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My recommendation is to take Major Marine’s 8.5 hour Northwestern Fjord Tour. The longer you are on the water = more wildlife sightings! And the scenery is fantastic—fjords, glaciers! Yes, it can be a bit choppy—I experienced that as well as one where the seas were very calm! I have actually stayed a few nights on Fox Island. Had friends who were on the Fox Island Dinner/Cruise combo with Kenai Fjords Tours so we walked over to meet them during dinner. Not impressed—it’s a buffet. Food was meh. After dinner, folks then just hung around the gift store and the pier until it was time to leave. You do not have much access to Fox Island. There’s a “gate” (a rope between two wood posts) and staff stops people from going to the lodge/beach.

I hope you do try it! It's pretty good! Hubby loves getting an appetizer portion of the cheese wheel pasta. There's a pretty good bar menu as well. Enjoy.

Our favorite restaurant in Little Italy is Bencotto: https://www.lovebencotto.com/ It's just a 15-20 minute walk from the cruise port.

Living on the West Coast, Alaska is like our Caribbean! Easy to get to! And, never gets old. I teach at a university so am limited to when I have time off. Getting close to retirement so most of my professional duties are being picked up by new non-tenured faculty! Starting to cruise more further afield —next summer is Northern Europe in addition to Alaska. Alaska is huge and so diverse—one can and does spend years exploring and experiencing the state!

Salmon Berry Tours has a number of tours out of Anchorage if you don’t want to rent a car. We have taken the Matanuska Glacier Trek and the Hatch Pass/Independence Mine tour from them. I highly recommend this company. https://www.salmonberrytours.com/alaska-tours/summer-tours/

I’ve been on many Alaskan cruises (Disney, NCL, Princess and HAL) and land trips over the past ten years. Our favorite cruise lines for Alaska are Princess and HAL. I think their enrichment programs are much better than other cruise lines. Here’s a link to HAL’s 2024 Alaskan Experience: https://www.hollandamerica.com/en/us/news/2024/April/news-041724-holland-america-line-set-to-debut-new-glacier-day-alaska-experiences. This should give you an idea of what HAL offers; Princess offers similar programs. If you can spare the time, I would look into a DIY trip in Alaska. Take a northbound or southbound cruise. As mentioned earlier by Coral, focusing on the Kenai peninsula would be a great option. Seward is wonderful and there are a lot of things to experience. I think a rental car is a must if you’re heading to Denali for a DIY but you can get by without a car in Seward. This summer we’re spending 11 weeks in Alaska—8 weeks cruising and 3 weeks of DIY land trips in Alaska/Yukon. Cruising only on HAL and Princess. Our Alaskan obsession started with a 7 day cruise! Enjoy your planning. You have plenty of time to research and see what’s important to you and yours. For us, on our first trip to Alaska in 2012, it was sled dogs (our girls were 8 and 10! 🤣).

Yes, we’ve started to book more cruises with HAL based on their package. Booking HIA Early Bonus gives us upgraded drink package, WiFi, crew gratuities, shore excursion credits (varies based on cruise length) and specialty dining. Add to that, we also get loyalty OBC, shareholders OBC, AARP OBC and Educator OBC. Compare that to the Plus /Premier package on Princess. Don’t want or need the desserts, exercise classes or the casual dining meals. Also didn’t like that Princess didn’t grandfather in those of us who had already purchased a package prior to the roll out of the new and improved Princess Plus. We love Princess (elite) and will continue to sail with them, but we’ve found better values with HAL.

This is what showed up in my cruise personalizer this morning! Uh, thanks?

I also prefer Totem Bight park. If you are docked in downtown Ketchikan, it’s easy to catch the city bus. It’s been a couple of years since I’ve done it, but I do believe it was $2 pp each way. Go out first thing to visit the park before the tour buses arrive! Much nicer!

I completely agree! I’m a casual gambler (budget $250/cruise) and have gotten some great offers recently —booked Panama Canal and Hawaiian cruises for 2025. Of course, as my hubby (who has NEVER gambled) likes to point out these cruises are not free! We upgrade room categories (OV to veranda) and add HIA. Still, it’s nice to save a few dollars!

Not sure what vendor Celebrity uses but I highly recommend the Northwestern Kenai Fjord tour. I’ve been a couple of times with Major Marine. It is a fantastic cruise—wildlife (whales, orcas, dolphins, puffins, seals), glacier viewing and fjords. Personally feel that the longer you are out on the water, the more opportunities for wildlife sightings. The ships are comfortable—you will have an assigned inside seat for warmth and lunch. Lunches are good but the main attraction is Kenai Fjords! You’ll get up close to glaciers and perhaps see some calving. It is a long tour but it doesn’t feel like 9 hours and it is very different than the glacier viewing on board your large cruise ship. Here’s a link to the cruise I’ve taken: https://majormarine.com/tour/8-5-hour-northwestern-fjord-cruise/ Kenai Fjords Tours is another recommended vendor—they were good but I like Major Marine more. https://www.alaskacollection.com/day-tours/kenai-fjords-tours/northwestern-fjord-tour/

😐 I’m guessing you didn’t read/process my post. I talked about Alaskan land tours (actually in Alaska interior) and why we won’t go on them. Have nice day

We did an Alaskan cruise tour last summer (our first) and it was fabulous! It was the Heart of the Rockies--all land accommodations were in Fairmont Hotels (Calgary, Banff, Lake Louise, Jasper, Vancouver). Some hotels were more posh than others but we loved the first class accommodations on the tour. There were only about 26 folks on the land portion part--dedicated bus and tour guide--and we never traveled more by two hours by bus without a stop. Ended the land portion by taking the Rocky Mountaineer to Vancouver and then boarded the Majestic for a northbound cruise (we did a B2B). Only complaint we had (and it was minor) is that the only train accommodation available was Silver Leaf. (This year's tour includes the option for Gold Leaf service.) So my point is that all Alaskan cruise tours (or any Princess cruise tour) are not the same--one needs to the research to see what is included and if it works with your group. I think it is a mistake that many make--not researching what is included/not included in the cruise tour portion. That is why a number of folks encourage asking questions on this site and TripAdvisor. We have not and will not take a cruise tour in Alaska (Denali, McKinley,etc) just because we know we would not enjoy the bus portions nor the stay at the lodges. Princess does a nice job of posting what to expect at each transfer. As soon as we read that there was a ten-hour bus trip from the Kenali Wilderness Lodge to Copper River, we were done. We have done a number of DIY tours in the interior of the state which is our preferred method of traveling. We are back this year again but on a 10-day DIY visit (rental car, train).

We have cruised the Thanksgiving week for the past seven years—Mexican Riviera and CA Coastal—(except for the shutdown) ever since our kids stopped making the trek home from college/work due to other commitments. And, we use both Princess and HAL depending on which line has the better itinerary. The 7 day (or shorter) cruises are very family-centered—so much so that hubby and I swore we would not go on another holiday cruise without family. The following year, we gave each kid (and their SO/fiancé) the Thanksgiving cruise as a gift. It has now become our family tradition to cruise over the holiday week—other family members have joined in as well. These cruises are generally full but we spent most of the time playing cards/games and visiting with family. Last year we didn’t even get off the ship in Cabo! This year we are on HAL out of San Diego for Thanksgiving. Princess does not make a good traditional American Turkey dinner in the MDR. Ditto the recommendation to eat at the buffet for better food. We just eat at the Crown Grill or Pinnacle Grill for our Thanksgiving dinner. Just a little bit nicer to celebrate family and the day.

People using the reserved chairs is one of the reasons we will never book a Lanai cabin again! Once and never again! Best of luck on your cruise! Hope there is an abundance of courteous guests onboard!

I’ve used this company to book a visit to the Musher Camp in Skagway. There are numerous options—dog sled ride, s’mores & puppies, etc. Here’s the link: https://alaskashoreexcursions.com/skagway/dog-sledding?gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjw48-vBhBbEiwAzqrZVBW3qLJafStCWbIvp8-xdxqqP8Ip0FMtXDxXoRCOawyF3QE5lOFaZhoCPx4QAvD_BwE If you’re interested in a sled dog and the train, I highly recommend this company:https://chilkootcharters.com/yukon-rail-bus/ We have used them numerous times—very professional and great fun. One can take the train, have a BBQ lunch, visit the puppies (sled rides are extra) and then head back to Skagway in a van. I’m not sure if you can do the Bering Crab Tour and the Lumberjack show in one day—not sure of your port times in Ketchikan. Your plan of having a chill day is a good one. Be sure to check out the salmon run—there’s a fish ladder by Creek Street and there’s also usually seals present.

I second the recommendation to go on the sled dog excursion in Dyea. We took our girls there when they were 8 and 10 years old. They still talk about how much fun it was! We enjoyed it more than the sled dog kennels in Caribou Crossing. My girls also did not enjoy the train ride nor the 'scenery' going to the Yukon. Were much happier with the sled dogs in Dyea. If your daughter is into the Junior Ranger Program, she can participate at Skagway before/after the sled dog trip. Klondike Gold Rush National Park does a great job. Also, if your ship visits Glacier Bay, she can be a Junior Ranger there as well (US Rangers board the ship). Juneau is for whales. Jayleen is great. We've really enjoyed our trips with Harv and Marv (https://www.harvandmarvs-juneau-whale-watching.com/). One can also see whales from the ship during the cruise. I don't know if Carnival has a naturalist on board but last summer I saw more whales from cruise ships than I did on an excursion in Juneau! The Bering Sea excursion is a good excursion for wildlife--lots of eagles, seals, etc. My kids really enjoyed the experience especially holding crabs and other critters that were brought up in the trap. For a less expensive experience in Ketchikan, the Lumberjack Show is always a hit for multi-generational groups. It's corny but good fun. Kids (and grandparents) seem to really like it. There is also a science discovery museum and a totem in Ketchikan we like to visit--good cultural and environmental information about the area.

Ditto the recommendation to go whale watching in ISP. Glacier Wind company is fantastic—I go with them every time we’re in ISP. As noted previously, one could do both activities (kayaking and whale watching) in one day depending on the time you’re in port. I’ve been kayaking in Juneau, Ketchikan and ISP. All were enjoyable but my favorite was at ISP. Saw a number of whales while out in the water. The Ketchikan tours are outside of town so they involve a bit of a drive to and from. But, good fun as well. In Juneau I went on the kayaking/Mendenhall Glacier combo. Any time spent out on the water is great but that was my least favorite. My suggestion is also to take the train combo—the train one way then a tour down. We’ve used this company many times: https://chilkootcharters.com. What is it you want to do in the rainforest? Ketchikan has some great hikes that will get you out in the rainforest as does Juneau.

What hotel have you booked in SF? Please let us know so we can help with suggestions about getting there and then on to the pier.

We have cruised in Alaska every year (except dur8ng the shutdown) in May since 2009. May is our favorite month because of the lack of rain! Tad bit chilly at times but minimal rain. I asked my husband if he remembers if it ever rained during a May cruise. He could recall it raining once— and that was in Ketchikan. Our wettest Alaskan cruises have been in July. OP, my suggestion is to look at those cruises in late May/early June. The weather has been consistently good for us. We are booked for our first cruise this summer in late May.

It is a scenic train ride from Whittier to Anchorage. Since you’re only in that part of Alaska for that one travel day, you might want to look into taking bus with add ons. There are bus transfers from Whittier to Anchorage that will make stops at the Alaskan Wildlife Center (opportunity to see bears, moose, caribou etc), Alyeska Resort (scenic tram, lunch), other scenic stops along the way (Beluga Point, Portage Glacier) in addition to touring Anchorage before an airport drop off. A couple of companies we have used are the ACT Big Bus and Salmon Berry Tours. The Salmon Berry tour is small (about 12 people) so one can customize the stops. https://alaskacruisetransfer.com/whittier-tours/ https://www.salmonberrytours.com/alaska-tours/cruise-transfers/ Both companies will pick you up at the dock.

I bring a travel French press and just get the hot water from the buffet. That usually lasts me until the cafe opens.

Hubby has found numerous ducks onboard a Princess ship—me, not a single one! He’s tall (6’4”) and has been able to see ducks that have been place up high. We take them to our cabin and ask our steward if he/she/they want the ducks. If not, then we put them back. They’re cute and certainly elicit a smile.

Since you’re on a southbound cruise, my suggestion is to go on the 26 Glacier Cruise offered by Phillips out of Whittier (HAL may also offer it as an excursion). It is a spectacular cruise. You will get that up close glacier viewing. The glacier cruise docks adjacent to your HAL vessel so it’s easy to embark and start your southbound journey. https://phillipscruises.com/26-glacier-cruise/#

It’s a limit of 5 gift cards per month per email regardless of value. So one can purchase $2500 per month. We buy 10 per month using mine and my hubby’s email accounts. You should be able to view your account by logging on to Princess with your confirmation number. If not, you might have to call Princess to link it. I have used your TA before and have been able to access my cruise. And yes, sometimes the website is wonky and I’ve had to call Princess to apply the gift cards. You cannot prepay crew gratuities with a Princess gift card. If you want to do so, you have to apply the gift cards to your account while on the cruise. BTW, one is not suppose to mention who one uses as a travel agent. Just refer to your TA as a big box company.