Coral Princess vs Royal Princess

We have the choice of Royal Princess and Coral Princess for FA 4 cruisetour to Alaska. Which would you choose and why? Royal Princess is $300 more per person. Thanks

You want the Coral Princess. It has a covered pool - even if you don't swim, it is a nice area to be in the area. It also has more outside deck spaces such as Promenade deck for viewing glaciers. Even if you have a balcony, you want to be outside moving around.

Wow ... comparing apples and oranges.

I've been on both and love both but all things being equal I'd go for the Coral.

While I love the Royal, I would go with the Coral in Alaska for the outside viewing areas, promenade deck and bigger balconies

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Another one who greatly enjoys both ships but to Alaska the Coral would be my choice & being $300/pp less is a good bonus & is better spent of tours than on sailing the Royal.

Why? Because the Coral is better for viewing the beauty of Alaska.

Both ships would offer similar onboard experiences but the views from the Coral are best.

You want the Coral Princess. It has a covered pool - even if you don't swim, it is a nice area to be in the area. It also has more outside deck spaces such as Promenade deck for viewing glaciers. Even if you have a balcony, you want to be outside moving around.

I totally agree with you my vote go to the Coral.

Tony

I’m voting with Tony.

We have also sailed on both ships and agree with all of the above posters that the Coral is the better choice for Alaska. We took our Alaska cruise tour on the Coral and it was perfect. Can't beat the full promenade deck and the fore and aft viewing areas for enjoying nature, wildlife, and the beautiful scenery. We enjoyed the Coral so much that we just completed a second cruise on her, this time to the Panama Canal.

I agree with the others -- pick the Coral.

In addition to the reasons the others listed, if you are on the Coral there will be at least 1560 less people in the already crowded ports.

Coral for me as well, the Roysl is a great ship but with so many missed opportunities, in fact it’s probably the worst Princess ship you could take to Alaska.

We would recommend the Coral. We sailed on her last year to Alaska and have done two Panama Canal cruises and it's our favorite ship with all the open deck area.

Coral - some advantages. We have been on both ships.

1,600 less passengers

Full 360 degree covered promenade

More upper deck viewing areas including forward areas and forward views from the Horizon Ct.

More lounges for live entertainment.

Indoor Pool with glass enclosed Conservatory above

Balcony cabins have larger balconies that you can actually sit on and enjoy

A Coral negative is anytime dining, they don't handle it very well, not enough tables allocated for it. Suggest traditional dining if booking the Coral.

Bigger and newer isn’t always better, the Coral wins hands down.

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I see a trend here and I agree. :D

The Royal is definitely not suited for Alaska as much as the Coral is.

I haven’t sailed on the Coral but have sailed on the Royal. From my knowledge of Princess ships plus what I’ve read, I would pick the Coral.....:):):)

Bob

Coral - some advantages. We have been on both ships.

1,600 less passengers

Full 360 degree covered promenade

More upper deck viewing areas including forward areas and forward views from the Horizon Ct.

More lounges for live entertainment.

Indoor Pool with glass enclosed Conservatory above

Balcony cabins have larger balconies that you can actually sit on and enjoy

A Coral negative is anytime dining, they don't handle it very well, not enough tables allocated for it. Suggest traditional dining if booking the Coral.

Being on both recently, sknight is spot on. If you want anytime dining on the Coral, get in line before 5:00 or walk-in

with no wait after 7:00.

Unless you want bigger and newer, Coral hands down.

We have the choice of Royal Princess and Coral Princess for FA 4 cruisetour to Alaska. Which would you choose and why? Royal Princess is $300 more per person. Thanks

We just returned from St Thomas on the Royal. In 2012 we went to Alaska on the Coral. I would choose the Royal. It’s a bigger ship, better entertainment. Make sure you get a balcony room from the days of visiting the glaciers for the caving. Based on our experience the way to go is on the Royal. No doubt. Also for whale watching in Juneau make a reservation with The Best Damn Charters. They have a website plus you can go fishing as well with them on a 4 hour cruise. Hope this helps.

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We just returned from St Thomas on the Royal. In 2012 we went to Alaska on the Coral. I would choose the Royal. It’s a bigger ship, better entertainment. Make sure you get a balcony room from the days of visiting the glaciers for the caving.

In Alaska - the best entertainment is "outside"! Also, IMO - the best place for viewing glaciers is not on your balcony. You are missing over 50% of the "entertainment". You will want to move around to where the action is outside - so go from side to side. Promenade deck is great for this which the Royal Princess doesn't have. I would never stay on the balcony on glacier days.

The Coral is a Panamax ship, which is narrower and people on the Alaskan boards recommended the Panamax ships because they can get closer to the glaciers on scenic viewing days. We were quite happy on both our Coral cruises - one to Alaska, the other through the Panama Canal. Just be sure to book private tours in each port, since Alaskan ports are small and its easy to reach your excursions. It was a few years ago, but the details of our private excursions are in my review in my signature line. The Coral isn't a fancy ship, so if you want a lot of on board amenities the Regal might be a better choice, but I think it does a great job in Alaska.

We've yet to sail on a Royal class ship but have sailed on Coral. Given that it has a full Promenade and also forward and aft viewing decks on both Baja and Caribe and the fact that the absolute best viewing is on the public decks I wouldn't hesitate to book Coral over Royal for Alaska.

When not "viewing" I love to sit and read in the Conservator which is just the name for the deck above the covered pool. A wonderfully relaxing area out of the sun or other weather. If you do have weather that allows for use of the pool the covered pool might be the best option for that as well.

We have cruised Alaska twice so far and didn't have a balcony either time. We didn't miss it at all. Trying to catch the glaciers calving means you need to be able to see all around and not only be able to see off of one side of the ship. Heck, our first cruise ever was a 10 day round trip from SF to Alaska and we had the tiniest inside cabin I've ever seen. It was on Sea Princess and was a truly tiny, tiny cabin. We spent a lot of time out on the public decks and saw great stuff that we likely never would have seen if we were sitting on a balcony. It was the cruise that got us both totally hooked both on cruising and on Princess.

Coral wins hands down. It is perfect for Alaska and actually prefer it over the newer class ships. We had an aft balcony and was great when taking photos using my tripod. But, was often able to quickly run to aft deck for a fuller view of scenery. Agree with earlier poster ~ on this cruise the entertainment is Alaska itself. Can't wait to return and would love to be on the Coral again.

OK, I am piling it on.........Coral it is. Have been on both the Coral and Royal; while I don't dislike any of the Princess ships that I have been on, the Royal is at the bottom of the list and the Coral is at the top.

So excited to read this thread, as we are booked on the Coral next month. First Alaska cruise, and first Princess cruise. Thanks for the great tips!

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One more vote for the Coral. We were on both ships last year, and we much preferred Coral. Do the main dining room instead of anytime and you will love it too.