Alaska - DIY Land & Coral Princess SB June 13, 2018

[Tyskie]

 

 

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[Tyskie]

6/15 Glacier Bay (chilly, sunny & nice)– National Park Rangers were picked up around 9am, gave lecture in the Princess Theater at 10am and left the Coral Princess approx. 7pm.

Sanctuary –something I had asked about on the boards – the general opinion was you want to“move around and be at all different levels”. Our traveling companions decided to book the sanctuary and we went for it as well!

BEST DECISION FOR US! It was $60pp – we chose our lounger. Greeted in the morning with a mimosa, fruit,yogurt, muffins, beaver tail donuts, coffee, tea. Around 11am we had Rockfish Chowder. (We had the UBP) Lunch consisted of salads and little bites. We had afternoon tea with little sandwiches, scones, cookies. Drink of the day was Mudslide (free). We were spoiled rotten! Given blankets for the day & souvenir head warmers and 8x10 photo (we each had a "photo shoot" so there was many to choose from).

 

We had beautiful views, lots of room to move around. I did venture out to the bow and walked a few decks but felt where we were was perfect. While we were in Glacier Bay the Coast Guard picked up a sick passenger from the ship - outside decks needed to be cleared but we were able to stay but asked to clear the side decks.

Dinner that night in MDR – crab legs

Edited July 4, 2018 by Tyskie

[Tyskie]

 

 

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[Tyskie]

 

If I have my notes correct Margerie Glacier

 

 

Lamplugh Glacier

 

 

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[Tyskie]

 

 

 

Glacier Bay

 

 

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[Tyskie]

 

This was taken middle of night -

? Not sure what time

 

 

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[OCSC Mike]

It must have been nice staying at the lodge - very pretty setting. Did you see Denali ? We did not![emoji22]

 

Yes, we were very fortunate. On our drive in we saw about 70% of the mountain. It looked like we might be able to get around the clouds at the top as we neared the back of the park but they shifted. On our way out (which was pretty amazing b/c we had an entire school bus to ourselves plus one BackLodge employee who was heading into town to pick up stuff for the staff) it was 100% clear and we could see it the whole time.

 

We also of course saw it from the air on the flight tour I mentioned but that's a different experience entirely.

 

Nice review btw. The bears and Denali pics are already making me miss it. FWIW, I'll likely be posting a long review here at some point in the next week or two.

[Tyskie]

Yes, we were very fortunate. On our drive in we saw about 70% of the mountain. It looked like we might be able to get around the clouds at the top as we neared the back of the park but they shifted. On our way out (which was pretty amazing b/c we had an entire school bus to ourselves plus one BackLodge employee who was heading into town to pick up stuff for the staff) it was 100% clear and we could see it the whole time.

 

We also of course saw it from the air on the flight tour I mentioned but that's a different experience entirely.

 

Nice review btw. The bears and Denali pics are already making me miss it. FWIW, I'll likely be posting a long review here at some point in the next week or two.

 

Jealous!!! ;):cool:

Looking forward to reading your review - did you cruise too?

[katrina915]

6/15 Glacier Bay (chilly, sunny & nice)– National Park Rangers were picked up around 9am, gave lecture in the Princess Theater at 10am and left the Coral Princess approx. 7pm.

 

Sanctuary –something I had asked about on the boards – the general opinion was you want to“move around and be at all different levels”. Our traveling companions decided to book the sanctuary and we went for it as well!

 

BEST DECISION FOR US! It was $60pp – we chose our lounger. Greeted in the morning with a mimosa, fruit,yogurt, muffins, beaver tail donuts, coffee, tea. Around 11am we had Rockfish Chowder. (We had the UBP) Lunch consisted of salads and little bites. We had afternoon tea with little sandwiches, scones, cookies. Drink of the day was Mudslide (free). We were spoiled rotten! Given blankets for the day & souvenir head warmers and 8x10 photo (we each had a "photo shoot" so there was many to choose from).

 

We had beautiful views, lots of room to move around. I did venture out to the bow and walked a few decks but felt where we were was perfect. While we were in Glacier Bay the Coast Guard picked up a sick passenger from the ship - outside decks needed to be cleared but we were able to stay but asked to clear the side decks.

Debating about doing the sanctuary for Glacier Bay in September on the Ruby. Never been to sanctuary before. Were you able to take pictures unobstructed from windows? Are the pictures included in this write up from the Sanctuary? Thanks.

[sadoan]

View Caribe 524

 

 

 

 

 

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We were on the same cruise as you. Glad you are doing a review so I can relive our spectacular cruise and weather!!

[cclpisc]

Thanks for this great review. We are doing a 12 day DIY starting next month. We are doing the same Denali tour and Flightseeing tour that you did!

 

 

6/12 – Anchorage – back into town, along the way stoppedat Ekultna Spirit Houses – quite interesting but quite buggy, eek. ULU Knife Factory – shipping is quite reasonable. Street bridge to see salmon but the tide wasn’t cooperating. We lunched at the 49th State Brewery. Tasted 2 different beers. Suggest sharing as the sandwich portions were very large.

 

We stayed at the Lakefront Hotel – checked in and dropped luggage – returned rental car to airport (hotel has free shuttle). Hotel is older, only AC in windows but pretty view from terrace and restaurants of the float planes coming and going. We met up with friends for the cruise portion. Dinner was at Kincaid Grill http://www.kincaidgrill.com –reservation made thru Open Table. Uber

to restaurant. Restaurant excellent!! (It's in a strip mall and didn't look like much but one of our favorite meals of the trip) We had Rockfish (2), Black Cod, Pork Chop& Oysters as appetizer.

 

6/13 – Salmon Berry Tour & Cruise day

We had arranged for the Salmon Berry Tour and Transfer. They picked us up from the hotel. Scenic drive to Turnagain Arm, Girdwood, Alyeska Tram, Lunch in Alyeska, Wildlife Center and scenic stops inthe Portage Valley. Driver very nice& knowledgeable but felt the tour was overpriced. (btw- gurus on the AK board did not recommendthis tour but I felt it fit our needs & it did) It was beautiful scenery and some interesting sites.

[Tyskie]

Debating about doing the sanctuary for Glacier Bay in September on the Ruby. Never been to sanctuary before. Were you able to take pictures unobstructed from windows? Are the pictures included in this write up from the Sanctuary? Thanks.

 

katrina915, the Coral Princess Sanctuary is aft on deck 14 - on the Ruby it's in the bow. Very different configuration.

 

All of my glacier pictures of Glacier Bay were taken in the sanctuary. But note: the picture of the 4 of us with our ear warmers - Coral just has a regular deck railing - no "windows" like the Ruby.

 

I haven't been on the Ruby but if those windows are around the entire area - you might want to rethink. I would go up to the Sanctuary and "scope it out". We only booked the day before. Hope this helps.

[OCSC Mike]

Jealous!!! ;):cool:

Looking forward to reading your review - did you cruise too?

 

Yes. We DIY’d Fairbanks-Denali-Anchorage-Girdwood-Seward for 10 days snd ended with a 7-night SB cruise on RCI’s Radiance of the Seas that hit Hubbard Glacier, Juneau, Skagway, Ketchikan, and Vancouver.

 

Between recovering from the time zone changes & red eye home, sorting through the 2000+ pics my wife took, and being long-winded when posting reviews, it may be a little while but the review is coming. Hopefully it delivers.:)

[cclpisc]

That sounds amazing. We are not going to Fairbanks but we are going south to Homer.

[Tyskie]

6/16 – Skagway (overcast) - Dyea Dave Tour to Yukon and return train from Fraser. Dave has been ill and hasn’t been doing tours for a while. Rose was new and super nice however, inexperienced. (This did not hinder our tour, just making an observation) We stopped at both signs for pictures, along with Bridal Falls, Bennet Lake, Sled dog puppies, Emerald Lake, Carcross Desert and Carcross town. We ate at the Bistro. Very good soup and tostado lunch. While lunching the whole town lost power. Unless you had CAD cash, you couldn’t buy anything. Sad, as I’m sure the merchants depend on the tourists.

[Tyskie]

Bridal Falls

Emerald Lake

Carcross Desert

Man’s face in rock

 

 

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[Tyskie]

 

 

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[Tyskie]

By the time we caught the train in Fraser – it was sleeting/misty/foggy – White PassRailroad was good but would have been even better in nicer weather.

Interesting note – there are no Doctors in Skagway, just Nurse Practitioners. No hospital – must go to Juneau, Anchorage or Seattle.

Princess notes:

5pm Puppies were in the Piazza

7pm Steve Hites “North to Alaska”

[Tyskie]

 

 

 

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[Tyskie]

Ghost Bridge

 

 

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[Tyskie]

***Really having trouble with my pictures and sizing - will post the rest of my trip report and if there is a specific picture you are looking for, let me know. I might try to post more at the end. Thanks so much for following along!

6/17 Juneau (dampand overcast) - We chose the Mendenhall Lake Canoe https://www.alaskatraveladventures.com/day-tours/juneau/mendenhall-lake-canoe This same tour can be done directly thruPrincess. There was a savings by booking ourselves. Totally enjoyed our tour –paddled in a Tlingit style canoe – total of 8 people with guide TJ – to theMendenhall Glacier and Nugget Falls. We returned to town and went to the RedDog Saloon and slowly made our way back to the ship, stopping at Taku to send some salmon products home.

Tonight was Formal Night – Captain’s Cocktail Party. Dinner in the Bayou Café – very good and accommodating for some food concerns.

6/18 Ketchikan (75+degrees, sunny & breezy)– We did the walking tour to the Totem Heritage Center and made our way back by another route, following the stream, Married Men’s Trail, Creek Street, Dock area. Dropped off our purchases and met our Princess tour: Floatplane tour MistyFijords and George Inlet Lodge for the never-ending crab! Oh so good! Bottomless AK beer too. Made it back just in time for sail-a-way.

Princess notes:

 

6/19 Sea day and you all know what that means: Packing ugh!

9-12noon – shopping in Provence DR

11:30 Pub lunch

4:30 Pop Choir

8:30 Voice of the Ocean

9:45 Crew show

Vancouver (sunny & warm)

 

6/20 Off shipearly for Canada Place Fly-Over (great) and meeting up with our private tour ofVancouver https://vancouverprivatetours.com Our tour guide was Matt and I totally recommend them & him. Pricey but itfit our needs. BTW – everything we didin Canada we used our CC for the free exchange rate. Hotel – we settled on the Auberge Vancouver http://www.aubergevancouver.com Totally happy with the location and accommodations. They upgraded us to a suite and had a fabulous view of the harbor. Able to see the HAL ship and Coral leave that afternoon. Pricing was reasonable for location & Vancouver. We had dinner with friends we met on the Island Princess in the Mediterranean at Cardero’s https://www.vancouverdine.com/carderos Strongly suggest reservations otherwise you will be waiting forever – excellent food and service – we dined outside, lovely(hot) evening. Able to walk from ourhotel.

6/21 – Vancouver - Day 2 (overcast in the am but then sunny & breezy) Nightof the red-eye back to NY. We took ourtime – repacked a few things – light breakfast in hotel (included). Wandered the city, actually saw the Steamclock in Gastown at the 11am hour. Wehad a light lunch at ARC Fairmont. Nice view of Canada Place and excellent food & wine. Went to Vancouver Lookout (360 view), TheChrist Church Cathedral, and Bill Reid Museum – a nice way to spend theafternoon. It was soon time for the airport. We wanted to take Sky Train, alas, we had too much luggage so taxi it was. We had a light supper/snack at the airport and it was red-eye all theway home! Immigration went well in NYand we were home by 9:30am on Long Island.

Things we bought: ULU Knives- Anchorage (had them shipped home), the obligatory hats (1Red Dog Saloon, 3 Alaska) 2-tee shirts from ship, Taku salmon products – Juneau(shipped home)2 wooden puzzle ornaments from Creekside store inKetchikan – we did see the larger wooden puzzles – they were amazing – but for$129 – we passed, lol

Wished we had: agood hand cream – with all the hand washing & Purell, hands got really dry- DH could have used another flannel shirt (only took 1)

What we had: DH - LLBeanfleece & wind jacket. (Not neededwas his heavier all weather type jacket). I had LLBean rain jacket & vest. Also a zippered fleece, 1 fleece pull-over,cashmere sweater and various shirts. (I’m always cold but was completely comfortable) I wore gloves in Denali in am (38degrees),glacier dog sled, Hubbards Glacier day and Mendenhall Canoe trip. We don’t hikeso wore sneakers that I waterproofed (it never rained that hard to know if theywere truly waterproof). Never used ourrain ponchos but still would pack them. Didnot wear ski hat but wore ball cap. Iused “fashion” scarves for a pop of color.

Did not wear: Brought too many tee shirts for DH, could have left the dresses(3) at home and just stuck with dress pants & tops. Ski hats. Shorts – we brought 2 ea. and wore one pr. in Vancouver.

We had pretty good weather, we heard some tours got weather canceled in Skagway or Juneau but can’t confirm

Willing to answer questions.:cool:

Edited July 7, 2018 by Tyskie

[PrincessNancy]

THANK YOU for your review! We'll be doing the south bound in a little over a month and using many of your tips!

[sadoan]

6/16 – Skagway (overcast) - Dyea Dave Tour to Yukon and return train from Fraser. Dave has been ill and hasn’t been doing tours for a while. Rose was new and super nice however, inexperienced. (This did not hinder our tour, just making an observation) We stopped at both signs for pictures, along with Bridal Falls, Bennet Lake, Sled dog puppies, Emerald Lake, Carcross Desert and Carcross town. We ate at the Bistro. Very good soup and tostado lunch. While lunching the whole town lost power. Unless you had CAD cash, you couldn’t buy anything. Sad, as I’m sure the merchants depend on the tourists.

 

LOL, we were there that day too and had to use the "outhouse facilities"! I guess when they lose power their toilets do not work.

[Tyskie]

LOL, we were there that day too and had to use the "outhouse facilities"! I guess when they lose power their toilets do not work.

 

 

 

Yes, never know - at least outside facilities weren’t bad [emoji33]

 

 

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[bobbismith]

Thank you for your time. We go June 13- July 1, 2019. DYI and Princess Land/cruise. Fairbanks, Vancouver and Seattle. What did you wear in the dinning room? Any advice? Thanks