* travel at their own own pace;



* choose their own ports-of-call;



* lay over in any port for as many days as they desire;



* share their travel with Alaskan locals;



* have the option to bring along the family RV or auto; and



* cruise to Alaska one way and drive home by highway.



If this sounds good to you, Alaska's state-owned ferries may be
just the ticket for one of life's most memorable cruise
vacations. The Alaska Marine Highway System, as it is called, is
composed of 11 modern ferryliners, all with motor vehicle decks,
observation lounges, and food service. Most have cabins and
cocktail bars.



The ferries cruise a protected Inside Passage waterway speckled
with more than a thousand big and tiny islands, imposing
snow-capped mountains, lush forests, and picturesque towns and
villages.



Passengers with or without vehicles may embark for Alaska's
southernmost port, Ketchikan, from Bellingham, Washington or
from Prince Rupert which is British Columbia's northernmost port
community. (Motorists can reach Prince Rupert via BC's modern
highway network or by BC Ferries; see below.) Once they've
arrived in Southeast Alaska passengers can lay over as long as
they wish in the panhandle's major port cities -- Ketchikan,
Wrangell, Petersburg, Sitka, Juneau, Haines and Skagway-- or
connect via smaller off-line ferries to more remote towns and
villages.



Larger stateroom-equipped vessels of the fleet are the Columbia
(931 passengers), Matanuska (745), Malaspina (701), Taku (370),