Skagway - Gateway to the Klondike

 29 July, 2026

Our first day of "typical" Alaska summer weather - low clouds, cool temps, and light drizzle - but the
scenery was still staggeringly beautiful, and that was just what we could see from the ship. This small town caters to the numerous cruise ships that visit daily during the summer season, and they do it quite well from what I observed during our brief visit. A shuttle service consisting of small van-buses runs continuous loops from the piers to downtown and out to the Gold Rush Cemetery. The drivers are informative and impeccably helpful (as you'll hear later) and the all-day pass is quite reasonable at $5 per person (as compared to $2 or $3 for a single trip.) While catching the shuttle from the pier to the center of town may be a bit confusing, I encourage you to take a moment and choose this option to save some walking. We walked to town from the railroad pier (not a long distance, but long enough) and shuttled back for our White Pass & Yukon Route Railway tour.

Broadway

While Broadway in Skagway is aptly named; it's a bit of a theatrical production for tourists, it does present a rendition of life in the final years of the 1800's. There are more authentic architectural representations a block or two off the main drag, but the storefronts of Broadway do try and combine the look and feel of the gold rush with the reality of modern shopping. You'll find everything from local artisan creations to mass-produced kitsch that may or may not be worthy of your consideration, along with cruise port stalwarts such as Del Sol, which is an odd sight in one of the least sunny cruise ports on the planet. It does get a bit crowded (there were three ships in port the day we were there) but things seem to flow fairly well. Dining options are sparse, but frankly I don't see much demand for eateries given the limited time your ship will be in port. Walking tours are available, you can choose to be guided by one of the "Goodtime Girls" or select one of several self-paced options. 

We had reservations for the White Pass & Yukon Route rail tour, booked through Royal Caribbean. We tend to rely on cruise excursions our first time in a port due to uncertainty, our opinion being that a slight surcharge is solid insurance against mishaps. The rail tour is not inexpensive, but the train is quite comfortable and the views are absolutely staggering.  There are a couple of negatives associated with the tour. First, you won't be able to capture every image you want to - it's just impossible. As soon as you see one view another will appear, and you'll have to make a choice - this will happen a dozen or more times. Second, you'll take so many photos it will take hours to sift through them and whittle them down to a few dozen that capture the true spirit of the experience, along with others that capture the story of the railroad and the trail.

The narrators provide a steady and informative stream of information, which is light on cheap jokes and bad puns. The only true complaint I can offer is there are no speakers on the outside platforms, which are the best vantage points for shooting photos. I spent almost half of the trip standing on the platforms, so I missed a good bit of the narration. Thankfully there are ample historic resources online which allow me to fill in the blanks. This experience was so breathtaking that I would not hesitate to to it again, should I visit the area in the future.

The trip consumed the entire afternoon, and was well worth the investment of both time and money. Should I return, it will definitely be with more than just a cell phone to take photos. (Although I'm not unhappy with the images I was able to capture.)

We returned to the dock to a LONG line for the shuttle buses to take us back to the ship (the hillside above one section of the pier is unstable, so passengers are transported around this area by vans and small buses.) As we stood in line we spotted several Bald Eagles perched in the trees on the hillside - a bird only seen in zoos and books my whole life were now commonly seen in the trees around us - and it never got old.

We returned to the ship and grabbed a snack, then sat on our balcony as we sailed down the channel past the Davidson Glacier and Eldred Rock lighthouse (a nice counterpoint to Faro Les Éclaireurs, the lighthouse in the Beagle Channel at the tip of South America) and enjoyed the beginning of the sunset.

We were a bit tired, so we grabbed a bite in the Windjammer (a rarity) before going to see the production show "Beautiful Dream" which was absolutely spectacular. The sets, the costumes, the production, the execution - all equal to shows in London, New York, and Las Vegas – and by far one of the top three shows I've seen on a cruise ship.