Princess Cruises in Alaska

Princess Cruises at a glance

Segment

Premium

Price band

$$$

Alaska home ports

Seattle, Vancouver, Whittier

Parent company

Carnival Corporation & plc

Glacier access

Glacier Bay National Park on a large share of sailings, plus Hubbard Glacier and College Fjord on Gulf of Alaska routes.

Best for

First time Alaska cruisers · Cruisetours to Denali · Glacier Bay seekers · Couples and multigenerational groups

Ships used in Alaska

Typical Alaska itineraries

Cabins

Princess ships carry a very high balcony ratio, which matters more in Alaska than in almost any other cruise region. On a Royal class ship such as Discovery Princess or Royal Princess, the great majority of outside cabins have a balcony, and the balconies on the higher decks are partly shielded from wind by the deck above.

The cabin decision on a Princess Alaska sailing is less about size than about exposure and position. Glacier viewing happens over a period of hours in cold, often wet air, and a balcony that is fully open to the weather is used far less than travellers expect. Mid ship, on a deck with an overhang, is the sweet spot.

Dining

Princess runs a traditional structure: a set of main dining rooms with fixed or flexible seating, a large buffet, and a handful of paid specialty venues. It is a premium mainstream product rather than a culinary destination, and the Alaska specific strength is regional sourcing rather than technique.

• Main dining rooms carry a rotating menu with a daily Alaska influenced option, typically wild salmon, halibut or king crab depending on availability.
• Crown Grill is the steak and seafood specialty restaurant and is the venue most worth the surcharge on an Alaska sailing.
• Sabatini's handles Italian on ships that carry it, and is usually the quietest specialty room.
• The buffet is the practical choice on port days, because it opens early enough to get you off the ship for a 7:00 am excursion.
• International Cafe on Royal and Grand class ships is open around the clock and is where most people end up during a long glacier viewing morning.

Entertainment and programming

Princess entertainment in Alaska is deliberately split between conventional cruise ship production shows and destination programming, and the destination programming is the part worth planning around.

• North to Alaska is the line's regional programme: naturalists, park rangers who board in Glacier Bay, Iditarod mushers, king crab fishermen and Alaska Native culture presentations.
• Park ranger narration on Glacier Bay days is piped through open decks and cabin televisions. Rangers board from a small boat at the park boundary and leave the same way.
• Discovery and Animal Planet branded excursions and talks connect the onboard programme to the shore product.
• Production shows and live music run in the evenings as on any large ship, and are competent rather than remarkable.
• Movies Under the Stars exists but is a poor fit for Alaska weather. Most nights it goes unused.

The practical point is that Princess treats Alaska as a destination rather than a backdrop. If you sail with any other expectation you will over index on the theatre and under index on the reason you came.

Family suitability

Princess works well for multigenerational family groups and less well for families whose children need constant structured activity. There is a youth programme with age bands from three to seventeen, but it is smaller and quieter than what Royal Caribbean, Norwegian or Disney field.

If the trip is built around children under ten, read best Alaska cruise for families before defaulting to Princess.

Suites and luxury features

Princess is not a luxury line and does not market itself as one, but it operates a suite tier that meaningfully upgrades the Alaska experience.

• Suite guests get priority tender access, which matters in Sitka and Icy Strait Point where tendering can eat an hour of a short port day.
• Sanctuary is an adults only sun deck with padded loungers and service. In Alaska it is often partially covered, and on a glacier morning it is one of the better viewing positions on the ship.
• Club Class dining gives mini suite and suite guests a reserved dining area with no wait.
• Reserve collection mini suites add priority embarkation, which is a real advantage in Seattle on a Saturday.

Strengths and trade offs

Our editorial assessment: 4.5 out of 5 for Alaska specifically, weighing itinerary access, suitability for the travellers this line serves, and value. How we rate is explained in our editorial policy.

Pricing

Princess sits in the middle of the Alaska market: above Carnival and Norwegian on a like for like basis, below Celebrity on the premium end, and far below the luxury lines. The fare includes accommodation, main dining, buffet, room service, entertainment and the destination programming.

Add roughly $18 to $23 per person per day in crew appreciation, and budget separately for excursions, which on a Princess Alaska sailing typically run $120 to $300 per person per port. A cruisetour adds $1,400 to $3,000 per person on top of the cruise fare depending on length and lodge standard.

Princess cruisetours: what makes them different

This is the part of the Princess product that no competitor can match on equal terms.

A cruisetour is a cruise with a land segment attached, usually running inland from Whittier or Seward to Denali National Park and often on to Fairbanks. Most cruise lines assemble that land segment through third party hotels and coaches. Princess owns the infrastructure.

• Five wilderness lodges owned and operated by the line, positioned at Denali, Mt. McKinley, Copper River, Kenai and Fairbanks.
• Direct to the Wilderness rail service using the line's own glass domed rail cars, with an open air viewing platform on the lower level.
• One booking, one baggage handling chain. Your bags move from ship to rail to lodge without you touching them.
• Consistent standard. You know what the room will be like at each stop, which is not true when a land segment is assembled from whatever hotel had inventory.

The Mt. McKinley Princess Wilderness Lodge deserves a specific mention: on a clear day it has one of the best road accessible views of Denali anywhere in the state, better than most of what you see from inside the national park itself.

Frequently asked questions