Alaska Marine Highway

(Haines, Sitka, Petersburg, Wrangell, Ketchikan, Alaska/ Prince Rupert, BC)

Our ferry to Bellingham, Washington had been cancelled so we decided to take an alternate ferry to Prince Rupert, BC on August 30. We knew it would add additional driving and time to our trip home, but we preferred that to waiting for the ever popular ferry to Bellingham.

Lots of people were inconvenienced by the fact that one of the two ferries that serviced Bellingham, WA was out of service. Particularly, since the ferry went only once a week. We heard some interesting stories, like people showing up for a ferry that was not going. Most people were notified by e mail. (Good luck if you don’t have e mail or hadn’t checked it.) We heard that this is not an uncommon occurrence.

We were instructed to be at the ferry dock 2 hours early for our departure of 11:45 AM.

John took the spare tire and tow bar off the car and RV in order to make a length of 31’ for the RV and 15’ for the car. The price is calculated on the length of the vehicles. It was also cheaper to drive the car on separately. (At these prices, anything helps.)

We didn’t know if that was unusual or not, but they did not measure the length of the vehicles upon boarding. John was sorry that he had taken the trouble to remove those things, but better to be safe than sorry.

We checked at the purser’s office and we were able to get an outside room with a window. We had been told by the phone reservation line (many times) that there were no outside rooms. However, when we boarded, there were plenty of rooms available.

(Future RVers on the Alaska Marine Highway, don’t believe everything that they tell you.)

The ferry had an enclosed observation room with wrap around windows for viewing. We spent many hours viewing pods of humpback whales, porpoises, birds, glacier covered mountain peaks and pristine forests. Locals use the ferry as an alternate (and cheaper) way to view the inland passage. They also save the expense of getting a room and sleep in lounge chairs or on the floor with sleeping bags. Some people even put up tents on the outside decks. In some cases they have to duct tape or tie down the tents because of the wind. (We were a little old to do this.)

Our room was small (about the size of a half of a dorm room), had fold down bunk beds, 2 chairs, and a small bathroom. It wasn’t a cruise ship room but it was comfortable. Stopping at ports in the middle of the night was a bit of an annoyance, but we were happy to be on the ferry and to have a room.

Everyone brought coolers with food since the only food available on the Matanuska was cafeteria food. (The cancelled ferry Columbia did have a restaurant with fine food.) We ate in the cafeteria for dinners-it was okay. They did have a cocktail lounge, so things were weren’t all bad.

We had a group of 100 high school cross country runners who were taking the ferry to Wrangell for a cross country meet. It was like one big slumber party with kids and sleeping bags all over. Many of the retirees didn’t like all the activity and noise, but it was kind of fun to see young people for a change. This adds new meaning to “road trip to a meet.”

RVers had to turn off their propane tanks (they did check this), so we ate and drank all of our food before boarding. Pets were not allowed above the car decks. They did allow people to go down to their vehicles and walk their pets, and you could access your cars/RVs. This was only allowed when the ferry was in port.

Many RVers would get off at each port and stay a few days before continuing on their way south. This way their refrigerators won’t defrost and their pets would be happy. Many people had freezers full of frozen fish that they had caught. This way they saved the money that it took to ship their fish home.

We disembarked on Sat. morning Sept. 1 at Prince Rupert, BC. Same questions at Canadian customs and then on to Park Avenue RV Park only ½ mile from the ferry. We shopped for groceries, put everything back on the vehicles, and had a nice dinner on the waterfront.