Okay, excursion time!!
In Skagway, we did the Best of Skagway. We met at 8:45am and left around 9am. There were 3 bus loads of us. I had Liz as a tour guide (not
DCL) and she was great. We took the bus for a little over an hour. She did history of Skagway, other odd information about Alaska, etc. When we got to the top of the mountain, we boarded the train. About a 90 minute narrated train ride down. You can stand outside between the cars for most of the trip. VERY interesting...very cool...beautiful. They give out free bottled water so don't bring your own. There are bathrooms on the bus and the train. The train one was very clean. This was the coldest day we had. It was in the low 40's and I was wishing I had my park for the Liarsville portion which was next. After the train, we got back on the bus for a 5 minute trip to Liarsville. As soon as we arrived, we ate lunch. A full buffet with grilled salmon as the main course. There is chicken too if you don't want salmon...or if you want both! The food was good but nothing great. You can buy beer and wine there but very watered down lemonade and coffee comes with your meal. We wandered around Liarsville which is about a 2 minute tour, visited the gift shop (this is a must do everywhere we go!!) and saw a 15 minute skit. After the skit, we stood around the fire for awhile to try to get warm. This was the only day that the weather was uncomfortable...and only here in Liarsville. Once I got back into town, it warmed up a bit. We then panned for gold. So not into this. I did not care about taking a few flecks of gold back home. Anyway, on to Red Onion Saloon. When we arrived, we were given a choice of beer or wine (on the house!) and then were given a tour of the brothel. Very interesting, great tour guide. And then from there, you could take the bus back to the ship or stay in town...it is literally a 5 minute walk to the pier. You can see in from all over town. We stayed in town. We shopped a bit and stopped at a local pub and had drinks. We met up with the guy that was hypnotised and ran into some other passengers and crew that we knew. That was fun. We then headed to the local Skagway Fish Co. AWESOME fried halibut and shrimp. Excellent breading...and the fish...melt in your mouth. And if you like tartar sauce, mmmm, some of the best ever.
Overall, I would recommend the train FOR SURE. It was a highlight of our trip. But I could skip Liarsville and Red Onion (do that on your own!).
And we got back on the ship close to 7pm.
