I have done both an Alaskan cruise and a cruise tour (both Holland America). Loved both trips but really liked starting in Fairbanks, going to Denali and Anchorage before getting on the ship in Seward. Really enjoyed the trips. There are LOTS of quilt shops that you can accidently bump into if you scope them out in advance. There are some very nice fabrics that are Alaska specific -- I have some wonderful fabric memories (the fabric shops sent the fabric home for me in the priority boxes so when we picked up the held mail I had a wonderful time getting re-aquainted with the memories).
Our first cruise was in May and we had awesome weather -- but cruises on either side of us had awful weather. The cruise tour was in June -- and we had some good weather and some not so good. (I took a down jacket and was glad I did.)