The Alaska Marine Highway: The Cruise Line for Campers

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For travelers who prefer adventure to luxury, one cruise line offers something you won’t find anywhere else — deck space for your tent. The Alaska Marine Highway (AMH) ferry system may not boast casinos or Broadway shows, but it delivers something far more genuine: an intimate voyage through Alaska’s legendary Inside Passage, where snow-dusted peaks, forested islands, and breaching whales glide silently past your rail.

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Camping at Sea

At the stern of the upper deck on several AMH ferries, you’ll find a scene unlike any other in ocean travel — a small community of travelers rejecting cabins for camping in the open air. Beyond the rear cabins is a glass-enclosed, semicircular, radiant-heated solarium where adventurous passengers roll out sleeping bags and place them on plastic lounges beneath the stars. Just outside the solarium, ample deck space awaits travelers who wish to pitch small tents.

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From this unrestricted, open-air perch, the world unfolds: steep fjords, fishing boats hauling nets, bald eagles perched on channel markers, and whales spouting against distant ridges.

Simple Comforts, Unforgettable Setting

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Despite its rugged charm, camping aboard an AMH ferry doesn’t mean roughing it. Showers, restrooms, and lockers are located just inside the solarium, and the cafeteria serves hearty meals — from hot breakfasts to fresh Alaskan salmon dinners — at modest prices. Many campers bring groceries and picnic-style snacks for quiet meals on deck.

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You won’t find swimming pools or theater shows here. Instead, you might hear an impromptu choir rehearsal echo through the corridors or join an on-board ranger talk about glaciers, sea otters, and the parklands passing by. Forest Service interpreters often present stories about local history and wildlife, and children gather for sea-life story hours in the observation lounge. Summer evenings bring an easy rhythm of conversation, the hum of the engines, and the sight of the coast sliding by under pale, fading light that never quite disappears.

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Whether you sleep in a tent or book an inside cabin, everyone shares a sense of quiet adventure — a reminder that travel, at its best, is about presence, not luxury.

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The Solarium Community

The solarium’s small world brings together people who might never meet elsewhere. On one voyage, campers included a British doctor, a commercial fisherman, an ecologist, and a mother with two boys who built forts from deck chairs. Ann Young, the doctor from Hampshire, said it best: “I’ll be back. I like Alaskans.”

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A New Zealand couple chose the ferry precisely for its intimacy and small passenger count — barely 200 compared to the thousands aboard megaships. “The solarium community makes it so easy to meet and chat with people,” said passenger Fran Zeigler. “It feels like traveling with friends you just haven’t met yet.”

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The Inside Passage

The Inside Passage stretches roughly a thousand miles from Puget Sound in Washington to Skagway, Alaska — a protected waterway threaded between the mainland and a necklace of islands. This natural corridor shields vessels from the open Pacific’s rough weather, creating one of the most scenic and tranquil marine routes in the world.

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Explorers and traders once followed these same channels in the 1700s, drawn by sea otters, whales, and the promise of trade. British, Spanish, French, and Russian expeditions all left their mark here. Captain James Cook charted sections of the coast in 1778, followed by Captain George Vancouver in the 1790s, paving the way for settlements that rose and fell with the tides of commerce. Some of their remnants still appear along the shoreline — weathered docks, forgotten cabins, and ghostly pilings — visible from the solarium deck rail.

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One of the AMH ferries’ greatest advantages is its maneuverability. Larger cruise ships must remain in deep channels, but these more nimble vessels navigate tighter routes such as Wrangell Narrows, a twisting 22-mile passage south of Petersburg. “On a night run through the Narrows,” said Captain John Smith, “all the red and green channel-marker lights make the course look like a Christmas tree.” Passengers line the deck railings to watch the ship thread through the turns — a master class in seamanship.

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The Alaska Marine Highway Fleet

Each ferry in the Alaska Marine Highway system offers a slightly different personality, but all share a spirit of simplicity and connection. They travel the same routes as the mega liners, carrying vehicles and locals alongside wanderers and backpackers. Crews are largely Alaskan — people who treat each other like family and welcome passengers as if into their home.

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One of the fleet’s most beloved ships is the M/V Malaspina. Known affectionately as “the Mal,” she sails between Sitka and Bellingham — a four-day, three-night passage through some of the most breathtaking stretches of coastline anywhere. She carries 450 passengers and 83 vehicles, and offers 71 cabins, plus lounges, a cafeteria, bar, theater, and of course, her signature solarium. The purser, Robert, a genial storyteller with more than twenty years aboard, summed up the atmosphere perfectly: “This isn’t just transportation — it’s Alaska in motion.”

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Why Travelers Keep Coming Back

Passengers return to the Alaska Marine Highway for the same reasons others choose to backpack, camp, or travel by train: to feel part of the journey rather than simply watch it pass. On these ships, travelers trade luxury for authenticity — the comfort of shared stories, the sound of whales spouting at dawn, the scent of pine drifting from the islands.

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The ferries remind you that the best cruises aren’t always the grandest; they’re the ones that connect you to the landscape and the people who call it home.

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For current routes, fares, and schedules, visit the Alaska Marine Highway System website.

 

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