Gaylaska 2026 recap: our gay Alaska cruise on Star Princess.
In June 2026 we hosted more than 20 LGBTQ+ travelers for seven days through Alaska’s Inside Passage: glaciers, sled dogs, orcas, and a group that made the whole week.
Join us on Gayribbean 2027Read our Star Princess reviewThe week in photos
What a hosted gay Alaska cruise looks like
Real photos from our Gaylaska 2026 group, from the first meetup to the last dinner.
Inside Passage · Round-trip Seattle
How the week unfolded
Seven nights on Star Princess, with Alaska’s best scenic cruising and a stop in Canada on the way home.
- EmbarkSeattle, WashingtonBoarding day, and the start of a week of group events.
- Sea dayAt seaTime to settle in, explore Star Princess, and get to know the group.
- PortKetchikan, AlaskaTotem poles, rainforest trails, and the salmon capital of the world.
- Scenic cruisingEndicott Arm & Dawes GlacierOur glacier day, and the reason you sail Alaska: towering fjord walls and calving ice.
- PortJuneau, AlaskaMendenhall Glacier, whale watching, and a dog sled camp the group talked about for days.
- PortSkagway, AlaskaKlondike Gold Rush history and mountain views toward the Yukon.
- Sea dayAt seaOne more day of scenery, lounges, and time with the group.
- CanadaVictoria, British ColumbiaButchart Gardens and the Fairmont Empress on Vancouver Island, before sailing home to Seattle.
Pride at Sea, by Pride Travelers
What hosting Gaylaska looked like
Bringing more than 20 people onto a cruise ship is its own small logistics operation. That’s the part we handle, so the group can just enjoy the week.
- A built-in community from day one: group dinners, gay trivia, a casino slot pull, and our P-p-p-poker Race bar crawl.
- Matching Gaylaska shirts worn around the ship all week, and the reaction from guests and crew was overwhelmingly warm.
- A standout onboard partner: Melissa, Star Princess’s events coordinator, helped make the group’s week special.
- Finding each other was easy: the Princess Medallion even showed group members by name on the elevator screens.
Onboard with the group
The events that made the week
Every Pride at Sea sailing has its own calendar of group events. Here’s what we did on Gaylaska 2026.
Group event
P-p-p-poker Race bar crawl
Our bar crawl, poker-race style: the Gaylaska crew made its way through Star Princess’s bars and lounges in matching shirts.
Group event
Group dinners
Long tables in the main dining room, so everyone ate together.
Group event
Gay trivia
A gay trivia night just for the Gaylaska group.
Group event
Slot pull
A group slot pull in the casino: everyone chips in, everyone watches, and the winnings are shared.
Best moments
Our group’s Alaska favorites
Glacier day
Endicott Arm & Dawes Glacier
This is why you sail Alaska: hours of scenic cruising between sheer granite walls to the face of a tidewater glacier.
Juneau
Mendenhall Glacier
A short ride from Juneau’s cruise pier to a glacier and its lake, and one of the group’s favorite stops.
Excursion
Dog sled camp
Meeting the dogs and seeing an Iditarod-caliber operation up close was a highlight the group talked about for days.
Wildlife
Whales & orcas
Whale and wildlife watching in Southeast Alaska, including orcas surfacing on our whale watching excursion.
The full story
Read our honest Star Princess Alaska review
Cabins, the Princess Medallion, food, entertainment, the LGBTQ+ experience onboard, and what we’d change: everything we learned hosting Gaylaska 2026, in one detailed review.
Read the review
Missed Gaylaska? Be on the next one
Gayribbean 2027: our hosted gay Caribbean cruise
October 24–30, 2027 on Celebrity Reflection, round-trip from Fort Lauderdale to Key West, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel. The same hosted community, in warmer water.
Gaylaska 2026 FAQ
Common questions about our hosted gay Alaska cruise.
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