My wife and I took the southbound cruise with a two day poststay in Vancouver.

LAND PORTION: We began our 4 day land stay in Fairbanks and worked south. All of the properties were very good. Fairbanks was a short stop with the Riverboat Discovery tour which was a good introduction to Alaska. We stayed at the River's Edge in Fairbanks for one night. The luggage was moved seamlessly from one stop to another. At Denali, take the extended Tundra Wilderness tour if you want to see the wildlife. Our guide said studies have been completed and only 7% of the wildlife sightings occur on the shorter version. Also, it's important to plan your trip depending on what you want to see. The bears in Denali eat berries, not salmon. So they really don't show up well until August when the blueberries ripen. Also, if you go in May, you may not see bear or moose because they are both in the forest--one to give birth and the other to find the young ones for food. Talkeetna is a quaint town. The box lunch provided by the park service is horrid. Pack some snacks. We did a float trip in Talkeetna which was relaxing, but no wildlife. The town is neat. The scenery is great, however. We went from Denali to McKinley on the train. Great scenery, but 4 hours is about all I wanted. The train hauled Princess, Royal Carib, and Holland cars.

EMBARKATION: Don't believe what you read about an easy entry to the ship from the train in Whittier. Ours was a 5 hour ride to get there from Talkeetna. Princess does check you in on board, but we had over a one hour wait for security once we got there. The Captain was calling for muster as we walked on board. I would opt for a motor coach transfer instead of the train. It's quicker and will get you there sooner. Read more