Having been to Alaska quite a few times and last summer doing a cruise with my wife I would say that a cruise is NOT the way to see Alaska. Almost everything you see when in port is tourist stuff set up just to cater to the cruise ships. I felt pressed for time in almost every port.
IF you do a cruise, make sure you do some land stuff either before or after. There is some good stuff to see but everything is a long ways away!
I am going to rent an RV and drive for a week in a few years.
