Princess Cruises Sends Seven Ships to Alaska This Year

All seven Princess ships on Alaska cruises to feature expanded sustainable Alaska seafood menus, extensive beverage program, garden-to-table offerings. All new for 2023.

Princess Cruises is hard at work to prepare for the start of the 2023 Alaska cruise and cruisetour season that begins on April 29.

Princess Alaska Cruises Feature Sustainable Local Seafood on all Seven Ships

Sustainable seafood and award-winning onboard programming that immerses guests in all things Alaska are highlights again this year. 

Princess will sails seven ships throughout The Great Land across 14 cruise itineraries and 25 land-sea vacations

Princess ships headed to Alaska include their newest ship Discovery Princess. Also moving north for the season are Royal Princess, Ruby Princess, Majestic Princess, Grand Princess, Crown Princess and Sapphire Princess.

New for 2023 is an expanded “Wild for Alaska Seafood” menu available for all guests sailing with Princess in Alaska this season. There will also be a new Garden-to-Table menu for cruisetour guests when they stay at the Fairbanks Princess Riverside Lodge.

RELATED:  Do You Need a Passport for an Alaska Cruise?

Expanded Beverage and Seafood Programs

On a Princess Alaska cruise, you’ll find an extensive beverage program that includes flavorful coffee and hot chocolate-based creations and themed frozen drinks. 

Alaska wines and flights of Alaska beer, Alaska cocktails, Bloody Marys or Mimosas are also being introduced this season.

“Welcoming guests at the start of the Alaska season is always one of the most highly anticipated events of the year because we know they are going to have one of the most memorable travel experiences,” said John Padgett, Princess Cruises president. “Each season, we’re passionate about enhancing our programs to offer one of the most destination-focused programs available and for 2023, we’ve crafted some amazing Wild for Alaska Seafood dishes that will leave guests dreaming of coming back.”

Introduced in 2022, Princess’s “Wild for Alaska Seafood” menu is an industry-first, location-based seafood initiative. The extensive menu features a variety of fresh Alaska seafood dishes.

Wash it all down with destination-inspired cocktails including flights of Alaska spirits sourced from local distilleries. Distinctive Alaska seafood dishes with featured items are offered every night in all main dining rooms. 

READ NEXT:  Best Things to Do in Icy Strait Point, Alaska

The rotating menu will offer Alaska salmon, including King (Chinook), Sockeye and Coho, as well as wild Alaska cod (caught by hook and line only), halibut, rockfish, Dungeness crabs, wild spot prawns and razor clams.

Underscoring its role as a steward of the environment, Princess developed the new “Wild for Alaska Seafood” program in partnership with Pacific Seafood, Alaska Seafood, and Alaska Leader Seafood. 

These partners have an abiding commitment to environmentally responsible practices and are among the best-managed, most sustainable fisheries in the world.

This year guests can also enjoy new Alaska seafood bowls offered in World Fresh Marketplace daily, featuring the freshest salmon available.

Other new offerings include Steelhead Salmon Carpaccio, King Salmon with Razor Clams and an authentic Alaskan Crab Cake.

What is Offered in the Expanded Beverage Program?

• Coffee and hot chocolate-based beverages such as the “Spiced Rum Hot Chocolate,” “Gingerbread Breakfast,” “White Glacier and more.”
• Alaska beers with hosted tastings, or beer flights at any point during the cruise.
• Themed frozen drinks like the “Ketchikan Strawberry Shortcake,” “Alaskan Polar Bear” and “Juneau Goldbelt Tram.”
• Flights of Alaska cocktails, including a sampling of beverages made from spirits produced in Alaska.
• Sample different Mimosas or Bloody Marys with tasting flights. Look for a pop-up Bloody Mary bar near the main pool.
• The Alaska Wine Experience with the chance to try a wide selection of wines paired with Alaska salmon.

Princess Alaska cruises range from seven to 11 days, departing from San Francisco, Seattle, Vancouver, B.C. and Anchorage (Whittier). 

There are also Princess CruiseTours that take guests 500 miles into the heart of Alaska. Enjoy a seamless transfer from ship to train to Denali, all in one day.

These longer cruisetours give everyone an opportunity to see more of Alaska by combining a cruise (most going to Glacier Bay National Park) with land tour options. Once in the heart of Alaska, you’ll visit breath-taking Denali National Park and Princess’ five signature Wilderness Lodges.

What Makes a Princess Alaska Cruise Experience Special?

• Every Princess cruise features at least one glacier-viewing experience. Either Glacier Bay National Park, College Fjord, Hubbard Glacier, Endicott Arm and Dawes Glacier or Tracy Arm Fjord.
• Cruises feature the Inside Passage ports of Juneau, Ketchikan and Skagway. All northbound Voyage of the Glaciers and seven-day Inside Passage voyages include a late night call in Juneau. 
• Over 150 shore excursions are offered. Plus, Princess has their Cook My Catch shore excursion. This tour gives guests the chance to catch a fish during a fishing excursion and have chefs cook it for their dinner that night.
• Only a Princess Alaska cruise offers custom-built, exclusive wilderness lodges on the doorsteps of legendary national parks. The 17-night Princess Connoisseur Cruisetour features 10 nights on land that includes two nights at each of the five Princess Wilderness Lodges and visits five national parks. 
• NEW for 2023, guests staying at the Fairbanks Princess Riverside Lodge can enjoy the Garden-to-Table. Guests may walk through the large garden on property and admire the Alaska grown vegetables and flowers that flourish with the longer, sunny summer days.
• The cruise line’s Direct-to-the Wilderness rail service takes guests from the ship through the heart of Alaska to the Denali-based wilderness lodges 
• Everycruisetour itinerary includes Denali National Park, a picturesque six million acres, home to North America’s tallest peak.