Princess Cruise Alaska: Explore Stunning Landscapes

With over 20 cruises under my belt, an Alaska sailing was long overdue. This past summer, I finally experienced Alaska firsthand on the Discovery Princess, and I am sharing everything you need to know about the ship, ports and wildlife.

Highlights

• What is included in your cruise fare versus what costs extra on board
• Real-world advice on choosing between Princess Plus and Princess Premier packages
• Honest port excursion reviews and weather backup plans for Ketchikan, Juneau and Skagway
• Why an Alaska cruise is the one time you must splurge on a balcony cabin

Why Book Your Princess Alaska Cruise Right Now? (Winter 2026/2027 Booking Deals & News)

Whether you are shopping for a once-in-a-lifetime holiday gift or locking in your 2027 Alaska cruise itinerary early, Princess Cruises has major news and limited-time savings for winter bookers:

• Black Friday & Holiday Booking Sale (Nov 6 – Dec 7, 2026): Take up to 50% off cruise fares, get up to $400 in instant savings, and secure free fares for third and fourth guests on select voyages.
• Expanded Sanctuary Collection Experience: Princess is expanding its resort-style Sanctuary Collection across five Royal Class ships (including Discovery Princess on sale Dec 4, 2026 for April 2027 sailings), featuring exclusive private lounge spaces, dedicated Sanctuary pool retreats, private dining, and bundled Princess Premier perks.
• Expanded 2027 Alaska Season & Star Princess Debut: Princess’s 2027 season features 8 ships, 187 departures across 17 itineraries, 85 calls to Glacier Bay National Park, and the Alaska debut of the next-generation Sphere Class ship, Star Princess, sailing roundtrip 7-day Inside Passage cruises out of Seattle.

Discovery Princess Alaska Cruise: Key Itinerary Details

• I sailed on a seven-night cruise on the Discovery Princess out of Seattle.
• We stopped in Ketchikan, Skagway, Juneau and Victoria, British Columbia. We had two full days at sea, and the day we stopped in Victoria counts as an extra sea day since we didn’t come into port until evening.
• Although I’m an experienced cruiser, this was my first Alaska cruise and my first time with Princess Cruises.

At-a-Glance Summary

What Is Included in a Princess Cruise in Alaska?

What’s Included in Your Fare:

• Food and select non-alcoholic beverages: This includes meals in any of the dining rooms, the buffet, and the casual options up on the deck, such as burgers and pizza.
• Entertainment: Theater shows, game and quiz shows, comedians, dancing and more.
• Pools, hot tubs, fitness centers and sports activities.
• Kids programming.
• Epic views of wildlife, glaciers and stunning scenery.

Not included:

• Alcohol and specialty drinks, such as mocktails, smoothies, and Starbucks-style coffees.
• Excursions and activities on shore.
• Spa/salon services
• Gambling and casino games.

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Princess Cruises Drink Packages: Princess Plus vs. Princess Premier

While standard fares cover all your basics, Princess offers two popular add-on packages that bundle drinks, Wi-Fi and elevated dining perks:

• Princess Plus: Includes the Plus Beverage Package (drinks up to $15 each), Wi-Fi (1 device per guest), daily crew gratuities, select casual dining meals, premium desserts and fitness classes.
• Princess Premier: Princess Premier is the clear winner, and you’ll want it if you enjoy alcoholic beverages and specialty dining! It upgrades you to the Premier Beverage Package (drinks up to $20 each), Wi-Fi for up to 4 devices per guest, daily crew gratuities, unlimited specialty and casual dining, reserved theater seating, photo packages and Princess Prizes.

Excursions

• Our sailing stopped at four ports and we booked excursions in Juneau, Ketchikan and Skagway.
• We did not book an excursion or leave the ship in Victoria, British Columbia.
• We booked all of our excursions through Princess.
• I’d do this exact same sailing in a heartbeat and mix it up with different excursions.

Ketchikan

• Our Excursion: Totem Bight State Park & Ketchikan Highlights.
• Tour Details: This 2.5-hour tour was listed as an “easy activity” and gave us plenty of time to explore the port city.
• How It Works: We took a bus to the park and received a guided tour of the 14 totem poles and an immersion in Tlingit and Haida cultures. We had free time to explore the park and gift shop.
• Other Excursion Options: Includes lumberjack show, which seemed very popular, fishing expeditions, ziplining and canoe/paddle tours.

Juneau

• Our Excursion: TOur Juneau day was also the day we explored Endicott Arm/Dawes Glacier. We sailed through Endicott Arm early in the morning and arrived in Juneau at 9 am.
• What I Wish I Had Done: If I had a do-over, I would have booked an Endicott Arm excursion.
• The Weather Affects Everything: We were supposed to do the Mendenhall Glacier Helicopter Tour & Guided walk but this got cancelled due to fog.

Plan B

• We rebooked onto Evening Whale Quest Featuring Alaska Cuisine.
• We were bused to a whale-watching boat where there was a nice buffet set up for us.
• We saw lots of whales plus a few sleepy seals.

Skagway

• Our Excursion: We did the Yukon Expedition & White Pass Scenic Railway, which involved a scenic train ride into Canada and a bus tour into the Yukon.
• Tour Details: loved the train ride but our tour stop inside the Yukon was a little cheesy and touristy.
• Playing with Puppies: The ship had an onboard opportunity to meet puppies from local mushing teams. We caught the tail end (pun intended!) of this and the puppies were really cute, although you had to make a donation to a charity to play with them.

Dining on Discovery Princess

• On a seven-night cruise, I got to sample a fair amount of what is available to eat on board, although I’m sure I left a few stones unturned!
• Having the Princess Premier package took our dining experience up several notches.
• The food in the main dining rooms was very good, but the specialty dining experiences were elevated in terms of cuisine and ambiance.

Main Dining

• Discovery Princess has three main dining rooms, serving breakfast, lunch and dinner.
• The daily menu is the same across all dining rooms. There are adjustments in dining style, i.e. reservations, flexible dining, walk-in.
• The Princess app will tell you everything you need to know and allow you to make reservations, if necessary.

Buffet and Other Food Included in the Cost of a Princess Cruise

• The buffet on Discovery Princess is called World Fresh Marketplace.
• I’m usually not a buffet person, but I really liked this one, and it was so massive that I actually got lost.
• The International Café has a variety of pastries and sandwiches. The coffee drinks aren’t included in the cost of the cruise, but the food is.
• Slice and Salty Dog on the pool deck are the spots to find pizza, burgers, chicken fingers, etc.

Specialty Restaurants

• Specialty dining is included in the Princess Premier package; otherwise there’s a flat fee upcharge.
• The Catch by Rudi: Mostly seafood with an emphasis on clever, aesthetically pleasing presentation.
• Crown Grill: Chop house with lots of steaks. This was my favorite meal on the cruise.
• Sabatini’s: Authentic Italian food complete with homemade pasta, pizzas and other treats.

Casual Dining

• The line between casual and specialty was confusing for me, but the main points are that both have an upcharge, but casual doesn’t require a reservation.
• Casual dining is included in the Princess Premier package.
• Gelato: Choose from fancy sundaes and cake slices or a plain scoop.
• O’Malley’s Irish Pub
• Gigi’s Pizza: More of an authentic, hand-tossed style than Slice.
• Ocean Terrace Sushi Bar

Other Specialty Dining

• Check the app for other specialty dining experiences like winemaker’s dinners, chef’s tastings or the 360 Experience.
• The 360 Experience is an immersive dinner that combines food and digital storytelling. It’s a creative and fun event, and I 1000 percent recommend it. It somewhat compares to Le Petit Chef, but honestly, 360 blows it out of the water.

What You Need to Know about the Staterooms on an Alaska Cruise with Princess

• Like all cruise ships, staterooms range from luxurious suites to simple interior (no windows) cabins.
• The in-between options include balcony staterooms and ocean view (window, no balcony) staterooms.
• I’m ordinarily a fan of inside cabins for the value pricing since you’re hardly in your room. Alaska cruises are different. Get the balcony.
• My husband and I spent a ton of time on our balcony watching the scenery and wildlife. Yes, you can go up on deck to see the sights but if you can afford the balcony, it’s really the way to go.

Stateroom B111 on Discovery Princess

• We had a Standard Balcony stateroom, great for two people.
• We loved the tech-forward aspect of getting into our stateroom. Our cruise medallions automatically unlocked our door as we approached.
• Bed can be configured as two twins or a queen.
• Our balcony had two chairs and a small table.
• The cabin was away from the elevator and, therefore, very quiet.

What We Loved

• The TV! That seems like a weird thing to enjoy on a cruise ship when you could be doing so many other things, but if you like to unwind with a show at the end of the day, this TV is a nice size – 42 inches – and offers a variety of programming, including Love Boat.
• Plenty of storage. Our cabin had one of the more spacious closets I’ve seen on a cruise ship.
• The decor was restful and minimal without being stark. The bedding felt upscale and overall, we were comfortable.

Room Drawbacks

• Tiny bathrooms are inherently part of cruise ship life but this was one of the smaller bathrooms I’ve seen on a balcony stateroom, especially the shower.
• There’s a motion-activated light outside the bathroom. Good idea in theory, but it’s not ideal if the light wakes you up when your cabin mate needs to pee in the middle of the night.
• No towel animals. This seems to be going by the wayside on cruise ships, which is a bummer.

Who Is This Princess Alaska Cruise For?

• An Alaskan cruise on Princess is great for families or multigenerational groups. There are structured kids’ activities on board plus in-port excursions for kids of all ages, especially active kids.
• I took this cruise with my husband and found it perfectly balanced activity with downtime. We like to stay busy but not so much so that we’re exhausted when we roll back into port.
• Anyone on the fence about cruising. Yes, really! An Alaskan cruise doesn’t have that “floating buffet” vibe and the adventure and scenery-driven itinerary is appealing in ways that Caribbean cruises just aren’t, although I love a good Caribbean cruise.

So Why Princess in Alaska?

• Many cruise lines sail to Alaska – Disney, Carnival, Holland America and more.
• Princess is the #1 cruise line in Alaska with the largest presence. They’ve been doing Alaska sailings for 50+ years.
• Long port stops: Plenty of time for excursions and independent exploration.
• Up-close and personal glacier viewing.
• More of everything: More choices in ships sailing to Alaska, more choices in ports and more stops at Glacier Bay National Park. In 2027, Princess has eight ships in Alaska going to 17 ports.

What should I pack for an Alaska cruise?

• Scope out the weather in the ports you’ll be sailing to. You can see up to three seasons in one day in Alaska during the summer.
• Think casual layers and a mix of short and long sleeves. I wore hiking pants and t-shirts every day with a hoodie or lightweight sweater.
• Outerwear: I packed a water-resistant windbreaker and an insulated vest. I left the parka at home.
• I took a beanie, which I wore a lot. I also took knit gloves, which I didn’t wear.
• Nicer dinner outfits plus formalwear. A seven-night cruise will have at least one formal night.

Should I Pack a Swimsuit?

• While you won’t be swimming on Alaska’s beaches (brrr!) I was happy I packed a swimsuit.
• I took advantage of the thermal suite on the Discovery Princess, the Enclave.
• There are pools and hot tubs on board, which I saw people using during the cruise.  

Non-Clothing items to Pack for an Alaska Cruise

The SheBuysTravel Verdict

The Bottom Line: An Alaska cruise with Princess lives up to every bit of the hype. With over 50 years of experience in the region, unmatched port access and stellar onboard programming, Princess delivers an effortless balance of scenic adventure, top-tier dining and relaxation for families and couples alike. If you can, splurge on a balcony cabin and treat yourself to the Premier package for an unforgettable voyage.

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SheBuysTravel writers have been where you’re going. We share our ground-truth experience to save you time, money and energy, making your trips easier. Been There. Bought That. Since 2006.