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Back from the Coral. Not impressed


california and cruising
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We have just returned from the 7 day Southbound on the Coral. We were really disappointed in the ship, We had fabulous weather the whole time. This was our 10th cruise on Princess. The Coral is really in need of some serious refreshing of the whole ship. It is dingy and dirty compared to the other ships we have been on. The majority of food is repetitive in the Lido buffet. The main dining room is hit or miss. The service was wonderful. The cruise director I don't remember her name but she was really not out there as on others. The naturalist was fabulous. A lot of the ship got hit with the flue including my husband. While the trip itself was stunning the cruise (ship) was lackluster.

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We loved our S/B on the Coral....

Alaska, of course, is just spectacular.

While the ship has a wonderful and uncrowded vibe compared to most cruise ships today.

And we had EXCELLENT food and service in the MDR....

We also agree that there is a lot to be desired.

The buffet, well it was, ummmm, just plain BAD. We actually just gave up even going up there. (except for a couple of quick breakfasts)

No really heated hot-tubs or pools, in ALASKA... some 'shirt' came out with like some kind of thermometer or equipment, and we just rolled our eyes... what was this... some cruel joke?

 

I hate to see a ship with the wonderful uncrowded vibe of the CORAL be take out of service for Princess one day....

But, at the same time... Not sure 'sprucing' up would take care of the shortfalls.

The ship had just had a pretty good dry-dock and sprucing up when we sailed. So, while that was nice... she just isn't going to get any younger.

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We have just returned from the 7 day Southbound on the Coral. We were really disappointed in the ship, We had fabulous weather the whole time. This was our 10th cruise on Princess. The Coral is really in need of some serious refreshing of the whole ship. It is dingy and dirty compared to the other ships we have been on. The majority of food is repetitive in the Lido buffet. The main dining room is hit or miss. The service was wonderful. The cruise director I don't remember her name but she was really not out there as on others. The naturalist was fabulous. A lot of the ship got hit with the flue including my husband. While the trip itself was stunning the cruise (ship) was lackluster.

 

 

Would have been a perfect cruise for me if service and weather was wonderful..........If I want a beautiful ship I choose Royal.

Food on a cruise ship..not important to me.....just get me to the port on time;p

 

Hopefully your next cruise will be better...I would suggest trying another line variety is the spice of life.

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Yes like I said the cruise itself was spectacular. The service was excellent. The MDR service was like I said excellent. The food yes was better than the buffet, but still there was maybe two choices that seemed to be popular the rest was why put it on the menu. The fact that it had a uncrowded feeling, we were on the Sapphire and the Diamond and it's Alaska it was uncrowded on those larger ships as well. People stay in their cabins, also inside looking out at the beauty. But I still feel that even the larger ships you can escape from crowds. I didn't realize that the Coral was recently updated. If so then they need quality control. The balconies were rusted out and the rust was almost half of the blue mat covering the balcony, unacceptable really. If a third of the ship was with the flu, then they need to have servers only handle the food in the buffet so it does not get contaminated. We were on a cruise that did do this and it worked well.

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We really enjoyed our Canal trip on the Coral. We might have been sad if we were Casino players but instead had the great covered pool. We told get tied up in the bells and whistles. Some whistles are louder than others. We are on the Regal in April so things might change.

 

What's wrong with the casino? DW & I like to hit the casino after dinner.

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I didn't realize that the Coral was recently updated. If so then they need quality control. The balconies were rusted out and the rust was almost half of the blue mat covering the balcony, unacceptable really.

 

Exactly... when you talk about that kind of aging and rusting, the ship would need more than 'sprucing up'....

We sailed LAST May.... in 2016. It had been thru a pretty good drydock some months prior. So, yes, it has been a while now, since then.

 

At some point, it might not be financially feasible or cost-effective to put that kind of investment into totally over-hauling a ship.... Just like any older car or building, etc.

 

We were lucky that we did our research, and it worked out for us to book one of the few 'new' cabins on the ship. So, the interior was nice and not dated... I did notice some excess rust and aging outside. I am quite sure we would have really noticed/felt the age if we were in one of the regular original cabins that had not been totally re-done.

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We are just off the same cruise and loved everything about it. Club class dining was great although the menu was the same both northbound and southbound.. only ate once in Horizon Court for breakfast which was fine. This is a beautiful ship which we found in good shape. We were disappointed not to be able to have our second dinner in the Bayou Cafe because the late boarding of most passengers for the southbound cruise meant the Bayou Cafe opened too late for us. We thought the captain handled the flu situation very well.

Kathleen

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Did I miss the details of exactly what illness seemed to be going around onboard?

The 'flu' is actually a very easily contagious airborne virus.

 

If this was the flu, and not something like Noro, then any extra precautions at the dining venues would have been useless and not warranted.

 

We did appreciate some of the things that many people here seem to love about the Coral Princess.

But she is a smaller and older ship.

So, I also can see the OP's viewpoints.

 

We are looking forward to sailing on the Regal !!!

 

Princess had better get it together and get the new bed/mattresses throughout the Regal, or that will def. be one thing that is better on the Coral!!!

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Exactly... when you talk about that kind of aging and rusting, the ship would need more than 'sprucing up'....

We sailed LAST May.... in 2016. It had been thru a pretty good drydock some months prior. So, yes, it has been a while now, since then.

 

At some point, it might not be financially feasible or cost-effective to put that kind of investment into totally over-hauling a ship.... Just like any older car or building, etc.

 

We were lucky that we did our research, and it worked out for us to book one of the few 'new' cabins on the ship. So, the interior was nice and not dated... I did notice some excess rust and aging outside. I am quite sure we would have really noticed/felt the age if we were in one of the regular original cabins that had not been totally re-done.

 

What are the "new rooms" and where are they located? How did they add new rooms... what did they remove ??:eek:

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What are the "new rooms" and where are they located? How did they add new rooms... what did they remove ??:eek:

 

No new cabins on the Coral. New cabins are on the Island, the Coral's sister ship. Someone may have them confused.

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No new cabins on the Coral. New cabins are on the Island, the Coral's sister ship. Someone may have them confused.

 

"New" cabins were added a few years ago. They are Ocean View cabins next to the Casino/International Cafe. A hallway was created and the casino was made smaller to accommodate these Ocean View Cabins.

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"New" cabins were added a few years ago. They are Ocean View cabins next to the Casino/International Cafe. A hallway was created and the casino was made smaller to accommodate these Ocean View Cabins.

 

Forgot about those. They did that on a couple of other ships and it wasn't always the casino that shrunk.

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Perhaps Club Class is different. However the food in the MDR was adequate but not remarkable. Yes the Captain kept announcing about the flu and for people to use precaution so that it doesn't spread. However people did not listen and throughout the ship there were many people that were sick, coughing away. I don't know about you but seeing people come into the buffet coughing on the food doesn't set well with me. We have been on other Princess Cruises and other lines and the cleanliness was so much better than this ship.

Our cabin had almost no air coming in and the control did not work to change it. Thank Goodness we had a balcony to get fresh air in during the day. There was almost like a sewage smell outside our cabin at one point. Our carpeting in the stateroom had stains on it. Our pillows smelled. The drawers on the dresser were all banged up and two of them did not glide. Like I said the cruise even though my husband was sick was beautiful. That is Alaska and not the ship. The servers, entertainers, our steward were excellent. The problem still remains that our cabin was horrible period and it is hard to overlook that. Maybe if we haven't been on others and have always been extremely happy we wouldn't know any better, but unfortunately in this case we have and it made for a so-so trip.

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