This was a tour cruise which started in Anchorage, moved to McKinley Lodge, then to Denali Lodge, then back to Whittier by train to board the Star Princess. We booked all land and at sea excursions through Princess and paid for them months before the trip. Our first land excursion, scheduled for 9:15 am July 24 with Rust's Flightseeing Tours, was canceled by them shortly before our scheduled pickup time. We were assured a refund by the Princess agent in the Capt Cook Hotel. Promised refund has never materialized. (I'm writing this in mid-September.) I've repeatedly tried contacting Princess about this I'm told the "cruise" line doesn't handle the "land" tours--and there's not phone number for land tours. I've sent three emails to customer relations.

The rest of the excursions, both land and from the ship, were excellent. The cruise itself was great, though we didn't see any whales or other wildlife. The glaciers were amazing; the naturalist on board was very informative. The ship and our cabins were clean and comfortable. Most of the staff were friendly and helpful. Our other unfortunate experience was with specialty dining at the steak restaurant. We were kept waiting hours past our reservation and then seated at a squeezed in table. This was shocking, since everything else on the ship ran on time or a little early! I suggest skipping specialty dining.

To be fair, the overall trip was wonderful, but not being able to speak to a human about the canceled excursion is expensive and beyond frustrating; it will keep me off Princess in the future.