Of course you can also take a return ferry back to your departure point. Remember that fog or very severe weather as well as loading and unloading vehicles can cause delays to the ferry schedule so plan for possible contingencies. If you're planning on staying on the same ferry to Skagway, timing is very tight even if everything is running on time. At Juneau we only had 3 hours. It would be best to plan to stay over and take a later ferry or make Juneau your final destination.
Some people spend a day or more at each location and pick up another ferry.
Of course that means shuffling luggage on and off. The cruise ships, on the other hand, dock right across the street from the start point in Juneau and usually have a much longer time in each town they stop at. But for those looking for a cheaper alternative, or need to transport a vehicle or just want to do something out of the ordinary, the Alaska Ferry Highway System offers another alternative to cruising or flying to pick up Alaska credit. All rights reserved.