Just back from our First Alaskan Cruise!

[Luckyroot]

Just back from our first Alaskan cruise on the 6/11/11 Southbound Coral Princess. It was everything I hoped it would be and more.

 

We spent 5 days on land prior to boarding - Drove up to Denali. Saw the mountain and an abundance of wildlife on the Wonder Lake Shuttle. Great experience!

 

Prior to boarding the ship, we did a day sail with Prince William Sound Tours, and it was one of the highlights of the entire 2 weeks So beautiful there, and I highly recommend a tour of PWS instead of boarding the ship early. (Thanks Budget Queen for recommending this!)

 

Hubbard Glacier and Glacier Bay were both beautiful days. In the sun it was actually warm in Glacier Bay - tee shirts only while on the balcony.

 

I think one of the best parts of the trip was going to the enrichment talks by Kathy Slamp, the on-board naturalist. Had we not heard her talk about the Klondike, the train in Skagway would have been just a train ride thru some very pretty scenery. Hearing the stories of Soapy Smith, and the 2,000 lbs worth of supplies required by every man looking for gold - it really brought to life the difficulties they must have experienced. If you're going to Alaska, make sure you go to the enrichment talks, you'll learn a bit and enjoy the cruise so much more.

 

Train in Skagway was great, and Orca Enterprises in Juneau was the best! Took the free bus in Ketchikan, then hopped off at the Native Heritage Center and Wildlife Rescue. Got to see the eagles up close, hear the talk about salmon, and then walked down to Creek Street and back to the ship. Easy town for walking around (cheap too - only spent money on souvenirs here).

 

Food was very good and ship was kept spotlessly clean. Staff were all friendly and greeted you with a smile.

 

My DH and I both required trips to the medical center, and the staff were caring and we were in and out quickly. My mom fell on the street in Ketchikan, and many people came to our aid, including an EMT who was driving a tour bus. At the time she only thought she had a couple scraped knuckles, but after returning home, and having reoccurring pain in her side, she went to the doctor and found out she broke her rib! Dad got sick just as we were disembarking, but he's fine now. There were a lot of people on-board with upper respiratory illnesses, including us.

 

It was a wonderful trip, and I'm so glad we were able to take my 80 year old parents on the trip of a lifetime!

[gertz]

Alaska is a wonderful place and we are so lucky to have it. The Coral Princess, one of our very favorites, is a great ship. Really glad you had a good time.

Now you can start planning for your next trip to Alaska to see a few of the many places you missed.:D

[Bucket Listed]

Thank you for sharing about your adventure. It helps those of us who are impatiently waiting bide our time. :)

[doublemm16]

Just back from our first Alaskan cruise on the 6/11/11 Southbound Coral Princess. It was everything I hoped it would be and more.

 

We spent 5 days on land prior to boarding - Drove up to Denali. Saw the mountain and an abundance of wildlife on the Wonder Lake Shuttle. Great experience!

 

Prior to boarding the ship, we did a day sail with Prince William Sound Tours, and it was one of the highlights of the entire 2 weeks So beautiful there, and I highly recommend a tour of PWS instead of boarding the ship early. (Thanks Budget Queen for recommending this!)

 

Hubbard Glacier and Glacier Bay were both beautiful days. In the sun it was actually warm in Glacier Bay - tee shirts only while on the balcony.

 

I think one of the best parts of the trip was going to the enrichment talks by Kathy Slamp, the on-board naturalist. Had we not heard her talk about the Klondike, the train in Skagway would have been just a train ride thru some very pretty scenery. Hearing the stories of Soapy Smith, and the 2,000 lbs worth of supplies required by every man looking for gold - it really brought to life the difficulties they must have experienced. If you're going to Alaska, make sure you go to the enrichment talks, you'll learn a bit and enjoy the cruise so much more.

 

Train in Skagway was great, and Orca Enterprises in Juneau was the best! Took the free bus in Ketchikan, then hopped off at the Native Heritage Center and Wildlife Rescue. Got to see the eagles up close, hear the talk about salmon, and then walked down to Creek Street and back to the ship. Easy town for walking around (cheap too - only spent money on souvenirs here).

 

Food was very good and ship was kept spotlessly clean. Staff were all friendly and greeted you with a smile.

 

My DH and I both required trips to the medical center, and the staff were caring and we were in and out quickly. My mom fell on the street in Ketchikan, and many people came to our aid, including an EMT who was driving a tour bus. At the time she only thought she had a couple scraped knuckles, but after returning home, and having reoccurring pain in her side, she went to the doctor and found out she broke her rib! Dad got sick just as we were disembarking, but he's fine now. There were a lot of people on-board with upper respiratory illnesses, including us.

 

It was a wonderful trip, and I'm so glad we were able to take my 80 year old parents on the trip of a lifetime!

 

Hi Ruth!

 

Glad to hear you and your family had a nice time. Sorry to hear about the medical issues. I had a terrible cold at the beginning of our trip. I had to cancel my whitewater rafting trip because it was pouring and I did not want to get pneumonia. I brought antibiotic with me in case of emergency...I used it to prevent bronchitis and along with my Nasonex, I was good as new.

 

We had a fabulous time on the trip as well! We saw an abundance of wildlife in Denali as well as Mount McKinley! Harv and Marv was also one of the highlights of our trip...awesome whale watching!!!

 

I hope we will get to meet up on a future cruise!!

 

Mindi:D

[AussieKathy]

thanks for the great review - I'm also taking my 81 year old mum so I will make sure she watches her step

[PennyAgain]

That is a very painful injury and takes a long time to get better. Don't tell her any funny stories.

 

Falls in the port towns of Alaska are not all that unusual. Often the wet surfaces contribute but people who have been on ships have their sea legs and has lost their land legs for a while.

 

My family says that I have a tradition of falling in such places, but I am trying much harder to be careful.

[Luckyroot]

The funny thing is, my sister in law had just said "mom watch the curb" and mom was aware of it. She just didn't lift her foot quite high enough, the toe of her sneaker caught the curb and down she went!

 

She's not in too much pain, and said the brace helps her a lot.

[tetons]

Thank you for your quick review. It really helps those of us who will be there during the 2nd week of July. How close would you say that you got to Hubbard Glacier this year? I'm thrilled to hear you were able to get in at all after reading some of the other posts. Were you there in the morning or later afternoon/evening? Last time I was there, it was calving like crazy and so much more fun than Glacier Bay.

 

You really were able to wear t-shirts in the glacier area. That is amazing but makes it harder to pack now. You just never know about the weather there.

 

Where did you pick up the bus in Ketchikan? We will have some extra time there and didn't know about the bus. We have been on most of the excursions already so we are looking for something new to do there.

[doublemm16]

Thank you for your quick review. It really helps those of us who will be there during the 2nd week of July. How close would you say that you got to Hubbard Glacier this year? I'm thrilled to hear you were able to get in at all after reading some of the other posts. Were you there in the morning or later afternoon/evening? Last time I was there, it was calving like crazy and so much more fun than Glacier Bay.

 

You really were able to wear t-shirts in the glacier area. That is amazing but makes it harder to pack now. You just never know about the weather there.

 

Where did you pick up the bus in Ketchikan? We will have some extra time there and didn't know about the bus. We have been on most of the excursions already so we are looking for something new to do there.

 

I was on the same cruise as Ruth. We were 6 miles from Hubbard Glacier. We arrived late afternoon. The calving was better at Glacier Bay this trip

[Luckyroot]

I should clarify that it was tee shirts in the sun while at Glacier Bay. We did need a fleece when the sun wasn't shining on us, but it was generally much warmer than I thought it would be.

 

You can catch the bus right at the carved Eagle just in front of the pier area. Go into the visitor center and they'll give you a street map and indicate the stops as well (I think it made 5 or 6 stops on the loop).

[boyznme]

Hi:

I am also taking that same cruise southbound in the middle of July. I am wondering what time you took the PW tour and how long it was. I will be in Anchorage the night before and didn't think I would have enough time to do this before boarding. Thanks.