Again I could be all goofed up about this but things aren't adding up. sightcrr

i think you are probably correct. Many times the customer service reps are the last to know or are just reading from old information.  
 

Someone on a HAL trip going from Skagway to Whitehorse said they got an update that they would take the summit roundtrip train trip, then transfer to a bus to Whitehorse when the train returned to Skagway.

The trips from Whitehorse will likely take the bus all the way Skagway, then board the train for the summit roundtrip back to Skagway, where they will then board the ship.