Help with cabin selection southbound Alaska tour

Getting ready to book on the Coral Princess for southbound Alaska tour. It's for July 2019, so it's apparently a late start. I've been on a different cruise line before and had a mid-ship balcony. The most sought after balcony cabins are booked, and I'm looking at either an aft or forward cabin. There are more options for forward. Is the ride that rough in that location given that it is Whittier to Vancouver cruise? Looks like not a lot of open water. Was looking at Deck 10, Caribe. Any advice would be appreciated.

I was in 212 on the Emerald (deck 8) on the Coral SB Alaska June 25, 2018, and only felt a little movement the first night. This location is wayyy far forward. I was armed with my non-drowsy Dramamine and ginger pills and didn’t need them.

We booked this cabin on October 9, 2017. It was during the three for free promotion. We got free gratuities, $75 each OBC, and category upgrade, although I think that was a wash. It was one of the last two balconies next to each other as we traveled with friends and wanted to open the door in between the balconies.

We heard no noise from the princess theater below. I was concerned with being that far forward on the ship, but the Coral is so compact it didn’t seem far at all. As a matter fact it was awesome taking one flight down to the princess theater, or the closest elevator straight up to the Horizon Court. The “secret” viewing decks at the front of the ship on deck 10, and 11?? were awesome as well.

I am just going to throw this out there. I was surprised as our cruise drew closer, after final payment, how the price dropped. If I were to do it again and not be traveling with anyone but my husband , I may wait and book a last minute and be willing to take an interior cabin. We would have saved a lot of money .

We did this Southbound on the Coral Princess a couple years ago!

I am thinking that the only time/place that you are likely to have any rough seas is the first night, as when you leave Whittier you are out in more open ocean, until you approach Hubbard Glacier.

We never felt a thing after that as the route is in more protected 'inside passage' waters.

I have heard of a few experiences, but I don't think we felt anything much at all even on that first leg.

We traveled in May, when I am thinking that there are still late Winter - early Spring weather patterns.

I think that July might be calmer, in mid-Summer. But, if I were sailing, I might pull up weather stats/histories and double check.

Personally, I might go with a forward cabin.

Which ones are available???

Happy Sailing!

Colorado, we had booked one of the few newer Ocean View Cabins that were added mid-ship, near the International Cafe.

We went ahead and booked, knowing we wanted to have our name on one of those!

At final payment, we could have cancelled, and re-booked one of the promos after final payment and saved a lot. But wanted to keep that nicer OV cabin and did not take that risk. Turned out, that tactic would have worked for us, and we could have saved !

OP... As long as it is a refundable deposit, you can change your cabin location and category and rebook, up until final payment.

There is a good chance that you will find a mid-ship cabin open up... since you are booking in advance.

Just keep watching your options up until final payment and see where you end up!

Thanks for your replies. Colorado Mom!!!, coincidentally, one of the available cabins is on Emerald Cabin 212. Since it's a southbound cruise, I believe being on the port side would be preferable, correct? Emerald is the only deck where port side is still available. What was directly across from you? The diagram just has white space.

The other options I was looking at are deck 10, Caribe cabins C305, 303, 301, 237, 235, and 233. I will be traveling with another couple, and we would like to be near each other. I am a little concerned with the noise factor with the Princess Theater right above.

Good to know until final payment I can rebook, thank you Wishing on a star.

Yes, the port side is given a slight edge in desirability.

The bank space across from E212 is nothing - just a wall.

The Princess theater is below, not above E212 - and we never heard anything.

Rebooking after final payment is much trickier. YMMV - according to who picks up the phone when you call. They would not rebook for us as they insisted the fare was for new bookings only. It was NOT listed that way, and I finally got a supervisor to agree with me. They offered additional OBC - $150 each. We took that instead of a free category upgrade since we were right next door to our friends. Also, be careful about losing any promotions from your original booking if you rebook.

Before we left, I could not tell if the OBC was refundable, and from what I gathered here on CC, it wasn't . However, when we boarded, it showed as refundable in our porfolio, and we did indeed get a check back 4 weeks after the cruise.

I was all set to not like the cabin, and I have to say I would rebook it again. Being lower to the water is great for viewing from the balcony, which was covered, the bed was super comfortable, the AC worked, and the shower pressure was GREAT - made up for the tiny, tiny shower space! (True of all regular balcony rooms, not just ours)

Thank you Colorado Mom! I ended up booking that cabin and will have friends next door. Thanks for all the info, much appreciated.

Awesome!! Take a bungee cord to wrap completely around the swinging balcony divider door. Worked great for us :)