Princess is the go to for Alaska cruises. This was an older ship but was still great. The staff were all amazing and everywhere we looked there was always someone cleaning something. So reassuring when you're stuck with a bunch of strangers at sea. 

So, why Princess...?

Not all cruise ships can go into Glacier Bay, but they can! If this is a bucket list trip for you, make sure you pick an itinerary that includes it!

Cabin choice...?

You'll hear everyone say you MUST do a balcony cabin for Alaska. I can't argue with the amazing views you'll wake up to, but it really comes down to personal preference. For us, we opted for an inside cabin. Main reason, I wanted to do more excursions. We allocated more funds to experiences opposed to where we slept. Honestly, I don't regret it. Having complete darkness was great for sleeping, and the Princess beds?!?! Oh man, they are definitely as good as everyone says. Some of our group had balconies and they were certainly nice. So if your cruising style is a balcony... go for it!

All of the food was great. The best part about cruise dining is if you find something you don't like, simply ask for something else. Princess offers destination specific food menus (with so many other options) so if you like sea food, you'll be all set onboard.

Ketchikan is a pretty small town and it doesn't take long to walk around. Some of the main excursions here are the Totem Poles and The Great Alaskan Lumber Jack Shows. However, if you're into fishing at all, this is the place to do it. Ketchikan is the salmon capital of the WORLD! There's a lot of great fishing excursions available. My recommendation would be Reel Fishing Charters. Great local family owner company (don't forget to tell them Paridee Travel LLC sent you 😉). 

So many great options for excursions here, plus a great town to just walk around. Here we did a combo tour. Whale watching & trip to Mendenhall Glacier and Nugget Falls. If you're looking for a great hiking spot, Mendenhall is it! So many trails, and amazing views. Tour recommendation here would hands down be Juneau Whale Watching. I swear the captain was more excited to see whales then we were. Every single staff member was so great. From the bus drivers to the captain and crew. 

When they say layer clothing... LAYER CLOTHING! Be sure to bring something to put the layers in as they come off, because it got hot during the hike. 

So many people recommend the Whitehall Pass train ride, and for good reason. A few people in our group did it and LOVED it. They saw some great wild life, got to play with dog sled dogs, and saw some of the most picturesque areas of the trip. 

We decided to go a different way. My husband and I did a jet boat ride, and I would do it again in a heart beat! If you want a little adrenaline on your trip, this is the excursion for you. Hop on board to an actual Coast Guard jet boat and hold on tight. Once again we had amazing staff that made this adventure fun, thrilling, and entertaining. We bundled up in our fancy suites (all gear was provided), and we were off. Flying down the fjord at high speed with some 360 spins we stayed plenty warm. Our captain got us up close and personal to the wildlife and stopped for some amazing photo ops. We even had a whale pop up close to the boat to say hello. 

So, what about the land portion of your cruise tour?

Once you disembark at Whittier you'll board the Princess dome train. As you can see this is the perfect ride for all the beauty Alaska has to offer. While on board you can have some delicious snacks and drinks. If you're lucky like we were you'll have clear skies and have a clear view of Mount Denali. It was so clear we could even see the summit! 

Once the train arrives in Denali you'll take a short bus ride to your lodge. We stayed at the Princess Denali Wilderness Lodge. It was absolutely gorgeous. Heads up there's no AC, which we could have definitely used since they had a heat advisory when we were there. Depending on which tour you select will determine how many days you spend where and at which lodge. 

While at the lodge we opted to do a helicopter ride with the option to walk around on a glacier. This was by far my favorite part. Of course, we had an amazing pilot who was personable and made the trip entertaining with his commentary and knowledge. If you do this excursion, heads up the water was cold, but surely didn't taste good. After that part of our group rented some E-bikes and road into Denali Park. This was a first time on an E-bike and wow was it fun. They got up to top speeds of over 35 mph, which was a little intimidating. We even got to see a moose (which was a little too close for comfort, so we took off pretty fast). 

The day we left the lodge we took a tour bus up to Fairbanks where we boarded the Discovery Riverboat Cruise. This was a nice little tour down the river which ended with seeing some elk and sled dogs. Our bus then took us to our Fairbanks accommodations. We ended the night with some local golfing at the Midnight Sun Golf Course. They recently re-opened so the course needs some love and care to get back up to par, but we can say we golfed the Northern Most USGA Hole in the USA.