Inside Passage Small Ship Recommendation

When initially planning this trip we thought about taking our truck camper and using the ferry system. The more we studied the ferry's sailing route and options to get "up close & personal" with the AK islands and passages, we thought it would not offer the level of exploration that we wanted. Also, taking a camper on the ferry is pricey - though sleeping accomodations are solved when on shore. I must confess that we are chronic impulsive travelers and don't like to be tied to fixed schedules on trips. I've read that taking the ferry presents a potential issue of needing to schedule our route to get the camper on board. Alternatively, I suppose we could do a walk-on and pot luck the lodging at various ports - but, that could also pose a problem of room availability. Hummm.... will need to think more about this.
Bob