Anyone taken Alaskan Ferry from Anchorage to Bellingham???

[synergy_58]

My wife and I are being transfered (Air Force) from Anchorage (JBER), AK in September 2014. We will be traveling via the Alaska Ferry system, leaving from Whittier, and have never taken a ferry anywhere before.

We will be in a Itasca Navion 25', 11' tall, pulling a 5x8 Wells Cargo enclosed trailer.
I am 100% DAV (Army) with a nationally certified, Gov. sponsored service dog.

We have reservations and supposedly will have a cabin to sleep in (wife, me and SD), but one can never be sure till it actually happens.

Is there anyone who has taken their RV on the ferry and traveled down from Anchorage to Bellingham before, who can give us a heads up on what to expect, the do's and dont's please?

Thanks!

[Grit_dog]

Joe.
You are correct and looks like you're right. I was overcharged.
I'm certain we did use an agent. No wonder he was so helpful!
Appreciate the heads up and guidance for others making the trip.

[joe_b_]

Dog, if you remember correctly what you paid for your trip, on the Big Mat from Prince Rupert to Haines, with a 4 berth cabin and I am guessing 4 passengers, plus a 41 ft long rig, you over paid.

I just went to the official state site for the AMHS and ran your given data through their program, with a June 3 departure out of Prince Rupert.
I came up with the same figure using the info in the back of the 2013 Milepost.

Vehicle 41 ft at $29.60 a ft = $1213.60 for the trip
4 berth cabin +$238 for the trip (not by the night)
4 adult passengers, estimate of # and ages, $160 each, so 4 X $160 = $640 for the trip

Total cost of the trip, not counting food = $2091.60

If you do remember correctly, what you paid and still have the receipts, you may be able to get some reimbursement, as you were over charged. Now if you bought your tickets from a travel agent, and not from the AMHS directly, you are probably out of luck.

Run your trip through this site, as it is the official AMHS and should be current. Never hurts to give them a call either as they are good people to work with on any questions you or anyone may have.
http://www.dot.state.ak.us/amhs/

There is still room on the first June sailing of the Big Mat, out of Prince Rupert for passengers, vehicles and cabins still available, if anyone is interested. The ferry trips are enjoyable to us, even though they are not cheap, neither is a trip to Alaska. The ferry isn't something we do every trip but it is worth it to us to do occasionally. To see what the cost would be to you, get on the AMHS site and plug in you information. The AMHS web site becomes friendlier every year and easier to use, IMHO.

[Grit_dog]

Considered taking the ferry the entire way from Bellingham to Haines then on to anchorage when we moved up to AK last yr but wanted to see the sights and took the AMHS ferry MV Matanuska from Prince Rupert to Haines.
The Inside Passage was a wonderful ride. Scenery was breath taking and something the family and I will never forget. The entire trip was smooth water. Could have water skiied on most of it. I understand the majority of the remainder of the trip is open water thus not very scenic.
Cost wise, I had the truck and camper in my sig with a 16' util trailer. 41' total length and 13' tall. That ride was about $3500 plus $200per night for a 4 berth cabin.
Fuel cans are allowed but required to be declared and are stored separately. In my case they were buried in the front of a full trailer and I just "forgot" about them.
Propane must be turned off. Did not know that initially so we had emptied our fridge at home into the camper. Ran it DC for a day then convinced them to allow me to plug in AC but against their better judgement. I'd say don't plan on it but bring lots of snacks, drinks and a small cooler to fill out of your vehicle periodically.
I was also unaware that there would be no access to the car deck while underway. Not like the WA state ferries.
All in all was pleasant accommodations. Drinks are not cheap. Food isn't bad price.
Bring a couple books especially for your trip. Lots of open water and downtime.
I didn't have any firearms, flew them up with me on another trip so not sure how the AMHS views that but I'd think its fine since not going through Canada.
Good luck on your pcs and thank you for your service.

[synergy_58]

AKSuperDually wrote:
I wish you the best of luck in your PCS.

I always did a partial DITY, and generally made money. But, as you know, the adventure of canada wears out. I'm going to go to the ferry site and see if I can find some pricing. We're headed down to Oregon in a couple weeks, and avoiding canada would be pretty awesome. I wanted to shoot a competition while I was down, but can't because of the hassle of canada and firearms.

I'm actually going to be in Anchorage this week, I'm attending a conference on Saturday, and decided to come up a few days early. We'll be staying in our camper at one of our churches on Dowling from Thursday -Sunday.

Don't forget to stop by the new Cabela's, it opened today!

[AKSuperDually]

I wish you the best of luck in your PCS.

I always did a partial DITY, and generally made money. But, as you know, the adventure of canada wears out. I'm going to go to the ferry site and see if I can find some pricing. We're headed down to Oregon in a couple weeks, and avoiding canada would be pretty awesome. I wanted to shoot a competition while I was down, but can't because of the hassle of canada and firearms.

I'm actually going to be in Anchorage this week, I'm attending a conference on Saturday, and decided to come up a few days early. We'll be staying in our camper at one of our churches on Dowling from Thursday -Sunday.

[synergy_58]

AKSuperDually wrote:
The only trip where I had real troubles with the border crossings, were the PCS trips, traveling under orders.

That never occurred to me.

I just assumed it was bad luck, the other times I didn't even show military ID.

And...you're right about running into pricks. When I've had a bad crossing, it's been because one guy wanted to be a prick.

I try to be well rested and ready at the border crossings. It's definitely a place where you need your wits about you if things go sour.

They like tourists a lot more than military, so I try to act like a tourist. And now that I'm out, that's much easier. I took the veteran tags off my truck also, it was causing me too many hassles in Oregon.

Hmmm? Maybe I should do the same, get rid of the plates, but then no more freebies. I am a bit tired of the "cold shouldered" attention. Too bad too, as military folks and veterans deserve better, but I can't say it's not typical.

Down in Pensacola its the worst that I've experienced. One wouldn't think so with the Navy base there, Eglin an hour away, and Keesler, Tyndal, and all the other smaller port base around. Local people just don't have the gratitude for the military in Pensacola like some other places I've been. Yeah, of course they want that military spending, but don't expect a Mil discount or any sort of kind gesture, especially from the local Gov. and law enforcement.

Oh well, we just move on and stay under the wire.

[AKSuperDually]

The only trip where I had real troubles with the border crossings, were the PCS trips, traveling under orders.

That never occurred to me.

I just assumed it was bad luck, the other times I didn't even show military ID.

And...you're right about running into pricks. When I've had a bad crossing, it's been because one guy wanted to be a prick.

I try to be well rested and ready at the border crossings. It's definitely a place where you need your wits about you if things go sour.

They like tourists a lot more than military, so I try to act like a tourist. And now that I'm out, that's much easier. I took the veteran tags off my truck also, it was causing me too many hassles in Oregon.

[synergy_58]

NCWriter,

I will try and remember to do some trip posts of our ferry experience with my SD. I have no issues traveling with my SD, Violet. She was professionally trained by and organization called "Four Paws For Vets", out of Sacramento, CA. We spent nine months in training together; it was brutal for me 😉

I enjoy, and of course need Violet by my side, and she performs, as she should, most of the time. She is a dog after all, and so she does loose it from time to time. She is easy most of the time, but sometimes she gets irritable of other people always approaching us. She was trained to cover me however, so its part of her job. She is wonderful around kids, and does very well in stores and places we eat at. What she gets excited about is seeing other dogs, in stores, at the airport, etc.

We see more and more non-working "pets" going in and out of public places these days and they can cause a scene, when not properly trained. Violet gets antsy and usually barks at other dogs, which she really shouldn't do. But it's usually because the other non-working "pet" is uncontrolled, allowed to wonder around as if they were at a park, or at home; this causes a lot of grief for those of us who need our SD's by our side, and who are legally in working mode.

Unfortunately, we're seeing more and more people, who are bringing their “pet” dogs into travel mode out of convenience for themselves, not necessarily out of need. Some people have even purchased vests with emblems, suggesting that they have a SD or therapy dog need, doing so for their own convenience; they have no legal access. If caught, they can be fined, but usually at the very least, they are not permitted public access. There is a difference between a SD and Therapy dog.

I once witnessed a lady bringing a small dog on board a plane. She had a small lap dog and it was wearing a vest that stated therapy dog. The desk receptionist requested validation for which the lady had none; she was denied travel with the dog in the cabin area and had to purchase a kennel from the airline and have the dog travel in the cargo area.

Legitimate SD’s have legal rights under ADA and the Justice Department laws. They are permitted into all public places. Not all therapy dogs have the same unlimited access, like SD’s. Only those therapy dogs that are under physician’s orders have the same access as most SD’s, and they will have credentials with them, as I do. Therapy dogs are permitted on a case-by-case basis, depending on the individual who as the control of access. Most attendants of public places don’t even ask, but they’re getting better.

Because of the increasing numbers of non-working “pet” owners attempting to pass their “pets” off as working service animals, more and more businesses and public places are requesting validation of credentials from people, which I firmly believe they should. After all, the purpose for public access for people with SD’s is due to their disability needs, both physical and mental. If they are legitimate, they will have no issues with providing credentials, and we gladly do.

Sorry, I just carried on about SD’s didn’t I?

Again, we will make every effort to make trip posts, and share our experience.

Thanks!

[synergy_58]

joe b. wrote:
As another option to any of those leaving Alaska or moving to, consider using a large commercial truck trailer. When we moved from Nenana, to western Colorado, I called Sea Land Trucking and had them send a 40 or 50 ft. van to our house. They backed it up against our deck and we had it for a week. I had built some wood boxes to pack my guns in for the trip. Sea Land assured me the same trailer would be delivered, to our new home in Ouray Colorado. So I packed the guns in the boxes, put them in the very front of the trailer van and then packed in the contents of our three bedroom home into it. No way anyone was going to get to where those guns were packed.

I then called Sea Land, in Anchorage and they had one of their drivers stop by with their truck and hook on, hauling it to Anchorage where it was weighed and the charge determined. The cost was about 1/3 of what the commercial movers wanted for the same service. Sea Land put it on a rail car, which went on a rail barge and headed it to the Seattle area. There the rail car with our trailer on it was connected to a train headed for Denver, to be off loaded. A truck then brought it back over the mountains to Ouray and parked it in our drive way. We were given a week, again to unload it. We did and called Denver to pick it up. Another week or so later they stopped by and got their now empty trailer.

The entire process worked very well and was the best price I could figure out by a long ways. We weren't in too big a hurry to get our stuff, as we drove out in our motorhome, and other vehicle. We lived in our motorhome for about 6 weeks, while I went to work every day. By the time our trailer arrived, we had purchased a home and only had to move the junk one time.

The AMHS ferry boats move much of the commercial freight in SE Alaska. So they are loading refer vans with diesel tanks, on and off all the time. Now the cross gulf ferry isn't used too much for commercial freight as most of that comes up by barge out of Washington. Barge freight charges are even less than the ferry charges commercial carriers. The ferry system normally has a place the trucking firms can drop off and pick up their trailers and then the AMHS, has yard mules to load the trailers on and off of the ferry boats. They have the system figured out for sure.

Every place in the state of Alaska had subsidized transportation by the state, except for the bush areas. SE has the ferry system, the southern railbelt, the banana belt of the Anchorage bowl, has the highway system and railroad. But the bush where all the money the state receives originates, gets no subsidies on transportation. Sort of the Robin Hood operation, but in reverse, take the money from the bush, the mining, oil production and the fishing, and spend it on the urban areas of the state. Alaska is an extractive industry state, with very little added value added to any of their products. Time to put my soap box back in the closet.

joe b.

Lots of good info, thanks!
I've never even consider doing the self pack thing, sounds like a lot of hard work. I can see the benefits though, not just from the money perspective. I've watched movers and packers do our household goods all too many times, only to have things stolen and broken; we're pretty tired of this******too. One time, moving from Pensacola, FL to Albuquerque, NM, we had a paid claim of over $26,000.00, because of theft and damage. Everytime we move we have some loss or damage, EVERYTIME! Its crazy.

I'm not sure I have the energy to pack all of our stuff though, but I will certainly entertain this method over the next few months. Who knows, maybe we'll try it.

Thanks!

[synergy_58]

PCS'ing is never really fun, at least not for me. I've never done the ferry so this will be a new experience for us. According to a friend (AD AF, Element Chief) who took the ferry up, he, his wife, two kids and their dog, they said it was a great trip and they wouldn't do it any other way. He said they basically lounged for four days, having a very relaxed, basically a vacation on the AF's dime, all expenses paid, plus some. One gets more travel days added to their PCS travel!

I think it's going to be expensive for certain, but we get it all paid for. I'm guessing some where around $5000.00 for two adults, a 25' RV towing another 10' trailer, a private cabin, meals and incidentals. Heck, it could be more. This is one-way from Whittier to Bellingham.

The nice thing about it all, I can bring guns without any issues. I can bring 60 lbs of ammo per person, and I was told if I had a bit more than 120 lbs (me and wife), they would store it in the Captains locker, so no worries. Also, we have our travel things with us, close by, for the rest of our trip towards our new duty assignment. A Big Deal for us, as you may well know.

I've made two trips across the ALCAN, the first one, coming up to AK nearly three years ago, was an adventure filled with all the unexpected things one would hope for. But, honestly, most of the trip was boring and exhausting. Yes, we stopped at all the typical places and did all the touristy things. Yes, most of the scenery was spectacular, but really not until we hit the Yukon Territory and crossed into the USA did we really think the scenery was great. Coming into Canada for about the first 100 miles or so, the scenery was neat, like driving into the Smokey Mountains. Most of the trip getting up to the White Horse area was like driving on a back road somewhere in Georgia or Alabama (no offense GA and AL).

The roads through Canada just plain sucked, especially the last 100 miles or so before crossing back into the US. Fuel, food and lodging leaves much to be desired and is absolutely expensive. The Canadian boarder regulations for US Military on orders are unfriendly and just plain ****ty.

I know young a few young airmen and soldiers who had their pocket knives taken from them and then fined $500.00, and then laughed at by the Canadian boarder guards; this is just plain harassment and uncooperative BS. Hell, these are soldiers and airmen, military people, who carry pocketknives. I know a young Army family who had their vehicle searched and had a child’s plastic play gun taken, one of those toy guns that shoot those little plastic disks. They spent over four hours waiting for the guards to make a decision, thus delaying their travel to get to the hotel at their next stopping point, which caused them to have to spend the night at another hotel, causing them to lose money.

When we crossed over, we had to sit in the empty lobby waiting area for 2 hours while the Canadian boarder folks took their sweet time processing our passports. My wife tried to show the boarder guy at the desk a copy of our orders and the guy glanced at her and said, “I don’t care about that”, and waived his hand at her like to say, go away. We sat down not knowing what to do, sitting for another hour and 45 minutes. Then, with an unfriendly demeanor, they called us up and asked us where we were going and what for and then, with a dirty look, said we could leave. That was it, no thank you, screw you or go to hell. All of this, after we answered the typical "any guns, ammo, or other things you have to declare" BS at the gate before we were told to go inside. What a bunch of BS, like being in a third world country.

I’m not just picking on the Canadians either; those US boarder personnel can be just as unfriendly. My last trip back into the US from Canada, the guard asks me if I have fruit, as he can plainly see my fruit sitting on the passenger seat. I had a bag of tangerines and apples I bought at Costco down in Portland on the passenger seat, my snacks along the road. I said yes, and pointed at the fruit. He raises his voice with a tone of shock and screams at me “pull that rig over there, just pull it over there and get out”!

When he approached the RV side door, with me standing outside, and my service dog standing in the doorway, he started his aggressive pursuit, giving me a loud lecture about contraband, how it was illegal to bring citrus into Alaska. My SD stared him in the eye, began to get that growling look with her hackles starting to rise. The guard looks at her for a second, see’s she’s a SD, and then quietly backs off, changes his tone, and looks at me and says “can I have the fruit please”. I said sure, I reached inside, grabbed the tangerines and apples and handed them to him. He took both bags and said, “thank you, do you have any questions about this”. I said, well just wondering f you consider apples citrus? He looked at the bags, and then handed me the apples back, said I was free to go. So, yeah, those US boarder guards can be *******s too.

Anyway, I do NOT want to have to travel back through Canada and waste my time and resources putting up with unfriendly behavior. After all these years and all the money spent by the US paving the way through Canada, one would think the US would have a better, friendlier agreement with the Canadians for travel through Canada, especially for military personnel on orders. So, hopefully the ferry travel will be the ticket for us!

I know what you mean about the air travel and guns. Over the last year I've had to travel back and forth to Florida. Each time I've taken a few of my guns and ammo back on the plane, in preparation for this move. Not something one can do driving through Canada, at least not with pistols, AR's, and a lot of other guns and most ammo.

We certainly hope this ferry ride trip will be uneventful, just relaxing and casual!

[joe_b_]

As another option to any of those leaving Alaska or moving to, consider using a large commercial truck trailer. When we moved from Nenana, to western Colorado, I called Sea Land Trucking and had them send a 40 or 50 ft. van to our house. They backed it up against our deck and we had it for a week. I had built some wood boxes to pack my guns in for the trip. Sea Land assured me the same trailer would be delivered, to our new home in Ouray Colorado. So I packed the guns in the boxes, put them in the very front of the trailer van and then packed in the contents of our three bedroom home into it. No way anyone was going to get to where those guns were packed.

I then called Sea Land, in Anchorage and they had one of their drivers stop by with their truck and hook on, hauling it to Anchorage where it was weighed and the charge determined. The cost was about 1/3 of what the commercial movers wanted for the same service. Sea Land put it on a rail car, which went on a rail barge and headed it to the Seattle area. There the rail car with our trailer on it was connected to a train headed for Denver, to be off loaded. A truck then brought it back over the mountains to Ouray and parked it in our drive way. We were given a week, again to unload it. We did and called Denver to pick it up. Another week or so later they stopped by and got their now empty trailer.

The entire process worked very well and was the best price I could figure out by a long ways. We weren't in too big a hurry to get our stuff, as we drove out in our motorhome, and other vehicle. We lived in our motorhome for about 6 weeks, while I went to work every day. By the time our trailer arrived, we had purchased a home and only had to move the junk one time.

The AMHS ferry boats move much of the commercial freight in SE Alaska. So they are loading refer vans with diesel tanks, on and off all the time. Now the cross gulf ferry isn't used too much for commercial freight as most of that comes up by barge out of Washington. Barge freight charges are even less than the ferry charges commercial carriers. The ferry system normally has a place the trucking firms can drop off and pick up their trailers and then the AMHS, has yard mules to load the trailers on and off of the ferry boats. They have the system figured out for sure.

Every place in the state of Alaska had subsidized transportation by the state, except for the bush areas. SE has the ferry system, the southern railbelt, the banana belt of the Anchorage bowl, has the highway system and railroad. But the bush where all the money the state receives originates, gets no subsidies on transportation. Sort of the Robin Hood operation, but in reverse, take the money from the bush, the mining, oil production and the fishing, and spend it on the urban areas of the state. Alaska is an extractive industry state, with very little added value added to any of their products. Time to put my soap box back in the closet.

[NCWriter]

Synergy, hope you will post a trip report on your ferry experience with your service dog. I'd be very interested.

We're gradually introducing Raylene to our small RV. She's been with us for six weeks, and goes everywhere with me. First overnight will be next week at a campground near our home. Then will visit friends and later attend a regional Leisure Rally in Virginia for a few nights each time. Hope to take her up to the Gaspe Peninsula in July for about a month.

[AKSuperDually]

I had no idea you could do that. Would you mind sharing how much you anticipate that to cost? When I PCS'd to AK 12 years ago, it wasn't an option to skip canada. I guess I've never looked into it since. I always figured once I had driven to Haines, I may as well go the rest of the way.

I'd definitely be interested in the ferry in the future if I could skip canada. Heck, this last move up, we used 3 plane tickets to get all our guns back up here.

[synergy_58]

Tee Jay wrote:
You may want to check on the diesel. Fuel in containers are prohibited on the WA State Ferry, Alaska may be different, but ask. Since you won't need it on the Ferry, ask about an empty can as well. Also, consider just leaving the fridge empty. There are friends at JBER and stores in Bellingham. Just a thought. When you do turn it on it will take hours to get to operating temperature. I have never timed it, but we run ours on electric for 24 hours or more before loading it when we are packing to leave.

Thanks Tee Jay,

You make a great point. Leave the food behind and buy more later. Everytime we have a change in duty station (PCS), we basically do just that, pass along all the extras to our comrades and family. We'll hang on to a few bottles of wine, maybe a six pack and make some snacks, and the rest we'll just enjoy the ferry conviences and pretend we're on a cruise!

I will ask the ferry admin about the fuel tomorrow when I call.

Thanks again!