I went on an Alaska cruisetour with Princess — here’s why you should, too

“Look, directly overhead! A bald eagle!”

After I heard the excitement from the row behind me, I gazed up through the glass dome ceiling of the train car and watched the majestic bird race above us as we chugged through Alaska’s rugged interior.

I was on a Princess cruisetour, a two-in-one vacation that allows seamless land and sea exploration of the 49th state via the cruise line’s own trains, motorcoaches and lodges. These precruise or postcruise land tours provide direct access to Denali National Park and even venture as far north as Fairbanks, with minimal planning required on the part of guests.

To maximize my time in the largest state in the U.S., booking a cruisetour was a no-brainer since Princess took care of all the logistics, removing the hassle of researching accommodations, transportation and excursions, not to mention smaller details like bag transfers and dining.

Here’s what my 11-day Princess cruisetour was like and why I would recommend it to anyone who wants to experience all that Alaska has to offer in the easiest way possible.

A seamless 2-in-1 trip

With more than 55 years of experience operating in Alaska, Princess makes it easy to combine its six- to eight-night cruises with land-based tours lasting anywhere from three to 10 days. So whether you’re short on vacation days or have unlimited time, there’s a cruisetour to fit your schedule.

I booked one of the shorter options, which started in Anchorage and included three days at Princess’ lodges near Denali National Park and adjacent Denali State Park before I boarded the 2,680-passenger Princess ship Sapphire Princess in Whittier for a seven-night Inside Passage cruise south to Vancouver, British Columbia.

Other people I met along the way had flown into Fairbanks and spent two nights at each of the lodges in the Denali area and Princess lodges elsewhere in the state before they boarded the same cruise as me. You can even start in Vancouver and end your trip with the land portion.

For more on deciding which Princess cruisetour is right for you, read TPG’s guide to all the line’s options.

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A stress-free way to explore Alaska’s rugged interior

No matter which cruisetour you book, Princess handles your accommodations, transfers and other logistics itself.

This means I did not even have to wait in any lines at hotel check-in. As soon as I arrived at Anchorage’s historic Hotel Captain Cook, a member of the Princess staff handed me my room key and luggage tags and walked me through the itinerary for the first full day of the trip. The plan included a motorcoach ride north to Denali State Park, with a stop in the quirky one-road town of Talkeetna for lunch before continuing to Mt. McKinley Princess Wilderness Lodge, one of the five Princess-owned lodges in the state.

Related: 3 ways Princess Cruises stands out in Alaska

When rain canceled a more ambitious hike in Denali State Park that afternoon, Princess automatically rebooked me on a guided nature walk along nearby Byers Lake. As we walked between the misty shore and the edge of the pine- and alder-filled forest, two informative and friendly guides from Alaska Nature Guides taught us about edible plants and berries like the tiny lowbush cranberry, even offering us snacks along the way. When we witnessed a salmon leap out of the water, the guides took the time to explain that after traveling thousands of miles from the open ocean, many Pacific salmon lay their eggs here before dying, and then the cycle begins all over again.

After a long day in the great outdoors, I unwound at Mt. McKinley Princess Wilderness Lodge’s warm and convivial restaurant, where I dined on Alaska specialties like fresh halibut paired with cocktails made with locally distilled vodka. While I generally like researching local dining scenes in big cities, it was nice not to spend time figuring out where to eat in this remote location. And even though I was traveling solo, I ended up chatting with the friendly server and even some of my fellow diners at a nearby table about the day’s hikes and what we were excited to experience later on in the trip.

Since Princess employees handle luggage transfers between each destination, I boarded the bus to Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge, just outside of Denali National Park, the next morning unencumbered. Shortly after arriving, a tour guide picked us up directly from the lobby and whisked us off for a bus tour of the park, where we saw snow-covered mountains, explored the 100-year-old Savage Cabin where park rangers have sought shelter during winter storms for decades, and spotted moose in the distance. While we didn’t get out and hike during the bus tour, and mostly saw the park through the windows, the tour guide kept us entertained with anecdotes, both funny and awe-inspiring, about her years of working in the park.

In the evenings at both lodges, I slept soundly in cozy rooms, which were both recently renovated and provisioned with retro-style Pendleton wool blankets and high-end Beekman 1802 toiletries. The mattresses held me like a warm hug after long days of exploring, and the rooms had lots of great details, like heated bathroom floors to ward off the chilly Alaska air outside.

Read more: Alaska’s Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge: The must-stay option on an Alaska cruisetour

From land to sea along Alaska’s ‘steel ribbon’

Though I rode north to Denali via motorcoach, just after dawn on the final day of the land tour, I boarded a glass-domed train car owned and operated by Princess (with engines rented from the Alaska Railroad) for the voyage to the Whittier cruise port.

Over the next eight hours, while we rode Alaska Railroad’s iconic “steel ribbon” south, our guide Pete entertained us with stories, jokes and historical context as the scenery transitioned from boreal forest and snowcapped peaks to coastal fjords and primordial glaciers.

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Inside the Princess dome car trains on the Alaska Railroad. LYNDSEY MATTHEWS/THE POINTS GUY

When it came time to eat, the dining car served hearty fare like bacon-topped cinnamon rolls and reindeer sausage breakfast burritos in the morning, then local salmon BLTs in the afternoon, adding to the sense of place as the state whizzed by outside.

Long before we reached the port, Princess employees came through the train cars to verify passports and distribute the medallions that we would use to pay for amenities and services on board the ship. This convenient process saved valuable time at the port and was one of my favorite details of the entire land-to-sea experience. Within minutes of stepping off the train in Whittier, I was through security and on board the vessel, where I found my luggage already waiting for me in my cabin.

A relaxing time at sea

Following three whirlwind days of hiking and exploring the Denali area by motorcoach and train, I was ready for the more relaxed pace of the seven-night cruise south along Alaska’s Inside Passage to Vancouver.

Scenic cruising days

The first few days aboard were sea days — of the highly scenic kind — as Sapphire Princess cut its way through Prince William Sound and along the dramatic coast of Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, where we spent an afternoon watching chunks of blue ice calve from Hubbard Glacier.

In Glacier Bay National Park, park rangers boarded the ship to provide commentary on the nearly two dozen glaciers we saw throughout the day. Relaxing on my private balcony, I spotted sea otters, sea lions and even the rare whale spout (pack a pair of binoculars!).

Historic ports and adventurous excursions

Fully restored, I was ready to hit the ground running and discover a different part of Alaska during our three port calls in Skagway, Juneau and Ketchikan. With excursions booked directly with Princess, all I had to do was walk off the ship and meet my local tour guide waiting at each dock.

My time in Skagway focused on the town’s Klondike gold rush history via guided tours on a renovated 1927 yellow bus through downtown and the narrow-gauge White Pass & Yukon Railroad built in 1900 to take prospectors up to the Yukon.

In Juneau, the state’s capital, a helicopter took me and other intrepid passengers up to Mendenhall Glacier for a thrilling two-hour hike through the ice field, where I learned proper crampon technique and drank fresh glacial water straight from the source.

Ketchikan was the backdrop for a more relaxing adventure in the form of a 90-minute sea kayaking tour that circumvented an island that is home to not one but two bald eagle nests. Along the rocky coast, our guides pointed out a massive purple starfish, and a curious Steller sea lion popped up to say hello as we paddled along. Back in town, the Great Alaskan Lumberjack Show offered a light-hearted cultural experience. Two teams of lumberjacks competed in events like speed climbing, log rolling and more.

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Downtown Juneau. LYNDSEY MATTHEWS/THE POINTS GUY

Even with a busy schedule packed with excursions, I still had free time to stop for lunch and shop in each port. At the Skagway Brewing Co., I enjoyed locally caught greenling battered with the brewery’s Spruce Tip Ale. At David’s Fish Camp in Juneau, I washed down an order of fish tacos with a rhubarb gin and tonic from Amalga Distillery just up the block, which was nominated for a James Beard Award for Best Bar in 2025. I even popped into the shops along Creek Street to pick out some early Christmas gifts for my family in Ketchikan.

Life on board

Back on board the ship, there were dozens of places to eat, drink and be entertained. A dining highlight was the ship’s specialty Italian restaurant, Sabatini’s, where I enjoyed a five-course meal of salad, creamy burrata, al dente carbonara pasta, tender osso buco and a mouthwatering flourless almond torte.

In the evenings, the onboard lounges hosted live jazz or salsa bands or themed trivia events that tested passengers’ knowledge on topics like musicals, movies and more. The theater featured nightly shows that ranged from Lionel Richie tributes to comedy juggling acts.

After more adventurous days, I’d indulge in an ice cream sundae on the roof deck while watching movies under the stars. For a cozy night in, I’d enjoy a room-service cheeseburger on my balcony while watching an epic Alaska sunset light up the sky bright pink.

Booking and cost

Princess Alaska cruisetours last 10 to 17 days and can be booked directly on princess.com. In 2026, fares for 10-day cruisetours start at $2,600 per person, based on double occupancy. Longer 17-day cruisetours start at $8,126 per person, based on double occupancy.

Bottom line

A cruise is a great way to see Alaska. To get the full experience of what the 49th state has to offer, though, I highly recommend booking a Princess cruisetour. The days I spent immersed in nature, hiking in Denali State Park and riding the rails through the mountains of Denali National Park on the land tour, gave me a deeper understanding and appreciation of Alaska’s natural wonders, and perfectly complemented the coastal adventures I had on board the ship later in the trip.

Typically, planning a two-in-one vacation on land and sea would be a lot to juggle. But if you’re also hoping to see as much of the largest state as possible in one trip, a cruisetour may also be for you. Even as an expert traveler, I was grateful that Princess handled the complex logistics covering that much ground so that I could focus on enjoying myself and live in the moment, worry-free.