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I was at the Denali Princess Lodge and McKinley Princess last year. The facilities at both were wonderful. All clean and nicely laid out. I was only one night at each so I didn't get much exploring done. It rained and was very cold at the time. McKinley has a nice fire pit area outside and Denali has a nice Great Room. I'm going back next year to spend two nights at each and this time going at the end of June right after the Solstice. I hope this time I can see Mt. McKinley.

You will love it.

On my cruise last year, I got to know a lot of people on CC roll call and on the old FB one. I was volun-told to organize ours. On the Coral, ours was in Crooner's. No one from the crew showed up but then again, I didn't realize I was supposed to invite them. I made name tags for everyone. Here is a photo of our M&G.

We are booked on the Star Princess for Jul 4 2015 with a 5 day land tour before the cruise. We chose the southbound itinerary. This will be our 1st trip to Alaska.

I think we're on the same land tour and cruise. Have you joined the roll call yet? You're going to love the trip.

Last year I did a Northbound cruise out of Vancouver on the Coral and absolutely loved it. The ship was the perfect size. I also added a land tour at the end. I loved it so much I'm going back next year but doing Southbound with the land tour first for 5 days on the Star ending in Vancouver.

I'll let you know after we cruise Alaska this June

I'm on the Star next year. Landtour first then sailing on July 4th. I'll be interested to hear about your experience on the Star. I was on the Coral last year in Alaska and it was wonderful.

I was on the Coral Northbound with a land tour last August. I loved the Coral. I am now booked for June of next year with 5 days on land first then going Southbound on Star Princess sailing on July 4th.

I had a wonderful time last year and can't wait to go back. Alaska is so beautiful and so much to see.

A group of us that met last year are all going together next year. I realized after last year that I needed more time on land and want to relax coming back.

I'm hoping by going at the end of June/beginning of July that I might get a chance to see McKinley. It rained the whole time on my last trip except it always stopped when I got to my excursion and when we were in Glacier Bay. This time I will get to experience the 20 hours of daylight since we will be there 1 week after the solstice.

I can't wait to try different excursions but one thing that will stay the same is whale watching with Harv and Marv. They were great and it was only 12 of us on the boat.

I now have a new Canon Rebel EOS camera so I'm looking forward to getting some great shots.

Where are you doing the horseback riding? You didn't mention the port.

I just booked my cruise for next year today. The 2015 Alaskan cruises just went on sale this week on the 11th. I'm doing a cruisetour first that starts on 6/29 and the ship sales on 7/4. I looked online today and there are already a lot of cabins booked for the cruise. Trips book up fast.

I did a cruise tour at the end of August last year and it rained most of the time. It was also very cold.

Next year I'm going back around the Solstice and doing the land tour first. I want to experience the extended light. There's just no way of knowing what the weather holds. When we were in Denali, the sun was out and the Fall colors were absolutely beautiful. Going later in the year, I was so hoping to see the Northern Lights and there was a slight chance but I never got the call.

I can't wait to go back. It was the most beautiful place I'd ever seen.

I did this through Princess last August. It was a 1-1/2 hour boat ride out, then a short bus ride. When we got to their camp, they gave us a simple lunch, then we put on the necessary gear and walked down to the water. We then got into the canoes. The canoes are also motorized so you don't have to paddle the whole way there. Once we got to the glacier, we got out and walked on the glacier. It had rained the whole way there but as soon as we got to the camp and the canoes, the sun was out the whole time. It was cold but absolutely beautiful.

For me personally, I thought the money was worth the trip but I'm not sure if the cruise lines charge the same amounts.

This past August, I went on a Harv and Marv boat to go whale watching. What was very nice about their boat was the seats were on hydraulics so when we hit the rougher seas, the seats absorbed a lot of the movement.

I get seasick (on the cruise we had 16' swells and I was queasy). I took Bonine and was okay. The one thing I noticed with Bonine is I got a little sleepy but not as bad with Dramamine.

This past August I was on the Coral Princess. I had originally booked a Balcony but when prices went down, I upgraded to a mini. Knowing what I know now, I will re-book a balcony when I go in '15. The mini has a tub as opposed to just a shower and the mini has 2 TV's with a small "living area" with a couch and chair. Being in a mini suite, you also get a complimentary glass of champagne in your cabin for sailaway. I traveled alone, so I really didn't need that extra space. I used the couch to throw stuff on, other than that, it really wasn't needed.

Climbing into the tub to take a shower was a little precarious and my head almost touched the ceiling and I'm only 5'5".

I will definitely get a balcony again as it was nice to have my own space when the decks got crowded in Glacier Bay. Now in my case, it rained most of the time when I went in August so I didn't spend a lot of time out there. My next trip will be in June.

If you are travelling with someone else, you may enjoy the additional space of a mini. If you don't plan on spending a lot of time in your cabin, stick with the balcony.

This past August I was on Coral Princess and went to Glacier Bay. The weather the entire time on the trip was cloudy and rainy. As we were approaching the bay, there was a break in the clouds and the entire bay was bathed in sunshine. It was the most breathtaking experience I've ever had. So much so I'm going back in '15. I'm doing southbound with land tour first. This time I'll see Hubbard Glacier. Also this time I'm going in June near the Solstice.

Here is mine and I finally added the photos from my trip.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1904901

Boy I'm glad I read this thread. I'm on the Coral NB in 40 days and it seems I made the right choice without even knowing it.:D

I upload all my camera pics to Picasa where every digital photo I have ever taken is stored. I pick out the ones I want to use for the narration and upload them to the web where I see them in Google Plus Photos. There are all displayed on my screen so I don't have to do a slideshow.

 

The one I want to upload to fit the text I click on to make it bigger so that it is the only photo I am seeing. Then I have a beer. I right click (even tho I don't have a mouse) and options appear...I choose "Copy web address" and then switch back to my CC reply screen where I am writing.

 

In the box where you write the CCtext there is a icon of a Mountain which opens up the screen to attach a photo. I get rid of the "http" that is there and paste the web address in and hit "OK" and that web address shows up under the text I have just written. Then, like the text, I use the icon for "center" so that everything lines up vertically.

 

Et voila!

 

CC has a TEST FORUM where you can practice doing this.

 

When uploading the pics from Picasa to the web I choose "original size" as the photo shows up big but not huge- eating up all the margins. I like a white frame.

 

I prefer embedding the photo to posting a link to Flickr or such where people have to leave the page, go through a menu and then start a slideshow. I am not a slideshow fan as such. I like to read the text and see the photos all at once.

 

Hope this helps....if not get back to me.

 

Best wishes,

Norris

Thank you. I did what you did but once I was on Google plus, I was able to right click on the photo, hit copy and then paste into the body of my thread instead of using the url. Here's a photo (screen shot) from when Coral was in Glacier Bay today. I think I spotted a whale.

Thanks for letting me know about Picasa. It will help when I do my "live from" when I'm on the Coral in August.

Thank you for your help!

The camera had no filters and was a Canon SS880. The glaciers are that blue just by themselves and need no help. I have since upgraded to a Canon DSLR-Eos Rebel T3i but haven't used it in Alaska (yet!)

 

Norris

Norris, how do you put the images in your post instead of doing them as attachments?

More please! :D

Pia,

I have enjoyed your previous "Live From's" and I'm especially looking forward to this one as I will be on the Coral in August going Northbound to Alaska. I, too, will be in a mini, forward but one deck below where you are in D314.

It's been 30 years since I was on my last cruise so I've been living vicariously through everyone's Live From's. In 130 days, I will no longer have to live vicariously and will be experiencing everything for myself. Happy 50th Birthday to me!

Have a wonderful trip and stay safe.

Everything with mine works except I can't share through FB. I keep getting and error message. Other than that, minie is working fine.

At the top of the page there's a User CP link. Go to edit signature and find the box that has the cancelled sailing and delete it.

Hello. I'm on Princess in August going to Alaska. I'm getting in the night before and staying at the Westin Bayshore. I've checked around and there aren't any shuttles that go from the airport to the hotel so it looks like a cab. A couple of questions:

1. What is the average fare from the airport to the hotel?

2. Will the cabs take credit cards?

3. What is the average fare from the hotel to the cruise ship terminal?

I know there's public transportation but I'm going to have a bit of luggage and don't want to schlep around in a strange city.

Thank you.

I would also post this on the Alaska Board. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=55

There is one poster there named Budget Queen who is an Alaska expert plus there are others that have been there and can give you their opinions.

I too installed it a couple of years ago. It worked on one computer for a short while and never on my other computer. I uninstalled and have never tried again. I got a princess app for my phone and use that instead.

What Princess app to do you have? I'd love that for my iPhone.