Alaska Marine Highway Ferry, Walking Tour, Southeast Alaska

[@skoodercrunch2821]

That is a very cool ship!

[@AmericaOutdoors1]

It was fun to be on for a few days.

[@GromMolotok]

Thanks for the tour! Great preparation for our trip from Bellingham in a couple of months.

[@AmericaOutdoors1]

Hope you enjoy your trip. I have a couple other videos that has additional information. Not sure if your bringing a car or trailer on your trip.

[@GromMolotok]

@@AmericaOutdoors1 one car. I'll look for your other vids. Edit: turns out I already watched them. I haven't been paying enough attention to the channel name, I guess.

[@AmericaOutdoors1]

A couple of tips, there is little to no AC in the cabins so I would recommend bringing a fan, a coffee pot is nice as the cabins do not have them. Bring a cooler for some adult beverages. You can drink in your rooms but not on the weatherdecks. I put my drinks in a travel mug and enjoyed them outside. The ice machine takes quarters. They only let you go to your car a few times a day so grab all the things that you will need, at least for the first night. You can go to your car and leave the ship when it pulls into in to let people off and bring on new people. If your bringing an animal they have to stay in the car. Bring some binoculars you have a good chance at seeing whales, porpusas, orcas and deer and bear on the shore.

[@tw3235]

MY wife and I leave Sept 8, heading to Juneau for 5 days and returning to Bellingham by ferry. Very excited.

[@AmericaOutdoors1]

You should have a good time. I would however, have a back up plan while you are on the ferry. They are very short staff and will cancel a sailing if they do not have enough crew. During this filming (July 3-7) the people on this ferry that were getting in another ferry in Juneau for the cross gulf were stranded in Juneau due to the other ferry breaking down. I dont want to scare you just trying to keep you informed. Hope your trip goes well and you have fun. I think you will be on this same ship. M/V MATANUSKA.

[@ArcticNatureExperiences]

A nice walking tour of the Matanuska. I had to google the ship to get more information about the design, but this was for me a trip down memory lane to the ships that sailed on the coast of Norway in the 80s. Today our marine highway system (hurtigruta) mostly charters to a tourist market and not to people living on the coast, so it can not be compared to this workhorse! I think I would think twice before setting up a tent on the weather deck. I can imagine it being blown overboard:-)

[@AmericaOutdoors1]

Thank you for watching the video. The Alaskans really do count on the ferry system to get in and out of town and to go to larger town to stock up on food at a cheaper price. However, they are being mismanaged and are becoming more and more unreliable. The tents on the weather decks were tapped down and tied to the railing for added security.

[@ArcticNatureExperiences]

@@AmericaOutdoors1 I did think duct tape when I saw the tent on the weather deck:) It is a shame about the mismanagement - the Alaskans deserve better and it is a market for tourism as well on these boats!

[@denahom]

Thank you! This has been very helpful. I hope to fly into Bellingham from CA and camp out in the deck. It’s good to know ferries don’t run frequently to each port. I’d like to go to Haines or Juneau and stay a few days before my return trip to Bellingham.

[@AmericaOutdoors1]

I believe the ferry to Haines and Juneau run more frequent than others. Its a short trip and there may be some smaller day cruises that you could jump on. Remember you can always take a float plane to many of these communities that don't have an international airport. They do cost a little but they can get you into some smaller communities or lakes/ocean cabins. Check out forest service cabins. They normally cost about $65 a night.

[@larryclark6212]

I would also take the ferry to Alaska. One day I will. 👍😎

[@AmericaOutdoors1]

Its a fun trip. If you go in May you will have a better chance seeing whales. However the fishing and weather is better in July and August.

[@JuanOehningerLujoLeasing]

wish you explain the cost of that cabin and if there is some cabin upgrade to that one , thank you , the cafeteria seem very complete .... you should see the ferry from Puerto Montt to Puerto Natales in Chile , ( MV Eden ) this is one is a Rolls Royce

[@AmericaOutdoors1]

The room was paid for my my work. They do have 2 and 4 person rooms. I want to say my 2 person room was around $200 a night. These are the most common rooms that they have. I believe they also have a room without a bathroom as they have community bathrooms with showers for people that do not have a stateroom.

[@tinadevereaux4342]

Thinking of flying in … somewhere… and maybe taking the marine hwy from town to town, staying in Airbnb’s, etc. instead of cruising. Cruising is just so stuffy. Do you think this is feasible?

[@AmericaOutdoors1]

You could do this but you would have to purchase spererate tickets for each leg of your trip. Also, some of the smaller towns the ferry only goes to once a week. It would probably take almost a month to do what your thinking. Another way would be to catch the ferry up to alaska from Bellingham and then use Alaska airline milage to fly around the state. If you do your research you can fine one way tickets for around 5k miles.

[@ShellymanStudios]

That's the biggest ferry I've seen. Our ferries in Connecticut, don't have bedrooms. Just a trip from CT to Long Island, NY.

[@AmericaOutdoors1]

Thanks for watching. This trip was a 4 day trip. They have a couple of bigger boats that do longer trips accross the gulf of Alaska and out to Kodiak and Dutch Harbor out on the Aleutian chain.

[@ShellymanStudios]

@@AmericaOutdoors1 Oh cool! Keep up the great content!

[@thecornmonger]

Going to Sitka this January for some courses with the University of Alaska, taking the ferry from Bellingham with car. Got any specific tips or "must do/not dos"?

[@AmericaOutdoors1]

Take a cooler, and get everything you will need out of your car when you first get there they park the cars in closely and you may have troubles opening a hatchback or truck tailgate. I brought a lawn chair as sat out in the weather decks but January may be a little cold for that. There are a ton of fun things to do in Sitka especially if you are outdoorsy and like to hike, snowshoe, ski or fish. Bring a boat if you can afford it and have room to park it. It opens up so much more country to explore. Load up on nonparishables as prices in Sitka are expensive.

[@thecornmonger]

@@AmericaOutdoors1 Thank you! Hope you're doing well wherever you are now.

[@be236]

Is it possible to bring enough of your own food (eg, top ramen, chips, etc) to last for a 2-3 day ferry ride , so you dont have to buy their on-board (pricey) food?

[@AmericaOutdoors1]

It is possible. There is alot of people that pack coolers full of food and drinks. I brought in some muffins, snacks and a coffee pot. I didnt thunk the food was too pricy but it does add up if you have a family.

[@scarletroulette6747]

They didn't offer you a life jacket?

[@AmericaOutdoors1]

No. But there are tons of lifejckets under the benches on the weatherdeck. And they usually do some kind of drill every month but the passages do not partake in them.