Alaska

[Reesetiff]

Hi. Would love some feedback. Has anyone been on this excursion?  White Pass Scenic Railway – Luxury Class.  I am looking at this vs the regular white pass trip.  

[sfred]

There are some reviews and photos on the below two Cruise Critic threads in the Alaska Ports and Princess boards.  We've only done standard class ourselves.  Apparently the luxury class can only be purchased through cruise ship excursions, as it is not mentioned on the White Pass and Yukon Route web site.

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2601333-skagway-white-pass-scenic-railway-luxury-class/

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2283767-luxury-car-white-pass-railroad/

 

Edited January 13 by sfred

[3rdGenCunarder]

I've only done the standard version, booked through the ship. We took the train up and a bus down with a stop at a gold panning place. I remember thinking the luxury version was too expensive. 

 

Take a look at the train website. You can book direct through them, taking the train in both directions.

[david,Mississauga]

Having taken the regular excursion train twice - the first time was way back in 1972 -  I thought it was time to try the luxury coach so we did so in June last year. This is a new class on the excursion trains, having started just a few years before everything was shut down due to the pandemic.

 

As "sfred" said the luxury coach can be booked only through the cruise line. There are only two of these coaches, so not every train can have one. It operates on the Skagway to Summit service which is approximately 2 1/4 hours round trip. The cost of the trip was US$340, approximately double the regular fare. Some people have asked me if it was worth it. I answer them with  a definite yes.

 

There are only 14 swivel leather chairs arranged like a traditional parlour car. An attendant serves drinks, including wine and beer, and a snack box with quality "goodies" including shrimp and smoked salmon. A friend took this in 2019 when the snacks were offered buffet style. This has been replaced with a box because the movement of the train, despite slow speeds, is a bit rough.  Being at the rear of the train has the advantage of having splendid views from the open platform, which is much bigger than those on the regular coaches. As usual with trains the rear coach is rougher than others because there is nothing behind to anchor it.

 

My interior pictures all have people in it so I won't post them. 

[Jim_Iain]

While slightly off topic.   We were traveling as a group of 4.   Instead of taking the train we rented a car instead and drove all the way over to the Yukon - Carabou Crossing.   The road follow a similar route to the train and was substantially less expensive.  

Wonderful day and saw soooo much.

[Reesetiff]

Thank you all so much. Very Helpful.