Well, I leave Friday for an Alaskan cruise actually(assuming the family passes our Covid test). This will be my 3rd Alaskan cruise in the last 6 years. I took the family 6 years ago and figured we would never go back. A year after that I had to go on one for work with some clients and then the one this week is the result of my father in law deciding he is old and wants to spend his money before he dies so he is taking his kids and grandkids on this cruise and paying for it. (Me with 14 of my wife’s family may not work out so well but we got the unlimited drinks package so that should help). I would highly recommend doing the Alaskan cruise as it gets you to a lot of places you can’t get to if you just fly to Alaska (Hubbard Glacier, Glacier Bay). Also, it is way more subdued than a Caribbean cruise which some may find boring but I am cool with it. The excursions in Alaska in the ports are really expensive but can be kind of cool. We have done tons of whale watching boats and the first time up there took a helicopter up to the top of a glacier to go dog sledding with Iditarod dogs at their summer camp.
As far as cruises go, you just need to understand what you are getting yourself into. They are like a floating all inclusive resort that takes you to a different place every day. The food is decent but not Michelin Star level so you just need to have expectations on that. Avoid Carnival at all costs or you will get the shitty experiences of a bunch of poors on a cruise ship. I would say avoid Galveston departures also for this reason. We do Princess up in Alaska because they are really good with the itineraries they offer and stuff like brining park rangers or naturalists on board to point out all the animals and glaciers you are seeing. We have done Celebrity Cruises over in the Mediterranean/Adriatic and had a blast. Once again, avoid Carnival and cheap priced cruises and you end up with a fun vacation.