Friday, July 20 – Skagway AK

Cruise Day 4

Before bed last night I check out the sky for stars, northern lights etc, and see another cruise boat dogging our footsteps, so to speak.

We arrive at Skagway by 7am, and see a wall of rock (a lot of it is painted) and trees right out our door.  We turn on the TV so we can see out the front and back without having to get out of bed.  There is the second boat, Princess Line pulling in behind us.  When we eventually get top decks we see yet another cruise liner parked in another berth - The Norwegian Jewel.  Town will be humming today!

Over a cup of tea on the 9^th Deck we observe multiple helicopters coming and going, a small plane arriving to an invisible airstrip just behind the Norwegian Jewel, trains, boats and buses galore and people everywhere. 

After a leisurely yet healthy brekkie we walk the gangplank and wander the ¼ mile into the township.  It is like a mini Queenstown.  There are lots of souvenir shops, an abundance of jewellery shops and a ‘not so PC’ fur shop – but they had the most amazing furs in there.  The Christmas Store is the closest one to the North Pole I’ve ever been in!  Plus fudge and chocolate shops so first thing when we get back on board is a coffee and a treat from the Sweet Shop!

Welcome to Skagway AK

House of Negotiable Affections - dance hall girls and prostitutes all attempt to mine the miners

The buildings are rustically designed, more than a few are museums.  A  boardwalk doubles as a footpath in some places down the main street of Broadway, but all in all everything seems in good condition.

Main Street of Skagway

Skagway became the major embarkation point for prospectors on the way to the Yukon during the Klondike gold rush.  The White Pass and Yukon rail line took the labour of 35,000 men using just black blasting powder and crude tools to hew out the 110 mile narrow gauge to carry miners and freight to and from the Yukon. It took two years, two months and two days to build.  It’s one of the last narrow gauge railway in the US.

Back to the room and sit out on the balcony for a read before eyes droop and have to be closed for 10 minutes.  Got WIFI here to post some blogs, although it is very slow.

I have been using the Carnival App and find it brilliant. It gives the weather for each port we are going to, what’s on each day and will remind me if I choose some favourites for the day, the ship map - deck plans, we can check our Sail Away account too. Chris and I are on the $5 chat so we can talk and find each other if we aren’t in our cabins, it’s great.

At 5pm we meet back down in the Serenity Bar for HH and bask in the sun streaming over the back of the ship.  We’ve had a long stop here at Skagway and the Legend is the last of the three ships to leave.

The Show tonight, North to Alaska with Steve Hites, a local Skagway newcomer, only been here for 40 years and he tells the history of the last frontier through original music and well told stories, really interesting too.

Dinner as usual is around 8pm, at our usual table with our usual wait staff.  We finish in time to catch the Love and Marriage Show, which gives us a good laugh before we call it a night.

We are back at our cabin a little after 10pm and catch another sunset before calling it a night.

Seeya Skagway!