Each year tens of thousands of people take a cruise ship up Alaska’s Inside Passage to enjoy the magnificent scenery and wildlife. Maybe you have taken one yourself. Next time, how about bringing your house with you and making your own schedule. You can do that by using the Alaska Marine Highway System (AMHS).
The ferry system serves as the bus linking all the port towns along the coast. It travels about 1000 nautical miles north from Bellingham Washington to Skagway Alaska, covering the entire Inside Passage, then continues west all the way out to the Aleutian Islands. Not only does it stop in the major cruise ship ports like Ketchikan, Juneau, Sitka, and Skagway, it also stops at small port towns like Wrangell, Petersburg, and Haines. These are working towns that do not rely on tourism. Visit them and you get to see the real Alaska.
Taking a cruise ship to Alaska is more about eating than it is about Alaska. The place is billed as “the last frontier” and “the last great wilderness,” but cruise ships drop you off in a port town like Ketchikan to go shopping with 12,000 of your closest friends! Not exactly a wilderness experience, unless you count combat shopping. After six to eight hours in port you get back on the ship and head to the next town. They do offer shore excursions for fishing, whale watching, helicopter tours, etc., but you just don’t have enough time to see what the places are really like. A cruise is an inexpensive, quick, and easy way to see the Inside Passage. It will give you a taste of Alaska, but leave you wanting more.
To be continued next Thursday ….John Holod – RV Adventure Videos
John & Jodie will be leading a Born Free Caravan to Alaska this summer. For more information check out his website below.
John’s personal appearance schedule and videos can be found on his website, where he can be reached via email at www.rvadventurevideos.com
March Schedule: 28th – 2nd Phoenix AZ RV Show – 3rd (Jodie) Miami OK – 4th Bakersfield CA – 6th – 9th Denver CO RV Show – 14th – 17th The Rally Perry GA – 27th – 30th Sacramento RV Show
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Rich Halverson
Thanks, John, for the email correcting my error in reading the information on the ferry’s website. There is NOT a restriction on length; the information seems to imply a restriction by referencing the 20 feet in stating how many vehicles each ferry in the fleet can accommodate. But as John pointed out to me, the ferries accommodate large semis, and Big Rigs as well! Reservations are a must from what I can see on the website!
Rich Halverson
Not for Big Rig RVs….all ships have a 20 Foot length restriction, so if you are a Class A or long Class C, this is not for you, as I read the restrictions.
peter webster
Thanks for pointing out some of the advantages of the AMHS for a trip to Alaska. I’d like to, though, add a couple more good points—it’s a great way to meet a real cross-section of people around and about Alaska. When we went up there, we met commercial fishers, European work-as-you-go travelers, neo-pioneers, even high-school athletic teams going from one town to another. We were able to spend extra time in several towns along the way, by simply waiting for another ferry; this enabled us to mesh into small port-town life. Also, if you want, you can bring simple foods—microwavable meals, for example—on board and save on food costs while on board. The ferry also offers quite a range of accomodations: some of the young and sturdy sleep up topside, beneath heat lamps, on reclinable lounge chairs; others pitch (and duct-tape down) tents on deck, or sleep in one of the thickly carpeted lounges.