On May 30, we boarded our Ferry in Bellingham, WA. We got into Bellingham around 10:30am. We didn't have the stage the vehicle (get in line) until 3:00p and we were set to depart at 6:00pm. We had a lot of time to waste. We reorganized our luggage to include the important stuff we needed to take up to our room and to make it easier to grab when we pulled onto the ship. We went in search of a Target or Walmart to get formula for Lil Man, ended up finding a Walgreens first so we got a few things there with the formula. We then travelled back to the port. I did homework while my men got us lunch and hung out. Around 2:00pm we drove the truck to the staging area.
Once we were in line, we could leave the truck or stay with it but we had to be back with our vehicle at 3:00 to begin boarding. So we decided to stay with the truck. While we waited to board, we saw the police dogs go around sniffing vehicles and groups reuniting. It is crazy that some of those people do this every year and every year they see the same people either that or are bound for the same locations. Turns out we stayed with the truck for a really long time. I don't think we actually pulled into the ferry until 5:00. And yes I do mean into not onto because the vehicles were all under the ship. There were all sorts of vehicles down there, buses, RVs, and motorcycles along with the normal cars and trucks.
Once we got into the ferry we unloaded the necessary luggage and went up to find out our room assignment.
The room was not what I expected. It had 2 sets of bunk beds for the 3 of us, we had a sink, toilet/shower, and closet. Those of you know how we pack know we had a lot of luggage for not a very big room (even though we condensed our stuff). We got our bags in and decided to go walk around the boat for a little while before we left port. The ship had observation decks all around the outside. The top level of the ship was full of people that were camping out. I'm serious! These people had tents, sleeping bags. Apparently, you don't have to purchase a room you can just camp out up top. Let me tell you, I will NEVER do that, it was sooooo stinking cold and windy, I couldn't imagine it. There were even families with little kids up there! Inside, there was a room in the front that had windows at the front that you could just sit and watch as we sailed. At the back of this room, they had 2 big screen tv's that had a map of where we were and where we were headed so we could track our progress. There was a full service bar. It was great, I had a Norm moment. I only went into the bar 2x and the bartender new my name and drink by the second time I came in. It was kinda awesome but then again it kinda made me feel like an alcoholic. She even knew who I was when I walked in. Of course Floyd was in there before me and said that his wife was going to be coming in shortly, so when I sat down she said "Are you Floyd's wife". Then there was the cafeteria. You would think as much as we spent on the dang ferry the food would be free, but it wasn't. They did have some good food though. And Floyd was LOVING the seafood.
We boarded on Friday, May 30 and got off the ship on Monday, Jun 2. During that time we had 4 stops before we got to our destination of Haines, AK. We did have any stops until Sunday so there was a lot of scenery to take it. It was so beautiful. If an Alaskan Cruise has scenery like the what we saw on the ferry I would recommend it to anybody. It was nothing like I have ever seen before. On Sunday, Jun 1, we actually were able to get off the ship at our first stop in Ketchikan. It is a cute town. We had breakfast on land and then reboarded the ship. Then next 3 stops, Wrangell, Petersburg, and Juneau were too short for us to get off the ship.
We got to Haines June 2 early afternoon and decided to spend the evening in Haines and then get a fresh start in the morning to go through Canada. That will be the next leg. Our 3 day ferry ride was a lot of fun and was relaxing with scenery that would be hard to beat. Here are some pictures.
Our Ferry - M/V Malaspina
Driving into the Ferry
Our room
Getting ready to explore the boat
Bellingham, WA
Exploring the ferry
Baby getting a lil tummy time
View from the back of the ship
Very excited about being out in the wind
Sitting in the observation room
Flowers in Ketchikan. This is the actual color.
More flowers in Ketchikan
Ketchikan
Chewing on some celery, thanks Dad!
Me and baby hanging out in the room
Dad and baby hanging out in the room
Dry land again, heading to find a hotel in Haines.
