Everyone cruises the Inside Passage. Just don’t cruise it two ways. We suggest you split the trip and plan shore time to see Denali — used to be Mt McKinley — wild life as Princess Tours’ wonderful dome cars rock down the tracks to Anchorage. Do fly into Anchorage or even Fairbanks and train and cruise back. RV owners might load their vehicles on the Stardancer and tour on their own out of Skagway or Haines. Everyone needs at least two days in Vancouver going or coming.

Watch the weather early and late in the season. Good thing shore time is limited! Skagway, Sitka and most other Alaskan towns seem crowded with just a single cruise ship in port. Skip the bus tour of Sitka. Check downtown, walk or cab over to the totem poles and you save a bundle. Helicopter and float plane flights are wonderful on clear days. Fishing trips are, according to Louis, “too short to offer consistent results.

Arts & Culture, History
Alaska