Alaska Marine Highway (Ferry) with Dog

[canyon Rafter]

Greg, you make me want to take that ferry cruse to Alaska! It sounds fun and would be a excellent adventure. I have a friend that lives in Wasilla and a visit to him would be a good excuse to make the trip. Being from Wyoming my sea legs' are not the best but I have lived on a yacht for a few weeks in calm waters. The Prince Rupert rout sounds like the best for me avoiding open ocean waters. Thanks Ken for the sailing schedule!

[k0wtz]

my main interest at this point since Americans are unworthy to be in Canada and they mean it is to avoid Canada all together on a trip! I don't know if that is possible but I am thinking drive to Washington and boat to alaksa!

my thougths anyway

bob

Originally Posted by EscapeBoulder

Excellent information. That's what I'm looking for. Thank you Mr Morton.

[thrifty bill]

Originally Posted by Ken Morton

The Dixon Entrance crossing is much shorter than the Queen Charlotte Strait crossing south of Prince Rupert if you were to depart from Bellingham. Queen Charlotte was pretty gnarly when I came up from Seattle many years ago. And if you depart from Bellingham, Ketchikan is still your first stop. I think you could plan multiple stops through SE Alaska to keep time aboard manageable.

To those that might not have spotted this, if you are subject to sea sickness, Queen Charlotte Strait is the real deal. If was rough seas when we did it, really rough. You could not walk across the ferry. I ended up sick, really sick.

[Steve Carlson]

Originally Posted by thrifty bill

To those that might not have spotted this, if you are subject to sea sickness, Queen Charlotte Strait is the real deal. If was rough seas when we did it, really rough. You could not walk across the ferry. I ended up sick, really sick.

Many years ago, in the late 70s I think, our family took one of our many long "Vacation" style trips, this one to the northwest in our pop-top camper van. Banff, Jasper etc. The plan was to drive on to Prince Rupert and take the ferry to Alaska. When we got to Prince Rupert we found to our dismay that the ferry was on strike. But the ferry to the south was a different line and still running, so we went down to Vancouver instead.

After it got dark I felt sorry for our dog in the van and went down to the van (you could do that then) and slept in the van with her. In the morning after a restful night's sleep I found the rest of my family had spent a miserable seasick night on deck due to that open water crossing mentioned above, and I never even noticed it.

[Alex T]

Originally Posted by Steve Carlson

When we got to Prince Rupert we found to our dismay that the ferry was on strike. But the ferry to the south was a different line and still running, so we went down to Vancouver instead.

Yes the ferry from Prince Rupert north to Alaska, and south to Bellingham is the Alaska Marine Highway System, whereas the ferry south from Prince Rupert to anywhere in Canada is the BC ferry system. Nicer ferries but definitely more expensive. When comparing those 2 options in 2015, it would have cost about the same to go from Vancouver to Prince Rupert (ferry from Vancouver to Vancouver Island, drive few hours north, then ferry from Port Hardy to Prince Rupert) as it was to go from Bellingham to Skagway on the Alaska ferry - which takes you twice the distance. Sure it wasn't luxurious, and many people sleep in tents (which they allow people to set up in some portions of the outdoor decks, zip-tied into rubber padding on the ground), but we managed to get a tiny berth which allow my wife and I to sleep in a bunk.

And yes, as I understand it, Americans driving to Alaska (or the other way) can drive through Canada but need to go "directly" and so aren't able to do any sightseeing (some have been given tickets for stopping to snowboard in Whistler and the such) so until the border is 'opened' it's probably not ideal if you want to sight-see. Doable, but you'd have to drive "direct". if it's any consolation, Canadians from other provinces also have restrictions in BC (i.e. can't book any provincial campgrounds or Rec sites). With this new UK variant and slow roll-out of vaccines, who knows how long the restrictions will be in place. We're bummed we can't go to down to WA state parks (had to cancel 2 bookings last summer) but that's the price of trying to stop this damn virus.

[thrifty bill]

The only "good news" in our ferry experience, is I had told my wife I can get pretty severe sea sickness. After she saw it up close, in person, she no longer doubts me. It was horrible.

[k0wtz]

bill i have a funny story. Serveral years ago we flew with our tent then rented a car at anchorage!


we did a lot of riding looking. one little trip we had a guy on one of those bikes with knobby tires he pretty much stuck on our car!


we decided to stop for the night so did the motorcycle! I wish you could have seen him he was covered head to toe with black ick! I think they use chip and seal on most of their roads!


I dont know the condition of his lungs! LOL


bob