Monday, March 25, 2024

Princess Cruise Alaska Shore Excursions

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Room Types On Discovery Princess

Ketchikan Alaska Port Overview | Alaska Cruise | Princess Cruises

Interior Room: these are the lowest priced options and usually what the advertised price of a sailing shows on a website. You still get a comfortable bed, closet, bathroom, and tv, but youll have to enjoy the view on the top deck of the ship.

Oceanview: if you want a view but dont need fresh air and breeze across your face , an ocean view window might suit you just fine.

Balcony: there is a standard version, deluxe version with a couch, or a premium deluxe version with a couch and larger balcony. I stayed in the standard balcony stateroom, which I thought was a perfect size for us. For reference, I am 59 and my husband is 60, and both average weight.

Mini-suite: these offer larger balcony sizes, separate sitting area with a sofa bed, and premium amenities.

Suite: you can choose from Vista, Premium, or Penthouse suites if you would like to splurge on your Alaskan cruise

Shore Excursions On Princess Alaska Cruises

Princess Cruises offers shore excursions designed to match every interest, activity level and taste. By booking with Princess, youll be guaranteed an on-time return to the ship, and can feel safe knowing youre being led by reputable operators with local expertise on high quality excursions. Search for excursions based on categories such as sightseeing and city tours, nature and wildlife, activities and adventures, and special interest. Excursions are tagged with descriptors like most popular,off the beaten path, and kid-friendly to make decision-making even easier.

Some of the shore excursions Princess Cruises offers in Alaska include:

Kenai Fjords National Park Cruise Anchorage, Alaska

Lighthouse, Totems & Eagles Excursion Ketchikan, Alaska

Chilkoot Lake Freshwater Fishing Skagway, Alaska

Mendenhall Glacier Whale Quest Juneau, Alaska

Russian & Tlingit Heritage Discovery Sitka, Alaska

In addition to traditional cruises, Princess offers several cruise + land tour options for guests who want to spend more time in port. Combine a 7-day Voyage of the Glaciers cruise with 3 to 8 nights touring Alaska on land. Spend time at the Denali and Glacier Bay national parks and enjoy Princess exclusive domed-glass rail service and the comfort of Princess Wilderness Lodges.

Cooking In Alaska’s Wildest Kitchen

Aspiring chefs can spend one-and-a-half hours learning about Alaskan seafood, local fishing and cooking techniques on this interactive foodie outing. A local fisherwoman/”wilderness chef” will lead a demo on fish fileting, then bring you outside where you can learn to grill the day’s catch over a large wood grill. While you listen and cook, nibble on salmon and halibut dishes, as well as local veggies. At the end, you’ll have newfound culinary knowledge to take home as a souvenir. Plus, it leaves plenty of time for further exploration in Icy Strait Point.

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Cruises From San Diego Diamond Princess

From September 2022 through February 2023, cruising in California expands with a return to San Diego. Diamond Princess will be joining the fleet of west coast-based ships with a series of brand-new cruise itineraries ranging from five to 16 days and calling at ports along the Mexican Riviera, California Coast, and the Hawaiian Islands. In addition, the ship will sail a unique 20-day cruise to Central America, roundtrip from San Diego in November 2022. The on-sale date for these cruises is March 24, 2022.

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Exploring Alaska Ports Like A Pro

Get lost in the right direction.

People who know me know that I love talking about Alaska port towns. This isn’t just because I spent more than two decades writing about Alaska and other cruise destinations for major newspapers. For many years, I was the co-author of the Frommer’s “Alaska Cruises & Ports of Call” guide. In researching nearly half a dozen editions of that book, I spent many days exploring each of the major cruise ports in the state. I’ve tried many of the major shore excursions in places such as Juneau, Skagway and Ketchikan. I’ve also poked around these towns a lot on my own.

As noted above, my biggest message to anyone planning an Alaska cruise is to get out of the towns. Sign up for something — a hike, a rafting trip, a train ride, a fishing outing — that gets you out into the spectacular outdoor settings that are all around the towns.

But I also have a few specific, top-line pro tips:

Unfortunately, as you can see from the above, many of the most spectacular excursions in Alaskan ports are expensive. But Alaska is not a place to skimp. Alaska is a place where you may want to budget almost as much per person for your shore excursions as you do for your cabin.

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I should also be clear that the towns themselves aren’t devoid of attractions. While I highly encourage Alaska-bound cruisers to get out into the wilderness, there are plenty of worthwhile things to do in each of the main port towns.

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Book Your Alaska Voyage With The Cruise Line

If you are looking for a luxury Alaska cruise we highly recommend you contact us today for details on our Princess Cruises Alaska cruise collection. Founded in 1993, The Cruise Line has established a reputation for offering clients outstanding customer service alongside highly competitive pricing and special offers.

Many of our Voyage Consultants have the first-hand experience of cruising with Princess Cruises and would be delighted to offer you impartial advice with a view to securing the right cruise for you during the next Alaska cruise season. For further details, please call our team on 0800 008 6677.

Alternatively, please select your preferred voyage from the selection below and make an online enquiry.

Best Alaska Cruises For 2022

02/01/2018

There is no better time to start planning the ultimate Alaska cruise for 2022. If you are looking to book that bucket list cruise now, we have put together our list of the Best Alaska Cruises for 2022. Put those future cruise credits to good use and book your trip of a lifetime!

Best Alaska Cruises for 2022

Discovery Princess

It is tough to pick the best Alaskan cruise for 2022 among the 6 Princess Cruises ships planned to sail in the region this year. Given that we are partial to mega-ships, the brand new Discovery Princess has to be at the top of our list.

Discovery Princess is sailing roundtrip Inside Passage cruises from Seattle in 2022. The itinerary will visit all the popular stops, Juneau, Ketchikan, and Skagway, as well as cruising through Endicott Arm and the Dawes Glacier.

The brand-new Discovery Princess is the final Royal Class ship that will debut just in time for the 2022 Alaska cruise season.

With the largest balconies at sea, this ship is perfect for cruising in Alaska. Further, you wont be able to beat the views from the SeaWalk, a 60-foot glass walkway extending 28 feet off the side of the ship.

Of course, cruisers can also indulge in a variety of culinary treats, unwind in the Sanctuary, and enjoy the cruise lines signature entertainment in the main theater and Princess Live!.

EXCLUSIVE SAVINGS: Score Big on 2022 Alaska Cruises Now!

Norwegian Encore

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Ovation of the Seas

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Tips For Choosing Excursions With Princess Cruises

  • Reserve your excursions early. I was shocked at how quickly tours booked up, and I selected mine about a month out.

  • Choose activities you wouldnt normally do get outside of your comfort zone! My most memorable excursion was a helicopter ride over glaciers and fjords that landed on a dog sledding camp like, what!? Amazing.

  • Remember that excursions booked through the cruise have a guaranteed return . If your tour runs late the ship WILL wait for you if it was booked through the ship. That alone is super important because we definitely saw a tour show up late.

Tips From A Princess Cruisetour In Alaska

Alaska Cruise Vacations & Cruise Tours – Princess Cruises

If youre thinking about traveling to Alaska, a cruisetour is a comprehensive albeit fast-paced way to cover a ton of ground . Im back from an 11-night Princess cruisetour of the 49th state, and its different than any other trip Ive taken in my life. Living on the East Coast, everything I saw seemed to be turned up a couple notches: the sheer size of the mountain ranges the dumbfounding expanse of glaciers, tundras and rainforest the diversity and intensity of the wildlife the free spirit of the indigenous cultures and year-round inhabitants and being able to touch upon each one of those earth-shattering elements with tours and excursions.

The following are 11 tips from my Princess cruisetour experience.

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Appreciate The Great Outdoors At Chilkoot Trail Or Misty Fjords National Monument

Alaska is, of course, an outdoor adventure wonderland, and each port of call offers plenty for those who want to stay active on vacation. Hike the famous Gold Rush-era Chilkoot Trail in Skagway, kayak to the banks of the Mendenhall Glacier, zipline through the rainforests near Ketchikan, or snorkel the calm waters of Mountain Point, southeast Alaskas prime snorkeling destination. Less active outdoor adventures also await, from riding the rail to the Klondike Summit in Skagway to sailing into the gorgeous Misty Fjords National Monument to riding a Zodiac from Saxman Native Village through Nichols Passage in Ketchikan.

You Do Not Need To Be Back Onboard Two

Your all-aboard time is 30-minutes before the ship’s departure time, so why do cruise lines tell you that you have to be back onboard two-hours early? This is especially disappointing when you have such a short time in port, like the 5.5 hours in Juneau for Norwegian ship passengers or the 5-hours in Ketchikan that many ships are scheduled for.

Cruise lines do not want to have to wait for guests because it ends up costing them money if they run behind schedule. So, they have a tendency to tell guests they need to be back much earlier than they actually do. Especially for the bigger cruise ships, there is often a long line of guests waiting to board 30-minutes before departure. They won’t close the door on you while you’re in line waiting to board.

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Helicopter Flightseeing And Extended Glacier Trek

This combo tour in Juneau includes both a helicopter tour and glacier trek. On this adventure, you’ll check out the local terrain from above with a helicopter flightseeing experience. But the real action begins when you learn to climb up and rappel down glaciers using special equipment. The best part is that no experience is needed a guide will instruct you in the use of the provided mountain gear, which includes boots, an ice ax and crampons. It’s not easy, but the experience is otherworldly.

Saxman Totem Village With Lumberjack Tour

Pin by John Q Gardner Jr on Travel

A visit to Southeast Alaska is not complete without an introduction to the areas original inhabitants. Their fascinating history and culture is one reason Ketchikan is such a special place to visit. Another important element of the town is the logging industry, which was one of the mainstays of the Ketchikan economy through the 1990s. This tour introduces you to both.

The Saxman Village tour offers a deep look at the culture overall, and particularly their totem poles. In fact, Saxman Totem park is one of the worlds largest collections of totem poles, and your guide will help explain the stories and symbolism behind them. The Lumberjack show is an entertaining look at the world of logging and the skills needed to survive in this dangerous industry. Lumberjacks compete in a dozen events including sawing, chopping, axe throwing, and log rolling.

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Planning A Return To Cruising In Australia

In hopes that Australian Federal and State Governments will green-light the return of cruising, Princess Cruises announced plans for Coral Princess return to service in June 2022.

Coral Princess will cruise roundtrip from Brisbane with itineraries from three- to 12-days in length. Destinations include ports in Queensland and New South Wales.

By August, Coral Princess moves to Sydney for a new 12-day voyage calling to Queensland and the Conflict Islands in Papua New Guinea. The ship will then resume the previously announced Australia & New Zealand program for the 2022/2023 season.

Finally, Majestic Princess will sail roundtrip from Sydney on a new Queensland voyage in February 2023 at the end of the cruise season.

Details of these itineraries from Australia will be announced on March 17 and then these Australia cruises will be available to book on March 23, 2022.

Why I Prefer A Balcony Room

An Alaskan cruise has tons of scenery. Imagine waking up to a stunning landscape as your captain pulls into the next port of call.

The balcony rooms are also quite spacious. My husband and I settled in nicely and I loved having a desk and refrigerator with plenty of closet room and walking space.

With a balcony, we were able to book a special romantic breakfast from our room too, set up for us with a scenic view.

Breakfast on our balcony at Sitka port of call.

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Guides Choice Photography Discovery

Serious photographers are often frustrated when they find a nice spot, set up for a shot, and the guide yells, Time to get back on the bus!This tour is for photographers, so theres ample time to get your shots just right. Better still, your professional photographer guide has the flexibility to take you where the action is, whether its a field of wildflowers by the Chilkat River, brown bears feeding on salmon near Chilkoot Lake, or a juvenile bald eagle exercising its wings for its first flight.

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Six Great Alaska Shore Excursions

Juneau Alaska | Mendenhall Glacier Hike | Princess Cruises

Below, I’ve listed six of my all-time favorite Alaska shore excursions. These all are tours that you’ll find in the tour lineups at pretty much every major cruise line that operates in Alaska. That said, different lines sometimes have different names for these tours — and sometimes different pricing.

For the listings below, I’ve used the tour names and pricing listed in the current tour sheets at Princess, which along with sister line Holland America, is the biggest cruise operator in Alaska.

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Ketchikans Misty Fjords Flightseeing By Floatplane

Misty Fjords National Monument is a Kethickan must-see, and on this flightseeing tour you view the magnificent scenery with a bird’s-eye view from a seaplane. This pristine park encompasses nearly 2.3 million acres of sheer granite cliffs, imposing waterfalls, sparkling fjords and thick forests. The seaplane will also briefly land on water within the park to give you a taste of the serenity down below.

The tour is not only narrated it’s also set to inspirational music. You’re not likely to see any scenery prettier than this, and you’ll stand a good chance of spotting wildlife like eagles, bears, mountain goats, deer and wolves.

Majestic Princess Placed Under Tier 3 Covid Alert

Although cruise ships have been sailing for almost two years since the global pause in operations, COVID will still pose an issue. Majestic Princess, which only started her Australian cruise season a few weeks ago, returned from a New Zealand cruise with 20% of the passengers testing positive.

Majestic Princess departed from Sydney, Australia, on October 31 and returned to the city today, November 12. According to Carnival Australia, the vessel started noticing an increase in positive cases around the midpoint of the cruise.

President of Carnival Australia, Marguerite Fitzgerald:This is a 12-day voyage, and we started to see elevated cases about halfway through. Reflective of the increase in community transmissions, we, too, have seen more guests test positive for COVID-19 on the current voyage of Majestic Princess. This is a result of mass testing of our 3,300 guests.

Before disembarking the ship, all guests were required to undergo a rapid test. If they tested negative, they were allowed to disembark the ship this morning. If guests tested positive, they were allowed to disembark but were kept separate from other guests, crew, and port workers.

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Princess Reports Passengers’ Favorite Alaska Excursions

With the 2008 Alaska cruise season now past, Princess Cruises has announced the winners of its ninth annual C.R.U.I.S.E. service awards, which recognize Alaska’s best shore excursions. Winners are determined by Princess’s passengers themselves, through responses they gave in surveys throughout the season.

“It’s always gratifying to receive so many positive comments about the experiences passengers have on their Alaska shore adventures,” said Charlie Ball, president of Princess Tours. “These awards are to recognize and thank those who make the shore experience special for our visitors.”

To add a little perspective, I went through and added some commentary to Princess’s list — sometimes agreeing, sometimes dissenting, and sometimes taking off in a different direction altogether.

For 2008, Princess’s top-rated Juneau excursions were:

Also, don’t miss the tours of Alaska’s governor’s mansion, where you can see Sarah Palin’s collections of moose antlers and also polar bear trophies.

Just kidding.

Ketchikan

In rainy Ketchikan, Princess’s passengers liked:

Several excursions visit the area: a seaplane flightseeing trip that includes a brief water landing within the monument a different flightseeing trip in which you fly to the monument and transfer to a boat for sea-level sightseeing and the trip back to Ketchikan and a round-trip boat excursion.

Kodiak

Sitka

Skagway

Taku Lodge With Salmon Bake

Ocean Cruise

This long-running favorite tour combines a number of appealing activities into one trip: a scenic glacier flight with Wings Airways, a float plane landing, a visit to a remote lodge with a chance for a guided nature walk, and a barbecue of king salmon .

That remote lodge is the Taku Lodge, built in 1923 and located just across the river from the advancing Taku Glacier . Get out and enjoy the lodge and its wilderness ambience. Local guides offer a short nature walk on a wilderness trail, or you may choose to relax. Then enjoy a time-honored Alaskan traditionthe salmon bake. The succulent grilled salmon attracts bears, of course, and you may be lucky enough to spot one!

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