Coral b2b Vancouver to Alaska 7/17-31/13

[Astro Flyer]

We recently returned from a 2 week b2b from Vancouver to Alaska on the Coral Princess. It was a great cruise with a great short notice price & we enjoyed our aft Baja inside cabin. Service was great & except for the HC food being slightly disappointing so was the food. We never had any delays being seated in the AT Bordeaux dining room. The remodeled HC forward on Lido deck is greatly improved.

 

Here are a few things that may be of interest to others sailing this itinerary or on the Coral anywhere.

 

Boarding, turnaround & disembarkation:

Everything went very smoothly with no delays. We used Princess Air to fly to YVR & put on our Princess tags on our bags because we arrived the morning of embarkation. Our bags went directly to the ship even though we independently took the inexpensive & easy to use Canada Line rail system to Canada Place which was a short walk from the rail station. Our only problem was being told there was no lunch in the MDR which when we were in-transit in Whittier was available to us. We took the Princess bus tour around Vancouver & Stanley Park before being dropped off at YVR.

Wine:

We each had a bottle in our 2 checked bags which went directly to the ship so we didn’t have time to put them in our carryon bags. One bag went directly to our cabin & the other one to the deck 4 “naughty room” where I showed them it was a bottle of wine & not spirits. In Ketchikan we bought 2 bottles & when scanned Princess security only commented “oh, wine” with a smile. They didn’t record anything nor were we charged corkage. On the return leg we brought on a bottle of wine in Whittier but Princess security made no comment & neither did their employee at the table checking for alcohol. We were prepared to follow the new wine policy however like many others how it’s implemented varies greatly.

 

Here are a few other things about our cruise:

· Lido deck pizzeria on the 1st full day at sea & the last day offered “Make Your Own Pizza”. We told them which of the many toppings we wanted & in about 5 minutes our freshly made 10”-12” pizza (like on ships with an Alfredo’s Pizzeria) was ready. They said this it’s only offered on the Coral & Island because it would not be feasible on larger ships.

· The International Café in the old Casino Bar area has much more seating than on other ships. They do not have the breakfast sandwich but do have soup in the afternoon. The one night we went there after 11:00 PM (closing time for the HC) there were only small cheese plates which were very disappointing. With the HC closed they should have at least sandwiches in the IC.

· Coffee card was accepted on our b2b for brewed coffee because we still had punches even though it was stamped for our 1st leg. I didn’t need to bring my insulated coffee mug because when buying the coffee card I could have purchased another one for $5 (without buying card it’s $7.50). Specialty coffee & alcohol were available in the HC bar but no brewed coffee unless using a punch for a Café Americano.

· Unfortunately there was no jazz trio in the Bayou Café & only a piano player. The headwaiter said he was tasked to do a survey on sales with & without the trio and sales increased by 20% with the jazz trio.

· Mattress was okay & better with an eggcrate but after asking our cabin steward about a pillow-top he got us a very nice pillow-top pad that was a couple of inches thick just like on a real pillow-top mattress.

· Both Most traveled events were unfortunately only a cocktail party in the card room which was a bad location with only a few chairs & no tables to place items on.

 

“Phyljim” told us that we had a great “balcony” for our inside cabin and they were correct. Just a few steps from our Baja deck aft inside cabin was a great half covered aft facing deck area. There were loungers & it was never crowded…a perfect spot to peacefully enjoy the Alaskan scenery! Our cabin (B729) was under the youth center & near the Sanctuary pool with neither causing any problems. There is another viewing deck on Caribe deck & both offered the same view as The Sanctuary without the cost. I was aware of the “secret” viewing area at the forward end of Baja & Caribe deck but wasn’t aware of this great aft deck. :D

[KruzPrincess]

Glad to hear you had a good time on the Coral. I was on the Coral for the back to back before yours. We loved the Coral and had just a few nitpicky complaints. I did have the wonderful mattress in my cabin. I'm glad they found something to help with your mattress. We thought the crew was great. We actually mostly liked the food in the Horizon Court. Our only complaint was that the salad dressings and some sauces were watered down. It felt like they were trying to stretch their food supply. I wanted to try the make your own pizza but never got to it. Thanks for your report.

[Pam in CA]

Welcome home! Hope to get together later this month. :)

[Working 2 Cruise]

Welcome home!

[Astro Flyer]

Glad to hear you had a good time on the Coral. I was on the Coral for the back to back before yours. We loved the Coral and had just a few nitpicky complaints. I did have the wonderful mattress in my cabin. I'm glad they found something to help with your mattress. We thought the crew was great. We actually mostly liked the food in the Horizon Court. Our only complaint was that the salad dressings and some sauces were watered down. It felt like they were trying to stretch their food supply. I wanted to try the make your own pizza but never got to it. Thanks for your report.

Your info from the preceeding b2b was very helpful in preparing for our cruise...thanks! :)

 

I didn't want to discuss too many subjective things (food, entertainment, beds, coffee, etc.) in an effort to just have an informational thread about our experiences. I do appreciate sharing your experiences & that you had a great cruise like us. :D

 

I'll definitely look for another great deal to Alaska in the future...it's a nice break from the summertime heat with amazing scenery. ;)

[Astro Flyer]

Welcome home! Hope to get together later this month. :)

 

Welcome home!

Grazie Pam & Nina...another great cruise! :D

 

Pam, I'll wait for your email about our options to meet before the cruise.

[Astro Flyer]

I forgot to mention the EZ Check "onboard airline & luggage check-in service" offered by Princess in Whittier.

 

For anyone not familiar with this option you can request it up until 3 days before Whittier disembarkation for flights from Anchorage between 1130 & 0200 the next day. For $20/pp (plus any airline baggage fees) you put your luggage outside of your cabin the night before disembarking which is transferred directly to your flight & you receive your boarding pass.

 

You depart the ship, get to the airport (independently or using Princess), go through security, board your flight & get your luggage at your destination. This wasn't available in Vancouver so we had to wait for about 90 minutes at YVR for WestJet staff to arrive to check-in our luggage 3 hours prior to our 1620 flight.

 

Here were the participating airlines:

• Alaska, AA, Continental, Delta, Jetblue, United, US Airways
  

[partybarbie]

Thanks for a great review. We are debating the Panama Canal or Alaska, on the Coral, for the April/May 2014 season. Too bad that they didn't offer the lunch and had the cocktail party instead, but make your own pizza sounds yummy. Maybe they will bring back the jazz trio? Did you at least get a mint julep?

[Phyljim]

Nice write up Frank. Enjoyed thinking about the cruise again. Wish we were still up there. Next year maybe book a month!;) Been over 100 degrees since we arrived home, and no relief in sight.

 

Per your statement Boarding, turnaround & disembarkation:

Our only problem was being told there was no lunch in the MDR which when we were in-transit in Whittier was available to us.

That was a mistake, big mistake on the dining room staff. We were told the same thing, then went to pursers desk to have card punched, mentioned our disappointment at the closure. We and another couple were taken to the main dining room.....and we went in for lunch. 4 of us enjoyed a lovely lunch on embarkation day. It was reported, Silvo (MD) was lovely. Had a great make up and many apologies. He had come looking for us.

See you on the Royal. We are on the way to Pittsburg.....my brother still critical. :(

[KruzPrincess]

Your info from the preceeding b2b was very helpful in preparing for our cruise...thanks! :)

 

I didn't want to discuss too many subjective things (food, entertainment, beds, coffee, etc.) in an effort to just have an informational thread about our experiences. I do appreciate sharing your experiences & that you had a great cruise like us. :D

 

I'll definitely look for another great deal to Alaska in the future...it's a nice break from the summertime heat with amazing scenery. ;)

 

It had been over 20 years since I'd done an Alaska cruise when I went on the Coral this year. I thought I just wanted to go back one more time. Well.....now I'm pretty certain I'll be trying to find a good deal again next summer and go back. I really loved it. Maybe I'll see you there next year. Glad you had a good time.

[Phyljim]

It had been over 20 years since I'd done an Alaska cruise when I went on the Coral this year. I thought I just wanted to go back one more time. Well.....now I'm pretty certain I'll be trying to find a good deal again next summer and go back. I really loved it. Maybe I'll see you there next year. Glad you had a good time.

 

Had meant to say how much I enjoyed your Live from the Coral. Was so good for updating our Alaska info. Maybe we will also meet you on another cruise next summer. We also will be watching for another good deal.

[Astro Flyer]

Thanks for a great review. We are debating the Panama Canal or Alaska, on the Coral, for the April/May 2014 season. Too bad that they didn't offer the lunch and had the cocktail party instead, but make your own pizza sounds yummy. Maybe they will bring back the jazz trio? Did you at least get a mint julep?

Hi Davalynn...they did have $3.99 drink specials for the "On the Bayou" production show. I got a Hurricane & Helena a Pina Colada but they may have also offered a mint julep...there were several $3.99 drink specials! :D

 

Nice write up Frank. Enjoyed thinking about the cruise again. Wish we were still up there. Next year maybe book a month!;) Been over 100 degrees since we arrived home, and no relief in sight.

 

Per your statement Boarding, turnaround & disembarkation:

Our only problem was being told there was no lunch in the MDR which when we were in-transit in Whittier was available to us.

 

That was a mistake, big mistake on the dining room staff. We were told the same thing, then went to pursers desk to have card punched, mentioned our disappointment at the closure. We and another couple were taken to the main dining room.....and we went in for lunch. 4 of us enjoyed a lovely lunch on embarkation day. It was reported, Silvo (MD) was lovely. Had a great make up and many apologies. He had come looking for us.

 

See you on the Royal. We are on the way to Pittsburg.....my brother still critical. :(

Once after being refused I left a note at the PSD & the Maitre d' called us to apologize and gave us dinner at Sabatini's & he presented us with a nice bottle of wine. Have a safe trip to Pittsburg & hope he gets well soon.

It had been over 20 years since I'd done an Alaska cruise when I went on the Coral this year. I thought I just wanted to go back one more time. Well.....now I'm pretty certain I'll be trying to find a good deal again next summer and go back. I really loved it. Maybe I'll see you there next year. Glad you had a good time.

Hope to meet you on a future Alaskan cruise...as you know it's a wonderful experience. :D

[partybarbie]

Oh Frank, I am such a "Barbie' that I didn't even realize that was you posting. You and Helena should come on the Pacific TA with us in November/December this year. We are also taking the Wine Coastal from Vancouver to LA, on the Star, in September. Bruce has to work, so this retired gal is going with a good friend from my old job and my parents.;)

[KruzPrincess]

Had meant to say how much I enjoyed your Live from the Coral. Was so good for updating our Alaska info. Maybe we will also meet you on another cruise next summer. We also will be watching for another good deal.

 

 

Hope to meet you on a future Alaskan cruise...as you know it's a wonderful experience. :D

 

Thank you. It's good to know someone gets something from my babbling. I hope we do get to meet in the future.

[Phyljim]

Once after being refused I left a note at the PSD & the Maitre d' called us to apologize and gave us dinner at Sabatini's & he presented us with a nice bottle of wine. Have a safe trip to Pittsburg & hope he gets well soon.

 

 

The Maitre d' had noticed we had a reservation at Sabatini's for our anniversary, so it was all set up for us....wanted to present us with a bottle of good bubblie, but Jim and I are not fans. White wine is all we drink, so he gave us a lovely bottle of white wine. Thank you....

[Astro Flyer]

If anyone sailing on the Coral gets an email saying they have the new intranet app like on the Royal...Princess@Sea...we didn't have it but the TV signal was noticeably better to utilize the HD TV function & Wi-Fi was great. :)

 

"You can also take advantage of Princess@Sea once onboard, our new FREE service available on your smartphone or tablet that allows you access events, venue & port information as well as your stateroom account!".

[Astro Flyer]

The Maitre d' had noticed we had a reservation at Sabatini's for our anniversary, so it was all set up for us....wanted to present us with a bottle of good bubblie, but Jim and I are not fans. White wine is all we drink, so he gave us a lovely bottle of white wine. Thank you....

That was nice of Silvio to do. :)

[Astro Flyer]

I forgot to mention that on the Coral the Caesar salad was no longer freshly made by a headwaiter but lettuce with disappointing salad dressing plopped on top. :(

[Host Jazzbeau]

DW had Caesar Salad most nights on Coral (MDR and Sabatini's). It was never made table-side, but was always very good.

 

She always orders any salad with dressing on the side - that way she can dip each piece but keep control over the calories.

[Astro Flyer]

DW had Caesar Salad most nights on Coral (MDR and Sabatini's). It was never made table-side, but was always very good.

 

She always orders any salad with dressing on the side - that way she can dip each piece but keep control over the calories.

The headwaiters as recently as our December cruise on the Crown freshly made them at their station in the dining room. My wife orders her dressing on the side except for Caesar but if this is a fleetwide change she may also do it for Caesar dressing. ;)

[Pamster]

“Phyljim” told us that we had a great “balcony” for our inside cabin and they were correct. Just a few steps from our Baja deck aft inside cabin was a great half covered aft facing deck area. There were loungers & it was never crowded…a perfect spot to peacefully enjoy the Alaskan scenery! Our cabin (B729) was under the youth center & near the Sanctuary pool with neither causing any problems. There is another viewing deck on Caribe deck & both offered the same view as The Sanctuary without the cost. I was aware of the “secret” viewing area at the forward end of Baja & Caribe deck but wasn’t aware of this great aft deck. :D

 

I'm glad to hear that there ARE loungers on the aft viewing deck, since someone else said that the loungers were gone. So a more recent report that they are here is great news for us - since we are 2 weeks from sailing.

 

Glad to hear you had a great time.

 

Also interesting about the lack of a jazz trio in the Bayou - very disappointing, I was really looking forward to that. How was the food there?

[Astro Flyer]

I'm glad to hear that there ARE loungers on the aft viewing deck, since someone else said that the loungers were gone. So a more recent report that they are here is great news for us - since we are 2 weeks from sailing.

 

Glad to hear you had a great time.

 

Also interesting about the lack of a jazz trio in the Bayou - very disappointing, I was really looking forward to that. How was the food there?

I've attached a panoramic photo of the Baja deck's aft viewing area to confirm that there are loungers located there & that most of the time it was nearly empty like in the photo.

 

Food is so subjective & while I'm certainly no expert on Cajun food it wasn't like eating at Mulate's restaurant near the NOLA cruiseship terminal earlier this year. It was on a par with the other times we've dined at the Bayou Cafe but it wasn't as enjoyable without the jazz trio. We thought the entree side dishes weren't very good but overall enjoyed our experience & left contented. :)

 

We considered going there again during our 14 days onboard but we never did it. We dined there before the "On the Bayou" show so we had our Mardi Gras beads from dinner & we got one of the $3.99 drink specials at the show. :D

[Pamster]

I've attached a panoramic photo of the Baja deck's aft viewing area to confirm that there are loungers located there & that most of the time it was nearly empty like in the photo.

 

Food is so subjective & while I'm certainly no expert on Cajun food it wasn't like eating at Mulate's restaurant near the NOLA cruiseship terminal earlier this year. It was on a par with the other times we've dined at the Bayou Cafe but it wasn't as enjoyable without the jazz trio. We thought the entree side dishes weren't very good but overall enjoyed our experience & left contented. :)

 

We considered going there again during our 14 days onboard but we never did it. We dined there before the "On the Bayou" show so we had our Mardi Gras beads from dinner & we got one of the $3.99 drink specials at the show. :D

 

Thanks for the pic - that looks like the perfect place to relax with a bucket of beer and my Kindle on sea days - especially since our balcony doesn't have a cover. Looks good for glacier viewing, too, although it probably fills up.

[Astro Flyer]

Thanks for the pic - that looks like the perfect place to relax with a bucket of beer and my Kindle on sea days - especially since our balcony doesn't have a cover. Looks good for glacier viewing, too, although it probably fills up.

Even for glacier viewing it wasn't too crowded to enjoy & the tranquility while reading my Kindle, enjoying the scenery & having a drink...be it a beer or coffee...was great. Hopefully it won't become too popular like the forward "secret door" viewing areas...maybe I shouldn't have posted about how great the aft viewing decks are on the Coral/Island? :eek: :p

 

There are so many great viewing spots on the Coral/Island ("secret" door on Baja & Caribe to forward viewing deck below bridge, deck 15 around the ship including the covered Lotus pool, wraparound deck 7 promenade deck, etc.) that the Baja aft viewing area was never crowded nor did the similar Caribe deck area below it.

[fishin' musician]

FWIW, there were no lounges on the Emerald deck aft viewing area during the June 19 northbound.