Trip report: DIY and Southbound Coral

[Naismith]

We just got back from a great trip, that was easier because of what we learned here. I wanted to add a few details that might help others. After we booked the cruise, we had situations with our employment that made us seek budget options for things, so in a sense this is also an answer to another thread about cost of cruisetours vs. independent. At the same time, we were tightly limited on how much time we could take off.

 

First, we answered the question of whether it is possible to do two weeks in Alaska with just carry-on luggage. Our answer was yes, but only if you don't buy anything or ship the purchases home (which is easy to do with USPS flat-rate boxes). We made it to Fairbanks with just a backpack and carry-on rollerboard each. But we came home with an extra duffel bag that had to be checked, and lots of Christmas presents in our suitcases. My husband flew in his blazer that he wore to formal night. We also wore our hiking boots on the plane. For formal night, I had a black skirt and a shawl that matched his tie (tightly rolled up to pack) and black sandals. I had three pair of pants, three long-sleeved poplin shirts, and wore a t-shirt under that. The t-shirt, socks, and underwear were changed daily, and we did laundry halfway through, but the pants and outer shirt were worn for 2-3 days (didn't wear those ship clothes on excursions).

 

Do you need rainpants? My answer was yes. I used them on both glacier-viewing days, as well as the bike ride we did in Skagway. And I had them in the pack on the days we hiked, and would have slipped into them had it rained. One thing I haven't seen, though, is that if you have a pair of long cycling pants or exercise tights, those are much easier to slide under the rain pants. My husband had to pull on rain pants over jeans for excursions, and it was a struggle. I used the breathable Columbia pants which cost about $20.

 

I also vote for hiking boots, if you are going to be hiking. I would not have wanted to do the trails we did in gym shoes. But new hiking boots would not be reliable either, so that is a hard call. I did like my Stanley collapsible hiking pole, which saved me from slipping more than once.

 

One thing: Many here seem to be making air arrangements well in advance, and we did, too. But the risk there is that the flights might change. At one point a few months out, we found ourselves scheduled for a flight home that left before the connecting flight arrived. Nobody had notified us; if I hadn't noticed and called, it could have been bad. And it took a half hour at least to insist that we get home the day we needed to.

 

We flew into Fairbanks and rented a car from Avis. Total cost for a day's rental with taxes and fees, $29. The gas was only $6, because the car turned out to be a Prius. We stayed at the Golden North Motel ($79 per night) which provided a free shuttle back to the hotel after turning in the rental car, then to the railroad the next day. It was a simple old motel, but clean and fine for our basic needs.

 

We had breakfast at Sourdough Sam's, and while the food was as wonderful as others have reported, our service was kind of slow. However, we chatted with a local resident, which made the time fly. He endorsed the riverboat cruise (which we didn't have time for) but panned the gold mine tour. We went up to the pipeline, and I was shocked that it was plain silver metal. In many of those artsy photos, it is blue! Apparently reflecting the sky, but I thought it was some kind of anodized metal. Interesting display. We enjoyed our visit to the Great Alaskan Wooden Bowl Company factory, where one can watch the bowls being turned. I hadn't realized that those nested sets of bowls are all cut from the same piece of wood. I ended up buying a small elliptical bowl. Mine cost $30, and we got to pick from a few dozen on the shelf, each a bit different. Later I saw the same size and shape bowl selling for $49 in Anchorage. We spent a more time at the Morris Thompson Cultural Center than we had anticipated. They have a free museum display that took half an hour, then we walked along the river, including across the footbridge, and took in the First Alaskan Family and Siberian WWII monuments.

 

There are several Thai restaurants in Fairbanks, and we thought it would be a good choice to ensure enough vegetable intake. We had lunch at Lemon Grass Thai. In the afternoon, we went to Creamer's Field migratory wildlife refuge, where there were huge flocks of Sand Hill Cranes and Canadian Geese. Indeed, the Sand Hill Crane festival had been the previous weekend. There were lots of locals there, which we could tell because walking past the long row of parked cars, every one but ours had an electrical cord protruding from the front:) We met a just-retired couple from Minnesota who had been RVing up through Canada to Alaska for two months. They had just come from a week in Denali and mentioned that it was fall there already (which it was, glowing yellow aspens and bright red fireweed).

 

On the UA Fairbanks campus, parking is free after 5ish p.m. and during cruise season the botanical gardens (which is currently having a major construction project) is open until 7 p.m., the Museum of the North until 9 a.m. Amazing museum—we could have spent more time there.

 

In the evening, we stopped by the Fred Meyer store on Airport Way, bought sundries and food for the next day (our hotel had a refrigerator). The food-costing-more-in-Alaska thing did not seem to kick in there yet; we bought a bunch of apples for only $2.29 a pound (which is about what we pay at home), and other things (bottled water) seemed a bargain compared to the price at Denali or on the train.

 

We took the Alaskan Railroad to Denali, the least-expensive frontier class. But it was so uncrowded on that leg that a lot of people moved up to the viewing car and stayed the whole time. Others of us went up there a bit, then back down. The lower seats have tons of leg room, and are wide enough that I could lie down for a nap, which I did. The hostesses provided great commentary and pointed out things as we went along. I have back issues that make sitting for a long time uncomfortable; being able to walk around was perfect (a bus would have been miserable, even though a bit faster).

 

We got in at noon, and were picked up by our lodging. We were staying at the Denali Salmon Bake. Yes, most folks know it as a restaurant across from the Princess Lodge, but they also have a few cabins, both regular cabins that have full amenities, and the budget cabins that are wood-shingled outside, covered with a tarp, and are made of 4-inch foam, with a shared bathroom. But also a price tag of $74 including tax. They are quite close to the park, and offer a free shuttle. Indeed, after we were picked up from the train station, they took us to the restaurant to check in, then drove us up the hill to our cabin (there is a catwalk for walking down, but that's not so good for rolling luggage). And she refused our tip, saying that it was not necessary, that the evening drivers who brought people to the restaurant or other hotels did expect tips from passengers, but we were their guests and the shuttle was part of staying there. We stayed in cabin #11, which was far back and very quiet—we slept very well. But one night I made a bathroom run in the wee hours and did hear talking in another cabin, so I guess it depends. I also wondered about how strong the hasp on the door was, but we had all our valuables with us when we were out.

 

So our first afternoon, we decided to walk to the park, and I'm glad we did because it was the only time we weren't on a deadline or burdened with luggage. Most of the walk is over the river, and it was beautiful. There is a short cut-through path to the Wilderness Access Center where we picked up our Eilson shuttle tickets for the next morning, and then caught a shuttle to the Visitor's Center. We hiked the Mt. Healy Overlook trail, and it was amazing. It gains something like 1,500 ft. of altitude in 2 miles, but offers great views from several places along the trail. I think it took us 4 hours round trip, with stops for photos. We got a shuttle back, and had dinner at the Salmon Bake. They serve roasted veggies with all their entrees, but also a great meal is simply a bowl of their wonderful seafood chowder.

 

Several places in "glitter gulch" offered box lunches for $12, but we ordered from Subway because we knew exactly what we were getting and could customize, and ended up paying less than that. We ordered and paid the night before so that we just walked up to the cash register to pick up our order the next morning—it was ready.

 

We were on the 7:30 green shuttle to Eilson. Our seat neighbors were fanatical wildlife photographers with foot-long lenses and keen eyes. They had made a pilgrimage of visiting all the national parks. Interesting people.

 

A few things that I didn't know about the shuttle busses: While they advertise that you can get off anywhere, in fact the driver is not allowed to drop off within half a mile of a wildlife sighting. And of course there are curves and such where it is unsafe for them to drop off. Also, they want riders to view the bus as like a "blind" for viewing wildlife, which means no noise. When 40 people gasp at once, it really makes a loud sound, so we had to learn not to do that.

 

The shuttle is at Eilson for half an hour. Some people have lunch and turn right around; those who left on a shuttle have first priority for the return trip. If you get off and stay a while longer, there is a dispatch office where you can sign up for a return trip when you are ready (or pay more to go on to Wonder Lake). We were at Eilson for 4 hours, mostly hiking the Alpine Trail Loop across the street from the visitor's center. Great view from the top, and goes through interesting landscape.

 

It was in the late afternoon when we had our best Grizzly sightings, and ran into a bunch of bears not far from the bus. We finally figured out that video works better than stills for catching them in action. We also had an interesting busmate on the way back, a guy who had ridden a bicycle from the Florida panhandle to Alaska, taking 4.5 months. Wow!

 

When we checked out of the cabin on Friday morning, we got a ride to the Visitor's Center. The train station didn't open until 10 a.m., but there is a luggage storage service in the Visitor's Center area, charging $1 per bag for an hour, $3 for 4 hours. So for $3, we dropped all our luggage for an hour, and toured the visitor's center. We were second in line at the train station to pick up our boarding passes and turn in our luggage, and then we had more than two hours. We started down the Horseshoe Trail Loop, and I admit, hiking from the previous days got the better of us. We did get far enough down to see the lake, and see beaver trails.

 

The train left Denali at 12:25. This was a much longer train trip, not arriving in Anchorage until 8 p.m. But again, I napped, walked, viewed from upstairs, and we had an early supper in the dining car.

 

This is really long, I'll have to finish later.

[KruisinKath]

Enjoyed the first part of your review. Can't wait for more!

[happylady]

Can't wait for more...thanks for taking the time to write a review.

[pmjnh]

Nice detail! I am anxious for your next report!

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thank you for all the details. Looking forward to the next installment.

 

We have had all types of air flights happen to us for years -- changed schedules -- dropped flights (even one on the day we arrived at the airport after having printed out the boarding passes). I know to check our flights at least once a month. And we do have to book as soon as we can as there are so few flights from our area to anywhere.

[Naismith]

We spent Friday night in downtown Anchorage at the Ramada. It is quite close to the train station, have a great senior citizen rate for those 55 or older (non-AARP), and include a free shuttle to/from the airport and/or train station as well as a good breakfast (including fruit, oatmeal and waffles). We did laundry that night, because we had heard that one could not do laundry onboard the first few days (which did not seem to be true on our ship). Saturday morning, we walked around downtown and spent a bunch of time at the Anchorage Saturday Market. Like a lot of farmer's markets, they seemed to have strict rules about labeling of what was Alaskan and what was imported. You could still sell the other stuff, but it had to be labelled as such. We bought some trinkets that were being made right there, and enjoyed very much the booth with handmade native flutes. We did buy the CD but wished we had any musical talent; he was amazing. There was a booth devoted entirely to Texas vs. Alaska t-shirts. We also had fried halibut for lunch there--the locals were eating it as well. The market had a long row tables with umbrellas so that the food stayed dry during the drizzle.

 

Also, there is a post office just the other side of 3rd Ave from the Saturday market, a good place to mail off postcards (the ones dropped there seemed to make it home quickest) or pick up a box for mailing home acquisitions.

 

We caught the hotel shuttle to the airport around 1 p.m., where we picked up our bus for Alaska Transfer and Tours. We had chosen to do the 3-hour tour, which has narration and stops a few times, once at the coast and then at a wildlife refuge. For folks who didn't make it up to Denali, that was a great chance to see bears, bison, etc., albeit not in the wild, well worth the extra few dollars and time. (I admit, with the rain and all, I slept during part of that.)

 

It was raining when we got to the ship around 4:30, but embarkation went easily.

 

We loved the Coral Princess. We liked the design of the rooms, that there was the closet area in front of the bathroom door. My husband never woke me up with the light. We had an interior, both for cost and the sleep (and I slept for 9 hours that first night). But we were right near an aft deck, so we could step out every morning and spent time there every evening--that was where we saw our first humpback whales. Throughout the ship, there were lots of spots to sit and look out at the sea. I never felt crowded. One of my favorite places was the Lotus Pool area, which was covered and filled with plants and comfy chairs.

 

I have issues with my body that are kept in check by regular workouts, and was happy that the gym had all the equipment I needed. But apparently the staff uses the same gym, and I found myself there when there were no other passengers, just staff. I didn't know about the protocol, but when some dancers put down the weights I needed on the floor and were using something else, I asked if I could use them. At the gym where I belong, you always rack weights not in use, and if someone is using something else, they should allow you to use them, even if they are between sets. But should paying passengers have priority? I dunno.

 

Our naturalist was Kathy Slamp. Well, I knew that going that late in the year, we would probably not get a college professor, but still. She tells great stories about being a child in Alaska, and her commentary on deck was fine. But I thought it horrible that she spent the first 12-15 minutes of every talk selling her book. We stopped going after the second one, because we didn't want to sit through it, nor walk in late. I didn't have a problem with her selling them after, nor spending up to a minute selling them, but the amount of time that she was taking was way over the top. Since we had chosen Princess because of the naturalist, this was a disappointment.

 

Hubbard Glacier was wonderful. Lots of calving. We got up to within 1/2 mile away. We didn't start pulling away until 5:40, and then we went out on our aft deck to watch it fade away. FYI, early dining was at 5:30, so we were almost alone on deck toward the end. But we were there for the glaciers, so we just ate at the buffet.

 

Glacier Bay was not as happy for us, due to inclement weather. It was raining even more, and nasty cold. We got fairly close at Margerie, but no calving that I saw, and we did not pull up to Hopkins, even though I thought it was past the seal calving season. But of course there were many other glaciers along the way. And it just proved the importance of having two days of glacier viewing on the itinerary, to increase your chances.

 

We were off the boat in Skagway by 8 a.m., and went straight to the public library to use the free wifi to check on some things with college financial aid. It was a nice walk, off the beaten path. They don't open until noon, but the wifi is active, and strongest out back, which also has an overhang if it is raining.

 

If you need stamps to mail off postcards, buy them at a gift shop in town--we got ours at the railroad station shop. The post office itself had long lines of people mailing packages and no self-serve machines. They have mail runs twice a day by air through Juneau.

 

Skagway does not have a pharmacy (locals told us they mostly use mail order) but the IGA on 4th has a decent selection of OTC products, at not-too-outrageous prices.

 

We stopped at the Skagway museum, and thanks for the person who posted a picture, so that I recognized what it was from blocks away. A nice half-hour there for $2 per person.

 

I don't know if I should bother to mention our excursions, because they aren't popular with most folks. In Skagway, 4 people from our ship (and 6 from another) did the Summit-to-Sea bike ride. They take you up to the summit in a van, doing commentary on the way, which was very good and explained some things you don't always hear. Apparently there are 600 households who live in the Skagway area year-round, but they take their vacations during winter so there are only about 400 families at any given time. They have 67 students in the local school, and three graduated this May. Only three of the jewelry stores are owned by locals. The rent on the historic district shops that are owned by the park service range from $10,000 to $40,000 per month.

 

We loved the trip down. It was so wonderful being out in that scenery with no glass between you and the panorama. People have raised concerns about safety, but they have a guide at the front and back, communicating by radio and waving motorized traffic around us. The tour company supplied rainpants and jackets. I commute by bicycle, so it was no problem, although I did have to run the brakes more than usual, so some hand strength is necessary. I think people who don't cycle regularly had more of a struggle. There were a few stretches where we did have to ride uphill, but the gears made it no problem for most of us. Some people walked that stretch. It stopped raining somewhere in there, so we rode down into a sunny afternoon. However, later when we set out to go hiking, it was raining again. Oh, well.

 

That night the buffet had a German night, with pork schnitzel, all kinds of wurst, spaetzle, and both Black Forest Cherry Cake and Linzer Torte (which I thought was Austrian?). So we ate there.

 

In Juneau, we rented a car from National, which is right by the AJ dock, a 15-minute walk from the tramway where we were docked. Our rental cost was just under $50, a discount for being in their loyalty program. It turned out to be a sunny day, so we were glad to have the car. We went out to the glacier, and were disappointed that the trail to Nugget Falls was flooded. Would have needed high rain boots to get by. But we drove around the lake to see it from all views, from the camping loop and also from as far as we could drive on the West.

 

Then we drove out to the Shrine of St. Therese, which was beautiful. Also, there was a creek with salmon making their way up. We went as far as Eagle Beach, had a picnic, and made our way back to town. At the Alaska State Museum, there was a parking lot with designated spots, but the rest of downtown was congested. It was a relief to turn the car in.

 

Our ship left early, with a 3:30 p.m. all-aboard, so we did formal night, since we had anytime dining. However, if we didn't know already, it wasn't clear that it was formal night. The menu posted said "Captain's Gala Dinner." There was also a sign listing appropriate attire for formal and smart casual. There was nothing in the patter saying formal night, except notes about photography opportunities. But nothing connecting the dots that Gala=formal. I wonder how much of the inappropriate dress comes from Princess not being clear about expectations?

 

We showed up at 5:50 p.m., and were the first ones seated. It took about 15 minutes for our table to fill and be able to order. The plus was that we got to sit by the window. But we were there 1.5 hours. Also, it was not pleasant because in the initial where-are-you-from exchanges, it came out that my husband happens to work for a government agency that one of our tablemates doesn't think should exist, and she was very clear about it. We didn't want to spoil things for the others by walking out, but it was a long 45 minutes until we could leave, and we tried very hard to bring up other topics and put it behind us. And we didn't go back to the dining room again.

 

In Ketchikan it was raining. We knew it probably would be:) Our excursion there was the 2-hour sea kayaking. We were the only ones who had signed up. They supplied us with waterproof pants and jacket, and tucked a kayak skirt around us. We were out there in the channel with the big boats, circling islands, chugging through the seaweed. We waited for motor boats to pass, and there weren't too many float planes because of the poor visibility. Our guide pointed out a nearby island. He says they have a schoolboat to bring kids in for class in the morning. The houses don't have wells; they collect and purify rainwater, which is abundant. Fascinating, and a great workout.

 

We went shopping for a while after that, and made it back to the boat on time.

 

The next day was a sea day, and we enjoyed the galley tour and navigation talk. The chef said that they do pick up seafood in Ketchikan, but all the other foodstuffs are onloaded in Vancouver. They process and freeze their own fish for later use, and we saw three big halibut sitting out in the kitchen.

 

We had asked for early self-service departure, and were off in Vancouver by 7:45. We walked a few blocks up to the Sky Train, which was very easy with a series of elevators for our luggage. We used a credit card to buy the tickets, and made sure it was one without an international transaction fee. We did spend a solid 30 minutes in line for US immigration, which was the longest line by far. But we were still there in plenty of time for our 11:30 a.m. flight.

[pmjnh]

Nice conclusion to your report. We are also renting a car from National in Juneau, and in Skagway as well.

Good info about formal night...just how formal is formal, by the way?

Regarding the "political" stuff at dinner....why can't people just keep politics out of conversations , especially when they have just met someone for the first time..I just don't get that. That can be a huge turn off. Sorry you felt uncomfortable with that, for good reason, for sure.

[mlmalone3]

thanks for the review! We are looking forward to the Coral next summer!