ready to book Coral Princess, Alaska- which of these cabins to confirm?

[firststeps]

Well, narrowed down to Coral Princess July 27 - cabins 305 and 303 on the Dolphin Deck. or Aug 10 date with cabins 303/301 on the Baja deck. I need to know sooooon.... anyone have thoughts? It would be greatly appreciated for this novice cruiser. Both are balcony, starboard as we are traveling NORTH. Thanks.... Terri

[BarbinMich]

Personally, I would see what's also available on the port side as for much of the cruise there will be scenery on both sides. Plus you'll probably go out on deck to get a better view than what you can see from your cabin--weather permitting. I'd go with 301, just because it's not directly opposite the elevator/stairs lobby, which could be noise at times. We sailed on the Coral Princess in Jan. 2008 and really liked it. The indoor pool area will be nice for Alaska and their spa is wonderful (as are most). Enjoy! Alaska in fantastic.

 

Barb

[Ken076]

check what's above and below the cabins, and that they're not immediately next to elevators or stairs or launderettes. Many recommend STBD cabins for viewing, but I'm not sure it matters much in the inlets where you go in then turn around. If you plan viewing from the comfort of your Balcony, in potentially rainy Alaska you might want to assure you have a fully covered balcony. The Coral Princess is a nice choice! ken

[firststeps]

Thank you both for your input. We are excited! First time to Alaska and only our second cruise. The first was a terrible experience so we are hoping for the best... Terri

[LoriPhil]

I hope this will be a wonderful experience for you - Alaska is magnificent and the Coral is a lovely ship. And good news - the Coral is the only cruise ship docked in Skagway on that Friday, so you'll have this terrific little town allllll to yourselves!

[Host Caroline]

Going North take starboard side; you will see ice coming out Tracy Arm and Endicott sailing up the channel towards Juneau; Haines will be on that side leaving Skagway (picturesque at night) and unless having a bigger balcony is a huge deal, a covered balcony on Baja (or Aloha or Lido) will be usable if it's a little rainy. Dolphin you will get wet or have to stand there with an umbrella. In Glacier Bay and College Fjord you will want to go "up top" for a full view but the ship will go in and out and captain will turn at the bigger glaciers so you can see it all from balcony.

[judynorth]

Thank you both for your input. We are excited! First time to Alaska and only our second cruise. The first was a terrible experience so we are hoping for the best... Terri

 

Our first cruise was a disaster too so I understand. Our second cruise was on the Coral to Alaska and it was as close to perfect as you can get. I would recommend Baja because the balconies are covered. They are not covered on Dolphin. Which side of the ship the cabin is on really makes little difference, in my opinion. There is good scenery on both sides. Don't worry about being close to the stairs/elevators. On the upper levels you shouldn't have a problem with noise particularly near the forward elevators.

 

One tip - there is a balcony all the way forward on Baja which provides great viewing with no obstructions. It should be great for glacier viewing. You go all the way forward and go through 2 sets of doors to access the balcony. The doors are marked for emergency only or crew only but you can go out there. We didn't know about this on our Alaska cruise but used the balcony on our Panama Canal cruise. Many of the pictures of the Panama Canal that I posted on Webshots (link below) were taken from the Baja balcony. Dolphin and Caribe have forward balconies also.

 

I hope your Alaska cruise on the Coral was a great as ours was.

[firststeps]

What WONDERFUL information. Thanks so much to all of you. I can't believe how lucky we are to have one port to ourselves!! I know this will be a memorable trip for us. Alaska... who could ask for more??? Terri

[judynorth]

What WONDERFUL information. Thanks so much to all of you. I can't believe how lucky we are to have one port to ourselves!! I know this will be a memorable trip for us. Alaska... who could ask for more??? Terri

 

So what did you decide?

[firststeps]

WE BOOKED THE AUG 10 ON BAJA. Thanks to everyone for your help. Terri

[texkan]

Well, narrowed down to Coral Princess July 27 - cabins 305 and 303 on the Dolphin Deck. or Aug 10 date with cabins 303/301 on the Baja deck. I need to know sooooon.... anyone have thoughts? It would be greatly appreciated for this novice cruiser. Both are balcony, starboard as we are traveling NORTH. Thanks.... Terri

 

Check this link for Coral Princess:

http://mysite.verizon.net/res76zxu/princessbalconies/index.html