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AKSuperDually's avatar
AKSuperDually
Explorer
Apr 09, 2014

Ferry Costs

I was participating in the other thread about taking the ferry from Whittier to Bellingham, and didn't want to derail the thread....

Since I'd love to skip canada and all the hassles of not bringing firearms, worrying about breakdowns, etc. I thought I'd look into pricing.

We'll be leaving our firearms and driving through canada....lol.

Here's the breakdown (for my family):
Adult 12 years or older $547.00
Adult 12 years or older $547.00
Child under age 6 $0.00
Child $273.00
One pet $25.00
4 Berth Full Facilities - Inside $717.00
Subtotal $2,109.00
That's passage only, one way. There actually isn't any deck space available for the date I'd need, but if there was it would be billed at $105 dollars per foot. Which would equal $5,145.00 for our camper and trailer combination.

That's $7,303.00 each way, or $14,606.00 round trip.

Here's the pricing schedule for the cardeck:

TOUR BUS $0.00 + $105.00/foot
VEHICLES UP TO 10' $735.00
VEHICLES UP TO 15' $1,247.00
VEHICLES UP TO 19' $1,481.00
VEHICLES UP TO 21' $1,882.00
LONG VEHICLE $0.00 + $105.00/foot
REC/VEHICLE UP TO 15' $1,247.00
REC/VEHICLE UP TO 19' $1,481.00
REC/VEHICLE UP TO 21' $1,882.00
LONG REC VEHICLE $0.00 + $105.00/foot
VANS UP TO 19' $2,625.00
VANS UP TO 21' $2,625.00
VANS UP TO 24' $2,625.00
LONG VAN $0.00 + $105.00/foot
ANIMAL CLEANING DEPOSIT $500.00
BICYCLE $89.00
$100 CASH DAMAGE DEPOSIT FOR ANIMAL $103.00
$50 CASH DAMAGE DEPOSIT FOR ANIMAL $52.00
KAYAKS AND INFLATABLES $132.00
UNACC VEH PENALTY $100.00
PET $25.00
ONE PET $25.00
TWO PETS $50.00
THREE PETS $75.00
FOUR PETS $100.00
FIVE PETS $125.00

The big turnoff for me is the animal policy. They must be in a crate, and can only be let out of it 3 times a day (A purser announces a pet run, and you must accompany the purser down with all other dog owners at once). For a 5 day trip, I can't see that being a viable option for most dogs. It wouldn't be for our belgian malinois, he'd probably lose his mind by the end of day 2.


Anyway, I just wanted to put some information out there for people who're considering this route. It's pretty awesome in the right situation, but likely doesn't fit very many people on this forum.

18 Replies

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  • Grit_dog's avatar
    Grit_dog
    Navigator II
    Apr 21, 2014
    EEWally wrote:
    For our 22 feet of truck camper, it's $1206 from Prince Rupert to Haines with getting off at Ketchikan, Sitka and Juneau. One night with cabin on the Ketchikan-Sitka leg. I think leaving from Bellingham would have doubled the cost.

    There's an additional $337 for the Inter-Island Ferry from Ketchikan to Prince of Wales Island and back.

    We decided to do this before we go to a 5th wheel!


    Wow I got screwed last year. Was about $3500 iirc for the TC with a trailer. 41' overall length.
  • joe_b_'s avatar
    joe_b_
    Explorer II
    Apr 10, 2014
    As I said, most people do some variation of the Skagway to Bellingham route. In 2009, my wife and I put our truck camper on in Prince Rupert to Skagway,and had a two berth cabin. The cost of the trip was $1,064usd plus food which we would eat no matter how we traveled. Not sure that is much more than the cost of driving. Can't imagine where you came up with the cost of $13,000 more than driving. But I only get about 14 mpg with my truck camper combo and not pulling anything. LOL

    Are those 9 trips one ways, or round trips, just curious? If you are headed outside to haul stuff back, it may be cheaper for you to leave your cargo trailer in Kenai and buy a new one in Oregon, to haul back north and then sell one of them, if you want to ride the ferry.
  • AKSuperDually's avatar
    AKSuperDually
    Explorer
    Apr 10, 2014
    joe b. wrote:
    I am not convinced that with today's fuel prices, that the ferry is that much more than driving.

    In this case (for me), it's about $13,000 more than driving. I get 17mpg with my camper towing a medium weight trailer. I generally budget for 15mpg with a little buffer space. That's about $1,800 in fuel costs from the kenai to Oregon and back. I don't expect to spend more than $2K. I've done this 9 times already.

    No matter how you compare the costs, its considerably more expensive and just as long (time wise) to take the ferry on this route.

    Now...2 young kids and a small (less than 10') vehicle? That would only cost twice as much as driving, maybe not...because hotels in canada cost a fortune during the summer.
  • joe_b_'s avatar
    joe_b_
    Explorer II
    Apr 10, 2014
    The ferry rides are great for most people but very few take the Cross Gulf run to/from Juneau to Whittier. It isn't a very scenic ride, from what I have been told since the ship runs far off shore much of the time. Just not popular with tourist and probably why it runs so seldom in the summer months and not at all during the winter. You have to have a special reason to take that route. Some people don't want to do the long drive over the Alaska Highway and refuse to fly. So the Alaska ferry to Juneau and south works for them. Then they can take their RV to where ever in the Lower 48.

    Mostly people wanting to avoid Canada for what ever reason. If you have a prior criminal conviction such as a DUI and want to take your RV to Alaska, this run will work. You can carry your firearms with you on it and other reasons.
    There isn't enough interest in the cross gulf run, in the winter, both lack of tourists and the weather in the Gulf of Alaska. The ride would be much like a roller coaster, in one of the frequent storms, wind and waves. LOL

    Most people do the Bellingham to Skagway route or some portion of it. I am not convinced that with today's fuel prices, that the ferry is that much more than driving. Plus, short of taking your own boat on the route, it is about the only way to see South East Alaska amd coastal western Canada.. The ferry is not something we do every trip, as my wife and I both enjoy the drive through Canada on the way to Alaska. We especially enjoy the Prince Rupert to Skagway route. Just long enough, lots of great scenery, the ferry is close in, most of the time, several communities to visit along the way, etc.
  • EEWally's avatar
    EEWally
    Explorer
    Apr 09, 2014
    For our 22 feet of truck camper, it's $1206 from Prince Rupert to Haines with getting off at Ketchikan, Sitka and Juneau. One night with cabin on the Ketchikan-Sitka leg. I think leaving from Bellingham would have doubled the cost.

    There's an additional $337 for the Inter-Island Ferry from Ketchikan to Prince of Wales Island and back.

    We decided to do this before we go to a 5th wheel!
  • gbopp's avatar
    gbopp
    Explorer
    Apr 09, 2014
    Wow! Thanks.
    If we go to Alaska, we'll definitely be driving through Canada. :E
  • alaska_dennis's avatar
    alaska_dennis
    Explorer
    Apr 09, 2014
    pay the 100 for unacc and fly down to seattle. If the dogs can be crated and put in the belly of the plane. Plane tickets might be cheaper than berths. Guns and ammo get a boat ride.
  • CA_Traveler's avatar
    CA_Traveler
    Explorer III
    Apr 09, 2014
    I want to explore all of that area in a smaller rig...

    The scenic views are spectacular and I only saw a small glimpse last summer.

    Never meet a ferry I didn't love. We just couldn't get enough of the Lady Rose (passenger/cargo) out of Port Alberni and our Australian Sheppard loved the deck.

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