Hi there!
I did an Alaska cruise in May on the Sapphire Princess cruise ship.
This is to give you an idea of what an Alaska cruise can be like!
Your experience will vary!
Map of roundtrip Alaska cruise route
👆 Map of the scheduled Alaska cruise ports for this roundtrip Alaska cruise from Vancouver. This Alaska cruise itinerary started and ended in Vancouver and included the Alaska cruise ports of Icy Strait Point, Juneau, Skagway, Sitka, and Ketchikan. It also included the scenic cruising glacier sea days of Hubbard Glacier and Glacier Bay National Park.
My roundtrip Alaska cruise itinerary (11-day Alaska cruise from Vancouver round trip)
- Day 1 | April 29: Vancouver, Canada
- Day 2 | April 30: sea day
- Day 3 | May 1: sea day
- Day 4 | May 2: Hubbard Glacier scenic cruising sea day
- Day 5 | May 3: Icy Strait Point (8am to 6pm)
- Day 6 | May 4: Juneau (8am to 9:15pm)
- Day 7 | May 5: Skagway (7am to 8:30pm)
- Day 8 | May 6: Glacier Bay National Park scenic cruising sea day
- Day 9 | May 7: Sitka (8am to 5pm)
- Day 10 | May 8: Ketchikan (9am to 6pm)
- Day 11 | May 9: sea day
- Day 12 | May 10: Vancouver
Day 1: Vancouver embarkation day
Be out on the open deck as the cruise ship is sailing away from Vancouver cruise port!
The cruise ship will sail right under the iconic Lion’s Gate Bridge of Vancouver!
Day 2: Sea day
Day 3: Sea day
Day 4: Hubbard Glacier scenic cruising sea day (May 2: 11am to 4pm)
👆 1:40pm on Hubbard Glacier day in May.
The first “Alaska” day and it was a true “welcome to Alaska” day!!!
It was soooo windy and cold that I found it to be pretty fun as an introduction to Alaska!!! 🤣
I can still look back on this Hubbard Glacier sea day and laugh because this was the only day of the cruise that had really bad weather!
👆 12:09pm. I love this picture! 🤣
It seemed like it was questionable if we were going to make it to Hubbard Glacier.
I think the captain had announced that our cruise ship was the first of the Alaska cruise season to go to Hubbard Glacier, so there were no ice reports.
There was ice on the way to Hubbard Glacier which made it look really pretty.
But it wasn’t enough ice to keep the cruise ship from reaching Hubbard Glacier!
It was cold, windy, and rainy the whole time but it was still a good day to see Hubbard Glacier!
I was really happy to have my cheapo waterproof phone case so I could take pictures outside without concern for getting my phone wet!
Cruising to Hubbard Glacier means cruising through Yakutat Bay and Disenchantment Bay to get to Hubbard Glacier.
👆 12:34pm
👆 12:35pm
👆 1:27pm
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👆 3:20pm
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Day 5: Icy Strait Point cruise port (May 3: 8am to 6pm)
My plan for Icy Strait Point cruise port:
- morning: Icy Strait Point whale watching tour (Icy Strait Point Whale Adventures) 8:45am to 11:45am
- afternoon: Walk around Icy Strait Point on my own
The best cruise ports for whale watching in Alaska are said to be Juneau and Icy Strait Point.
Since I had other things I wanted to do in Juneau, I decided to do a whale watching tour in Icy Strait Point.
That, and I was going on another Alaska cruise with a stop in Juneau, and that was a couple weeks later, so I was hoping there would be more whales.
Early May seems to still be early for whale season, so I wasn’t even sure if I’d have a chance to see whales.
The day before, it seems like they saw quite a few whales, but on the day I went it seems like there weren’t as many.
That’s okay, because I had managed my expectations since it wasn’t prime whale watching season in Alaska.
At the very least, it would be a boat ride in Alaska.
Still, I did get to see a whale tail pretty close from the boat, and it was my first time seeing a whale tail like that, so that was the highlight of the whale watching tour in Icy Strait Point!
If you have binoculars, you could even do whale watching from the cruise ship.
Our whale watching boat tour spent some time near the cruise ship which honestly felt a little silly, but I guess we did get a closer view without the need for binoculars!
👆 Whale watching tour during an Alaska cruise at Icy Strait Point cruise port. It looks better in person! It actually looked really close!
After the whale watching tour, the main thing I did was walk from Icy Strait Point to Hoonah along the Hoonah Sea Walk, which was a scenic coastal walk.
I think it was a 20-30 minute walk.
For $5, there’s also a shuttle from Icy Strait Point to Hoonah.
I bought the shuttle ticket before I started walking to Hoonah so that I could take the shuttle back. I was told I wouldn’t be able to buy the ticket on the shuttle in Hoonah.
Walking through the town of Hoonah, I honestly felt like it could have been any regular small rural American town or street that you might drive through if you’re driving through rural America not on the highway… except it’s on the water I guess.
So the highlight was the Hoonah Sea Walk, not particularly the town of Hoonah itself.
Then, upon return to the Icy Strait Point cruise port, I walked the nature trail that’s located right nearby the cruise port.
It’s pretty short, but it’s a nice leisurely walk through the forest.
Right as I was nearing one end of the trail, I was told urgently to get off the trail. I was a bit confused because I was approaching the end so I’m not sure why he felt the need to tell me to get off.
Well, it turns out that there was a bear spotted on some part of the nature trail, and they wanted everyone off the trail immediately. I didn’t actually see the bear myself.
👆 There are bears near the Icy Strait Point cruise port.
At the end of the trail that I ended up at, there was a free gondola in Icy Strait Point that I could take to get back down to where I started the trail.
There are 2 gondolas you can take in Icy Strait Point which will take you up for higher viewpoints.
The first one is from ground level and will take you a little bit up. This one is free.
Then, once you get off the first gondola, you will see another gondola. This one costs money, and will take you up even higher.
If you’re going to Icy Strait Point on a Princess cruise, check the onboard cruise activities (aka journeyview on the Princess app or the Princess Patter paper version of entertainment) to see if there is a speaker session by the Hoonah ambassador.
The Hoonah ambassador on my cruise ship was from the native Alaskan Tlingit tribe, and it was interesting to hear from her.
There was also special meaning because I heard the Tlingit tribe referenced a few times throughout my time in Alaska, so I had more of a basic familiarity with it!
In particular, you may hear about the Tlingit tribe on Glacier Bay National Park day.
Day 6: Juneau cruise port (May 4: 8am to 9:15pm)
My plan for Juneau cruise port:
- morning + lunch: Taku Lodge Feast & 5-Glacier Seaplane Discovery with Taku Lodge Wings Airways (Princess shore excursion) 9:30am to 1pm
- afternoon + evening: Mendenhall Glacier and Nugget Falls on my own
Depending on what you want to see, the best cruise ports for flightseeing tours are Juneau, Skagway, and Ketchikan.
I did a seaplane tour in Juneau that included a landing in what felt like remote Alaska.
It was a landing at the historic Taku Lodge (which currently only does day trips and not overnight stays), and it included a salmon bake Alaskan-style lunch.
There was time both before and after the meal to walk around, which I did.
Even though I was never too far from the rest of the tour group, I thought it was a nice quiet leisurely walk through the forest. (Most people stayed around the lodge. If you do the Taku Lodge excursion, I recommend asking how much time you have before food, and then walking around!)
From Taku Lodge, you can see the glacier called Hole-in-the-Wall Glacier.
Flying from Juneau, you will get epic views of Alaska on your way to Taku Lodge and on the way back too!
I saw glaciers and blue ice from above!
The tour is advertised as a Juneau icefield seaplane tour, so you will be flying over and seeing part of the massive Juneau icefield with lots of glaciers.
Since it was a long day in Juneau cruise port, upon return to Juneau, I still had plenty of time.
I went to the Mendenhall Glacier Recreation Area of Tongass National Forest by bus.
You can also take a round-trip shuttle to get there, and there are also tours that go there.
The Mendenhall Glacier is one of the most popular things to do in Juneau. (A whale watching tour is another.)
I would like to think that by going so late, I did miss massive crowds, since presumably everyone goes first thing after they get off the cruise ship.
There were still plenty of people there, but it didn’t feel as overwhelming as I imagine it would be earlier in the day.
Public transportation of course takes longer, but since I did have the time, it was fine!
The Mendenhall Glacier is also over a mile away from the nearest bus stop, so it was a lot of walking.
But I did the Photo Point Trail, Nugget Falls Trail, and then I went to the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center.
I think the visitor center had the best view of the glacier.
I think the Photo Point Trail is skippable if you’re short on time.
The Nugget Falls Trail you want to do if you want to get up close to waterfalls! It would be good to have 1 hour to do it, but you can do it in less.
The Mendenhall Glacier continues to retreat (aka go back further), so year after year, you keep getting a more distant view.
When I was at Nugget Falls, I heard someone say that they had been there before and the glacier was much closer. They were saying “bye bye glacier”!
So it’s a special thing to see while you can!
👆 Mendenhall Glacier from the visitor center.
👆 Nugget Falls Trail in Mendenhall Glacier Recreation Area in Tongass National Forest.
👆 Nugget Falls in Mendenhall Glacier Recreation Area in Tongass National Forest.
So when I first booked the cruise, it showed a Juneau departure of 10pm.
A week or so later (March 29), I noticed that the departure had changed to 9:15pm.
This was not a big deal in this case.
But in case you do have some things planned that might be sensitive to arrival/departure times, it can be good to have another look at your cruise itinerary!
It seems like it’s not uncommon for time changes like this to happen.
Day 7: Skagway cruise port (May 5: 7am to 8:30pm)
My plan for Skagway cruise port:
- morning: White Pass Rail & Klondike Highway (Princess shore excursion) 8:15am to 12pm
- afternoon: Glacier Discovery by Helicopter with Temsco Helicopters (Princess shore excursion) 2:15pm to 4:15pm
The absolutely most popular thing to do in Skagway cruise port is the White Pass train.
There are different types of combination tours that you can do that includes the White Pass railway.
The White Pass railway crosses the Canadian border.
If you are on a White Pass tour that includes getting off the train stepping foot onto Canada, then you’ll need to bring a passport. Look for these instructions in the tour description when you’re booking the excursion.
I did a White Pass excursion that included a drive on the Klondike Highway.
It was a drive on the Klondike Highway up past the White Pass summit to get on the train in Fraser, Canada.
And then from Fraser, I took the train back to Skagway.
Then in the afternoon, I had a helicopter tour that included a wilderness landing on a glacier.
We saw blue ice and blue icefalls!
If you’re thinking about doing a helicopter tour, I recommend doing one that includes some sort of landing. It makes the experience that much more special!
Skagway is also one of the best cruise ports for dog sledding in Alaska!
Day 8: Glacier Bay National Park scenic cruising sea day (May 6: 6:15am to 3:30pm)
If you aren’t going to be doing any excursions during your Alaska cruise, then you must make sure that you choose an Alaska cruise itinerary that includes Glacier Bay National Park!
On Glacier Bay National Park day, national park rangers will board the cruise ship by arriving on a small boat.
Then they will be on the cruise ship the entire time that you are in Glacier Bay National Park.
Sailing into Glacier Bay, one of the most anticipated spots is Margerie Glacier where the cruise ship will be spending some time at.
The hope is that you will get to witness “calving” of an Alaska glacier.
That is, you might get a chance to see huge chunks of ice fall off the glacier to make a big splash into the water!
👆 8:58am
👆 9:34am
👆 9:36am
👆 10:02am
👆 10:06am
👆 10:14am
👆 11:05am: Margerie Glacier
👆 11:09am: Will you be able to see a glacier calving in Glacier Bay National Park at Margerie Glacier?!
👆 2:46pm
👆 2:46pm
👆 2:52pm
Day 9: Sitka cruise port (May 7: 8am to 5pm)
My plan for Sitka cruise port:
- morning: Sitka marine wildlife tour with Sitka Sound Tours
- afternoon: Sitka National Historical Park on my own
In looking at the shore excursions offered by Princess, it seemed like there were a number of excursions about seeing sea otters.
So, this must mean Sitka is a good cruise port to see sea otters?!
So I did a marine wildlife tour in hopes of seeing sea otters.
While I did see a sea otter, I guess it wasn’t as many as can be seen on other days.
My boat captain took me to a spot that is a known spot where sea otters hang out.
Once again, with wildlife tours in general, there’s no guarantee to see wildlife because they do what they want when they want.
At the very least again, it’s a boat ride in Alaska!
I did get to see sea lions kind of up close on the buoys which was interesting because I went to a naturalist speaker session on the cruise ship who said sea lions like to hang out on buoys. So it was cool to see it in action!
👆 Sea lions on a wildlife watching tour during an Alaska cruise at Sitka cruise port. It looks better in person!
There was even a sea lion that swam up to the boat.
My captain had never seen that before and speculated that maybe it’s been fed by people on boats so it was looking for food. Don’t feed wildlife or you’ll mess with their feeding habits!
After the boat tour, I then walked along the Sitka Sea Walk.
This is also the direction to get to Sitka National Historical Park to see totem poles, which is also along the coast.
Day 10: Ketchikan cruise port (May 8: 9am to 6pm)
My plan for Ketchikan cruise port:
- morning: Totem Bight State Historical Park on my own
- afternoon: Misty Fjords National Monument seaplane tour with Island Wings
- late afternoon: Creek Street on my own
In the morning, I went to Totem Bight State Historical Park by bus to see totem poles.
In the afternoon, I did a seaplane tour to Misty Fjords National Monument.
First it was a flight over Tongass National Forest, and then it’s a flight over Misty Fjords.
The seaplane tour had a wilderness landing in Misty Fjords National Monument on a small island and it felt really wild and remote!
Our pilot tied the plane to land on her own.
Day 11: Sea day
Day 12: Vancouver disembarkation day
How much does a cheap Alaska cruise from Vancouver round trip cost?
This Alaska cruise that I did was the first of the Alaska season for Princess.
It was an early in the Alaska cruise season, so it was on the “cheaper” side.
That said, when looking at Alaska cruises, you don’t just want to look at the base rate that’s displayed on the website!
Along with the port fees and taxes, the cheapest Alaska cruises will be an inside cabin.
It’s often said that if you’re going to splurge on a balcony on a cruise, then it’s for an Alaska cruise.
But of course, it depends on your priorities, and it’s how you want to spend your cruise.
For example, if you are seriously considering getting a balcony, then maybe instead of spending that money on a balcony, you’d rather spend it on an epic Alaska cruise excursion… like a dog sledding tour in Alaska!
You also may want to budget extra money separately for the best Alaska excursions.
But, just to give you an idea, I took screenshots of what the cost of my Alaska cruise was showing up as 6 days before departure.
The cruise started on April 29, and the cost of the Alaska cruise displayed below is for an inside cabin that you could book on April 23.
👆 Cost of a last minute “drop and go” Alaska cruise from Vancouver round trip, less than a week before an April cruise departure was around $800 per person. The base cruise price was $499 per person for 2 people, and there was an additional fee of $293 for port fees and taxes. This means the cost of a last minute Alaska cruise from Vancouver was $72 per night per person for double occupancy when you include the taxes and fees.
👆 Cost of a last minute “drop and go” Alaska cruise from Vancouver round trip, less than a week before an April cruise departure was around $900 for a solo cruiser. The base cruise rate was $599 for a solo cruiser, plus around $300 in port fees and taxes. This means the cost of a last minute Alaska cruise from Vancouver was $82 per night for a single occupancy solo cruiser when you include the taxes and fees.
And that’s a bit about my Alaska cruise!
HAPPY CRUISING TO ALASKA FROM VANCOUVER!
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