Coral Princess Expeditions

[Mike2131]

Has anyone sailed with this Australian company? I would welcome any and all feedback.

[moyaroo]

We sailed Coral Princess from Townsville to Cairns. Loved the experience got to dive (resort dive but I was one on one on my second dive as no one else wanted to go and was with only my wife and dive instructor on the first ) Food is excellent, accommodations seemed a little like something from Agatha Christie sailing on the Nile on first look, but were actually very nice in reality (sometimes impressions are only that)

 

I would recommend them for anyone who would like to spend quality time on the reef with relative luxury and up to 40-50 others (we had maybe 30 or so)

[Mike2131]

We sailed Coral Princess from Townsville to Cairns. Loved the experience got to dive (resort dive but I was one on one on my second dive as no one else wanted to go and was with only my wife and dive instructor on the first ) Food is excellent, accommodations seemed a little like something from Agatha Christie sailing on the Nile on first look, but were actually very nice in reality (sometimes impressions are only that)

 

I would recommend them for anyone who would like to spend quality time on the reef with relative luxury and up to 40-50 others (we had maybe 30 or so)

That cruise or the 4-night RT out of Cairns are the ones we are considering. I think it would be a shame to go all the way to Australia and not devote more than a day to one of the great natural wonders of the world. We also looked at the Orion but the rates are just too high for us.

 

Coral Princess looks terrific and might be just the ticket. Thanks again for the feedback.

[moyaroo]

Townsville is neat and a bit more Australia than most tourist places. The Aquarium there is really good. On the other hand I think the 4 day RT Cairns hits some good dive spots. Can't really lose.

[pj4jj]

We are booked on the Coral for 5 days 4 nights starting Nov 16th....can't wait...then down to Sydney for a 13 day cruise on the Sun Princess to New Zealand...;) Again we can't wait!

[Mike2131]

We are booked on the Coral for 5 days 4 nights starting Nov 16th....can't wait...then down to Sydney for a 13 day cruise on the Sun Princess to New Zealand...;) Again we can't wait!

We are looking at the Coral Princess cruise as a centerpiece to build the trip around. Please post a review when you get back.

[pj4jj]

I will be sure do a post when we return.

moyaroo, please let me know the tipping etiquette while on the Coral! I want to make sure I get this right.

Thanks

[moyaroo]

To be totally honest it has been almost 3 years and I have forgotten. In general tipping is not a requirement in Australia (probably leading to your wondering) I would contact my TA or the Coral Princess Cruise line itself and ask, they will be straight with you.

[Mike2131]

To be totally honest it has been almost 3 years and I have forgotten. In general tipping is not a requirement in Australia (probably leading to your wondering) I would contact my TA or the Coral Princess Cruise line itself and ask, they will be straight with you.

The Coral Princess site indicates that the gratuities are included in the cruise fare. I think like any cruise, exceptional service would probably deserve something extra, but I am not sure this is the custom in Australia.

[Jade13]

Has anyone sailed with this Australian company? I would welcome any and all feedback.

 

Mike, we did the 3 night cruise from Townsville to Cairns as part of our honeymoon. We had a really good time. We were on Coral Princess II. The food overall was not very good but overall experiance was fantastic. At the time it was an open door policy which meant all cabins were left unlocked. I don't know if that has changed over the years. Our original vacation plan was a week in New Zealand and a week in Australia. We had two weeks off and our trip ended up with us flying into New Zealand (2 nights), than to Sydney (we had a day to look around) and on to Bali/Asia (where we had an invitation at a resort for 4 nights), and than right to Townville, Australia (1 night), cruise (3 nights), and Cairns (1 night). We flew home from Cairns - Sydney - US. We were fortunate that we has enough air miles to fly business class otherwise I would not recommend doing all of this in 14 days.

 

I recall we really liked the Tree Tops resort in Cairns.

[moyaroo]

Food can vary from cruise to cruise, but I have been told that they are going less buffet style in favor of ordering specific plates this should increase quality. I was amazed at what our chef was able to put together in a kitchen not bigger than our own at home.

[pj4jj]

I sent the Coral Princess a note asking about tipping and this was their reply.

 

On board Coral Princess our crew has no other agenda then your delight, and tipping is completely optional.

So I'll just go with it once on board!:p