Hello!
We are going to Alaska this year and we wanted to take rail up + bus down tour in Sagway. Since we won't have a chance to change seats as we will go by train only one way I was wondering which seats should we choose going up in order to see all the sites?
I heard some people say that the best way to view the whole thing is actually not from your seat but from the platform but we are going to have our 20 months old son with us so I am not sure if it's safe...
Any advice will be very much appreciated!

Welcome to cruise chat.

The platform is very small and a lot of people seemed to Bogart it on our tour last summer, even though the tour guide announced that people should give others a chance. You aren't supposed to spend the whole trip out there. I found the view quite adequate from my seat. Don't take a 20 month old out on the platform.

Heading up, the left side is where you want to sit. The right side will be against the trees and mountain sides most of the time.

It is well worth the money and an excellent train ride.

Hi newcruiser1, and welcome to cruise-chat.com!

We did a bus up + rail down in Skagway last year. Yes, as Dave said, the better side for views on the train on the way UP will be the left.

We also thought the bus ride was spectacular! Are you going into the Yukon?

Yes, the left side going up is great.....if you are on the train coming down, you will trade sides.....I've been up twice and it was well worth the money...Happy Sailing...

Bob E

I'm back. An easy way to remember is to match the words that have the fewer letters. So, UP/LEFT, DOWN/RIGHT. (Or, perhaps that the scenery is "downright" beautiful!)

And remember, the combo train/bus tour requires you to have your passports with you since you are entering Canada. The Canadian government has a waiver for those doing the up and down train provided they don't exit the train at the turnaround point.

This was taken on the way down. You can see the side people perfer. Going up you would want the left.
We were lucky the train was not crowed. Also I was the only one outside on the platform.

I highly recommend the White Pass & Yukon train ride from Skagway. If your taking your cruise in the early part of the cruise schedules like May, you will have fantastic snow capped mountains and the views are spectacular. As stated here... up on one side.. down on the other. We did the up/down and the train leaves just minutes away from your ship. The train ride was a highlight of the cruise. If your a photographer, the outside platform is a must. Just make sure you have a warm jacket if your stepping outside.

Link to the train ride:

http://alaskatours.com/Alaska_Railroad/whitepass_railroad.htm

Here's a link to our train ride photos....

http://www.photoshow.com/maker/edit/pn7mp9Gv

We also recommend the Island Wings float plane for a spectacular flight to Misty Fjords. This flight originates from Ketchikan.

Here's the link:

http://www.islandwings.com/sfs.html

Enjoy the cruise......

Thank you soooo much for all your replies!!! it will be our FIRST cruise ever and I am very worried about everything. This is very helpful! I am so glad I found this site!
Happy sailing to everybody!

My wife and I did this excursion last June and most of it was great.
Yes, sit on the left if you can, but if you can't the train is so open and narrow you won't miss much. The bus ride down was OK but it took a long time at the border to have the patrol look at your passport and then find your bus and sit there until they let you leave.
I would say the bus trip was 6 on a scale of 10.
I don't know if there are different excursions that exclude some stuff, but the suspension bridge was a waste. It is just a "Bridge to Nowhere" built just for tourist. You can by a drink and snack there and take a picture of yourself on the bridge and you stay too long at this stop.
We also had a stop at the gardens at the edge of town. This is a nice garden that included as part of our tour a lunch. The lunch was nice but the bus driver drops you off and leaves you there for 2 1/2 hrs. That is too long because by the time you finish this tour you have no time to enjoy the town. We ended up just running thru town hitting the highlights and getting a beer at the saloon. If your ship has to dock at the far dock it takes longer to get back to you ship so even less time in town.

On the plus side we are planning a second trip in 2010 to go back and spend more time in the towns and eat and shop etc.

We loved Alaska and will make it a regular trip maybe every other year.

Now before anybody thinks that what I wrote sounds like sour grapes on the train tour, it is not. We liked the tour because of the train ride but wished we could have just gone back to town to enjoy the town.
EB

Worried???

The only thing to worry about is that the cruise will get over too FAST:-)....but then you can always book another one...FAST:-)..
Happy Cruising...I'm outta here in 2 days...-20 here right now but 84 in the Caribbean...

Bob E

We were in Alaska this past May. This was one of our favorite excursions. We took the bus up and were lucky enough to pass a bear by the road. When we stopped at the Yukon sign, we spotted mountain goats on the mountains. Take a pair of binoculars and a camera with a good zoom if you can. We stopped for lunch and our driver, a young girl who was very friendly, threw in a stop at Emerald Lake. The lake was beautiful, as was all the snow-capped mountains this time of year. We also made a stop at what they called a small desert. It was amazing to stand in snow at one stop and sand at another.

On the bus on the way back we enjoyed the scenery from the last seat on the right by the door to the platform. It made it easy to step out for pictures. With the weather being so cold in May, most people opted not to go out. My husband easily shared the platform with one other man. If you can grab the last seat on the left on the way up. I personally viewed everything from my seat, loved the scenery and would repeat the trip in a heartbeat.

Have a wonderful trip.

Gary,
What a clear picture, it really is a great picture. What kind of camara are you using?

Thank you for the kind words Janfred. I was using my Canon XTI.I believe I was using my Tamron 18-250 lens.
One thing to note here is the lack of people of the outside platform. I was alone. If you look at the picture and to the platform in front, you will see no people there also. I was outside for most of the ride. I thought this was the norm but I guess it is not.
We have booked this excursion again for our upcoming July trip.

Thanks again

We took the train/bus tour last May. We booked it through Princess. The train ride was spectacular. We enjoyed the bus trip also. Our driver was a character and it was a lot of fun. The bus stopped at Liarsville where we had a delicious grilled salmon lunch. They also served chicken and many side dishes.

We ended up at the Red Onion Saloon in Skagway. It was a fun day!

Nadine

I am going alaska this May and will like to get some info regarding the train ride in Skagway. I don't know if I should take the train round trip or train/bus combo. Also, will it cost less to get the tickets from the train station instead of from the cruise lines?
Any help??

Sunset - we did this excursion in 2000 - - so I don't know how the pricing has changed in the last 9 years (EEK - Way too long)- - - however, that said, at the time there wasn't much difference in the pricing between the ship's excursion and buying at the station. An advantage of booking through the ship was that the train was reserved for your excursion and pulled up at the dock. We were there in September, and found that by booking our train trip in the afternoon, we avoided the clouds, mist and snow the morning riders experienced. Our afternoon train ride was spectacular - clear skies and nice weather. Anyway you do it, you should thouroughly enjoy this experience. We saw Dall sheep, deer, eagles spectacular scenery. If you do the up/down on the train - the back car was great on the way up, but on the way down, they moved the engine to the rear of the train, so we ended up behind the diesel engine.

Welcome to cruise-chat, sunset68.

When we did the train last June, I saved $45 over the Royal Caribbean price by buying the tickets myself, online, at the railroad website. It is true that if you buy the tour from the ship the train will load you up at the pier. But the train depot is around a quarter mile away and for $45 I'll take a short walk. What they did was load up the cruise ship tour and then the train came back to the depot for everyone else.

The train website urges people on a cruise to book with the cruise line, but I am sure they have to do that as part of their contract. They really don't care.

It was $309 for three of us for the round-trip train ride. Perhaps the best tour we took in Alaska. You can see the prices and make reservations here. You should check with your particular cruise line to see what their pricing is first.

Dave is right it is a short enjoyable walk. All the stores in in that location also.
I would check the price with them. My Photo excursion was cheaper thru HAL by $10.00.
Have all your prices and make sure you are getting the same tour, then book the cheapest.

Thanks for the help. I did checked the price. The NCL price is only $11 more than the train station ($119 vs. $108).I guess I better book with NCL to ensure the spaces in the 12:45pm ride. I don't want to miss this excurson since
everyone said this is the "must do" for the whole alaska trip.

Sunset