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🛳️ Live (hopefully) from Crown Princess May 12 - 23

Coral

By Coral,
in Princess Cruises

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nini

nini

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@Coral We also did the same tour as you in Sitka, through a private vendor and loved it.  It may or may not have been the same company but is was a van like yours.

Enjoy fabulous Hubbard Glacier! It is our favorite.

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Haljo1935 "Live from...." Rare

Haljo1935

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On 5/13/2023 at 8:46 PM, Coral said:

Those are both on my plan! And maybe the Fortress of the Bear.

Fortress of the Bears was a great stop when we were there pre-Covid; seem to always mention it. It was undergoing expansion construction, but surely complete by now.

We were in Sitka just under 2 weeks ago - the new welcome center is very nice. Shuttle to town is free and easy - there are several non-ship excursion options in town at the shuttle stop.

Had whales join us for dinner! No pictures but they were nice to watch.

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Haljo1935 "Live from...." Rare

Haljo1935

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10 hours ago, gottagoacruzn said:

...Also, the tours that you are takin, did you book through the ship, or just walk up in the ports an...? Was lookin at bookin in Sitka, the Best of sika, otters, raptors & bears, were there any vendors on the dock there & how much?

This is about 1/3 the number of excursions available when we were in Sitka May 3. They are located right where the free shuttle (from the cruise ship port) drops you off. If you book prior or walk up - same place, same companies. 

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Coral "Live from...." Rare

Coral

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11 minutes ago, Haljo1935 said:

This is about 1/3 the number of excursions available when we were in Sitka May 3. They are located right where the free shuttle (from the cruise ship port) drops you off. If you book prior or walk up - same place, same companies. 

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Yes - this is where I picked up my excursion.

 

@Italy52 I should say I didn't get on my tour right away. I went back to the ship and changed clothing so instead of 10 am, it was probably 11:15 or so. When we went to the 3 locations, there was not any large buses at them. So we had no problems seeing things given our time. If there had been large Princess buses, it may have been a different story.

 

There were also people selling tours before you got on the free bus (where the ship docks).

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Coral "Live from...." Rare

Coral

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I am someone who studied Russian history and I have always liked Russian items. I didn't buy anything (as I have been to Russia a few times previously) but I did enjoy this store.image.thumb.jpeg.8faeb7871cb546dce29908edc3d580a8.jpegimage.thumb.jpeg.6392d89e93cb95f1814c178ad46ecaec.jpegimage.thumb.jpeg.a11633bf93c8a86c7e2c18518cc3ff7a.jpeg

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Coral "Live from...." Rare

Coral

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21 hours ago, CruzeQueen2 said:

@Coral Are you a coffee fanatic? I discovered a hidden gem on Majestic last week for coffees, the ones you pay for...lattes, cappuccinos,  etc. On deck 7 at the Princess live bar. 

I know that the Royal class ships have that option, however, I am wondering where I will find another, lesser-known location, for my dose of morning caffeine. At the International cafe, there are usually long lines to order, and waiting times. 

If you find an alternate spot to order these coffees, please let me know. Perhaps Coffee and Cones on deck 15? TIA

I do not drink coffee.  Sorry about that. I will try to stop by Coffee and Cones in the morning one day to see the line.

Edited by Coral
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Haljo1935 "Live from...." Rare

Haljo1935

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1 hour ago, Coral said:

I am someone who studied Russian history and I have always liked Russian items. I didn't buy anything (as I have been to Russia a few times previously) but I did enjoy this store.image.thumb.jpeg.8faeb7871cb546dce29908edc3d580a8.jpegimage.thumb.jpeg.6392d89e93cb95f1814c178ad46ecaec.jpegimage.thumb.jpeg.a11633bf93c8a86c7e2c18518cc3ff7a.jpeg

I love that store (and all the Russian ornament and doll stores) - try to go in every time I'm in Sitka whether I buy anything or not. Thanks for sharing!

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Italy52

Italy52

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10 hours ago, Coral said:

The cost was in the $90 range. I went with them because of the size of the van (max 12 passengers in a 14 passenger van). We had 11. There was a larger bus that charged $25 plus the entrance fee to the places. There was 30 minutes at each place and I thought it was enough time at the Bears and Raptor Center. I could have probably spent more time at the Totem park but that was the last location and I could have walked back to the ship but chose not to. Not sure if they switch the order around.

Pricing sounds very reasonable and more personal than a crowded bus.  Think we might be leaning more towards this type of excursion.

10 hours ago, Coral said:

 

I did speak to some people from CC who spent $2xx and did what I did plus a boat ride. They thought the boat ride was great and they saw a lot of wildlife.

We did the ship excursion once and saw very little wildlife (just a raft of otters and one whale tale off in the distance).  Glad the people had a good time on their boat excursion. 

10 hours ago, Coral said:

 

Not sure if I mentioned it earlier but I ventured out with a long sleeve shirt and a pullover athletic type nylon pullover. And I was hot even before I went into town. So I went back to the ship and changed clothing and was much more comfortable. So I wasted time this morning but that was fine.

I have been tracking the weather and it looks as though Alaska is seeing some warmer spots this year.  Guess I need to throw in a few light-weight tops into the suitcase.

10 hours ago, Coral said:

 

No call from security about power bar.

 

The weird thing under the mirror is an emergency light (according to my room steward).

Really, how long does it take to decide if your power bar is suitable for use on the ship?  I think that should be "a mention" on your after-cruise survey. 

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Italy52

Italy52

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10 hours ago, Coral said:

I just wanted to add that Rachel Cartwright is the best Naturalist I have ever heard on a ship. She is fabulous. She indicated she is on the this ship for a few cruises. I will try to find out when she gets off and where she is going.

 

Today she did a presentation on whales. She is active in the Keiki Kohola Project and a portion of the proceeds of her Alaska book go to this cause. https://www.caringforcalves.org 

 

She had an aerial/drone video of whales mating during todays presentation (it is a quick process - go figure). She did say that she has aerial video of a whale giving birth and it will be part of a National Geographic documentary later this year and she will include it in her presentation next year (hopefully). She couldn't talk much about that.

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Would love to see this presentation.  Our whale watching vendor in Juneau (Jayleen's Alaska) is a boat captain and goes to Hawaii for seminars.  I am going to mention this to her and see if she is part of this organization. 

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Coral "Live from...." Rare

Coral

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3 hours ago, Italy52 said:

Would love to see this presentation.  Our whale watching vendor in Juneau (Jayleen's Alaska) is a boat captain and goes to Hawaii for seminars.  I am going to mention this to her and see if she is part of this organization. 

If anything - she probably knows Rachel.

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Haljo1935 "Live from...." Rare

Haljo1935

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30 minutes ago, Coral said:

Hubbard Glacier day today. Very foggy outside. Last week missed the glacier (according to others).image.thumb.jpeg.62ceb92f422ca2838d48d44a064dcf95.jpeg

This is Margerie Glacier taken May 3 in Glacier Bay. It was cloudy and rainy the entire time we were in Glacier Bay - but still so beautiful  

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Coral "Live from...." Rare

Coral

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10 minutes ago, Haljo1935 said:

This is Margerie Glacier taken May 3 in Glacier Bay. It was cloudy and rainy the entire time we were in Glacier Bay - but still so beautiful  

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Glacier Bay much more accessible than Hubbard Glacier from my experience. I seem to miss Hubbard Glacier frequently!

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Thrak

Thrak

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14 hours ago, Coral said:

Afternoon treat - yesterday it was a waffle bar. Today - crepe bar! Same concept and similar toppings! To die for.

 

While eating - I ran into someone who I was on the Emerald TA with in November. Small world!!

 

 

 

Can you tell me what time in the afternoon you found this in the buffet?

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Coral "Live from...." Rare

Coral

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3 minutes ago, Thrak said:

 

Can you tell me what time in the afternoon you found this in the buffet?

4 pm each day. I was told this was new on this voyage. Not sure of other ships.

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Thrak

Thrak

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3 hours ago, Coral said:

4 pm each day. I was told this was new on this voyage. Not sure of other ships.

 

Many thanks. Next sailing is a B2B2B - 32 days Australia/New Zealand on Grand Princess in October/November. Hopefully this will be fleet wide by then. If not, at least it's great to know that you had it on Crown for your cruise. 😁

 

  

46 minutes ago, CruzeQueen2 said:

@Thrak Are you sailing on the Crown this summer? I am! Looking forward to this 11 day itinerary in August. Was on the Royal 12 day sailing with you last year.

 

Nope. See above. 🙂

Edited by Thrak
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Coral "Live from...." Rare

Coral

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We are leaving Hubbard Glacier.

 

It was foggy earlier but it cleared up the closer we got to the glacier. It was also chilly earlier and while at the glacier, it was in the 50's. According to the tv, it was 54. I took my alarm clock out and it registered 60 degrees.

 

The good news is that it was a warm, clear day. The bad news is that according to the Naturalist (Rachel) we were 5 miles from the glacier. I probably would have put us farther than that but I am not a specialist. 

 

We did see quite a bit of whale activity going into the Yakutat Bay area.

 

So while we all came with our winter clothes and wore them earlier in the day, by the time we got to the glacier, we could ditch them! A sweatshirt was all that was needed.

 

Norwegian Spirit was before us and so was a Viking ship. I believe Radiance is after us today.

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