Coral Princess May 15 northbound report

[Eileen G]

We just returned from a wonderful cruise from Vancouver to Whittier with 5 days post cruise. DH and I are in our 60's and this is my 5th Alaska cruise. Our last Alaska cruise was on the Coral southbound in 2015. We have also rented an RV in Anchorage twice, exploring The Kenai peninsula and driving the loop up to Fairbanks.

 

Left Orlando flying United from Orlando to Chicago to Vancouver and arrived at 12:30. Immigration wasn’t too bad they have automated machines that you swipe your passport and answer a few questions. We rented a car from Avis with return downtown. We stopped at Queen Elizabeth Gardens and saw lots of tulips and rhododendron.  It was raining a little but we just put on our rain jackets and walked through the gardens. We couldn’t see the view of town or the mountains. We also drove through Stanley Park on the way to our motel.

We stayed in North Vancouver so we wouldn’t have a problem parking the car and have to deal with a lot of traffic. We had dinner at C Lovers fish and chips which was right down the road from our motel. In the morning we were up early so we had breakfast and stopped at a waterfront park to see the Coral. To our surprise she was just arriving and we got to see her dock at 7AM. The Volendam followed right after her.

 

[Eileen G]

We drove up to the Clevaland Dam and fish hatchery. It was a beautiful day so we took some really nice pictures. We also took a nice short loop hike near the fish hatchery. We stopped at our hotel to collect our luggage and stopped at Stanley park on the way to the port. We dropped our luggage off at the ship then returned our rental car a few blocks away. It was an easy walk back to the ship.

 

[Eileen G]

We went to the front door Of the Pan Pacific Hotel and asked the doorman where we could board the ship. We were directed to conference room C and after a long walk down a hallway we found where we were to check in. The room was almost empty so check in was a breeze. Then down stairs to immigration. There were two lines. One was for US citizens and was pretty short. The other was for everyone else and much longer. I really thought most people missed the US line. They had the automated machines again so immigration was pretty easy.

We were on board by 1 and dropped off our luggage and had lunch. Our life boat drill was in the Universe Lounge so we had a comfortable place to sit. We spent sail out on the forward deck on the Carib deck. There is a forward deck on the Baja deck too. This is a great place to out the front of the ship. It was a beautiful sail away. The evening show was just a comedian that wasn’t very good.

 

The next day was a sea day and the weather wasn’t great but there were plenty of on board activities. We had our M&G at 10 in Crooners lounge. There weren’t many of us and that worked fine. There was a port at the same time but we all choose to miss it. Our naturalist had a talk at 11 and there was a lumberjack who had a very nice presentation at 1 that was real good. This was formal night and most people were dressed nice. I had my little black dress and DH had a long sleeve dress shirt. This was the first production show The Secret Silk.

[Italy52]

Love your pictures and report; looking forward to reading more.

 

We are on the Coral (Vancouver to Vancouver) 14-day cruise to Alaska next May.  Will you be sharing any thoughts about the ship?  Also, we are thinking of going to Queen Elizabeth Gardens this June pre-cruise.  How much time do you think we should plan for taking in all of the sights there?  Thanks in advance for your thoughts/suggestions.

[Eileen G]

Our first port was Ketchikan and we arrived at 6AM. We took our time at breakfast since our excursion wasn’t until 11:30. We did some shopping at the Tongas store which has some great prices. If you need a lined raincoat they have a really nice on for $24.95 with a coupon in a booklet at the door entrance for $19.99. We took our purchases back to the ship then set out to explore the town.

We booked a private excursion to the George Inlet Crab Feast which we did 5 years ago. This one was just the crab feast so it was much cheaper than going through the ship with the add ons. We met the driver at the statue by the visitors center at 11:30 and took the 20 minute drive to the lodge. Our driver told about the area and herself. The crab feast was better than we remembered. Although it ruined eating king crab and lobster on the ship because they weren’t near as good. The van driver dropped us at the ship when we were done. We sailed out at 3 and enjoyed the scenery leaving Ketchikan.

 

[Eileen G]

Our next port was Juneau where we rented a car from Avis. It was about a half mile walk up hill from the Franklin dock. We drove to Mendenhall Glacier first before it got too crowded. It’s a mile walk to Nugget Falls on even ground. There are several different walks and hiking trails around the visitors center. For lunch we went to the Sand Bar Restaurant for the Halibut fish and chips. It’s right near the airport in an industrial area.

After lunch we drove out the road to St Theresa’s Shrine. We also drove over to Douglas Island and drove as far as the road goes. When we were returning to the ship we saw a beautiful statue of a humpback whale in a small park on the water right off the Douglas Island bridge. There is also a gas station right there so we filled the car with gas and headed back to the ship. DH dropped me off at the ship with all our cameras and stuff and drove back to Avis. On the way back to the ship DH saw a bear across the street in the bushes. We made it back to the ship in time to see the huskie puppies in the plaza. The ship left Juneau late and many people had dinner in town but it was the best night in the MDR with halibut, Alaska king crab legs and surf & turf.

 

 

 

[Eileen G]

The next morning we were in Skagway and the only large cruise ship in town. We have been to Skagway a few times so we were just going to do the ranger led walking tour. We did a load of laundry during breakfast and popped it in the dryer after breakfast. This worked well as here was no one else doing laundry. The ranger talk was at 10 so we walked to the visitors center. It’s a 45 minute tour around town. We did a second talk in a small museum.

Since we planed to go to the cemetery after lunch we bought an all day pass for $5 on the smart bus. It runs between town and the RR pier and a separate route from town out to Glacial Gardens that passes the road to the cemetery. The smart bus was very convenient and the route to the ship ran about every 10 minutes.  We were the only ship so we had no trouble getting on.

After lunch we took the smart bus to the cemetery drop off and walked about half mile to the cemetery. Behind the cemetery is the trail to Reid Fall. It’s a short hike uphill to the falls. Having taken the ranger talks we recognized several names in the cemetery. There was also the huge boulder that was painted gold and claimed to be the world’s largest gold nugget. To get back to town we had to cross the bridge over the river to catch the bus at Glacial Gardens. This bus runs every half hour. 

We walked around town for a while before taking the smart bus back to the ship. Sail away was at 8 PM and the scenery is beautiful. We spent a lot out on deck watching the mountains go by. Tonight they had the Crab Shack and the comedian was back for another show.

 

 

 

 

 

[milolii]

Thank you for the report.  I also saw the menus you posted on the Princess thread,  

I had a few questions regarding embarkation.  What time did you drop your luggage?  And you went the the Pan pacific Hotel to start embarkation?   Were you staying at the hotel? Or at another hotel?  We are at the Hilton Hampton Inn. 

There is a race the day of our trip so we may even walk.  

Thanks again.  

[Eileen G]

4 hours ago, Italy52 said:

Love your pictures and report; looking forward to reading more.

 

We are on the Coral (Vancouver to Vancouver) 14-day cruise to Alaska next May.  Will you be sharing any thoughts about the ship?  Also, we are thinking of going to Queen Elizabeth Gardens this June pre-cruise.  How much time do you think we should plan for taking in all of the sights there?  Thanks in advance for your thoughts/suggestions.

 

 

It was raining when we went to Queen Elizabeth Garden but we still spent about an hour. We did not go to the conservatory so if you go there it will take longer. We were able to park on the road by the rose garden and walked up through it. None of the roses were blooming yet. I would plan 2-3 hours if it is a nice day. The Coral is probably our favorite ship of any we have been on. It's perfect for Alaska.

[Eileen G]

12 minutes ago, milolii said:

Thank you for the report.  I also saw the menus you posted on the Princess thread,  

I had a few questions regarding embarkation.  What time did you drop your luggage?  And you went the the Pan pacific Hotel to start embarkation?   Were you staying at the hotel? Or at another hotel?  We are at the Hilton Hampton Inn. 

There is a race the day of our trip so we may even walk.  

Thanks again.  

 

 

We dropped our luggage at 12 and there was very little traffic. There were only two ships Coral and Volendam so about 2000 on Coral and 1400 on Volendam. We stayed in North Vancouver. If you walk just go to the door man at the Pan Pacific main door and he will direct you how to get to the luggage drop off. When you drop off your luggage you will be directed to check in. If you take a cab they will know where to go.

[Italy52]

10 hours ago, Eileen G said:

 

 

It was raining when we went to Queen Elizabeth Garden but we still spent about an hour. We did not go to the conservatory so if you go there it will take longer. We were able to park on the road by the rose garden and walked up through it. None of the roses were blooming yet. I would plan 2-3 hours if it is a nice day. The Coral is probably our favorite ship of any we have been on. It's perfect for Alaska.

Thank you for your response, I appreciate it.

 

[Eileen G]

Our sixth day was Glacier Bay. We were an hour late picking up the rangers so all the programs had to be shifted back an hour. It was a beautiful sunny day and the mountains were spectacular. We arrived at Margerie Glacier at around 11AM with the port side having about fifteen minutes facing the glacier. We did not get as close as on previous cruises but there were a lot of seals on the icebergs and I had never seen them there before. When the ship turned we ran down to the promenade deck on the starboard side where we stayed for another fifteen minutes. Finally the ship faced the glacier to the rear so we ran to the back of the ship. We stayed here another fifteen minutes. The glacier wasn’t very active and we saw only a few good calvings. We sailed to Lumplugh Glacier where we spent a little more time watching the glacier.

Most of the day we spent on our balcony with binoculars looking for wildlife. There was a small island covered in sea lions and a lot of otters floating about. We didn’t any whales but a few people said they did. We dropped the rangers off on the way out. As we left Glacier bay and entered the Gulf of Alaska we had a good view of Mt Fairweather. It is some 18,000+ feet tall and seeing it at sea level is impressive. This is the second formal night but we were too busy looking at the scenery to go to the dining room. The buffet area is at the front of the ship and is surrounded by windows. This is one of the reasons we like to sail the Coral. Tonight was the second production shoe ‘Encore’ and the Marriage Match Gameshow.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[milolii]

Thanks for the  Vancover Embarkation information. 

[Eileen G]

Our last day was mostly a sea day ending in College Fjord. Our naturalist had another talk at 1 and there was the pub lunch in the Bayou Café. In the late afternoon we entered Prince William Sound and were surrounded by mountains. It was another beautiful day with snow caped mountains and blue sky. We chose this cruise because we had never been to College Fjord and we were not disappointed. We both thought it was more beautiful than Glacier Bay. The mountains are a bit more dramatic. The ship doesn’t get very close to any of the glaciers so you don’t see any calving. You are just surrounded by incredible beauty.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Coral]

With the right weather - College Fjords can be stunning!

 

Enjoying your pics.

Edited June 2, 2019 by Coral

[rkacruiser]

44 minutes ago, Coral said:

With the right weather - College Fjords can be stunning!

 

Enjoying your pics.

 

I remember visiting College Fjord many years ago and was not impressed at all in comparison to Glacier Bay and Hubbard Glacier.  The OP's photos surely are nothing like what I remember.  Maybe next year a cruise that includes College Fjord?

[Coral]

6 minutes ago, rkacruiser said:

 

I remember visiting College Fjord many years ago and was not impressed at all in comparison to Glacier Bay and Hubbard Glacier.  The OP's photos surely are nothing like what I remember.  Maybe next year a cruise that includes College Fjord?

I remember going way back when - 2003 or so. It was an amazing weather day. I was on the Coral Princess and it was the first time she was in Alaska. Princess sent helicopters to photograph the Coral Princess in College Fiords for brochures. I have been back several times and most of the time, it has been rainy.

 

So if you hit a perfect day - College Fjords just shines!

[Eileen G]

2 hours ago, rkacruiser said:

 

I remember visiting College Fjord many years ago and was not impressed at all in comparison to Glacier Bay and Hubbard Glacier.  The OP's photos surely are nothing like what I remember.  Maybe next year a cruise that includes College Fjord?

 

I think all that white snow could make a difference too. 

[Coral]

16 minutes ago, Eileen G said:

 

I think all that white snow could make a difference too. 

My trip was in May also.

[rkacruiser]

34 minutes ago, Coral said:

My trip was in May also.

 

51 minutes ago, Eileen G said:

 

I think all that white snow could make a difference too. 

 

My visit was surely not!  I was still working.  Really,  both of you are providing excellent thoughts.  The experiences that travelers experience anywhere in the world may differ from the time of the year as to environmental conditions.  I wonder how many travelers consider that when they make their plans?  

[MickeyandLV]

Great to read your review of the cruise.  Your pictures are wonderful.  We have not had time to look at all the pictures we took. It was nice meeting you at the M&G in Crooners.  We had a great time driving to Valdez after the cruise. 

 

Connie

[Eileen G]

Our ship didn’t get to the dock in Whittier until 6AM. We put down on the disembarkation paper that we were renting a car at the Anchorage airport. We were red 3 which was transfer with luggage to Anchorage car rental. We had to meet at the Explorers Lounge at 7:05. Getting off the ship was easy since there was no immigration to go through. The luggage is put on a truck and taken to the airport. There is no public transportation or taxis in Whittier so you must have a prearranged transfer. There are a couple of private companies that you can book for the transfer but they are not much cheaper than the Princess transfer which was $54.

Since the buses couldn’t get through the tunnel until 8 our driver gave a little tour of Whittier. We had a great driver who told us about the area and history while we drove to Anchorage. Driving through the tunnel was really cool and the weather was again sunny with blue skies. The drive along Turnagin Arm was beautiful. We even got to see a small bore tide and a moose with baby. We were dropped off at the airport and our luggage was in a secure room. We could leave it there until they closed at 7PM. Since we were just renting a car for the day we decided to just leave it there. Our flight to Fairbanks was at 8PM.

We have been to Anchorage several times so we just drove to the Flat Top Mt trail head for a view of the city and Denali. We could even see all the volcanos along Cook Inlet. We had lunch and went to Earthquake park. We also went to the library to use the internet for a while before having dinner and returning to the airport.

While making our return flights home it turned out that it was cheaper with better connections to fly home from Fairbanks. Since we were planning on going to Denali and a one car rental between Anchorage and Fairbanks was so steep we decided to just fly to Fairbanks and rent a car there. It’s only a two hour drive from Fairbanks to Denali compared to a 5 hour drive from Anchorage.

We returned our car and picked up our luggage at the airport. Our flight was an hour late so we didn’t arrive in Fairbanks until 10PM. We were staying at a Best Western right near the airport so we didn’t have far to go.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ErLee]

We’ll be on the Coral next week for the northbound cruise, thanks for sharing your review and great photos!

[worldtraveller99]

Loving your review! Please can you tell me where exactly you took the beautiful photo of the breaching whale statue in Juneau?

[Eileen G]

3 hours ago, worldtraveller99 said:

Loving your review! Please can you tell me where exactly you took the beautiful photo of the breaching whale statue in Juneau?

 

From the library you need to just walk along the water towards the bridge to Douglas Island. I believe there is a walkway to the park. It's a small park and the statue is life size. We saw it from the bridge when we were returning from Douglas Island and had to stop to take a picture.