RV & Dogs to Alaska

[gpearston]

We are planning a trip to Alaska later in the Spring. We are weighting our options of driving the Yukon or using a ferry service from WA to AK. I was hoping to hear from some folks who have ferried their RV's and had animals. It is not clear to me about how the animals are handled on the ship. The descriptions indicate you can only visit the animals once a day while the voyage is under way but I have no idea how you care for the animals - i.e. walk them, where they can do their business, etc.

Any insights is appreciated.

[Clifftall]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gpearston We are planning a trip to Alaska later in the Spring. We are weighting our options of driving the Yukon or using a ferry service from WA to AK. I was hoping to hear from some folks who have ferried their RV's and had animals. It is not clear to me about how the animals are handled on the ship. The descriptions indicate you can only visit the animals once a day while the voyage is under way but I have no idea how you care for the animals - i.e. walk them, where they can do their business, etc. Any insights is appreciated.

Once a day is cruel. We took a 14 hour ferry to Newfoundland and they let us visit/walk our dog twice. They do their business on the rear deck of the ferry and they hose it off.

[gpearston]

I agree, I don't understand why they would care if we walked them in the designated area 10x a day. Thank you for your insight, I am trying to get some first hand info so we can make an informed decision.

Have a great day!

[jquinlan]

I just watched a video about RVing to Alaska and they said that you can visit your pet (in your rig) on the Ferry every couple hours and that it's a good system. Sorry but I don't have more details than that.

[sandpiper]

If you are thinking about the Alaska Marine Highway System, go to www.dot.state.ak.us/amhs/pets.shtml. They indicate you can visit the car deck "several" times a day. We have done this but wit cats so that experience doesn't apply to dogs.The ferry system is limited by Coast Guard regulation.

Keep in mind that putting a big rig on the ferry is expensive and then some. You can go from washington to Prince Rupert or to Haines but if you want to cut out the worst part of the road, Haines Jct to Tok, you have to go all the way and that gets really, really expensive.

The best thing to do, unless you just want the coastal experience which is worth a trip by itself, is take your time, drive civilized, unhook the toad in the worst areas, and enjoy. We have made the trip at least 6 times without incident in our motor homes with toad.