My husband and I cruised for 7 nights from Whittier, Alaska to Vancouver, B.C. (one-way south bound). This was our 6th cruise, all of them week-long cruises, but our first with Princess.

We spent two nights pre-cruise at The Hotel Captain Cook, which we booked through Princess. We had a great experience in Anchorage, which is a really clean, charming town. We also enjoyed the 2+ hour train ride to Whittier. You can stand on the outside platform between the train cars and soak up the gorgeous scenery. One really nice touch was the cruise line collecting our luggage from our hotel room and then depositing it outside our cabin door on the ship. It made traveling from hotel to train to ship very easy.

Boarding the ship was a breeze. Within 5 minutes of stepping off the train from Anchorage, we were stepping onto the ship. Can't beat that! We had about 7 hours until the ship set sail, but not to worry, our cabin was ready and the buffets and bars were open. The weather was so nice and sunny and our luggage made it so quickly that we were in the pool enjoying cocktails by mid-afternoon. The pool area was very nice and clean, and was rarely crowded, except during movies. They show "Movies Under the Stars" here and give out blankets and popcorn in the evenings. Our kids would have loved it, but they did not sail with us this time. Read more