Coral Princess photo and video review

[Bimmer09]

This time I am going to show the video first and follow it with still photos.

 

I can't give a URL as it has too many underscores and that corrupts the address when the link is underlined.

 

Go to youtube....search for...

 

Coral Princess Taku Glacier helicopter landing

and it should show up immediately.

 

Let me know if you have issues.

 

Enjoy!

 

Norris

[cruiserdru]

Thank you, Norris. This was an excursion we were unable to take when we were there in 2009 and your video certainly helped to fill the gap. Keep up the good work.

 

Have to say I kept waiting for the surface to open up and swallow up all of you.

[cherrybear]

Wonderful reveiw, thank you.

[enidcruiser]

Such great video. I could not see how it would ever be smooth enough for you to land. Such deep crevices all the way up. What a great experience. I felt like I was riding right along with you. Thanks.

[gottagoacruzn]

Hey, I liked the pictures of Alaska, they make me wanna go again.:) Alaska sure is beautiful, been up there several times.

 

Virginia

[Bimmer09]

Such great video. I could not see how it would ever be smooth enough for you to land. Such deep crevices all the way up. What a great experience. I felt like I was riding right along with you. Thanks.

 

I was wondering about the landing zone too on the way there once I saw how broken up the face was but once landed we couldn't see the other helicopter that appears in shots just before we touched down. It was in a hollow. We could walk where we were but I was trying to imagine making it on foot to the sea, up and over those hundreds of folds and fissures in the ice. Not a place to find yourself trapped on in pre-helicopter days.

 

It was silent once the rotor stopped and when no one was talking. There was no wind and apart from us-no sign of what century we were in or planet we were on.

 

I had picked the excursions and ran them by Carol, who was game, based on the premise that we might never be in Alaska again (LOL) so ,given the experiences we were having $600 seemed fair and worth it. Plus we love riding in helicopters. We were surprised that we took off in rain and mist with low cloud but all of that just added to the atmosphere of adventure.

 

Thanks to all the new names/faces who have commented on the video- I hope you will keep visiting as this epic unfolds.

 

Norris

[Bimmer09]

Some photos from the helicopter trip, culled from both of our cameras...

 



 



 



 

 

 

[Bimmer09]

 



 



 

[Bimmer09]

 



 



 

 

 

[Bimmer09]

On the flight back to Juneau I rode in the front seat but my camcorder battery was running low so I took photos.

 



 

Ships below us

 



 



 

[Bimmer09]

Back on the ground at the Era base and ready for the ride back to the ship.

We had a quick turnaround to accomplish back on the Coral. Bathroom breaks were planned and also I had to pick up my new Canon battery that had been in the charger while we were gone.

 



 

Next up: Harv n Marv whale watching.

[lovelearnteach]

Thank-you so much for the review, I'm loving it so far, can't wait to hear and see more :)!

[Bimmer09]

I was looking through the photo folders for the days ahead and came across the Motherlode...floatplane flight over Misty Fjords near Ketchikan. I managed to trim the photos down to 90 (yikes).

 

Where's the Coral? Well there are about 60 shots of the ship still to come as once we left Ketchikan there were no more excursions so I turned my attention to the fabulous ship we were sailing on. I'll tell you all I can remember about her, nearly two years later.

 

Then there is the coast of B.C, Vancouver, a float plane to Victoria and an afternoon of photographing Butchart Gardens.

 

So, maybe 250 photos, some video- including the best band I have seen on a ship to date.

 

Norris

[czst17]

Norris,

I followed your Diamond review earlier this year- since I will be on her in Sept. but I'm also glad to be following you on this cruise. Ship is different but some of the ports are the same. Your photos and videos are great. Thanks for taking the time to share your fabulous trip with all of us.

Kathie

[Bimmer09]

Norris,

I followed your Diamond review earlier this year- since I will be on her in Sept. but I'm also glad to be following you on this cruise. Ship is different but some of the ports are the same. Your photos and videos are great. Thanks for taking the time to share your fabulous trip with all of us.

Kathie

 

Thanks, Kathie- I am glad you read the Diamond review. It was my first photo/video effort and a good learning experience. The Coral review is my third with photos and after this, probably in the fall I will tie up the loose ends and do a similar job on the Crown, which was my 2nd Princess cruise. Reason being is that I saw that I had all these photos and videos at home and wanted to share them before I move to my next cruises- Royal in Jan 2014 and then Ocean Princess in Sept 2014. With those I won't be looking so far back as I did with the Diamond and Coral and they will both be with my new Canon camera.

 

Meantime I am off to San Francisco in a month, to scatter a beloved lady's ashes in SF Bay (Carol's mother) and then in August we go to our favorite country-Germany- for opera. None of those can I share on CC.

 

I have some stunning photos to upload in the morning. I can't wait!

 

Norris,

in Michigan

[Bimmer09]

I found out about Harv n Marv Whale watching from reading CC and booked them via e mail. I wanted a small boat experience as I knew there were boats there that carried 120 people and I didn't want to be in a crowd at the rail, taking photos through the gaps between heads.

 

My e mails were light-hearted and humorous and Danielle who responded from H and M ran with the jokes so I felt in good hands.

 

New camcorder battery installed and bathroom breaks taken on the ship we met the van on the dock and drove through the Juneau drizzle the 25 minute trip to scenic Auck Bay harbor. Cap'n Tony helped us aboard. It was the two of us and a family with two teenage daughters from the Zaandam.

 

Out to sea we went.

 

The boat had shelter and a toilet. There were snacks and bottled water and binoculars for our use. Tony was an easy-going ,friendly salt-of-the-earth.

 



 

When I turned on my camcorder and looked in the view screen my heart sank as it told me "the battery is not recognized"....in short I had no power. As my battery from the helicopter had only a minute or two left I decided to save the power for something worthwhile-like a whale breaching by the boat. Fat chance!

 

In my experience of two whale expeditions the whales are usually seen a long way off and you can get a photo of a fin, air from a blowhole and then a tail up in the air. Those are all good and you can consider the trip a success. They are not performing whales just mammals going about their business of trying to find something to eat while swimming. So here are a few pics we managed to get.

 



 

Bigger boats nearby

 



 

[Bimmer09]

 

In my Diamond Princess photo/video review (search by clicking on my screen name) there are a lot of whale photos and some video of bizarre whale behavior.

 

At one point on this morning we stopped the engine and let the other boats get some distance away. We had been chasing after each spout of vapor that rose from the sea. We just sat and chatted,used the toilet, ate Fritos or scanned the sea with binocs.

 

I was talking to Tony in the cabin when I suddenly felt pressure under the boat and looking out the window we saw a humpback whale leap out of the water 15 feet away. Tony estimated that it was about 40 feet nose to tail. It was in the air for maybe two seconds, the tail closest to us and when it hit the water again the splash sent the small boat rocking from side to side.

 

I remember it vividly-which is a good thing as not one of us had a camera ready! A humpback breaching! Tony had never seen one breach this close to a boat before and he spent his summer days doing this.

 

The other boats got on the radio to ask Tony if we were ok as they saw the event from a distance and the whale was so close to the boat.

 

We were all elated and even though we went to get a close up of seals on a rock later and then came close to a beach to look at some eagles nesting, they paled in comparison to seeing a whale that close and feel the power of it's weight hitting the water beside us. I will never forget it.

 

Back at the harbor we tipped Tony and thanked him for a great 3 hours on the water. We stopped at Mendenhall Glacier on the way back to the ship. It was drizzling and misty.

 

One year later...when booking Harv n Marv again on our Diamond P cruise I asked for cap'n Tony's boat only to be told that since we last shook hands with him he had died. He was maybe 40 years old. R.I.P Tony.

[Bimmer09]

Back on the Coral we were hungry and took afternoon tea-a Princess tradition-in the Bordeaux. There were a couple of musicians playing which added to the elegant atmosphere. Good strong tea and plenty of tasty sandwiches, cakes and cookies. My notes say it was another Formal Night and that we were back in Sabatini's for dinner, so we didn't have to dress-up.

 

Before then we had the sail away and as we were the first ship to leave (at 4 p.m) I took some photos of the ships we were leaving behind and might never see again.

 



 

Now we saw a ship that wasn't there when we went whale-watching. A beautiful

member of the Princess family. The Sapphire.

 



 



 

[Bimmer09]

 

It was when I took this shot of the stern that I said to Carol "wow-look at those cabins on the stern-what a great view they must have at sea". The Coral didn't have any stern cabins.

 



 

"Those big long balconies must be suites, wouldn't it be great to sit out there and watch the wake?" I said to Carol. She agreed.

 



 



 

We thanked Juneau for an amazing day and sailed away.

[Bimmer09]

After another excellent dinner in Sabatini's we went our seperate ways as Carol wanted to see a juggler perform and I was happy to spend some time in Churchill's with a beer and cigarette and catch up with some of my friends there. Some had just gone ashore with no particular plan and wandered around in the drizzle, shopping. They asked what I had done in port....I had an audience as I recounted my day.

 

Up on the pool deck later, taking one last stroll there were more people at MUTS but I didn't linger as we had another action-packed day to follow. Before bed I leaned over the railing on Promenade deck and my head was filled with images of the Sapphire Princess....those aft cabins, what appeared to be a long panoramic bar tucked behind the funnel and a Promenade deck that went right up to the bow of the ship with a roof over it....all features the Coral lacked. I wanted to sail on a ship just like the Sapphire.

 

Upon waking we were nearing Ketchikan and the town was bathed in sunlight.

It was going to be a 75 degree day and there would be no rain!

 

On the approach we passed by marinas teeming with boats and on the dockside against the sea wall I saw a familiar sight...the Cornelia Marie crab boat from Deadliest Catch, one of our favorite tv programs. So small, yet it sails through furious seas in the dead of winter. R.I.P Captain Phil Harris.

 

Ketchikan is the prettiest Alaskan port we have seen so far....

 



 



 

[Bimmer09]

I'll run the video first then do the story and photos in another post.

I edited it to half its' length due to excessive reflections on the window and a desire to keep it short (ish) and sweet.

 

No commentary as it was noisy and we were communicating through headphones/mics.

 

Hope you enjoy the ride!

 

Norris

 

[lovelearnteach]

Wow that was amazing, thank-you for letting me tag along :eek::rolleyes::D:).

[Bimmer09]

Our Misty Fjords flight was with a company called Island Wings that I found by a google search. I e-mailed back and forth during the booking process and Michelle responded- it turned out she was also the pilot.

 

We were 10 minutes late meeting her driver on the dock. The ship had pulled into port late and when we went down to go ashore there was a line of people stretching from the piazza back to Club Fusion where we joined it. Maybe 500 people ahead of us.

 

The lateness lead to a vote (in the air) as to whether we should land again on a lake and take off (fun) or just stay longer in the air and see more fjords. A unanimous vote kept us aloft. We sat in the back of the plane. I juggled between shooting video and taking photos.

 

I'll let the photos speak for themselves. I think the cost was $250 each and the flight lasted 90 minutes.

 

 



 



 



 



 

[Bimmer09]

 



 

This is a famous rock seen from above. So famous I can't remember its' name.

If I find out later I'll share it.

 



 



 



 

[Bimmer09]