Just returned from Alaska S/B Coral Princess 6/18 - 6/25

[YVR_cruise_lover]

We have just returned from a southbound cruise on Coral Princess from Whitter to Vancouver from June 18 – 25. I have received a lot of information from CC, so I thought I would make a little contribution this time by sharing my experience and pictures with everybody. Note that this is not a review of Coral Princess. With the exception of the first and last day, the weather was really nice. Weather does make a huge difference when cruising in Alaska.

 

I am still in the process of sorting out over 1,000 pictures that I took. A sample of them can be found in the following link:

https://picasaweb.google.com/104336219006579169585/Alaska2012?authuser=0&feat=directlink

 

Background: This was our 12th cruise, and the fourth one with Princess. We live in Vancouver, and have been to Alaska 2 times before, but never been to Glacier Bay. We were on our own for the whole time, and did not take any excursion. Therefore I have no info on any excursion.

Pre-Cruise: We flew from Vancouver to Anchorage one day before cruise, and stayed in a B&B place. Walked around downtown for a while, not too much to see.

 

Day 1 Whittier: Took the bus from Alaska Cruise Transfer from Anchorage to Whittier. Arrived at the pier around 3 p.m. Embarkation was fast and hassle free.

 

Day 2 Hubbard Glacier: Shower in the morning, but changed to overcast when we arrived at Hubbard Glacier in the afternoon. It was nice to see the glacier, but was a bit overshadowed by what we saw in Glacier Bay the following day.

 

Day 3 Glacier Bay: Cloudy in the morning, but changed to very nice weather when we arrived at Glacier Bay. Very beautiful and truly amazing! Not to be missed.

 

Day 4 Skagway: Walked around town for a while. Not much to write.

 

Day 5 Juneau: Took the blue bus to Mendenhall Glacier. Round trip $16. Very efficient and fast. Walked to Nugget Fall from the visitor center. The glacier and the fall are not to be missed, well worth the 20 – 25 minutes walk. Went back to town afterwards, and used the free wi-fi provided by the public library close to the pier.

 

Day 6 Ketchikan: Another day with gorgeous weather. Walked to Creek street and around town. Wanted to walk to the Totem Heritage Center, but decided to turn back as it was getting too warm. Didn’t know T-shirt and shorts are necessary in Alaska.

 

Day 7 at sea: Overcast for the entire day, but nobody really cared as we had our fair share of nice weather!

 

Day 8 Vancouver: Arrived early in the morning under brilliant sunshine. Debarkation was again very fast. Unfortunately this was the end of a very enjoyable trip to Alaska.

[erewhon]

Thank you for this report of your Alaskan cruise.

[vbmom87]

Thank you for posting your review. It was good to hear you enjoyed your cruise.

 

Do you know how close you got to Hubbard Glacier? Like you, we thought Hubbard was nice, but nothing in comparison to Glacier Bay. However, there are some who are blown away by the size of Hubbard and find Glacier Bay to lack anything as impressive. We all have different preferences.

[Keith1010]

Thanks you for taking the time to write and post your review.

 

Keith

[pmjnh]

Beautiful photos.

We will be on the Coral Princess in just a couple of weeks. Can you give a review of the ship when you have some time?

 

Thank you

[jajsmom]

Day 1 Whittier: Took the bus from Alaska Cruise Transfer from Anchorage to Whittier

 

How was this? And did you do the direct transfer or the three hour tour? We're ding the three hour tour with them in reverse next month, and I've found very few reviews. Thanks.

[JaniceB]

Thanks for the link to your beautiful photos.

[YVR_cruise_lover]

We took the direct transfer as we wanted to get to the ship as soon as possible. We got picked up at the hotel at the specified time at about 12:45 pm (about 10 minutes late, but that was expected). It was a medium size bus for about 20-30 people. The bus then went around town and the airport to pick up other passengers, and was on the way to the pier at Whittier around 1:30 pm. The bus just made the tunnel opening around 2:30 pm, and was at the pier soon after. Apparently the one-way tunnel is open in certain direction at some fixed time. There was a recorded narration along the route, but the driver also added some additional comments.

 

In general it was a stress free trip with no surprise. I would recommend it to anybody.

[geoherb]

Thanks for posting your review and link to your gorgeous photos. We'll be doing a similar itinerary on the Sapphire Princess in August. It looks like you had great weather.

[YVR_cruise_lover]

Thank you for posting your review. It was good to hear you enjoyed your cruise.

 

Do you know how close you got to Hubbard Glacier? Like you, we thought Hubbard was nice, but nothing in comparison to Glacier Bay. However, there are some who are blown away by the size of Hubbard and find Glacier Bay to lack anything as impressive. We all have different preferences.

 

We must be at least 4-5 miles from Hubbard Glacier. The ship couldn't get closer as there were lots of ice. Hubbard Glacier is huge, but my personal preference is still the ones at Glacier Bay. I also think the weather made the difference as the sun was out when we were at Glacier Bay.

[lorilea]

Thanks for posting the link for your pictures! It looks like you had some beautiful sunny weather!

[YVR_cruise_lover]

Thanks for posting the link for your pictures! It looks like you had some beautiful sunny weather!

 

I think we lucked out as far as the weather is concerned :). I don't know whether the weather is always like that during the summer months or not. Also the sun didn't set until after 10 pm when we were there, and it was nice to walk around the deck after dinner or show.

[vbmom87]

We must be at least 4-5 miles from Hubbard Glacier. The ship couldn't get closer as there were lots of ice. Hubbard Glacier is huge, but my personal preference is still the ones at Glacier Bay. I also think the weather made the difference as the sun was out when we were at Glacier Bay.

 

Thank you. We did get within a half mile of Hubbard (August). We also preferred Glacier Bay to Hubbard. I know many like the massive Hubbard, but I preferred the all day sailing experience in Glacier Bay. What makes the Princess SB itinerary so worthwhile, is you get to see both. Hubbard is always iffy because of icing early in the season. However, later in the season you can run into fog. This is why I don't like itineraries that go to just Hubbard if someone has a priority of seeing glaciers on their Alaska cruise.

[JoRoy218]

Pmjnh: we were on Coral last Sept. and LOVED that ship!!! Not that we've been on dozens of ships like others here, but we enjoyed the relatively smaller size and never really felt crowded or "cattle call" environment like on others. They're very organized in getting you off ship in a timely manner. Would do that cruise again in a hot minute! Enjoy your trip!

[Phalst]

Great photos! Thanks for posting. We will be cruising on the Sapphire this August. Can't wait.

[YVR_cruise_lover]

Beautiful photos.

We will be on the Coral Princess in just a couple of weeks. Can you give a review of the ship when you have some time?

 

Thank you

 

I have posted a review of Coral Princess. The link is:

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=104940

 

I would be happy to answer any questions.

[InternetAgeTraveler]

I've been compiling time lapse video of Alaska Cruises for the last 3 years and the Coral has the best webcam and itinerary. I have posted this cruise and while I know it's not the same as being there, if you want to relive it in just 2 minutes, check out the link below.

 

 

Description from Coral Princess, June 2012 at

A time lapse of the Coral Princess, June 18th 2012, Whittier Southbound. One of the best cruises of the season so far, the weather started out perfect in Whittier but the first sea day had a lot of low clouds and I am sure some people were worried. However as it approached Yakutat Bay, the weather improved and Hubbard Glacier viewing was good. The next day in Glacier Bay, it started out cloudy but the clouds started to give way at just the right time and as the day progressed, the views were terrific.

 

The good weather followed this cruise for the rest of the week for stops in Skagway, Juneau, and Ketchikan. A few clouds on the final sea day were nothing to dampen the finale of the Inside Passsage east of Vancouver Island finishing in a perfect day Vancouver at sunrise.

[pmjnh]

YVR,

Thank you for your thorough reviews. Do recall what times the gym was open in the morning? I am a very early riser :)

We sail in one week!:D

 

Thank you JoRay, great to hear!

[YVR_cruise_lover]

I've been compiling time lapse video of Alaska Cruises for the last 3 years and the Coral has the best webcam and itinerary. I have posted this cruise and while I know it's not the same as being there, if you want to relive it in just 2 minutes, check out the link below.

 

 

Description from Coral Princess, June 2012 at

A time lapse of the Coral Princess, June 18th 2012, Whittier Southbound. One of the best cruises of the season so far, the weather started out perfect in Whittier but the first sea day had a lot of low clouds and I am sure some people were worried. However as it approached Yakutat Bay, the weather improved and Hubbard Glacier viewing was good. The next day in Glacier Bay, it started out cloudy but the clouds started to give way at just the right time and as the day progressed, the views were terrific.

 

The good weather followed this cruise for the rest of the week for stops in Skagway, Juneau, and Ketchikan. A few clouds on the final sea day were nothing to dampen the finale of the Inside Passsage east of Vancouver Island finishing in a perfect day Vancouver at sunrise.

 

Thanks very much for posting the video. It allows me to relive the wonderful time we had while cruising Alaska. The beautiful sunny weather allowed me to take some wonderful shots which I am sure will be forever memorable. Glacier Bay is by far the most pretty, and definitely not to be missed.

 

Thanks again for taking the time to generate the video.

[YVR_cruise_lover]

YVR,

Thank you for your thorough reviews. Do recall what times the gym was open in the morning? I am a very early riser :)

We sail in one week!:D

 

Thank you JoRay, great to hear!

 

The gym opens from 6 am to 10 pm. As the sun rises very early during this time of the year, I imagine a walk around the deck would also be nice (assuming it is not raining). I definitely enjoyed the walk after dinner watching the sunset after 10 pm.

 

I have the PrincessPatter for the entire cruise if you need more info.

[pmjnh]

Thank you..would it be possible to scan and post. The Patter? I would love to get a preview.

[YVR_cruise_lover]

Thank you..would it be possible to scan and post. The Patter? I would love to get a preview.

 

I have scanned and posted the Princess Patter from Jun 18 - Jun 24 at the end of my photo album. Don't have the Jun 25 disembarkation Patter - forgot to take.

 

The link is:

https://picasaweb.google.com/1043362...eat=directlink

[pmjnh]

Thank you so much for posting the Patter. It is very helpful to get a preview and some idea of what to expect. It has been over 20 years since our last cruise.

Your photos are beautiful. It looks like your weather was perfect! Keeping my fingers crossed for good weather as well!

[Kreader]

Hi, Thanks for the very nice review,and the great pictures! I am going on a B2B Coral Princess cruise starting July 23rd,2012. Question-Since I have an inside cabin like you had, how comfortable or,uncomfortable were the beds? Also what were the best food items you ate on this cruise? Hope you will be kind enough to answer these questions! Thanks in advance,Kendra

[vjblk]

Thanks for the review!

 

How was the trail to Nugget Falls at Mendenhall? We're thinking of doing this if the trail isn't too difficult.