Chilkoot Charters excursion prices for 2007

[NancyIL]

I posted this elsewhere, but didn't want the info to get buried in another thread. I got an e-mail from Chilkoot Charters this afternoon with the prices for their 2007 excursions, including the rail/bus excursion to Carcross! I believe all the prices listed are before tax.

 

$300.00 Halibut Charter (8 Hours)

$160.00 Salmon Charter (4 Hours)

$ 85.50 Wildlife Scenic Cruise (2 Hours)

 

$109.00 White Pass Summit Bus & Rail Excursion (3.5 Hours) – Adult

$ 69.00 White Pass Summit Bus & Rail Excursion (3.5 Hours) – Child

 

$165.00 Yukon Bus & Rail Excursion (7.5 Hours-lunch included) – Adult

$109.00 Yukon Bus & Rail Excursion (7.5 Hours-lunch included) – Child

 

$ 99.00 Discover The Yukon Adventure (6 Hours-by bus only) – Adult

$ 69.00 Discover The Yukon Adventure (6 Hours-by bus only) – Child

 

$124.00 White Pass Summit Bus & Rail Excursion With Gold Panning (4 Hours) – Adult

$ 74.00 White Pass Summit Bus & Rail Excursion With Gold Panning (4 Hours) – Child

 

$219.00 Skagway /Carcross Bus & Rail Excursion (8.5 Hours) – Adult (Skagway to Carcross by train, return to Skagway by bus)

$139.00 Skagway /Carcross Bus & Rail Excursion (8.5 Hours) – Child (Skagway to Carcross by train, return to Skagway by bus)

 

SKAGWAY/CARCROSS BUS & RAIL EXCURSION

 

Skagway’s newest scenic bus and rail combination excursion begins in Skagway from the comfort of a Gold Rush Era vintage passenger parlor train car as you are transported through some of the most picturesque panoramic vistas and spectacular remote wilderness of ALASKA and the YUKON!

 

Enjoy a leisurely layover and lunch at the Bennett Train Depot nestled in an area only accessible by the train before departing to Carcross, Yukon.

 

At Carcross passengers are transferred to a comfortable bus for a visit to Emerald Lake, the most photographed lake in the Yukon Territory.

 

On our return to Skagway you will be entertained by our professional guides with their amusing stories of Skagway and captivating tales of the Gold Rush Era.

 

All along the return route there will be many stops for viewing and photographing cascading waterfalls, roaring rivers, majestic mountains, glaciers, historic sites, panoramic vistas and the unparalleled beauty of ALASKA and the YUKON TERRITORY!

 

Since this excursion enters Canada, US and Canadian citizens must carry a passport or birth certificate with photo ID. Guests of other nationalities must bring their passport.

 

The cost for this 8.5 hour excursion is $219.00 Adults, $139.00 Children (12 & Under).

 

Reservations may be made by visiting our web site at http://www.alaskatoursales.com and completing our online reservation form. Once we receive a reservation request, we will follow it with an email confirmation that includes meeting and pickup instructions.

[kingsgirl]

I also recieved some info via email that I thought would be helpful for some ppl's questions.

 

Good Evening,

a) The cruise ships are rarely if ever late. Should that occur there would be a full refund.

b) The price of the Yukon Bus & Rail Excursion is $165 Adults and $109 Children 12 & under.

c) We will pick you up right at the pier and transfer you to the correct train for this excursion.

d) The bus and rail combination tours are very popular and tend to sell rather quickly. Reservations should be made as early as possible.

e) There is open seating on the train (not assigned seats). There are platforms on either end of each parlor car for the photo enthusiasts.

f) Our cancellation policy is pretty liberal. There is a 10% cancellation. The only way the ticket price is forfeited is when the reservation is cancelled within 24 hours of the tour or failure to show up at the time of departure. For circumstances beyond your immediate control -- like the ship being late -- there is no cancellation fee or forfeiture of the ticket price.

Please feel free to contact us should you have any further questions. Reservations may be made by visiting our web site at www.alaskatoursales.com and completing our online reservation form. Once we receive a reservation request, we will respond with an email confirmation that includes meeting and pickup instructions.

Regards,

Kathy Pierce

CHILKOOT CHARTERS & TOURS

Skagway, Alaska

[jspirit]

...so much for sharing the info!

Does anybody know how these prices compare to the Carnival Spirit excursion prices? We would be interested in the 71/2 hour tour , bus and railroad, that goes to Emerald Lake. Just wondering if anyone has the price from last summer, and also , if the price is similar, wouldn't we be "safer" to book through Carnival?

[tapia]

Thanks for the info.

 

Does anyone know the main differences between the 7 1/2 hour tour going to Emerald Lake [Yukon Bus & Rail Excursion] $165 and the new Carcross one $219?

[NancyIL]

...so much for sharing the info!

Does anybody know how these prices compare to the Carnival Spirit excursion prices? We would be interested in the 71/2 hour tour , bus and railroad, that goes to Emerald Lake. Just wondering if anyone has the price from last summer, and also , if the price is similar, wouldn't we be "safer" to book through Carnival?

 

Princess is still showing last summer's prices, and their rail/bus excursion to the Yukon was $169/adult. As kingsgirl noted in her post - Chilkoot Charters will refund your money if you miss the excursion because your ship is late, so I would have no qualms about booking the excursion independently. If you have to cancel at the last minute for some other reason - that's what trip insurance is for.

[Yukon]

Thanks for the info.

 

Does anyone know the main differences between the 7 1/2 hour tour going to Emerald Lake [Yukon Bus & Rail Excursion] $165 and the new Carcross one $219?

 

The 7 1/2 hour one goes to Fraser, British Columbia by train and then bus to Carcross and Emerald Lake. The new one goes all the way to Carcross (67 miles - an extra 40 miles) by train. The route along Lake Bennett even has the highway route beat for beauty. The train hasn't run along the lake for almost 30 years, but I've walked that 26 mile section 3 times.

 

Murray

[NancyIL]

Thanks for the info.

 

Does anyone know the main differences between the 7 1/2 hour tour going to Emerald Lake [Yukon Bus & Rail Excursion] $165 and the new Carcross one $219?

 

The biggest difference is that the train goes to Fraser (mile 27.7) in the 7-1/2 hour excursion (the bus goes the rest of the way), vs. the train going all the way to Carcross (mile 67.5) with the longer tour. You also go to a sled-dog camp and the Yukon Wildlife Museum with the shorter tour. Here's the route map for the train: http://www.wpyr.com/multimedia/routemap.html

[tapia]

The 7 1/2 hour one goes to Fraser, British Columbia by train and then bus to Carcross and Emerald Lake. The new one goes all the way to Carcross (67 miles - an extra 40 miles) by train. The route along Lake Bennett even has the highway route beat for beauty. The train hasn't run along the lake for almost 30 years, but I've walked that 26 mile section 3 times.

 

Murray

 

Is the only thing the longer one has going for it is Carcross & the route along Lake Bennett? What is there in Carcross?

 

Is being on the train longer better?

 

Thanks Murray!

[tapia]

The biggest difference is that the train goes to Fraser (mile 27.7) in the 7-1/2 hour excursion (the bus goes the rest of the way), vs. the train going all the way to Carcross (mile 67.5) with the longer tour. You also go to a sled-dog camp and the Yukon Wildlife Museum with the shorter tour. Here's the route map for the train: http://www.wpyr.com/multimedia/routemap.html

 

Thanks for the llink--it def helps to see it.

[NancyIL]

Tapia - here's a little more info about the train to Carcross: http://www.wpyr.com/yukonadventure.html

I'm glad they break up the trip by stopping in Bennett for lunch, because otherwise it would be a LONG train ride. I will choose either the 3.5-hour excursion (train to Fraser and bus back) or the 8.5-hour one. I had been leaning towards going on the shorter excursion, but now that I know the length of Chilkoot's excursion and the price, I'm leaning towards doing it.

[tapia]

Tapia - here's a little more info about the train to Carcross: http://www.wpyr.com/yukonadventure.html

I'm glad they break up the trip by stopping in Bennett for lunch, because otherwise it would be a LONG train ride. I will choose either the 3.5-hour excursion (train to Fraser and bus back) or the 8.5-hour one. I had been leaning towards going on the shorter excursion, but now that I know the length of Chilkoot's excursion and the price, I'm leaning towards doing it.

 

Why aren't you considering the 7.5-hour one?

 

Do you know how long the train ride portion is for each of them?

 

Thanks!

[NancyIL]

Why aren't you considering the 7.5-hour one?

 

Do you know how long the train ride portion is for each of them?

 

Thanks!

 

On the 7.5-hour excursion, the train ride is ~ 1-3/4 hours to Fraser, according to Chilkoot's web site. The bus repeats a good bit of the road, and I don't care if I see the wildlife museum or the sled dogs.

 

The train to Carcross takes ~ 6 hours, including the stop in Bennett for lunch. If I'm going to go all the way to the Yukon, I'd rather take the train all the way there and the bus back. There's something special about the train now going all the way to Carcross after almost 30 years, as Murray said.

[tapia]

Wow, that's a really really good point.

 

I really didn't look at it that way. It's great.

 

Thanks!

[NancyIL]

Another way to look at pricing is as follows:

 

The 7.5-hour excursion costs $165, of which $72 is for the train (according to the WP&YR web site), leaving $93 for the bus portion.

 

The 8.5-hour excursion costs $219, of which $150 is for the train (which goes more than twice as far and includes a hot lunch) and $69 is for the bus.

[tapia]

Another way to look at pricing is as follows:

 

The 7.5-hour excursion costs $165, of which $72 is for the train (according to the WP&YR web site), leaving $93 for the bus portion.

 

The 8.5-hour excursion costs $219, of which $150 is for the train (which goes more than twice as far and includes a hot lunch) and $69 is for the bus.

 

VERY good point! Thanks!

[kingsgirl]

This isn't fair ppl. Now you are making me want to take the train all the way to Carcross!

 

It's $250 Canadian for us tho. that is a serious amount of dough comparied with $190 otherwise. It's hard to pick things when you don't know what either experience will be like for yourself personally!

 

Big question: How comfortable is the train - is my butt going to still have feeling after that many hours? It looked to me in pictures that the seats looked like wooden benches with backs.

 

Does it say whether or not the bus makes multiple stops coming back to Skagway or not? I want to see everything!! ;)

 

Plus, since this is only a one way thing on the train how hard is it going to be to get a left sided SEAT?

[NancyIL]

Does it say whether or not the bus makes multiple stops coming back to Skagway or not? I want to see everything!! ;)

 

The blurb from the e-mail I got says, "All along the return route there will be many stops for viewing and photographing cascading waterfalls, roaring rivers, majestic mountains, glaciers, historic sites, panoramic vistas and the unparalleled beauty of ALASKA and the YUKON TERRITORY!"

 

One thing I wanted to mention is that the WP&YR web site says the train leaves Skagway at 7:45 a.m. and arrives in Carcross at 2:30 p.m. I e-mailed Chilkoot Charters about the time frame, figuring we would have to meet by 7:30 a.m. - and 8.5 hours later is 4:00 p.m. Here is Kathy's response:

 

 

Since we will be going to Emerald Lake from Carcross at 2:00PM and making stops along the return portion of this excursion, our return to Skagway should be anywhere from 4:00PM to 4:30PM. Getting through U.S. Customs and even siting bears, moose of other widlife will gobble up a little extra time on occasion. We make every attempt to make sure we are on top our passenger's cruise ship departure times so we have ample time to get them back long before the all aboard call.

 

We do guarantee passage to the next port of call, so we are very cautious with regard to the timing of our tours.

 

During our collaboration with White Pass in organizing this excursion, there was a discussion and subsequent concensus to shorten the stay at Lake Bennett from 2 hours to 1 1/2 hours so that the train would arrive in Carcross at 2:00PM. I will check with White Pass to see if they can update their online schedule.

 

Even though the train is scheduled to depart Skagway at 7:45AM, we will be at the dock for passenger pickups between 7:15AM and 7:30AM.

[NancyIL]

At Chilkoot Charter's web site, they're working on getting the info online for the Carcross Bus and Rail excursion: http://www.skagwaysbesttour.com/cruisepax.htm We've been saying here that the shorter tour is 7.5 hours, because that's what the e-mail I copied from Kathy at Chilkoot said. But according to their web site, the Yukon Bus and Rail lasts 7 hours - beginning at 7:30 a.m. and ending at 2:30.

[firsttimecruisin]

Hi, Skagway is the last port that I need to choose an excursion. Like many, the Skagway-Carcross train/bus looks very interesting. Our ship docks at 7:00 a.m. Would I be able to make the 7:30 trip? We're on the Summit so there will be alot of people probably exiting the ship very early.

This message board is full of wonderful ideas. Thanks to all that take the time to share what they have researched. Kathy

[NancyIL]

Hi, Skagway is the last port that I need to choose an excursion. Like many, the Skagway-Carcross train/bus looks very interesting. Our ship docks at 7:00 a.m. Would I be able to make the 7:30 trip? We're on the Summit so there will be alot of people probably exiting the ship very early.

This message board is full of wonderful ideas. Thanks to all that take the time to share what they have researched. Kathy

 

Our ship is also scheduled for a 7:00 arrival, but we'll be ready to get off the ship when it does, barring unforeseen circumstances. Not everyone will be getting off the ship that early.

[NancyIL]

For those of you who missed this before - here is Murray's (Yukon) post from 9/30 about the new train excursion to Carcross:

 

I think that this new rail/bus combo is superb, and will be the best excursion in Alaska from a history/scenery perspective. When you tie together the Skagway-Bennett rail trip ( http://explorenorth.com/articles/steamex.html ), the Bennett-Carcross section ( http://explorenorth.com/library/rail...-carcross.html ), and then do the highway ( http://www.explorenorth.com/library/...e-photos1.html ), the variety of country you go through is quite astounding. Far more expensive that renting a car, but far more of an experience too. Cathy and I will be two of the first passengers on it next May.

 

Murray

[Yukon]

Thanks, Nancy - the cut-and-paste didn't get the links properly, so I'll repeat it with links that work:

 

I think that this new rail/bus combo is superb, and will be the best excursion in Alaska from a history/scenery perspective. When you tie together the Skagway-Bennett rail trip ( http://explorenorth.com/articles/steamex.html ), the Bennett-Carcross section ( http://explorenorth.com/library/rails/bennett-carcross.html ), and then do the highway ( http://www.explorenorth.com/library/roads/sklondike-photos1.html ), the variety of country you go through is quite astounding. Far more expensive that renting a car, but far more of an experience too. Cathy and I will be two of the first passengers on it next May.

 

Murray

[NancyIL]

Thanks, Nancy - the cut-and-paste didn't get the links properly, so I'll repeat it with links that work:

 

I think that this new rail/bus combo is superb, and will be the best excursion in Alaska from a history/scenery perspective. When you tie together the Skagway-Bennett rail trip ( http://explorenorth.com/articles/steamex.html ), the Bennett-Carcross section ( http://explorenorth.com/library/rails/bennett-carcross.html ), and then do the highway ( http://www.explorenorth.com/library/roads/sklondike-photos1.html ), the variety of country you go through is quite astounding. Far more expensive that renting a car, but far more of an experience too. Cathy and I will be two of the first passengers on it next May.

 

Murray

 

Sorry, Murray...I checked only the first link and it worked for me. Thanks for fixing it!

[firsttimecruisin]

Thanks Nancy, now I have to convince my dh not to worry. Maybe they'll let us off the ship a bit earlier. Have a wonderful trip. Kathy

[Yukon]

I just got off the phone with the VP at White Pass who takes care of excursions and such, and things have NOT been set in stone yet, so don't take any of the itinerary information sent by Chilkoot as gospel yet. They have a lot of details to work out yet, hopefully in the next week to 10 days. He'll be sending me the info on all of the excursions (bus, bike, heli, hike, kayak, etc.) which hook into the train as soon as it's settled (knowing this stuff is part of my job as Councillor now :D ).

 

Murray