Thirty years or so ago, I took a cruise to Alaska starting in Vancouver and ending in Whittier through the inside passage. I wanted the cruise portion of that trip again, that is, the part where the boat takes you through the inside passage. However, I wanted more time in some of the cities to explore. The solution I came up with was to take the Alaska Marine Highway System, i.e. the Alaska State Ferry to a couple of cities then because the schedule is a bit infrequent for parts of the trip, to fly for a portion of the trip.
The ferry goes as far south as Bellingham, Washington. I flew to Seattle and then took a bus to Bellingham. There is an Amtrak train and also a bus that drops you off about a block or so from the ferry. Then after a lovely lunch in Bellingham, I boarded the ferry, in this case the MV Kennicott. We reserved a four berth cabin. There are only two of us traveling, but the two berth cabin does not have a private bathroom. We splurged for the four berth for the private bathroom and extra room. The room is rather small, unsurprisingly. It is rather spartan really. Cruise ship cabins are small, but generally they are well designed with lots of drawers, shelves, and other areas to unpack things. The ferry was not designed for that. The ferry cabin was designed for you to sleep but not really for you to place your luggage anywhere.
Our four berth cabin, made up for two people
We didn’t spend that much time during the day in the cabin though. They have a cafeteria for meals, but you can also bring your own food and use their microwave or their hot water. The food is ok, but if you have any dietary issues, you need to bring your own food. There is not that much choice with the food.
Also, there are a couple of sitting areas, including the popular forward observation seating area. The front observation seating area is set up like a theater, so you can relax and see where the ship is going.
The front observation area where many passengers spend the day
There are also several outside decks where passages can go. Many people choose not to pay extra for a cabin and camp on the ship. There were camping tents set up in on several of the wider outside decks. Some people had rather fancy set ups for their tents.
One of the upper, outside side decks where people camp
There was also a large enclosed solarium where people camped. The area was quite warm, so people might be able to camp there without an actual tent.
The solarium where people camp
People’s camping areas in some cases were involved. One had an entry rug. One hung a hammock between poles. There were clearly experienced campers on the ferry.
Someone’s tent set up in the solarium including rugs
The ferry is definitely not luxury travel. However the route is wonderful and allow you to cruise the inside passage without having to be tied to a cruise ship’s schedule of one day per port.