NboroGirl

We also bought the book and also hung the map up in our cabin. We asked someone from Passenger Services for some tape. (The tape wouldn't stick to the wall so we hung our map over the large picture hanging on the wall. The tape stuck to its glass nicely). :)

This is great information so thanks for posting it.

 

I have a question about coming from the airport to the Hyatt. It appears the end of the Canada Line is at the waterfront. So you must have to do a quick transfer to the Millennium Line to get to the Burrard Station - correct?

Yes, that is exactly correct. It was very easy to get the SkyTrain at the airport. I think we paid $3 per person since we arrived on a Thursday evening. There was a person at the ticket kiosk/dispenser on the train platform who was more than willing to help us buy them, who also explained that the train would arrive in 5 minutes. We each had one suitcase and one carry-on bag, and there was plenty of room on the train to bring these.

At the end of the line: Waterfront, we got off and walked a very short distance to the Millenium Line, which came right away. It's just one stop later to get to the Hyatt (Burrard Station), and the hotel is across the street from the Burrard Station.

I would not hesitate to use the SkyTrain to travel from the airport to the Hyatt again. It was easy, comfortable, and inexpensive.

That was only in one direction when I was there in May, on the pick up. We were dropped off on the South Tongass Highway.

Oh, you're probably right. That's where we were told to catch the bus for the return back to port. I just assumed they'd drop you off in the same spot they pick you up at.

I seem to remember the tram ran until 9 p.m. I don't know about the gift shop, though.

We rode the tram fairly early in the morning, and got right on. Later in the afternoon, around 2 or 3, as we were walking back to our ship from another excursion, we stopped at the tram so DH could use the bathroom, and the line was really long. We were glad we went in the morning before the line was that long. Just something to consider...

If it's sunny, that sun will feel hot no matter what the air temperature is. So don't forget the sunscreen!!

I concur with everyone who says a lightweight windbreaker should be fine, but of course it depends on what time of day your whale watch is. It will be cooler in the morning and you may need something warmer underneath.

We stayed at the Hyatt Regency using points. It's a very nice hotel, the Sky Train (from the airport) terminal is right outside, and it's close to everything. We thought about walking to the cruise terminal from there, it was only a few blocks, but it was raining on sail morning and didn't feel like schlepping our luggage, so we grabbed a cab instead.

Yes, both are very walkable. But, taking the city bus to Saxman is going to be an uphill walk.

 

Even from the bus stop, and doing the loop at Totem Bight, probably isn't even a mile of walking.

Hmmm... there is quite a hill from the main road to Saxman, but the bus stop that was pointed out to us wasn't there - it was across the road from the gift shop, so there wouldn't be any hill to climb.

Wow, I did not realize how busy we were on Sailaway day.

 

• Go to cabin.
  
• Wipe all surfaces with antiseptic cloth. Many people think this is silly, but it takes just a few minutes, and it, certainly, can't hurt.
   
  

Ha! We do that too. Better safe than sorry!

I went to Saxman Village a few weeks ago and took an 8:45am or so public bus and they were first opening up and didn't have any of the tours / carving stations open at the time. I was able to pay my admission fee ($5) and walk around myself though.

We did the same thing, except we took a taxi, which cost $16 (incl. tip) each way. When we paid our $5 admission, the man told us the bus comes by every half hour and it was only $1 (I think). We were going to take it back but we would have had a bit of a wait, and just then a taxi pulled up to drop off a family, so we took that taxi back.

There are a lot of totem poles. We weren't allowed inside the carving station (although there appeared to be a guide inside talking to a couple), but we peeked in and also looked into the meeting house. There is also a gift shop that we browsed in, but other than that not much else to do there that we could tell. We arrived around 8 a.m. and spent maybe 1/2 hour there.

It's a good place to see totem poles, and it's not very far from the ship. It's probably worth the price of a bus ticket and admission, but not worth a taxi fare, IMO.

It's nowhere near as cold as you think in July. A giant heavy coat isn't needed.

 

Layer up, throw a waterproof something on and you're golden.

 

 

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I agree, it's not really all that cold, unless you consider 60s cold. The only cold temperatures we encountered on our June trip were deep within Glacier Bay (of course, it has to be cold surrounded byy all that ice). On deck, with wind from the ship's movement, it felt pretty chilly. And also when we took a helicopter ride that landed on a glacier, and even that didn't seem very cold (no wind, bright sun; a sweatshirt + rain jacket and gloves were enough). Denali was the coolest stop at about 62 daytime and 50 nighttime.

I know for certain crab legs were served in the dining room on the Coral Princess on the Wednesday night. My husband ordered them.

Also, two nights in Horizons (the buffet restaurant) they had a "Crab Shack". I'm not sure exactly what that is, but you had to pay $29 extra to eat there those nights, and I assume it was a lot of seafood.

I did the laundry myself. I did not hang around the laundry room. When you put in the token, it tells you how much time until the load is finished. I believe it was 30 minutes for the wash, and around 45 minutes for the dryer. I would then set the timer on my phone to go off then, to remind me.

The first time I washed a load was on Monday (3rd day of the cruise) and there was no one else using that laundry room then. All the washers and dryers were free. The other time I did laundry was different. I tried several times on Thursday (next to last day, even during the formal night dinner) but all the machines were always busy, and people were hanging out in the laundry room waiting for their loads to finish. (I would never hang out in the laundry room while on vacation!!) I went back Friday morning and had no trouble, but I suspect, as people were getting ready to pack up their things later Friday, the laundry rooms were quite busy.

Someone on these boards recommended buying your tokens on the 1st day of the cruise, because the machines tend to run out. That's what I did. I didn't see any indication that the token machines ran out, though.

There is no Denali /Whittier train, outside the Princess contracts.

 

All Princess seats are "dome" seats. You will be assigned a table, that seats 4. You can not request seats, they are randomly assigned (at least have been in the past). First seaters, choose where they sit. ideal for parties of 4 traveling. The first 8 hours is a lot of repetitive trees and more trees and more trees. :) Makes a big difference is Denali is viewable, which it isn't likely. The last 2 hours are your prime scenery. It's a very roomy relaxing transit.

We just got back from a Princess land tour to/from Denali via the train. We were in a domed car, but we weren't seated at tables. The tables were downstairs in the dining part of the car and yes, they were tables for 4. While in Denali we spoke to some a couple who complained about having to sit at tables riding 'backwards' for the journey, but that wasn't the kind of car we were in. For us all the seats were like coach-bus seats, all facing forwards and with pull down tray-tables (like on airplanes). I did notice that even though this was a Princess tour, we were in Holland-America marked cars. Those were definitely the cars to be in.

We are back from a 7-day cruise on the Coral Princess. This was a northbound cruise starting in Vancouver and ending in Whittier. From there we took a 3-day/2-night land tour of Denali, traveling on the train. I will write a trip report soon (after I finish downloading and editing my photos and videos). I just wanted to make a couple of comments.

First of all - the weather. I'm glad I didn't invest in a rain suit or waterproof shoes. I did buy a rain jacket/windbreaker, which I wore a lot. But except for Vancouver and Denali, we didn't see much rain. It was sunny and warm (around 80) in Juneau, Skagway, and Glacier Bay (tho not as warm here).

Power strip - I'm so glad someone on these boards suggested bringing one, as there was really only one outlet (near the desk) in our balcony cabin. There was 1/2 outlet available to use where the TV was plugged in.

Hairdryer - I'm not as fussy as some, and I tend to use the ones in hotels, but I'm glad I brought my own. The one in our cabin was about the worst/cheapest I've ever seen and I'm glad I didn't have to waste any more of my cruise time drying my hair with it.

Formal nights - The 2nd seating for dinner dressed up more, overall, than the 1st seating. The men mostly wore suits, with a few wearing sport coats. I didn't see a single tux. Many of the women at the 1st seating wore pant suits, pants, and dresses that seemed to me to be more suitable for wearing to work (for a professional) than for a formal night. I wore a cocktail dress on the first night and almost felt overdressed. The women at the 2nd seating seemed much more dressed up. I saw a lot of long evening gowns and cocktail dresses, sparkly clothes, etc.

I used the laundry facilities so I wouldn't have to pack as much. It worked out pretty well.

We just got back from a 7 day Alaskan cruise on the Coral Princess. I paid a lot of attention to what people were wearing on the formal nights because this issue comes up a lot on these boards and I wasn't sure what to bring to wear. I can honestly say I saw a wide range of attire, and the 1st seating was less formal than the 2nd seating. We had the 1st seating.

For the men, almost all of them wore 2 piece suits. There were a few with sports jackets, but not many. I didn't see any tuxes.

The women in the 1st seating wore pant suits and dresses. Many were suitable (IMO) for wearing to work (professionals). I wore a cocktail dress and almost felt overdressed. On the second formal night I wore a shiny gold top with cream pants and that was perfectly acceptable.

I noticed while the 2nd seating people were getting their photos taken, that they were much better dressed. Many ladies wore evening gowns and cocktail dresses.

Those are just my observations on my one and only Alaskan cruise. YMMV

Guys please give your advice / feedback on:

 

- any ideas for workout or any type of exercise on the Coral?

 

- if you had to chose ONE activity on Alaska, which one would you chose?

 

- storing and transferring luggage in Vancouver port. Should I pre-pay now or this can be easily done once we arrive? How did your transfer go?

 

- Once in Vancouver - what to see in 10 hours that is a must? I've been to Vancouver once, really enjoyed just walking around town and trying different foods. Maybe should do the same again. Just grab a taxi to the city?

 

Thank you!

WORKOUTS: There are all sorts of workout classes on Coral. I even saw a lot of spinning bikes in the room next to the fitness center. I hurt my calf muscle on the 1st day, so I didn't exercise much after that. We got a decent workout just taking the stairs on the ship most of the time.

ONE ACTIVITY: Hmmm, that's tough. I think my favorite thing to do was take the tram in Juneau up Mt. Roberts and hiking around the mountain. There were stunning views along the different trails. It was a gorgeous day, so that helped. Also, we took a Glacier Helicopter tour in Juneau from Coastal Helicopter tours. I would have preferred to do the helicopter dogsled tour (thru Coastal) but we already signed up for the Mushers (summer) Camp tour in Skagway and didn't know if we'd be able to cancel it until we were onboard the ship, so to be safe, we kept that tour and just did the glacier helicopter tour in Juneau, which was neat. I read it's better to book a helicopter tour in Juneau (for a northbound cruise) because if it gets canceled due to weather, you have another chance for one in Skagway. We had great weather in both ports so it didn't affect us either way.

VANCOUVER: We arrived in Vancouver Thursday night for our Saturday cruise, so we had one full day. We walked from our hotel to Stanley Park. There's a bike rental place nearby, and we rented bikes and rode the 6 mile loop along the seawall. That was a lot of fun, and easy bike ride (it's mostly flat), had some nice views, and it only took us about an hour, so it was cheap (about $12 for both bikes).

You make a good point about the size of the balcony in cabin D629 but it is right near the elevators. To me (and this is totally personal) that is not a good location. Had a cabin once by the elevators and after hearing people saying goodnight to each other late at night, I swore never again.

Being near the elevators doesn't bother me at all. In fact, I consider it a plus. I've had cabins right near an elevator before (albeit on different cruise lines, this is my first time sailing on Princess) and I never heard any noise from them. Even hotel rooms near elevators doesn't bother me. I hope my good luck with quiet elevators continues.

I'm looking at Coral.

Which one (category) should I select? My choices are BD, BE, and BY (all are the same price). I'm thinking of cabin D629 (Dolphin Deck), which is a BD. I preferred the equivalent on the C (Caribe) deck, but those cabins weren't available.

I've been wondering this for a while. When I booked our cruise to Alaska, we wanted a balcony cabin, but within the balcony group are different categories:

BA, BD, BE, and BY.

Does anyone know what they mean? Is one better than the other?

We're doing the northbound cruise on Coral on Saturday. I was wondering if you (or anyone) could tell me which nights were the formal nights? Thanks.

Regarding the Coastal helicopter/dogsled tour in Juneau...

Can anyone tell me if you get to view and/or cuddle dogsled puppies on this tour? The non-glacier dogsled tour offered by the cruise ship (no helicopter ride) lists something about getting to play with the puppies afterwards. I wondered if the helicopter/dogsled tours to the camps on the glaciers have this as well.

I've bought laundry pods for my cruise. Always used powder before.

 

Do I need to snip open the pods please? I did check they suit front and top loaders-did remember that point.

No. Just drop the entire pod into the washing machine. The outer coating dissolves in the water.

Yikes! We're sailing on Coral in 1.5 weeks. I hope the water issues are resolved by then, altho we are on the Dolphin deck so maybe wouldn't have them (?).

I'm quite clear on getting the tokens..I .always bring my own detergent & dryer sheets...last thing I need is a laundry rash.... :)

 

.miss those Purex 3-1....sheets

 

 

Bernadette

I know what you mean about the Purex. I bought a bunch when they were on sale a long time ago for use on vacation (we own a timeshare in Orlando and I like to bring them there with me) and I still have a few left, which will be coming to me on our Alaskan cruise. I'm getting low so I was hunting for them in the stores but they don't seem to make them anymore - just those laundry pods. Bummer. They sure were convenient.

I was also wondering about the outlets, and if there were any near the bed. I'll be in a balcony cabin (D629) on Coral, and I was wondering if I would be able to plug in a heating pad near the bed if I should need it (back issues). And I read this and realized my DH has a C-PAP machine also. Are the outlets near/under the bed on the Coral also the European type? I guess I should just bring a power strip and an extension cord, as suggested here, to be on the safe side.