Moving to Alaska need help with travel information (Fairbanks, Haines: camping, ferries)

[Xa'at]

Docked at the Bellingham Cruise Terminal.


Bellingham Cruise Terminal.


Bellingham Cruise Terminal.


Life raft.



Cafeteria.


Bow. No, you cannot go and stand there. The place where I was standing when taking this picture is as close as you can get.


Forward observation lounge.


Showers. BYOsoap.


Stairwell. In rough seas, those railings are a lifesaver.


Reclining lounge. This is where you'll sleep, unless you have a cabin. Note the lockers in the far upper-left corner. Also lifesavers.


Lobby outside the forward observation lounge.

I would also recommend you read this: //www.city-data.com/forum/2439549-post10.html

Cheers,
Xa'at

[cobolt]

Xa'at...thanks for the pics. Outstanding. Those lockers look a little small. What do people who are hauling backpacks....not simple backpacks but backcountry packs, what do they do with them? The lockers look too small to accomdate them? Is it pretty much like the airlines where you must have your personal belongings with you at alltimes, barring the locker?

[DannyL]

for what it's worth, the last ferry I was on was the Columbia. Had lockers like that on the solarium, and I also had a large backpack. I locked just a small "valuables bag" up in the locker, and just left my pack out on the lounge chair I used. No one bothered my stuff, everyone else did the same thing.
0h, about the lockers...it's .50 cents everytime you use it. Everytime you opened it up to get something, it was another .50 cents to lock it again.

[DannyL]

BTW, great pics, that boat is newer. that cafeteria looks down-right luxurious.

And the ferry terminal in Bellingham always seems to look larger in pics that in real life.

[cobolt]

Yea, well Danny, they gotta find some way to make their money....guess the locker scam is as good as any...thanks for the tip....This is the first time I'll be going with a big pack....soooo I hate babysitting stuff, but sometimes it's gotta be that way. Cafeteria does look nice. I'm sure the food is still the same..

[Xa'at]

Actually, the lockers are quite big, they could possibly fit a hiking backpack. If not, you can put it on the luggage cart, which you have access to when the ship is in port.
Another thing- some lockers are 25 cents, others are 50, but they are all the same size. It's completely random, and there's really no way to know which is which. Once you find a 25 cent locker, stick with it.
Thanks for the kind words...

[warptman]

Great pictures Xa'at, I think I'll stick to driving up and down the Alcan. More scenery and you won't see the same people over and over again.

[cobolt]

Well I think the ferry is good for someone who hasn't had that experience or if you don't like driving in the winter.....but I think as far as cost...you probably spend about the same in fare as gas...maybe even better if you drive.

[warptman]

Faster, too. Longest its taken me on the Alcan was 6 days, had to wait for weather and the shortest was two and a half days.

[Xa'at]

The max for an inside passage voyage (BEL->SKG) is three days. The vast majority of people get off in Ketchikan (1.5 days) or Juneau (2.5 days).

History Lesson!
The Malaspina is the oldest mainline vessel in the AMHS fleet. She was built in the early sixties, followed by her sister ship the Matanuska. She's undergone some major overhauls in the past- including being lengthened by 54 ft. She was retired to feeder routes in 1998 then returned to active mainline service soon after. She has been in service for over forty years, ten longer than the flagship Columbia.