Around 2:30pm on Saturday, May 30th, we arrived in the very small town of Whittier and saw the Discovery Princess ship waiting for us at the port. There are only about 270 residents in Whittier, and nearly all of them live in one 14-story building which also houses the mayor’s office, a store, the post office, and provides tunnel access to the town’s school. Whittier is regularly in the competition for wettest city in the U.S., with about 200 inches of rain and 250 inches of snowfall each year. Surprisingly, it was NOT raining when we arrived – our tour guide was shocked! Later in the week, someone on the ship said to change the W to S to describe Whittier…

I researched the heck out of this cruise – there are so many cruise lines, so many itineraries, and so many options to consider. Early on, I had narrowed it down to Princess and Holland America, as they have been cruising in Alaska for the longest time, and they have premier docking privileges in most of the ports. But, most importantly, they are two of just a few cruise lines that have permits to enter Glacier Bay National Park, and Princess holds most of the weekly permits (the park allows just two large cruise ships per day)…so Princess came out on top with their “Voyage of the Glaciers” cruise from Whittier to Vancouver. All that was left was to choose our stateroom, and the research showed that being on the Port side for a Southbound cruise was ideal, so you’d be facing land, and of course, midship means you feel less of the ship’s movement…so we ended up on deck 11, midship, port side, stateroom Baja 410. Oh, and we opted for a mini-suite with a balcony since the itinerary included three days where we wouldn’t leave the ship, and therefore, we’d be spending more time in our stateroom.

Embarkation was super fast and smooth since I had done everything online ahead of time, and we already had our medallions which is great technology that Princess uses to keep track of everyone. You scan on/off the ship with it, it unlocks your stateroom door, and it enables the staff to deliver food or drinks to you wherever you are because it knows your location at any time. A bit of ‘big brother’ but also very useful! I booked the cruise through Costco Travel and it included the “Princess Plus” package which includes WiFi, up to 15 drinks per person per day (!!!), tips for the staff, and some casual meals and premium desserts – oh, and a couple of fitness classes to work off all the food and drinks!

We headed to our stateroom but since our bags hadn’t yet arrived, we went to explore the massive ship. Nineteen decks, multiple dining rooms plus countless other places to eat, a huge theatre and some smaller ones, lots of lounges and bars, a spa and fitness center, and so much more! The pools and hot tubs felt a bit out of place in Alaska, but they did get used during the 7-day cruise. It’s a relatively new ship, christened in 2022, and carries about 3,600 passengers and 1,300 crew. Mark and I cruised back in 1998 on Royal Caribbean, but things have definitely changed since then…and our Rhine River Cruise on a very small ship was nothing like the Discovery Princess!

Our first full day on board was a scenic cruising day. I spent the morning attending some programs and naturalist talks (the ship has a full-time naturalist on board to educate us on things like glaciers and Alaskan wildlife) and getting a workout in. We arrived at Hubbard Glacier mid-afternoon to see this largest tidewater glacier in North America. It’s located in Disenchantment Bay, within the boundaries of Wrangell-St. Elias National Park & Preserve. The glacier is 76 miles long and 7 miles wide – 25% larger than Rhode Island. The ice at the base of the glacier is about 400 years old, and this is one of the few glaciers that is actually getting thicker and advancing rather than retreating. The water leading up to the glacier is an icefield, full of icebergs of varying sizes. The captain and two ice spotters were focused on ensuring we could safely navigate through the ice. Our ship’s captain is actually designated as an “Ice Captain” which is one level up from Captain, and he has sailed in Antarctica many times, so we were in good hands! It was pretty cool to stand on our balcony and look down at the icefield and out at the glacier!

I started my day Tuesday with one of my free fitness classes, and then it was time to enter Glacier Bay National Park. As soon as we entered the park boundaries, anything that could potentially blow off the side of the ship was locked away. I asked for a packet of Splenda for my cup of tea at breakfast, and the server waited for me to use it and immediately took the empty packet – there are strict rules in place to preserve the National Park. To enhance our experience, a group of four National Park Rangers in a motorboat came up next to our ship and climbed up a rope ladder to join us for the day, and then spent the next nine hours on board, offering ranger programs and narrating our time in the Bay. It was a true National Park experience, just on a ship instead of on land. Oh, and two others joined them to bring a mini ‘souvenir’ store on board so we could purchase magnets, postcards, etc. And, of course, the National Park Passport Stamps were available so we could stamp our books (if you know, you know).

Glacier Bay was so impressive. We saw Margerie Glacier, Lamplugh Glacier, and Johns Hopkins Glacier. The weather was absolutely perfect, 52 degrees and sunny with bright blue skies. The ship’s crew and the park rangers were all amazed – it was by far the best day they’d seen yet this season. We spent part of the time on our balcony and part of our time on the top deck of the ship, admiring the views all around. The captain turns the ship around in each location, so you have a fantastic view whether you are port or starboard. The only thing we missed was calving – we didn’t see any pieces breaking off the glaciers here (but we had seen it in Kenai Fjords). We saw bald eagles and lots of adorable sea otters swimming around the bay. Wonderful, amazing day in another of our beautiful National Parks!

Monday night brought a memorable moment for me. We went to dinner in the main dining room, and after we ordered, I excused myself to go to the restroom. The stalls were all occupied, so I went into a single, handicapped bathroom with a power sliding door. After I finished, I pushed the button to open the door, and nothing happened. Pushed it again. And again. Nothing! I pounded on the door with my hand, hoping someone would hear me. Nothing. I noticed an emergency pull cord on the wall and pulled that. Waited. Nothing. Button. Pounding. Pull Cord. OMG, I’m stuck in the bathroom…how will I get out of here? And of course, I didn’t have my phone with me…but then again, who would I have called? Mark didn’t have his phone with him, either. After a few minutes of panic, I decided to try prying the door open…I squeezed my fingers between the door and the frame and tugged, and it started to move…what a relief. Phew! I finally got out. I hate to think of a handicapped person ending up in this situation – not sure what they would have done. I told the restaurant host that the door was broken and returned to my table to share the story with Mark. As the evening went on, my hand started to hurt from all the pounding. We went to a show, and afterwards, I said to Mark that I wanted to go to Guest Services and document what had happened, just in case I needed medical attention (since I didn’t plan to pay for anything, given it was Princess’ fault!). I spoke with Ian from Zimbabwe and he was wonderful, documenting everything and asking if I wanted to see the doctor right away. I told him I’d rather ice it, take some ibuprofen, and see how I felt in the morning. He asked me to update him in the morning. We went back to our room, I put ice on it, and got a good night’s sleep.

Tuesday morning, my hand was horribly black & blue, but didn’t hurt nearly as much, so I let Ian know that it was improving. This was our first port day – we hadn’t been off the ship since we boarded on Sunday, so everyone was anxious to put feet on solid ground again! Icy Strait Point was our destination, and we had an excursion booked for 1:30pm…but the ship had to relocate from the dock around 11:30am and no one would be able to leave between 11:30 and 1:30, so we had to be ashore by about 11am. This particular port was ‘created’ just for cruise ships, but because it had some interesting history as a cannery, it still felt authentic. When you arrive, you’re greeting by two different gondolas – one that’s free and goes to the old cannery and waterfront, and the other that’s paid and goes up a mountain for views and a Zip Line. We took the free one and walked around to learn a bit about the area’s history. The cannery building is well preserved and now houses LOTS of gift shops and some restaurants staffed by local Tlingit people who live in nearby Hoonah. We spent some time at the cannery and then took the forest path back down for a change of scenery.

Our excursion was a “Remote Wildlife and Brown Bear Search”; we boarded a small shuttle with about 28 others and headed off into the wilderness of this very lightly populated island, Chichagof. The area is famous for having the highest density of coastal brown bears in the world, roughly three bears per square mile. We arrived at our destination and were greeted by our bear security, a guy carrying a pellet gun, just in case a bear got a bit too friendly with any of us.

We visited three different boardwalks with open viewing of areas where bears tend to congregate. First two boardwalks, nothing…but finally, at the third one, we saw a bear. It was pretty far away and easiest to see through binoculars, but at least we did see one! Oh, and it looks black in the pictures because, as it turns out, brown bears are not always brown! The one we saw at the Anchorage airport was much closer and we had a better view, but at least our excursion here was a success!

We had to tender back to our ship since it was now anchored a bit offshore, so that took a while, and it was back on board to ice my hand again.

On Wednesday, we arrived at our next port, Juneau. It’s the only state capital that is not accessible by road…just air or sea. We had an excursion booked to visit Mendenhall Glacier, about 30 minutes away from the port. It’s located inside Tongass National Forest which is the largest National Forest in the US. We arrived and started the almost 1-mile walk to Nugget Falls, and once again, we had incredible weather and the colors were so vibrant. The falls plunge about 377 feet down the mountainside into Mendenhall Lake, adjacent to the face of the glacier. The falls were roaring and we could feel the mist as we approached.

On our way back, we took some of the other trails that afforded better views of the glacier itself. It’s been retreating for many years and late in 2025, it officially retreated from the edge of the lake for the first time in modern history. It has retreated nearly a mile in the last 40 years.

My cousin Chris visited Mendenhall Glacier in June, 2007, and here is a side-by-side of a photo she took 19 years ago (left) and one that I took (right)…the difference is so noticeable and it’s really sad how the climate is changing and affecting this and other glaciers.

We returned to the ship, had lunch, and I headed into town to walk around a bit while Mark continued to try and catch up on his sleep and recover from a mild cold. The area I visited was all gift shops and restaurants, very much targeted at the many cruise ship passengers who visit each year. Later that day, Ian from guest services called to check on my hand, which was very nice.

Thursday brought our third and final port, Ketchikan, which is known as Alaska’s “first city” because of its location at the southern tip of the Inside Passage, and is also the salmon capital of the world. It is a charming little town full of colorful old buildings along Creek Street, and lots of totem poles. Ketchikan is one of the rainiest cities in the US, receiving 150-160 inches of rain each year, so naturally, it rained on and off most of the day…but after the glorious weather we’ve had this entire trip, it was hard to complain! The waterproof jacket and shoes I’d brought finally came in handy and successfully kept me dry!

I spent some time at the Totem Heritage Center, learning a bit about the significance of totem poles to native cultures. It was really interesting to see some very old poles and the beautiful artwork created by natives of the Pacific Northwest.

In the afternoon, we had tickets for the Great Alaskan Lumberjack Show which was really entertaining. We were surprised to hear the introduction of one of the lumberjacks – he was from Bulgaria by way of Rochester, NY! What are the chances?!? The show was a competition between the US & Canada, with multiple events that mimic what actual lumberjacks would do on a daily basis. It was a fun way to spend an hour in Ketchikan as we neared the end of our cruise.

Thursday evening, I received a call from Ian to check on my hand, and to thank me for my understanding and cooperation, he offered us a free dinner at one of the specialty restaurants ($110 value). I thanked him and told him we’d look at the menus and let him know. I was really impressed that they offered this – definitely didn’t have to, but it was the right thing to do. We looked at the options and decided on Sabatini’s Italian Trattoria, and booked an early reservation for Friday.

Friday was our last full day on board, and it was a sailing day (not particularly scenic, just sailing!). The seas were a bit rough and we were bouncing around a bit until mid-afternoon. I went to the fitness center in the morning and it was VERY weird to try and walk on a treadmill with rough waters – I had to hang on! I took a Yoga class afterwards and it was also challenging with the ship’s motion! To celebrate our 30^th wedding anniversary (a few days early), our room steward left us a nice little treat on our bed…

Our ‘specialty’ dinner was good (not necessarily worth $110, but we enjoyed it for free!), and the waitstaff sang “happy anniversary” to us and gave us a special Princess dessert. And just like that, the cruise was over. We arrived in Vancouver, British Columbia Saturday morning. Our assigned timeslot to leave the ship wasn’t until 9:45am, but we had to vacate our room by 8am, so we took our bags and sat in one of the lounges along with thousands of other people. The disembarkation process was quick and easy – customs was a breeze.

Overall, we really enjoyed the cruise. It’s a beautiful ship with so much to do – we went to several of the evening shows, all of which were excellent. We went to a variety of trivia events and enjoyed some live music. The food was plentiful and generally good. The majority of the staff were wonderful, especially our room steward who made sure I had a fresh bucket of ice every day (both for cold water and my bruised hand). I’m not sure we’d cruise with Princess again – we really chose them for the itinerary – we much prefer Viking (and already have a Mediterranean cruise booked with them in 2027!). Overall, we covered about 1,300 nautical miles and visited places that aren’t accessible by land. It’s such a stress-free way to travel, and best of all, we only had to unpack once in seven days! Here’s a nice summary of our route, from Whittier (1) to Vancouver (7)…