I am an experienced cruiser, having traveled on Carnival, Disney, Princess and Royal Caribbean with my family in the past. I have just returned from an 11-day land/sea tour , cruising on the Diamond Princess from Whittier to Vancouver. Overall, the trip was a fabulous experience, due to the magnificent scenery and the natural beauty of Alaska. However, there were some serious disappointments that would cause me to hesitate to recommend the Diamond Princess to future travelers.

Land Tour Positives: well organized, generally nice hotel facilities, plentiful, good options for excursions, very good, friendly service from Princess hotel staff, bus drivers etc.

Land Tour Negatives: demands for luggage to be out for collection and extremely early hours. They wanted our bags outside our rooms at 6am at the Mt.McKinley Lodge, even though we didn't depart for the day until 11am. Read more