Rob C.

Skagway was our first actual port. It's a small town (about 6 blocks wide by 10 blocks long) which is easy to walk around. There are 3 docks in Skagway. From each dock, there is a town shuttle service called "Smart" I believe. For $1.50 per person, they'll take you from the end of the pier into town and drop you at 3 or 4 different places. Royal Caribbean uses the railroad dock which is big enough to hold two megaships. We were docked behind the Island Princess which made walking to the end of the pier quite a distance. So to alleviate that problem, there is a large golf cart that can drive you to the end of the pier where the "Smart" bus is waiting. There is lots of shopping in town and a couple places to eat. One of them is the Red Onion, which is a former brothel turned into a restaruant. The town has a "colorful" history which you can read up on in one of the many tour books out there. The folks are friendly and happy to help you find the perfect gift (s). When the ships are in town (there were 5 the day we were there), the streets are a crowded, but not unmanageable. You can rent bicycles to get around as well. There are multiple shore excursions offered in each port, but in this review, I will only describe the ones we did. To see other information about other excursions go to www.portreviews.com. We decided upon the White Pass/Yukon Railway and Trail Camp Adventure for $136.00 per person. The train station is located very close to the ships and leave at 3 or 4 intervals during the day. The Victorian parlor cars are fun to ride in, although not much room for your knees between the seats. It traverses up White Pass to around 3000' in elevation. There is narration along the way which describes the various climates you go through. It's a beautiful ride with several hair raising turns next to shear cliffs. You can take the ride to the US/Canadian border or continue on, which we did, to the town of Fraser BC. You will see everything from lush forests and waterfalls to baren tundra. It's about an 1 1/2 hour ride to the top. You can stand between the cars for better picture taking. Complimentary water is available in cleverly shaped bottles. On our tour we continued onto a motor coach for a ride down the other side of the pass. On the train, you pass the US/Canadian border, so before you get on, they check your documentation. On the way down, we stopped for picture taking at a beautiful alpine lake. The last stop was Liarsville which was an old mining camp. They served hot cider and cookies, performed a hokey show and taught you to pan for gold. Naturally, everyone left rich :) The great thing about the camp was it's beautiful location in a rainforest with babbling brooks, a small waterfall and a tree canopy over you.

TIP: Sit on the left side of the train going up. That's where most all of the scenery is.

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Shore Excursions in Skagway

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