A Virtuoso feature produced with Princess Cruises highlights Ketchikan, Skagway, Haines and Juneau excursions designed to connect travelers more closely with Alaska.
Star Princess sails through Alaska's Endicott Arm fjord.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Princess Cruises' 2027 Alaska shore program highlighted by Virtuoso combines Indigenous cultural experiences, wildlife viewing and regional food across several ports.
- Ketchikan excursions include Totem Bight and Saxman cultural experiences, while Skagway programs connect travelers with Alaska's sled-dog tradition.
- Cruise-tour options around Haines and the Chilkoot River are timed around seasonal wildlife activity, including salmon runs and brown-bear viewing.
- Food-focused excursions include guided fishing, Princess' Cook My Catch concept, Hump Island Oyster Farm and a Juneau salmon bake.
(NEWS) KETCHIKAN, Alaska, United States, 2026-Oct-02 — /Travel PR News/ — Princess Cruises is putting local culture, wildlife and regional food at the center of a selection of 2027 Alaska experiences highlighted in a new Virtuoso feature produced with the cruise line. The shore program spans Southeast Alaska ports and cruise-tour stops, with excursions ranging from Tlingit cultural interpretation in Ketchikan to brown-bear viewing near Haines and catch-to-table dining tied to fishing trips.
The focus reflects a broader part of Princess’ Alaska strategy. Its North to Alaska program brings local storytellers, naturalists, food and destination programming aboard its ships, while its shore excursion portfolio extends that approach into ports and inland destinations.
Indigenous culture and Alaska’s living traditions
Ketchikan is one of the strongest cultural anchors in the program. On a seven-night Vancouver-to-Anchorage voyage aboard Coral Princess, travelers can visit Totem Bight State Historical Park, where Tlingit and Haida traditions are interpreted through carved poles and a clan house. Alaska State Parks says the site preserves examples of Southeast Alaska Native art and architecture and today features 14 totem poles and a clan house.
Another Ketchikan option visits Saxman Totem Park, where the Virtuoso feature says guests can learn the principles of formline drawing with a Tlingit artist before watching the Cape Fox Dancers perform in traditional regalia. In Skagway, Princess excursions also connect visitors with Alaska’s mushing heritage through sled-dog experiences and handlers who explain the sport’s history. On selected sailings, 2023 Iditarod champion Ryan Redington is scheduled to take part; the Iditarod Trail Committee records Redington’s 2023 victory as his first championship.
Virtuoso points to multiple departures between June 2 and August 25, 2027 for the broader set of people-and-culture experiences tied to the northbound Alaska itinerary.
Wildlife encounters move beyond the cruise ports
Princess’ Alaska cruise-tours combine ship travel with longer land segments, widening access to areas that are harder to reach on a conventional port call. One featured itinerary links Anchorage and Whittier and includes time in Skagway before travelers cross Lynn Canal by high-speed ferry to Haines.
From there, local guides take guests into the Chilkoot River area, where the mix of coastal and forest habitats supports brown bears, bald eagles, mountain goats and river otters. The timing matters: the Virtuoso feature notes that salmon return to the Chilkoot in large numbers during August and September, drawing bears to the riverbanks. Another excursion floats through the Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve, where guests may see eagles feeding around spawning salmon.
The Alaska program is therefore being sold less as a sequence of scenic port calls and more as a set of destination-led encounters shaped by season. Virtuoso travel advisor Cheryl Hellmold recommends matching a sailing date to the experience travelers most want to see, citing early August for salmon activity in Ketchikan and early September for a better chance of catching the northern lights.
Fishing, oysters and a salmon bake bring local food into the itinerary
Food is another major thread. On a seven-night round-trip Seattle Inside Passage sailing aboard Star Princess, fishing excursions in Ketchikan take guests into protected waters with local guides in search of halibut, rockfish, cod and flounder. Princess’ Cook My Catch concept allows fish caught on eligible excursions to be prepared later aboard the ship.
Ketchikan also features a visit to Hump Island Oyster Farm, where guests can tour a floating mariculture operation before sampling harvested oysters. In Juneau, another shore experience centers on a traditional salmon bake under the rainforest canopy, with salmon cooked over an alderwood fire and served with a range of side dishes.
The feature identifies multiple departures for these food-focused experiences between May 9 and September 19, 2027. Together with the cultural and wildlife excursions, they show how Princess is using shore programming to differentiate Alaska itineraries around local people, seasonal natural events and region-specific food rather than relying only on the scenery visible from the ship.
Princess has been operating in Alaska for more than five decades, and its current destination programming reflects the advantage of long-standing relationships with local tour operators and communities. For travelers comparing 2027 Alaska sailings, the practical takeaway is that itinerary choice is only part of the decision: the season, port mix and availability of particular excursions can substantially shape the experience on the ground.
