The Ferry to Alaska – June 1-4th we sailed to Juneau, AK
For me boarding the ferry was the official start to our journey. We had lunch in Fairhaven, a beautiful little town on the ocean, and shortly after got our boarding passes and were loaded onto the ferry.
Just a note that the ferries get booked quickly, even more so this year as they were in dry dock longer than expected so people had to be moved to later sailings, and they use dynamic pricing. What that means is that the earlier you book your sailing the cheaper it will be. If you’re one of the last people to book you will be paying the highest price, assuming high demand.
The ferry itself was exactly what you would expect, especially if you’ve ridden the ferry to Vancouver Island. Basically, there was the parking deck for the vehicles and a few different decks and sections with various types of seating (including a cafeteria). The biggest difference was this ferry had one level that was all sleeping quarters, it can take quite a few days if you go to the far end of the route
(our trip was 3 nights).
It’s interesting to note that although we choose to get a room technically you don’t have to. On our ferry there was a group of cyclists that all had tents to sleep in. There is a section on the ferry designated for tenting and people attached their tent to the deck with duct tape. There were also many people that choose to sleep in a sleeping bag and could be found in various areas of the ferry,
there was only one section that you weren’t allowed to sleep in.
Our room was very basic but functional, there were 2 single bunk beds, a bathroom (shower, sink, toilet) and a fold out table with a chair (we were on the inside, so we didn’t have a window). It was surprisingly quite in the room, so
we were able to get a decent sleep. The shower had hot water and lots of pressure which was unexpected but excellent.
The ride itself through the inside passage was beautiful. We stopped off in Ketchikan (had a great but expensive breakfast), Wrangell and Petersburg (only briefly at each of those stops). At points on the inside passage the shore on both sides
of the ferry is surprisingly close which helps to keep the ride interesting. It was cloudy for a lot of the time we were on the ferry but we did get some great views at times.
Next up, six days in Juneau.