Inside Passage Small Ship Recommendation

Your trip looks great. I've heard great things about Waters Edge and I think you'll enjoy your other side trips as well.

Good decision! You will have a great time, see lots of gorgeous scenery and amazing wildlife, make new friends, and have an experience you'll tell others about for years.

I also agree with wolfe10 that, except for the state government buildings, downtown Juneau has become "Skagway-ized" due to all the cruise ships. That's why I prefer Haines to Skagway and Valdez to Seward. But, despite the cruise ships, Sitka is still my favorite town in Alaska.

MTBob: Your plan looks fantastic!! Enjoy.

As posted earlier, in Juneau, be sure to see the State Museum. It is in downtown.

Also, the "Michaelangelo of totem pole carving" has a premiere piece (free to see) in the base station for the funicular up Mr Roberts. His father is the real father of modern totem pole carving using ancient techniques.

Sadly, much of downtown Juneau has been replaced by tourist shops. We lived there in the mid 1970's (before cruise ships).

IMPORTANT: Be SURE to take a good pair of binoculars for each person. Those "golf balls in the trees" are actually Bald Eagles.

A few years back my brother and I took my truck camper from Prince Rupert to Skagway on the Alaska Marine Highway. Wow! What a great way to see SE Alaska.

A little work with the ferry schedule and we only traveled during the day spent every night in ports along the way in the camper.
Yes taking the TC was expensive but having a place to stay in each port was great.

Oh yes my camper was under 21 feet long and so traveled for the same fare as a car. If you have a place to stay and the time you can wait for a ferry space in the ports along the way. Spending a few days or so in a places like Petersburg could be fun.

OK folks, based on all the great comments / advice we've finalized our planning. We've decided to jettison the TC and do something a bit different - joining another couple for a two week trip in SE Alaska.
Based on many recommendations, we are going fly to Ketchikan and take the ferry to Juneau as a walk on, likely getting a cabin. It's an over night trip morning departure & next day morning arrival. But we are leaving May 31 so full darkness during that time is only about 5 hours.
In Juneau we will take two side trips during our six days there, one to Tracy Arm (Sawyer Glacier day trip) the other to Gustavus (Glacier Bay 3 day trip).
To cap off the itinerary we are then flying to Elfin Cove (north end of Chichagof island west of Juneau) for a week of fishing for Chinook and Halibut and sight seeing in the northern end of the island. http://www.watersedgealaska.com/Waters_Edge_Lodge/Home.html This lodge provides 22 ft fishing boats for our use, self guided, no captain.
Any comments on this itinerary are welcome. For sure, this trip will only scratch the surface of all the many fascinating places to explore in the SE AK area... but, it's a start.
Thanks for all your postings - much appreciated!!
Bob

If you want maximum flexibility, the ferries are definitely the way to go. If you don't have a vehicle, you just get on any ferry that happens by Ketchikan, Petersburg, Sitka, wherever. If it is a short time to the next port, you can sit in the lounge and listen to the naturalist that accompanies most ferries, eat lunch or drink coffee in the cafeteria, roam the deck taking photos, talk to the other passengers about where they have been and are going, or sleep in a chaise lounge on the aft deck.

If it is an overnight leg, you can get a cabin (if available or if you have previously made reservations) or roll out your sleeping bag and mat under the infrared heaters (or even set up a backpack tent) on the aft deck like most of the locals and backpackers do. All you pay for if you camp on deck or in the lounge is your individual fare for that leg. It's easy, safe, and (normally) warm and dry (there is a canopy over part of the aft deck).

Then, in the next port town, you can use public transportation to get a comfortable bed and a shower. If you think you need a car in one or more ports, those are available in the larger towns as well. You can stay as long or as short a time in each location as you want. Thousands of (generally young) people travel this way every summer because it's easy, cheap, and very flexible.

On one of our trips we took the ferry from Bellingham, WA. I can't recall the area right now but at one point the tides were just right and we took a little side detour through a very narrow passage. The captain stated that the big cruise ships could never come here. It was so neat to pass a small village who rarely sees the ferry. It seemed the whole village ran down the hillside to water's edge. The captain went as slow as he could and the villagers talked to us and jumped with glee. We were able to talk to them. It was a neat experience.

When you check into the pricing of the small ships you might find that taking the ferry with your truck camper would even be cheaper.

I would think that the folks on the small ships would have more in common than those on the big party ships. They would be there for the experience that you're there. Have a great trip whichever way you choose!

We saw the S.S. Legacy in Haines Harbor last August. She set anchor right off shore from Oceanside RV Park where we were staying. She pulled in just before dark and set sail shortly after sunup. Looked really cool at night all lit up. I see now she is doing duty in the Columbia and Snake Rivers this year. A beautiful ship to uniquely cruise in style.

I'd love to do one of those small ship cruises. They relate closely to what I did in Bermuda for 18 years. Instead of a seagoing bus tour I ran something more like a sea going limo tour. Made a special point of not going where the bus boats went & concentrated on being more of a day out with a local type of thing.

Met lots of wonderful people on a one to one basis.