If you consider Alaska, have a look at the paddlewheeler "Empress of the North" - yes, a paddleweeler, doing the Inside Passage (Juneau roundtrip) and Seattle - Juneau / Juneau - Seattle.

We just came back from a Juneau roundtrip, and it was an excellent cruise, though more expensive than the usual cruise ships going to Alaska.

The food is superb, and the boat is very small, only about 200 passengers. Seeing whales is different on such a boat. You don't see them from 60 feet above water level, they show up just some feet away from where you'e standing on the lower deck, which is only a few feet above water level. And the boat goes to fijords and narrow canals where the big cruise ships just can't go.

If you like, read our cruise review about the Empress of the North at http://www.rivers-rails.com.