White Pass Scenic Railway Morning or Afternoon?

[fassmp]

We will be cruising Alaska in May next year (2023) and will be in Skagway mid May.  We would like to take the White Pass Scenic Railway excursion.  The cruise line is offering a round trip lasting 2 hours 45 mins at 9:00 am and at 1:00 pm.  So, we are looking for advice from people who have experience with this excursion on the pros and cons to choosing the 9:00 am excursion vs the 1:00 pm excursion.

 

Sheila and Paul

[davidwar]

We took it in the morning (it was fantastic).  I think it depends on how long your ship is in port.  By taking it in the morning, it allowed us to then go into town and have lunch and then walk around a little bit.  I guess you could just walk around and eat in the morning and then take the train in the afternoon too.

[JT1962]

Sometimes there is fog in the mornings that can ruin the views, but there is no guarantee it won’t be clear and Sunny in the morning and foggy / raining in the afternoon when you are there.

 

You might consider a bus / train combo trip to the Yukon, if they allow those next year. Due to Canadian Covid restrictions, they did not run those tours this year. 
 

We used Chilkoot Charters for the bus first / train back in 2017 and lived it. The small bus takes you into the Yukon to Carcross & Emerald Lake and stops along the way for photos, if wildlife is sighted, etc. It also includes lunch and the opportunity to ride a dog cart with sled dogs and play with the husky puppies.

[Cbtours]

6 hours ago, fassmp said:

We will be cruising Alaska in May next year (2023) and will be in Skagway mid May.  We would like to take the White Pass Scenic Railway excursion.  The cruise line is offering a round trip lasting 2 hours 45 mins at 9:00 am and at 1:00 pm.  So, we are looking for advice from people who have experience with this excursion on the pros and cons to choosing the 9:00 am excursion vs the 1:00 pm excursion.

 

Sheila and Paul

I’ve just booked the afternoon one, as I figured it might be easier getting off the ship even though of course booked tours get priority 

[Kathscof]

We did the afternoon, as we took our “train up, bike down” cancelled tour and made our own by doing the bike in the morning and train in the afternoon (making two tours).  We didn’t have a WHOLE bunch of time between the two or after for a 5pm departure, but this next year we are in port until 8pm.  I would agree with the earlier folks, when do you want your free time? Aka, if you’re into breweries, do you want to be trying beer at 10am or 1pm? Haha or do you wanna be lugging your souvenirs around all day for your earlier free time or do it before you get on the ship? 

[rkacruiser]

On 9/2/2022 at 12:59 PM, JT1962 said:

You might consider a bus / train combo trip to the Yukon, if they allow those next year.

 

I booked this tour and really enjoyed it.  It was a full day, but, was very scenic and worth it.  Enjoyed a nice lunch at Carcross and had time to explore a small museum which had an interesting RCMP exhibits.  

[Ashland]

We absolutely enjoyed our excursion booked directly with Chillkoot. We did the morning (8:30am) bus up and train down. Back into town around noon which gave us plenty of time for lunch at the Skagway Brewing Company and walking about town.  

[david,Mississauga]

We have taken both the morning and afternoon excursion; both years it was in the month of May. The weather was better in the afternoon, but of course there is no guarantee. One thing we remember is in May there can be a lot of snow still on the ground as you get to the higher altitude near "Summit."

 

It is a terrific trip which we have done three times and never tire of it.

[Coral]

39 minutes ago, david,Mississauga said:

We have taken both the morning and afternoon excursion; both years it was in the month of May. The weather was better in the afternoon, but of course there is no guarantee. One thing we remember is in May there can be a lot of snow still on the ground as you get to the higher altitude near "Summit."

 

It is a terrific trip which we have done three times and never tire of it.

I have been in May a few times and I must have gone much later than you did as we did not have that much snow.

 

I vote for afternoon. It can be foggy in the morning.

[Glaciers]

Another vote for afternoon. The sun is higher in the sky and there are less shadows to contend with when taking photos.

[rkacruiser]

3 hours ago, Coral said:

It can be foggy in the morning.

 

When I did my trip to Carcross, the change in the weather, terrain, and climate helped to make the trip that much more interesting to me.  We started out in light fog in the morning.  As our altitude increased, it fun to observe the changes.  There were at least three regarding all three of the areas I mentioned.  

[Coral]

4 hours ago, rkacruiser said:

 

When I did my trip to Carcross, the change in the weather, terrain, and climate helped to make the trip that much more interesting to me.  We started out in light fog in the morning.  As our altitude increased, it fun to observe the changes.  There were at least three regarding all three of the areas I mentioned.  

I was on a White Pass train trip where I saw nothing the entire trip. It was so foggy that I had zero views.

[rkacruiser]

18 hours ago, Coral said:

I was on a White Pass train trip where I saw nothing the entire trip. It was so foggy that I had zero views.

 

That would be disappointing.  Like many tours, you pay the money and you take your chances.  

[Coral]

4 hours ago, rkacruiser said:

 

That would be disappointing.  Like many tours, you pay the money and you take your chances.  

Sadly - the whole trip was that way. Thankfully, I had much better future trips. It truly was crappy weather that week.

[endoellen]

Do you think it's best to book this through RCI ship excursion or can anyone recommend a tour company in Skagway that has same or similar tours?  We will also be there in mid May 2023.

 

[Ashland]

38 minutes ago, endoellen said:

Do you think it's best to book this through RCI ship excursion or can anyone recommend a tour company in Skagway that has same or similar tours?  We will also be there in mid May 2023.

 

No reason to book with the cruiseline....Try Chillkoot...We did an amazing tour with them. 

[LB_NJ]

On 9/6/2022 at 3:16 PM, rkacruiser said:

 

 you pay the money and you take your chances.  

My favorite saying.

 

Hopefully Skagway will be open next year when our cruise goes.

[Coral]

On 9/7/2022 at 12:03 AM, endoellen said:

Do you think it's best to book this through RCI ship excursion or can anyone recommend a tour company in Skagway that has same or similar tours?  We will also be there in mid May 2023.

 

I would book direct (through White Pass) or through the cruise line. I have booked it direct with Princess and RCCL. When I went on my trips - the cost was within $10 or so and I booked through the cruise line. If you dock on the RR side (and that side is fully open) - the RR is parked near the ships.

 

Someone mentioned Chilkoot tours. They are great if you want to do a combination train/bus. Obviously this only works if everything is open to Canada, etc..

Edited September 10, 2022 by Coral

[GaryWT]

We had booked the afternoon but it was cancelled as was the port.  Talk is Skagway might miss all of 2023 but I hope they get it fixed for you. 

[LB_NJ]

On 9/17/2022 at 3:45 AM, GaryWT said:

We had booked the afternoon but it was cancelled as was the port.  Talk is Skagway might miss all of 2023 but I hope they get it fixed for you. 

 

I hope Skagway is open in 2023, have a cruise stopping there however we will have to see.

[cw2go]

8 hours ago, LB_NJ said:

 

I hope Skagway is open in 2023, have a cruise stopping there however we will have to see.

https://khns.org/governor-declares-disaster-emergency-for-skagway-in-response-to-rockslides

 

There is hope!