We’ve always wanted to go through the inside passage, so that overcame our reservations about cruise ships - and we’re so glad we went. The whole experience surpassed our expectations. We booked all our shore excursions through Princess and they were all excellent, with the trip on the Whitepass & Yukon Railway being the highlight.

While it took us awhile to find our way around the ship, and we wished it weren’t quite so crowded in places, we learned to find out how to make it work for us. Many of the available activities weren’t to our taste, but we really appreciated the excellent talks by the Naturalist, by the Park Ranger who came onboard in Glacier Bay, and by the first woman who won the Iditarod. Much to our surprise, we even enjoyed the karaoke, because most of the participants were excellent, and any performer we saw was very good.

The food was very plentiful and enjoyable, though it was a little bit of a mob scene at the breakfast buffet. The served dinners were wonderful, with lots of menu choices, and friendly, professional wait staff. We experienced nothing but good service from them, from our cabin steward and from every other staff member we encountered. Overall it felt like excellent value for money, and took us to places we’d never have seen otherwise.