Alaska Marine Highway/ Other Questions

[Aj101710]

Hello fellow cruisers :)

 

My boyfriend and I are considered going to either Alaska or Hawaii in 2015. I pretty much have everything "planned" for if we go to Hawaii. Cruise line, excursions with private vendors, post hotel, flights, car rentals, so I have a very good idea of what I want and how much it will cost.

Alaska on the other hand I only know about which cruise line, excursions and that we would take the train from Seattle to Vancouver BC. I have already done a cruise to Alaska (RT Seattle) but my boyfriend has never been there. I got him hooked on cruising so he wants to cruise and I want a DIY because as you can see I love to plan vacations.

So my question (sorry this is long) is has anyone ever used the Alaska Marine before?

 

I am thinking about us doing the Norwegian cruise that starts in Vancouver, cruises the inside passage, Hubbard glacier and glacier bay, and goes to Ketchikan, Juneau and Skagway and ends in Seward. (good for a first timer or go with someone else and skip a glacier but add Hoonah?) Then going to Denali for a couple of nights, then back to Seward to do take the Alaska Marine Highway to go to places like Homer, Kodiak and maybe another place depending on price and things to do there. Or save Denali for another time and go to the other places stated.

I am still trying to figure out when to go. I was thinking late May (I read there is an abundance of whales then, which I didn't get to see many of those on my trip in June/July 2009, if we saw them you only saw the tail or they were really far away) I'd love to see bears though and that is why I want to go to Kodiak, but not sure if you need a specific time to see them there which is why I was also thinking early to mid August. I would like to take the ferry between places and all together I would like the cruise and in our own to be two weeks.

 

So if you could give me your feedback that would be much appreciated. We are open to other cruises nothing is set in stone.

 

Questions/feedback about...

Have you taken the ferry? Been to the places I'm thinking of going, if so what were your thoughts, opinions on when to go and what to see/ do there. What tours did you go on and with whom?

 

I know this is alot so thank you to everyone who writes back. I have looked and searched for answers and my next step will be getting books on Alaska, I just want other peoples opinions.

 

Thank you!

[AKStafford]

The ferry no longer serves Seward. You can catch it out of Homer to Kodiak or out of Whittier to Valdez & Cordova.

I love the ferry system. You can get your own room or to save on cost you can sleep in the forward lounge or up on deck in the solarium. The food on board is pretty good, but you do pay for it separately.

 

Another option would be to take the ferry out of Bellingham to Southeast Alaska. You could use it to visit Juneau, Ketchikan, Sitka, Hoonah, Haines, Skagway, etc... This will work out to be more expensive then a cruise, but it'll be a unique experience.

 

You best bet for whales is a whale watching trip out of Juneau or Hoonah (Icy Straight Point).

[Assateague Island Princes]

Or consider Holland America's 14 day itinerary which includes the ports of Homer and Kodiak, and sails to Anchorage as well (the city itself - not Seward or Whittier). It is a true 14 day itinerary with no repeat ports - Ketchikan, Juneau, Sitka, Tracy Arm, Hubbard Glacier, Anchorage, Homer, Kodiak, Icy Strait Point, and Victoria, BC(roundtrip Seattle). It only sails once a month this year beginning with the sailing I'm on - May 18th. If you do this, you could visit those ports of Homer and Kodiak to get a clear taste, and then go back another time to do the Denali portion.

 

This is exactly what we did after doing this sailing in 2010 and 2011. We loved Homer so much that in 2013, we planned a land only trip which included three nights at Denali, two nights near the Matanuska Glacier, one night in Girdwood, and a week in a rental house overlooking Kachemak Bay and two glaciers right off our deck. We rented a car in Anchorage (booked when Enterprise had their sale in August the year before for $99/week - great deal!), stayed in cabins at Denali, and Matanuska, and in a lovely B&B for one night in Girdwood. I found the Homer house rental on Homeaway for a great price. It was such a spectacular trip, our best vacation yet.

 

Check out the HAL website and the 14 day itinerary on the Amsterdam. Book an inside or an oceanview cabin to save costs for the expensive port excursions. There are several inside/oceanview cabins on the Amsterdam that provide quick access to little known and little used aft public decks, so you could have the perks of a balcony without the price. HAL ships also offer a full promenade deck that circles the ship so you could be outside in seconds for excellent views. The bow of the ship is opened for passenger viewing on the two glacier sailing days. The ship also has the wonderful glass enclosed Crows Nest on the bow of the ship providing for panoramic full on frontal views.

 

Although I DO love your idea of using the Marine Highway. We hope to do that someday as well. Good luck in your planning.

[mapleleaves]

For info on the AMHS I'd suggest posting to tripadvisor.

The ferry is a great way to travel, but not cheap. We took the Columbia from Seattle to Skagway, slept on the solarium deck in sleeping bags and took a small cooler with some sandwich stuff as well as instant soups and oatmeal. There's a microwave on board and you can get boiling water for the soups.

Taking the ferry allows you to spend quality time at various ports, but the timing can be difficult to work with due to 2am arrivals or departures and not necessarily daily service.

You might find it cheaper to take the ferry to Juneau, then spend a few days at Gustavus for Glacier Bay, then fly to Anchorage for the rest of your trip. You'll really need to work out an itinerary then do the math.

Often times Princess has really cheap last minute one way cruises. since you're in Seattle you wouldn't need to worry about the airfare portion. They've been as cheap as $399 for Seward - Vancouver.

Edited January 16, 2014 by mapleleaves

[Aj101710]

Thank you to everyone who wrote back to me. I am really bummed about the ferry not being able to take us to Kodiak, I was so looking forward to it since that was "my" part of the trip, but thanks for letting me know.

I looked into the HAL cruise and that seems pretty expensive, $2,199 - $2,299 per person. Thanks for the idea about using B&B's and renting a car, I didn't even think about that for Alaska since everything seems to be an easy excursion away or click a way.

I'll definitely have to rethink the trip but that's okay it will get my mind off things.

 

Thanks again to everyone who responded, it was appreciated :)

[AKStafford]

Thank you to everyone who wrote back to me. I am really bummed about the ferry not being able to take us to Kodiak,

 

You can get to Kodiak on the ferry, just not from Seward. You can either rent a car in Seward from Avis and drive to Homer, or get to Anchorage and rent a car there and drive to Homer or get to Anchorage and fly to Homer on ERA and then take the ferry to Kodiak. For Kodiak, either take a rental car with you, or rent one when you get there.