Definitely a major point I forgot to mention, there is no wifi on board and very limited Cell phone reception along the route. So load up on Movies, TV shows, etc. On your personal devices before you go.
I took ferry to Prince Rupert in 1972. That time there was not a highway to Port Hardy, and only the maze of the logging roads got you there in summer only. The highway ended in Kelsey Bay, and from there it took 20 hours of the voyage on the rickety ferry to get to Prince Rupert. It was in June, I was lucky with the good weather and rewarded by the splendid scenery around.
Nice to see this Video ---I worked for BC Ferries and we did a awful amount of work on that ship to bring it up to BCF standards .At the time the ship was purchased to replace the Queen of the North after her sinking . Unlike her sister, Northern Expedition, the Northern Adventure does not have a Bow Visor to allow thru driving loading/unloading ,so it takes a bit longer to orient and park the vehicles according to Port calls along the way . one of the best scenic voyages for the price you will ever get .The crews that work on these ships are second to none ,and treat their respective ships as homes away from home for 14 days (2 weeks on ,2 weeks off shift rotation).
I did this trip last summer from Hardy to Skidegate, an absolute must as it does the Inside Passage during the day and the Northern Expedition is a superior vessel. Wildlife abound, excellent staff and great food on board is a must to do again. A side note: I noticed the wake from the ferry, I never knew it could go so fast, as it just crawled across to Haida Gwaii. Thanks for sharing, tons of great memories on this ship! Bryan from Vancouver
I havent been back to Port Hardy for quite a while. When I did go there , it was close to Christmas and with the smell of the ocean and the trees,I thought this place was next door to heaven. Incredibly beautiful place and I hope by next summer I can go back and visit again. This video reminds me in how much I love it there....
Great video. One of the trips I intend to do in the next couple of years is to take the train from Jasper to Prince Rupert and then the daytime ferry to Port Hardy.
Motorcycled from Eastern Ontario to Vancouver Island in 2019. Took the ferry from Hardy to Rupert then on to Yukon. If this ferry isn't on your radar you should make it so. Absolute paradise.
I worked on the refit of this 'ship' for a couple of months. There are vids on UTube of this ship during its use in Greece. The thing go a huge makeover in Esquimalt. New wiring, engines rebuilt, additional generator on the main deck aft. Al new stainless fittings in the galley. I never did see it finished, it was towed to Vancouver for final working. It looks good now tho.
Thanks! Good info. Would be much better to see coast in daylight. The natural sound of water/waves & possible bird or other natural sounds might make it more authentic, less like so many other "muzak" videos.
That was the goal of this video 😅 I was so unsure when I first looked into it if this ferry had cabins, or what it looked liked! So hopefully this is more helpful for people planning on traveling in the future
We did the Rupert to Port Hardy a year ago. Weather was beautiful the whole way. We departed in the morning so had daylight the whole way except as we neared Port Hardy. The scenery was very nice but after 17 hours water trees and rocks starts to wear thin. Ferry was well appointed and maintained. Didn’t book a room but in hindsight wish we had. It is pricey especially if you take a vehicle. A Motorhome and car would break the bank. Would I do it again? Yes but not for a while. Thanks enjoyed your video.
I have never traveled on this route even though I am born and raised on the island. One day I plan on traveling it. Sorry to hear of the meager food options. I have a friend who has spent 20 plus years taking a pay cut to work the northern run in the summers. They would buy salmon from the dock in Hardy. Up until recently, this was the only BC Ferry that had alcohol sales. Thanks for this.
We did this October 10th for the same reason... seemed like a fun thing to do when you can’t go anywhere else... it was amazing... we had spectacular weather.. and yes the food kinda sucked! I would totally recommend this!
I did a tour of the Northern Adventure when BC Ferries first brought it back from Greece. I see they took out the escalator and are slowly integrating it into the rest of the fleet.
Interesting video,been on both the adventure and expedition going from rinse rupert to hardy many times. Haida gwaii many times as well. The $cost has steadily gone up. Always enjoy the sights along the way. Very tragic event with respects to the Queen of the North sinking. The queen of Prince Rupert has long been sold off by BC Ferries. Back in the day haida gwaii was serviced by Rivtow and u put your car on an open barge
You forgot to mention the Northern Adventure was purchased in late 2006 to replace the Queen of the North which sank earlier that year due to human error. The need for a quick replacement explains the lack amenities usually found on BC Ferries vessels though I'm surprised they haven't replaced all the European electrical outlets yet.
The issue is that the whole electrical system was designed for European standard, 220V 50Hz. Reworking it to 120V/60Hz will basically involve completely rewiring the passenger areas, and that will be enormously expensive. It would realistically be cheaper to sell the ferry off, and buy one with a North American electrical system pre-installed.
You seemed to have missed an important aspect of this ferry: if one was to drive this route, it would be over 1200 miles and almost 23 hours of driving time.
Very true! But I'm not sure everyone takes this ferry for that exact reason. But thanks for pointing that out, there we're some small points I forgot to add in after I published this
FYI - ferry fans and travelers: I took a ferry from Xiamen, China to Taiwan. Similar in some ways. Overnight and few people on a big ferry. I had a room with 6 bunks for myself. The ship was even more barebones than this BC ferry. And I took an overnight ferry from St Petersburg to Helsinki. It’s by far the best. The ship was more like a cruise ship with nice restaurants and a nice little cabin. Many passengers on that route. Hoping to do more trips and cruises. Maybe the Vancouver to Alaska
With the modern integrated bridges, and voyage data recorders, the chain of problems that lead to the Queen of the North going down is unlikely to happen again, and if it does, they'll actually be able to tell what happened on the bridge... no more hanky panky on night watch.
I was born in Seattle in 1973, where I grew up. Since 2012, Vancouver BC has been my favorite vacation spot. Since 2013, I've wanted to drive from Prince Rupert to Prince George. I would visit Victoria more often, if it wasn't for long ferry rides, and long ferry line waits. Before the pandemic, I discovered this Port Hardy to Prince Rupert Ferry. I know that it's costly. I thought that it would be neat to see the inside passage. I'm afraid that I would waste a lot of time, sleeping in the cabin! Part of this trip should be looking at the scenery. It's essentially a cruise. I have only one flaw as a human being, but it's a big one: I'm not a dog person. I hear that dogs are allowed on certain decks. Did you see a lot of dogs on your ride?
Nice comment! From what I recall dogs have to stay in their owners vehicles, they are periods throughout the sailing owners are allowed to go down to the car deck and check up on them. Unlike the major main BC Ferries, people are limited to certain times of going down there. And yeah I agree with you 100%, just poor timing if year I went with the daylight and at this time it was a overnight sailing, vs in the summer it's a day sailing.
@@nonrevmax Thanks Max! I've watched about three different peoples' videos, and you all did a great job! I don't recall whether you've done any on the Prince Rupert to Prince George drive. I assume you went by car, went North on the ferry (another gentleman went South), and then drove East to Prince George. If I remember your video correctly, here is something that really helped: You showed us the lunch/dinner and breakfast menus. I wouldn't mind having chicken strips, and a breakfast sandwich, as they look good. I know it's costly, but heck, so is this entire cruise! I'm sure that there are at least a couple of Wendy's from Prince Rupert to Prince George: I've been eating much more Wendy's, for a better diet, which can neutralize the delicious, but less nutirious ferry food.
Very nice video quality. I want to take this exact trip soon as well. Did you find the COVID-19 restrictions negatively impact the enjoyability of the trip by a lot?
Good question! Definitely with the food options forsure, but not so much with the Northern Adventure. There's not too much to do either than sightseeing compared to the Northern Expedition which has a Lounge, Movie Room, and restaurant/buffet (I think? Its either or), which is all closed due to Covid.
Is there long term parking on the port hardy side? Also once you get to Prince Rupert is there any hotels with in walkable distance from the ferry terminal? Thanks for the video
There is Long Term Parking at Port Hardy, in Prince Rupert the terminal is a few km from downtown. There's a taxi phone inside the terminal and it's about $10-$11 one way by cab (incl tip)
Northern Adventure boat is whack. The Northern Expedition opens front and back. And much better boat with two beds tv that has satellite and regular north American plugs. Enjoyed the vid!
Only in BC would someone living in BC need a converter (3:55) to power 120 volt devices on a BC Ferry. Does BC Ferry not know how to convert European outlets to 120 volts? There are numerous videos on YT showing how to do it. It's not difficult. With all the devices people carry around when traveling if there were 4 people in that room one outlet would not be enough.
It's not legal to do that, and, well, BC Ferries needs to follow electrical codes. You'd basically need to completely replace the electrical system to switch from 220V/50Hz to 110V/60Hz. Most of those YT videos are probably just putting 220/50Hz onto a NMEA 15R outlet, which is absolutely illegal and a major fire hazard (something you don't want on a ship). Realistically, the cost of doing that is probably so high that it would make more sense to sell the ship off and replace her with one built to our needs. Remember, this ship was bought on an emergency basis due to the sinking of the Queen of the North.
It would be a additional 398.65 in the summer and 223.95 in the winter. It can get pretty expensive! Full list of fares here: www.bcferries.com/routes-fares/ferry-fares
There was a decent amount of passengers on board, around 50% full. All the staterooms were sold out by the time the sailing left. Plus there was a decent amount of cargo and mail for Bella Bella
Christopher Robin Garrish, In approximately 2005 I was taking a ferry from Horseshoe Bay to Nanaimo. I slipped up and out onto the top deck. As I was discreetly smoking a splif a ferry worker approached me and asked if I was smoking a joint. I looked him up and down and then replied “Nope”. He replied “Good, because you’re standing right next to a fresh air intake for the ship”. Lol, I still recall this memory often and warmly. Cheers.
Excellent vid. But the poor food choices will deter anybody who chooses to eat even somewhat healthy foods. Too bad there are no in-suite food storage or cooking options.
Is any wi fi on boat?
Definitely a major point I forgot to mention, there is no wifi on board and very limited Cell phone reception along the route. So load up on Movies, TV shows, etc. On your personal devices before you go.
@@nonrevmax Glad there is no wi-fi. Thanks!
Yea but it's garbage. Just like everything else they provide
@@ActionKiller187
I took the Prince Rupert-Port Hardy run in 2002.
Food was great.
European outlets? Jesus fuck. Why can’t BCF change that?
I took ferry to Prince Rupert in 1972. That time there was not a highway to Port Hardy, and only the maze of the logging roads got you there in summer only. The highway ended in Kelsey Bay, and from there it took 20 hours of the voyage on the rickety ferry to get to Prince Rupert. It was in June, I was lucky with the good weather and rewarded by the splendid scenery around.
Nice to see this Video ---I worked for BC Ferries and we did a awful amount of work on that ship to bring it up to BCF standards .At the time the ship was purchased to replace the Queen of the North after her sinking . Unlike her sister, Northern Expedition, the Northern Adventure does not have a Bow Visor to allow thru driving loading/unloading ,so it takes a bit longer to orient and park the vehicles according to Port calls along the way . one of the best scenic voyages for the price you will ever get .The crews that work on these ships are second to none ,and treat their respective ships as homes away from home for 14 days (2 weeks on ,2 weeks off shift rotation).
Remember the Queen of Prince Rupert?
I did this trip last summer from Hardy to Skidegate, an absolute must as it does the Inside Passage during the day and the Northern Expedition is a superior vessel. Wildlife abound, excellent staff and great food on board is a must to do again.
A side note: I noticed the wake from the ferry, I never knew it could go so fast, as it just crawled across to Haida Gwaii.
Thanks for sharing, tons of great memories on this ship!
Bryan from Vancouver
I havent been back to Port Hardy for quite a while. When I did go there , it was close to Christmas and with the smell of the ocean and the trees,I thought this place was next door to heaven. Incredibly beautiful place and I hope by next summer I can go back and visit again. This video reminds me in how much I love it there....
Always nice to see a video review of the ferries :> thanks for the nice video!
Great video. One of the trips I intend to do in the next couple of years is to take the train from Jasper to Prince Rupert and then the daytime ferry to Port Hardy.
I feel up when you drop those funky beats.
Great job, really enjoyed this. I will be going on the same route in summer 2021. This was helpful. Thanks!
The inside passage the most beautiful scenery and breathe taking too. Can't explain just experience it. I grew up in prince rupert
I did that trip 3 times in the 80s, it was quite stunning in the summer, highly recommended
Motorcycled from Eastern Ontario to Vancouver Island in 2019. Took the ferry from Hardy to Rupert then on to Yukon. If this ferry isn't on your radar you should make it so. Absolute paradise.
Did you pre book?
I worked on the refit of this 'ship' for a couple of months. There are vids on UTube of this ship during its use in Greece. The thing go a huge makeover in Esquimalt. New wiring, engines rebuilt, additional generator on the main deck aft. Al new stainless fittings in the galley. I never did see it finished, it was towed to Vancouver for final working. It looks good now tho.
Thanks! Good info. Would be much better to see coast in daylight. The natural sound of water/waves & possible bird or other natural sounds might make it more authentic, less like so many other "muzak" videos.
Neat to watch this, I'm thinking of going rupert-hardy this april/may when I go to visit friends and family in powell river and Vancouver area
I was a seafarer at one time and your video popped up. Enjoyed it very much thanks.
Thank you for sharing! I plan to do that road trip the big circle later this year.
Thanks for the upload this is so cool! I always wondered what it was like to take a really long ferry, I never knew they had actual cabins !
That was the goal of this video 😅 I was so unsure when I first looked into it if this ferry had cabins, or what it looked liked! So hopefully this is more helpful for people planning on traveling in the future
Thanks for taking the time to produce this video. Great job and very informative. Paul Toronto.
Beautiful, thanks for upload. Your video encouraged me to this tour. Probably coming summer when we have more daylight.
This is a beautiful trip up or down the coast.
This video was so well done. I plan to do a video of this trip in this summer. Thank you!
I couldn't believe that they have this type of setup in BC for fairies. Definitely going to have to take a trip up north and try this out!!
Love the video, it’s been over 25yrs I’ve haven’t taken that route back to Prince Rupert. Still the beautiful scenery on the coastline.
If you can, take this trip. Outstanding scenery, clean vessels, top quality crew and the treat: Prince Rupert. GREAT PEOPLE!
Thank you, a bucket list item.
Nice video. I've only ever been on BC Ferries that don't have rooms. Cool to see a tour and hear your opinion! 👍
We did the Rupert to Port Hardy a year ago. Weather was beautiful the whole way. We departed in the morning so had daylight the whole way except as we neared Port Hardy. The scenery was very nice but after 17 hours water trees and rocks starts to wear thin. Ferry was well appointed and maintained. Didn’t book a room but in hindsight wish we had. It is pricey especially if you take a vehicle. A Motorhome and car would break the bank. Would I do it again? Yes but not for a while. Thanks enjoyed your video.
Great video! I’d love to take this route on day
Thank you for the video.
I'm really impressed you did a beautiful job editing
I lived on haida gwaii so I spent about 3 days on a ferry when the weather was bad haha
Prince Rupert is my hometown and never seen it from this ferry, pretty cool.
I have never traveled on this route even though I am born and raised on the island. One day I plan on traveling it. Sorry to hear of the meager food options. I have a friend who has spent 20 plus years taking a pay cut to work the northern run in the summers. They would buy salmon from the dock in Hardy. Up until recently, this was the only BC Ferry that had alcohol sales. Thanks for this.
I remember very rough sea between Canada and US. I needed help to get my food tray to the table. 2017, Ketchikan, Prince Rupert, Haida Gwaii.
We did this October 10th for the same reason... seemed like a fun thing to do when you can’t go anywhere else... it was amazing... we had spectacular weather.. and yes the food kinda sucked! I would totally recommend this!
Thanks for this!
Great content
excellent video
Helpful. Thanks!
Very nice video. Thanks. Hope to go one day. My Brother in law lives in Port Hardy so it is defiantly possible.
I did a tour of the Northern Adventure when BC Ferries first brought it back from Greece. I see they took out the escalator and are slowly integrating it into the rest of the fleet.
It's name is the Northern Seawolf.
will be taking that ferry this August with the Sprinter and a moto. Nice video. thanks.
Very good mate
Interesting video,been on both the adventure and expedition going from rinse rupert to hardy many times. Haida gwaii many times as well.
The $cost has steadily gone up.
Always enjoy the sights along the way.
Very tragic event with respects to the Queen of the North sinking.
The queen of Prince Rupert has long been sold off by BC Ferries.
Back in the day haida gwaii was serviced by Rivtow and u put your car on an open barge
So nice ❤🎉❤
That would be pretty fun
You forgot to mention the Northern Adventure was purchased in late 2006 to replace the Queen of the North which sank earlier that year due to human error. The need for a quick replacement explains the lack amenities usually found on BC Ferries vessels though I'm surprised they haven't replaced all the European electrical outlets yet.
The issue is that the whole electrical system was designed for European standard, 220V 50Hz. Reworking it to 120V/60Hz will basically involve completely rewiring the passenger areas, and that will be enormously expensive. It would realistically be cheaper to sell the ferry off, and buy one with a North American electrical system pre-installed.
You seemed to have missed an important aspect of this ferry: if one was to drive this route, it would be over 1200 miles and almost 23 hours of driving time.
Very true! But I'm not sure everyone takes this ferry for that exact reason. But thanks for pointing that out, there we're some small points I forgot to add in after I published this
I love road trips in BC :) I like to do about 500 km a day.
It's such a tiny terminal compared to the major terminals in Vancouver, Nanaimo and Victoria.
FYI - ferry fans and travelers: I took a ferry from Xiamen, China to Taiwan. Similar in some ways. Overnight and few people on a big ferry. I had a room with 6 bunks for myself. The ship was even more barebones than this BC ferry.
And I took an overnight ferry from St Petersburg to Helsinki. It’s by far the best. The ship was more like a cruise ship with nice restaurants and a nice little cabin. Many passengers on that route.
Hoping to do more trips and cruises. Maybe the Vancouver to Alaska
Whenever I think of the route from Port Hardy to Prince Rupert I think of the sinking of the Queen Of The North. It’s a very upsetting story
With the modern integrated bridges, and voyage data recorders, the chain of problems that lead to the Queen of the North going down is unlikely to happen again, and if it does, they'll actually be able to tell what happened on the bridge... no more hanky panky on night watch.
I was born in Seattle in 1973, where I grew up. Since 2012, Vancouver BC has been my favorite vacation spot. Since 2013, I've wanted to drive from Prince Rupert to Prince George. I would visit Victoria more often, if it wasn't for long ferry rides, and long ferry line waits. Before the pandemic, I discovered this Port Hardy to Prince Rupert Ferry. I know that it's costly. I thought that it would be neat to see the inside passage. I'm afraid that I would waste a lot of time, sleeping in the cabin! Part of this trip should be looking at the scenery. It's essentially a cruise. I have only one flaw as a human being, but it's a big one: I'm not a dog person. I hear that dogs are allowed on certain decks. Did you see a lot of dogs on your ride?
Nice comment! From what I recall dogs have to stay in their owners vehicles, they are periods throughout the sailing owners are allowed to go down to the car deck and check up on them. Unlike the major main BC Ferries, people are limited to certain times of going down there.
And yeah I agree with you 100%, just poor timing if year I went with the daylight and at this time it was a overnight sailing, vs in the summer it's a day sailing.
@@nonrevmax Thanks Max! I've watched about three different peoples' videos, and you all did a great job! I don't recall whether you've done any on the Prince Rupert to Prince George drive. I assume you went by car, went North on the ferry (another gentleman went South), and then drove East to Prince George. If I remember your video correctly, here is something that really helped: You showed us the lunch/dinner and breakfast menus. I wouldn't mind having chicken strips, and a breakfast sandwich, as they look good. I know it's costly, but heck, so is this entire cruise! I'm sure that there are at least a couple of Wendy's from Prince Rupert to Prince George: I've been eating much more Wendy's, for a better diet, which can neutralize the delicious, but less nutirious ferry food.
did you know the ship was a replacment for the queen of the north
👍👍🌟🌟👍👍
Great review. Odd they haven't converted all outlets to North American style tho
Very nice video quality. I want to take this exact trip soon as well. Did you find the COVID-19 restrictions negatively impact the enjoyability of the trip by a lot?
Good question! Definitely with the food options forsure, but not so much with the Northern Adventure. There's not too much to do either than sightseeing compared to the Northern Expedition which has a Lounge, Movie Room, and restaurant/buffet (I think? Its either or), which is all closed due to Covid.
needs a pinball arcade ...
Tilt-proof of course
Do you know if they will let me ride in my motor home? And will they let me walk around?
Port Partay!
Is there long term parking on the port hardy side? Also once you get to Prince Rupert is there any hotels with in walkable distance from the ferry terminal? Thanks for the video
There is Long Term Parking at Port Hardy, in Prince Rupert the terminal is a few km from downtown. There's a taxi phone inside the terminal and it's about $10-$11 one way by cab (incl tip)
very nice, can I use the ferry with a large RV?
Depends on how large the RV is. They have pricing for oversized vehicles and max length and height on the BC Ferries website
Northern Adventure boat is whack. The Northern Expedition opens front and back. And much better boat with two beds tv that has satellite and regular north American plugs. Enjoyed the vid!
Thanks! I hope to make a video of it once when everything opens back up
That is definetly different from what we got here in europe.
Anyone know the name of the ferry?
Do they do an in person muster drill?
Nope, its done over the PA. There is also a PA speaker in every stateroom.
Once you get to Prince Rupert how do you get around since you’re on foot? :) do they have taxis, Uber or something?
Taxi, then then the downtown core is fairly tight knit and walkable
Pets not permitted above the car deck, we'll never go.
Only in BC would someone living in BC need a converter (3:55) to power 120 volt devices on a BC Ferry. Does BC Ferry not know how to convert European outlets to 120 volts?
There are numerous videos on YT showing how to do it. It's not difficult. With all the devices people carry around when traveling if there were 4 people in that room one outlet would not be enough.
It's not legal to do that, and, well, BC Ferries needs to follow electrical codes. You'd basically need to completely replace the electrical system to switch from 220V/50Hz to 110V/60Hz. Most of those YT videos are probably just putting 220/50Hz onto a NMEA 15R outlet, which is absolutely illegal and a major fire hazard (something you don't want on a ship).
Realistically, the cost of doing that is probably so high that it would make more sense to sell the ship off and replace her with one built to our needs.
Remember, this ship was bought on an emergency basis due to the sinking of the Queen of the North.
Wow
Was there like 3 people on that entire ship?
How do you go about choosing the cabin you want?
You can book it online or over the phone and they only show you what's left/available. I'd recommend booking a few months in advance
@@nonrevmax good
What is the cost of this trip ?
So the price was $244.10 without a vehicle. I'm curious as to how much it would cost with one.
It would be a additional 398.65 in the summer and 223.95 in the winter. It can get pretty expensive! Full list of fares here: www.bcferries.com/routes-fares/ferry-fares
@@nonrevmax thank you
was that $250 round trip?
One way
How much was your ticket?
Watch the video, he covers the costs a couple times.
I’m guessing there was like 20 passengers. Not sure how that pays for the fuel let alone the staff.
There was a decent amount of passengers on board, around 50% full. All the staterooms were sold out by the time the sailing left. Plus there was a decent amount of cargo and mail for Bella Bella
Christopher Robin Garrish, In approximately 2005 I was taking a ferry from Horseshoe Bay to Nanaimo. I slipped up and out onto the top deck. As I was discreetly smoking a splif a ferry worker approached me and asked if I was smoking a joint. I looked him up and down and then replied “Nope”. He replied “Good, because you’re standing right next to a fresh air intake for the ship”. Lol, I still recall this memory often and warmly.
Cheers.
what about my little dog?
Leaving the European plugs in place actually kind of makes sense, 90% of the passengers are (were) tourists anyway!
12:16
they meat agine
you sould do the biger boi
I plan on taking the Northern Expedition once when full service is restored
Excellent vid. But the poor food choices will deter anybody who chooses to eat even somewhat healthy foods. Too bad there are no in-suite food storage or cooking options.
It’s not a BOAT, it’s a SHIP! Nice video though.