Just back from 7-day Northbound on Coral Princess

[NboroGirl]

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.

[Planning is Half the Fun]

Did you do the laundry yourself? Or send it off? If you did it yourself, did you have to hang out in the laundrymat while your stuff was going? We plan on using the laundrymat and aren't sure what to expect.

Love that you were dry - that sounds very pleasant!

[NboroGirl]

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.

[chubbypiggy]

My friends will be going on the 10-day Princess Alaska cruise in July (RT San Francisco), and they asked me to post on CC to ask if Alaskan King Crabs were served on the cruise. If so, in the buffet or in the dining room?

 

Thank you.

[NboroGirl]

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.

[chubbypiggy]

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.

 

Thank you.