Best Princess Cruises for Alaska in 2027: Ships, Homeports, and Glaciers

Princess carries more people to Alaska than any other cruise line, and in 2027 it sends eight ships north from Seattle, Vancouver, Whittier, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. That is a lot of choice, and the choice is where people go wrong. A Seattle roundtrip, a Vancouver one-way, and a Whittier Voyage of the Glaciers are three different trips that happen to share a brand. I book Alaska for clients every season, and this is how I sort the Princess fleet.

Alaska 2027 is on sale now, and the current Princess Cruises offers include a $99 deposit that holds a glacier-side cabin for a year and a half. The best cabins on the best weeks go first, so I would not wait for a deeper cut.

Princess Alaska 2027 Key Facts

Ship	Homeport	Itinerary	Glaciers
Star Princess	Seattle, Sundays	7 night Inside Passage roundtrip	Endicott Arm and Dawes Glacier
Royal Princess	Seattle, Saturdays	7 night Inside Passage roundtrip	Endicott Arm and Dawes Glacier
Discovery Princess	Vancouver and Whittier	7 night Voyage of the Glaciers one-way	Glacier Bay, Hubbard Glacier, College Fjord
Crown Princess	Vancouver and Whittier	6 to 9 night roundtrips and one-ways	Glacier Bay, Hubbard Glacier, College Fjord
Coral Princess	Vancouver and Whittier	6 to 9 night roundtrips and one-ways	Glacier Bay, Hubbard Glacier, College Fjord
Island Princess	Whittier	7 night Voyage of the Glaciers one-way	Glacier Bay, Hubbard Glacier, College Fjord
Emerald Princess	Vancouver, plus two 16 night roundtrips from Los Angeles	7 night Inside Passage	Glacier Bay
Ruby Princess	San Francisco	10 night Inside Passage roundtrip	Glacier Bay or Endicott Arm, by date

Princess Alaska Itineraries Explained: Roundtrip vs Voyage of the Glaciers

The Seattle roundtrips on Star Princess and Royal Princess are the easiest Alaska cruises to book. You fly into a major US airport, sail Saturday or Sunday, and see Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway, Endicott Arm, and Victoria. They do not visit Glacier Bay, and that is the trade-off for the convenience. The Vancouver roundtrips on Crown Princess and Coral Princess add Glacier Bay and lose Victoria, and Vancouver is a nicer city to start in if you can manage the border.

The Voyage of the Glaciers is the one-way between Vancouver and Whittier, near Anchorage, on Discovery, Crown, Coral, and Island Princess. It is the itinerary that made Princess the Alaska line, because it visits Glacier Bay, Hubbard Glacier, and College Fjord on a single sailing and connects to the cruisetours through Denali. You need an open-jaw flight and an extra day, and it is worth both.

Pro Tip: Northbound one-ways run Vancouver to Whittier and end near Anchorage, which lines up with a Denali land tour afterward. Southbound sailings do the land portion first and finish in Vancouver, which many clients prefer because the cruise becomes the rest at the end of the trip.

Best Princess Alaska Cruise for a First Timer: Star Princess from Seattle

For a first Alaska cruise on a premium line, Star Princess from Seattle is my pick. She is the newest ship in the fleet, the heated glass Dome makes rainy sea days a pleasure instead of a problem, and the Sunday departure pairs with a weekend in Seattle. You give up Glacier Bay, and Endicott Arm with Dawes Glacier is a strong substitute. My Star Princess guide covers the ship in detail, and my Dawes Glacier guide covers the glacier day.

Best Princess Alaska Cruise for Glaciers: Voyage of the Glaciers on Discovery Princess

If glaciers are the reason you are going, book the Voyage of the Glaciers and pick Discovery Princess for the newest hardware among the four ships that run it. Glacier Bay is a full day of scenic cruising with National Park rangers on board, Hubbard Glacier is the largest tidewater glacier in North America, and College Fjord adds a third glacier morning. No other Princess itinerary comes close, and the connection to the Princess lodges near Denali, Kenai Fjords, and Wrangell-St. Elias makes it the base for a cruisetour.

Best Princess Alaska Cruise Without Flying: Ruby Princess from San Francisco and Emerald Princess from Los Angeles

West Coast cruisers can skip the flight entirely. Ruby Princess sails 10 night Inside Passage roundtrips from San Francisco, with two sea days each way and a visit to Glacier Bay or Endicott Arm depending on the date. Emerald Princess adds two 16 night roundtrips from Los Angeles in 2027, which are the long, slow version of the trip and a good fit for retirees with time. My Los Angeles cruise port hotel guide covers the night before.

Best Princess Alaska Cruise for a Smaller Ship: Coral Princess and Island Princess

Coral and Island Princess carry around 2,000 guests, less than half of Star Princess, and they were built to fit the Panama Canal so they are narrower and sit lower. In Glacier Bay that means the ship feels closer to the ice, and in port it means shorter lines. They are older, the cabins are smaller, and the dining lineup is shorter. Guests who value calm over choice book them on purpose.

Princess Alaska Cruisetours: Denali and the Lodges

Princess runs 28 cruisetour itineraries in 2027 that pair a Voyage of the Glaciers sailing with three to seven nights on land at the Princess wilderness lodges. The signature 17 night option spends two nights at each lodge and touches four national parks. If you are going to Alaska once, this is how to do it, and it is also the piece most people cannot price correctly on their own because the rail, the lodges, and the transfers are bundled differently on each tour. This is where I earn my keep as an agent.

Five Tips I Give Every Client

• Book by the end of the year. Alaska 2027 balconies on the glacier side sell out by spring on the best weeks.

• Pick the itinerary before the ship. Glacier Bay or not is the first question; everything else follows.

• Sail in late May, early June, or early September for lower fares and fewer crowds. July is peak in every sense.

• Fly in a day early. Seattle, Vancouver, and Anchorage all have weather that can delay a same-day arrival.

• Add Princess Plus. Alaska sailings have long port days and cool sea days, and the coffee and cocoa alone add up.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which Princess ships go to Glacier Bay in 2027? The Vancouver and Whittier ships: Discovery, Crown, Coral, Island, and Emerald Princess, plus Ruby Princess on select dates. The Seattle ships visit Endicott Arm instead.

Is Star Princess in Alaska in 2027? Yes, on 7 night Sunday roundtrips from Seattle through September.

What is the cheapest Princess Alaska cruise? Shoulder-season Seattle roundtrips on Royal Princess in May and September are usually the lowest per night. My Princess cruise cost guide covers the full budget.

Princess or Holland America for Alaska? Both are strong. Princess has the newer ships and the lodges; Holland America has smaller ships and more Glacier Bay calls per ship. My Princess vs Holland America comparison goes deeper.

Final Thoughts on Princess Alaska Cruises in 2027

Princess is the safest Alaska pick on the market because every ship in the fleet does the itinerary well, and the choice comes down to whether you want Glacier Bay, a new ship, or a short flight. The current Princess Cruises offers cover the entire 2027 season with a $99 deposit. If you want a cabin recommendation for your ship and week, book with Jackson Jetsetting. My Alaska quotes are free, and I can often add onboard credit.