Coral Princess - southbound or northbound?

[dimama]

My husband and 2 teenage boys are planning a cruise only trip. Have narrowed it down to Coral Princess, as need a teen club for the youngest (very social and likes to connect with other teens) and Glacier Bay is a must. From there I am conflicted on north vs. south. South gives  much  more usable time in Glacier Bay, but less in Juneau. Also, Southbound has Ketchikan, but Northbound Icy Strait Point. We are active outdoor types and live in Seattle, so northwest and Vancouver BC are not new to us. Any thoughts/advice please? Thanks!!

[Coral]

I have done both NB and SB several times with Princess.

 

Pro for NB - it gives you more time in Juneau and you can book independently AdventureBound Alaska which is ranked very high as a favorite excursion (boat ride into Tracy Arm/Sawyer Glacier).

 

Pro for SB - It used to have Hubbard Glacier. I am assuming it still does.

 

I haven't noticed a difference in time in Glacier Bay between NB and SB. I am out there all day as the whole day is gorgeous.

 

Both are good routes and you can't go wrong. 

[dimama]

2 hours ago, Coral said:

I have done both NB and SB several times with Princess.

 

Pro for NB - it gives you more time in Juneau and you can book independently AdventureBound Alaska which is ranked very high as a favorite excursion (boat ride into Tracy Arm/Sawyer Glacier).

 

Pro for SB - It used to have Hubbard Glacier. I am assuming it still does.

 

I haven't noticed a difference in time in Glacier Bay between NB and SB. I am out there all day as the whole day is gorgeous.

 

Both are good routes and you can't go wrong. 

Coral, the Adventure Bound Alaska excursion does look very interesting. It looks like port time is 8 am. If boarding is 8:15 at Adventure Bound is that enough time to get off the cruise ship and to the AdventureBound?

[DougH]

50 minutes ago, dimama said:

Coral, the Adventure Bound Alaska excursion does look very interesting. It looks like port time is 8 am. If boarding is 8:15 at Adventure Bound is that enough time to get off the cruise ship and to the AdventureBound?

Talk to Winona at the Adventure Bound office and tell her you are on the Coral Princess. She will probably pick you up at teh pier to get you to their ship. You just need to make sure you are one of the first off the ship. I've done this a half dozen times already and will do it again this yer fantastic trip.

[crystalspin]

Winona was very curt with me (via e-mail) about bending the schedule for cruise ships' hours. She basically told me they didn't do it. That the "special circumstances" mentioned in their description referred to things that might happen on board their boat (meaning engine trouble? seasickness? have no idea).

 

Princess changed our port times from 7-9 to 7-6 and I don't believe that leaves time to make all-aboard from the 2019 time tables. I'm going to be emailing her this week (she told me last July to do this) to see if they have changed anything since last summer.

[Coral]

6 hours ago, crystalspin said:

Winona was very curt with me (via e-mail) about bending the schedule for cruise ships' hours. She basically told me they didn't do it. That the "special circumstances" mentioned in their description referred to things that might happen on board their boat (meaning engine trouble? seasickness? have no idea).

 

Princess changed our port times from 7-9 to 7-6 and I don't believe that leaves time to make all-aboard from the 2019 time tables. I'm going to be emailing her this week (she told me last July to do this) to see if they have changed anything since last summer.

That is too bad - Winona has always been wonderful to work with. Though 7 am to 6 pm won't work with their schedule.

[Coral]

10 hours ago, dimama said:

Coral, the Adventure Bound Alaska excursion does look very interesting. It looks like port time is 8 am. If boarding is 8:15 at Adventure Bound is that enough time to get off the cruise ship and to the AdventureBound?

She has picked me up from the pier. I was one of the first people off the ship - started standing in line about 7:40 or so. I had turned my phone on and she called me to say she would pick me up. It is a great excursion!

 

They changed to a slightly later departure to accommodate cruise ship guests but most of their passengers are locals and land travelers. There was one time he wanted to stay longer and go farther (lots of ice) but since we were on a ship, he returned us at the promised time.

Edited January 6, 2020 by Coral

[dimama]

8 hours ago, crystalspin said:

Winona was very curt with me (via e-mail) about bending the schedule for cruise ships' hours. She basically told me they didn't do it. That the "special circumstances" mentioned in their description referred to things that might happen on board their boat (meaning engine trouble? seasickness? have no idea).

 

Princess changed our port times from 7-9 to 7-6 and I don't believe that leaves time to make all-aboard from the 2019 time tables. I'm going to be emailing her this week (she told me last July to do this) to see if they have changed anything since last summer.

Crystalspin,  what cruise are you on that has had the port time changed?

[Coral]

28 minutes ago, dimama said:

Crystalspin,  what cruise are you on that has had the port time changed?

Looks like Golden Princess out of CA.

Edited January 6, 2020 by Coral

[crystalspin]

On 1/6/2020 at 7:25 AM, dimama said:

Crystalspin,  what cruise are you on that has had the port time changed?

Yes, Golden Princess roundtrip port of LA, 13 June 2020. The Sun Princess R/T LA, 3 July 2021, has the shorter time right from the start, so I can't just put it off until then, bummer.

 

Have been on HAL itinerary(ies) where they off-boarded passengers en route to Juneau (from Ketchikan) to smaller boat to get close to Tracy, but the Princess itineraries from our home port (no flying!) go from Icy Strait Point to Juneau which does not "go by" Tracy Arm.