Thanks for the support everyone, and I'm so pleased that everyone is finding this report helpful. I am trying to cover everything I wanted to know before I left on this trip. I'm warning you now, Skagway is going to be a few posts long. Part 1 is below.
It's hard to say which port was my favorite, as they were all amazing. Skagway and the surrounding Yukon definitely had the most impressive vistas. If you want mountains, this was the place for them. I'm talking the Lord of the Rings mountains I mentioned before.
After all my extensive research, I decided to do all of my excursions privately. It sounded like the companies in Alaska are very, very reliable and it usually came out cheaper. Not to mention more options for itineraries. Everyone my family knows who have gone to Alaska all insisted that the train ride in Skagway was a not-to-be-missed experience. So, I did not hesitate to research this excursion and get it booked ASAP. The
Alaska Excursions thread was invaluable, and there was no question to go with
Chilkoot Charters and Tours for our train ride. There were a variety of options, and I decided to go with the train ride, tour, and dog sled ride option.
Take note, though, that they do not post prices on the website and when I submitted my info for what I thought was a quote, I actually ended up just booking it and my payment went through. It was about $200 PP for the train, guided bus tour, lunch, and sled ride. You could choose to do the bus tour first and the train last or vice versa. I chose train first, which meant a 7:30 AM departure. We docked in Skagway at 7 AM, so while this seems close, the rep from the company met us mere feet from the gangway.
With that said, the morning started off early as usual, but perhaps even earlier since we
had to be ready to go by 7:15 AM. We opted to just stick with a bagel from room service for breakfast to avoid the rush at the buffet. We dressed in our layers, which was good, because the temperature varied
wildly all day depending on where we were. Once ready, we embarked on our journey to find ... the gangway!
On the Dream, as many of you may know, the gangway is on deck 1. If there were directions in the Navigator as to where the gangway was on the Wonder, I missed it. I must have. Really. Though I read the whole thing front to back. You may see where this is going. We went down to deck 1, only to realize we couldn't. Somehow, though I don't recall how, we went down to the lobby level. Also somehow, we followed a poorly designed sign through the adult district only to be completely lost again. Finally, back to the sign, we discovered the gangway smack next to guest services. SO WEIRD. In hindsight, since it was so obviously there, I do not know how we walked by it.
**. But anyway, we finally got off the ship with a few minutes to spare, and immediately spotted a guy with a Chilkoot sign. Though we were considered early, and he was amiable enough about it, he rushed us to the bus as if we were running behind. We were the only Disney folks on our particular tour. The driver told us that our tour guide was Mike and he was picking up the others at the other ships (Holland America and Princess). He dropped us off at the train station, and Mike introduced himself. He was super friendly and laid back; with the rest of the tour in tow, he led us to the last car on the train so that we had optimal views from the back platform all to ourselves. In total, there were about 20 or so people on our particular excursion. All of them adults, with the youngest seeming to be around college age with their family.
As a warning, the Wonder docks at a pier that is a bit of a walk to downtown and the train station. There were buses provided for a $2 PP fee if you didn't want to walk/not already on an excursion. It took a few short minutes on the bus we were picked up in to get to the station.
For this first Skagway post, I'll wrap it up with photos that speak for themselves. Because holy cow, this was the most beautiful, most awe-inspiring place on the planet I have been to so far. Like, you see right there in front of you how God is an artist. The train left the station around 8 AM, and pretty quickly you begin to see a beautiful river, incredibly tall mountains, etc. I was so close to the glass I kept fogging it up! The train was made up of remodeled and restored original cars that have been doing this route since---a long time ago. You're given a pamphlet with a wealth of information, including narration by tour guides on the train. I have it somewhere but since this report is taking as much time as it is, I'll let that be a surprise for you when you go.
The train ride lasted about 1 1/2 hours on a gradual but constant incline. You don't realize how far up you are when shortly into the trip you're already pretty high up and can see the cruise ships down in the distance.
2013 June Alaska Cruise-Kim (434) by
orcapotter, on Flickr
View from our verandah. Those orange blockades to the far left is where our bus driver met us.
2013 June Alaska Cruise-Kim (435) by
orcapotter, on Flickr
Taking a helicopter tour? The place you're going to is literally right there.
2013 June Alaska Cruise-Kim (438) by
orcapotter, on Flickr
2013 June Alaska Cruise-Kim (440) by
orcapotter, on Flickr
Mountain tops peeking through the clouds.
2013 June Alaska Cruise-Kim (441) by
orcapotter, on Flickr
2013 June Alaska Cruise-Kim (443) by
orcapotter, on Flickr
Downtown is really small. You could easily see all of it in a few short hours. I highly recommend doing an excursion, as I would find it otherwise a little boring.
2013 June Alaska Cruise-Kim (451) by
orcapotter, on Flickr
2013 June Alaska Cruise-Kim (455) by
orcapotter, on Flickr
2013 June Alaska Cruise-Kim (459) by
orcapotter, on Flickr
One of the original steam trains
2013 June Alaska Cruise-Kim (461) by
orcapotter, on Flickr
2013 June Alaska Cruise-Kim (463) by
orcapotter, on Flickr
2013 June Alaska Cruise-Kim (470) by
orcapotter, on Flickr
2013 June Alaska Cruise-Kim (475) by
orcapotter, on Flickr
15 minutes into the ride, and look how far we were already. You can see the ships in the harbor.
2013 June Alaska Cruise-Kim (482) by
orcapotter, on Flickr
2013 June Alaska Cruise-Kim (489) by
orcapotter, on Flickr
There's a story with this. They tell you on the train; I can't remember the story other than it has to do with a group of boys who were traveling with this guy into Alaska.
2013 June Alaska Cruise-Kim (493) by
orcapotter, on Flickr
2013 June Alaska Cruise-Kim (497) by
orcapotter, on Flickr
2013 June Alaska Cruise-Kim (498) by
orcapotter, on Flickr
2013 June Alaska Cruise-Kim (500) by
orcapotter, on Flickr
That's a real wood burning stove in the car. As you climb further into the mountains, it got considerably colder. It was really brisk out on the platform, so the car was kept nicely warm with this thing going.
2013 June Alaska Cruise-Kim (502) by
orcapotter, on Flickr
I finally braved the back platform once the men camped out there with their huge cameras and a few others freed up some space. It was COLD.
2013 June Alaska Cruise-Kim (510) by
orcapotter, on Flickr
Snow on the ground!
2013 June Alaska Cruise-Kim (511) by
orcapotter, on Flickr
2013 June Alaska Cruise-Kim (518) by
orcapotter, on Flickr
2013 June Alaska Cruise-Kim (519) by
orcapotter, on Flickr
2013 June Alaska Cruise-Kim (523) by
orcapotter, on Flickr
Apparently there is an excursion for hiking where you ride the train up to this point--in the middle of nowhere, mind you--and you're dropped off. Mom and I couldn't believe it. That's a long haul back down, and there were kids in this group! We stopped for a few minutes to let them off and were back on our way.
That's all for tonight. I'll post the rest ASAP.