RoperDK

Do both people in the cabin get the drinks card or just the person with the offer?

Thanks in advance,

Dawn

Leaving soon and have a couple of questions about formal nights.

1. I believe the first formal night is on Day 2 (Hubbard Glacier), but when is the second formal night? Day 5 (Juneau) or Day 6 (Ketchikan)?

2. What is usually served on each formal night? In Alaska, they serve king crab legs one night. Do they substitute those for other formal night options?

We've only been on Princess once before so we aren't familiar with the usual menu rotation.

Thanks in advance,

Dawn

Just returned from the Coral. Late dinning was 7:30. It was cloudy cool to cold for both cruises.we did a b2b.

Thank you tiffany'smom. A 7:30 dining time is great for us. Thanks for the weather report, also. I have had a difficult time deciding what to pack. Going with lots of layers and hoping for no total rain outs.

Dawn

My cruise planner says 8:00, but I read somewhere that the Alaska cruises had different dining hours. Any recent Coral Alaska cruisers know the correct time?

Thanks in advance,

Dawn

Following...we are on this cruise next month.

Thanks everyone! Keeping my fingers crossed to see at least a bit of snow. I might have to take another trip to Alaska and go in May.

Dawn

How can you see how many minutes of your package that you have used? I want to ration them out.

Thanks in advance,

Dawn

Cruising southbound in mid-August. I am a southern gal and hoping to see at least a few snow capped mountains and some ice in the water. I know there will be ice around the glaciers, but how about other ports on the cruise? Will there be any snow left at all?

Thanks in advance,

Dawn

Can't wait to read your review. We are on the Coral next month.

Dawn

Such fast replies! Thanks everyone. I really enjoyed the additional offerings at Alfredos on the Regal. It was our favorite lunch venue. I guess pizza will have to do on the Coral.

Dawn

Is it the same menu as on the Regal where there were salad and pasta selections along with the pizza? Is it only open on sea days?

Thanks in advance,

Dawn

A follow-up, since I have a similar question. Our Princess cruise leaves Whittier on a Saturday at 8:30 pm. This is our very first cruise.

From what we understand, Princess will provide shuttles from Anchorage to Whittier on that Saturday, and then everyone departs the shuttles and checks in. Other forums noted how hectic and crowded this can be.

So we wanted to plan our own transports on the night before, Friday. We'd spend the night relaxing in Whittier, and then check in for embarkment as soon as it's open Saturday, well ahead of the Princess shuttle crowds.

Does this sound reasonable? And also, I see that many of the transport companies offer their services the day of the cruises only, so will we have difficulty getting a bus/shuttle the day before?

Thank you!.

We are leaving out of Whittier the same day and time as you are. We went through the same process of trying to find a way to do all of the sightseeing along with boarding the ship fairly early. That would give us a chance to settle in, do some laundry and get our bearings before sailing. I absolutely despise unpacking as the ship is leaving port. We looked into a one way car rental from Anchorage to Whittier. It would have made planning soooo much easier. We just couldn't justify the over $350 fee for one day! So we decided to take the train from Anchorage to Whittier the day before the cruise and then take the 26 Glacier Cruise. We are spending the night at The Inn at Whittier and will walk over and drop off our luggage the next morning. We can walk around the docks awhile if we want or just board and enjoy the ship. To me there is nothing worse than starting a cruise exhausted from trying to do too much. That is just my humble opinion. It you decide to stay at The Inn you will need to reserve early as it is small and fills up quickly.

Dawn

Thanks everyone! That is exactly the info I was looking for.

Dawn

We are not in a suite and I have seen the breakfast hangar, so what is on the regular room service menu? Looking for info on ordering mixers for delivered liquor, also. I see where you can pre order liquor and water, but no mixers.

Thanks in advance,

Dawn

Where do you drop off luggage in Whittier? It looks like there are covered walkways all the way to the train. Are the porters there or are they at the building where you check in?

Thanks in advance,

Dawn

I hadn't realized Princess has a transfer from Vancouver to Seattle airport. What is the earliest time they recommend for a departing flight if you take this option?

I didn't know this either, and it opens up possibilities. I'd also like to know about the flight times.

 

And what is the current cost of the transfer?

I just double checked my transfer documents. They say the earliest time for departing flights should be 4 PM, but I could have sworn that it said 2 PM when I booked it. We are spending a couple of days in Seattle so flight times weren't important to me.

The cost was $69 per person.

Dawn

Luggage handling...how does it work? Hoping to not have to load and unload our luggage too many times. Will we collect our bags at the port and take them to the bus or will they already be loaded for us? Will we have to unload the bags at the border? I had heard that they were pre-screened and the border stop should be quick and painless.

Thanks in advance,

Dawn

What is the current process for applying pre-purchased casino credit? I did searches and think I have a good idea of how things work, but would like to verify that there haven't been any changes to the system. We are headed to Alaska soon and I don't want to carry a lot of extra cash as we are doing land tours prior to the cruise. I also don't want to put the whole casino bill on the ship board account. I would like to spread the casino funding between a couple of credit card cycles.

If I buy $1000 in pre-purchased casino credit.......

Will I get paper vouchers in my cabin? Then would I cash them out at the casino cage and use the cash to gamble? This seems like the easiest way.

What happens if the casino credit is applied to my on board account? Does it show as a casino credit and when I use my card to transfer money to a slot machine it shows the credit reduced? How does it show up differently on the account than OBC? It seems a bit confusing to me. What is the benefit of buying casino credit over buying OBC? If I am lucky enough to have left over casino credit at the end of the cruise, how do I cash it out?

Also, I understand that getting gambling cash advances don't have a fee whether using a slot machine transfer or getting chips at the table or for buying in at the electronic poker table? I get my cruise lines mixed up sometimes!

Thanks in advance,

Dawn

Thank you olesiabr! That's exactly the information that I was looking for! We are looking forward to our stay in Whittier. It sounds both beautiful and quirky. We can handle the walk to the ship as long as our luggage is transported for us. Seems odd that they can't take passengers. We will try Swiftwater Seafood. We are taking the 26 Glacier Cruise during the day.

Thanks again!

Dawn

Thank you for the great review! We are headed southbound on the Coral in August. Can you tell me about The Inn at Whittier? We are staying there before our cruise. There is so little information about The Inn out there! Did you eat at the restaurant or have drinks at the lounge? Was there some kind of transportation option from The Inn to the port? I know it is within walking distance of the port, but getting our luggage there may be an issue. Can you check luggage at the port before 12:30 even though you can't actually check in? I hate to admit it, but we might need to make a couple of trips to roll it over there if they don't have any transportation! :o

Thanks in advance,

Dawn

Thanks everyone. I am the OP. I am hoping to get a definitive answer before we head out on our cruise in August. If we don't use our coupon for the Crab Shack, we were considering using it to eat at Sabatini's on the first night. If someone reads this and is cruising SB on the Coral, would you please note the nights of the Crab Shack and what the "Alaskan menu" actually contains. It would be much appreciated.

Dawn

That is what we are doing! For better or worse we decided to go that route instead of the trek to Denali. This is our first and probably only trip to Alaska so I am sure others would think we are making a mistake. We don't have enough time pre or post cruise to do a land tour that lasts more than a couple of days and I didn't want to spend that time on a bus and shuffling in and out of hotels for a single night. Here is the itinerary we decided on. Keep in mind that we are seniors with a few health issues so things like hiking on glaciers and kayaking are not options for us.

Two nights in downtown Anchorage. - We arrive from the east coast early evening so check in to the hotel and try to adjust on the first night. The next day we want to do some exploring in Anchorage, do the trolley, and enjoy a nice meal. We are taking the train to Whittier the following morning.

Two nights in Whittier. - Arrive on the train mid-day. Check in to the hotel and take in the sights at the docks and the small town. Next day we are doing the 26 Glacier boat tour. Drinks and dinner at the hotel and up the next morning to arrive at the ship just before the train is scheduled to arrive. I would like to settle in and explore the ship before the bulk of the passengers arrive.

It is a pretty sedate itinerary, but that is what we need to do. There seems to be plenty of day trips from Anchorage that would suit all types. We thought of trying a flight to see Denali, but there were no guarantees of either getting off the ground or actually seeing the mountain, so we scratched that.

Hopefully others will chime in with what they have decided to do. At any rate, you are not alone!

Have a great trip,

Dawn

Thank you Stumptowngal. That is exactly what I was wishing for.....an empty laundry room all to myself!

Dawn

Does anyone know if the self-serve laundry is open on embarkation day? We will be boarding early and thought it would be a great time to do a load before the masses arrive.

Dawn

Thank you for the wonderful review! We are on the Coral SB in August. Do you remember if they were offering the Crab Shack and on what nights? Also did they have an Alaskan theme buffet on one of the days? Did they serve crab legs in the dining room?

Thanks in advance,

Dawn