Alaska 2016

Juneau to Wrangell Ferry

We flew back from Glacier Bay to Juneau at 6 pm and did not plan this too well as we will not leave Juneau until 4 am tomorrow on the ferry. With all our spare time we went to a movie with all our luggage in tow. We got another cab to get us to the ferry terminal after the movie. We arrived at the Ferry Terminal in Juneau about 10 pm, I was lamenting with the ticket counter agent about not leaving until 4 am and inquiring if there may be a stateroom available to secure so we could get some rest on the 13.5 hour ferry trip. He said I would have to check with the purser when we got on board. We chatted for awhile since the place was deserted so early before departure. Later, Pat and I found a corner out of the way and were kinda dozing. At midnight when the ferry arrived, he came over and woke me up to suggest that we go talk to the assist purser that was unloading passengers and cars to see if we could board early and check on the availability of a stateroom. The assistant purser was very sympathetic and let us board about midnight. Once on board, we found the purser and he said he would have a stateroom but it would not be available until they were all cleaned in about two hours but normally we would have to be put on a wait list. I said okay fine we really want a room. I asked how many were on the wait list and he said one, you. With a sheepish grin, he said that was kinda silly and agreed to go ahead and book us since we were standing right there. So we got a stateroom but had to wait for it to be cleaned. The ship was deserted so we found a lounge on level 6 and crashed on the sofas waiting for the announcement. About 1:30 am, the announcement came and we went back to level 5 to get our room assignment and keys. We were asleep in our Oceanview stateroom bunk beds by 1:45 am. I did not even hear the ferry leave at 4 am. That stateroom was heaven. Two bunk beds, a small desk and a bathroom with a shower and a big window. I got up about 9 am and strolled around all the passenger areas both inside and out and had breakfast. During my stroll, I saw another dozen humpback whales and one was so close to the ferry's path, that the captain had to change course. I went back to make sure Pat was up to get breakfast. While she was getting ready, we saw a couple more humpbacks from our stateroom window and several more while we were on deck. At lunch, we saw another Orca 75 yards from the ferry. The Ferry stopped in Petersburg, AK on the way to Wrangell. It was a short stop and we got off and walked about a mile into town and turned around and headed back to reboard. After we left Petersburg, we had to pass through the "narrows". I was quite intrigued by the way they got that large vessel through the small passaged (hence all the pictures). Click on any of the thumbnail pictures to see an expanded view. Use your browsers "Back Button" to return to the thumbnails or cursor down to the bottom of the page to use the Slideshow Controls below.