Which Alaska Train Port Adventure would you recommend?

[Love2Cruise2015]

Hi Everyone! I have been exploring port adventures for Skagway Alaska for my families August 2021 cruise and I was wondering which of these two port adventures would you recommend All aboard the steam train (SW11) or Best of Skagway (Sw29) and any tips you may have?

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Hi Everyone! I have been exploring port adventures for Skagway Alaska for my families August 2021 cruise and I was wondering which of these two port adventures would you recommend All aboard the steam train (SW11) or Best of Skagway (Sw29) and any tips you may have?

You don't mention if you have children or not. But, for the $14 difference the Best of Skagway sounds a lot more fun.

 

[Mathmagicland]

Hi Everyone! I have been exploring port adventures for Skagway Alaska for my families August 2021 cruise and I was wondering which of these two port adventures would you recommend All aboard the steam train (SW11) or Best of Skagway (Sw29) and any tips you may have?

If Disney does not restrict shore excursions to their tours only, unknown at this time as there is chatter that may happen with many different cruise lines when cruising begins, you may want to check out Chilkoot Charters in Skagway. If I was to do another tour of this type in Skagway, I’d book them again without hesitation.

Locally owned Skagway company, we used them for their Yukon Train/bus tour and loved the experience. Their busses are the smaller 15-20 Passenger hotel shuttle-type busses, Smaller group size plus made it very easy to make more stops along the way as well as time stops to when the larger cruise ship tour busses were not at the main points such as the Alaska sign. We were also able to U-turn & stop for 15-20 min along the side of the road twice, once to watch a baby brown bear and once at an overlook to get some great pics of the White Pass RR passing by in the canyon below, as the larger busses passed on by.

https://chilkootcharters.com/

 

[Love2Cruise2015]

You don't mention if you have children or not. But, for the $14 difference the Best of Skagway sounds a lot more fun.

Sorry, I should have mentioned that I have 2 boys who will be 14 & 12 at the time of the cruise. I agree that it does sound fun

 

[Love2Cruise2015]

If Disney does not restrict shore excursions to their tours only, unknown at this time as there is chatter that may happen with many different cruise lines when cruising begins, you may want to check out Chilkoot Charters in Skagway. If I was to do another tour of this type in Skagway, I’d book them again without hesitation.

Locally owned Skagway company, we used them for their Yukon Train/bus tour and loved the experience. Their busses are the smaller 15-20 Passenger hotel shuttle-type busses, Smaller group size plus made it very easy to make more stops along the way as well as time stops to when the larger cruise ship tour busses were not at the main points such as the Alaska sign. We were also able to U-turn & stop for 15-20 min along the side of the road twice, once to watch a baby brown bear and once at an overlook to get some great pics of the White Pass RR passing by in the canyon below, as the larger busses passed on by.

https://chilkootcharters.com/

Oh thank you for that tip! I am just looking at excursions right now trying to have several ideas depending on what the future of cruising may look like ie you can only get off the ship if you are on a cruise assigned excursion, etc. As we like exploring the ports on our own sometimes but everything is up in the air right now.

 

[Quellman]

We weren't on Disney when we did Alaska. We originally did not have an excursion picked, but I had an urge to do something for myself (which I rarely do) and booked the train both ways at the train station day of. There are multiple options for the train and where it goes, some of them you need your passport for. We did not.

It is a train ride that gains elevation pretty quickly and consistently. The orator shared lots of information about the natural formations and glaciers you see along the way. Also told takes of the klondikes, the goldrush, and the treacherous conditions people would set off on to get to the mining areas. I won't spoil it for you.

Do be aware that there is much more to see on the left side of the train on the direction of ascent. Once at the top, everyone stands up, flips the seats around, and then switches sides of the coach, to allow the other side to enjoy the great views. We were lucky since our car was not full, unlike the cars booked directly from the cruiseship. We got to stay on the same side. I will mention that the stories and tales are less on the way down. I suspect that after COVID that the number of passengers in the train cars will decrease.

It was a really neat excursion to take. You'd want to get the buy in from the 12/14 year olds as it is largely a sightseeing excursion. There are lots of hiking and active adventures that may pique their interest more. We enjoyed it because it allowed us to see a bit more of "wild Alaska" Consider a green jeep rental. I know we will the next time we are in the area.

 

[Love2Cruise2015]

We weren't on Disney when we did Alaska. We originally did not have an excursion picked, but I had an urge to do something for myself (which I rarely do) and booked the train both ways at the train station day of. There are multiple options for the train and where it goes, some of them you need your passport for. We did not.

It is a train ride that gains elevation pretty quickly and consistently. The orator shared lots of information about the natural formations and glaciers you see along the way. Also told takes of the klondikes, the goldrush, and the treacherous conditions people would set off on to get to the mining areas. I won't spoil it for you.

Do be aware that there is much more to see on the left side of the train on the direction of ascent. Once at the top, everyone stands up, flips the seats around, and then switches sides of the coach, to allow the other side to enjoy the great views. We were lucky since our car was not full, unlike the cars booked directly from the cruiseship. We got to stay on the same side. I will mention that the stories and tales are less on the way down. I suspect that after COVID that the number of passengers in the train cars will decrease.

It was a really neat excursion to take. You'd want to get the buy in from the 12/14 year olds as it is largely a sightseeing excursion. There are lots of hiking and active adventures that may pique their interest more. We enjoyed it because it allowed us to see a bit more of "wild Alaska" Consider a green jeep rental. I know we will the next time we are in the area.

Thank you It will help with our decision making.

 

[gotomu212]

If Disney does not restrict shore excursions to their tours only, unknown at this time as there is chatter that may happen with many different cruise lines when cruising begins, you may want to check out Chilkoot Charters in Skagway. If I was to do another tour of this type in Skagway, I’d book them again without hesitation.

Locally owned Skagway company, we used them for their Yukon Train/bus tour and loved the experience. Their busses are the smaller 15-20 Passenger hotel shuttle-type busses, Smaller group size plus made it very easy to make more stops along the way as well as time stops to when the larger cruise ship tour busses were not at the main points such as the Alaska sign. We were also able to U-turn & stop for 15-20 min along the side of the road twice, once to watch a baby brown bear and once at an overlook to get some great pics of the White Pass RR passing by in the canyon below, as the larger busses passed on by.

https://chilkootcharters.com/

I would second this recommendation. They were GREAT and took care of everything.

 

[Love2Cruise2015]

I would second this recommendation. They were GREAT and took care of everything.

Thank you for the recommendation

 

[ladyofthetramp]

Another recommendation for Chilkoot. Would use them again. They were fantastic!

 

[mrp4352]

We did an excursion that was one-way in a van and had a couple of stops along the way (including a wonderful lunch at Carcross), then the train back down. As an all-adult party, we were really glad that we only did the train one-way. While it's a beautiful ride - you would have been seeing the same thing both ways...

 

[Love2Cruise2015]

We did an excursion that was one-way in a van and had a couple of stops along the way (including a wonderful lunch at Carcross), then the train back down. As an all-adult party, we were really glad that we only did the train one-way. While it's a beautiful ride - you would have been seeing the same thing both ways...

Was this a private excursion or booked through Disney?

 

[KashasMom]

If you're not completely into the trains, I highly recommend renting a car and using Murray's Guide to the South Klondike Highway drive out to Emerald Lake. We've done it twice. For a bit of the way you drive parallel to the train. You can stop at all the great signs for photos (Welcome to Alaska, Yukon, etc.), the Yukon Suspension Bridge, Tutshi Dog Sled Tours (we played with and fed the dogs), etc. Beautiful scenery and waterfalls along the way. The overlook and the cemetery on the way out of town were pretty cool as well - very old cemetery. The guide gives a mile by mile description of things to see.

 

[Love2Cruise2015]

If you're not completely into the trains, I highly recommend renting a car and using Murray's Guide to the South Klondike Highway drive out to Emerald Lake. We've done it twice. For a bit of the way you drive parallel to the train. You can stop at all the great signs for photos (Welcome to Alaska, Yukon, etc.), the Yukon Suspension Bridge, Tutshi Dog Sled Tours (we played with and fed the dogs), etc. Beautiful scenery and waterfalls along the way. The overlook and the cemetery on the way out of town were pretty cool as well - very old cemetery. The guide gives a mile by mile description of things to see.

Thank you for the suggestion! That is something to look into

 

[mrp4352]

Was this a private excursion or booked through Disney?

It was through Disney, but it was several years ago. Found it!! https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/port-adventures/skagway-alaska-yukon-expedition/

 

[Love2Cruise2015]

It was through Disney, but it was several years ago. Found it!! https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/port-adventures/skagway-alaska-yukon-expedition/

it says this excursion is 8-8 1/2 hrs, was it really that long or did it depend on sight seeing etc? How was the BBQ chicken lunch?
Thank you so much

 

[anjuan]

We also had a great experience with Chilkoot Charters. I recommend adding the dogcart pull option to it. We had a really great guide!

 

[Love2Cruise2015]

We also had a great experience with Chilkoot Charters. I recommend adding the dogcart pull option to it. We had a really great guide!

Thank you for the suggestion of the dogcart pull. It sounds like something my family would enjoy. I will look into it

 

[mrp4352]

it says this excursion is 8-8 1/2 hrs, was it really that long or did it depend on sight seeing etc? How was the BBQ chicken lunch?
Thank you so much

It was about that long. Maybe a little shorter (say 7 1/2 hours), but you're driving into the Yukon and they give you an hour or so for lunch - which was fantastic!! The homemade baked cinnamon donuts for dessert, oh my!!

The driving part of the tour included 4-5 stops at scenic bypasses that lasted 5-10 minutes (including a stop at the welcome to the Yukon sign at the border and a stop at Emerald Lake) as well as going through border patrol when you cross into Canada. There were two longer stops - the stop for lunch at a touristy place that has lunch, souvenirs, sled dog training wagon rides (cost extra) and a little museum-ish thing. The second longer stop was in a small town. It was 30-45 minutes, technically a rest stop, but again souvenirs and snacks are available.

 

[Love2Cruise2015]

It was about that long. Maybe a little shorter (say 7 1/2 hours), but you're driving into the Yukon and they give you an hour or so for lunch - which was fantastic!! The homemade baked cinnamon donuts for dessert, oh my!!

The driving part of the tour included 4-5 stops at scenic bypasses that lasted 5-10 minutes (including a stop at the welcome to the Yukon sign at the border and a stop at Emerald Lake) as well as going through border patrol when you cross into Canada. There were two longer stops - the stop for lunch at a touristy place that has lunch, souvenirs, sled dog training wagon rides (cost extra) and a little museum-ish thing. The second longer stop was in a small town. It was 30-45 minutes, technically a rest stop, but again souvenirs and snacks are available.

Thank You! This was very helpful. Do you remember how mych the sled dog training wagon rides were ?