Tippy_Toes

Thanks for sharing your amazing itinerary! That sounds absolutely fantastic. Like you, this will be a one and done trip for us too, so looking to spend 4 to 5 weeks travelling over there. I'm trying to decide if we should do Rocky Mountaineer and self drive around Bsnff, Jasper etc and 2 weeks cruise, or do Aladka land for 1 week taking in Fairbanks, Denali etc then cruise for a week Southbound to Vancouver. I'm also flip flopping back n forth about time of year to visit, May/June or late Aug/Sep to hopefully see the Northern lights. I'm thinking September might be too late for bears though? I definitely hope to see bears!!

Thank you all so much! Appreciate you clearing that up for me. I've got a much better understanding now of the geography and sailing routes. The inside passage and Glacier Bay are important to us, so I really didn't want to book the wrong ship. I'm thinking the Sapphire princess is a good bet, along with a couple of HAL ships. I'm now trying to choose between a straight 14 day voyage on 1 ship, or doing North with HAL, a land trip to Denali then sailing back to Vancouver Southbound on princess. I'm definitely thinking of doing b2b cruises because if the weather isn't so good on the way up, we get the chance to do it again on the way back down. I've been watching cruise vlogs all morning and the serenity and scenery in Glacier Bay is breathtaking. My Australian husband doesn't like the cold, but even he is super excited for this trip!! Thanks again everyone for sharing your invaluable info and insights.

Hi again, I'm looking at the 14 day Princess voyage of the Glaciers grand adventure, but I read somewhere that a certain class of Princess ship doesn't go to the inside passage/Glacier Bay? The list of ships available to book on this itinerary are Grand, Royal, Sapphire, Caribbean and Coral. Which class ship should I eliminate from booking? I definitely want to do Glacier Bay., am I right that is the inside passage? Thank you!!

Thank you for all your comments. It's giving me lots to think about, but at least I have a better idea of which direction to go in now! I was considering an actual cruise/land tour due to the logistics involved, but Dean isn't sold on the idea as we have always travelled independently in the past as we like to be able to do our own thing. Princess cruise seems to be winning out over HAL at the moment, mostly due to their enrichment program Glacier Bay is an absolute must. So is dog sledding on Mendelhall Glacier!!

Hi everyone, I'm trying to get myself together to plan our dream trip and it's so overwhelming! We are not new to cruising, but new to Alaska and this is a BIG bucket list trip for us both. Firstly, hello all, We are Samantha and Dean from Australia. Mid 50's and love to travel. Our plan is in June/July 2025 to do the Rocky mountaineer train and explore Banff, Lake Louise etc, then join a cruise ship from Vancouver to sail Alaska. I've narrowed it down to either HAL or Princess. When I ask myself what's the most important things of the trip, it's the following (in no particular order) - Wildlife, Scenery/Glaciers, Dog sledding, history/education and food! I'm lost with trying to choose the right itinerary and ship. I can't distinguish between Northbound and Southbound, so am thinking we should do both? Is it right that I can't choose a Grand class Princess ship as that doesn't do the inside passage? I've spent the entire weekend reading trip reports and watching you tube videos but I'm now more confused than ever. I think I'm at information overload point!! For anyone who has sailed both Princess and HAL to Alaska, which ship/itinerary was your preference? Thank you so much for any advice you can offer!!