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Alaska Photojournal – Coral Princess + DIY Land Tour May 28 – June 9, 2014


AryMay
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I am loving your review. Thank you for posting. We are sailing on the Coral next July. I also went back and forth about doing the cruise first then tour or touring first and then the cruise. I did decide I didn't want that long flight home from Alaska. it is funny you said you didn't like that at the end so I am glad I picked the tour first. I woudl love to have seen Vancouver some before but we are going to fly in a few days early to see more of Anchorage which will be nice. I can't wait for this trip. I know you said you liked your room as well and I think we are just a few down from where you stayed. I like being two floors down from the buffett. We sailed on the Coral in March and we looked around to see what would be a good room to have. Thanks again for taking the time to write this. Your pictures are wonderful !!!!

 

Thanks for reading! If I had an inside room, I think I would have picked a cabin near one of the aft viewing areas...it would almost be like having a very large balcony. We went back there a couple of times and it was always very peaceful, not crowded and not windy! The narration from the naturalist was also broadcast in that area.

 

However...with a balcony I did think our location was great. So close to the buffet and it was very easy to zip down on the elevator to the Princess Theater. One downside I didn't mention...the forward elevators near our cabin only went down to the 7th floor. That meant when we were going to dinner or someplace lower in the ship we had to walk to the mid-ship elevators instead. Not a big deal, but just something to keep in mind.

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I was also on the Coral (with a landtour) the week before you and am reliving my experience through you, so please continue. You are good - I just transferred the photos from my husband's camera to my computer last night so I could start looking at them again.

 

Please feel free to chime in if you want. I know there are things I will forget to mention!

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There can never be enough Alaska cruise reviews:). I was on the Coral the week before you and I would love to relive my cruise through you. So YES please continue.

 

Thanks for the comment...and thanks for YOUR review!

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I'm interested in hearing how this works out. We are thinking of taking Southwest to Seattle & taking the train into Vancouver. I'm curious to hear if it's a good way to go...or if it's easier to just go into Vancouver.

 

I'm sure it would be easier to just fly into Vancouver, but we saved a LOT of money by taking the train from Seattle. Flights were cheaper, we had a credit, and NO bag fees!

 

I just had the attitude that the train ride was like an excursion...not transportation. It was very scenic and actually relaxing. My husband and I both commented on how peaceful it felt in the train...especially compared to flying.

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My husband and I were on the same cruise! It was awesome! I'm looking forward to your review :)

 

Please add your own comments as I go along. It is always nice to get more than one opinion! :)

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Great review and photos.

We try and fly into Seattle as well, way too expensive to Vancouver.

Lots of great Thai places to eat in Vancouver as well!!

 

Actually we did contemplate eating at a Thai restaurant we walked by. My husband loves Thai food, but I'm not quite as much of a fan.

 

He did get his fix the next day...his lunch was from a Thai food stand at Granville Public Market! :)

 

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AryMay,

 

Was there a lot of sea sickness onbard the Kenai Fjords Tour? We are concerned about booking this excursion because my wife suffers from motion sickness even with the patches. Great photos & great review. Thanks

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AryMay, thanks for taking the time to give us such a thorough review. As always, great storytelling with the photos and succinct commentary. I will be checking in everyday to see how this adventure unfolds. I love the Coral and Alaska is eye candy all the way!

 

Norris

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Back at the hotel an afternoon nap was in order after our early morning. When we got up it was nice to see that the rain had stopped. We had no specific plans (which is very uncommon for us) so we just started out walking.

 

We ended up wondering around by False Creek…a lovely area…

 

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…watched a rowing team practicing on the river…

 

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…and checked out the location of the ferry stops.

 

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For dinner, we repeated what we did at lunch and just wandered down Granville Street looking for an interesting place to eat. “Smoke’s Poutinerie” caught our eye and we went in.

 

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We had no clue what “poutine” was…and for those of you reading who also don’t know, here is the definition I found online:

 

Poutine is a common Canadian dish, originating in Quebec, made with french fries, topped with a light brown gravy-like sauce and cheese curds. This fast food dish can now be found across Canada, and is also found in some places in the northern United States, where it is sometimes required to be described due to its exotic nature. It is sold in small "greasy spoon" type diners and pubs, as well as by roadside fry wagons and hockey arenas.

Besides the gravy and cheese curds, the menu had different variations of poutine. I ordered mine with bacon and potato filled pierogies.

 

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Bob took the somewhat more healthy route (LOL) and ordered his with vegetables. It was fun to discover a truly Canadian type restaurant (even if it is fast food!)…and now I am a poutine lover!

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We also flew into Seattle first, hung out there for a few days, then took the train to Vancouver on Friday. I really liked the train. It was very comfortable and roomy. The views were great. Comparing it to an excursion is pretty accurate.

 

Just an FYI that you can get Canadian currency in the Amtrak station. We exchanged a small amount just in case, but once we blew through that, we used credit cards and US dollars. Very easy.

 

Lovin' your review :)

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AryMay, thanks for taking the time to give us such a thorough review. As always, great storytelling with the photos and succinct commentary. I will be checking in everyday to see how this adventure unfolds. I love the Coral and Alaska is eye candy all the way!

 

Norris

 

Thanks for the compliment, Norris. Coming from you that means a lot! I gained so much information from reading your reviews and just hope I can help a few people the same way. The friends that we traveled with actually booked a helicopter tour based on your review!

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AryMay,

 

Was there a lot of sea sickness onbard the Kenai Fjords Tour? We are concerned about booking this excursion because my wife suffers from motion sickness even with the patches. Great photos & great review. Thanks

 

The weather was beautiful the day we took our cruise and I didn't notice anyone dealing with motion sickness. I am not usually bothered by sea sickness, but did take Bonine about an hour before we cruised. I think I would have been fine without it however.

 

The boat we were on would go very fast when crossing the bay so I'm sure motion sickness would be a definite possibility if the sea was rough. If your wife gets sick even WITH the patch then I'm not sure I would risk this tour. Eight hours is a long time to be trapped on a boat when you are not feeling well.

 

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We also flew into Seattle first, hung out there for a few days, then took the train to Vancouver on Friday. I really liked the train. It was very comfortable and roomy. The views were great. Comparing it to an excursion is pretty accurate.

 

Just an FYI that you can get Canadian currency in the Amtrak station. We exchanged a small amount just in case, but once we blew through that, we used credit cards and US dollars. Very easy.

 

Lovin' your review :)

 

Thanks for the tip on getting cash, Callie. Someone mentioned the ATM to us as we were waiting in line for the taxi but we decided to just take our chances on using US cash and the credit card.

 

Since getting home I have been comparing my receipts from Vancouver to the charges on my credit card and in each case we were given the current conversion rate. That means the charges were always less than the posted prices that we paid. Since our card has no foreign transaction fees we came out ahead. If you have to pay a 3% fee on each charge then a credit card isn't such a great deal.

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Oops...I promised I would include prices and I forgot to say what our poutine cost!

 

The receipt from the restaurant showed $16.25 Canadian, but the charge on our credit card was $15.02. No one ever accused us of being big spenders!! :rolleyes:

 

Our statement shows the Candadian exchange rate was $1.081890812.

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Friday, May 30 – Vancouver

 

Even after our busy day on Thursday, we were up early…I blamed it on our excitement and the two-hour time difference between Vancouver and Minnesota. Our room had an electric tea kettle which worked out perfectly to make breakfast with the packets of oatmeal we had brought from home. (We are cheap…and lazy!) And just for reference, the room also had a fridge, microwave and coffee maker.

 

My plan for the day was to take the Hop-on/Hop-off Trolley to tour the city. I could tell Bob was NOT excited about this idea. One of the perks of staying at this Best Western was they offered free use of the hotel bicycles. Bob loves to ride and cycles 25 miles or so several times a week. I knew he would enjoy biking so much more than just sitting on the trolley.

 

So…with the sun shining brightly I gave in and agreed to ride bikes. By 6:30 am we were in the lobby checking out two bicycles and helmets and we were on our way.

 

We walked the bikes a block over to Hornby Street which had a designated bike lane and then headed down to the sea wall by False Creek where we had walked the night before.

 

Looking back along the bike trail towards the Granville Island bridge.

 

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Ships were lining up to enter the harbor.

 

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It was a perfect morning for biking…sunshine and no wind.

 

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Our destination was the totem poles in Stanley Park. My husband is a man of many interests…and northwest coast native art is one in particular. Here is one of his carvings…and he is currently working on a totem pole in our basement.

 

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Getting around in Stanley Park is a bit confusing. A couple of times we had to stop to ask directions but eventually we found our way.

 

While Bob checked out the totem poles in detail...

 

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I was checking out the ships docked at Canada Place.

 

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Somewhere around the totem pole area the bike path becomes one way…going counterclockwise around Stanley Park. That means that if you start around the path you are committed to going ALL the way. The bikes were ours for 3 hours and since we had used up a good portion of that time I was a little nervous about continuing around the park. (Remember…I am the rule follower.)

 

Bob wasn’t about to give up the chance to ride that wonderful bike trail…so we continued onward.

 

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We passed by the statue of the girl in the wet suit on a rock out in the water.

 

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And watched float planes taking off…

 

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And also saw the Lion’s Gate Bridge.

 

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I'm enjoying your review. We have been twice prior and going back next month. Like you, we enjoyed cruises in the sun and were not planning on Alaska until my mother wanted to go. Now it is becoming a wonderful summer escape from the heat! I'm curious your thoughts after you went vs. what you initially thought the first time it was suggested to go to Alaska.

 

We have sailed from Vancouver where we flew into Seattle and took the train to Vancouver. We have also done the opposite when we went Whittier to Vancouver, and then the train to Seattle. I really enjoyed the train. For some reason, the price was actually a few hundred dollars cheaper this time out of Vancouver so I'll be experiencing a trip without that train ride. I'm a little sad by that!

 

Excited to see the rest of the pictures.

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