Alaska Cruise - Skagway, Alaska (September 2026)

Our third port of call was in Skagway. It used to be a tiny homestead until 1897, when the Klondike Gold Rush began. It quickly transformed within months into a booming tent city of over 10,000 to 12,000 fortune seekers. It served as the crucial coastal saltwater port and base camp where tens of thousands of stampeders unloaded steamships from Seattle, San Francisco, and Vancouver before tackling the perilous mountain trails into Canada's interior. 

Skagway became the birthplace of the historic narrow-gauge White Pass & Yukon Route Railroad. It connected the port to the Yukon River network. You could ride this train, but we decided not to.

Visiting Skagway starts at the Visitor Center because this town was established for tourists, and it is managed by a state company. There were dozens of merchants and shops that were built in the same manner as in the past. 

 

Noteworthy was a place where a red-light lady was inviting people to watch their opera performance. 

Whatever they sell, this bakery was crowded with tourists. We did not get in there.

As we returned to the cruise ship, it rained. The shuttle system was unnecessarily complex, from the cruise ship to another shuttle that runs to and from the town. The distances were short, but we had to switch shuttles. Of course, every driver was asking for tips. Not every day, but almost every day, the cabin steward was making animals with towels, like the one shown below. 

Myles was the happiest of us all, no matter what happened. Everyone was paying attention to him and Avery, but Myles kept talking, thus drawing greater attention. So cute!

 It was not that impressive to see the fabricated town built just for tourists. Nonetheless, it could have been an experience to ride the train. Oh well... - Jeffrey