Princess Cruises will be sailing its entire scheduled Alaska 2022 season. The cruise line made the announcement on March 9, following the release of the Canadian health requirements earlier this week. Canada is a vital stopover and departure port for Alaska cruises, as ships based in the United States must make a stop in a foreign country before returning to the US.Â
Princess Cruises will send six cruise ships to the region in the upcoming months. Cruises include twelve different itineraries, 140 departures, and five glacier-viewing experiences, with visits to the Southeast Alaska towns of Juneau, Skagway, and Ketchikan.
Princess Cruises Heads To Alaska
No cruise line sails with more passengers to Alaska than California-based Princess Cruises. With Canada opening up to the cruise industry for the first time in two years, nothing is holding back Alaska cruises from taking place. The full season runs from April through September.
No less than six cruise ships will be operating in Alaska this season. The 143,700 gross tons, 3,660-passenger Discovery Princess, will spend her inaugural season in the Northern US-state, the first cruise being a 4-day Alaska sampler departing May 4.
After the sampler cruise, the newest ship in the Princess Cruises fleet will be operating the Inside-passage itinerary from Seattle, Washington. Crown Princess will be operating the same itinerary, calling in Victoria BC, Sitka, Juneau, Ketchikan, and Skagway.
Majestic Princess, Royal Princess, and Grand Princess will all be sailing on a seven-day Voyage of the Glaciers itinerary. During these Vancouver, B.C. to Anchorage or vice versa cruises, guests will have two glacier viewing experiences on every cruise, including Glacier Bay National Park. Ports of call include Skagway, Ketchikan, and the capital city of Juneau.
Those guests looking for a more extended cruise experience can sail from San Francisco on a 10-day cruise. As a bonus, guests will have the chance to experience a once-in-a-lifetime sail-away under the Golden Gate Bridge before setting off on an Inside Passage itinerary in Alaska.
Also Read: 15 Incredible Things to Do in Whittier, Alaska
Princess will also be operating their cruise tour options, featuring land tours to the Denali National Park and Princess Wilderness Lodges, including the “Voyage of the Glaciers” cruise itinerary. Alaska cruises sailing from Seattle and San Francisco will also visit Victoria on Vancouver Island.
Canada Opens To Cruise Ships
A lot depended on what the Canadian Government would do to allow cruise ships to operate within its borders this year. Luckily, the Canadians implemented health protocols that largely mimicked those in place in the United States, with some minor changes.
“The reopening of Canadian ports to the cruise industry is a bold and important move that significantly expands the array of travel opportunities available to guests while boosting the economies of the Canadian and Alaska destinations we visit by generating important revenue and job opportunities,” said John Padgett, Princess Cruises president.
“We know firsthand how cherished these voyages are to both guests and those destinations following our shortened but successful return to Alaska in 2021 that was made possible with the passing of the Alaska Tourism Restoration Act.”
Caribbean Princess will be the first cruise ship in two years to make an appearance in Canada on April 6 of this year. She will be making a stopover in Victoria, BC, followed by a stop in Vancouver on April 7.
The reopening of Canadian ports means that cruises on the east coast of Canada can also take place this year. The popular Princess Cruises New England and Canada voyages depart from Quebec and New York, visiting Halifax, Saint John, Cape Breton Island, and Charlottetown.
The 2022 season features 16 departures and six unique itineraries on Enchanted Princess and Caribbean Princess from July through October.
