On the Ferry Columbia: Bellingham WA to Haines AK
Friday, 25 July 2025: We’re off on our first road trip since 2022. We finished packing this morning and now we’re on our way to Bellingham and the Alaska Marine Highway ferry. About the ferry: I read online that Ferry reservations for the following summer usually become available beginning in January or February so I began checking in December 2024. By December 27 I was able to book our round trip ferry excursion from Bellingham WA to Haines AK and back again. O and I decided to travel in luxury for this trip and booked a cabin. We are bringing our Sprinter van, Vincent, along with us for an approximately 6 week tour around Alaska.
We arrive in Bellingham a bit before our scheduled 2 pm boarding time, after stopping in Burlington to buy DEF for Vincent. While there we also purchased a couple of giant falafel wraps at Fairhaven Cafe. They are so substantial that I think they will be both lunch and supper today. Following our maps app to the ferry terminal, we find it isn’t obvious where to actually get in line to board, but from the circle in front of the terminal we can see cars, trucks, vans and RV’s lined up. We follow the road around to the end of the line and make our way to the booth at the entrance. The woman in the booth asks if we have checked in at the terminal, to which we reply, “No.” She allows us to get in line anyway since we are on her list of passengers, on condition that we proceed directly to the terminal after finding our place in line so that we can officially check in and get boarding passes for ourselves and for Vincent. We thank her for allowing us in line, and she assures us that this happens all the time as there are currently no online instructions as to the proper procedure for boarding. The man who points us to our place in line also notices the lack of an official boarding pass for Vincent and likewise explains that this is a frequent occurrence. Once parked, we hurry to the terminal where we are given our official passes. The young man at the terminal counter is delighted that we’ve done things in the wrong order. It saves him a lot of time trying to explain how to navigate back to the end of the line.
Back with Vincent we have plenty of time to relax. We each eat half of our delicious falafel wraps, saving the second half for supper. We finally board about 4 pm. Once parked on the car deck, we gather our gear for this leg of the trip and head up to level 5 where we are instructed to stop at the Purser’s desk for our cabin assignment. We are assigned to #119. The cabin is quite comfortable with bunk beds, a small table, one chair and our own small private bathroom with shower. Linens and towels are provided. There are two outlets in the room, so plenty of options for charging electronics. There is a small pillow on each bunk, but our own pillows are much more comfortable.
After organizing our berth we set out to explore the ferry, finding the forward viewing lounge on level 7, the snack bar, the restaurant, and later the cocktail lounge. We walk aft and find the solarium where we watch a few intrepid travelers set up their tents and secure them to the deck with duct tape. We enjoy the scenery as we sail northward.
Far to the south we can still see Mt. Baker looking as if it is floating in the mist. By 10 pm Alaska time which is one hour earlier than Pacific daylight time (and is the time used aboard the ferry,) we are back in our berth and ready for bed. I take the top bunk and O is in the bottom. It’s a good thing we are not very tall. There’s not much head room up top!
Saturday, 26 July 2025: We slept surprisingly well last night. The bunks are not luxurious, but they are adequate. Today is another sunny day. O and I proceed to the cafeteria for breakfast. All we need is coffee and some yogurt having brought a cherry pie from PCC in Bellevue for our breakfast main course. We have a family tradition of eating pie for breakfast on ferries. As we reach for paper cups for our coffee we are advised by a seasoned ferry traveller to buy Keurig cups instead of drinking the brewed ferry coffee. We are informed the ferry coffee is not very good. After finishing our pie, we stroll around the ferry and then proceed to the forward viewing lounge. Just after settling in a humpback whale breaches just off the starboard bow. Alas, I can’t get my camera out in time! Together O and I watch the stunning scenery go by. The captain announces via intercom that a whale has been playing for awhile off the port bow. Many of us rush to the windows for photographs. I manage to get a distant shot of an orca’s tail.
More distant whale splashes and spouts are peppered throughout the afternoon. I spend some of my time reading and some researching places to eat during our travels through Seward, Anchorage and Fairbanks. I think we’ll be dining at restaurants for about half of this trip and cooking in camp for the other half.
O is very interested in following our route through the Inner Passage. He notices a map on display at the Purser’s desk and asks if he can buy one. The Purser directs him to the cashier in the cafeteria and off he goes. We find this map very useful during the course of our travel on the Alaska Marine Highway.
A bit before 6 pm we line up to try the Ferry restaurant. Once the restaurant opens at 6 we are seated quickly at a table with a window view. Service is prompt. O and I order identical meals. This happens often. I guess we’ve been married too long! Our halibut is a bit overcooked but not bad, and the baked potato that comes with it is excellent. The potato is accompanied by sour cream and grated cheese with bacon bits on the side. O and I share a caramel chocolate “turtle” cheese cake for dessert. It’s very good. Best of all, the price for our meal is quite reasonable. Tipping is not allowed on the ferries.
In the evening, after walking outside for awhile, we sit in the viewing lounge once more and wait for the sunset which happens around 9:40. Then it’s off to bed.
Sunday, 27 July 2025: We are awakened very early this morning by an announcement that we will be docking in Ketchikan soon. It’s our first port of call. It’s only about 4:15 am. By 6:30 we are underway once more. O and I head to the cafeteria with the remains of our cherry pie. One of our fellow passengers finds our “healthy” cherry pie breakfast very amusing. We explain that it’s a tradition.
After breakfast O and I go to the 6th level forward lounge where there are tables on which we can spread out our map to study our route. The flip side of the map relates the history of the inner passage.
Our next port is Wrangell. After watching the crew’s docking procedure at Wrangell we grab lunch at the snack bar. There we chat with two women who had been tenting on the solarium level. They gave up on sleeping there because diesel fumes from the ferry were becoming overwhelming.
As we travel further north toward Petersburg we note that the water has taken on the distinctive teal hue of glacial melt. This afternoon we pass through the scenic Narrows. Just as we enter the Narrows a young brown seal dives on the port side of the ferry. We are seeing more and more snow-capped mountains today, some still with glaciers, and some showing the aretes, cirques and tors of past glaciation. It’s been another amazing day!
Monday, 28 July 2025: It’s another early morning awakening as the ferry arrives in Sitka. We are scheduled to remain here for 3 hours. O and I try to sleep in until 7, but it’s difficult with the noise of docking, etc. Oh well, might as well get ready for breakfast. We are out of cherry pie today so it’s time for the homemade bran muffins we’ve brought along. We’re back at the snack bar to get yogurt and coffee. Our friend who liked our cherry pie tradition passes by and I point out we are having a healthier breakfast today. He replies that he really likes our tradition of eating pie on ferries.
On the way back from breakfast we stop to chat with the Purser. He’s a font of information about this ferry and its history. In 2006-7, following a fire in the auxiliary engine room the ferry was gutted and the interior, including the cabins, was redone. Below decks the machinery has also been entirely updated. The Columbia was originally built in 1974. It’s the largest ferry in the Alaska Marine Highway system. The crew aboard the ferry work two week rotations. During those two weeks they are on for 12 hours and off 12 hours. All of the crew, including waiters, dishwashers, cashiers etc. are required to undergo extensive Coast Guard training for emergencies, fire and other hazards. O had noticed that our cashier this morning is also in charge of the muster at the dining level in case of emergencies. The purser points out that the pay for a ferry dishwasher might appear high, but they are much more than a dishwasher. Each crew member has multiple roles. Most of the crew are Alaska residents. There are two complete crews for the ferry to allow for the two week rotation schedule.
The Purser is amused when O asks about the rough welding jobs on the rails around the vessel. He explains that non-essential areas such as the railings and interior walls are great places for trainee welders to learn their job. O also asks about our scheduled 3 hour layovers at Sitka and Juneau. He asks if it’s for tides. The purser explains that it can be for the tides as the channel is quite shallow in places. Also, the channel is narrow enough in spots that having two large ferries pass each other is inadvisable. Another interesting fact about the captain and navigators is that they have to have the entire route through the inner passage memorized in case of power outage. They are periodically tested by being placed in a room with a large, blank sheet of paper and instructed to draw a map of the route from memory!
Today our ferry route widens out and the shore is further away. We have not sighted any wildlife yet. We read and journal in the lounge. At 10:15 the car deck opens for 20 minutes. We carry some of our gear back to Vincent so that our midnight trip to the car deck will be easier when we arrive in Haines. I plugged our small van refrigerator into our Ecoflow battery yesterday afternoon as the van’s auxiliary battery was running low. Today the Ecoflow is out of power so I purchase a large bag of ice from the ice machine on Level 5 for a quarter and stow the ice in our fridge. We carry the Ecoflow back to our room and plug it in for a recharge. We’ll return it to Vincent at the next open deck.
By 3:30 we arrive in Juneau. The approach is beautiful, the Mendenhall Glacier, grey in mid-summer, is very impressive. We have a three hour wait here, but the Ferry Terminal is 13 miles from the center of town, so O and I decide to remain on the ferry. We return the Ecoflow to Vincent and plug in the fridge. I’m going to enjoy just sitting still and reading until supper time. We’ll go to the dining room once again this evening and order the Linguine Alfredo which we had last night. It’s delicious!
Before we retire to our room we stroll around the Columbia one last time. We note that someone has found a creative way to sleep on board. Around 10, after viewing the last inner passage sunset of this trip, we return to our room to try to get a little rest before we disembark. We’ve been very lucky to have had four days of sunshine on this voyage! We’ve spoken to other passengers who have been travelled this route many times and have never before seen the mountains and glaciers because the weather was too cloudy, rainy or foggy.
A bit past 11 pm an announcement comes over the speakers. We have arrived in Haines. Passengers who are disembarking head to the car deck. A crew member checks our ID’s as we drive off the ferry. We ask if we can spend the rest of the night in the parking lot. She directs us the end of the lot. Several of our fellow travelers are already parked there. We prepare Vincent’s deck for sleep and are snoozing by 1 am.