As I remember, the cost was under $100 per person for the train, but my memory isn't what it used to be. Our excursion actually was a bus tour into the Yukon, and then took the train back to Skagway. The area up there is beautiful, but does feel like a true frontier. As I remember, you could buy tickets for the train directly from the railroad, but they weren't very much cheaper.
For my wife and I, our Alaska cruise was our best yet. It is different than any of the other cruises we took. On all of our other cruises, the ship was our destination, but not on our Alaskan cruise. Alaska is definitely the destination. There is no way that you can spend any time on deck, and not find yourself lost in the scenery.
As you see, I could go on talking about Alaska for quite a while (my wife is wose than me), so I'll end now. There are lots of other Crazies that have been to Alaska, and I'm sure they agree. :grin: