don512

Just wondering which port seemed to be people's favorite. Skagway (with it's train excursion) looks really great but is not on some of the cruises that we are considering. Any comments on Skagway?

JimM

Skagway makes the gold rush come alive. It gets you that much closer to the world of Jack London, Soapy Smith, and other legends of the Trail of '98. <BR><BR>And the White Pass trip, by raillroad, car, or bus, is truly spectacular. IMHO, it's an essential part of your inside passage cruise.<BR>

tommy

I thought Skagway was a tourist trap. It's a really tiny town overrun with passengers/tourists (there were three ships docked when I was there) looking for &quot;gold rush&quot; souveneirs. The White Pass train ride was good but extremely long. More amusement park than authentic Alaska.

JimM

Ketchkan, Juneau, Sitka, Seward and Haines are also &quot;tourist traps&quot;...small towns by lower-48 standards that rely very heavily on the tourist trade. It all depends on what you're looking for and where you look. Some people see nothing in Alaska and love the Caribbean. To us, the Caribbean is a waste of time and money.<BR><BR>

LissaJ

The town of Skagway wasn't that great, but I did the gold panning and show and that was really fun. The one I did, they put on a turn of the century play, complete with brothel girls and everything. It was really funny!!! The we panned for gold with prestocked pans which they also made a joke about. <BR><BR>My favorite stop I think was Ketchikan

April

I loved Skagway and wished we had more time there. Ketchikan was my least favourite.

Charlie

Skagway #1, Sitka #2, and Valdez is a total waste of a day.