Princess Cruises is top notch when it comes to cruising Alaska. I would recommend Princess Cruises bar none for going to Alaska.
I recommend staying over the night before any cruise. It makes everything flow so much better the day of your embarkation.
San Francisco is indeed a beautiful and mystical place. It's a city that deserves it's own stay. I loved sailing under the Golden Gate Bridge heading for Alaska. It was awesom experience. Embarkation port
Juneau was our first stop. It was absolutely breathtaking sailing up to Juneau because that's when we saw the most whales. They were jumping everywhere and we spent the morning staring out our cabin watching the whales.
Vancouver is a very cosmopolitan city with many beautiful locations. We were so happy we stopped in Vancouver and that it was our last stop before going back to San Francisco.