Coral Princess Alaska Trip Summary - Aug 23rd-30th (with Pictures)

My main review of this trip is posted here:

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=261840

And so rather than repeating myself I thought I'd use this thread to post a few photos (only 6 in total) to give just a flavour of our Alaskan trip in August, plus a few details that I'd missed in that review.

Pre-embarkation stay in Vancouver.

Stayed at the Times Square Apartments, handily located within walking distance of Stanley Park and only a 10 minute cab ride from Canada Place.

23rd Aug - Vancouver Embarkation

See original review for trials & tribulations of the boarding process...!

Going under the Lions Gate Bridge. Taken from the "secret" decks at stern of Coral Princess

24th Aug - Day at Sea

Beautiful sunny day (and with a temperature of about 22 degrees), which rather lulled us into thinking it was going to be like that for the rest of the week!

25th Aug - Ketchikan

Foggy when we docked at 6.30am, and still foggy when we left at 2pm. Therefore all floatplane excursions cancelled.

26th Aug - Juneau

After the grey weather the day before decided not to book any excursions until we could gauge the weather for the day. Luckily it cleared up mid-morning and we booked a whale watching trip (with the addition of a drop off at Mendenhall Glacier) from one of the guys on the jetty. (About half the price that Princess were charging so I think we got a good deal)

Hump Back whale in Auke Bay

27th Aug - Skagway

Had pre-booked a rental car for a self drive tour over the White Pass into the Yukon. This was a great day and we saw some terrific scenery. And even better as soon as we crossed the Canadian border the sun came out and we had glorious weather for the rest of the day. Highly recommended - especially Carcross and Emerald Lake

Emerald Lake

28th Aug - Glacier Bay

We had chosen this particular itinerary because it included Glacier Bay which everyone said was a must-see. Once again the weather wasn't brilliant but at least it stayed dry and we were able to get close to all the glaciers as well as listen to the very informative commentary supplied by the on-board Park Rangers.

A moody looking Margerie Glacier

29th Aug - College Fjord

The ships only reach this location late in the afternoon on the last day, and I think most people rather dismiss it as a minor sight. But we were bowled over by it. Magnificent mountain scenery and the sheer number of glaciers (hanging & tidewater) meant we were on deck for 2-3 hours just soaking it in. Of course a rare sunny afternoon probably helped, but it certainly made a great end to our week's cruising.

Mountainside in College Fjord

Happy to answer any specific questions about the cruise...

Tony

Thank you for your review and lovely pictures. We are going on the Coral at the end of next August. It was nice to see that you had some sunshine!

I have booked a cabin in the same area. What was your experience with the partially covered balcony? Was it sufficient to keep any rain off while using it?

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I don't recall going out onto the balcony when it was really chucking it down, but I do remember that you could stand just outside the door in a normal shower and keep perfectly dry.

I would still recommend having a balcony of some kind when doing an Alaskan cruise as the scenery is the main selling point of the trip, and to be able to see (and feel) the views outside your cabin at all times of the day is such a plus point.

Thank you so much for your insight! I think we are going to be happy with C722!

Hi, great review & pictures, will be on the Radiance in Sept. an I sure can't wait to go. Our ports are Icy Strait, Juneau and Ketchikan. Tracy Arm will also be in there.