All the Washington State ferries allow you to stay in your car. Being in a front car in bad weather can be interesting. All the car decks are open end to end, and the boats are double ended.
Hy-Line's fast ferries can go at speeds of up to 34mph, which if you're talking in proper seafaring terminology is 30 knots an hour (1 knot = 1.151 mph)!
Passengers are not allowed to bring alcoholic beverages on or off a vessel except for beverages that they are transporting as personal baggage in unopened containers, which may not be opened while the vessel is underway.
The size is also a difference: Cruise ships are typically much larger than ferries, with more cabins and facilities to accommodate a larger number of passengers. Ferries are generally smaller and more compact, designed for shorter journeys with fewer passengers.
Whilst large in her day, Titanic would be equivalent only to a mid-sized ferry in the modern era, the sort of ship many have sailed on to get to France or Holland, and this normally comes as a revelation, he said.