Princess Cruises will feature a 55-foot floral replica of Star Princess in the Rose Parade on January 1, 2026, showcasing Alaska wildlife and scenery ahead of the ship’s inaugural Alaska season.

Alaska Theme Dominates Float Design

The float depicts Alaska’s Inside Passage with glaciers in icy blues, bald eagles, spouting humpback whales, bears catching salmon, and a moose, all crafted from over 300,000 flowers, seeds, bark, and natural materials. Animated elements include whales rising from water, sea otters, soaring eagles, and bears with salmon in their mouths.

“We’re thrilled to welcome the new year by sharing the wonder of Alaska with millions of people watching the Rose Parade,” said Marie Lee, Princess Cruises chief marketing officer.

The float showcases Star Princess’s signature venues including The Dome, a glass-enclosed entertainment space atop the ship, and the sphere-shaped Piazza with floor-to-ceiling windows. Viewers may hear a nod to “The Love Boat,” the television show that introduced cruise vacations to mainstream audiences.

Eight Ships Sailing Alaska in 2026

Princess’s 2026 Alaska season expands to eight ships with 180 departures visiting 19 destinations. Star Princess will sail weekly seven-day Inside Passage cruises roundtrip from Seattle from May 3 through September 19, 2026.

The 177,800-ton, 4,300-passenger Star Princess is Princess’s newest ship, delivered in September 2025. The Sphere-class vessel currently sails Caribbean itineraries from Fort Lauderdale before repositioning to Seattle through the Panama Canal in spring 2026.

Rose Parade Details

The Rose Parade attracts 800,000 spectators along its 5½-mile route and more than 28 million U.S. television viewers. The float, built by Artistic Entertainment Services, measures 55 feet long and 21 feet high.

“It is an honor to welcome Princess Cruises, Los Angeles’ Hometown cruise line back to the Tournament of Roses Parade,” said Mark Leavens, president of the 2026 Pasadena Tournament of Roses.

The parade’s 2026 theme is “The Magic in Teamwork,” which Princess connects to its crew and Alaskan guides, storytellers, artists, and naturalists who work with passengers during Alaska cruises.

Princess markets itself as the number one cruise line in Alaska, operating from multiple West Coast ports including Seattle, Vancouver, San Francisco, and Whittier.

In the face of a changing climate, an updated planning tool will act as Anchorage’s guide to preparing for and living with an increased wildfire risk.

Higher temperatures and longer, drier summers are becoming standard across much of the Lower 48 and in Alaska, said Stephanie Dufek of the Anchorage Fire Department. Over the last two decades, Alaska has experienced several “record setting” fire seasons, with more than 16 million acres burned since 2004, according to data from the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

Dufek is at the head of the municipality’s recent push to rewrite its community wildfire protection plan, which hasn’t been updated in nearly 20 years. The refresh will help residents stay prepared and make it easier for Anchorage to seek federal grants to reduce its fire risk, she said.

Approximately 82% of Anchorage falls within the wildland-urban interface, a factor that inherently increases the municipality’s wildfire risk. This is a zone in a community where homes and buildings intersperse with adjacent forests and undeveloped land.

“The sooner we can get on board with mitigating the risk to the best of our ability and learning how to be resilient, the better off we’ll be,” said Dufek, a wildland-urban interface project manager for the Anchorage Fire Department.

The plan, a collaborative project, was crafted through partnerships between the municipality and neighboring fire departments, the Alaska Division of Forestry and Fire Protection and federal public land managers. The city hosted a town hall on Nov. 12 to kick off the public comment period, which will remain open through the end of the month.

“It’s built on the idea that protecting homes and neighborhoods from wildfire requires everyone, including municipal departments, community councils, state and federal partners and residents like you and me,” Mayor Suzanne LaFrance said during the town hall.

The report acknowledges the “growing complexity” of fire management in Alaska due to the size, frequency and severity of wildfires on the tundra and in its boreal forests.

Firefighting resources in Alaska are also finite. The state Division of Forestry is responsible for protecting more than 130 million acres of land. It can take at least 72 hours for help to arrive from the Lower 48, Dufek said.

As part of the plan, fire managers created a risk chart for Anchorage’s neighborhoods based on factors like the number of dead-end roads, the distance to the nearest fire station and the flammability of existing trees and vegetation. They also considered demographics, such as the percentage of people who may not have a vehicle, Dufek said.

Based on an “extreme” risk rating, some of the most vulnerable neighborhoods are Potter Heights, Glen Alps, Bear Valley, Stuckagain Heights and Eagle River, according to the plan.

The ratings will help the fire department determine the order to perform wildfire mitigation projects, Dufek said. The report recommends a variety of methods fire managers can use to reduce fire hazards around Anchorage.

Some of the methods are similar to those used in a project recently completed along a 3-mile stretch of Campbell Airstrip Road. The wildfire division created a fuel break by thinning the trees along the road and removed debris and vegetation on the forest floor. The access road leads to 200 homes in the Stuckagain Heights neighborhood and acts as an evacuation route.

The plan also encourages clearing near power lines that may become an ignition hazard in the case of a windstorm, the creation of defensible space around homes and permanently funding the Anchorage Fire Department’s new wildfire division.

A Delta Junction resident died Friday after being pinned by a vehicle in a crash along the Richardson Highway, Alaska State Troopers said.

Troopers were notified of a crash with one person pinned just after 8 a.m. Friday, the agency said in an online update. The crash involved a semi and a 2024 Chevrolet Silverado pickup, troopers spokeswoman Tess Williams said, and it occurred around Mile 267 of the Richardson Highway just north of Delta Junction.

First responders extricated Murphy Mackenzie, age 32, and tried administering life-saving measures, but Mackenzie — who had sustained significant injuries — was pronounced dead at the scene, troopers said. Mackenzie’s next of kin was at the scene, according to troopers.

The crash closed the highway for hours Friday “due to the investigation and complexity to remove the crashed (semi) tractor,” troopers said.

Troopers said they found no indication of impairment or foul play. The agency believes road conditions may have been a contributing factor in the crash, Williams said.

The investigation is ongoing, according to Williams.