2027 Alaska Cruise Tour with Larry Gelwix

Flights from home cities to Vancouver to board the Discovery Princess, our home for the next 8 days. 

Meals : In-flight

On every Princess ship, you’ll find so many ways to play, day or night. Explore The Shops of Princess, celebrate cultures at our Festivals of the World or learn a new talent — our onboard activities will keep you engaged every moment of your cruise vacation.

Visitors to Ketchikan will be intrigued by its rich Native heritage, which includes the world’s oldest collection of totem poles at Totem Heritage Center. The Haida, Tlingit and Tsimshian are all a part of the city’s colorful history. Ketchikan, with its abundance of salmon, is also a sportfishing paradise. Sightseers will be impressed with both the scenic town and its surroundings, especially Misty Fjords National Monument.

Private Group Shore Excursion- Potlatch Totem Park, Herring Bay & Cove, Wildlife Viewing & Ketchikan City Tour- $ per person

This is the most popular excursion in Ketchikan.  After a driving tour of Ketchikan, we continue through the lush and heavily wooded forests to Herring Bay, a quaint area that takes you far away from the crowds and people in town.  A small inlet cove allows the sights and sounds of the wildlife that only Ketchikan can offer.  (Being wild animals, wildlife sightings are common, but not guaranteed.) We continue to Potlatch Totem Park with 24 authentic totems carved by Tlingit natives. You can watch native master carvers working on totems, and visit the Clan House, Russian Museum, and gift shop. Once back in Ketchikan, we visit famous Creek Street, an infamous “red light” district in the gold rush days, and now an area of historic and boutique shops.

Some 30,000 people live in Juneau. Its total area makes it one of the biggest towns, in size, in the world. Only Kiruna, Sweden, and Sitka, Alaska, exceed Juneau’s 3,248 square miles.

Today Juneau is famous not only for gold and government but also for its breathtakingly beautiful glaciers and stunning views of both water and mountains.

Private Group Shore Excursion- Juneau Whale Watching Tour-  $ per person

Alaska’s marine life join the party in the icy waters off Juneau, renowned as a summer feeding ground for humpback and killer whales.  A short drive from the cruise ship, we board a special sightseeing boat with an onboard naturalist guide.  Admire the majestic backdrop of snow-capped peaks and glaciers as we pass through the island-studded waters of Stephen Passage, a pristine marine environment.  Typical sightings include humpback and killer whales, Stellar sea lions, harbor seals, Dall’s porpoises, bald eagles, Sitka blacktail deer, and, occasionally, bears.  Once whales are sighted, your captain will maneuver the boat to allow for exceptional viewing and photo opportunities.

Skagway was the gateway to the gold fields for the thousands who flocked to Alaska and the Yukon with the hope of striking it rich.

The gold rush was a boon and by 1898, Skagway was Alaska’s largest town with a population of about 20,000. Hotels, saloons, dance halls and gambling houses prospered.

Today, Skagway has less than 1,000 residents. It still retains the flavor of the gold rush era.

Princess is one of a select few cruise lines permitted to cruise the pristine waters of Glacier Bay, the highlight of our 7-day Voyage of the Glaciers cruise. Just west of Juneau, this breathtaking national park and preserve boasts some of the world’s most spectacular tidewater glaciers, such as Margerie Glacier, which often drops colossal chunks of ice into the sea. Not surprisingly, Glacier Bay National Park and its epic ice giants are part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site comprising Alaska’s magnificent park system.

During your scenic cruise, friendly Park Rangers will join the ship to share their knowledge of this amazing place and host a fun Junior Ranger program for kids. They may even be able to help you identify Glacier Bay’s abundant wildlife, including humpback whales, sea otters, porpoises, harbor seals, black bears, mountain goats, bald eagles and large colonies of seabirds.

College Fjord and its glaciers were named after prestigious east coast schools by the college professors who first laid eyes upon their majesty. Stretching for miles, these massive rivers of ice tumble down from mountains and through valleys, dipping into the pristine waters of the fjord. There you’ll have a chance to watch the awe-inspiring process of glaciers calving, or dropping enormous pillars of ice into the sea, as they crack and land with a thunderous splash – a once-in-a-lifetime experience not to be missed!

College Fjord not only boasts the world’s largest collection of tidewater glaciers, but it features magnificent snowcapped mountains as far as the eyes can see. Plus, during the summer, it’s not unheard of to catch a glimpse of one of the area’s 40-ton humpback whales feeding in the waters of the fjord.

Step off your ship and head to the airport for our flights to our home cities with memories to last a lifetime!