My wife and I just finished a one-week cruise from Vancouver up the inside passage to Alaska. The ship carried about 1400 passengers and 600 crew. We wanted to

My wife and I just finished a one-week cruise from Vancouver up the inside passage to Alaska. The ship carried about 1400 passengers and 600 crew. We wanted to see glaciers; our ship was able to go inside Glacier Bay National Park for closeup views of a tidewater glacier and lots of different wildlife: mountain goats, grizzly bears, seals, otters, sea lions, humpback whales. And at Juneau we went up to see Mendenhall Glacier. At other ports we hiked around (not taking any cruise line-arranged excursions) and had quite a nice time. There were more people in the gym than in the casino. Our food was included in the cruise and we did not buy any drink packages. We didn't buy an internet package either and only missed it when we wanted to confirm our return flight (which we did on arrival back in Vancouver). We met people from different states and countries and enjoyed our conversations during meals. We took the stairs up and down and took walks around deck. There were lots of planned activities, but also plenty of time and quiet places on board to get away from crowds. But you're right about the impacts of cruise ships on the port towns, especially the smaller ones. Ketchikan, which could berth up to four ships, expected over 50,000 visitors the week we were there. Skagway's population is 1,000 in the winter and 3,000 in the summer, with an influx of workers for the tourist trade. The ships burn a lot of oil to cruise; our ship got about 4 miles per ton. Carnival has been fined $20 million this year after violating terms of a previous judgment that included a $40 million penalty, and they're not the only offender. This was our first cruise and we wondered beforehand whether we'd like it. We enjoyed the resort experience and being able to visit a number of interesting places. I liked not having to drive, because our ship was a moving resort. At the captain's toast, while we had some bubbly, he had ginger ale, because as he said, he was "our designated driver". We enjoyed the views, the food, the conversations, the side trips, and the relaxed pace. If you are clear on your personal values and goals and if you do your own research before traveling, you can likely find one that would appeal to you.