Excursions??? White Pass Railway a definite

[Outofhere]

I finally decided and booked us on the Serenade for June 6th. Now I have to look into airfare, a place to stay in Vancouver and check out excursions. The one I know I want to do for sure is the White Pass Railway in Skagway. Is it better to book through RCCL, our TA, Cruises Only, or can we just arrange it after we get into port? Our other ports are Juneau and Icy Strait Point - any other suggestions? We're not too adventurous so a helicopter ride is out of the question.

[UMTerp]

I finally decided and booked us on the Serenade for June 6th. Now I have to look into airfare, a place to stay in Vancouver and check out excursions. The one I know I want to do for sure is the White Pass Railway in Skagway. Is it better to book through RCCL, our TA, Cruises Only, or can we just arrange it after we get into port? Our other ports are Juneau and Icy Strait Point - any other suggestions? We're not too adventurous so a helicopter ride is out of the question.

 

I can't help with the railway but many people (including myself) have booked a whale watching trip with Harv & Marv in Juneau.

 

Do you happen to use the same screen name on the DISboards? If so, I cruised with you on DCL before.

 

UMTerp

[greydog]

I finally decided and booked us on the Serenade for June 6th. Now I have to look into airfare, a place to stay in Vancouver and check out excursions. The one I know I want to do for sure is the White Pass Railway in Skagway. Is it better to book through RCCL, our TA, Cruises Only, or can we just arrange it after we get into port?

 

We enjoyed WPRR when it was $85pp. but we had beautiful 40-mi view day. Now its around $110 or more depending on cruiseline. You can save about $10-15pp if you buy at station on arrival day but check departure times at their website beforehand. Perhaps the best reason to buy on arrival is the weather - if its a heavy overcast low-ceiling day, the viewing experience can be greatly affected and its not $ well spent. Sometimes overcast is mostly before noon, and it improves in afternoon, so take that into account also.

 

Last visit we rented from Avis and party of 4 spent under $100 with gas for full day drive 60 miles to Emerald Lake well past the 20-mi or so route of the train. We had great weather then too and you would need to reserve car well months in advance so you would be at risk of weather. However, I have read that while it is socked-in near Skagway, the higher elevations often are much clearer. On 3 trips we have only had 1 poor-fair weather day.

GOOD LUCK

[greydog]

I finally decided and booked us on the Serenade for June 6th. Our other ports are Juneau and Icy Strait Point - any other suggestions?

 

I DON'T recommend ships cattle-call whale/wildlife cruise in ISP - pricey and we didn't get close to anything except some curious seals briefly. Check out local small-scale wildlife trips.

 

Juneau - Mendenhall glacier visit is nice and if you hike over near falls the whole visit would use about 2-2.5 hours. Alot of folks do local guide wildlife trips from Juneau based on board reports.

[NancyIL]

We did a 7-hour rail/bus trip to the Yukon with Chilkoot Charters, and it was our favorite excursion. (http://www.chilkootcharters.com/yukonrail.htm) We could've rented a car and driven for a lot less, but we really wanted to take the train at least one way. It was also great to be able to make stops on the return to Skagway in our mini-bus. Chilkoot Charters also has a 3.5-hour rail/bus trip to the White Pass Summit and back, as well as a 9-hour rail/bus trip with train all the way to Carcross, YT.

[cjnky]

I highly recommend booking the White Pass trip through Chilkoot Charters who will give you a much more personalized trip instead of making you part of a "herd". For example, the ships will have several motorcoaches per stop on the trip back down, while you'll be in a small minivan.

 

Whalewatching in Juneau is fabulous with either Captain Larry of Orca Enterprises or Harv and Marv.

[Outofhere]

I can't help with the railway but many people (including myself) have booked a whale watching trip with Harv & Marv in Juneau.

 

Do you happen to use the same screen name on the DISboards? If so, I cruised with you on DCL before.

 

UMTerp

 

 

No, I'm not registered on DISboards. Did you see many whales in Juneau?

[MFH]

Is there a coupon in either the Northern Lights, or Toursaver for Chilkoot Charters? We have a car reserved in Skagway, but after looking at this excursion, I think we may enjoy this more.

[NancyIL]

Is there a coupon in either the Northern Lights, or Toursaver for Chilkoot Charters? We have a car reserved in Skagway, but after looking at this excursion, I think we may enjoy this more.

 

 

Unfortunately, no. There's a 2-for-1 TourSaver coupon for Frontier Excursions' Summit and City Tour (bus tour): http://www.frontierexcursions.com/

[MFH]

Thanks Nancy. I think I'll call and see how much Chilkoot Charters is, I can't find it listed on the website. It sounds like it might be nicer than driving to Emerald Lake.

[GORDONCHICK]

Another vote for Chilkoot's 7 hour rail and motorcoach into the Yukon tour. It was great, and our motorcoach driver/guide, Amity, was very fun and pulled over when ever we wanted a photo. We had friends with us who had done the train only and thought that was the only option (up and back). They apprehensively booked with us, and said it was the best tour ever.

 

And it's hard to beat Harv & Marv's for whale watching in Juneau. If you book whale watching through the ship, you're on a boat with a hundred or so other people, all fighting for rail positions. H&M's boats only hold 6 passengers and they will customize the trip for you, and even drop you off at Mendenhall Glacier if you want.

[NancyIL]

Thanks Nancy. I think I'll call and see how much Chilkoot Charters is, I can't find it listed on the website. It sounds like it might be nicer than driving to Emerald Lake.

 

AKSusan posted Chilkoot's excursion prices here (post #17): http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=650129

[MFH]

Oh, thank you!

[UMTerp]

No, I'm not registered on DISboards. Did you see many whales in Juneau?

 

OK, sorry...must be another outofhere! I haven't been yet. Scheduled this July. Just reporting what I have booked.

 

Have fun!

 

UMTerp

[Outofhere]

I highly recommend booking the White Pass trip through Chilkoot Charters who will give you a much more personalized trip instead of making you part of a "herd". For example, the ships will have several motorcoaches per stop on the trip back down, while you'll be in a small minivan.

 

Whalewatching in Juneau is fabulous with either Captain Larry of Orca Enterprises or Harv and Marv.

 

 

I appreciate the suggestions. I'm so new to all this. Do you book all of these excurions beforehand through websites or your travel agent, or do you book it when you're on the cruise? If you book ahead of time, how far in advance would you suggest?

[star117]

out- - i'm pretty sure most of these independent companies book up. if you know you want a specific tour, i would book it asap (kinda like the airfare!! right, terp?). Anyway...my cruise is 8.08 and I'm getting ready to finalize my excursions by the end of the month. hth, diana

[TenerifeSharon]

Another vote for Chilkootcharters. We had a fantastic day trip and had an entire train car for just the 8 of us (no question of whether to sit on the right or left side -- left is definitely better on the way up! -- since we could move anywhere we liked). The rest of the train cars were full, and everyone was sitting shoulder to shoulder. Those were probably the passengers who had presumably booked the railroad trip only and directly. Our driver/guide was waiting for us at the end of the White Pass trip and then we had a wonderful 6 hour journey visiting the Yukon, Emerald Lake etc. etc. Much better than the big bus tours (especially when a bear was spotted and we could make a quick unplanned stop) and highly recommended.

[GORDONCHICK]

Another vote for Chilkootcharters. We had a fantastic day trip and had an entire train car for just the 8 of us (no question of whether to sit on the right or left side -- left is definitely better on the way up! -- since we could move anywhere we liked). The rest of the train cars were full, and everyone was sitting shoulder to shoulder. Those were probably the passengers who had presumably booked the railroad trip only and directly. Our driver/guide was waiting for us at the end of the White Pass trip and then we had a wonderful 6 hour journey visiting the Yukon, Emerald Lake etc. etc. Much better than the big bus tours (especially when a bear was spotted and we could make a quick unplanned stop) and highly recommended.

 

Our train car was full of Chilkoot tour people and there were very few open seats. Evidently, the word about Chilkoot had gotten to several passengers of the three ships in port that day.

[star117]

Our train car was full of Chilkoot tour people and there were very few open seats. Evidently, the word about Chilkoot had gotten to several passengers of the three ships in port that day.

did you do the train/bus or just the train?

[GORDONCHICK]

did you do the train/bus or just the train?

 

We did the 7hr train/bus tour.

[qiangf2]

I appreciate the suggestions. I'm so new to all this. Do you book all of these excurions beforehand through websites or your travel agent, or do you book it when you're on the cruise? If you book ahead of time, how far in advance would you suggest?

 

You should book as soon as you know your itinerary and what you want to do at each port. The same thing goes with rental car. But make sure you read their refund policy in case you change your mind so nothing come to a surprise to you. Some vendors offer full refund if you cancel 30 days before. Some will not refund anything. Just don't assume anything. If you call them to make a reservation. Make sure they have a refund policy in writing, either on their website or have them email it to you.

[judynorth]

Is there a coupon in either the Northern Lights, or Toursaver for Chilkoot Charters? We have a car reserved in Skagway, but after looking at this excursion, I think we may enjoy this more.

 

We have taken both the bus excursion into the Yukon and rented a car. Unless you are just dying to ride the train, I'd recommend the rental car. It is a beautiful and easy drive and you can take your time. There are so many beautiful places to stop and enjoy the view and we found that the bus didn't stop nearly often anough for us. With the 4 of us we also saved many $$ that we could apply to our floatplane trip in Juneau. :)

[Cruisechick82]

We also did the rental car from Avis. The used to offer a discount if you signed up for their preffered Alaska driver's program or whatever it's called. I think we paid $50 for the rental car.

 

In Juneau we did a helicopter flight and landed on a glacier with Coastal Helicopters. It was amazing.

[MFH]

I think we'll stick with the rental and do the drive ourselves. We do like the idea of taking our time, and stopping whenever we want. Thanks for the advise on that.

That also saves some money for land portion of our trip!

 

Mona

[mohendry]

for the long train and bus rides. I am a little nervous about missing the ship. What is the backup plan if a train or bus has mechanical trouble.