12/28 Coral Princess review

Just got off the Coral yesterday and we had a great cruise and thought I would give my review. If anybody has any questions, I will be happy to help.

Embarkation: We took the red-eye flight from Los Angeles. Our travel agent had a room for us at the Comfort suites and the hotel picked us up at the airport. We were able to take advantage of their complimentary breakfast and they were also able to extend the check out time until 1:00 P.M. We took a taxi to the river where we were able to take the river boat down the waterway. The hotel took us to the cruise pier about 1:00 P.M. Embarkation was easy and we were on the ship in no time. I was a little surprised that there was no music playing by the pool. But, we had time to have lunch in the Horizon court and explore the ship before sailing.

Service: The service on the Princess was great. I have taken several cruises (my first on the Princess) and think that Princess has the friendliest employees. Every employee said hello when we passed them on the ship. Our cabin stewardess, Nemaia, went beyond the call of duty. She discovered that I brought orange juice to my room each morning to have with drinks at night. She had room service deliver 2 glasses each day. She also put a foam pad on our bed and brought us an extra bath towel (which we requested). Our waiter, Miguel, and our assistant, Nick, were also good. We had traditional late seating dinner. Miguel was not super outgoing. He is new and I am not sure that he really enjoyed his job, but he did give good service and did many extra things for our table. Nick was always there with a smile.

Room: We were on the Baja deck, room 502. It was a great location. The showers were small but the closets were large and the room had plenty of space for two of us. Our friends were next door, so our steward opened the door between the balconies so we can share the balcony together.

Food: Most of the food dishes were great. Lately, I have been disappointed with the food on RCCL and really thought the food on the Princess was better. The salad dressings were little bland for my taste but the meals were all good. We did not eat at the Bayou but did eat at Sabatini's. The service at Sabatini's was as good as you have in any fine restaurant. The food kept coming and by the time you received the main course, you were full. It was 3 hours of eating and everything tasted delicious.

Activities: There was plenty to do on the ship and we just ran out of time. I had every intention to take advantage of the scholarship at sea program but never made it to any classes. I did have a wonderful facial. we also tried the golf simulator which was a lot of fun-although I do better on the course. The minature golf was okay.

Entertainment: We could not possibly hit all the shows. We enjoyed the Tribute show. The Welcome Aboard show was not very good and the comedian, Jack Mayberry was not very good either. Comedians Tony Daro and Rick Corso were much better. The piano player at Crooners, Charlie Sleeth, was the best. He will be going to the Sapphire in April. The entertainment in the Wheelhouse bar was not very good. We tried to listen to the late entertainment in the Bayou, but we never saw them. The were suppose to play until midnight and were always on break or quit earlier. One night the piano player was ill. Of course, we had to go to watch the finals of the "princess idol" show as 2 of our CC members, Kirby and Terry, were the finalist. Kirby became the Princess idol (what a good voice he has).

Ship: The ship was beautiful. I enjoyed the Lotus pool, which was the adult pool. The pool was fresh water and heated. When we wanted more action, we went to the main pool, but it was very crowded. We discovered the lounges in the back of the baja deck, which was really relaxing. The noro virus was on the ship and many passengers and crew members were quarantined. The ship handled the situation and we were always suppose to sanatize our hands when entering the restaurant. It was strange seeing men running around wearing hazemat suits! Our group of 8 all stayed healthy.

Cruise critic: Our cruise critic roll call members got together on our first sea day. It was sure fun meeting everyone. Bill tried to see if the cruise director would put together a party for our group and left his name and my name with the director. We never heard from him. I do think the CD should have responded to our request, even if to say no. As a matter of fact, we very rarely saw the CD. His assistant, Mike, was everywhere. I was disappointed with the CD.

Disembarkation: I like the fact that Princess gives an estimated time for each group to be called. We were the purple group and to be called at 9:00 A.M. We were called at 9:15 which wasn't too bad. We were able to have breakfast and then get go to our room to get our carry luggage. Princess required that luggage was out before dinner. Other cruises allowed you to put the luggage out after dinner, by a certain time. I don't know why Princess wanted it out so early. Immigration and everything went smoothly until we needed to collect our luggage. The Purple group was put in the back corner, even though we were off before other groups. Finding the luggage was very difficult. Then, we had to try and get the luggage out between other suitcases (paths were not big enough) and people were getting irrate. This was not the way to end a great trip. Luckily, we had a 5:00 plane flight.

All in all it was a great trip and I would recommend the Coral Princess.

Excellent review! You covered all the things I was thinking of asking! Thanks for taking the time to write.

Ports of call:

Costa Rica: We hired Oscar Brown for the day. He was great and we really enjoyed ourselves. He first took us to a place where we could hold some monkeys. We visited the banana plantation and then went to Almonds and Coral to zipline. This is a blast! If you have any adventure, you should try ziplining! Oscar took us to a restaurant to see a view of the ships. Unfortunately, ziplining took longer than anticipated so we did not have time to eat here but it looked like a great restaurant.

Panama Canal: We did the Ocean to Ocean. I enjoyed this excursion as I was fascinated by the canals and wanted to go all the way through the canal. However, there were others who did not like the excursion. It is a long day. After getting off at the Lake, there is about a 45 minute bus ride to get to the other boat. After going through the canal, it is about a 1 1/2 hour ride back to meet the ship. I enjoyed seeing the interior of Panama, too. I really liked the Ocean to Ocean, but it isn't for everyone.

Grand Cayman: I was in Grand Cayman before and booked the stingrays with Captain Marvins. Since we were travelling with friends who have never been to GC, we decided to go to Stingray City with them and again booked with Captain Marvins. I am glad we did because the ship cancelled their excursions due to the rough water. We were the only boat there and there was no problem with the water being too rough. I felt bad for all those who we cancelled by the ship. We had time for the 12:00 Aqua boat trip which we booked through Princess. This was blast! If you like jet skiing and snorkleing you would love this trip. But, they sell out quick so you will need to book early.

Cozumel: Here we had a great Dune Buggy trip! I booked through Eagle Ray Divers, the jungle buggie trip. Our ship docked at the pier in town so we walked right to the location. We had a line of dune buggies that drove across the island. Then, we turned off the paved road driving on sand and dirt roads. What a blast this was too! We made a couple of stops, at some rocks on the beach and a Mayan ruin, before stopping for a beach lunch. After lunch, and time on the beach, we started back to town.

Belize: Here we hired our private guide, Margaret Tillett. She was great and you can get her at belizeexculsive.com. We had her take us to the Altun Ha ruins, a city tour of Belize, and the baboon sanctuary. I really wasn't sure if I wanted to go to the Baboon Sanctuary, but it was better than I imagined. We walked though a rainforest, saw the howler monkeys in the tree and were able to feed them and hear them howler! We had a great guide named Shawn. Margaret will also take a group cave tubing or other excursions. Check out her website because she is so knowledgable and I do highly recommend her!

Fort Lauderdale: We arrived early and had a room at the comfort suites for a few hours. For those arriving early, this isn't a bad idea. We went on the water taxi to see some of the city. Since our plane was not leaving until 5:00 at the end of our cruise, we rented a car with Thrifty rental. They picked us up at the dock. After getting the car, we drove to the Holiday Park airboat rides where we boarded the airboat to see the alligators. After this, we drove to Los Olas Blvd for lunch and window shopping. We had plenty of time to return our car and have Thrifty get us to the airport.

Let me know if you have any questions about our port activties!

Let me start by saying that my husband & I loved the Coral Princess.

It was our 13th princess cruise( 30 in total)

There are several points which everyone should know about to ensure we have a safe and HEALTHY trip.

As I got backk late last night, I will just give the main points and write more after I unpack!

1) Norwalk virus was going around> approx. 100 people affected.

2) dangerous ( infection causing) coral( just walking on the beach in Belize)

3) diapered babies in the pool.

Again, this is for our safety, not a critisism of Princess.

As so many of us travel, we really need to be aware of how to protect ourselves.

Of interest: there is no Captain's table anymore. There is a Captain's Circle member lunch , to which we were invited.

More later!

Lil2..

Were you on our cruise?? We never saw you on the roll call. We had a wonderful group of cc people who met the second day out. I had heard about the diaper situation but did not know that for sure. All I knew is that the main pool was closed that day.

Thanks for the great info!

As far as the O2O Canal tour, just wondering about the bus ride (going and coming back). Is there much to see or just rural roads and countryside? Are the buses comfortable? Do they have rest stops or other stops for picture taking, etc.? I'm an avid photographer so the boat trip sounds like a great way to get some photos up close to the locks but wondering if there would be other interesting photo opportunities getting there and back.

Thanks again! :)

Hi Llund,

Yes , we were on the same cruise.

We met Kirby and Beth and Tom and Terry.

Check out the thread I just posted about important info we all need to know while cruising.

Sorry we didn't meet.

Had a great time despite the virus, coral infection and poop in the pool!

LiLi2

Hi I was on the same ship in B519 and had the late seating with Miguel and Nikusur and found both of them to be extremely wonderful. When ever I ordered my dinner if Miguel's eyes didn't light up I knew better than to get it. His eyes just danced and sparkeled when you choose the right entries. And he has been cruising for 14 years. Both Nikusur and Miguel were extremely outgoing and friendly with our table.

llund thanks so much for a wonderful review. I think you covered everything including ideas for Fort Lauderdale. My DH and I will be booking an April 2006 cruise and you really made it sound exciting. He said I have plenty of time but I am getting excited and it is over 1 year away! This year is a short trip since we had the DS's nuptials last year and the DD's this year.

I wish I knew this many cc members were on board. The CD would have put together a party for us if we had 25 people, but Bill told him there were 14. MJ Easley, where were you sitting? We were the round table in the corner with 8 of us. Miguel was really nice but the last two nights on board we got the feeling that something was bothering him. Did you get that same feeling? MJ and lil...I am sorry we did not meet you. Linda, you will have a great time. Let me know if you have any questions. I started planning a year before our trip, so it never is too early.

Hi

Thanks for the great review. We were on the coral this past November and loved her so much we are going again Octo, 2005.

Can you tell me the name of the band inthe Exporer's Lounge???

We heard Emerald city and they were great.

thanks carol

llund, one more question....

We are leaving 1/17 on Coral and have a tour booked with Oscar. You mentioned you did not have time to eat at the restaurant. Did you not eat all day? The reason is that I have to eat and if there is not time to stop and eat, I'm wondering if I should just book a zip-line directly with Almonds and Coral.

We were on the Sun last Jan., and there was lots of Norwalk there too. It bothered me to hear people at dis-embarkation talking about how they were sick, but they were not going to stay in their cabins :mad: . That just helps it spread...

Cabin question - how was your view from the balcony and did your cabin have a protective overhang? We would like to sit outside and watch the sun rise :)

We had an oversized balcony with a full covering above us. No one could see us from any angle.!!!!

The sunrises and sunsets beautiful!

What a way to live.

LiLi2

Blue eyes...you may have time for lunch. When I booked with Oscar originally, I was under the impression that he would have a van for the 10 of us. Then I met other cc members who wanted to join us. I was concerned because I had heard that it is very uncomfortable to squeeze more than 10 in his van. I called him and spoke to his sister, Carol. She indicated that they had a larger vehicle that will fit all of us -we were now up to 16. All 16 of us were there at 8:00 A.M. ship time and Oscar was there too. We boarded his bus and were ready to go but Oscar stayed outside with a sign. My husband and I went to see what was happening and he was waiting for 11 more people, who were told to be off the ship at 8 a.m. costa rica time (an hour after we met with Oscar). We asked that they get another van for those people as this is not what I had originally booked. they called for another van so we were able to get going. Plus, with 16 of us, ziplining took a little longer than expected. Oscar does stop at a place where you can hold a monkey and he also stops at a banana plantation before ziplining. You may want to discuss this and see if he can take you directly to ziplining, although I do not recommend missing the monkeys. Also, I would see how many are on your tour. Do not allow them to sqeeze too many in as the roads are very bumpy and it will be uncomfortable. Clairfy between ships time and Costa Rica tie. We could have had lunch at the restaurant but some members of our group had early seating and did not want to eat lunch late.

Linda....we had a completely covered balcony. We were in the mid ship pushed out section so nobody could see our balcony. We were on the even side of the ship and I think the odd numbers would have had more sunsets. But, we did have the sunrises. Where are you located?

Baby...Emerald City was the group and they were very good. I enjoyed their 50's and 60's night. I don't know if they will still be there in October. I know the piano player is leaving for the Sapphire in April

The person you want to talk to about putting together a party is the Pursor not the CD. They have always been very helpful. It would have been nice if the CD passed the info along to the pursor's office for you.

Scott

the group Emerald city is leaving to do a tour after this weeks cruise>

too bad you will miss them. They were the best group on the cruise.

The others were more for the over 70 age group.

Not our taste.

LiLi2

Great review. Thanks for sharing your cruise.

llund - We plan to book a cabin within the next 2 weeks. There is a cruise show this weekend in Sacramento and the DH and I want to attend and see what types of specials may be offered for booking early at the event. Your information will be a great help. I will let you know which balcony cabin we decide on. Thanks again!

Let me know what cabin you decide one Linda. I really enjoyed the pushed out section. Scott, thanks for letting us know about going to the pursor. I was just a little upset when Bill checked with the CD and he indicated he talked with me-which he never did. He out and out lied and I wasn't happy to hear about that. I guess he figured that Bill and I would not talk to each other. Lil...I also enjoyed emerald ciy. Also, Chalie Sheeth was a very good piano player in Crooners. Unfortuaely, it was always so crowded and difficult to find a seat there. They should have moved him to the Wheelhouse bar and get rid of that horrible entertainer in the Wheelhouse bar. She really wosn't very good. But, there is something for all ages on this ship which is how it should be.

llund,

We did it!!! We booked the Dolphin deck - forward cabin 208. The DH and I love sailing forward/port even though everyone is amazed we prefer forward to mid-ship. What can I say we are old sailors and love feeling the ship? ;) Princess seemed amazed when our TA wanted to book that cabin but it is covered, forward, and not near anything so a perfect fit for us. The DH and I did talk about your cabin but he seemed a little sad at sailing midship. A long time away but I am too excited already! Thanks again for all of information! :D

Linda

You have to book what you are happiest with. I know you will have a great time! It is a beautiful ship and the cruise was great! I can't believe it is over for us. We booked it a year in advance....now I wish I was looking forward to it again.

We had a Dolphin deck cabin about 3/4's aft and enjoyed it. I normally try to book a cabin on a deck that has cabins above it and below it and this fit the bill. It was fairly convient to the elevators. I don't really care where the cabin is in relationship to the various public rooms as I don't find that there are many times when I actually walk from the far forward to the far aft in one go or vice versa.. I usually do several things in a row so there is a natural progression from one part of the ship to another with each individual walk/elevator ride short

One thing I liked about the Coral is that the elevators were hardly ever crowded. I contribute that to the fact that there are three elevator banks along wit the 2 "glass" elevators in the atrium.

Yipee!!! Drum roll and horns blasting…super TA set up the new cabin – Baja 502. I am very excited :D

Linda...That was the cabin we had! I wonder if Neimita will be your stewardess. She is wonderful. If you would like a softer bed, ask her to put a foam pad on it and she will do so. It was a quite room and fun to be in the pushed out section. I liked being in the middle of the ship, too. Only problem...shower is very small. Just don't drop the soap!