I boarded Grand Princess expecting to notice her age.
Instead, I watched a bear walk the shoreline from the ship without binoculars, spotted humpback whales, stood outside listening to glaciers crack, met an Iditarod champion, and spent way too much time on the aft deck because the views were just that good.
By the end of the trip, the fact that Grand Princess first sailed in 1998 barely mattered to me.
And that surprised me.
It Started in Vancouver
Our Alaska cruise started in Vancouver, and honestly, Princess made the beginning easy.
Embarkation was smooth, and once we were onboard, our room was available earlier than I am used to on many cruises. We were able to drop our bags instead of carrying them around the ship and immediately start exploring.
Then I found the aft deck.
And once I found it, I kept going back. I stood there watching seaplanes take off with misty mountains behind them, and I remember thinking that we had not even left Vancouver yet and I was already completely obsessed with the view. That aft deck ended up being one of the prettiest spots on the entire ship. Once we started sailing north, it only got better. Mountains seemed to be everywhere. Sometimes you would look outside and think, Okay, this is the view. Then twenty minutes later it somehow got prettier. That is when I started realizing something about Alaska.
The ship does not have to be the main attraction.
You Really Do Not Want to Go Inside
There were so many times on this cruise when I did not want to go inside because I felt like I might miss something. And sometimes, you actually would. One day, the naturalist onboard pointed out a bear walking along the shoreline. We looked over… And there it was. A bear was literally walking along the shore while we sailed past. Then there were humpback whales. Those are the moments when everyone suddenly stops what they are doing and looks in the same direction.
What I loved was that the crew seemed just as excited as we were.
It never felt like, Oh, we see this every week.
They would get excited about wildlife. They would tell you what was coming. They seemed to genuinely love Alaska too.
That made the whole experience feel different.
Even dinner felt different. We would walk into the dining room and the staff knew our names. Then you would look outside and see mountains in the distance. There was one point during the trip when I actually cried looking at the scenery. Nothing dramatic had happened. It was just that beautiful.
Then Came Glacier Bay
I knew Glacier Bay was going to be beautiful. What I did not realize was how much I would love the experience surrounding it. Even the way the National Park Service rangers arrive is cool. You can watch their boat come alongside the ship, they board, and suddenly you have actual park rangers sailing Glacier Bay with you. They set up onboard, answer questions, give presentations, and explain the glaciers, wildlife, history, and landscape around you. You are not sitting somewhere watching a documentary about Glacier Bay. You are standing in Glacier Bay while someone explains what you are looking at. And then you hear a glacier calve. The sound is what got me. That crack. That rumble. Then watching part of the glacier break away and crash into the water. After that, good luck convincing yourself to go inside.
Every time you think you have seen the best view of the day, something else happens. Thankfully, Princess seems to understand that people are going to stand outside forever. Blankets, Hot chocolate, Glaciers. Honestly, what else do I need? Even after being in port, coming back onboard and having hot chocolate waiting just felt very… Alaska. It sounds like such tiny details, but those are the things I remember.
Princess Brought Alaska Back Onto the Ship
This might be the biggest reason the experience stood out to me. Alaska did not stop when we walked back onboard. Princess kept bringing the destination into the ship.
Puppies in the Piazza was probably the cutest example.
And yes, obviously I was there for the puppies. But what I loved was looking around and seeing everyone gathered together. Kids. Adults. Grandparents. Everyone asking questions. Everyone wanting to know more about sled dogs and the Iditarod. We even got to meet Ryan Redington. What could have easily been just a cute photo opportunity became a chance to learn about the history and culture of dog mushing in Alaska. That happened over and over on this trip. We were learning constantly, but it never felt like we were being taught. The naturalist. The park rangers. The wildlife. The Iditarod. The glaciers.Princess did not just drop us off in Alaska ports and call it an Alaska cruise. They made Alaska part of what was happening onboard too.
And Yes, I Loved the Medallion
Not everything I loved was Alaska-specific. The Princess Medallion is one of those little things that you get used to very quickly.Walking toward your stateroom and having the door recognize you and unlock without digging around for a room key? Amazing. It is such a small convenience until you sail somewhere without it and suddenly you miss it. And those little touches mattered too.
So… Does the Age of the Ship Matter?
Grand Princess first sailed in 1998. She is not the newest ship. She is not trying to be the newest ship. And by the end of our Alaska cruise, I really did not care. Would I sail on one of Princess’s beautiful newer ships? Absolutely. But Alaska changed the way I think about choosing a cruise.
Because when I look back on this trip, I do not think about the age of Grand Princess.
I think about the bear.
The whales.
The seaplanes.
The crew knowing our names.
The naturalist telling us where to look.
Watching the park rangers come aboard.
The sound of a glacier calving.
Hot chocolate in the cold.
Puppies in the Piazza.
Standing on the aft deck and not wanting to leave.
And crying because the mountains and the glaciers were somehow even prettier than I imagined they would be.
So maybe the question for an Alaska cruise is not always:
What is the newest ship?
Maybe it is:
Which cruise is going to help me experience Alaska the way I want to?
For me, Princess did exactly that.