I was aboard the Island Princess northbound from Vancouver, B.C. to Whittier, Alaska. The ship departed July 16th and the cruise ended on July 23rd.
Vancouver... I decided to stay in Vancouver for two nights at a local hotel before embarking onto the Island Princess. Princess Cruises notified me that the ship would be docked at "Canada Place," an easy to access cruise ship terminal in the heart of downtown Vancouver. Princess does not use Vancouver's alternate cruise terminal known as Ballentine Pier because it is in the middle of their industrial district and is not as beautiful as "Canada Place."
The terminal itself is a long walk if you walk into the terminal instead of taking a taxi into it. Once arriving, I dropped off my luggage with the porter, and went thru security screening (x-ray carry-ons and metal detector). After the security screening, there was a visit to the U.S. Customs [and Border Protection] agents to complete immigration (a lot easier than doing it at the end). Finally, I registered my credit card at the Princess check-in desk, and my cruise card was given and away I went onboard.