Well, thanks for all the help everyone. I finally got my act together. We're sailing on the Pacific Princess June 07 out of Whittier. Precruise 4 nights - (2) Fairbanks, (1)Denali, (1)McKinley. Includes a river boat cruise down the Chena and Tenana Rivers, panning for gold, motorcoach Denali, Natural History OR Tundra Wilderness tour, river rafting and rail.
The cruise - College fjord, Glacier bay, Skagway, Juneau, Ketchikan then Disembark Vancouver.
The Pacific Princess is about the same size as the Mariner - as opposed to the 2,000+ people capacity on the Diamond. I believe it is 700 guests. Anyway, we got a good cruise/tour package and I'm glad I did all the research. Reserved a mini suite. Balconies are private too, unlike the Diamond.
My TA just went on an overnight on the new Crown Princess and she said it was beautiful. Holds 3,000 (a bit over the top for me). Anyway, she looked at some of the rooms which are similar on all the ships and she recommended the mini suite with balcony as opposed to the balcony rooms, which are pretty small she said. Now, all I have to do is figure out ship excursions, which I have plenty of time to do - more reseach!!!
Again, thanks everyone for all the input and sound advice. These boards are invaluable for a novice like me!
j.
