cafelovercanada

We thoroughly enjoyed our Lake Bennett excursion in Skagway with Dyea Dave tours! We were picked up as promised and were taken around to see all the sights. Unfortunately there was a major holdup at one of the border crossings so our time was shortened by about 45 minutes ...no time to see the Gold Rush Cemetery, however, our guide offered to call Dave as she said he'd love to take us there personally. We gently declined as we didn't want to inconvenience him. Maybe next time. Overall, we would highly recommend this tour company and wouldn't hesitate to take another tour with them again.

Bumping this in the event anyone recently off the Coral Northbound Alaska can answer this question.

 

Was there any open dining on the late port nights in Juneau and/or Skagway?

Just off the Coral June 18 and there was no notice of open dining on Juneau or Skagway nights. None that we noticed anyway.

Enjoy your cruise .. We had a wonderful time

We were on the Coral June 11 to 18 and had NO issues with hot water or water pressure. Laundry was busy when our kids wanted to use it but nothing a little wait didn't solve.

Saw a couple of buckets in the hallway along the Baja forward deck but other than that we didn't see any evidence of water/plumbing problems.

We are looking for advice on tipping for a Dyea Dave tour we are taking next week. We are scheduled for the Emerald Lake tour .... Just looking for what people leave for a tip. Our Princess literature suggests $5 per person for a guided tour. Seems a little low to me

On the Coral now. Amazing cruise! Anytime dining waits were 40-45 minutes so we switched to late traditional on the second day of the cruise with no problems.

Do you remember what time it was when you had to wait? Our TA signed us up for Anytime Dining when we booked saying we wouldn't have trouble getting a table for our family of 7. Somehow after reading various posts, I'm beginning to worry that I should have switched to TD early on. When you had late dinner, were you still able to see the shows and go to the lounges around the ship?

We are boarding the Coral on Saturday and can hardly wait!

We are scheduled to be in port on Monday June 13 - tendering in according to our TA. I just hope the re-shuffling of ships in port won't affect our already inconvenient arrival in Ketchikan!!! Actually, have never had to tender in and am expecting the worst ....

Interested in hearing from those who have sailed her recently....leaving in 4 days .... Can hardly wait! Hope the plumbing problems reported earlier have been fixed.

We were told by out TA that we were being tendered in Ketchikan. And I noticed it was noted in our itinerary on the Princess Cruise personalizer. Guess we won't be the only ones out there next week when we're in Ketchikan! I just hope we can off the ship early as we are signed up for the Misty Fjords excursion with Princess!

I'd be interested in knowing if there are any open dining nights NB on the Coral (Alaska)

We just received our confirmation from Kathy that we are booked for Emerald Lake in June! Thanks all for your posts ... We are really looking forward to our trip and to Dyea Dave's tour! Thanks!

We will be on the Coral on June 11. We have complimentary specialty dining tickets received when we booked last year. I want to enjoy the experience of a formal night and we have a late ending tour on day 4 of our cruise. Does anyone have any recommendations as to the best night to use these passes? Are MDR menus posted in the patters? Do we need to reserve as soon as we board? Is there a better night when the restaurants aren't so busy? Should we try Sabatinis instead? Any thoughts from CC posters would be greatly appreciated.

That's great to know - thanks everyone for your posts! We are really looking forward to this cruise. It will be a first for our adult children and their significant others!

We are relative rookies at cruising and first timers with Princess. Our TA chose AT dining for us when we booked because of our large group (7 of us travelling together). From what I've read, I'm expecting that we will not be able to go to the dining room to eat when we want to eat. We are on the Coral next week....any advice as to when you think our group should go to the AT dining room? I agree that reservations should only be made for the specialty restaurants! TD should not be permitted to wander down to the AT dining room if they miss their seating ..... Sorry

I usually try to be more empathetic to comments on this board because I understand that everyone has different tastes and interests, but when I read a recommendation to come to my beautiful and unique hometown and 'make a bracelet' at one of these carpetbagging jewelry stores, I'm near tears. Or for that matter, anything with the word 'tour' in it.

 

Okay, judgmental time over.

 

With the long port time, and two previous visits, I'd strongly recommend renting a car and seeing some of the hidden corners of Juneau. If you're not comfortable doing that, it doesn't sound as though you've done the tram, which is not cheap but not outrageously expensive if you spend some time up at the top. I've had visitors who've paid over $100 for a group, only to get out, take a few pictures, and go back down. A very nice circle walking tour (if you've got good mobility) can be done with the new SLAM (aforementioned new State Museum) then onto the old city cemetery, and up to the Flume Trail, a level walk on a boardwalk along a mountainside, but then steep street surfaces walk back down to your ship. The Wickersham House and Russian Orthodox church could also be toured on the way back.

 

In a car, you could go up to the mining ruins above town, which all my visitors LOVE, over to Sandy Beach on Douglas Island and an easy level trail through the mining ruins there, out North Douglas Road for views of the glacier from across the channel, as well as some trails there, to Glacier Gardens and the hatchery, and then on out the road to the Shrine of St. Therese and Eagle Beach, with many beautiful stops along the way if you're up for it. The city arboretum is a wonderful gardening stop if you're here on its open days.

 

Please feel free to ask any specific questions.

Thank you for the valuable information. Nice to hear it from a local resident. I wouldn't be comfortable renting a car and driving but I want to avoid taking a large bus tour as well.

Was just on excursion with Dyea Dave yesterday to Emerald Lake, then train from Fraser back to Skagway. We stopped at the cemetery before we left town, then headed up for Carcross. For anyone worried, I am also used to the booking deposit, confirmation scenario but they are very relaxed. We met Kathy, the booking agent on our bus and she was the nicest ever.

Did you like the train ride back?

We are heading there in a couple of weeks. I am so looking forward to this tour by above and beyond Alaska !

My favorite ship. Great viewing areas aft. It's been a couple of years for me, but the ship has not been redone like the Island(her former sister ship), which is a very good thing. Just came back from Alaska on May 15th, and had fantastic weather.

We are sailing on the Coral in June. Would you be able to share your Patters or tell us what your favourite shipboard activities were? Any feedback you could provide would be greatly appreciated by our group (family of 11 cruising together)

We are thinking of going with Dyea Dave to Emerald Lake. Does the trip include the Go,d Rush cemetery or do they just start driving out of town toward Carcross?

Have any ships completed the NB cruise from Vancouver to Whittier? We're sailing June 11 and would be interested in seeing any patters from the Coral.

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Alaska05

My family is on the same cruise as you. 11days to go. Not on Baja deck but hope they solve the hot water problem quickly.

We are sailing on the Coral June 11 as well and hope this issue will be fixed! My DB & DSIL and family are travelling with us ... Baja deck but forward. We are on Caribe-aft

Hope we don't run into any problems!!! See you on board!

So, I'm back from my cruise.

 

We did NOT have the last car on the train with Chilkoot. When we arrived at the station, our tour guide went to speak with the station manager who supposedly told him that we were in the second to last car. So our mini bus load of people got on that car and all piled into the seats on the left side of the train car.

 

A short while later a huge coach pulls up to our car and more people get in our car and sit down. Eventually, the car filled up and half of the coach tour were still standing in the aisle of the train. A lady working for the train company boarded our car and informed our group that we were in the wrong car, that the car we were in was reserved for this other group. Nobody budged so half of the coach tour had to go sit in another car, presumably the car we should have been in, maybe with the other Chilkoot mini bus.

 

The end result was that our group was in a train car with a huge group of tourists from another country. It was difficult to impossible to ever get out on the platforms to take photos because several of them would go out there and then just not move. They also leaned over the people in our group, putting hands on people to steady themselves to get photos out of the windows on the left side, and because the majority of them didn't appear to speak any English, they talked over the narration inside the car. And don't even get me started on the #@$*% selfie sticks.

 

I was glad to get off the train and back onto our little bus for the rest of the trip, which was fabulous.

Sorry to hear that your train experience wasn't the best. We are thinking of booking this excursion through Chilkoot and not through the cruise ship. Any chance you could scan and upload your Patters from your trip? We are cruising the Coral June 11 and can hardly wait!

Have any ships completed the NB cruise from Vancouver to Whittier? We're sailing June 11 and would be interested in seeing any patters from the Coral.

We are getting ready to board the Coral Princess for our NB cruise from Vancouver to Whittier. If anyone could share their 2016 Princess Patters with us it would be greatly appreciated! Our family is excited about this trip of a lifetime! Hope a CC poster can help us!

Thank you! You answered my question to a "tee". I will have her give her CC info to GS when we board.