We (wife and I) are independent travelers who like to go at our own pace and see what we want to see how and when we want to see it. Without a private plane or boat SE Alaska is tough to see independently. We took a west Indian cruise with Princess in January of 2012. It was OK but a bit confining. We had been to Alaska in 2011 by flying to Anchorage and renting a car to travel the interior. Great trip.

We realized that to see the SE coastal are a cruise was in order. All of our friends who had been on one loved it. Got a good deal through a travel agency for a stateroom with a view. Good call as the window was huge and there is much scenery to see. We were on the second level and the ride was very smooth. The room was larger than the interior stateroom we had on Princess. In just about every other measurement Princess was superior.

We took an early flight to Vancouver (up at 2:30 AM) and opted for a cab ride to Canada Place. It was a Friday and downtown Vancouver was in gridlock at the noon hour. Should have taken the train from the airport and saved $25.00. The boarding process was chaos. Took hours and much walking. The old and infirmed were in trouble. Everyone blamed it on three ships in port. Well there were multiple ships in port at Fr. Lauderdale for our Princess cruise with no such problems. Read more