Which Alaska Train Port Adventure would you recommend?

[mrp4352]

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

Sorry, no. We decided against doing them, so I don't have anything to go back and check against. I do remember our guide saying that you should go first thing to sign up if you wanted to do that because slots were limited and you had be sure you'd be back to the bus on time.

(Unrelated, if you don't have plans for Juneau, you might consider the Enchanted Taku Lodge excursion. Of all my cruises - that has been my absolute most favorite excursion ever! You take a 30 minute float plane flight over glaciers to this gorgeous small lodge across the river from a glacier. You have time to wander and enjoy the area while they're grilling the salmon and chicken for lunch. Everyone (all 20 of you) is called in for lunch and part of the entertainment is the bears who come to get the fish oil from the sand at the bottom of the grill. Lunch is salmon or chicken, with beans and incredible garlic herb biscuits and molasses cookies - all fresh made on site. It is definitely a splurge excursion, but well worth it!)

 

[Love2Cruise2015]

Sorry, no. We decided against doing them, so I don't have anything to go back and check against. I do remember our guide saying that you should go first thing to sign up if you wanted to do that because slots were limited and you had be sure you'd be back to the bus on time.

(Unrelated, if you don't have plans for Juneau, you might consider the Enchanted Taku Lodge excursion. Of all my cruises - that has been my absolute most favorite excursion ever! You take a 30 minute float plane flight over glaciers to this gorgeous small lodge across the river from a glacier. You have time to wander and enjoy the area while they're grilling the salmon and chicken for lunch. Everyone (all 20 of you) is called in for lunch and part of the entertainment is the bears who come to get the fish oil from the sand at the bottom of the grill. Lunch is salmon or chicken, with beans and incredible garlic herb biscuits and molasses cookies - all fresh made on site. It is definitely a splurge excursion, but well worth it!)

WOW! That sounds like an amazing excursion. I hope it is something we can do

 

[anricat]

I'll add another voice to those recommending Chilkoot. We did the bus up and train down. We also had the stop for lunch (with the option of dogcart ride) in Caribou Crossing. I'm sure the DCL excursion is fine, but we were on a much smaller van with just a few families and it was really great with such a small group. Our driver was really careful about timing, "We'll stop there on the way back to the train. It looks like a large busload is just arriving." That sort of thing. Here's my trip report with more details and photos: https://www.disboards.com/threads/w...-extra-fun-in-vancouver.3537617/post-56316268

 

[Love2Cruise2015]

I'll add another voice to those recommending Chilkoot. We did the bus up and train down. We also had the stop for lunch (with the option of dogcart ride) in Caribou Crossing. I'm sure the DCL excursion is fine, but we were on a much smaller van with just a few families and it was really great with such a small group. Our driver was really careful about timing, "We'll stop there on the way back to the train. It looks like a large busload is just arriving." That sort of thing. Here's my trip report with more details and photos: https://www.disboards.com/threads/w...-extra-fun-in-vancouver.3537617/post-56316268

Thank you for sending me your trip report. It was very helpful

 

[jtntx34]

We skipped the train. We did a private van with Beyond Skagway tours up to Emerald Lake and back. We did a stop at the suspension bridge, stopped in Carcross for lunch at a local place where we tried poutain. We also looked around at the shops there. We stopped for pictures several times including Welcome to Alaska and Welcome to the Yukon signs, and we were the only people there when we stopped. We even got stopped and got a drink from a fresh waterfall (early June so ice melting on mountains). We didn’t luck out with bear sightings, but they are often on the roadside there. We did look, and our guide even stopped to ask one of the locals who sets up by the side of the road if she’d seen or heard of any sightings, but none were out that day.

Personally, the train just does not appeal to me. It does not seem like a comfortable ride, it can get cancelled/delayed if weather is bad, it has had a recent accident. And the whole narrow gage track just freaks me out to be honest.

I loved having the personal attention of a private guide. I loved being able to do what we wanted and have the tour customized for us. I even got to have them help me get a couple of surprises worked in for my mom which was so much fun. (It was Mom’s bucket list trip).

Beyond Skagway was amazing, and I highly recommend them. They even have activities they can do with families like a scavenger hunt. And they can do their tour and also add the train trip if you like.

All of the people who work for Beyond Skagway live locally year-round which means you get very authentic unscripted conversations and fun stories. Also, they will steer you to locally owned shops and eateries as well if you’d like. It was a fantastic day!

 

[Love2Cruise2015]

We skipped the train. We did a private van with Beyond Skagway tours up to Emerald Lake and back. We did a stop at the suspension bridge, stopped in Carcross for lunch at a local place where we tried poutain. We also looked around at the shops there. We stopped for pictures several times including Welcome to Alaska and Welcome to the Yukon signs, and we were the only people there when we stopped. We even got stopped and got a drink from a fresh waterfall (early June so ice melting on mountains). We didn’t luck out with bear sightings, but they are often on the roadside there. We did look, and our guide even stopped to ask one of the locals who sets up by the side of the road if she’d seen or heard of any sightings, but none were out that day.

Personally, the train just does not appeal to me. It does not seem like a comfortable ride, it can get cancelled/delayed if weather is bad, it has had a recent accident. And the whole narrow gage track just freaks me out to be honest.

I loved having the personal attention of a private guide. I loved being able to do what we wanted and have the tour customized for us. I even got to have them help me get a couple of surprises worked in for my mom which was so much fun. (It was Mom’s bucket list trip).

Beyond Skagway was amazing, and I highly recommend them. They even have activities they can do with families like a scavenger hunt. And they can do their tour and also add the train trip if you like.

All of the people who work for Beyond Skagway live locally year-round which means you get very authentic unscripted conversations and fun stories. Also, they will steer you to locally owned shops and eateries as well if you’d like. It was a fantastic day!

That sounds like a fun tour. I will look into Beyond Skagway tours

 

[belle032]

Thanks for this thread! DH & I have an Alaskan sailing booked for September 2021, just not with DCL. But we are always open to 3rd party tours so I'm excited to look into these! Just crossing fingers we can sail by then!

 

[EllinK]

Not on your list but the bet PA we have EVER done (in 11 cruises with DCL) was out of Skagway. We did the sled dog/helicopter/glacier excursion. We booked it privately (a 1 minute walk from the cruise ship) but you can book through DCL. Expensive but worth every penny.

 

[gotomu212]

Sorry, no. We decided against doing them, so I don't have anything to go back and check against. I do remember our guide saying that you should go first thing to sign up if you wanted to do that because slots were limited and you had be sure you'd be back to the bus on time.

(Unrelated, if you don't have plans for Juneau, you might consider the Enchanted Taku Lodge excursion. Of all my cruises - that has been my absolute most favorite excursion ever! You take a 30 minute float plane flight over glaciers to this gorgeous small lodge across the river from a glacier. You have time to wander and enjoy the area while they're grilling the salmon and chicken for lunch. Everyone (all 20 of you) is called in for lunch and part of the entertainment is the bears who come to get the fish oil from the sand at the bottom of the grill. Lunch is salmon or chicken, with beans and incredible garlic herb biscuits and molasses cookies - all fresh made on site. It is definitely a splurge excursion, but well worth it!)

YES! Taku Lodge was our favorite cruise excursion out of Alaska and one of our top excursions in 15 cruises. I even bought one of the plates and we use it as a serving dish. The lunch was great, the flight and glaciers were amazing, if they offer a hike after lunch TAKE IT! I was surprised how many people skipped the hike and were also uninterested in watching mama bear and her 2 cubs at the grill.
One tip-you can book the trip directly through the lodge, and at the time it was 50% of the DCL cost. You take the exact same float planes, sit in the same dining room (your table gets a reserved sign which I didn’t get since it’s one big smallish room and everyone has a seat) and go on the same hike with the DCL folks. The only difference is you have to arrange your short cab ride to the plane “airport” and the DCL excursion had a charter bus (and you have to go through the meet up on board, wait for check in, walk to the bus).