Alaska Summer Jobs?????

[coppercoin40]

By cruise ship you generally stop at 4 SE AK ports, most commonly Ketchikan, Juneau, Haines and Skagway. Some ships leave off one of these ports for stops in Sitka, Hoonah, or Petersburg. You have 4 - 6 hrs in port for excursions and shopping. The excursions are expensive. I recommend renting a vehicle in port and guiding your self. Towns in SE are very small and its impossible to get lost in them! You can rent a vehicle and sight see for a fraction of excursion costs, plus do it your way instead of being herded like cattle! For a more independent minded traveler I agree with rusty, the Alaska Marine Highway System is a great way to see the communities of YOUR choice, in your time, your way. You can catch the ferry in Bellingham, Washington as a walk on passenger or with a vehicle and travel the famous Inside Passage. First stop is Ketchikan which is 36 hrs after boarding in Bellingham. You can also catch the ferry in Prince Rupert, BC to cut off some travel time and get to port cities faster (6 hrs to Ketchikan. You build your own itinerary, you can plan to spend several days or more in one port before going on to your next port destination. A nice trip would be to get on in Bellingham with a vehicle, stop in for a few days in several SE ports ie: Ketchikan, Juneau (in Juneau take a day trip ferry to Glacier Bay) then on to Haines or Skagway communities of the Gold Rush era where you can disembark with your vehicle and drive back through British Columbia to the lower 48. *** Haines & Skagway are the ONLY 2 communities in SE accessible by road! The ferries are not the lush life like a cruise ship offering, but if your independent minded you wouldn't want that anyways! There are cabins but you must reserve well in advance for cabins and vehicles. Dining facilities and cafeterias are available. The great thing about travel on the ferry is it is very casual and laid back, you don't have to get dressed up to go to dinner! Also believe it or not - you can pitch a tent on the upper back deck, or stretch your sleeping bag out in the solarium loungers, on the floor in the viewing lounges, or kick back in one of the recliner lounges!!! You can also bring your own cooler filled with snacks, lunch and breakfast cereal provisions, cup-o-soups (hotwater available). Public showers are located in the RR's. Lol - if I sound like a marketer for AMHS that is because I spent nearly a year traveling to shows as a marketer for AMHS! One more thing, if you choose to walk on without a vehicle and you don't need a cabin, you can usually get on without advance reservations. I won't say that it is cheaper - that depends on the amount of amenities that you desire, vehicles onboard are a bit expensive, cabins costs not too bad, food prices fair. You can check it out at:
http://www.dot.state.ak.us/amhs/pubs/
If you cant figure out what vessels make which community connections for reservations purposes - give the 800# a call and they will be happy to assist! (note to self here - geez the state should have kept me on! I have watched/traveled those ferries for 50 years, I have always thought they were great!!!) Oh well, nothing ventured, nothing gained!!!
Oh - a side note here, if you think it rains in Hilo, you have seen NOTHING yet!!! Be prepared for a rainy vaca, if you luck out you will get sunshine, and there is no where quite as beautiful as SE AK when the sun is shining
Also to tada who asked - most of the cruise ship employees are from 3rd world countries, they work for tips not an hourly wage, all of the money they earn is sent home to care for family. Positions in entertainment, on board gift shops are ones that you might be able to get into...