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LIVE from Fairbanks to Vancouver cruisetour 9/6/09

Pia1913

By Pia1913,
in Princess Cruises

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Pia1913

Pia1913

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Just a fast hello from on board the lovely Coral. Checkin was 2 seconds. Seriously. Bus arrived and checkin people were standing around doing nothing. They gave us dinner cards for tonight only for 5:30, but we want to eat later so will dine at Horizon Ct.

 

Haven't had a chance to look around; busy unpacking and finding a place for the too much stuff we carry. We will be attending that new Elite/Suite cocktail hour at 5:30 where the drink of the day is a Cosmo for $5.00.

 

To answer a few questions in advance: the Capt. is Mariano Manfuso, CD is Billy Hygate and PSD is Gianfranco Verde.

 

Most important: I am in my cabin. Yes, wifi everywhere. Hooray!

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Julia’s Journey’s

Julia’s Journey’s

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Just a fast hello from on board the lovely Coral. Checkin was 2 seconds. Seriously. Bus arrived and checkin people were standing around doing nothing. They gave us dinner cards for tonight only for 5:30, but we want to eat later so will dine at Horizon Ct.

 

Haven't had a chance to look around; busy unpacking and finding a place for the too much stuff we carry. We will be attending that new Elite/Suite cocktail hour at 5:30 where the drink of the day is a Cosmo for $5.00.

 

To answer a few questions in advance: the Capt. is Mariano Manfuso, CD is Billy Hygate and PSD is Gianfranco Verde.

 

Most important: I am in my cabin. Yes, wifi everywhere. Hooray!

 

Dinner at 5.30 is like having an afternoon snack LOL:D

Glad you are all settled, hopefully feeling well, enjoy!!!

 

Have you been on the Coral before?

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cruiserjanet

cruiserjanet

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Yes, wifi everywhere. Hooray!

 

That is so incredibly awesome!! I'm getting a laptop for Christmas so I will look forward to sitting on the balcony (or couch) during our cruise next year and being able to share the experience live without having to go to the atrium or Internet Cafe. :D

Edited by cruiserjanet
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Kiwi Kruzer

Kiwi Kruzer

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Date Port Arrive Depart

Mon...14/09/09..... Whittier (Anchorage)/Alaska / USA 21:30

Tue...15/09/09...... College Fjord (Passage) / USA 06:00 09:00

Wed..16/09/09.......Glacier Bay/Alaska (Passage) / USA 10:30 20:30

Thu...17/09/09...... Skagway (Alaska) / USA 05:30 20:15

Fri....18/09/09.......Juneau (Alaska) / USA 06:30 16:00

Sat...19/09/09........Ketchikan (Alaska) / USA 10:00 18:00

Sun..20/09/09........At Sea

Mon.21/09/09........Vancouver / Canada 07:30

 

1alaskamap.jpg

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mii

mii

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Pia, glad you are enjoying the Coral. Been on her 6 times and as far as I am concerned it is the best of the fleet. also I noticed the bridge cam when they cruised into College Fjord. Spectacular.

 

Marilyn

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DonahCBrown

DonahCBrown

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Guess I should go look for the cruise portion but will do a quick wrap up of the tour part - we did (Dennis, Mike and I, at least) make the walk down to the river at Kenai - that is really a nice lodge, beautiful spot. Final dinner was a bit of a disaster - never ever heard of serving scallops 'medium rare' (aka not cooked...) and the meat dishes were pretty bad as well. Only the chicken was passable. The waitress didn't help, either - somewhere between defensive and accusatory. We should have had burgers in the bar...looked much better than our dinners

 

That said, the stay was comfortable, the cabin style rooms were very charming, and the setting was spectacular.

 

Bus trip back to Whittier went well, couple of photostops, embarkation, as Pia said, was quick and efficient. Got to our cabin right away, luggage came fairly quickly, but lots of ironing is required, especially of the stuff that was in the 'meet me at the ship' bag - which I pretty much expected - so this am after getting up at the crack of dawn (again) to see College Fjord - extraordinary - I did some ironing before the laundry room got crowded. Tonight is the first formal, so it will be a zoo later on.

 

Off to breakfast now - will check back later.

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Pia1913

Pia1913

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It is a beautifully sunny, but cold, Tuesday morning as we cruise through College Fjord. The naturalist on board is worthless, inasmuch as her narrative is few and far between. About 40 minutes ago, when she did speak, she said have a nice day. Okay. We will.

We went to the Elite Lounge at 5:30 yesterday where they had crudités, shrimp cocktail, assorted cheeses and grilled/marinated veggies. I did have the Cosmo for $5.00; good. Dinner at Horizon Court.

Didn’t go to the welcome aboard show at 10:00PM last night. We watched a movie (Bride Wars) in the cabin and retired early. Up early this AM, but not feeling quite well enough to go to the gym.

A quick rundown of today will include our CC meet and greet at 11:30 and winetasting at 3:00PM. Guess what show is scheduled for tonight. Right. Motor City. We pass. The comedian we didn’t see last night will be on tonight; Scott Wyler. I know the name, though I can’t recall the face. If I remember correctly he was one of the OK comedians. Will advise.

As for the ship,we are not used to the ins and outs of the cabin corridors. I remember them from years ago. Takes a bit getting used to. Any questions? Ask.

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CruzinNoony

CruzinNoony

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Hi Pia,

 

Just found your "live from" yesterday and read the whole thing. It sounds like you and your friends are having a great time. Bob and I did the exact land tour minus Kenai the beginning of May. Loved it all. Our favorite was Copper River. Did you take the shuttle into "town"? There were two small museums, a gas station from the '50's and a wonderful restaurant there (ate there both nights).

 

Hope you are feeling better. M:D

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joand452

joand452

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Pia and Donah,

 

I'm really enjoying your thread. Reminds me of our trip in 2006, where we had one night at the Princess Lodge in Fairbanks, one night at Denali Princess Lodge and two at the Princess Mt. McKinley. Those land tour days are exhausting, but so worth it. Hope to do it again in the near future.

 

Relax on the cruise and feel better soon!

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Pia1913

Pia1913

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Hi Pia,

 

Just found your "live from" yesterday and read the whole thing. It sounds like you and your friends are having a great time. Bob and I did the exact land tour minus Kenai the beginning of May. Loved it all. Our favorite was Copper River. Did you take the shuttle into "town"? There were two small museums, a gas station from the '50's and a wonderful restaurant there (ate there both nights).

 

Hope you are feeling better. M:D

 

Hi Meredith...........

 

Yes, we took the shuttle. Didn't eat in "town" because our meals were included at the lodge. Too bad you didn't get to Kenai. This one is the best.

 

BTW, just lost our first trivia. ;)

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DonahCBrown

DonahCBrown

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Group services or someone on board sort of dropped the ball on our CC meet and greet time and place as it was simultaneous with the trivia, and no one on the CD staff knew about it. Will be consulting with Leanne on the Purser's staff about the upcoming ones for the Vancouver LA and LA FLL legs but the CCers managed it all on their own, staking out a section of the Wheelhouse for the get together. The Captain stopped by and chatted as did the First Purser Admin - all during the LONG trivia - the staffer doing it must have waited a good two minutes between questions! Team who won got 19 out of 20 (and the questions were pretty tough) - our team didn't do so well:o ... no luggage tags for us!!

 

A new twist to the Captain's Welcome Cocktail Party - there is only one, 7:00 to 7:45 PM, and WITH the Champagne Waterfall, and all that is being served is champagne, orange juice, and mimosas - no canapes, no wine, no drinks - interesting to see if this is just Alaska or if it is a new trend.

 

That's it for me, as I need to do a few things before the busy afternoon of wine tasting, afternoon trivia, and getting ready for formal night.

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Pia1913

Pia1913

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Thanks!

 

Scott Wyler would be a definite miss for us. :eek:

 

That bad? I guess I don't remember.

 

We're not doing formal night; may not eat anything at all. Mike doesn't feel up to monkey suiting and the menu is not that great anyway. All this sniffling takes its toll.

 

TTY all tomorrow.

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paul929207

paul929207

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That bad? I guess I don't remember.

 

We're not doing formal night; may not eat anything at all. Mike doesn't feel up to monkey suiting and the menu is not that great anyway. All this sniffling takes its toll.

 

TTY all tomorrow.

Hope you both feel better tomorrow.

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Billy and Charlie's Mum

Billy and Charlie's Mum

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Pia,

 

I am following your thread.

 

Just booked an Asia TA Alaska cruise for 2011 on the Diamond Princess. The Alaskan part is identical to the cruise you are doing now, so am very interested in what you think of it.

 

Please get better, maybe you need a good cup of coffee and a "tim tam slam" :D

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kidder kid

kidder kid

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Pia and Donna -

 

I've enjoyed reading your "Live" post. We have done three Alaska Cruisetours. Kenai is our favorite lodge. Had the best Halibut ever at Copper River and totally loved the Tundra Wilderness tour - did it all three times.

 

I'll keep following your shipboard adventures.

 

Carolyn

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