Alaska - Skagway or Icy Straight Point

[HookedOnDCL1]

One of the newly released Alaska itineraries for 2020 has Icy Straight point as one of the ports, replacing Skagway. Looks like Icy Straight Point is smaller with less options on excursions but maybe the cruise will be cheaper? Any advice on which one to choose?
We want to do a helicopter dog sled excursion at one of the ports if that makes a difference.

 

[richmo]

Wow, that's interesting. We enjoyed Skagway, with the White Pass railroad and walking thru town. But, Disney presumably knows what they're doing.

Somehow, I wouldn't count on that cruise being any cheaper...

 

[Geomom]

I'd go with Skagway--there is so much to do from there. We didn't do a helicopter excursion, but we did do a dog cart ride as part of our excursion from Skagway. We booked with Chilkoot Charters--Yukon rail and bus with Dogcart ride. It was our favorite Alaskan excursion. We did the bus up--many picture stops, lunch at Caribou Crossing Trading Post, dog cart ride there, petting zoo area, puppies! Then White Pass Scenic Railway back to Skagway. DH and I couldn't pass up the chance to say we'd been to the Yukon when we were 'so' close to it! And my oldest daughter just wanted something with dogs!

As far as prices...I'm guessing Ice Straight Point cruises will be more expensive since there are only 2 cruises offered that include it--supply and demand...fewer of them drives the price up, even if it 'is' an inferior port, lol.

 

[richmo]

I'd go with Skagway--there is so much to do from there. We didn't do a helicopter excursion, but we did do a dog cart ride as part of our excursion from Skagway. We booked with Chilkoot Charters--Yukon rail and bus with Dogcart ride. It was our favorite Alaskan excursion. We did the bus up--many picture stops, lunch at Caribou Crossing Trading Post, dog cart ride there, petting zoo area, puppies! Then White Pass Scenic Railway back to Skagway. DH and I couldn't pass up the chance to say we'd been to the Yukon when we were 'so' close to it! And my oldest daughter just wanted something with dogs!...

That's the same excursion we did, except we booked it direct with Disney, which of course would be more expensive. Ours was the same...bus ride up, train down. I think some do the opposite.

 

[Geomom]

That's the same excursion we did, except we booked it direct with Disney, which of course would be more expensive. Ours was the same...bus ride up, train down. I think some do the opposite.

Booking on our own worked out better for this one--my youngest was a Disney adult, and a child with Chilkoot--so saved even more money there. Our tour guide was fantastic, timing our stops for when the 'big buses' weren't there. We chose bus up/train down mainly as the bus up had a later start time, lol. I am so glad we did though! We were all tired by the time we got on the train--it was a perfect end to the excursion to just sit, relax, and see the scenery from the train!

 

[princessmommyx3]

I vote for Skagway. Our stop there was one of our favorite ports stops on DCL, ever! And, it's one of the cheapest Alaska excursions you will find. We rented a Jeep through DIY Jeep Tours and drove to Emerald Lake and back, stopping a bunch on the way for photos, as well as to hold the puppies. There's a guide book in the Jeep to tell you where to go and what you are seeing. It was the most amazing scenery I've ever seen, and we loved that we could drive and pace ourselves (vs. doing the train ride, which is also more expensive).

 

[ajo]

I vote for Skagway. Our stop there was one of our favorite ports stops on DCL, ever! And, it's one of the cheapest Alaska excursions you will find. We rented a Jeep through DIY Jeep Tours and drove to Emerald Lake and back, stopping a bunch on the way for photos, as well as to hold the puppies. There's a guide book in the Jeep to tell you where to go and what you are seeing. It was the most amazing scenery I've ever seen, and we loved that we could drive and pace ourselves (vs. doing the train ride, which is also more expensive).

We did this as well and really enjoyed it. We stopped and did the dogsled ride and held the puppies on our way back to town. It was a great day in our purple jeep!

 

[Van Houten]

Another vote for Skagway. Much more options as far as excursions, and many ways to get to the sights (including buses, trains, rental jeeps or rental cars).
Icy Strait is a cruise-specific location supported by a small nearby village of Hoonah, and outside of whale watching and I think one zip line excursion, there is not much to do there.

 

[KashasMom]

One of the newly released Alaska itineraries for 2020 has Icy Straight point as one of the ports, replacing Skagway. Looks like Icy Straight Point is smaller with less options on excursions but maybe the cruise will be cheaper? Any advice on which one to choose?
We want to do a helicopter dog sled excursion at one of the ports if that makes a difference.

Definitely Skagway! There was not a whole lot to do in Icy Straight Point. And if you're going to do the dog sled excursion do it in Skagway. The one out of Juneau gets canceled more often due to weather. Temsco is the company that offers it - book on your own. Meeting point is within walking distance of the ship.

 

[DVC Doc]

I would probably agree with Skagway, but it depends on your situation. Skagway has many more options if you are interested in things like helicopter rides and dog sledding, but overall I found the town to be very touristy. The train is absolutely wonderful though and can be a great tour for the entire family.

Icy Straight Point is a very quaint port that is clean and safe. We did a combination zip lining and whale watching tour there which we really enjoyed. Otherwise there is not that much to do other than some limited shopping and restaurants.

 

[Dug720]

I was not thrilled with Skagway, but I detested Icy Strait Point (totally manufactured just for cruise ships and it looks it). I would rather take a cruise that goes to Sitka, but since DCL isn’t offering any of those, I would pick the less expensive and stay on the ship on Skagway or ISP day. (Or I would pick a line that goes to Sitka.)

 

[Cruising Engineer]

Definitely Skagway. Icy Straight Point is a tiny destination, very nice, learned a lot about local fishing, how to clean a fish and then cook it. But it's tiny. Even the dock is tiny.

 

[KashasMom]

I was not thrilled with Skagway, but I detested Icy Strait Point (totally manufactured just for cruise ships and it looks it). I would rather take a cruise that goes to Sitka, but since DCL isn’t offering any of those, I would pick the less expensive and stay on the ship on Skagway or ISP day. (Or I would pick a line that goes to Sitka.)

What did you do in Skagway?

 

[Dug720]

What did you do in Skagway?

We had a run/walk scavenger hunt and then I hiked. The whole gold rush thing does not interest me at all.

 

[KashasMom]

We had a run/walk scavenger hunt and then I hiked. The whole gold rush thing does not interest me at all.

I think ALL of the Alaskan ports are so touristy (same stores in every town - same as the Caribbean, I guess) that's why it's best to get away from them! The drive through the Yukon - Skagway to Emerald Lake is stunning. We've done it twice and I'd do it again. Great points to stop along the way too.

 

[Dug720]

I think ALL of the Alaskan ports are so touristy (same stores in every town - same as the Caribbean, I guess) that's why it's best to get away from them! The drive through the Yukon - Skagway to Emerald Lake is stunning. We've done it twice and I'd do it again. Great points to stop along the way too.

Not driving and being solo so private excursions either won't allow me to book or are ridiculously expensive make it difficuly to do non-ship excursions. (And given the weather in AK I'd never do a non-ship one anyway.) I didn't mind the other towns, but really did not like either of these two on DCL's itineraries.

 

[jtntx34]

Not driving and being solo so private excursions either won't allow me to book or are ridiculously expensive make it difficuly to do non-ship excursions. (And given the weather in AK I'd never do a non-ship one anyway.) I didn't mind the other towns, but really did not like either of these two on DCL's itineraries.

We used Beyond Skagway for just two of us. I highly recommend them, but price might be too high for just one. Perhaps you could team up with someone on a roll call? They cater to the specific group, and I couldn’t have had a better time with my mom. We learned about the locals, the gold rush history, saw beautiful scenery, and even ate poutine in Canada.

I also considered Dyea Dave. I can not recommend them, but they do get high marks from other travelers, and all of the correspondence I had with them was excellent. Chilkoot Charters as others have mentioned is also highly recommended. It would not be a private tour with them, but they do have smaller groups. I’m fairly certain a solo traveler could book with either of these.

Another option in Skagway are the walking tours with the National Parks service. They are very cheap/free. I think they have two or three a day. You can sign up online to reserve a spot for just a few dollars or you can just see if spots are available the day of and sign up then.

There are a ton of options in Skagway—many more than Icy Strait/Hoonah.

 

[Dug720]

We used Beyond Skagway for just two of us. I highly recommend them, but price might be too high for just one. Perhaps you could team up with someone on a roll call? They cater to the specific group, and I couldn’t have had a better time with my mom. We learned about the locals, the gold rush history, saw beautiful scenery, and even ate poutine in Canada.

I also considered Dyea Dave. I can not recommend them, but they do get high marks from other travelers, and all of the correspondence I had with them was excellent. Chilkoot Charters as others have mentioned is also highly recommended. It would not be a private tour with them, but they do have smaller groups. I’m fairly certain a solo traveler could book with either of these.

Another option in Skagway are the walking tours with the National Parks service. They are very cheap/free. I think they have two or three a day. You can sign up online to reserve a spot for just a few dollars or you can just see if spots are available the day of and sign up then.

There are a ton of options in Skagway—many more than Icy Strait/Hoonah.

It’s fine. I am fine staying onboard IF I decide to do Alaska again (been there twice - so many more places to go). I don’t do roll calls.

 

[Spork24]

We were leaning toward going to Alaska for the last full week of July 2020. But when we saw they were skipping Skagway for icy straight point we moved our cruise up a week. We are traveling with children as young as 4 and there just aren’t many options for them in icy straight point.

 

[bcwife76]

It's interesting they are skipping Skagway during the ISP cruises in 2020; we are doing a cruise that goes to ISP this August and it still stops in Skagway. We did the 'regular' 7 night cruise in 2017 so having been to Skagway I would say pick a cruise that goes there just because like others have mentioned, there are far more excursions offered (and far more options to book excursions on your own as well).