Princess Cruises' biggest and newest ship has just finished a heavyweight debut in Alaska. The Star Princess, a 175,500-ton LNG-powered vessel carrying around 4,000 passengers, closed out its first Alaska season in late September after running 20 roundtrip sailings from Seattle since early May.
The itineraries called at classic Southeast Alaska ports — Juneau, Skagway and Ketchikan — while also building in scenic cruising through the Inside Passage, Endicott Arm and Dawes Glacier. Princess expected the ship to carry more than 90,000 passengers over the summer, making it one of the largest vessels sailing Alaska waters this year.
Star Princess was also part of a much bigger push. Princess fielded eight ships in the region for the 2026 season, with 180 departures from six homeports touching nearly 20 destinations. For anyone who associates Alaska cruising with small ships threading narrow fjords, it's a signal of how much capacity the big lines now commit to the route — and how far in advance the best cabins go.
The ship isn't heading home to rest. After a West Coast coastal cruise, it set off from Los Angeles in early October on a 16-night repositioning voyage to Fort Lauderdale. That sailing is a destination in itself: a full Panama Canal transit plus stops in Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlán, Panama City and Oranjestad in Aruba, with calls in Mexico, Panama and the Southern Caribbean along the way.
From November onwards, Star Princess settles into weeklong Caribbean cruises from Port Everglades through April 2027. Then the cycle repeats: another repositioning, then back to Seattle for a second Alaska summer. Delivered by Italy's Fincantieri in late 2025, the ship spent its maiden season in the Mediterranean and Caribbean before crossing to the West Coast via the Panama Canal in April.
Why should travellers care? If Alaska is on your list, Star Princess gives you big-ship comfort — plenty of dining, entertainment and family facilities — on a route where weather and glaciers are the real stars, and the scenic cruising days through Endicott Arm and the Inside Passage are the payoff. Book early for the May-to-September Seattle season if you want a balcony on the glacier side. And if you'd rather sample the ship first, the winter Caribbean programme from Fort Lauderdale offers an easy weeklong way to try it, while longer repositioning cruises like the current LA-to-Fort Lauderdale run often deliver unusually good value per night for the ports covered.
