Alaska Marine Highway question after riding it.

[pnwguy2]

This thread has ventured off course. The Alaska Marine Highway is still a cheaper way to get to Alaska. You don't have to buy a room, you can just sleep anywhere. (Yes, my last experience was late 90's, so I don't really know if things have changed). But they are using the same boats, so I would assume the boats still have simple sleeping rooms.

Criminal activity? Not sure where I saw this in this thread. Again it has been two decades since my experience. If it has changed greatly, I will acknowlege. Yes, perhaps things have changed, and perhaps someone can explain the changes to me.

[Metlakatla]

Originally Posted by pnwguy2

This thread has ventured off course. The Alaska Marine Highway is still a cheaper way to get to Alaska. You don't have to buy a room, you can just sleep anywhere. (Yes, my last experience was late 90's, so I don't really know if things have changed). But they are using the same boats, so I would assume the boats still have simple sleeping rooms.

Criminal activity? Not sure where I saw this in this thread. Again it has been two decades since my experience. If it has changed greatly, I will acknowlege. Yes, perhaps things have changed, and perhaps someone can explain the changes to me.

You need to read the opening thread again. The OP specifically asked about continuing on to Bellingham without paying. Pointing out that doing so has potential for criminal charges is about as on-topic as it gets.

Nobody said that riding the ferry couldn't be "cheap," and I'm sure that those who "just sleep anywhere" are doing so with that in mind.

Glad you had a good time in the 90s; but that was a long time ago, before the cut-rate cruise companies starting doing the Inside Passage. It cost me a few thousand bucks the last time I came down on it; pretty sure I could have gotten a ticket on Carnival for less at that time. As I stated, things have changed since the 90s. The cruise ships are a lot larger, and there's a lot more of them.

At this time, it costs a little less than 1K to take the ferry up to Skagway with a basic stateroom. Royal Caribbean is advertising Inside Passage cruises for around $500 for next season. And it turns out that $500 is about the same as what it would cost for a walk-on ticket to Skagway, so...

they aren't wrong:

https://cruise.blog/2021/10/how-much...ka-cruise-cost

An Alaska cruise can cost as little as $350 per person for a seven-night cruise in an inside cabin on a mainstream line. Or, it can cost upwards of $10,000 per person for a week in a suite on a luxury cruise ship. The price varies greatly depending on the cruise line and ship, departure date, and itinerary.

Of course, no one uses the cruise lines for transportation; the larger points I was making is that those who use the ferry are often doing so for reasons other than "cheap travel," and that it really isn't all that "cheap" for those who'd prefer not to "just sleep anywhere."

[pnwguy2]

Originally Posted by Metlakatla

You need to read the opening thread again. The OP specifically asked about continuing on to Bellingham without paying. Pointing out that doing so has potential for criminal charges is about as on-topic as it gets.

Nobody said that riding the ferry couldn't be "cheap," and I'm sure that those who "just sleep anywhere" are doing so with that in mind.

Glad you had a good time in the 90s; but that was a long time ago, before the cut-rate cruise companies starting doing the Inside Passage. It cost me a few thousand bucks the last time I came down on it; pretty sure I could have gotten a ticket on Carnival for less at that time. As I stated, things have changed since the 90s. The cruise ships are a lot larger, and there's a lot more of them.

At this time, it costs a little less than 1K to take the ferry up to Skagway with a basic stateroom. Royal Caribbean is advertising Inside Passage cruises for around $500 for next season. And it turns out that $500 is about the same as what it would cost for a walk-on ticket to Skagway, so...

they aren't wrong:

https://cruise.blog/2021/10/how-much...ka-cruise-cost



Of course, no one uses the cruise lines for transportation; the larger points I was making is that those who use the ferry are often doing so for reasons other than "cheap travel," and that it really isn't all that "cheap" for those who'd prefer not to "just sleep anywhere."

I will explain again my last experience was late 90’s I don’t have recent experience. But at that time it was cheap and while not a stateroom, the inside cabin was comfortable. Not sure what point you are trying to make.

[Metlakatla]

Originally Posted by pnwguy2

I will explain again my last experience was late 90’s I don’t have recent experience. But at that time it was cheap and while not a stateroom, the inside cabin was comfortable. Not sure what point you are trying to make.

I realize that your last experience was in the 90s; I was merely trying to tell you that things have changed since then and that the ferry — even for the walk-on fares — isn't necessarily "cheaper" than a cruise ship these days. Maybe you need to read your own post if my response to it confused you.

The Alaska Marine Highway is still a cheaper way to get to Alaska.

The ferry also used to be consistently less expensive than the airlines, but that's not true anymore, either.

[CalWorth]

Originally Posted by pnwguy2

I rode the Marine highway from Prince Rupert, BC in the late 90’s as a birthday gift from my parents. Drove from Seattle to P.R. and drove my car on to the ferry. Departed ship in Haines AK but had to go back into Canada to get to Alaska. I had an inside cabin, very small but atleast a bed and bath with a shower. Very enjoyable trip at about 85 percent less cost than a cruise ship but the same views.

My family did the same, only opposite direction, Haines to Prince Rupert. My child's little dog was in the SUV & we walked & fed him at every stop. I was amazed at all the pets in people's vehicles. The one next to us had a dog, cat & bird.

Lots of people slept on the deck. The fare was cheap at the time & it was a memorable trip. I guess things have changed.

[oregonwoodsmoke]

Originally Posted by Metlakatla

.........At this time, it costs a little less than 1K to take the ferry up to Skagway with a basic stateroom. Royal Caribbean is advertising Inside Passage cruises for around $500 for next season. And it turns out that $500 is about the same as what it would cost for a walk-on ticket to Skagway, so.............

It's difficult to do a price comparison. The ferry website is not set up to tell you how much your fare would cost, and apparently, the fare can change from day to day. You can't just pop onto their website and get a general idea of the cost. You have to jump through all the hoops to reserve a specific room on a specific day.



That $500 fare on the cruise line that is advertised is more than slightly misleading. That's half the fare for a double occupancy for the worst room on the ship.. So a single person can not get the cruise for $500. it means two people can get the cruise for a cost of $1,000. And that is the base rate because there are lots of add-ons that bring the price up rather sharply. I tried to get the $500 cruise, with just myself traveling and it turns out that you can't get the $500 price plus the single occupant supplement. I would have to pay the full fare plus the single occupant supplement, which brought the fare a lot closer to $3500, before all the extra fees were added on (drinks, taxes, gratuities, other costs) so it wasn't even actually $3500.

[ketchikanite]

$342 is the passenger fare, one way, from Bellingham to Ketchikan on the October 5th sailing. That is the walk-on rate. Cabin, vehicle transport, food & beverages would be extra. Dynamic fare pricing has been suspended until spring 2023.

[Metlakatla]

Originally Posted by oregonwoodsmoke

It's difficult to do a price comparison. The ferry website is not set up to tell you how much your fare would cost, and apparently, the fare can change from day to day. You can't just pop onto their website and get a general idea of the cost. You have to jump through all the hoops to reserve a specific room on a specific day.



That $500 fare on the cruise line that is advertised is more than slightly misleading. That's half the fare for a double occupancy for the worst room on the ship.. So a single person can not get the cruise for $500. it means two people can get the cruise for a cost of $1,000. And that is the base rate because there are lots of add-ons that bring the price up rather sharply. I tried to get the $500 cruise, with just myself traveling and it turns out that you can't get the $500 price plus the single occupant supplement. I would have to pay the full fare plus the single occupant supplement, which brought the fare a lot closer to $3500, before all the extra fees were added on (drinks, taxes, gratuities, other costs) so it wasn't even actually $3500.

Bellingham to Skagway is slightly over $500 on the ferry if you sleep on the deck and don't mind crowded conditions and camping with a bunch of strangers.


My aunt gets cheap cruises all the time; you just have to know how to do it. You can avoid the single occupant supplement by agreeing to be paired with a roommate, and according to her, that often didn't happen, especially the closer it got to the actual sailing. When it did, well, few people go on a cruise just to sit in their cabin all day and night anyway. Wouldn't be my choice to have some stranger for a roommate on a cruise, but I'd take it over sleeping wherever on the ferry with a bunch of strangers any day.

Anyway, what I actually said was that the last time I took the ferry, it costs thousands of dollars due to taking a vehicle and getting a stateroom and inferred that I could have gotten a cruise for cheaper. Never meant to compare the price of a cruise ship to getting a walk-on ticket and sleeping on the deck.

[Arktikos]

Originally Posted by Metlakatla

Ferry fares do not change from day to day. There are spring/summer fares and fall/winter fares and that's it...

"Dynamic pricing" has been in effect for a couple years now, making the fares subject to change day by day.

As someone pointed out, this practice has now been suspended for Fall/Winter this season.

[Metlakatla]

Originally Posted by Arktikos

"Dynamic pricing" has been in effect for a couple years now, making the fares subject to change day by day.

As someone pointed out, this practice has now been suspended for Fall/Winter this season.

Good. Not something I would notice because I make reservations way in advance to ensure that I get a cabin. It won't affect summer fares much except for walk-ons who plan on camping on the deck, though (and will hopefully discourage some of it), because if you want a cabin or are taking a vehicle, you need to make your reservation months in advance.