🛳️ Live (hopefully) from Crown Princess May 12 - 23

[gottagoacruzn]

Hey Coral, have you taken any pictures of the ship yet, an will you be on the May 23 sailing, I think, but I could be wrong, think you said somethin bout that. If not, thats ok to. Am enjoyin your posts. Can't wait.

[milogurd]

4 hours ago, Thrak said:

 

Can you tell me what time in the afternoon you found this in the buffet?

Per the Princess event listings:

World Fresh Marketplace - Afternoon Snack - 3:30-5:30

[Coral]

26 minutes ago, gottagoacruzn said:

Hey Coral, have you taken any pictures of the ship yet, an will you be on the May 23 sailing, I think, but I could be wrong, think you said somethin bout that. If not, thats ok to. Am enjoyin your posts. Can't wait.

I have not taken any pics of the ship. The ship is old enough and nothing has been done for years with it (that I am aware of) - so there should be plenty of pics out there.

I will not be on the 23rd sailing.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

[milogurd]

Crown Princess internet today:

 

 

[Coral]

23 minutes ago, milogurd said:

Per the Princess event listings:

World Fresh Marketplace - Afternoon Snack - 3:30-5:30

Thank you for looking this up.

[Nelsj099]

I loved the Russian shop you shared, it reminded me of when I lived in Russia.  (Tatarstan)  I hope to find some tasty Russian treat while I am there in June!  - Thank you for continuing to share! 

 

[Colorado Coasty]

5 hours ago, Nelsj099 said:

I loved the Russian shop you shared, it reminded me of when I lived in Russia.  (Tatarstan)  I hope to find some tasty Russian treat while I am there in June!  - Thank you for continuing to share! 

 

After our visit to Russia a few years ago, I'm pretty sure that "tasty Russian treat" is an oxymoron.😁

[Nelsj099]

There are actually a few Russian foods that I miss.  But for those who are not as adapt to Russian food... Asuka Chocolate? 😄

[mbglib]

On 5/15/2023 at 10:17 AM, Italy52 said:

Pricing sounds very reasonable and more personal than a crowded bus.  Think we might be leaning more towards this type of excursion.

We did the ship excursion once and saw very little wildlife (just a raft of otters and one whale tale off in the distance).  Glad the people had a good time on their boat excursion. 

I have been tracking the weather and it looks as though Alaska is seeing some warmer spots this year.  Guess I need to throw in a few light-weight tops into the suitcase.

Really, how long does it take to decide if your power bar is suitable for use on the ship?  I think that should be "a mention" on your after-cruise survey. 

They did the same thing with my fan and I wouldn't have gotten it back had I not told them that I needed it at night for breathing difficulties (true).  They finally returned it and told me to unplug it when out of the cabin.  It was confiscated at San Pedro before boarding, but my plug-in strip wasn't.  I have taken a fan on nearly 40 cruises and never had a problem with it in my carry-on until now.

[msvca]

Thank you for posting during your cruise.  I am enjoying reading along and seeing your pictures.  We will be on the Grand at the end of June for 7 nights and I can not wait.

[Coral]

6 hours ago, Colorado Coasty said:

After our visit to Russia a few years ago, I'm pretty sure that "tasty Russian treat" is an oxymoron.😁

I have been there 2x, once as the Soviet Union and later as Russia. There are some foods I do like there.

[Coral]

Just an update - today was Hoonah and I did Glacier Wind whale watching tour (thanks to @Italy52) and had an amazing whale watching experience with Captain Casey and Jared (sp?). 

 

https://www.g-wind.com

 

We got to see whales bubble feeding (thanks to Captain Shawn) who spotted them on an earlier whale watching trip that left before ours. It was a group of 5 whales. We saw some solos before this.

 

I then went looking for bears (and found them) with Greg Garcia: http://geestahuntours.com We drove all over the island and had a great tour. Also saw whales on this tour (go figure). I will write more later.

 

Definitely great to book with the locals of Hoonah!

 

Will try to write more later.

 

It was a hot, sunny day!

Edited May 17, 2023 by Coral

[Italy52]

@Coral -- So glad to hear you had a great time with Glacier Wind.  We have been going with them for years; Shawn and Teresa are like family to us.  We have never gone out with Casey (their son) but will be doing so in July so we are looking forward to that experience.  Looking forward to hearing all about your bear excursion when you get the chance.  Once again, the good weather is following you -- yeah!

 

[CruzinNoony]

On 5/15/2023 at 3:57 PM, Coral said:

Some random pics from today - not that great as we were not that close:

 

 

 

Fantastic photos!!!

[Coral]

Whale watching pics with Glacier Wind: https://www.g-wind.com

 

Teresa picked us up and brought us to the boat. Captain Casey was our captain and he was excellent. Highly recommend him. Our boat would sit 14 and there were 12 of us. Very comfortable boat. They had individual chip bags, water and hot chocolate for snacks.

 

We watched a solo whale for a short time. Captain Casey's dad (Captain Shawn) had gone out on an earlier boat and had told Casey there was a group of whales in a certain area so we headed out that direction when Captain Shawn headed back. We saw 5 whales at this location. I mostly watched but did snap a few pictures. We were all pleased with our whale watching experience today.

 

Another warm and sunny day in Alaska. Also - today we saw "Ruffles" who is a ring leader of the group when its comes to bubble feeding, etc.... Ruffles comes every year and is a favorite.

 

These pics on this thread are all un-edited and taken with an iPhone.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Italy52]

@Coral, thanks for the pictures, I appreciate it.  A couple of questions for you: What was your port times for today?  What time was your whale watching tour?  and What time was your bear watching tour?  Did you feel rushed to get from one tour to another?  Thanks.

 

 

 

 

 

[gottagoacruzn]

Hey Coral, last time we were in icy strait, was standin at the rail, when a pod of whales started bubble feeding right next to the ship, they circled the ship several times, got lots of great pictures. Saw lots of eagles as well. Don't know if I asked this or not, when you take pictures of your dinners, what scene an do you use a flash or not?

 

Virginia

[Coral]

Someone from my Roll Call had booked with Greg Garcia, owner of Gee Sea Hun tours:

http://geestahuntours.com for a morning tour.

 

I already had whale watching this morning and called him about an afternoon tour. The time between tours was tight and Greg said he would "make it work". He had text Capt Casey last night to make sure the hand off would work out. I walked off my whale watching tour and Greg was at the pier with his van and the 2 from my roll call who did the morning tour. We dropped those 2 where they wanted to be dropped off and I was the only person on my afternoon tour! I am sort of surprised he didn't cancel on me but he went out of his way to show me his Hoonah! 

 

Greg is a retired Alaska Wildlife Trooper and loves the area. He gave me a tour different than any other tour I have gone on in Alaska on any of my trips to Alaska. I felt like I saw "wilderness Alaska" in Chichagof Island area. I didn't take a lot of pictures as we were looking for wild life and they are quick. The wilderness area was mostly brown that we drove through and Greg indicated in 2 weeks ago or so it would be all green. Greg knows all the locals. Every time we passed a vehicle - we would stop and talk about what was going on that day (sightings of wildlife, etc...). We saw deer, bears, eagles and even whales on this trip.  He was flexible and always looking for wildlife. At one point, we saw 2 bears at one stop (totally different directions). One was a bear that was probably a year old - we kept looking for the Mom and I think I spotted her to the right in my pictures. The other bear was across Long Island. I wondered if we would see bears because the salmon were not running but Greg made sure we found them. I have no doubt later in the season would present an entirely different tour as the terrain would be more green and with salmon running there would be more bears. I was pleased with this tour. It was so different than any other tour I have been on.

 

 

[Coral]

18 minutes ago, gottagoacruzn said:

Hey Coral, last time we were in icy strait, was standin at the rail, when a pod of whales started bubble feeding right next to the ship, they circled the ship several times, got lots of great pictures. Saw lots of eagles as well. Don't know if I asked this or not, when you take pictures of your dinners, what scene an do you use a flash or not?

 

Virginia

I am just using my iPhone and not adjusting any settings (so photo with flash). I did figure out if I stand up the menus on the table, the pictures of the menu turn out best.

 

Awesome about whales and bubble feeding!! 🙂 

[Coral]

28 minutes ago, Italy52 said:

@Coral, thanks for the pictures, I appreciate it.  A couple of questions for you: What was your port times for today?  What time was your whale watching tour?  and What time was your bear watching tour?  Did you feel rushed to get from one tour to another?  Thanks.

 

We were in port from 8-5 (must be on the ship by 4:30). I believe my whale watching was 9-12:30 and I thought my afternoon was 1 - 3:30. When I pulled the paperwork last night, the afternoon tour said 12:30 - 3:30. I had spoken to Greg previously and he said that it would work as I was going to stay in town and not go back to the Excursion Center. He said "he knows Casey and Shawn well and they would know where to find him to point me in the right direction".  Last night when I pulled the paperwork - I quickly sent Greg an email sort of worried but I thought the time reflected going from the Excursion Center into town and knew I would be ok as I was already in the village area. What I didn't know was that Greg had text Casey and when I got on the boat, I said something to Casey and Casey was like "it will be fine". I literally got off of Casey's boat and Greg's van was waiting for me.

[Coral]

Dinner:

 

 

[Coral]

Gondolas - well, they expanded this pier and we docked at the farther pier and had to take the gondolas into the meeting place for excursions. I am afraid of heights but found this quick ride delightful! I also saw the zip lining nearby. Though due to time being so tight - I didn't take any pics of those individuals.

 

 

[Italy52]

@Coral, thanks for letting me know about the arrival and gondola situation.  Teresa had told me that we would be using the far dock so I figured we would be using the gondola --- we will be there when the Quantum is in town.  I always wondered how ISP would be when a big ship is in the same time as us, I guess I will find out.

[Coral]

24 minutes ago, Italy52 said:

@Coral, thanks for letting me know about the arrival and gondola situation.  Teresa had told me that we would be using the far dock so I figured we would be using the gondola --- we will be there when the Quantum is in town.  I always wondered how ISP would be when a big ship is in the same time as us, I guess I will find out.

When my instructions said "gondola" - I was like "what"? It was nicely done! And I hate heights.

 

We only had Radiance in the Seas with us. Though I have to say all the cruise passengers stayed in ISP and very few made it to Hoonah. I spent very little time in ISP as I was busy the entire time.

 

I didn't get pictures but there was definitely a cool jungle park (not sure the correct word) - sort of like Capilano bridge items along the gondola ride. A lot of people were doing zip lining. I know you have been here before several times. It was just weird to see this from the gondola.

 

Teresa is a sweetheart. My friend had to cancel and she made a point of saying something to me about him.

Edited May 17, 2023 by Coral

[CruzinNoony]

Coral, your whale pictures are outstanding!!   DH and I go whale watching any chance we get, including the one time we were in Icy Straight.  You don't see bubble feeding very often.   We also went on a bear watch tour and saw one bear.  Actually, my husband spotted it and pointed it out to the rest of us.  We enjoyed our day in Icy Straight.