Roll call Alaska 2017

Can't dooo much more than 2 months if ya ain't retireded.
Those folks have plenty of time. Week x country week thru Canadia, month in AK, 2 weeks back.
That's 5 more weeks than I've ever gotten for vacation in my 44 years on this planet and 6 more weeks than I've ever had except one time.

I don't want to discourage you, but you may want to reconsider this trip until you can devote sufficient time to it.

Its a very long and costly trip of more than 10,000 miles. Road conditions vary, from good to very poor. Lots of road construction is the norm, and trying to "make time" will only result in potentially unnecessary rig damage.

This will be our 3rd trip North and so far we have spent more than 200 days in just Northern Canada and Alaska, and we haven't even scratched the surface of all the magnificence available. For most people it is the trip of a lifetime. It would be a shame to be restricted to seeing the all of the vast splendor through just the windshield of your truck.

Just two cents from one who has been there, done that, and doing it again.

We are also heading up to AK the summer of 2017!
We'll be driving all the way from the Washington DC area via all the typical routes - Banff & Alaskan Hwy up, Cassair down...at least this first time.
Leaving 3rd week of June (as soon as kids' school lets out) and returning 3rd week of August. Wish we could make it longer.

^^^^^^^ This.

The AMHS ferries we have used have a covered, radiant-heated area on the aft deck, where most of the deck chairs are located. As stated previously, if you get there early, you can find a place that will be out of the wind and rain and actually be heated during cold weather.

The padded chairs in the forward observation lounge are like those in waiting areas at many airports. They are generally comfortable enough for a single night, but I wouldn't want to spend more than that trying to get any sleep.

Yes, the cabins are small, but well worth the money for longer trips like Bellingham to Ketchikan (37 hours) or Juneau to Whittier (52 hours). And those are travel times and do not include loading, unloading, and waiting to be loaded time, which is generally several hours each time you take your vehicle on or off the ferry.

Probably 2026 for me. Still enjoy the banter, stories and pictures :B

On one of our trips to Alaska we got a room and wished we didn't. It was so tiny and wasn't worth the cost.

In addition to the outdoor deck where the tenters stay (and it looked like they had a ball), there are many lounge chairs inside out of the elements. Many folks slept there. That's what we wished we had done.

Yes, seen those poor bugar's tenting on the deck this summer when we went from Skagway to Haine,s, not pretty the way the wind was blowing the tents around even though they were taped down, Tuesday afternoon and land in Bellingham friday morning, I think I would get a cabin, after all car and driver for the trip was $2300. Don't think so would drive first.

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if you do decide to sleep on the deck, be sure to get there asap, there are limited chairs available. you can sleep just about anywhere you can lay down.
but IMHO, just spend the extra money and get a cabin. when you consider the money you are going to spend on the entire trip a couple of hundred dollars is nothing.

PS - weather is also a factor. if nice wx then great, if bad then being on the deck could be pretty lousy.