Favourite Ferry

[Coastal Canuck]

I just thought I should make a pole on what ferry is most people's favourite

[Mike C]

I'm going to have to go with None of the above.

MV Queen of Burnaby is a delightfully large ferry perfectly suited for it's assigned route. It's lavish and well-designed interior can compensate for a missing snack bar. Though this is not the best MLU from the nineties, it still beats our Queen of Chilliwack, which has won an award for worst MLU of all time in the history of BC Ferries (yes, even worse than the New Westminster upgrade).

[Queen of Nanaimo Teen]

Just as my name says ;D

[Barnacle]

Langdale Queen. :-D

[Low Light Mike]

I voted for "none of the above", for the Queen of New Westminster.

---------------------------------

Harry lives on, and so does his spelling.....

[Koastal Karl]

You need to list all ferries if your gonna do a poll not just a few. Me I dont have one favorite I have a few. My favorite Gulf Island ferry is the Cumberland, my favorite V would be the Saanich, favorite C would be the Oak Bay and Alberni. B class would be the Nanaimo!

[Low Light Mike]

Hello Mr/Ms Extreamme:

If you'd like, you can find a thread called "new members" on the page called "rules, reasons & recommendations", near the bottom of the home page.

Tell us a bit about who you are and what you like re Ferries.

Thanks !

[wake]

I voted for the Queen of Vancouver because:

A.) It carries the name of the largest, most well-known city.

B.) It has more windows than the other V Class

c.) Classic three-tone horn

d.) Clean history (no major accidents)

e.) Original interior, yet in good shape.

[Deleted]

I had to vote for the QPR. But I think my all time favourite is the Sechelt Queen.

[CN2972South]

Queen of Esquimalt.

[Curtis]

5 of My Fav Ferries, The Fleet of the Sunshine Coast
Queen of Surrey, Queen of Tsawwassen, Queen of Chilliwack, Queen of Burnaby, NIP.

10 Other Notable Ferries,
SoBC, Queen of Coquitlam, Queen of Capilano, Bowen Queen, Queen of Nanaimo, Tachek, Queen of Esquimalt, Powell River Queen, Queen of Alberni, and the Mill Bay

EDIT: All ships are in Current Fleet

[nolonger]

You all know what my answer would be.

[Retrovision]

If I could, I'd choose all retired ferries/steamers, but If I had to choose with the criteria of being in-service with BCFerries since 1960, I'd have to say that I'm partial to the Langdale Queen. For the sake of this poll, though, I thought that choosing 'other' would be far too indecisive, so I chose my Favorite 'V' class remaining in the fleet - The Queen of Vancouver.

[Cool Ray]

My all time favorite BC ferries are the Sechelt Queen, Princess of Vancouver and Queen of Sidney. Of the ships that are still in service they're the Queen of Burnaby, Queen of Tsawwassen, Spirit of British Columbia, North Island Princess, Bowen Queen and Tenaka. My least favorite ferries are/where the Queen of Victoria, Queen of Chilliwack and Tachek.

Cool Ray

[Balfour]

My favourite is the Queen of Vancouver. It is the last remaining classic V class. It has the 3 tone horn, and old interior, and it's name starts with a V.

[Low Light Mike]

Hey YVR, what's your favourite ferry ??

Which ship lets you forget about the business, politics, corruption, and just allows you the simple-enjoyment of seeing or sailing-on a fine ship?

[Deleted]

Without a doubt - The Queen of Surrey! She works so hard for us everday!

[Airchime]

How can you have a poll without the MV Queen of Tsawwassen as an option? E-gad, man!!

[Curtis]

No Queen of Tsawwassen! OMG!! LOL. Made this poll without enough options.

[sgrant]

My favourite is the Alaska State ferry Taku. When you're on the Taku, you know you're having a special adventure. Alas, the Taku is getting pretty old.

[Low Light Mike]

sgrant said:

My favourite is the Alaska State ferry Taku. When you're on the Taku, you know you're having a special adventure. Alas, the Taku is getting pretty old.

I've got an interest in the Alaska Ferries, and your comment allows me to ask some questions:

What route does Taku normally sail? Alternatively, what route did she sail when you were on her?

I'm interested in possibly doing an AMHS vacation in the years ahead. Do you believe that an Alaska Ferry vacation, coupled with a drive up/down the Alaska Highway is good value? Or are Alaska Ferries priced too high?

Or would a foot-passenger trip on various Alaska Ferries (plus BC Ferries inside passage) be more economical and enjoyable?

I ask this sincerely, as I'm curious about how the Alaska Ferries work, re a vacation for either a driver or a footie.

I'm guessing that a backpacking style of trip on foot would be possible, with the freedom to stop at ports for a few days, and change ships often?

Thanks for any experiences that you wish to relate.

[Balfour]

I read in the Bannerman book that the QPR had to rescue the Taku in 1970 when she ran aground in fog.

[Curtis]

That accident was quite intresting since they attached the bow door of the QPR to the end of the Taku. Would have been intresting to watch happen. I never did know when it happend though well now I know it was 1970.

[sgrant]

flugelhorn said:

sgrant said:

My favourite is the Alaska State ferry Taku. When you're on the Taku, you know you're having a special adventure. Alas, the Taku is getting pretty old.

I've got an interest in the Alaska Ferries, and your comment allows me to ask some questions:

What route does Taku normally sail? Alternatively, what route did she sail when you were on her?

I'm interested in possibly doing an AMHS vacation in the years ahead. Do you believe that an Alaska Ferry vacation, coupled with a drive up/down the Alaska Highway is good value? Or are Alaska Ferries priced too high?

Or would a foot-passenger trip on various Alaska Ferries (plus BC Ferries inside passage) be more economical and enjoyable?

I ask this sincerely, as I'm curious about how the Alaska Ferries work, re a vacation for either a driver or a footie.

I'm guessing that a backpacking style of trip on foot would be possible, with the freedom to stop at ports for a few days, and change ships often?

Thanks for any experiences that you wish to relate.

Here's the Alaska State Ferry Schedule. As you can see, most routes are governed by tides, and thus are quite complex.
www.akferry.org/

Here are their ships:
www.akferry.org/vessels.asp

I've used the Alaska ferries in 1975, 1990 and around 1995. Always with a bicycle. The 1975 trip was
- downtown Vancouver to Nanaimo using the CPR ferry
- Sayward to Prince Rupert, BCF
- Prince Rupert to Juneau
- Haines to Prince Rupert on the Taku

The 1990 trip was just Skagway to Haines, on the Taku.

The 1995 trip included:
- Queen Charlotte City to Prince Rupert, BCF
- Prince Rupert to Ketchikan, on the somewhat run down Taku
- Ketchikan to Stewart BC (this route since discontinued)

While the Alaska ferries obviously take cars etc., in keeping with the frontier roots of the state they are well suited to the young and adventurous. You can rent staterooms, but camping out on the deck, even in free-standing tents, is condoned to the point of being encouraged. Or you can appropriate a lounger and "live" in it under the heat lamps in the solarium. They let you use campstoves on the deck(!) and there are free showers for those without staterooms. This is kind of an Alaskan tradition and something positively regarded as good for the state's image.

The tides also mean that stops at given ports can vary, not just from port to port, but even at a given port on different days. This means you often have, say, four hours to explore a place before the ferry moves on. Sometimes there isn't time to go ashore. Having a bicycle was an advantage there because you can't take your car off for the port stops if you're continuing with the ferry.

There's a nice atmosphere on the ferries; must be something like the Mid-Coast route. And I'm certain that you can layover at any port and contiue on a later sailing.

If you're taking a car, booking far (like 6 months) ahead can be a good idea on some routes. I've run some numbers for a trip up north comparing driving all the way up there and back, using the ferry systems in one direction, or flying and renting a car. They came out fairly similar, with the big difference being the time needed and the places you'll see along the way.

If you like ferries, and northern scenery, you can put together a very special trip using the Alaska State ferry system.

[Low Light Mike]

Thanks for the info. I appreciate the recommendations of someone who's been there.