Coral SB 7/23-30

[Red Rox]

Day1- We did a 5 day land tour through Princess on the front end of our cruise, so we began the day in Fairbanks. (I posted a review of the land trip in the Alaska forum). We flew from Fairbanks to Anchorage in the afternoon and transferred to a bus for the ride down to Whittier. The ride was pleasant although the weather was drizzly. One highlight though was when we spotted 3 Dall sheep on a roadside cliff. Upon arrival at the port we were able to check in and proceed directly to the ship and our mini suite D529. Once again, we found our luggage waiting for us and our steward greeted us and brought us our welcome champagne. We were glad that we chose a mini suite, for the extra space in the living area as well as the additional bathroom size. The accomodations were perfect and we look forward to having a similar stateroom on the Sapphire in January when we cruise Australia and New Zealand.

We had anytime dining, but all late embarkees were directed to the Bordeaux dining room at 8PM on the first night. We went there right after the mandatory muster drill. I introduced myself to the maitre'd, Antonio, and explained that I would be trying to maintain a heart healthy diet while on board, and he assured me that I could request anything I needed if I couldn't find something on the daily menu. He said I could make similar requests at the Horizon buffet if I needed to and that he would always be available if I needed him. He was right. We saw him at virtually every meal time in the Bordeaux and Horizon court.

We slept well that night and loved the bed (nice and firm) and fresh linens.

Day2- We awoke early as the ship was entering College Fjord. I made coffee in the room with the mini coffee maker that we purchased specifically for this and future cruises. We like to drink flavored coffee and the insulated stainless steel mugs were perfect for keeping the beverages hot. We mixed cocoa with the coffee, and also mixed in some of the Baileys Irish Cream that I had smuggled on board in my large checked duffle bag.

As I unpacked my Zen Ray Summit binoculars and stepped out onto the balcony, I spotted my first whale off in the distance. What a great beginning to the day! Since the first few glaciers were coming into view on the port side of the ship we decided to go up to the Horizon for breakfast.

Following breakfast we spent some time exploring the ship and getting oriented. The balance of the day was spent at sea, so we hooked up with our friends and played cards in the game room. The other highlight of the day though was the 'cruise critic meet and greet' that we had scheduled in the Explorers lounge at 3PM. It was fun to meet EmmaWoodhouse and her clan and EvansGrandma and her husband. We had hoped for a few others, but it was OK as it was and we discovered how small a world it really is as we made new friends.

We had been advised by a general announcement when we got on board that the ship was sailing at full capacity. I must admit that what I've read about the Coral never seeming crowded, proved to be true. The only time that we really had to wait in line for anything was that night when we opted for some formal photos before dinner. We were able to make reservations in the Bordeax DR for a table for 6 at 8PM. They accepted reservations each day for that evening, except between the hours of 6 and 8 when it was first come, first seated. Even on the nights when we dined during that time frame, the most we had to wait was about 10 minutes.

Day3- Glacier Bay. Once again we woke up early and watched from our balcony and on the TV as we listened to the narration about our journey by the naturalist who was on the bridge. After breakfast, as we got further up into Glacier Bay, we went up to the 'secret' viewing deck on the bow of the ship on the Baja deck. (TY Cruise Critic posters!) There were only about 10 other people out there, and we were standing directly underneath the narrator and actually helping her as we spotted whales and otters from our view point.

It was early afternoon when we finally reached Marjerie Glacier and we returned to our view point on the Baja deck to watch and listen to the glacier. It was calving every few minutes and we stayed there for almost an hour. When the captain began to turn the ship around we returned to our cabin and spent the next 1/2 hour watching from our own balcony and enjoying some more hot beverages. We were dressed in layers that day, but without hats or gloves we were still comfortable.

As the ship began its departure from the bay, we once again went back to the card table and relaxed until it was time to get ready for dinner.

The other general announcement that we all received that day was in writing in our cabins about the unfortunate floatplane crash at Misty Fjords the day before, involving 4 passengers from the Coral's sister ship, the Sun. It was a topic of conversation at many of the dinner tables that evening, but we agreed that we would still be going on our scheduled fight with Michelle at Island Wings when we got there on Saturday. (Day 6) Unfortunately for those passengers who had booked their flights through Princess (with Taquan Air) their flights were cancelled, as Taquan was grounded, pending the accident investigation.

Day4- Skagway. We docked early and as we were getting off the ship after breakfast, the Sun was docking right behind us. We walked into town and went first to the ranger station where we saw the 1/2 hour film about Skagway and its colorful history. This is a 'must see' IMHO for all visitors to Skagway. And it's free! We spent the rest of the morning strolling the main street in town, doing a little shopping. In retrospect, we found the shopping for souvenirs and such to be best in Skagway and probably Juneau next. By the time we got to Ketchikan, everything was looking pretty much the same as what we had seen already at the other ports.

We had a quick lunch back on board the ship before being picked up for our van ride up to Fraser and return trip by rail on the White Pass and Yukon RR. We ran a few minutes late because 2 of our fellow travelers had to run back to their staterooms to get their passports. WARNING! Don't forget to bring your passports if you do this trip. You are required to have them with you since you do cross into Canada and then back again. Our driver was entertaining and informative and she got us up to the train station in plenty of time despite the delay. The train ride back was awesome and we agreed that doing the bus up/train back option made it more interesting. We enjoyed great views and scenery as well as a good overview of the history of the gold rush and its impact on the growth and development of Skagway as a town. We tried to go to the Red Onion Saloon when we got back to town, but it was packed and there were no tables available. I stood at the entrance and listened to the Moody Blues playing on the audio system for a few minutes and then we walked back to the ship.

This was our longest day in port and we enjoyed it very much.

We had dinner that night at Sabatinis. It was a wonderful meal, but be advised that it's a lot of food, served in small portions over about a 2-3 hour period. By the time we were finished we were all stuffed, but we agreed that it was well worth the $20 pp surcharge.

Day5- Juneau. The weather was misty as we got off in the morning around 10AM. We walked up the road toward town spotting a few bald eagles in the trees on the opposite side of the road near the Mt Roberts Tramway. We stopped at a booth and made a decision to buy a $25 ticket for a city tour and bus ride up to Mendenhall Glacier. The other (cheaper) option was to ride the city bus for $6 each way, but that offered no narrative along the way and also had several stops that made the ride a bit longer. Our driver/guide was a native Tlingit. He gave us a lot of info and insight along the way. We saw a lot more eagles as we passed near the bay on the way to the glacier. We had a about 45 minutes to spend at the Mendenhall visitor center and viewing area. This gave us plenty of time to view the glacier and to watch the short (free) film that they show there. We again realized we had made a good decision about how to spend the day and didn't regret not having more time to hike closer to the glacier since the trails were VERY muddy. And to make it even better, we spotted a black bear crossing the road when we got on the bus for the return to the dock. Some of our fellow bus passengers had also spent a few minutes watching another black bear and her 2 cubs in a tree very close to the bus stop area.

We made friends with 2 other travelers during our land tour who were ironically also from AZ. They did some of their excursions with us and others they had prebooked on their own. On this day, they had a flight to the glacier combined with a dog sled ride. They reported to us that evening at dinner that it was indeed a highlight of the whole vacation, and they were very glad they had done it. They also noted that they had run late on their return, but that since they had booked the excursion through Princess, the captain held the ship in port for them as they were about 1/2 hour late getting back to the dock.

That evening after we had dinner in the Bordeaux DR we went to see how some of our friends were enjoying their meal at Sabatinis since we had encouraged them to go after our pleasant experience the night before. They had a table by a window on the port side and as we sat down with them, we watched a school of humpback whales go by.(There must have been 20 of them)

Day6- Ketchikan. Again it was misty when we docked but the weather cleared as the morning progressed. We walked through town and found our way to Creek Street since that seems to be the must do thing. The shops there didn't offer much IMO but the history of the red light district is fun and we took the $5 tour of Dolly's House. If you want to get an idea of what life was like in Ketchikan 100 years ago, this is a great place to do it. When we came back outside we watched a few of the local fishermen landing some good sized salmon from the bridge across the street. We had a light lunch back on board the ship before being picked up at the 'rain guage' by the Island Wings van for our flight tour with Michelle. She was running about 20 minutes late because of the rainy weather that morning, but by the time we got there, the sun was shining brightly.

The plane came back to the dock and off loaded a family who assured us that the trip they had just taken was better than anything they had ever done before. They didn't lie. Michelle demonstrated her knowledge and love of the area as she took us over the forest and up to Misty Fjords NM. As we flew over the first great cliff we saw sheep on the snowfield below. We saw frozen lakes and towering waterfalls. We touched down on one of the high inland lakes and went ashore for about 1/2 hour. Michelle took photos of us all and we explored the beach before returning to the aircraft for our flight back in. We saw dozens of seals on the rocks and some eagles in the trees. By the time we got back to the dock it was raining again, but we were flying high after a trip of a lifetime.

Our AZ friends had booked a bear watch flight tour that day since they had yet to see a bear anywhere in almost 2 weeks. (They were envious of all that we had seen both on the land tour and the cruise). Sadly, they returned after being the only the bear trip that day to go without a sighting.

That night was our second formal night on the ship and it was lobster night.

Day7- Our last full day was a sea day and we used the day to relax and unwind. We played cards and we again enjoyed the narration from the bridge as we cruised down the inside passage. It was highlighted by additional whale sightings. This time it was Orca (killer) whales and again we probably saw 15 of them going by the ship, swimming upstream.

There's alot of history along the shore in this area and I was especially glad that I had purchased and read the Alaska Cruise Companion book by John Upton, before we made this voyage. Although the book is written from South to North, the Princess Patter gave page references for each day's itinerary, and the narration on day 7 was a refresher of much of the information I had read and learned in my initial reading of the book.

Day8- We had applied for early disembarkation since we planned an additional 3 nights in Vancouver after the cruise. We carried our own luggage off the ship and were among the first to get off right at 7:30AM. We were the only ship in port that morning so there was no crowd to contend with and we got a taxi in minutes and arrived at the Times Square Suites by 8AM. We stowed our bags there and began the last leg of our vacation with a full day in Vancouver. I've posted a review about Times Square Suites at www.TripAdvisor.com. It was the perfect place to stay after a great trip with Princess.

We loved everything about our trip and would recommend it to others. The service was excellent, and the staff was friendly and helpful all around the ship. The food was very good. I wouldn't call it gourmet fare, but it we felt that we got a good value over all on the trip. We went to the comedy shows enjoyed some good laughs.

And finally a big thank you to all of the posters here at Cruise Critic who gave us excellent advice about how to enhance our cruise experience. Some of the 'little things' that we learned here were the big things that made the difference between a good vacation and a great one!

[LARGIN]

Thanks for the review.. The Coral/Island Princess are our favorite ships and we are waiting anxiously until our b2b2b on the Coral next year

[knorrisb07]

nice review. we originally booked Coral, but switched to Sapphire several months before cruise.

[scmomofboys]

Talk about a small world, that was my family that was on the Island Wings flight right before yours! And it was totally awesome. This trip was our best of the 3 Alaska cruises we've been on. We started on the Coral, sailed the Sapphire last summer, and back to our beloved Coral. Loved the lack of crowds. Never had a problem finding a quiet spot. Wonderful crew. It didn't hurt that we were in a suite this time, either. Just a great trip.

 

Before the cruise, we spent 9 days on the Kenai Peninsula and just loved it. We started in Homer and it was our favorite, followed closely by Seward. My guys love to fish and they got plenty of fishing time. We shipped about 55 pounds home and are enjoying it immensely.

 

Sorry we missed the CC get-together. We learned the morning the cruise began that one of my husband's employees (and a good friend) was killed in a traffic accident that day. It took us several days to wrap our heads around this. Still can't quite.:confused:

[Red Rox]

SCmomofboys-

I'm so sorry that we didn't realize who you were when we saw you at the dock for the flight! You all told us that the ride was awesome and you were right!. And we did miss you at the CC gathering. But I'm sure you agree it was a fun trip, all the way. We're already talking about doing it again some day.

[scmomofboys]

Yes it was an awesome trip. And we will be back again. This was our 3rd cruise, 4th trip to Alaska. Our "trip of a lifetime" has turned into an obsession. Maybe not next summer, but soon. And definitely on the Coral or Island. Great ship and wonderful staff.

[Colo Cruiser]

Great review, thanks. :)

[Sanibel*Gal]

Thanks Red Rox - Nice review! We sailed last year on the Coral to the Panama Canal and absolutely loved her!! She is now my favorite Princess ship...so far!!:D