Latitude Adjustment

Nice write up during the cruise week and after....I was in no mood to do that and just went with the flow of our group, we pretty much saw the same shows except skipped Cafferty. I guess you did not watch Modern English--IMHO they were phenomenal outside during the tshirt party, totally was into them. Also surprisingly how much I enjoyed the Dramarama show as well.

This was by far our funnest cruise ever and this was our 23rd cruise. We attended this past year's 80s cruise in February on the Summit and had such a great experience, we did plan ahead with some creative outfits to partake in a variety of the theme nights such as Prom Night, 80s rocker vs hip hop night, 80s pop icon night, etc. All in all a great time and the bands were great (loved Belinda Carlisle and Berlin). After returning home we signed up for the 2018 cruise which departs on St. Patrick's Day with a different itinerary and musical lineup with still some great acts such as Rick Springfield, Mike and the Mechanics, LoverBoy, Berlin, The Tubes, Lou Graham of Foreigner, Thomas Dolby, Billy Ocean, Katrina of Katrina and the Waves, Tommy Tutone. My biggest musical surprise was how good the 80s cover band Jessie's Girl played, what a great show as they dress up for each 80s song in a variety of outfits, just hysterical stuff and they really rock and yes they are returning, they really hit it hard and the party does last almost all night long. It is over 80% sold out as of today. So glad we are going once again.

We will be on the Summit in a few weeks for the 80s cruise. How is the food in the MDR and in the buffet? Are there any late night snacks such as pizza or sandwiches or pretty much just cookies or? Thanks for you help, very good information, this will be our first sailing on the Summit.

I am hoping Project Gal is correct...maybe they just want to encourage folks not to bring them on for whatever reason. I think I probably will at least give it a shot and see what happens.

Our cruise falls during the week of Valentine's Day and I was planning on bringing on board a dozen roses from our port city Ft. Lauderdale. I called Celebrity to discuss and they told me flowers are no longer allowed to be brought on board from any port anywhere. I find this odd as there seems to be some other posters that brought on flowers over the course of the last year. Anyone have any other information regarding this issue?

So happy to hear that. We've been visiting Sapphire Beach since our honeymoon (a million years ago) and always thought that it was beautiful. After our stay in 2009 when the restaurant was closed we've not returned. Perhaps we rented your condo when we were last there, are you in to high rises or the two story?

I do have a lovely studio condo in Sapphire Village which is just a few minutes walk slightly uphill from Sapphire Beach. The condo has some great water views on the balcony but I did not own it in 09. We truly lovely going and staying there ourselves and do so at least 4 times each year but we primarily rent it out, I do have it listed on VRBO.

And I will agree Coki is somewhat sketchy although some truly great water which drops off quite a bit not far off the beach. And some very good beachside restaurants all next to each other. I have never had a problem there but it is something to be aware of. Sapphire is completely different, very quiet and laid back with some very lovely water and great views of St. John. We just simply love this SE end of St. Thomas, great to have Red Hook nearby as well.

I am a condo owner and can vouch the beach at Sapphire is great, the snorkeling/diving is top notch with usually great visibility. If you put in the time in the water you will see turtles, schools of squid, spotted sea rays and of course tons of fish. My place is rented out for most of this season and just about everyone staying there loves the beach itself. Thankfully a small beach bar/grill opened right on the beach a few months ago which is a nice addition to the dive shop and restrooms. I would highly encourage anyone who cares to visit a lovely beach with some great snorkeling to check it out.

Your 5 day rental is going to be expensive, any way you can add more days and take advantage of a weekly rate? Your time is very limiting.

 

Past few years, the bargain rates for me have been with the downtown Enterprise. I also always get the cheap economy cars. Cabs are easy and convenient to add if savings are significant.

No, this is the trip we have already setup...arrive Friday evening and head north and then return the day of our cruise...so about 5 days on land prior to the cruise.

And yes, I need to review my CC insurance coverage...if any doubt will add on the CDW...I also wanted a full size car to ensure our main luggage will fit locked in the trunk.

I just made a reservation with pickup and drop off at the airport (was hoping to return the car to Whittier on the cruise departure day but that Avis rental location is closed for the season and cannot get any rate for this). Timing is late June 2015 for 4.5 day rental. Full size car for 2 people with no insurance or damage waivers....$464:eek:...will monitor and hope rates fall but curious what others came up with? Luckily can freely cancel, I did check a lot of the usual sites as well as costco travel and this was the best price I could do for this size car. I do not want to try priceline "pay your own price" as that is not refundable in case we change our plans. Thanks for any information in advance. This trip is $$$$$$!!!

Well, got a little lucky...I was waiting for autoslash to review my rental options, they came up with a total rate of $303....not too bad at all compared to my original rate which was also with the same company-Hertz.

Caribill, I think you are correct, 2 nights each is the way to go for each hotel stay.

Eileen-thanks for the info, no I have not yet read your tour but will definitely do so. Time for some note taking!

I concur with the other posters...the Coral and Island are WONDERFUL ships!

 

If you have a chance the 6 Hr Catamaran tour through the Kenai Fjords National Park is AMAZING! It goes out of Seward (we used Major Marine Tours) and the variety of wildlife you see is great. We saw orca pods (even a baby), humpbacks, otters, sea lions, seals, puffins, black bears, mountain goats and more...it was one of the highlights of our trip.

 

Enjoy your cruise...Alaska is breathtaking!

I will definitely check this out, thanks!

I am starting (today) to look into this very thing. We want to either take a Panama Canal full transit or else an Alaskan cruisetour. I looked into the PC cruise and it's almost completely booked (the only one out of SF). Need to look into the Alaska cruise now but the land tour part is going to be a bit odd to figure out. They offer so many different land tours that sound the same but are booked with different numbers and prices. I'll have to pull out the cruise atlas and see if I can figure out the differences.

 

Congrats on your first Princess cruise. We did Alaska (without a land tour) on Sea Princess a few years ago and absolutely loved it. We did the inside passage with Glacier Bay. We want to do the same thing this time but as a one way home rather than a round trip.

 

Congratulations on your anniversary. I remember hitting 20 years but that was 22 years ago. :)

Yeah, still just getting into the land tour stuff, no way to visit Alaska without doing a few days ahead of time. Thanks for the kind thoughts, 20 years for us is this fall and this is the big trip we are doing to celebrate.

Alaska SB great choice! I loved sailing out of Whittier as the light was fading...very quiet and atmospheric with mists draping the mountains.

 

Coral Princess the perfect fit. Wonderful ship.

 

Any thoughts on excursions you'd like to do?

 

Norris

Norris, sounds like a great ship, hoping obviously for good weather but no matter we will truly enjoy our time there. I have not yet done my homework on the excursions but will soon focus on that, just glad to get the balcony cabin in place and go from there.

Don't know much about the Coral Princess.......bu welcome to Princess and your first cruise....and in Alaska! You'll love it and wish you had more time to see the amazing area. We did a 14-day Voyage of the Glaciers on the Sapphire and it was great! We also had a last minute deal that we couldn't pass on and sounds like you got a great deal also!

 

Be sure to get ahold of the "The Alaska Cruise Companion" book that should be sold on board for about $18.99......a great guide for your cruise that is 293 glossy pages of pictures and narratives of the sights you'll see!

 

Enjoy your Alaskan adventure!

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Here's a brief summary of the Cruise Companion:

 

We purchased "The Alaska Cruise Companion – A Naturalist's Guide to the Inside Passage" by Rachel Cartwright ($18.99) on board the Sapphire Princess in 2012 (2012 edition). It's a 293 page book with all high gloss pages and fantastic pictures of the sights. A paper map comes with the book that is folded inside.

 

The book follows your Princess cruise route from your “sail-away” from Vancouver, BC all the way up to Whittier, AK with all the stops in between and special view points along the way (whale sighting locations). The Map (20” x 22”) covers the general route as mentioned (front side), and, specifically Tracy Arm, Glacier Bay, Yakutat Bay/Hubbard Glacier, and Prince William Sound on into Whittier (back side). Glossy one-page maps are also within the book's pages.....you can follow your cruise from Whittier back to Vancouver also!

 

Chapter One – Alaska, the Greatland

Chapter Two – Cruising the Waters of British Columbia

Chapter Three – Welcome to Ketchikan

Chapter Four – Juneau, Alaska's Capital

Chapter Five – Skagway, Gateway to the Klondike

Chapter Six – Glorious Glaciers: Cruising Alaska's Wilderness Bays

Chapter Seven – Alaska'a Heartland

Chapter Eight – The Road Ahead

 

There's numerous pages with pictures and narratives on wildlife (marine & terrestrial) and plant life that could be sighted along your cruise route.

The Cruise Companion is well worth the purchase and loaded with information/pictures about Alaska.

Mike, the book sounds awesome and probably worth getting as keepsake coffee table book, thanks for the tip.

Congratulations! You are correct about your balcony...

 

Happy anniversary to you and yours!

Thanks for confirming my research and appreciate the well wishes!

Our first Princess cruise and our first trip to Alaska was just booked today! We are very excited and booked a premium balcony room on the Caribe deck, portside C524. I believe this balcony is partially covered and partially uncovered from my research on this forum, hopefully someone can confirm this fact. Now, we need to begin the process of a brief pre-cruise land tour which we will most likely do ourselves. Really really excited and it is a trip to celebrate our 20th anniversary which occurs this fall. From my research a lot of travelers loved the Coral and would sail on her again and again. Hope others chime in and I will continue to search this site for more information.