1st timer question - cruise vs. Alaska ferry

[D.P. Roberts]

I've never taken a cruise before, and I'm not exactly sure cruising is for me - DW and I like to avoid crowds, & don't really do formal stuff. I've looked into taking the Alaska ferry system instead, which seems much more our speed, & a more authentic "Alaskan experience."

 

However, once you add in airfare to Alaska (much more expensive for us than flying to Seattle), fees for several legs on the ferry, hotels, & food, it looks like taking the ferry might end up costing more than a cruise!

 

Even though the cruise ship itself may not be exactly our cup of tea, the shore excursions (hiking to Mendenhall glacier, whale watching tours, etc.) are EXACTLY what I want to do in Alaska.

 

So, has anyone out there tried exploring southeast Alaska without taking a cruise? How does it compare to the cruise ship experience?

[Putterdude]

Here is a link that may be of interest to you.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=806341&highlight=alaska+ferry

[Budget Queen]

I take cruise ships to Alaska, I have a friend who has done the ferry several times. ALWAYS he pays way more than I do, at least double. Also he has to invest more time since he can't do as much in 7 days. It certainly is a very layed back way to go, if you have two weeks, you could have some fantastic touring options.

 

But a cruiseship, does pack a LOT of great options into 7 days and focusing on daytime arrivals/ glacier visit etc. Frankly, I skip a lot of meals, don't do any ship entertainment, and go for what is OUTSIDE the ship. I see the ship only as transportation, a bed and some meals. Maybe if you consider looking at it from this point of view, it may be a doable option for you too???

[TMLAalum]

I've never taken a cruise before, and I'm not exactly sure cruising is for me - DW and I like to avoid crowds, & don't really do formal stuff. I've looked into taking the Alaska ferry system instead, which seems much more our speed, & a more authentic "Alaskan experience."

 

Even though the cruise ship itself may not be exactly our cup of tea, the shore excursions (hiking to Mendenhall glacier, whale watching tours, etc.) are EXACTLY what I want to do in Alaska.

 

Having just returned from an Inside Passage cruise and having had similar trepidations about cruising, I would opt for the Ferry because it would allow for more time in port. This would allow you to book the types of shore excursions offered by cruise ships from a greater variety of vendors for less cost. It would also be a more authentic Alaska experience IMHO as I compare our cruise to a 10 day self-designed trip that DH & I took previously that included Anchorage, Denali, Hatcher Pass, Seward & the Kenai peninsula, Soldotna and the Alaska Marine Hwy from Whittier to Valdez. By designing your own voyage via Ferry you could stay overnite or longer wherever you choose and by lingering longer you will have more opportunity to meet and mingle with Alaskans.

[bearbait]

I've utilitized the services of the Alaska State Ferry system for at least 30 trips to various places. I've never been on a cruise ship and am not certain I would want to. I just can't fathom someone telling me I had to dress up or sit at a certain table to eat dinner. Not my cup of joe...

[TMLAalum]

I've utilitized the services of the Alaska State Ferry system for at least 30 trips to various places. I've never been on a cruise ship and am not certain I would want to. I just can't fathom someone telling me I had to dress up or sit at a certain table to eat dinner. Not my cup of joe...

 

Our cruise was freestyle so the dressing up & dining at a specified table didn't apply in our decision. What swayed us was being able to voyage with my sisters, in-laws and friends (23 total). And I enjoyed our cruise overall but for it to be my "cuppa", less sea days and longer times in port would be key.

 

But if just DH & me, the ferry it would be!

[thinfool]

If you go to the Ferry website, you can request a free DVD of their offerings. You can do the same with Princess.

 

The comparison will give you a choice. As BQ said, the ferry will likely be more money than a regular cruise line, but you get options that cruisers don't.

 

As for the excursions in the ports, they are all available to non-cruise travelers. In fact, the White Pass Railway in Skagway has a steam train excursion that only runs on Saturday, which is a day that there are few if any ships in port. (bummer...we wanted that one)

 

Do lots of research here and other places online. Request literature. Learn all you can and then make your choice.

 

Alaska is great no matter how you go!!! :D

[jerseysmom]

Our first Alaskan cruise starts Friday so I am no expert. I did talk to someone once who lives in Skagway and asked him about the whole cruise ship thing. He said if you REALLY want to see Alaska, take the ferry system. Yes, it might cost you more but you'll be on your own schedule and have the opportunity and time that cruisers won't.

If you opt for the cruise ship, you don't have to eat when they tell you or dress formal. Cruise ships have buffets and you can wear what you want and eat when you want. Our last 4 day cruise to Mexico we didn't go to the dining room once, ate at the Windjammer buffet every meal and didn't bother to bring "formal" clothes. There are plenty of quiet peaceful places on a cruise ship. We've cruised twice w/RCI and once with Princess and never felt "crowded".

[milolii]

I actually looked into this last fall. I loved the cruise, but thougt there was too little time in the ports. My thought was to fly in Juneau or Ketchikan and use the ferry or other flights through Alaska Airlines to get around. My thought was to spend about 2 days in each port. I had even looked at two days in Glacier National Park with a free night.

 

It was more money than say an inside cabin, but was actually less expensive than the more expensive cabins. I kept checking on Alaska Airlines and did find some decent fares in October (booking in October to travel in June). Of course this was last year. It all depends on how you want to travel, anyway.

 

DH did not want to repeat Alaska this year as we are focusing on another project, so I did not book it.

 

I would think you could do some research and see if it works for you. Many here are happy to give advice on where to stay, dining options, etc.

[ysr_racer]

Fly to Anchorage, rent a car...

 

http://www.ysr-racer.com/alaska_2008.htm

[D.P. Roberts]

Thanks to all for the replies. I think in the end it will come down to finding a cruise itinerary that meets exactly what we want to do. If we can find one, and the price is right, it might be a good "introduction" to a longer (and probably more expensive) ferry/plane trip later to investigate more of our favorite places in depth. Other factors:

1) I get carsick, airsick, seasick, and all other kinds of sick. More planes & ferries means a "riskier" trip for me. A big, heavy, stabilized cruise ship might be a better idea.

2) We really like visiting the National Parks (we're going to Yosemite in 2009, Alaska will hopefully be 2010). In some ways, it would be a shame to go all the way to Alaska, take a cruise, and miss a chance to see Kenai Fjords, Glacier Bay, Denali, etc. (although I know we could add those as a land tour).

 

Thanks again for the honest replies - since this is a cruising forum, I was expecting more "Don't take the ferry! Cruising is the only way to go!" type of replies. You guys really are an open minded and helpful bunch!

[milolii]

Thanks to all for the replies. I think in the end it will come down to finding a cruise itinerary that meets exactly what we want to do. If we can find one, and the price is right, it might be a good "introduction" to a longer (and probably more expensive) ferry/plane trip later to investigate more of our favorite places in depth. Other factors:

1) I get carsick, airsick, seasick, and all other kinds of sick. More planes & ferries means a "riskier" trip for me. A big, heavy, stabilized cruise ship might be a better idea.

2) We really like visiting the National Parks (we're going to Yosemite in 2009, Alaska will hopefully be 2010). In some ways, it would be a shame to go all the way to Alaska, take a cruise, and miss a chance to see Kenai Fjords, Glacier Bay, Denali, etc. (although I know we could add those as a land tour).

 

 

 

Thanks again for the honest replies - since this is a cruising forum, I was expecting more "Don't take the ferry! Cruising is the only way to go!" type of replies. You guys really are an open minded and helpful bunch!

 

 

Good for you! The criuse will give you a picture if what you might want to return to do in a land/ferry trip. Look at your ship choices and return here if you have more questions.

 

On another note.........I've been many places, but nothing I've seen beats Yosemite Valley. I could be prejudice though living one hour from the park. Have fun there next year. Both main roads in can make one car sick. Reasonable accomdations (and the Ahwahnee) inside the park fill up within 15 minutes of the day the park service opens up those bookings for the summer months.

[Gardyloo]

I think the ferry and cruise ship experiences are really apples and oranges, so won't comment.

 

However one thing I will say is that the ferry in the winter is a quite different and marvelous experience. Misty days past snowy forests and mountains, a preponderance of locals and not tourists on the boats. A good book, a thermos of cocoa, and a long lens, and you can have a grand couple of days.

[wolfie11]

I have taken cruises and the ferry system. The biggest disadvantage of the ferry is that the terminals are way out of town in most places you would want to visit. The ferry arrival and departure times are also impossible sometimes. I have gotten into Juneau at 3:30am! Unless you have a car or other conveyance with you, you will be stuck in the middle of nowhere and have to pay for expensive taxi rides into town and back to the ferry.

 

It sounds like you might be ideal candidates for one of the small cruise ships like Linblad or Cruise West. They are very informal and they maximize the natural history of Alaska with none of the "frills" of the cruise ships, e.g., formal dining, casinos, shows, shopping talks, etc. They are more expensive than cruises, but probably about the same price as the ferry.

[cbowler]

I have taken cruises and the ferry system. The biggest disadvantage of the ferry is that the terminals are way out of town in most places you would want to visit. The ferry arrival and departure times are also impossible sometimes. I have gotten into Juneau at 3:30am! Unless you have a car or other conveyance with you, you will be stuck in the middle of nowhere and have to pay for expensive taxi rides into town and back to the ferry.quote]

 

I really couldn't have said it better. I have done both a cruise and used the ferry simply as a mode of transportation to get from A to B. The ferry was fine. Rooms are small but adequate. A variety of $ options on the rooms. The timing/schedule is the biggest issue for me. As stated in the post above, do you really want to be getting into some ports in the middle of the night and then have to find transportation to a hotel? You then have the next day free to tour that port but when you want to get on the ferry again it's likely to be in the middle of the night again! I think that if you have an extended amount of time, the ferry is great because you can stay a few days at each port and then the schedule isn't so annoying. If you don't have the luxury of lots of time, I honestly would have to recommend a cruise. Either way, Alaska is amazing...

[Yukon]

The biggest disadvantage of the ferry is that the terminals are way out of town in most places you would want to visit. The ferry arrival and departure times are also impossible sometimes. I have gotten into Juneau at 3:30am! Unless you have a car or other conveyance with you, you will be stuck in the middle of nowhere and have to pay for expensive taxi rides into town and back to the ferry.

 

And that is why we never use the ferry system except for the occasional weekend in Juneau. In theory it's the way we'd prefer to see the coastal communities, but the system is just too awkward to use. That has so far kept us from returning to Petersburg, and from attending the Sitka Music Festival :(

[SEPyle]

Thanks to all for the replies. I think in the end it will come down to finding a cruise itinerary that meets exactly what we want to do. If we can find one, and the price is right, it might be a good "introduction" to a longer (and probably more expensive) ferry/plane trip later to investigate more of our favorite places in depth. Other factors:

1) I get carsick, airsick, seasick, and all other kinds of sick. More planes & ferries means a "riskier" trip for me. A big, heavy, stabilized cruise ship might be a better idea.

2) We really like visiting the National Parks (we're going to Yosemite in 2009, Alaska will hopefully be 2010). In some ways, it would be a shame to go all the way to Alaska, take a cruise, and miss a chance to see Kenai Fjords, Glacier Bay, Denali, etc. (although I know we could add those as a land tour).

 

Thanks again for the honest replies - since this is a cruising forum, I was expecting more "Don't take the ferry! Cruising is the only way to go!" type of replies. You guys really are an open minded and helpful bunch!

 

Your plan sounds like a good one. We wanted to do it different this time and actually considered not doing the cruise portiion this time around (our 3rd trip in 4 years); but in the end chose a Southbound cruise (Volendam) going to several destinations which were new to us. We did 10 nights prior to the cruise and 7 on the ship. Trust me, by far the cruise portion was the inexpensive part of the trip! We started by flying to Juneau and then a short 20 minute flight to Hoonah. We spent three incredible days there and then flew to Anchorage and spent 7 nights on the Kenai Peninsula.

 

By the way; our initial intention was to take the Alaska Ferry to Hoonah and back to Juneau, but as others mentioned, the Ferry schedule made it too time consuming (ie because of their schedule)

 

Even if you decide to just do the cruise, by all means add the Kenai Fjords/Seward day prior to or after your cruise. It's very easy to add that on a Northbound cruise by booking a late night flight after the cruise. You can do the Kenai Fjords cruise after debarking from the ship (the vendor will store your luggage); and catch the train back to Anchorage at 6pm. They make sure to have you back in time! If you sail southbound you can take the 6:45am train from Anchorage (come one day early) and be in Seward in time for the Kenai Fjords cruise. Actually I would add one night in Seward and not rush back to Anchorage...because there's so much to do in Seward!

 

Food for thought!

[bornfreenowexpensive]

We feel the same way. I considered the ferry, spending a few days in the ports I wanted to see. I figured that hotels, meals, and transportation to do this was going to be much more than a cruise and not as convenient.

 

So in June, we are flying Seattle to Anchorage, doing about 10 day land on our own, then flying to Juneau for a 7 day round trip Cruise West inside passage trip, then flying either back to Seattle or on to the East Coast.

[knorrisb07]

we have thought about taking ferry to explore SE Alaska. But the logistics of doing it is just way too daunting to tackle it with reasonable patience and stamina for us.

[Putterdude]

We seriously looked into doing the BC Ferry trip from northern Vancouver Is. to Prince Rupert and then going from Prince Rupert over to the Queen Charlotte Island. Our son is a quartermaster on the ship to Prince Rupert and we wanted to go to the QCI's as we are collectors of NW Native art. After looking into all of this we dertermined that it was far less expensive to take an Alaskan cruise, CC on Celebrity with a balcony cabin. Sad commentary but true.

[kk-l]

I have taken cruises and the ferry system. The biggest disadvantage of the ferry is that the terminals are way out of town in most places you would want to visit. The ferry arrival and departure times are also impossible sometimes. I have gotten into Juneau at 3:30am! Unless you have a car or other conveyance with you, you will be stuck in the middle of nowhere and have to pay for expensive taxi rides into town and back to the ferry.

 

It sounds like you might be ideal candidates for one of the small cruise ships like Linblad or Cruise West. They are very informal and they maximize the natural history of Alaska with none of the "frills" of the cruise ships, e.g., formal dining, casinos, shows, shopping talks, etc. They are more expensive than cruises, but probably about the same price as the ferry.

This is an instance where youth has its advantages...or "cha-ching" later in life.

I thoroughly enjoyed the "cha-ching" having just taken a Cruise West "Inside Passage" cruise...BUT, youth and the ferry would probably win out. ;)

[Nancyquilts]

We have taken both cruises and the ferry and enjoyed both. The only caveat I would have with the ferry is that you need to book your cabins early, unless you are young enough to camp on the back deck or sleep in a chair. Nancy

[ginjer2911]

I have taken cruises and the ferry system. The biggest disadvantage of the ferry is that the terminals are way out of town in most places you would want to visit. The ferry arrival and departure times are also impossible sometimes. I have gotten into Juneau at 3:30am! Unless you have a car or other conveyance with you, you will be stuck in the middle of nowhere and have to pay for expensive taxi rides into town and back to the ferry.

 

It sounds like you might be ideal candidates for one of the small cruise ships like Linblad or Cruise West. They are very informal and they maximize the natural history of Alaska with none of the "frills" of the cruise ships, e.g., formal dining, casinos, shows, shopping talks, etc. They are more expensive than cruises, but probably about the same price as the ferry.

 

While in college I spent a summer in SE Alaska. A group of students went from town to town and helped in the local churches for usually a week at a time. The way we traveled from place to place was the ferry. And it was a wonderful adventure. We never had a cabin. Usually just slept on the deck in our sleeping bags under the heat lamps. But, luckily, we also had people picking us up from the ferry terminal whenever we arrived. And some of those terminals are quite a ways out of town. Not really walking distance especially with luggage or backpacks. If you had a car to take with you and unlimited time it would be an awesome way to see Alaska. One of the things that is great about the ferry is that it will go to towns not on the cruise lines. We loved walking around St. Petersburg.

[inthesouthrn]

wrong area