Travelling via Alaska Marine Highway

[akck]

Originally Posted by Barkingowl

Ed do you have any photos of the cabins?

If you go to this page:

Alaska Marine Highway System :: Alaska DOT&PF

And click on the link that says:

view a video detailing the routes that our vessels travel

It will bring up a video of the AMHS. One of the videos talks about cabins and shows a 4 berth cabin. BTW, there is also a video on pets.

Most of the older ferries have their own bathroom/shower in each cabin which is very nice. The Kennicott has them only in the 4 berth cabins. The Kennicott also has a 2 berth Roomette, which is about a 6'x7' room with a table and bench seats. You lower the table down and drop a upper bunk to sleep 2 in sleeping bags. It's a nice place to get some privacy and store your stuff, but I wouldn't go from Juneau to Whittier in one (Juneau to Prince Rupert, yes, since it's only one day).

Always get an outside berth if possible. It's nice to see the outdoors, even if your main view is mostly of a lifeboat.

[Crossfire600]

Heck, you could sleep on Deck if you wanted to... We came up at the end of October and there were people with tents on top..

It was cold cold cold rain rain rain wind wind wind... The rain was horizontal in Ketchikan..

[thebushman]

Originally Posted by warptman

Try not to miss this!

Modern Marvels - The Alcan Highway.

ooo that was on this morning, but i didnt get to see any because i was at school : (

[akck]

Originally Posted by Crossfire600

Heck, you could sleep on Deck if you wanted to... We came up at the end of October and there were people with tents on top..

It was cold cold cold rain rain rain wind wind wind... The rain was horizontal in Ketchikan..

I remember living in Ketchikan where it did that for a whole month solid.

[ASpilot2be]

I plan on taking the ferry out to Dutch Harbor and back this summer. Cant wait

Originally Posted by Crossfire600

Heck, you could sleep on Deck if you wanted to... We came up at the end of October and there were people with tents on top..

I have slept up in the solarium in the winter. The heaters work rather well

[DannyL]

Originally Posted by ASpilot2be

I have slept up in the solarium in the winter. The heaters work rather well

Sometimes too well. Once on the Columbia three of us went to the purser (sp) one night and asked him to please turn it DOWN a bit. The overheads really put out a lot of heat.

[rotorhead]

Why go all the way to Whittier? If it's because you have to avoid the Canada border crossing I'd understand, but there's another option.

If you take the ferry to either Haines or Skagway, you can debark there and then drive through Canada up towards Tok and Fairbanks. It'll mean another 300 miles or so on the road but some of the more scenic parts of the AlCan roadtrip are the sections up through the pass from Haines (or Skagway) and in the Yukon between Haines Junction and Tok.

The other bonus is that while Whittier bookings are pretty limited (once a week maybe in summer, none at all in the winter), we get a ferry into Haines almost every day on the summer schedule. If you're already too late to book your preferred travel dates from Bellingham (summer dates fill up very fast) you might look into the Prince Rupert option for your departure port. That also means a trip through Canada customs, since it's north of Vancouver.

You're gonna need a passport eventually so you might as well get one now, and June should be far enough away to use the normal (relatively inexpensive) service. If you're on a PCS move they'll pack and move your firearms with no problems, and you can move ammo (which they won't ship) through Canada in any reasonable quantity with no problems or special paperwork. I'm guessing from the moniker that the health certificates for the dogs aren't going to be a problem, and you'll need them either way.

SO...unless you or the hubby has a past DUI or felony conviction (which considerably complicates entering Canada) you don't really have to choose between taking the AlCan or taking the AMHS ferry. Choose the right ports and you can drive some of the best parts while still enjoying the ferry trip up through the very scenic inside passage.

As a bonus, you get to spend more of the trip with the dogs in your lap instead of worrying about them down on the car deck. Honestly, our dog does fine on the ferry but she doesn't really enjoy it either. Even if she does hate travelling, she'd still really rather be together with the rest of her "pack" .

[JavaPhil]

The other option is to have whoever might have problems crossing the border take a flight into Anchorage. The others can drive the Alcan.