Here’s an all-Alaskan suggestion for cruisers who would like to:
• travel at their own own pace;
• choose their own ports-of-call;
• lay over in any port for as many days as they desire;
• share their travel with Alaskan locals;
• have the option to bring along the family RV or auto; and
• cruise to Alaska one way and drive home by highway.
If this sounds good to you, Alaska’s state-owned ferries may be just the ticket for
one of life’s most memorable cruise vacations. The Alaska Marine Highway System,
as it is called, is composed of 11 modern ferryliners, all with motor vehicle decks,
observation lounges, and food service. Most have cabins and cocktail bars.
The ferries cruise a protected Inside Passage waterway speckled with more than a
thousand big and tiny islands, imposing snow-capped mountains, lush forests, and
picturesque towns and villages.
Passengers with or without vehicles may embark for Alaska’s southernmost port,
Ketchikan, from Bellingham, Washington or from Prince Rupert which is British
Columbia’s northernmost port community. (Motorists can reach Prince Rupert via
BC’s modern highway network or by BC Ferries; see below.) Once they’ve arrived in
Southeast Alaska passengers can lay over as long as they wish in the panhandle’s
major port cities — Ketchikan, Wrangell, Petersburg, Sitka, Juneau, Haines and
Skagway– or connect via smaller off-line ferries to more remote towns and
villages.
Larger stateroom-equipped vessels of the fleet are the Columbia (931 passengers),
Matanuska (745), Malaspina (701), Taku (370), and Kennicott (748) — all of which
serve the Southeast Alaska panhandle. Depending on the season, one or two ships
extend their range on weekly schedules to/from Bellingham. The others turn around
at Prince Rupert.
The Kennicott also connects Southeast port cities to Southcentral Alaska
destinations Cordova, Valdez, and Whittier in Prince William Sound via the Gulf of
Alaska. The 220-passenger Tustumena, another stateroom-equipped ferry, sails
regularly from ports on the Kenai Peninsula to Kodiak and (less frequently) westward
along the Aleutian Islands chain as far as Dutch Harbor.
Smaller ships, operating “bush” routes from mainline ports to smaller towns and
villages are Aurora (300), LeConte (300), and Lituya (149). Newest additions to the
AMHS fleet are the Juneau-based sleek catamaran Fairweather (250) and a similar
sized double-hulled vessel, Chenega.
Here’s another option: If you want to mix a little “foreign” travel into your plans you
can book passage from highway-accessible Port Hardy on British Columbia’s
Vancouver Island and sail north on BC Ferries’ Queen of the North to Prince Rupert.
More information and schedules at www.bcferries.com.
If you’re interested in taking the whole family on a ferry cruise through Inside
Passage waters, the Alaska Marine Highway System is made-to-order. Depending on
which vessel you’re aboard youngsters will find onboard play areas, casual meals
and snack bars for any age, movies, and nature talks by U.S. Forest Service
naturalists plus expansive glass-enclosed solariums. These are ideal for spotting
orcas (killer whales), humpback whales, playful porpoises and sea lions in the water
plus mountain goats on towering cliffsides, and for the fortunate observer the sight
of black and brown (grizzly) bears on passing beaches.
BC Ferries, British Columbia’s provincial ferry system, demonstrates its kid-
friendliness even before a family boards ship. Computer-savvy children or their
parents have only to surf the web to http://www.bcferries.bc.ca/kidzone/
establishing_shot.html and they will meet cartoon characters Samantha (”Call me
Sam”) and Cal, two seagoing canine characters who introduce young viewers to
three online activities - an electronic coloring book, a “Match the Ferries” memory
game, and a virtual bridge tour.
Alaska ferry schedules are posted at the system’s website (www.FerryAlaska.com).
Printed schedules may be ordered from the website or by phone at the Reservations
office 1-800-642-0066. Summer fares and schedules are usually posted on the
internet and available in mid-December of each year.
For a more comprehensive look at cruising by ferry in Alaska, plus information
about all the cruiselines and cruiseships scheduled for the Alaska trade during
2006, visit www.AlaskaCruisingReport.com,
Copyright (c) Mike Miller 2006 - All rights reserved
Alaskan travel writer Michael “Mike” Miller lives in Juneau where his current passion
is publishing an information-packed website about Alaska cruising and ferry travel:
http://www.AlaskaCruisingReport.com Miller has authored a number of travel
books (Fodors, Sierra Club Books, Globe Pequot, The Milepost and others),
contributes to TravelAge West (for travel agents) and frequently writes for major
newspapers and magazines.