GTJ

To avoid cabotage issues, best to either (1) travel on a cruises that originate or terminate at Vancouver, or (2) travel on U.S. flag vessels. I imagine that your plan would be best accomplished by boarding a round-trip cruise at Vancouver, and where Ketchikan is the penultimate port before the vessel returns to Vancouver. There are several vessels that offer these itineraries, including, among others, (in 2022) Zuiderdam, Koningsdam, Celbrity Eclipse, and Disney Wonder. You will pay the full fare and simply alight two days early (making for a 5-night cruise instead of a 7-night cruise). After visiting in Ketchikan, return to the lower 48 by traveling on the Alaska Marine Highway to Bellingham. It is 2-nights, with the vessel Matanuska departing Ketchikan every Monday afternoon at 3:00 p.m., arriving Bellingham on Wednesday morning at 8:00 a.m. In addition, the vessel Kennicott departs Ketchikan every other Thursday at 3:00 p.m., arriving Bellingham on Saturday at 8:00 a.m. (Fares start at $342 per person, plus accommodations starting at $151 per stateroom, plus meals.) Assuming that you start and conclude at Seattle or the Seattle airport, travel via Quick Coach Lines from the Seattle city center airport to the port in Vancouver; from port in Bellingham, travel by Amtrak or Greyhound Lines to the Seattle city center, then light rail to Seattle airport (or taxi from port to Four Points hotel, then Bellair Airporter Shuttle to Seattle airport).

If you get blocked by a system that will not proceed unless a certain response is given, then simply lie. No harm. I routinely have the same experience when shopping at my local warehouse club and using self check-out. The system asks if I have scanned "everything under my cart." I don't put anything under the cart, so the truthful answer is "no." The club staff told me that I am supposed to lie, and respond "yes," so that I can trick the system and get the system to work. Many other similar experiences as well. The problem is that there computer system programmers who think they are "helping" by forcing customers to respond in a certain manner. If there is no harm then just use a work-around to get past.

You might want to consider American Cruise Lines or American Queen Voyages. The former operates the American Constellation, a small vessel for 175 passengers, on 14-night one-way repositioning cruises between Seattle and Juneau, and 7-night and 10-night round-trip cruises out of Juneau. The latter operates the Ocean Victory, a small vessel for 186 passengers, on 10-night and 11-night one-way cruises between Vancouver and Sitka. Caution is in order because these smaller vessels may not offer all of the amenities you might be expecting from a large vessel: there is usually a trade-off between vessel size and amenities.

No, it is not the case that the train is reserved only for person who choose to also travel by airplane, and doing so on the same day of travel by cruise vessel disembarkation. The destination of the train is the airport in Anchorage, so the train is most convenient for those persons continuing onward by airplane. But if you wanted to continue onward not by airplane but by People Mover transit bus (or by taxi, or even by walking), you could do that, too. (And if one gets stuck dealing with a cruise line representative who thinks otherwise, then just make up an airplane departure to complete the railroad ticketing . . . you don't have to also buy an airplane ticket from the cruise line!) What is important to keep in mind that the chartered train does not provide service to the downtown Anchorage station, and for that reason it is not most convenient to those persons who will be staying over a few days at a hotel in downtown Anchorage. For that reason, travel on the other train from Seward, which departs late in the date, may be more convenient because it serves the downtown Anchorage station, not the station at the airport.

I suspect that, too, is the intent. Juneau may be the political capital of Alaska, but Anchorage is its economic capital, and because of those two distinct roles I can see confusion between the two (not unlike Albany and New York; Springfield and Chicago; and many other states). There are multiple bus lines connecting Seward with Anchorage. The Park Connection service is the most reliable regular route option, operating twice daily between the two cities. Alaska Cruise Transportation also provides regular route service, but only on days cruise vessels arrive and depart Seward; the service is to and from the port itself, and is entirely oriented to, and scheduled for, cruise vessel arrivals and departures. Seward Bus Lines is the oldest regular route option, but many passengers have commented on the lack of quality service and equipment provided; it is likely to be the most economical choice. Finally, it should be noted that there are up to Alaska Railroad trains daily between Seward and Anchorage, one being a regular service train that operates every day, and the other being a charter service that operates only on days cruise vessels arrive and depart Seward (this train operates to and from the port itself, with tickets available only from the cruise lines chartering the train and not from Alaska Railroad). Full details are published bi-monthly in the Canada and Alaska Timetable.

It should be a fine, plain vanilla, hotel for overnighting prior to the next day's cruise vessel departure. It is a very short walk to the Ruby Tuesday or IHOP for a similarly plan but satisfactory dinner. There is an AMC movie theatre across the street, but it may just be a plan to get a good night's sleep for all the activity the next day.

Traveling to NYC a few times each year, you likely have already seen what is most important to you, and you probably already know the types of areas that exist in and around NYC. I see the issue of where to stay as being one of three choices: near LaGuardia airport, near Cape Liberty in Bayonne, or someplace in-between. How ambitious will you be on Saturday after traveling? If not very, then there's a few hotels near the airport, mostly mid-priced, and unless you choose an airport hotel in Flushing, there won't be much choice for eating or doing much (it is just a place to sleep). With a good amount of ambition you could travel from LaGuardia to a hotel near Cape Liberty. But it might start getting late for dinner, so think about timing. As mentioned, there are hotels in Elizabeth: these are like the hotels near LaGuardia in not having substantial choice for eating or doing much (again, just a place to sleep). There are also hotels in Jersey City, near Exchange Place, and at least one hotel in neighboring Hoboken, where there are a number of places to eat, and the environment is quite a bit more conducive to walking around. For in-between, the obvious choice is Manhattan, where there is lots to eat, lots to do, and probably high cost (the cost could be mitigated to some extent by staying in Long Island City, near Queens Plaza). It is fair journey between LaGuardia Airport and Cape Liberty, so it really comes down to when you want to do the bulk of the travel (on the day of airplane arrival, on the day of vessel departure, or split between the two). I note that we reside in Flushing, near LaGuardia Airport, and we have been able to travel between Flushing and Cape Liberty on the morning of a cruise departure, using public transportation, without difficulty, though it does take a bit of time (using a car would be a bit quicker, but it remains a journey).

I would agree that the Marriott is the standard bearer for Brooklyn. It is a large, full service, and relatively modern hotel in the center of downtown Brooklyn. There are several other hotels in downtown Brooklyn, all generally modern and fairly central and convenient, and should any of them offer a good price I would not shy away from them. A few people have suggested lower Manhattan instead. While lower Manhattan does have the convenience of a ferry to the Brooklyn cruise terminal, the main reason to stay in lower Manhattan is because you're either there on Wall Street or government business, or you're a tourist seeking to ride the tourist circuit. If neither applies, then there's no substantial reason to consider lower Manhattan. Enjoy Brooklyn.

None of the three entities operate the same schedule daily. Alaska Marine Highway operates one round-trip on Tuesdays, Fridays, Sundays, and alternate Wednesdays. Alaska Fjordlines operates two round-trips, typically on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, with many additional days and exceptions. Haines-Skagway Fast Ferry daily in season, with first trips from Skagway at 8:00 a.m. (usually returning from Haines one hour later), then usually every two hours until last trip departs from Skagway at 2:00 p.m., 4:00 p.m., or 6:00 p.m. (and from Haines one hour later), depending on the specific day. On many Saturdays (and sometimes Sundays) there is a very limited schedule with only a single round-trip. All three ferries should be reviewed carefully before traveling. They each have websites with schedules (of varying ease of use); Tables 743, 748, and 749 in the attached schedule excerpts, from the bi-monthly Canada and Alaska Timetable, show these schedules in detail (the schedule "note" referrenced in Table 743 is shown on page 222 of the excerpt).Excerpt.pdf

The law was enacted in order to protect the economic interest of American industry from foreign encroachment. Basically, if you want to travel from one point within the United States to another point within the United States, then you must travel aboard an American vessel. You cannot travel on a foreign vessel for domestic transportation. In this case, if you desire to board at Whittier, and are concerned with the possibility of having to alight at another port located within the United States, then you should to travel on an American vessel. The M.V. Kennicott is an American vessel, operated by the State of Alaska, that sails every two weeks from Whittier, Alaska, to Bellingham, Washington. It is the only American vessel that regularly sails this route. Its usual itinerary is, departing Whittier on alternate Monday nights, Yakutat, Juneau, and Ketchikan, then arriving in Bellingham later the same week on Saturday mornings.The foreign vessels may have better itineraries and accommodations, but your possible plan would be unlawful and you would face having to reimburse the carrier for the fine that would be imposed.

The amount of the penalty is adjusted each each year pursuant to the Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015. The adjustment for 2022, which is effective for penalties assessed after January 11, 2022, is $873 for each passenger transported and landed. See 87 Fed. Reg. 1317, 1319 (Jan. 11, 2022), codified at 19 C.F.R. § 4.80(b)(2). I don't think I have seen a contract of carriage that does not include a provision granting the carrier the right to recover the penalty from passenger(s) whose action(s) cause a violation to occur. I don't believe that any carrier would take it upon themselves to physically interfere with a passenger attempting to disembark at a port which would cause a violation. From a practical perspective it may be impossible for a carrier to distinguish between a passenger alighting from a vessel temporarily for the duration of the port call and a passenger disembarking without intent to reboard. I see no exception within the regulation for a waiver of the penalty, even for the most compelling reasons.

If you're a transport enthusiast, as I am, then I would say possibly. The down side is that the ferry (or to be more accurate, ferries, as there are three separate entities operating service to and from Haines) is rather expensive compared to other ferry operations in the United States. A round-trip might cost $114 for a trip that is 45 minutes in each direction. If your ambition is to travel on ferries wherever you might find them, then it is probably a worthwhile excursion . . . especially if you travel in one direction with one company, and a different company (and different vessel!) in the other direction.