Alaska Photojournal – Coral Princess + DIY Land Tour May 28 – June 9, 2014

[AryMay]

After a brief rest back at the hotel, we took advantage of another benefit of staying at the Best Western…a free pass on the False Creek Ferry to Granville Island.

 

Walking from the hotel to the ferry stop was a few blocks and took maybe 10 minutes or so. Once on the boat, the distance to the landing on the other side was very short…less than 5 minutes to get there.

 

The public market was very large with vendors selling fruits, vegetables, meats, crafts, tea, etc. There were also many different food stands with just about any ethnic fare you could want.

 

 

 

 

 

After roaming around through the market it was time to eat. Bob was able to get one of his favorites…Thai food ($8.60 for a plate) and I splurged…calorie-wise…and got a crepe ($5.20) filled with…butter & sugar! (You can do that sort of thing when you are on vacation!)

 

 

[AryMay]

There was an indoor seating area but it was such a beautiful day we chose to eat outside instead.

 

 

 

The seagulls were out in force…and fairly aggressive. We saw one poor man almost lose his fish & chips when a gull swooped down and tried to grab some lunch!

 

 

 

Besides the public market, there are other shops and restaurants in the same area of Granville Island. As we walked around, Bob spied a shop where totem poles were being carved. The place was closed, but he was able to get a few photos through the doorway.

 

 

[AryMay]

With the bike riding in the morning and all of the walking we had done at the market, we were ready to relax a bit. The courtyard area of the market featured street performers throughout the afternoon so we settled in and enjoyed the entertainment and the gorgeous, sunshiny day. On the docket was a balancing act, a guitarist, a man singing what was billed as “songs from a French café”, and a knife throwing/unicycle riding/contortionist act…which featured one surprised, red-headed Minnesotan!

 

Bob is the “ham” in our family…he is a people person and loves to be “up front”. Me…on the other hand…want no part of that. Just let me fade into the crowd and I am happy. Well…you can imagine the horror when this young man from Germany grabbed me from the audience and pulled me out in front of everyone to be part of his act!

 

He started by trying to pass his whole body through a small ring…but of course he got stuck in the process and he “needed me” to help him get out!

 

 

 

The grand finale came when he mounted a huge unicycle with three wheels (a tri-unicycle?) and had me throw machete’s to him to juggle. These were REAL knives and I am not known for being coordinated…but I did it!

 

 

There are two different ferry companies that provide transportation across False Creek. Our free voucher that we used was only good for one way so for the return trip we took the Aquabus Ferry instead since the dock was closer to our hotel. Both companies charged the same price I believe ($3.50 each) and we were able to use a credit card for payment.

 

To get back to the hotel required walking several blocks up a steep hill. (I had to resort to WALKING my bike up the same hill that morning…there was no way I could ride up.)

 

It was time for dinner, and in hindsight, we should have just planned to eat at the White Spot restaurant in the hotel. I've read good reviews and it would have been so convenient. But...we decided to go off walking again to find some place unique. The flaw in the plan was that we were so tired...and more walking was not fun.

 

 

We stopped in at a pasta restaurant, but the place was tiny and the few tables were already taken. So…we ended up back at the Greek place we had eaten lunch the previous day. We both enjoyed it…and watching the street life through the window while we ate was great entertainment again! Vancouver definitely has some colorful characters! I will mention that there were also some homeless people camped out along the sidewalk on Granville Street. I never felt unsafe, but just noticed because it is not something we see here in our small town.

 

Our friends, Kent & Laurel, arrived at the hotel later in the evening. After landing at the Vancouver airport, they had gone to dinner with a local couple that they have known for a long time. The funny part is that they had driven a distance just to eat at a White Spot restaurant, not realizing that there was one right at our hotel!

 

Coming up…we finally board the ship!

 

 

 

[Tyskie]

Enjoying your review & pictures, thanks for posting. This is on our "to do" list. Loved the Coral for the Panama Canal. :)

 

Sent from my XT907 using Forums mobile app

[nana51]

Loving the review and pictures. Waiting for the rest.

[lag9122]

I am so happy you are doing the pictures and review great Job !!

[mlmalone3]

Wonderful review! Love the pictures and look forward to more! You are doing a fine job!

[bagluvr]

I am really enjoying your review, especially the information about the train in Seattle. We were debating the train vs. the bus but now I think we'll go with the train and use the car service you mentioned. I really appreciate all the helpful information!

[AryMay]

I am really enjoying your review, especially the information about the train in Seattle. We were debating the train vs. the bus but now I think we'll go with the train and use the car service you mentioned. I really appreciate all the helpful information!

 

I am so glad that I was even a little help to you in your planning. I have gained so much from these boards that I feel obligated to pay it forward!

[AryMay]

I'm enjoying your review. We have been twice prior and going back next month. Like you, we enjoyed cruises in the sun and were not planning on Alaska until my mother wanted to go. Now it is becoming a wonderful summer escape from the heat! I'm curious your thoughts after you went vs. what you initially thought the first time it was suggested to go to Alaska.

 

We have sailed from Vancouver where we flew into Seattle and took the train to Vancouver. We have also done the opposite when we went Whittier to Vancouver, and then the train to Seattle. I really enjoyed the train. For some reason, the price was actually a few hundred dollars cheaper this time out of Vancouver so I'll be experiencing a trip without that train ride. I'm a little sad by that!

 

Excited to see the rest of the pictures.

 

I have been thinking about your question...

 

I really had no idea just how beautiful and majestic Alaska was or I would have been more anxious to go. I also had no idea that I would be able to see so much from the ship just sitting on my balcony. On a Caribbean cruise I am used to only seeing land far off in the distance...or when we are docked at a a port.

 

On our Alaska cruise, the ship just became a means to help us enjoy Alaska. I didn't care that we missed eating in the MDR...it didn't bother me to miss the shows. We just wanted to sit on our balcony and soak in the magnificent views and search for wildlife. It became almost a competition with the four of us to see who could spot a whale...or an eagle...or see a little sea otter floating by. Maybe someone who lives in the mountains may not be so impressed, but coming from the flat prairie of southwest Minnesota I thought Alaska was breathtaking!

 

I read so many times that we probably wouldn't use our balcony much because it would be too cold, but we spent hours and hours and hours on it. Bob and I agreed it was well worth the extra cost. I am content with an inside cabin on a Caribbean cruise...but I would not be happy without the balcony on an Alaskan cruise.

 

Since we got home a few days ago, everyone who has asked me about the trip has gotten the same answer..."Alaska is the most beautiful place in the world!"

 

Having said that...I don't plan to go back soon. I'm afraid that it just wouldn't seem as special the second time around. And for what we paid, we can cruise twice to the Caribbean.

 

So...I am going to savor the memories...keep plugging away at this review...and hopefully convince a few people to take a trip of a lifetime to Alaska! :)

[AryMay]

Thanks to everyone who has commented on this review so far. I have spent most of today trying to get some more photos organized and edited so that I continue.

 

I want to clarify that I do not consider myself a photographer...but I do love to take "snapshots". I travel with three cameras...all Canon's: a very small older SD200, a D10 underwater camera, and my newest SX50. None are fancy...all are point & shoot models.

 

I also took some of the photos with my iPhone 5c AND got photos from Laurel's camera.

 

So with 3500 photos...where do you start? :confused:

 

The time & date stamp embedded in the photo file helps me organize the pictures into separate folders by day. But the big problem I am having is getting each day's photos into chronological order. Halfway through the trip I realized the time setting on my SX50 was incorrect. Also, Laurel's camera must have adjusted for change in time zones differently than mine. Basically none of the cameras had the time set the same. :mad:

 

This doesn't isn't such a big deal for me when doing this review, but as I go I also want to get a slide show put together to show others. Not being able to easily get the photos in order has been very frustrating AND time consuming. I did find out I can adjust the time setting one photo at a time using Picasa...but do you know how long that takes!!!! :eek:

 

So...do yourself a favor. If you have more than one camera...or hope to share photos between several people... MAKE SURE YOUR TIME & DATE IS SET CORRECTLY ON YOUR CAMERAS!

 

Thanks for letting me vent. This is the end of the public service announcement...

 

[LEtue]

Loving your review and pics! It brings back memories of my NB cruise on the Island Princess :D

[reney313]

I have been thinking about your question...

 

Maybe someone who lives in the mountains may not be so impressed, but coming from the flat prairie of southwest Minnesota I thought Alaska was breathtaking!

 

Having said that...I don't plan to go back soon. I'm afraid that it just wouldn't seem as special the second time around. And for what we paid, we can cruise twice to the Caribbean.

 

 

Where is SW MN are you from? My family is from Jackson area...

 

I wouldn't discount Alaska for a future cruise. I said the same thing after we returned...and then we got an incredible deal the next summer and took it, for less than a Caribbean cruise!

 

Still loving the pictures, thanks for taking the time and effort!

[Keith1010]

Thanks for the report.

 

Keith

[BrusselsGirl07]

So...do yourself a favor. If you have more than one camera...or hope to share photos between several people... MAKE SURE YOUR TIME & DATE IS SET CORRECTLY ON YOUR CAMERAS!

 

Thanks for letting me vent. This is the end of the public service announcement...

 

Oh my gosh, I know exactly what you mean! We went to the Galapagos, then spent 12 days driving around Ecuador. We had 3 cameras between us and did not realise each had a different date and times! Many thousands of photos and it was SO difficult to sort them. As we made a few stops each day in the Galapagos, it was difficult to remember which photos were taken where. Lesson learned the hard way!

 

Thanks for your great review, we head to Alaska in a few weeks, so love reading about your experiences!

[AryMay]

Saturday, May 31 – Cruise Day!

 

A beautiful day!! Breakfast was to be either a Pop Tart we brought from home…or a quick walk to the Tim Horton’s a block away. Guess which we did! It just seemed the right thing to do while visiting Canada!

 

At 10:30 we loaded up all of our luggage into the free hotel shuttle for a ride to the port…Canada Place. Getting checked in didn’t take too long but since we were early we had to wait a bit before boarding. There were plenty of chairs and the guys passed the time by playing some sort of dice game on their “luggage table”.

 

 

If my memory serves me correctly, we were on board sometime a little before noon. I love that Princess has the cabins ready at embarkation so you aren’t dragging around your carry-on luggage to lunch. We went directly to the room and were excited to check out our balcony!

 

 

Our room steward, Anne, came by right away and introduced herself and we asked her if she would be able to open the balcony divider between our two cabins. She tried, but couldn’t get it unlocked and promised she would come back later with some special tool to get it open (which she did.) Being able to have the divider open was great since the four of us spent so much time on the balcony.

 

We grabbed some lunch at the Horizon Court and then spent some time exploring the ship.

 

 

 

The ship windows reflecting our view:

 

 

The guys wanted to check out the gym and we ended up agreeing to take a tour of the spa. No surprise…it was just a big sales pitch. But…it did make me wonder. Do you think using all of those services and products really would make me “come back new” as Princess is claiming in their new ad campaign! :confused:

 

Our muster station was in the Princess Theater. We didn’t hear any announcement in our cabin, but Anne came by and hurried us out so she could hang the “clear” sign on our door. Kent and Laurel’s cabin next door was the first regular balcony on the bump out and they shared a steward with the forward mini-suites. He didn't come to their cabin and we left in such a hurry that they didn't realize we had already gone. They kept waiting to hear an announcement for the drill (which never came) and ended up getting there quite late along with others. The staff would not start the drill until everyone was present so it did take quite some time to get through the whole thing.

 

 

[AryMay]

We returned to our balcony after the muster drill and enjoyed the view while waiting for the Coral to sail.

 

 

 

 

I was fascinated by all of the float planes!

 

 

 

[AryMay]

Finally it was time to sail. The Coral pulled out of her berth, turned and headed out towards the Lion's Gate Bridge.

 

 

 

The Zuiderdam was preparing to follow us.

 

 

 

The torch from the 2010 Olympics:

 

 

It is an optical illusion, but don't you think it looks like this plane is going to crash into the bridge?

 

 

[AryMay]

Under the Lion's Gate Bridge

 

 

 

Sailing by Stanley Park, we could see where we had biked the previous morning. Today there were lots of other bikers who had stopped to wave goodbye to the Coral.

 

 

 

 

Here comes the Zuiderdam

 

 

[Eileen G]

I love the pictures of the Coral leaving. We had just gotten off her that morning and spent part of the day in Stanley Park.

[AryMay]

We remained on our balcony enjoying the view and that wonderful feeling when you know that you have a whole week of cruising to look foward to.

 

The naturalist was narrating from the bridge which we could hear being broadcast through the TV. I was looking forward to sailing past Point Atkinson Lighthouse which I had seen in so many photos. I wasn't sure which side of the ship it would be on but heard the announcement that we had JUST passed by. Rats.

 

Laurel and I ran like crazy to the viewing area at the back of our deck 11...and I realized what a LONG ship the Coral was! I could see the lighthouse fading in the distance, but with the zoom on my camera I was able to get this shot:

 

 

And a photo of the Zuiderdam still following along behind.

 

 

This open deck at the back of the ship was a pleasant place to be...quiet and no wind. We were out there a few more times during the week and it never did seem to be crowded.

 

Although our impression of Anytime Dining in December on the Emerald wasn’t great, it still seemed like the best option for the long port times on this Alaska cruise. We requested a table for four when we got to the Bordeaux Dining Room and were given a pager. I was worried that this was a sign of how the week would go, but it turned out that it was the only night we had to wait…and it was only about 10 minutes.

 

Following dinner we returned to our balconies. Having the divider open between them made it easy to carry on a conversation between the four of us. On any other cruise, we would have been attending the evening entertainment…but this cruise was different.

 

As the sun started to set, we walked down the stairs to the Caribe deck and went out onto the forward viewing area. The sky was a brilliant orange and we were following another ship. It resembled the shape of a cruise ship, but it looked old and rusty so not sure what type of ship it was.

 

A perfect way to end our first day of the cruise.

 

 

[AryMay]

Sunday, June 1 – Sea Day

 

The Captain had announced that during the night around 2:30 am we would be passing through Seymour Narrows…a dangerous strait that has sunk many ships and claimed many lives due to the strong current. Seymour Narrows has quite a history. I won’t go into the details, but it is fascinating to read about. I happened to wake up right around 2:30 am and peeked out the window. I didn't see much, but saw that we were passing very close to the shore.

 

Whether from excitement or not being used to the time difference, Bob and I were both up early. By 6 am we were bundled up and sitting on the balcony! This was pretty much our “outpost” throughout the cruise! And as long as we were looking...we were usually able to see some type of wildlife, regardless of where we were.

 

 

Luck was with us that first morning and a pod of dall’s porpoises swam alongside our balcony for some time.

 

 

 

 

 

[AryMay]

Some more photos from our balcony…

 

 

 

 

 

[AryMay]

Looking back at the highlighted activities in my Princess Patter, I see that we took in a trivia game in the Wheelhouse Bar (didn’t do well however :rolleyes:), attended a lecture by naturalist Susan Hazlett, and also a lecture by Rachel Cartwright who wrote the book “Alaska Cruise Companion.” The book is sold in the ship’s gift shop and includes a great map showing the best times to view wildlife on the cruise. (My apologies for the blurry photo...)

 

 

 

I considered purchasing the book, but I had brought along two other books on cruising the inside passage…one by Joe Upton and another by Anne Vipond that I had borrowed from my local library. Each of those also had large maps which I hung on the wall of our cabin using magnetic clips. It was fun to have the maps to keep track of our position as we made our way northward. The advantage to buying Rachel's book on the ship was that the Princess Patter often referred to particular “waypoints” and page numbers from the book when describing our route for the day.

 

Later in the afternoon we watched a documentary, “Go North” on the outdoor movie screen on the Lido deck. Interesting…but probably fewer than a dozen people were watching!

 

 

I will admit it was a bit windy and chilly being outside!

 

 

Edited June 16, 2014 by AryMay

[AryMay]

Formal night was that evening and we were able to just walk right into the Bordeaux Dining Room and get a table with no waiting! Yay!

 

 

Afterwards we attended the production show “Motor City” in the Princess Theater. The theater was one spot on the ship that was noticeably smaller than its counterpart on the Emerald which we had sailed in December. But…although we didn’t attend too many shows…we never had a problem finding a seat when we did.

 

A great sunset ended the day as we looked forward to our first port of Ketchikan bright and early the next morning.