My husband and I are booked for our first Alaskan cruise on the Mercury, May 25,2007. We are interested in the White Pass Railroad excursion. Should we book direct on the website or through the ship? A short walk into town is not a problem, we hope to explore town on foot anyway. Also, our choices are a 8:15am or a 12:45 departure,(we dock at 7am, depart at 6pm). Any thoughts or suggestions are appreciated.

I have no idea what Celebrity charges to do the WhitePass Railway from the ship or what they charge for booking it on your own.

I have done the WhitePass Railway and the views are well worth the trip. It is a small walk into town if you want to catch the train there. People I have talked to found that it was worth booking from the ships instead of on their own.

When I took the train I booked it from the ship and found it was well worth the price but I was not on a Celebrity ship.

Its my understanding that you should book with the ship as if something happens and the train is late getting back, and you dont get to your ship on time, you are out of luck and have to find your own way to the next port. Otherwise, if it is booked through the ship, they will wait if something happens. I would take the one in the morning. We did the one that you go up by train and back down by bus, stopping in Liarsville for a short program and gold panning. That was fun. What cruise line are you on?

On the other hand, even if you don't book through the ship, a lot of people on the train did, so even if there is a delay, the ship isn't going to sail.

Unless there is a huge difference I would book with the ship. Unless it's changed, the cruise lines get priority for certain cars on the train. I couldn't tell you which car a private company would have.

Thanks everyone for the tips! We will be on Celebrity's Mercury. We've traveled Celebrity a couple of times before, but never been on that particular boat. After reading your post and looking at the website for the railroad I've decided to book through the ship. There is a $12pp difference, but it said the ship has reservations (maybe a better location on the train).

Please help me understand, as I'm not familiar with White Pass Railroad. Is this something you take round-trip because it's so beautiful, or one-way and that's enough? Thanks!

You take it round trip, not because it's so beautiful (although it is), but because you presumably wish to continue your cruise.

quote:

Originally posted by John M.:
Please help me understand, as I'm not familiar with White Pass Railroad. Is this something you take round-trip because it's so beautiful, or one-way and that's enough? Thanks!

Hi John,

The standard route goes from Skagway up to the White Pass Summit and back down again. Here is a map: http://www.wpyr.com/multimedia/routemap.html

There are other excursions than can be taken where one takes the train up and then the bus down a different route. I've only done the round-trip, not the train/bus trip.

Thanks, f-mattox and Auburnsiren...very helpful!

-- John

The train/bus trip is great. We went up by train, came down by bus. The bus then stops in Liarsville. That is a neat little place. You get to pan for gold and they do a skit telling the story of Liarsville. It really is quite interesting. I would do it that way gain rather than taking the round trip by bus.

I wouldnt do the round trip by TRAIN I meant to say.

Thanks Auburnsiren and Greyson; I wasn't aware of the bus option. Sounds more interesting than the train round trip.

Many cruise lines also offer excursions where you take the train up the mountain and bicycle down. Several members of my family did that, and loved it.

Sandy

As far as the bicycling down... it says 15 miles. Is it very strenuous? or more of a coasting thing? How long are you actually on the bike?
Any suggestions on booking through the cruise line or direct? seems there is about a $40 difference in price

I would suggest the afternoon time - when we did this, the morning folks had a lot of fog and even snow - couldn't see a whole lot. By the time we left at 1:00, the day was sunny and clear. I would suggest you avoid the car behind the engine - and if you do the round-trip - the last car. You get the smoke from the diesel engine. It was a spectacular, fun ride. We saw lots of eagles and Dall sheep.

We've been on the White Pass trip twice and it's well worth the money...The first time was early May and there was still 8 feet of snow all the way up...In fact, they had to plow the tracks that day...but it was wonderful...seond time was in June and most of the snow was gone. We've only taken the round trip, both in the afternoon because of rain or fog in the morning. The train comes right down to the ship and it's worth the extra $10 or to book it thru the ship...they just keep putting on cars to match the number of tickets sold...plus when you get back, you will still have plenty of time to SHOP.....We are going back next year again....Have a Great time.