Pictorial review of the Coral Princess 5/24/14

[Eileen G]

We had a wonderful cruise on the Coral Princess. I did a live on board which can be found here: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2047429

 

Now that I have gone through my hundreds of pictures I though I would do a pictorial review here on the Alaska board. We flew into Anchorage on May 20 at 8:30PM and stayed at the Microtel a few miles from the Airport. This is my 6th trip to Alaska so we were only doing a few days pre cruise.

 

On Wednesday we took a drive along the Old Glen Highway to Palmer.

 

This road goes along two rivers and through farm country.

 

From Palmer we road up to Independence mine which hadn't opened for the season yet.

 

 

Hatcher pass leads up from Independence mine but was also still closed so we decided to hike up to see how far we could get before we hit snow.

 

The road was covered in snow about a mile up.

 

We road back down and headed over to Wasilla which has grown unbelievably since I was last there in 2008. Back in Anchorage we stopped at the fish hatchery. We also went to the Wild West Gun Store where they film a reality show my husband likes to watch. The weather was beautiful.

[Eileen G]

Thursday morning we headed to Seward. The drive along Turnagain Arm is really beautiful. Unfortunately a fire is Soldotna caused quite a haze so the views weren't that good. Just passed Potter Marsh we saw a moose.

 

 

We drove to Portage Glacier and took the hike to Byron Glacier. We have done this hike twice and really enjoy it.

 

 

There is a great snow field that you can play around on.

 

 

 

 

The hike is about 1 mile or more depending how far you go beyond the end of the trail. It is a flat trail with little elevation change.

[Eileen G]

The drive to Seward is surrounded by mountains almost the whole way. This was our third trip to Seward. it is one of my favorite Alaska towns.

 

 

There is a great harbor and you can watch the fishermen bring in their catch.

 

 

 

There is a great camping area right on the water. They don't build any buildings on the water because of the tsunami threat. The entire town was destroyed by a tsunami and fire after the great earthquake in the 1960's.

 

 

Resurrection Bay

 

 

Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, and HAL sail out of Seward. This is the Radiance of the Seas.

Edited June 5, 2014 by Eileen G

[KirkNC]

Thanks for the report.

[Eileen G]

While in Seward we always stop at Exit Glacier. We were surprised how much it has receded since we were last there in 2007. It is still a great glacier to get up close to. You just can't really get close enough to touch it like you used to.

 

 

 

In 2007 the glacier used to stick out from behind the big rock. It was about 20 feet tall. Now it is back in the glacier valley and you can't get to it due to the river of melted ice coming from the glacier.

 

 

 

Now you have to hike a trail to overlook it.

 

 

Since it was before Memorial Day the visitors center was not open yet. During the summer there is a shuttle bus to take you from Seward to Exit Glacier. There are some wonderful old buildings some of which are gift stores. There are also many murals around town.

[Eileen G]

The next day we drove back to Anchorage and most of the haze was gone so we got some nice pictures along Turnagain Arm.

 

 

 

 

 

The train follows along the road so you get a lot of the same views.

[Eileen G]

When we arrived back in Anchorage it was such a nice day we decided to drive up to the Flat Top Mountain trail head. We didn't do the hike but the view over Anchorage was good. On a real clear day you can see Denali. It wasn't that clear however.

 

 

we spent the night at a B&B on the south side of Anchorage.

 

 

This is the view from the B&B. In the morning we couldn't even see the mountains. We were real glad we went to Flat Top the day before.

 

[margob111]

Thanks for the pictures. Can't wait to see more. I was on that cruise as well as doing some stff on our own and a land tour prior to the cruise.

[Keith1010]

This is great. Thanks for taking the time to post all of this.

 

Keith

[Eileen G]

May 24th the day we board the ship. We decided to take the Princess transfer to the ship so we had more flexibility during the day. We could take any bus between 12 and 4 at the airport. The busses left on the hour. The owner of the B&B fixed a wonderful breakfast of crab quiche, pancakes, scrambled eggs and reindeer sausage. After breakfast we went downtown Anchorage to the outdoor market. There were a lot of Alaska craftsmen who spend the winter making their craft and then sell them at the market all summer. We had a very relaxing morning. We spent a lot of time talking to the people who live in Alaska. From the B&B owner to a lot of the craftsmen at the market we enjoyed hearing their Alaska stories. We also went to the ulu factory which is very close by. After a quick lunch we headed to the airport to return the car and catch the 2:00 transfer bus.

 

The bus to Whittier goes back along Turnagain Arm but we didn't mind driving along there again since the scenery is so beautiful. The bus driver gave a little tour and even stopped at Portage Lake right before the tunnel so we could take pictures.

 

 

The tunnel to Whittier is one way and also shared with the train. So everyone has to wait their turn.

 

 

The train tracks are in the middle of the road and the cars and busses drive over it.

 

 

As soon as you come out of the tunnel you see your cruise ship.

[Eileen G]

I don't understand why so many people say that Whittier is ugly. I thought it was very pretty. It looked a bit like Seward. It was developed by the army during WW11 as a secrete base. since it rains over 300 days a year it is under cloud cover most of the time and the Japanese never did find it.

 

 

The building in the distance is where most of Whittier's residents live.

 

 

There is a nice walkway to the harbor.

 

 

There are numerous waterfalls in the mountains around Whittier.

[hollon]

Thanks for the pictures, pls keep them coming - can you please take pictures of your cabin and around the ship - thanks for taking out the time to post

[Eileen G]

The ship sails at 8PM after the last trains arrives. It's a short walk from the train to the cruise terminal.

 

 

It is still light out when the ship sails and there is some great scenery.

 

 

You even get to see your first glacier.

 

[Eileen G]

The first day on the Coral we visited Hubbard Glacier. We did not get very close to the glacier but we did get to see some seals.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Coral Princess has a fantastic back deck where we spent a lot of time.

 

[Eileen G]

Our second day was Glacier Bay. We were lucky to have a beautiful sunny day. It takes a few hours sailing past beautiful scenery to get to the glaciers.

 

 

 

 

 

[Eileen G]

 

 

 

[Eileen G]

Our first port of call was Skagway where we rented a car to drive to the Yukon. We rented from Sourdough rental for a flat fee of $80. We had a PT Cruiser with 150,000 miles on it but it ran great. Ot was a little cloudy and there was still haze from the fires in Soldotna so we didn't take pictures of the mountains. We saw several waterfalls and lots of lakes.

In the first picture you can see the track of the RR at the top of the picture.

 

 

 

Edited June 6, 2014 by Eileen G

[Eileen G]

After driving back from the Yukon we also drove to Dyea where we spotted a grizzly bear enjoying lunch.

 

 

We took a walking tour of what is left of Dyea which isn't much.

 

 

No kidding that's really it. It was a very pretty walk in the rainforest though.

 

There is an overlook you can stop at above Skagway to see the ships.

 

 

I used to live in NY and we had lilacs in our yard and I always loved them. Now I live in Florida and they don't grow here so I had to take this picture.

[mapleleaves]

such wonderful photos .... thanks so much for sharing !

[Eileen G]

Our second port was Juneau. We also rented a car and drove to Mendenhall. it is always best to go to Mendenhall first to avoid the crowds. We took the walk to Nugget Falls.

 

 

 

There were plenty of people willing to take your picture in front of the falls.

 

There are a lot of ice bergs floating in the lake.

 

 

I thought this one looks like an airplane.

 

We also saw a beaver on the shore of the lake.

 

[Eileen G]

After Mendenhall we went over to Douglas Island to the Treadwell Mine Historic Site. I had printed a walking tour so we would know what we were looking at. A lot of the ruins were overgrown with the rain forest.

 

 

One good thing about the mine was that the tailings were made into a beach.

 

 

You could see Juneau across the water.

 

[gagenie]

Love the pictures!! Thank you for sharing!!:)

[ntvsdgrl]

I'm enjoying your photos so much. I was there last September and going back again next July. This brings my trip back to me again and just how beautiful Alaska is.

 

I have to ask, with all the hiking you do, isn't there a risk of running into bears? I want to do more hiking next year when I go, but that's my biggest fear. After hearing what happened to that woman a week and a half ago that was out jogging and ran into a bear that tossed her around until she played dead. I would love to get some great photos of bears but really don't want to shake hands with one.

[cr8tiv1]

I was also on your cruise (May 13-May 31). Thank you for your wonderful photos. I was in Dyea the week before (around that same time with a ranger walking tour) and did not see "the bear". I enjoyed your review and review with photos.

[Eileen G]

I'm enjoying your photos so much. I was there last September and going back again next July. This brings my trip back to me again and just how beautiful Alaska is.

 

I have to ask, with all the hiking you do, isn't there a risk of running into bears? I want to do more hiking next year when I go, but that's my biggest fear. After hearing what happened to that woman a week and a half ago that was out jogging and ran into a bear that tossed her around until she played dead. I would love to get some great photos of bears but really don't want to shake hands with one.

 

 

Yes there is a risk of seeing a bear. Most bears will run away if they see or hear you while you are a ways off. With this bear, that we took a picture of, we had to be quiet so he wouldn't run away. Bears usually only attack if they feel threatened. The jogger was running and startled the ear. We hike on popular trails where there will be other people.