Need help from those who have moved to Alaska (Juneau and: insurance, travel)

[Crossfire600]

Well, the wife and I are trying to up the schedule and move to the last frontier sooner than we planned. Getting overly antsy.

For those of you who have made the move did you take everything you owned with you?

Did you keep only the things dear to you and sell the rest?

How did you ship your "stuff" such as what company?

How did you get to Alaska?

Did you drive to Seattle and ferry? Plane? drove the Alaskan Highway?

[Wrennie]

When we moved my sister-in-law up here we did not pack any big ticket items----appliances, large furniture, etc. All of that is readily available up here in the classifieds as well as garage sales. So that was the biggest savings in the move---small u-haul, rather than a large one. Bring only what is personal to you, that you cannot do without. I have a neighbor that says that those are the things she definitely would not have hauled up from Montana had she known.
HOW you get here depends on where you are moving to. We moved her to Southeast, so drove to Bellingham and took the state ferry up with a U-Haul. Some people do the same by driving to Prince Rupert and catching the ferry there.
If you are moving to the interior, I would think it would be more economical to drive the Al-Can.
Good luck!

[Crossfire600]

Originally Posted by Wrennie

When we moved my sister-in-law up here we did not pack any big ticket items----appliances, large furniture, etc. All of that is readily available up here in the classifieds as well as garage sales. So that was the biggest savings in the move---small u-haul, rather than a large one. Bring only what is personal to you, that you cannot do without. I have a neighbor that says that those are the things she definitely would not have hauled up from Montana had she known.
HOW you get here depends on where you are moving to. We moved her to Southeast, so drove to Bellingham and took the state ferry up with a U-Haul. Some people do the same by driving to Prince Rupert and catching the ferry there.
If you are moving to the interior, I would think it would be more economical to drive the Al-Can.
Good luck!

Thanks! I guess I should have mentioned we are moving to Juneau. I was looking at the ferry from Bellingham to Juneau and it looks like it makes the most sense. We are going to sell our home and are figuring that we will just sell all the contents with the exception of our antique collection. Washer, Dryer, Frig, Furniture etc.. If they don't want it burn it From the looks of shipping costs it appears to be cheaper to just buy everything new up there when we get there.

Anyone else have words of wisdom?

[akck]

When we moved, we moved everything. In hindsight, we should have gotten rid of about a third to half since we never used it. We used what we thought was a national firm. They had the forms with the national name on them and the phone book listing had the logo. In reality, they were an independent and almost screwed us on the cost. The other horror story I've heard is that after they pack all your stuff, they hold it and demand extra to ship it, also charging a holding fee. So be certain on who you hire. At the time, we used what we thought was Mayflower. Allied Van Lines would have been a better choice 20 years ago.

We moved to Ketchikan and then the company moved to Juneau about 8 months later. One of the movers told us how he would move south. He'd get a container, pack his own stuff and have it shipped south on Alaska Marine Lines. The cost at the time was under $1,000 compared to $3-5,000 for a mover. Insurance with a mover only paid out about $0.10 on a dollar and the only real danger is if the container fell off the barge. I think the low payout on insurance is due to maritime law and movers may be vague about it.

I took the ferry from Seattle (now Bellingham) and the family flew up later. It's a nice trip and worth taking at least once. When one son went south to school, we took the ferry to Prince Rupert and drove to Bellingham where he went. It's also a nice trip and cheaper than the ferry from Bellingham. The other alternative is to drive to Haines or Shagway and ferry to Juneau, only you'll miss seeing the Inside Passage

[Metlakatla]

If you do decide to take the ferry from Bellingham, make your reservations as soon as you have decided on your travel dates. It fills up very quickly during the spring and summer.

[Crossfire600]

Originally Posted by akck

When we moved, we moved everything. In hindsight, we should have gotten rid of about a third to half since we never used it. We used what we thought was a national firm. They had the forms with the national name on them and the phone book listing had the logo. In reality, they were an independent and almost screwed us on the cost. The other horror story I've heard is that after they pack all your stuff, they hold it and demand extra to ship it, also charging a holding fee. So be certain on who you hire. At the time, we used what we thought was Mayflower. Allied Van Lines would have been a better choice 20 years ago.

We moved to Ketchikan and then the company moved to Juneau about 8 months later. One of the movers told us how he would move south. He'd get a container, pack his own stuff and have it shipped south on Alaska Marine Lines. The cost at the time was under $1,000 compared to $3-5,000 for a mover. Insurance with a mover only paid out about $0.10 on a dollar and the only real danger is if the container fell off the barge. I think the low payout on insurance is due to maritime law and movers may be vague about it.

I took the ferry from Seattle (now Bellingham) and the family flew up later. It's a nice trip and worth taking at least once. When one son went south to school, we took the ferry to Prince Rupert and drove to Bellingham where he went. It's also a nice trip and cheaper than the ferry from Bellingham. The other alternative is to drive to Haines or Shagway and ferry to Juneau, only you'll miss seeing the Inside Passage

Interesting info.. all the more reason to leave what we don't need. The drive to Haines is 20 hours and 1000 miles more for us than picking up the Ferry in Bellingham. That one may be a crap shoot.

Thanks!

[Crossfire600]

Originally Posted by Metlakatla

If you do decide to take the ferry from Bellingham, make your reservations as soon as you have decided on your travel dates. It fills up very quickly during the spring and summer.

I have heard that.. Unless the Great Spirit shines upon us and our home sells quickly we might not be making the move until Sept or even this winter.

[Metlakatla]

Well--the price is less in the winter, and the ferry is a lot less crowded.

[Crossfire600]

Originally Posted by Metlakatla

Well--the price is less in the winter, and the ferry is a lot less crowded.

Heard that as well... I couldn't find the fall-winter rates... Maybe I missed them or they are not out yet.

[DannyL]

When I moved to Juneau I got rid of everything before I left. Just me, some clothes, what was valuable. Now it was just me, no family to move, so my needs may have been different than yours.
i also took the ferry from Bellingham, and yes it does fill up quickly. It's the vehicle space, not people space. Call the 800# listed on their web site, it's more informative to talk to a person.
Also in the winter, they run specials on the inside passage route. It basically has been "Pay for the car, and you ride free". This is after Oct 1st and before March 1st.
But with fuel prices being what they are, once again you need to call.