Review Coral Princess Southbound 8/7 - 8/14: You may not like what you hear...

What follows is my review of our first cruise; I'm eager to share my impressions with everyone here but also hesitant because I think I will meet some criticism. I think, however, that it is important for people to hear the good and the bad, and this trip, indeed, had both. One of the events that transpired was so repugnant that I'm curious to see Princess' response to my comment card. If you want to read my main objection, scroll to the bottom.

Anchorage:

We arrived in Anchorage late night on the 6th and took a cab to the Sheraton. I've seen several posters here laud this hotel and was thus dumbfounded by the appearance. For a $250+ room (we paid much less on Priceline, but still...) you get lovely 1980s decor with a decent bed. The room was clean, but I've stayed in nicer Hiltons for $75. We didn't get to explore the surrounding area, but it looked shady. All in all the experience wasn't bad, and the staff was certainly polite and helpful.

Whittier:

We took the train to Whittier and had a pleasant experience. Both my mother and I were tired from our flight and early morning, but we were able to stay up and enjoy the scenery. I'd definitely recommend this route; we were able to spot mountain sheep and a bald eagle from the window.

Embarkation was quick and painless. Our stateroom and balcony were both nicer than we expected. The room we had was on the 12th floor, midship; my only complaint regarding our stateroom was the very small, claustrophobic shower. I have NO idea how a larger person could bathe comfortably in this. I'm 5'2 and a shy over 100 lbs and had to leave the curtain open while showering in order to not feel cramped.

Dining

One of my main disappointments regarding the cruise has to do with the spotty quality regarding the food. I've heard many people both on and off the boards rave about the delicious cuisine. I'm not a gastronome, but for the most part the food was VERY bland and often quite poor tasting. We dined in the Bordeaux Room most evenings and felt that we could have found entrees of similar quality at a local Hilton. In effect, everything was mediocre with little flavor or spice. Quality of buffet dining (Horizon Court) was considerably less than Bordeaux; we did try one of the boutique restaurants, Bayou Cafe, and that was quite good.

1st Port, Skagway:

I was most excited for Skagway because from the pictures I had seen it had looked like a quaint town. We were also enthusiastic about our most costly excursion here, Glacier Point Wilderness Safari, another board favorite.

First, about our excursion...The catamaran ride was cool, not nearly as bumpy as we had feared! One of the guides was standoffish; when one tourist asked about his personal life (if he lived in the area during the winter), he flat out refused to discuss it. Odd. We then took a bus ride to their main camp area and were outfitted with warmer garments and waterproof rubber boots. After a brief hike we hopped into 31 foot canoes and paddled short distance until one of the guides turned on the motor. She brought us within 200 yards of Davidson Glacier, which was cool, but a little bit disappointing. It didn't look like we were much closer than we had been from other glacier aboard the ship. Upon returning to shore, we learned that we would have to wait for other tourists who had been in canoes in back of us. The guides decided to take us on a "tour" of their airfield, essentially a large strip of grass. Ok. Great. Then they drove us down to the beach where we had to wait for the catamaran to return. Unfortunately the other group of tourists was still missing, and we had to wait in the freezing cold for 15 minutes. All in all a fun excursion, but I felt that the guides didn't have appropriate filler time.

Second, Skagway. The town of Skagway is a depressing sight: a complete tourist trap, with every store selling the same schlock. Many of the stores are owned by the cruiselines and these are advertised upon the ship effusively (more on this later). My mom wanted to do a little shopping so we walked around through most of the stores and took in the "sites." We did enjoy the very small museum and also the salmon creek on the edge of town.

2nd Port, Juneau:

We had booked a whale watching excursion with Captain Larry after hearing everyone's raves on the boards. I was especially ecstatic about this because I'm fascinated with whales. Unfortunately we only saw four whales during our trip, only one of them slightly up close. I'd have to advise people to save their money on this. No offense to Captain Larry, but we saw over 30 humpback whales from aboard the Coral Princess (that's a low estimate) and also a pod of Orcas. Save.Your.Money.

By far our best investment during our trip was our trip to Mendenhall Glacier. We had a few hours to kill after the whale watching debacle and decided to take the bus up there. Our driver was a local Tlingit man who was absolutely fascinating and also incredibly sweet. He related the history of Juneau and gave us a short tour as well. Then, once we reached the glacier, he told us exactly where to go to see bears. And boy was he right! We saw a 3 year old Black Bear walking about! We followed him from a distance, but at one point he turned around and slowly grazed grasses until he was within 5 feet of us. We had to back up as to not come any closer. It was an amazing experience, and I have a wonderful photo of him! Mendenhall Glacier is beautiful, and even though it was raining, I wish we had had more time to hike and explore the area.

3rd Port, Ketchikan:

Ketchikan is also mostly touristy, but unlike Skagway, it doesn't feel like you're walking down Main Street in Disney World. Creek Street is charming, and if you have the time, visit it at both low and high tide. If you're interested in shopping during your vacation, pick Ketchikan as your focal point; from what I could tell, they had the nicest merchandise and far more local owners.

My mother and I chose separate excursions for this port. I chose the Mountain Point Snorkeling, which I was apprehensive about because, well...snorkeling?! in Alaska?! It actually turned out to be quite fun, and it felt like a true adventure. Most of the people on this excursion were experienced snorkelers and on the younger side; everyone was athletic. I was surprised that the wetsuits really did keep us mostly warm, although after an hour or so or swimming, I was getting a little chilled. I'd recommend this excursion with one caveat: if you have never snorkeled and are not familiar with swimming in the ocean, this might be too much for you.

My mother took the Rainforest Sanctuary tour and loved it. She saw two Black Bears during this and had only positive things to say.

Problems on the Coral Princess:

Ah, now the part of the cruise that was really infuriating. I'm going to mention here (and I don't know if this is relevant) that I am in my late 20s, married, but I look younger than I am. One employee on the Coral Princess actually asked me if I were old enough to sign for a purchase :) So here we go. On the third evening of our cruise, my mother and I were about to open the door to our stateroom when an employee outside of it (standing next to our steward), smiled, and said to me, "Oh you are so beautiful" in a lascivious manner. I realize that this might sound trite, like a nonentity, but the way this man looked at me, indeed, the way he said this phrase, was disturbing. Both my mother and I said nothing and went into our room. Now, this might have been only a slightly creepy occurence had the event ended there. The next day happened to be our day in Juneau. While I was browsing some merchandise in a local store, a strange man approached me and said hello. For a moment I was shocked and tried to place his face: then I realized that he was the same Princess employee from the night before. Immediately he said to me, "You're on the Coral Princess, on the 12th floor, midship, your steward is XYZ," etc., etc. He started saying that he works there, grinning at me, checking me out. I turned around and walked out. Both my mother and I were creeped, but more than that, I was angry. I didn't take my mother away on vacation to be hit on by some horny foreigner who has no sense of propriety. Does Princess not instruct its employees how to treat passengers? I guess not. I spent the rest of the cruise trying to avoid this man at all costs, at times choosing not to go out at night, lest I meet this creep alone. Thankfully, I was successful. I do not know his name otherwise I would have reported him.

I will say that the rest of the staff that I encountered was polite, save one waiter who reeked of body odor and was condescending to boot.

Another problem that I had was during a shopping lecture given on the second day. I believe the subject was how to shop in the ports (something I was dragged to by my mother, alas!). The speaker (Jen, I think her name was), repeatedly made borderline sexist remarks. I was not the only woman offended; several others beside me sneered. Her pitch was something like, "Men, you can win a brand new BMW! And ladies, you can win a $10,000 diamond ring!" Right. Like women are so enamored by all things shiny that we'd rather have an item that retails (to say nothing of resell value) for at least 20k less than the "manly" sports car. The three women sitting in my vicinity all made remarks so I am certain that I was not the only one peeved by this descent into classic boy-girl models.

This is getting quite long so I'll wrap it up. The other annoyance we dealt with regarding our cruise was an alteration in port times. This was announced in the Princess Patter the night before we reached the ports. I'm a novice to cruising so perhaps this is common. It didn't affect our excursions, thankfully, but it very well might have if we had booked more trips through other avenues (ie. not Princess).

Yes, Alaska is beautiful. I don't know, however, if cruising is for me, and I'm pretty certain I would never sail with Princess again.

Even though these sites are for posting our feelings, I expect you will get slammed...............as did I when I wrote about Princess and NCL. After cruising on HAL, we were shocked on the Island Princess with many things. I was so excited to take my daughter and her husband and the first thing that greeted us (after me telling them of the grand buffet we'd get immediately after boarding) was a buffet with iceberg only lettuce salad, deep fried squid which was cold, odds and ends of fruit........food on all of the tables and the floor AND employees just standing there talking with one another!!

This was just the beginning; most passengers gave up eating in the buffet due to filth. Many of us complained at the main desk, even, and were told they'd had many complaints!

And, yes...........those tiny showers...........a man said to me once, "I get the feeling there are a lot of people on her who haven't had a shower yet" and he nodded his head toward a pretty heavy group. Well, it's true..............but the showers on NCL were even smaller.

Someone told me you have to "soap the walls and spin"...........

What I DID like on both of those lines was the dining style........being able to make reservations as we did on Princess around our port schedule was great........... and the freestyle on NCL.....we never did wait in line.

The cabins on Princess are smaller than those on HAL and those on NCL are even smaller. I know, you aren't in your cabin much, but we prefer the nice-sized ones on HAL much more.

Anyhow. thanks for your feelings................hopefully you won't get slammed.;)

Don't give up on cruising; I'm off again on Saturday.:)

After this, if an employee hassles you, you MUST report him/her to the Hotel Manager/Front Desk, someone...............you might be protecting someone else, like a younger girl or boy.

Thank you for your reply, Kayef. I wrote about this employee on my comment card. I really don't know what his name is or even what his specific job is...I didn't think to look the first night when he made the comment. It was out of the blue and very odd. The second time, of course, he was off duty. Come to think of it, do the employees even wear name tags? I don't remember.

I suspect I will get slammed with my review, but I hope it helps some people learn about the possible pitfalls of cruising and of choosing Princess.

One more thing to add: some parts of the ship had a funky raw sewage smell. In particular parts of the 7th deck. Anyone have an idea as to why this might be? I could even smell it outside.

So sorry you didn't enjoy your cruise and I totally agree that cruising is not for everyone. I personaly still have a spinning head after four days on shore but that's jsut me and has no reflection on the cruise itself which we really enjoyed. We went on RCL and had a very nice time. I agree Skagway is a tourist trap, one of the cruisers said it was like walking into Tiawana. However I get a kick out of a tourist trap now and then and had the real Alaska in Sitka and Icy Strait. The one thing I need to disagree with you on is Capt. Larry. I'm sure there are just some days when he can't find the whales and you hit the one. I went with him fully prepared to be dissipointed as I was sure no one could live up to the raves he has gotten on here but on the day we went he REALLY lived up to and surpassed anything I had read. I believe with wild life you just never know but I say Capt. Larry is worth every penny and more then what we paid to go with him.

I, a 6'4" - 220 pound male, was raised in a house that had a shower that was 12feet x 12feet...it was wonderful....with that said, I find that I have never had difficulty showering in the tiny cruise ship showers. These are simply part of the ship board experience. If one finds them to be lacking then one should consider booking a cabin that has a tub shower.

My wife and I sailed northbound on the Coral this July and found the crew to be the friendliest and most professional of any ship we have sailed. Your story about being "hit on" by an employee is interesting. Even the best organizations have an occasional rogue employee. I'm glad you found the rest of the staff to be acceptable

We also took Captain Larry's tour and loved it. Although he is good he doesn't control the whales. One needs to realize when booking nature tours that the animals control the paths they take and the chances of encountering them are hit and miss. While with Captain Larry we encountered a pod of whales bubble net feeding and have the most fantastic videos. I sorry the whales didn't schedule a show for you.

The food on cruise ships has to please thousands of people and therefore the middle-of-the-road cruise lines probably take the Hilton-Marriott Hotel middle-of-the-road approach. We enjoyed our meals but have learned to rely on the waiters to help us. Hopefully you did not miss the Taste of Alaska feast held beside the pool...that was a delightful experience. Did you enjoy the massive display of desserts offered one afternoon in the front of Horizon Court.

Your review will be helpful to others who are approaching their first cruise...and especially to young, attractive females who sometimes need to be reminded that unsavory encounters might face them in their travels because we do not live in a perfect world...even if we expect it to be so on a cruise ship.

Thanks so much for the review. I am sailing on the Coral Princess northbound on September 11th. We are giving Princess one more chance, as our only other Princess cruise was a dining disaster. We feel that Carnival and RCI do it better.

As far as the rude crew member goes, unfortunately, you'll probably find them on every line. In fact, I think you'll find rude people everywhere you go. We just don't give them a second thought.

Again, thanks so much for taking the time to write and giving us a glimpse of what's to come. We're looking forward to trying the Bayou Cafe this time around.

Cheers,

Taters

Cruising is definitely an interesting experience.........it's certainly not like what the tv commercials and websites would lead you to believe.........unless you are going on a small, luxury line and really paying high dollar, you are not going to have the pampering, the attention to detail, the gourmet food, the "celebrity treatment." They are catering to huge crowds here. And having just taken my first cruise to Alaska, I found this cruise to be even MORE different than all the 5 Caribbean cruises we have been on.

Yes, the ports are very touristy - they are everywhere (except Roatan, which we visited in its first year of being a stop for Carnival) but you have to look at that as part of the fun and know that you have to get out of town to see past all the glitter. Renting a car is the best way to do that - to see the real area you are visiting; even independent excursions rarely give you that view. And I just have to comment about Skagway - I had read that Skagway is one of only a few towns remaining that never had any extensive fires, so all the buildings, the boardwalk, etc. remain pretty much original. But the original occupants and purposes of the buildings aren't relevant today - selling sweatshirts and jewelry is - it puts food on the table of the local residents! Just like most of the Caribbean ports, tourism is critical to the local economy. In fact, in the Caribbean it is even more so.

Maybe cruising is not for you, or maybe now that you have cruised once you can adjust your expectations for next time. From what you described, though, I'm not sure you're going to find that different a cruise experience on another cruiseline!

I wanted to clarify a few points in my original post in case they weren't clear. There seems to be some confusion about my point regarding the whale watching with Captain Larry. I think for your time and money you can get much better value doing something else. Of course I don't expect a nature show, which is exactly why I think it's a risk and a (possible) costly mistake. You WILL see tons of whales from your cruise ship and paying $110 per person to possibly view a rare bubble feeding (or whatever else you hope to transpire) doesn't make sense to me. If it does for you, great. I want people to realize that the average consumer will receive the same experience onboard the cruise ship as he/she will receive with Captain Larry.

I take offense at beachnative's snarky response to the sexual harassement I received while on the Coral Princess. Of course I realize that we don't live in a perfect world, and like anybody I've had bad experiences with people during my travels...but I must say that I've never been creeped out by the staff of an establishment like I was on the Coral Princess, and if you think it is wrong of me to bring this issue to people's attention, I have to wonder why?

I didn't expect a perfect vacation. Unfortunately some of what transpired is unacceptable (at least in my mind). In fact something I did not mention in my first review was that I found the obsequious nature of many of the staff a little upsetting. I think this must be due to training, but it pained me to see waiters apologize ten times (not exaggerating!) for an undercooked steak. I'd have preferred the staff to have been polite but not servile, if that makes sense. I also wondered if these foriegn workers were being exploited by working for low wages. What is the story with that? It was great having a diverse staff, just looking for background information about the motivation for this.

I worry that perhaps I came across as someone who wants to be pampered in my first review; let me assure you that is not the case :)

Taters, I hope you post a review of your trip when you return in September. I'd love to hear your perspective. The Carpetbagger Steak at the Bayou Cafe was very good, do try it!

Tristero, thanks for your review but I also have make a comment about Capt. Larry whale watching. I have been to Alaska 3 times on cruises and not once did we see whales from the ships. It was at different Months, may, July and Sept. That is why alot of people including me take excursions such as Capt. Larry so that they can see whales. You were very, very fortunate in that you got to see some from the ship but believe me that is not a common scenerio.

Marilyn

Marilyn,

That's interesting. Did you spend a lot of time listening to the naturalist and/or on your balcony? I am not exaggerating when I say that we saw about 30 humpbacks from the cruise ship. This was all between the end of Glacier Bay and the day before we reached Vancouver. I was also basing this assumption on previous posts I've seen here where people say they spotted multiple whales.

I spent the rest of the cruise trying to avoid this man at all costs, at times choosing not to go out at night, lest I meet this creep alone. Thankfully, I was successful. I do not know his name otherwise I would have reported him.

You considered it a success to have spent the rest of the cruise hiding from this guy - afraid to go out at night?

If you felt this strongly about the employee it would have been more of a "success" if had you reported this man immediately. If you did not know his name you could have found out by asking your steward.

In not doing so you have possibily put some future cruiser - perhaps a young child - in harm's way.

We also saw no whales from the ship. Well, maybe one but that was iffy. We saw around 20-40 Orcas putting on a show with Capt. Larry and he really went out of his way chasing them down for us. He did make it clear that this doesn't happen all the time and had I spent the money to go with him and seen only a few humpbacks I would have felt very let down as well but compared to what the people on our ship reported seeing on the other tours we felt VERY happy with ours!

As far as the staff, I think you are right the cruise lines do take advantage of them in that, we were told, their pay is very poor if it weren't for their tips. However, one of the staff told us that these jobs are very much in demand and if you get one you do all you can to hold on to it. Our waiter, John, definately put himself out and was very pained if he even thought there was a possibility that anyone was not completely happy with their meal or service. He is an amazing person and we all fell in love with him!! I agree with claud the employee you delt with should have been turned in. There are plenty great people waiting for his job. I only wish we could find more people in this country with half the worth ethic that these wonderful people have!!

Marilyn,

 

That's interesting. Did you spend a lot of time listening to the naturalist and/or on your balcony? I am not exaggerating when I say that we saw about 30 humpbacks from the cruise ship. This was all between the end of Glacier Bay and the day before we reached Vancouver. I was also basing this assumption on previous posts I've seen here where people say they spotted multiple whales.

Yes we spent alot of time on our balcony, on the decks and also listening to the naturalist. Other than the route that you took which we also have been all three times we have been to Sitka, Hubbard Glacier, Icy Strait Point etc. You were very, very luck in seeing that many whales. Good for you.

Marilyn

Good review!! My whale watching tour in Juneau (not through Capt Larry) was pretty anti-climatic as well. I also saw more sightings, of the same overall quality, from the cruise ship. But I would do it again (maybe with a different company) just because it was also primarily a photographic tour for me as well as a whale watch.

I enjoy reading negative reviews just as much as the glowing ones.

Taters, I hope you post a review of your trip when you return in September. I'd love to hear your perspective. The Carpetbagger Steak at the Bayou Cafe was very good, do try it!

Hi tristero:

I do plan on writing a review of my NB Alaska cruise on the Coral Princess. I've lived in Fairbanks for 22 years and have never seen Southeast Alaska.. These are all new ports to me! I am very excited about seeing what there is to see of these towns and FINALLY getting to visit our state capitol, Juneau. I am very curious to see just how touristy these places are as compared to the rest of the state. I can't wait!

Cheers and thanks again for the review.

Taters

Marilyn,

 

That's interesting. Did you spend a lot of time listening to the naturalist and/or on your balcony? I am not exaggerating when I say that we saw about 30 humpbacks from the cruise ship. This was all between the end of Glacier Bay and the day before we reached Vancouver. I was also basing this assumption on previous posts I've seen here where people say they spotted multiple whales.

For clairfication, it is NOT "normal" see much of any wildlife during the sailing via cruise ship. And most people do not see any wildlife. You had a RARE sailing of which you were very fortunate.

Most often, whales sightings from a cruise ship require a great deal of time invested on a front deck, viewing is usually brief and distant.

Not trying to argue with you but your reference to completely omit whale watching tours is not factually based overall.

I am one who spends all my time out on deck, seeing way more than the average passenger, but you will also always see me on whale watches, which are always superior for me.

 

If you felt this strongly about the employee it would have been more of a "success" if had you reported this man immediately. If you did not know his name you could have found out by asking your steward.

 

This was my question too. You definitely don't seem to be reticient to express yourself. Can you shed any light on this?

I did report him at the end of our cruise, and I wrote in the comment card that he was aquainted with our steward and gave them his name.

I find it interesting that people are attacking me for not doing more and not attacking Princess? Yes, I thought it was sucessful to not run into this creep again.

I understand your comment about whale watching excursions. It is a lot of money to spend and not a sure thing. Our trip with Captain Larry was not all that great. We saw very few whales. I would go again and take another chance. My husband says "forget it, way toooooooooo much money".

I don't think people are necessarily attacking you, but many of the things you complain about are pretty typical for cruises: Anchorage hotel price, cramped shower, spotty wait staff service and food quality, touristy ports, and some inconveniences on your excursions. More experienced cruisers know that those things just happen, and you just have to roll with the punches and know that in any vacation, everything is not going to be perfect! If you were offended by the nature of the service, or that unhappy with the incidents that occurred, not to mention frightened by a staff member, maybe a cruise is not the best vacation for you.

I did report him at the end of our cruise, and I wrote in the comment card that he was aquainted with our steward and gave them his name.

 

I find it interesting that people are attacking me for not doing more and not attacking Princess? Yes, I thought it was sucessful to not run into this creep again.

No one is attacking you; I simply asked a question. I'm not sure it's reasonable to post like yours on a board like this and then not expect to encounter a variety of opinions.

I don't feel like you answered my question. Reporting this on a 5 line comment card that won't be immediately read seems like a very passive way to handle what you express as a threatening situation. If it was me, I would have immediately gone to Guest Relations. I'm just curious as to why you didn't - that's all...

I also went to the "port talk" on my first cruise. I did not realize it was a sales pitch. I foolishly thought I was actually going to hear about the port! NEVER AGAIN!

My husband and I just returned from our first cruise ever on the N bound Alaska Cruise from Vancouver to Whittier. There were high points and low points just like any other vacation. The small showers didn't bother us at all even though my husband is 6'3", 210. Compared to the vacations we have spent on sailboats and barges the Princess shower was downright luxurious.

The glacier Trek with Nstar was amazing, the RR trip boring. A couple meals were memorable; most were OK. We have long ago adopted an attitude of making the best of every vacation situation. There are always some "hits" and some "misses." This was one more adventure. Will we sail again? Yes!

Yes, everyone who said all vacations have high and low points is absolutely correct! We had a fun time on our cruise, despite the flaws. My main reason for posting my review was to let everyone see the bad as well as the good.

In the interest of showing the good side of our trip, here are a few of my favorite pictures:

Margorie Glacier in Glacier Bay. We saw lots of calving, and this was one of the highlights of our vacation.

Black Bear we encountered on a trail by Mendenhall Glacier

Davidson Glacier with iceberg in front, as seen during Glacier Point Wilderness Safari

Gull sitting on an iceberg by Margorie Glacier

Ketchikan's Creek Street at lowtide