Isle Royale Forums

From the Voyageur II/Seahunter III website:
"PARK USER FEE COLLECTION HAS CHANGED! NO LONGER WILL IT BE CHARGED TO YOU WHEN YOU BOOK YOUR TRIP. YOU WILL NOW NEED TO CALCULATE YOUR USER FEE, $4 PER DAY PER PERSON INCLUDING ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE DAYS, AND HAVE IT READY FOR COLLECTION BY A CREW MEMBER ONCE THE BOAT IS ON IT'S WAY TO THE ISLAND. PAYMENT WILL BE CASH OR MONEY ORDER ONLY."
Well fudge! It was nice to have it all put on the credit card, but I'm sure it's out of their control.

And from the Queen IV website:
"The National Park Service levies a User Fee for Isle Royale: $4.00 per DAY (not per night) per ADULT (12 years old and up). The fee is paid on the ferry during the crossing. NO credit cards are accepted for fee. ONLY cash, check, or traveler's check are accepted. "
I'm not sure if this is a new change for the Queen, since I haven't taken her before.

That was the procedure on the IR Queen IV two years ago.

I agree, it was convenient. In talking with Capt Don, he said part of it was to keep the process cleaner (instead of the ferry service needing to cut checks on some interval, the crew just hands the payment over on each arrival), and the other part was that most folks pay with credit card - And the small business takes the hit for the Visa/MC charges, but they still had to pay the full amount over to the NPS. It starts to add up, of course.
At least both ferry concessionaires are consistent.

On my last trip 2 years ago, the Queen only collected daily fees. If you wanted the annual pass, you had to buy it at the Rock Harbor Visitors Center when you registered to camp.

This is true. Last year my girlfriend and I wanted to get the annual pass while taking the Queen. They did not offer it on the boat. The crew member looked at me and told me my total would be $4 per day. And I said, I realize this, but there is an annual pass that I can buy which would save me money and allow me to have a stub for my scrapbook. He talked to the Captain and told me that I would have to pay at the Rangers station when giving my itinerary. Things worked out fine and I was allowed to pay with cash or credit card. This year I am taking the Voyageur. I do not know how it will work, but I know that I will probably intend to get the annual pass if we decide by that time that we want to come again later in the season.

I usually buy an annual pass via phone with Houghton - so that way I don't have to deal with any issues. Worked fine last year on the Vogageur II.