Alaska Trip Report - Coral Princess 9/2 to 9/9 - Voyage of the Glaciers Northbound

Hello! I am posting a trip report with photos from our September 2, 2015 Voyage of the Glaciers Northbound cruise on the Coral Princess. My husband and I, along with my dad and uncle, just returned from this amazing trip and had a wonderful time with Princess. I know we’re at the end of this year’s AK cruising season, but hopefully those of you planning for next year will find this useful or at least an enjoyable read.

Our itinerary - embarked in Vancouver, at sea, Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway, Glacier Bay, College Fjord, disembarked in Whittier, and flew home from Anchorage. I'll organize this trip report by day, will talk about what we did on the ship and in port, will include photos, and at the end will have some final thoughts on what we might do differently next time.

About us - my husband and I had only cruised once prior to this trip (in 2014, a 4-day West Coast Getaway on the Golden Princess). We had never been to AK, which was on our vacation list for a long time. My dad and uncle had never cruised or been to AK.

Vancouver First Day

We flew from LAX to YVR the day before the cruise. Flight was on-time (yay!), no line at immigration (woo hoo!), and we arrived at the Westin Bayshore around 2 PM. Weather was cloudy and a little rainy. We went with this hotel mainly because we were in Vancouver for only one night and wanted to be close to the water and Stanley Park with a good view. We booked a "harbor view" room so we could see the Coral arriving early the next morning. The room, view, and hotel overall did not disappoint.

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We had a few things planned before my dad and uncle were to arrive. Our first priority was lunch at the Japadog stand at Burrard and Pender. I'm a vegetarian, so any references to and photos of food in my posts will be of vegetarian options. Mmmm…Japadog. I had the veggie terimayo.

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From the Japadog stand, we walked a few blocks to Canada Place to scope out where we would need to go the next morning for the cruise. We checked out the views around the Olympic Cauldron and then walked back to the hotel. Stopped at Coal Harbour Liquor Store along the way to pick up some British Columbia wines to take on the ship, and we found they had a good selection. Then we met my dad and uncle at Cardero's, which is on the water next to the Westin. We had drinks in the bar and had a great time. Good local craft beer selections, appetizers, and views. Very cozy on a cloudy and rainy afternoon, too. We could have stayed there all evening but decided we should explore a little and so we walked back to the Olympic Cauldron area for dinner at Cactus Club Cafe. No complaints about dinner, but we were surprised there was a bit of a wait for a Tuesday night. If you are a vegetarian, be sure to ask your server for the separate vegetarian menu.

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Up next - Vancouver Second Day

The next morning, I was awake at 6:30 AM just in time to watch the Coral sailing past Stanley Park into Vancouver Harbour. I loved being able to take pictures of this from our balcony at the Westin.

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We had a relaxing breakfast at Currents in the hotel, went for a walk in Stanley Park, saw a little bit of blue sky peeking through the clouds, and left via taxi for Canada Place around 9:45 AM. I was torn on leaving so early, but it worked out well for us.

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Up next - Embarkation and Sailaway

Fabulous review, thank you! Great photos! I'm thinking of doing the Northbound and Southbound next year... We went to Alaska for the first time in June and loved it.

Fabulous review, thank you! Great photos! I'm thinking of doing the Northbound and Southbound next year... We went to Alaska for the first time in June and loved it.

Thanks @Working 2 Cruise! Glad you enjoyed your first trip to Alaska, too!

Such pretty pictues! Can't wait to read the rest!

Off to a great start!

Loving the photographs, especially the dramatic ones of the Coral sailing into that great harbor.

Thanks for sharing!

Norris

Such pretty pictues! Can't wait to read the rest!

@TracieABD Thank you!

Off to a great start!

 

Loving the photographs, especially the dramatic ones of the Coral sailing into that great harbor.

 

Thanks for sharing!

 

Norris

@Bimmer09 Thanks! I really enjoyed reading through your reviews when planning for our cruise.

What a great feeling to finally be on our way to the ship! We left for Canada Place at 9:45 AM, even though Princess' official boarding time was 12 PM. It was a 10-minute taxi ride from the Westin Bayshore to the cruise ship drop-off area on the lower level of Canada Place. Because we got there so early, our taxi was able to pull right into the drop-off area. A porter was there before I even got out of the car, asked which ship we were going to (the Volendam was also in port), collected our bags, and pointed us inside to check in. Instead of going to the Princess check-in area next, we went back outside to walk around and get a better look at the Coral.

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Around 11 AM, we made our way back inside to the Princess check-in area and walked right up to the counter. No wait, and check-in was very fast. With our cruise cards and deck plans in hand, we proceeded to security and then US Customs where we were able to use the automated kiosks. Still no lines to wait in! Then we were directed to a big waiting room where we were seated in order of when we arrived, and we were in the second row. The staff told us we would board at noon, and we ended up boarding a little early around 11:45-11:50 AM. Once they started calling the rows to board, it was quick and easy getting on the ship and to our room. I was really impressed with the whole process compared to San Pedro (ugh) last year. There were plenty of helpful staff around Canada Place to point us in the right direction all along the way.

Once on the ship we did the typical things. First, lunch at the buffet. I really liked the open setup and forward windows of the Coral's Horizon Court compared to the Golden last year (which I understand has been redone recently).

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We walked around the ship, starting on the lower decks and working our way up. Then we realized, hey, it’s time to sit and relax for a bit. We’re on vacation! I relaxed with a 50th anniversary “Regal Occasion” at Crooners. Yum! (My husband had the Seawitch Denali Red, which we both thought was quite nice.)

Cheers!

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Up next - Embarkation and Sailaway (continued)

Great review so far! I was on the same cruise and will enjoy reading your thoughts and opinions.

Great review! We just did the SB on the Coral in June for the 3rd time and I'm really considering either a R/T out of Seattle or a NB from Vancouver in 2017. I'm looking forward to comparing your review with my experiences. Thanks for sharing and GREAT pictures!

Great review so far! I was on the same cruise and will enjoy reading your thoughts and opinions.

Thanks @akeasley! Hope you had a great time on the cruise!

Great review! We just did the SB on the Coral in June for the 3rd time and I'm really considering either a R/T out of Seattle or a NB from Vancouver in 2017. I'm looking forward to comparing your review with my experiences. Thanks for sharing and GREAT pictures!

Thanks @New York Nana! We’re already thinking about our next AK cruise, too. We really liked the NB route, but are debating SB instead or a R/T.

Awesome pictures!!! We love the Coral. Can't wait to see the rest of your review:D.

Thanks @New York Nana! We’re already thinking about our next AK cruise, too. We really liked the NB route, but are debating SB instead or a R/T.

That's funny how we're both thinking of doing the same/opposite trip! I did a review here in the Princess forum for my June cruise. When you have time, you may find it helpful in deciding about a SB trip. Look under "Coral Princess" above. I believe the title was something like "Review SB Alaska June 3-10" It's pretty long and I didn't figure out how to add photos till the end, but I tried to be pretty detailed.

Barb

Awesome pictures!!! We love the Coral. Can't wait to see the rest of your review:D.

Thanks very much @Magellan321! We really, really liked the Coral.

That's funny how we're both thinking of doing the same/opposite trip! I did a review here in the Princess forum for my June cruise. When you have time, you may find it helpful in deciding about a SB trip. Look under "Coral Princess" above. I believe the title was something like "Review SB Alaska June 3-10" It's pretty long and I didn't figure out how to add photos till the end, but I tried to be pretty detailed.

 

Barb

That is funny @New York Nana (Barb)! I will definitely check out your review. Thanks for letting me know about it! :)

After the muster drill, we were so glad it wasn’t raining so we could enjoy sailaway on deck. We would be leaving on-time at 4:30 PM.

Here we go! One minute to sailaway…

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Passing under the Lions Gate Bridge.

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We had early traditional dinner in the Bordeaux dining room. We all really enjoyed the dining room food during the cruise…dessert especially. I had put in a special occasion request for my dad’s retirement, and they brought him a sugar-free cake (per his dietary request), sang a “happy retirement” song, and gave him a card from the ship. I thought those were nice touches that really made my dad feel special.

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And of course I had to get the Love Boat Dream.

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We were able to catch a great sunset from our room after dinner, and even a rainbow!

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To top off a great day, we did the evening trivia. It was Motown-themed and we did OK! But we didn’t win.

Up next - At Sea

Excellent report. I am enjoying this.

Keith

Excellent report. I am enjoying this.

 

Keith

Glad to hear it @Keith1010! Thanks!

Great review! How many bottles did you end up taking on? Any corkage?

Great review! How many bottles did you end up taking on? Any corkage?

Thank you @Colo Cruiser! We brought 4 bottles (1 for each of us) so no corkage during embarkation. We somehow fell behind on drinking the wine (how is that possible?!) so we brought one bottle to the dining room for dinner at the end of the cruise and did have to pay the corkage, as expected.

Hi

We are looking at doing cruise at this time next year, interested to know if anything has closed down for the season, are there sales in the shops etc.

thanks for posting, great pics

yours Shogun

Great review! We sailed on the Coral SB in July. Reading this is like sailing back. Thanks for your great pics!

wow. Thanks for taking the time to post this. your pictures indeed tell a thousand words. Very pretty. Looks like the rest of your review will be just as special as the beginning part.

Hi

 

We are looking at doing cruise at this time next year, interested to know if anything has closed down for the season, are there sales in the shops etc.

 

thanks for posting, great pics

 

yours Shogun

Thanks @Shogun! We didn’t notice anything that was closed down, but my husband and I didn’t do a lot of shopping and the excursions we did were all booked through Princess. From the little bit of shopping we did, I noticed more sales at our last port stop, which was Skagway. Also, when I get to my post on Glacier Bay, you’ll hear about something special we saw that is only available after September 1. :)

Great review! We sailed on the Coral SB in July. Reading this is like sailing back. Thanks for your great pics!

@cnd crsr Thank you! Hope you had a great time on the Coral, too!

wow. Thanks for taking the time to post this. your pictures indeed tell a thousand words. Very pretty. Looks like the rest of your review will be just as special as the beginning part.

Thanks very much @AF-1!