Alaska Ferry

Happy Thanksgiving All,
We're considering a trip though British Columbia next year that would end in Skagway AK. We would then take the Alaska Ferry system back to Bellingham, WA. Has anyone ever done this with a fifth wheel and what costs (approximate) did you have putting the tow vehicle & fifth wheel on on board the Alaska Ferry? 

Jim


A couple of us have used the Alaska Marine Highway ferries in the last few years.


We made several stops on our RV trip from Prince Rupert to Haines via Ketchikan, Wrangell, Juneau, and Skagway with a 41' motorhome and a tow car. IIRC our total fare including cabins three years ago was about $2800. We spent 3-4 days at each stop and had a great time enjoying the local activities.

Using Prince Rupert as the Southern Terminus makes the ferry trip much shorter and less expensive and the drive from Washington to Prince Rupert is on good roads with great scenery, especially from Prince Rupert to Prince George.


You can get a quote by calling 800-642-0066

We did it a few years back and it works great.  The Alaskan ferry makes a number of stops and you can stay onboard or get off and stay a while at ports but that costs more.  We and another couple chose to hire a taxi in Juneau.  The driver took us on a very nice tour, gave us about an hour to wander around downtown, and then got us back to the ship in good time.  Most of the ferry slips are out of town and not within easy walking distance.

They'll tell you that you can sleep in the lounge but we chose an inside cabin specifically so the daylight wouldn't keep us awake (you can read a book at midnight in the summer).  It was utilitarian but clean and worth a good night's sleep.  We also made campground reservations at each end so we could dump tanks and fill with water.  On the ferry you're required to turn off the propane tank and people worry about their food getting too warm but the refrigerators keep the food frozen in the freezer and cold in the lower section.  Remember you're not opening it all the time so it stays cold.  You're required to stay in the upper decks rather than on the vehicle-carrying decks but they usually have certain times where you can go below to care for your pets.  The ferries carry every kind of vehicle imaginable.  Our first trip included a fleet of new school buses for Fairbanks and a couple of logging trucks in addition to a lot of RVs.  The whole loading and unloading process is interesting to watch because everything has to balance evenly from side to side and fore to aft.  It's a great trip.  Just make sure you spend enough time because driving distances are long and you don't want try to do it in two weeks.  We spent a month within Alaska on both trips, plus another month going from San Francisco to and within western Canada.

ArdraF

We were looking to do the same.

And if I did the calculations correctly, one way (bellingham-whittier June 5th) with a 20 foot RV (ours will actually be 40 you need to call them if it's over 20 or 21 feet.....)
I then selected a 2 Berth Cabins with No Facilities room so I can at least get a sink; looks like everything is 'shared facility'
Total was $6,900

You can always camp out on deck to save $ but it's not much savings (room was $800 for us).

You can enter your info here and see what it'll cost  http://www.dot.state.ak.us/amhs/routes.shtml

So with that said..... We will drive up there.


If you do decide to drive.....
I did find this itinerary on line for driving up to Alaska

http://adventurecaravans.com/tour/the-ultimate-alaska-adventure/#2017

Yikes!!!  $6,900.  Seems like an awful lot for sure. Think I'd drive too. 

We took a car on the ferry from Prince Rupert to Juneau many years ago. No road to Juneau so had to take the ferry.

We took the ferry this past summer. Started at Price Rupert, got off for 4 day at Wrangell, then 3 days at Petersburg, 5 days at Juneau, 4 day at Haines, ending at Skgway. 43 foot motorhome (charged for 44 ft because you measure from the Mirrors), 15 feet for the jeep, 2 seniors and full facility cabins on the 2 longer runs = $3850 $3,408. Great trip. We skipped Ketchikan because we've been there twice and its a small town that is just overrun when the 3 or 4 cruise ships are in town (most days). Although we actually got off the ferry with the motorhome because the crew in Prince Rupert parked us in the wrong place to get off at Wrangell. Either loading or unloading you will normally have to do a 5 point turn to get on/off the ship since except loading at Prince Rupert all the ports use the side entrance to the car deck. Because of the ramp angle (do to tides) the crew had to use a lot of lumber to get me on/off without dragging the back/front end. But the crews really know what they are doing so there is no worry.

Great fun.

ken

edited 12/20 to correct cost of Ferry

It seems a huge discrepancy between the price Pioneer quoted and what Ken/Sheila and Jeff reported.  I wonder what could explain it?

We drove both ways and loved every mile of it, traveling with dear friends in another coach.  Crossed into BC about June 22nd, spent 4th of July (and Canada Day) in tiny Hyder in the panhandle, took our time cruising around BC, Yukon, & Alaska and returned to the USA via the Jasper & Banff (Saskatchewan) about Sept 20th.  Probably the greatest trips of our lives (and we've traveled worldwide!).

Gary,
Jeff and I both started at Prince Rupert and ended at Skagway with 4 stops. Stops do add to the cost. But Pioneer was showing the cost from Bellingham all the way to Whittier. Only 20ft MH, but a BIG difference in total length of the trip. He was totally avoiding Canada on the trip up.

It takes a bit of work to figure out the Alaska Ferry website, but anyone who is really interested can go to the website and plan the trip and find the cost.

Also the Ferry has a free phone number and they would be happy to quote you prices.

That takes away any question of the correct or actual cost.

Gary RV_Wizard said:

It seems a huge discrepancy between the price Pioneer quoted and what Ken/Sheila and Jeff reported.  I wonder what could explain it?

We drove both ways and loved every mile of it, traveling with dear friends in another coach.  Crossed into BC about June 22nd, spent 4th of July (and Canada Day) in tiny Hyder in the panhandle, took our time cruising around BC, Yukon, & Alaska and returned to the USA via the Jasper & Banff (Saskatchewan) about Sept 20th.  Probably the greatest trips of our lives (and we've traveled worldwide!).

Click to expand...

I got my quote from on line (from Alaska DOT) starting at Bellingham going to Whittier. Our travel is almost twice the distance of Prince Rupert to Skagway.

Ken & Sheila said:

Gary,
Jeff and I both started at Prince Rupert and ended at Skagway with 4 stops. Stops do add to the cost. But Pioneer was showing the cost from Bellingham all the way to Whittier. Only 20ft MH, but a BIG difference in total length of the trip. He was totally avoiding Canada on the trip up.

Click to expand...

That is correct! But now the hubby and I are going to jump in feet first to Canada and soak in all it's glory!!!!  I'm sure that was a beautiful trip & to be able to stop in all the ports.

Years ago you could take the ferries up to AK for practically nothing. The rates have sky-rocketed the past 5-10 years.

In 1998 we took the ferry southbound from Skagway to Juneau( a few days), Ketchikan (a few days) , and off at Hyder/Stewart (no longer on the ferry route system). Then we had a 36ft motorhome, jeep, cabin (from Juneau to Ketchikan) and the two of us and the fare was about $1850.

Greater distance to be sure, but a much smaller coach and no stops. Still seems odd to me, but who am I to question the quote generated by the ferry site?

It's near a 2000 mile drive from the Washington border to Whittier/Anchorage, so a substantial expense in time/fuel/campgrounds as well, though I think the journey itself is worth it.