My Alaskan Adventure! - Part 1 - Coral Princess and Glacier Bay

DESTINATION ALASKA - ONBOARD CORAL PRINCESS

Coral Princess in Whittier

I was lucky enough to experience Alaska with Princess Cruises on a 7 night Inside Passage cruise from Whittier, Alaska sailing through to Vancouver, Canada.

Well what can I say.... just amazing! The views of the glaciers and mountains whilst sailing on a ship of this size was awesome in every sense of the word. There was an eerie silence sailing through Glacier Bay and every now and again you would hear the glaciers creak and sometimes a big crash from the ice falling in to the water beneath! Spectacular! I even saw a guy in a canoe just underneath one of the glaciers shortly before the ice fell down, crazy if you ask me, but he was not hurt luckily.

Glacier Bay

Glacier Bay



Canoe Guy was under this Glacier!

Glacier Bay

As it was a very early arrival in Glacier Bay, around 5am, Princess Cruises provided teas, coffee, hot chocolate and liqueur coffees on deck so as not to miss any of the scenery which I thought was a great touch.

Top tip: Take some binoculars! They will come in very handy to spot the Dolphins, Whales, Eagles, Seals and various other wildlife that are sometimes hard to see in the distance with the naked eye.




Sailing in Glacier Bay

I was in Alaska at the start of the season which is the end of May and as you can see from my pictures the weather was beautiful most of the time, still with the snow covered mountains, and not too cold at all, I was very surprised. I even saw people sun bathing on deck which I never thought I would see on an Alaskan cruise! My best suggestion would be to take layers of clothing so you can add or take off as needed.

Coral Princess was a great ship to do Alaska on board. She is a relatively large ship so you still have all the facilities you would expect such as; Casino, Pools, Bars/lounges, Theatre, Spa and Gym, numerous speciality restaurants along with the main restaurant and casual buffet.
I do love Princess Cruises anyway, this was my first experience with them and have since sailed a further 3 times with them around the Caribbean. There was a huge deck buffet one evening in Alaska featuring lots of local delicacies such as smoked salmon and huge Alaskan crabs amongst other things!

The ship tended to be very quiet in the evenings I guess everyone was getting early nights ready for a full day of sightseeing the next day. I found the daylight hours very intriguing as the sun only sets for a few hours a night so even at midnight it is still bright sunshine! I have never experienced anything like it before.

I would highly recommend having a balcony cabin when sailing around Alaska. The decks do get very busy during the scenic cruising and having your own personal balcony where you are free to enjoy the scenery without the crowd is a bonus.

Some pictures of Coral Princess are below to get an idea of what it is like on board.



Atrium

One of the Pools



Explorers Lounge

Sabatini's Restaurant



Library

Wheelhouse Bar

 

 

Obstructed Ocean View

Stay tuned for my adventures to Skagway, Ketchikan, Juneau and Vancouver! COMING SOON!