Just off The Coral - Helpful Hints

We just got off the Coral this morning. We were southbound from Whitter to Vancouver. We stayed at the Captain Cook. There is a liquor store right across the street. Walked a few blocks to Egan Center for transfer. Easy walk. We had a mini suite which was great since we spent more time in the cabin. We were on deck for the Hubbard Glacier and Glacier National Park, but it was nice to go to the cabin and take a break and watch the view from the balcony. The naturalist and park rangers commentary could be heard from the tv. Ordered room service lunch so not to miss the view. Room has plenty of outlets; two at the desk and two by the tvs. Outlet in bathroom works great for a nightlight. The bathroom has lotion, bath gel which were fine, but combo shampoo/conditioner. Glad I brought my own. We had anytime dining and usually ate around 8:00. Never a wait for a table for two.

Can't wait to go back!

Glad to hear you had such a good cruise. I do love that ship!

Yes, the shampoo/conditioner combo is an abomination. Come the revolution, Princess will provide Bumble & bumble products. To the ramparts, mes amis! We must not falter in the face of injustice and adversity! (Sorry, I was reading Victor Hugo earlier . . . )

Thanks for the comments and suggestions. We will be on her in just 6 weeks

We, too, are just off the Coral.

Great Cruise! Great Ship...

I will post a detailed trip report with as much info and tips as possible, as soon as we get settled back in here!

PS: We did see waits for Anytime dining when we were in the Atrium at 6:45 - 7:30 before our 7:30 seating. I was thinking just how glad I was that I had our nice table and our great familiar wait-staff waiting for us.

We did a cruise on the Coral in December. We had a wonderful time, but I had a little difficulty getting used to the layout of the ship. It is just so different from the grand class and Royal class ships.

We board the Coral in 6 days! So excited! Thank you for the tips. Have ATD but are willing to sit with others so hopefully the waits won't be too bad.

We, too, are just off the Coral.

 

Great Cruise! Great Ship...

 

I will post a detailed trip report with as much info and tips as possible, as soon as we get settled back in here!

 

 

 

PS: We did see waits for Anytime dining when we were in the Atrium at 6:45 - 7:30 before our 7:30 seating. I was thinking just how glad I was that I had our nice table and our great familiar wait-staff waiting for us.

It was at 7:30? I think my options were 5:30 and 8:15. Neither of those sounded appealing. I'd do 7:30, though.

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Thank you for your post. Quick question. Not that I want to do it, but, were there any days that you could not do laundry due to ecological concerns? Thank you!

Yes... I am not sure that the auto-selections that it shows when you book on the Princess Web-Site are always correct.

Our seating was at 7:30... I am not sure why that would change at all. So, this could hold true for future Alaska Cruises.

Since this cruise is a later departure, so that everyone has time to get to Whittier and board, embarkation is more of an open seating.

We had Mariella on that first night. She is a true gem!

Our regular table was next to her section for the rest of the cruise, and she seemed to find time to greet us and exchange kind words and a beautiful smile. Sebastian was our regular server.

We really appreciated this dining on the Coral Princess!

With the two dining rooms, that are nice, and quieter than the mega two-level dining rooms on some other cruise lines. And the fact that we had requested a smaller table. We had a round 4-top to ourselves. And there were tables in our section that didn't show up each night. Late dining in the MDR was a pleasure.

I will just throw in here that, as a couple of recent cruisers had commented, on the Coral, we also felt that the MDR was very good, while the Buffet was poor. We enjoyed other options, like the Cappricioso (sp?) pizza at Alredos/Sabatinis, and breakfast in the MDR.

We had Prime Rib (embarkation) that was good by cruise ship standards... I had lobster tail and large prawn... crab legs (no need to do Crab Shack at the newly increased charge) A very good and very generous beef wellington. The twice baked goat cheese souffle that some have mentioned was excellent!

Thank you for your post. Quick question. Not that I want to do it, but, were there any days that you could not do laundry due to ecological concerns? Thank you!

I am not familiar with this at all.

We managed to get by without doing Laundry.

And, if, for some reason, there are limitations, that would be while the ship is in Glacier Bay. They are serious about limitations while in GBNP. No disposable coffee cups, clear solo-type plastic cups, straws, etc.. etc..

I can't imagine any limitations onboard other than while in GBNP.

I am not familiar with this at all.

We managed to get by without doing Laundry.

And, if, for some reason, there are limitations, that would be while the ship is in Glacier Bay. They are serious about limitations while in GBNP. No disposable coffee cups, clear solo-type plastic cups, straws, etc.. etc..

 

I can't imagine any limitations onboard other than while in GBNP.

I do need to do laundry since I'm away for 6 weeks-- but I couldn't imagine missing glacier bay for it anyway!

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We, too, are just off the Coral.

Great Cruise! Great Ship...

I will post a detailed trip report with as much info and tips as possible, as soon as we get settled back in here!

 

PS: We did see waits for Anytime dining when we were in the Atrium at 6:45 - 7:30 before our 7:30 seating. I was thinking just how glad I was that I had our nice table and our great familiar wait-staff waiting for us.

Yes we've tried the anytime dining and we much prefer having a table reserved with the same staff. Waits can be long, and my wife likes to have the time to relax after dinner and stil see the shows...Traditional just works better for us...

We are boarding the Coral on Saturday and can hardly wait!

On the Coral now. Amazing cruise! Anytime dining waits were 40-45 minutes so we switched to late traditional on the second day of the cruise with no problems.

Thanks for the hints.

On the Coral now. Amazing cruise! Anytime dining waits were 40-45 minutes so we switched to late traditional on the second day of the cruise with no problems.

Do you remember what time it was when you had to wait? Our TA signed us up for Anytime Dining when we booked saying we wouldn't have trouble getting a table for our family of 7. Somehow after reading various posts, I'm beginning to worry that I should have switched to TD early on. When you had late dinner, were you still able to see the shows and go to the lounges around the ship?

We had late traditional, at 7:30...

We didn't catch everything, but I don't think there would be any problem.

We saw Down On the Bayou BEFORE dining.

It did seem a bit late, to be eating a full sit-down meal (The MDR was very good) until 9:00 in the evening. But, other than that, it worked out very well!

One thing that they offered early, but not again later, was the Caribbean thing with Xtasea. So, we did miss that...

We always take anytime dining but we eat normally at 5:30. We have found that we don't generally have to wait for a table. On some of the ships they will let us pick our table if we have found waiters we like.

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Island Princess 2008 Alaska, Island Princess 2009 (B2B) Alaska, Royal Princess (Old) 2010 Alaska, Golden Princess 2011 Alaska, Coral Princess 2012 Panama Canal, Star Princess 2012 Alaska, Island Princess 2013 Alaska, Crown Princess 2013 Western Caribbean, Caribbean Princess 2013 Western Caribbean, Royal Princess 2014 Eastern Caribbean, Royal Princess 2014 New England, Emerald Princess 2014 Western Caribbean, Emerald Princess 2015 Western Caribbean, Ruby Princess 2015 Alaska, Caribbean Princess 2015 Western Caribbean

We tried to go to ATD at 7pm which is our normal dinner time at home. We were traveling with a 5 year old so for us the shows were not really what we were planning on doing. Every evening after late traditional we went to the Lido deck, got our son a soft serve ice cream cone (he liked that better than the MDR ice cream)and watched the MUTS or simply ran around on the sports deck. I did see the late showing of "on the bayou" after dinner and thought it was very enjoyable.

Appreciate knowing who current Maitre D' is please, to update Princess Maitre D' thread. Thanx in advance, Rose

We are on her when she flips to the Panama Canal. October can't get here fast enough. Coral sounds like a great ship and everyone has excellent things to say.

Appreciate knowing who current Maitre D' is please, to update Princess Maitre D' thread. Thanx in advance, Rose

I can look at my stuff when I get home. We only ever interacted with several of the head waiters.

I can look at my stuff when I get home. We only ever interacted with several of the head waiters.

Thank you. Hope your cruise was everything you hoped for, such magnificent scenery..Kind regards, Rose & Mario

My son, his wife and my grandson will be cruising Alaska the last part of July, and since we booked this cruise late, we were only able to get an interior cabin (which isn't TOO bad since we will be out on the deck for the scenery most of the time, when not in port) but one of our cabins is located right beside the laundromat. We are a bit concerned if it will be noisy at night when we are trying to sleep. Has anyone experienced one of these cabins? It is aft, which is a good thing, for being out on the deck to watch the glaciers, but don't want noise from the machines! Thanks for any info!! So excited to go on this cruise with family--I have cruised Alaska 3 times and never tire of it, and it will be special to see it though my 15 year old grandson's eyes!

We did a cruise on the Coral in December. We had a wonderful time, but I had a little difficulty getting used to the layout of the ship. It is just so different from the grand class and Royal class ships.

Me too! Four times on that class of ship and every single time, I'm completely confused even though I mentally KNOW I should be headed forward for the buffet. Drives me bonkers! I guess you can't teach an old dog a new trick! :mad: