We chose this cruise because it included Alaskan waterways and land cruise. Departure city of Vancouver was a plus, so we arrived a day early to tour and that was not enough. Disembarkation went fast and smooth because we chose a city tour that delivered our luggage to the ship and left us off at the pier at 2 pm with sail-away at 4:30 pm. The ship was refurbished in 2015, but still is an older ship. We were warned that it would be crowded, but we did not notice that.

Our ocean view cabin was a bit small, but we rarely were in it because of all the lectures and shows. We really enjoyed "anytime dining" because we enjoy meeting new people and were not stuck with missing meals to attend an activity. The lectures on wildlife, Alaska and the glaciers really made the trip. We were joined by National Park Rangers on two occasions. Port excursions were very interesting. We chose excursions advertised by AAA and travel agents, rather that Princess, which we thought were more costly. Our land tour was top of the line, with a tour guide that traveled with us the entire 6 days, staying at Princess Lodges in Talkeetna, Denali and Fairbanks= and all meals and three excursions were included.