ALASKA MARINE HIGHWAY
Alaska
COLUMBIA, KENNICOTT, MALASPINA, MATANUSKA, TAKU, TUSTUMENA
Passenger Capacity: Some in cabins, some day passengers
Built: 1963, 1998
Length: 235-418 ft.
Elevators: On most vessels
Wheelchair Access: On some |
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Itinerary: The ferries link dozens of communities in Alaska plus
Bellingham, Washington, and Prince Rupert, British Columbia. The southeast
route operates year-round from Bellingham, with summer service including
weekly departures to Skagway, with stops at Ketchikan, Wrangell, Petersburg,
Sitka, Junaeau, and Haines. Service from Prince Rupert is daily in summer
with a transfer in Ketchikan. The Columbia, Malaspina, Matanuska, and Taku
are in the southeast system, and the Tustumena serves the southwest and
southcentral systems.
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Cabins: 26-108. Most, but not all,
cabins have private bathroom facilities. There are two, three, and four-berth
cabins. Daily makeup of cabins is not available. However, trash
is collected daily and fresh linens are available on request. Passengers without
cabins use recliner
chairs, sleeping bags, or even put up small tents on
the deck. Pillows and blankets are available for rent on most sailings.
Wheelchair-accessible cabins are available on the Columbia, Malaspina,
Matanuska, Taku, and Tustumena.
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Dining: Some vessels have a dining room, others have a cafeteria,
some have both. Meals are not included in the fare.
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Dress: Totally casual
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Facilities and Activities: Passenger services include a cocktail lounge,
solarium, and forward observation lounge. Ferry stopovers last a couple
of hours, but passengers can get off for several days in towns, then reboard. In
the summer U.S. Forest Service naturalists are brought on board for
interpretation of sights. On some vessels serving the Inside Passage route,
artists, musicians, storytellers and performers are scheduled. Many vessels have
a theater and show films and documentaries on Alaska. Some vessels
have a small video game arcade, card room, reading room and toddler play
area. Passengers do not have access to the car deck while underway, so
RVs and motor homes may not be used for dining and sleeping on the trip.
Electrical hookups for vehicle refrigeration units are not available, and
bottled gas containers on the RV must be turned off and sealed by a Marine
Highway employee at the time of boarding.
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Recent Fares Reported to Us: The full southeast trip
of about
three days -- $252 per passenger and $594 for a small car. One-way fare for an
outside two-berth cabin without bath, $213; with bath, $271. An Alaska Pass with eight days of unlimited transportation within
a 12-day period on the Alaska Marine Highway, the British Columbia Ferry
and several other carriers, $499 per person. A pass for 15 days, $699.
From May through September persons 65 years and older, at 50% of the adult fare on some
itineraries.
For current fares and itineraries for Alaska
Marine Highway click on this
direct link .
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