Port Hardy to Prince Rupert 299 miles
We got up at 4:30 in order to get to the ferry on time. Luckily it’s only a couple of miles away. Even though we are well ahead of the suggested time, some vehicles are ready to load and several are in the check in line. They finally open a second check in line. By the time we got through the line was significantly longer. Unlike the big ferry terminal to Victoria this one is much smaller with few options. Seems like the coffee vendors are missing a great opportunity since coffee is NOT available. The loading process is much slower but the ferry is also much smaller. We got parked at the front of the ferry so we should be among the first off. Then its upstairs to the purser’s office to get our cabin key. We have an inside cabin so space is limited. We do have a private bathroom including a shower, two beds, a chair and a small desk. The beds have nice big comforters. We quickly settle in for a nap. After the nap we checked out some of the ferry. Various seating lounges are scattered on parts of three decks. All seating has leather seats. Two eating areas are on opposite ends of one deck. A really nice seating area is at the front of the ferry. Seats in there cost an additional $40 Canadian. Limited seating is also available outside. If you stay out of the wind the temperature isn’t too bad. The day is cloudy so we couldn’t see the top of even the lower mountains. We are in a channel with small islands everywhere. All are covered with extremely dense forest. No houses anywhere. An occasional fishing vessel can be seen but not even many of those. A couple of maps show the route and a few highlights. At lunch time we went to the cafe which serves hamburgers, soup, chicken strips and fish. A cheeseburger combo is about $10 US so it is just like home. The burger was large and messy but by far the better deal than the chicken strips Connie had. For fifteen minutes every two hours passengers could go to the car deck to get items or be with their pets. Movies played occasionally but we didn’t watch any of those. We spent most of our time sleeping. The cabin rental was well worth the cost for a 17 hour ride. A stop was made at the village of Bella Bella at 1:30. The ride is nice and smooth. Average speed is twenty miles per hour. Then in late afternoon we slowed way down. One of the engines was having trouble. The engineering team got on the problem but we lost nearly an hour. Finally the announcement came to go to your vehicles. We still had to wait while the finished securing the ferry and lowering the ramp. Time to start your engines. Only problem was that woodie’s engine wouldn’t start. It took Rob numerous tries but the car finally started. We arrived at the hotel about 1:30 am. We got the last parking spot in the lot. It was a horrible spot for both ingress and egress.
Spoffords Travel 