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The ‘other’ Alaska cruise: Got a week? Pitch your tent on deck.

Alaska luxury cruise ships disgorge over a million visitors a year in the downtown Juneau port. While, at a humbler port of call in Auke Bay nearby, a smaller, homier, slower, and cheaper people’s cruise putters in and out.

The Alaska Marine Highway System quietly transports locals, their cars, groceries, pets, and fishing gear, as well as tourists along the 3,500-mile crescent of archipelagoes along the southern Alaska coast. Its traverse offers front-row views of the vast, rugged landscape that defines the 49th state.

Why We Wrote This

A story focused on

In the shadow of luxury cruise liners, the humble Alaska Marine Highway System wends through the Inside Passage connecting remote communities while helping tourists disconnect.

The catch? Bring your own … everything

“It’s entirely DIY,” says Jennie Flaming, host of the podcast “Alaska Uncovered.” 

Dining is limited to vending machines and a self-serve cafeteria. Towels and bedding are extra. There’s no Wi-Fi, so passengers entertain themselves with games, puzzles, and books. Some bring sleeping bags or set up tents and hammocks in the solarium and upper decks. And, settling into the slow pace triggers a rare sense of freedom in the total disconnect from technology.

“The ferries are our trains,” notes David Kiffer, mayor of Ketchikan. “They are the blue highways that connect us, and without them we could not exist as a cohesive region.”

Framed by snowcapped mountains and forest-blanketed islands, the MV Kennicott glides into Auke Bay on the outskirts of Juneau with little fanfare. It’s two hours late, but the passengers lining up to board aren’t overly concerned. No one who buys a ferry ticket on the Alaska Marine Highway System is in a hurry.

The Kennicott – a 382-foot-long vessel with sleeping cabins, observation lounges, and a heated solarium deck – belongs to a fleet of publicly owned ships plying the 3,500-mile crescent of archipelagoes along the southern Alaska coast. They connect people and vehicles to 30 remote, ferry-dependent Alaskan towns; some operate year-round. 

The Kennicott is a fraction of the size of the ships of the booming Alaska cruise industry that dock in downtown Juneau. And it’s far less expensive. But it traverses similar terrain and offers front-row views of the vast, rugged landscape that defines the 49th state.

Why We Wrote This

A story focused on

In the shadow of luxury cruise liners, the humble Alaska Marine Highway System wends through the Inside Passage connecting remote communities while helping tourists disconnect.

The catch? Bring your own … everything.

“It’s entirely DIY,” says Jennie Flaming, host of the podcast “Alaska Uncovered.” Dining is limited to vending machines and a self-serve cafeteria. Towels and bedding are extra. There’s no Wi-Fi, so passengers entertain themselves with games, puzzles, and books. Some bring sleeping bags or set up tents and hammocks in the solarium and upper decks. (Pro tip: Pack duct tape in case the winds pick up.)

A critical connector 

Still, the ferries remain as meaningful to many Alaskans as the state glaciers after which each is named. Established in the 1960s by a state bond measure, the Alaska Marine Highway System is the only marine route recognized as a National Scenic Byway and All-American Road. Its stops include Gustavus, near Glacier Bay National Park, and (summer only) Dutch Harbor, a crab fishing hub in the Aleutian Islands. 

Jacob Turcotte/Staff

“The ferries are our trains,” notes David Kiffer, mayor of Ketchikan, a port and cruise ship destination along the Kennicott’s route. “They are the blue highways that connect us, and without them we could not exist as a cohesive region.”

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