Coral Princess photo and video review

[gator582]

So sad you are finished with your trip review. I thoroughly enjoyed your entire review. Pictures were amazing.

 

Thank you again. I am much more excited for our Coral cruise in August! (if that is possible)

 

Enjoy your travels. ;)

[Bimmer09]

Finished with my trip review? Oh no, not quite. Yes I am off the Coral but now I have 24 hours in Vancouver to show you plus no doubt a ramble looking back on the cruise and what it meant to mankind (but mainly Carol and me) and how it made us a member of the Princess family.

 

SO there are lots more photos (not of ships, per se).

 

Although I was (we were) "sad" (not really-word is too strong as we both have light spirits) to see our cruise end we had time in Vancouver and we knew it wouldn't be long before we were back on a Princess ship (FCCs!). The Crown and my return to Aruba and Curacao (Carnival 1990 isn) was already buzzing through my head.

 

We have a motto....ABP

 

A = Always

B= Be

P= Planning

 

This way as one trip is ending we are looking forward to the next.

 

At the minute we have 4 trips lined up and booked...2 of them Princess cruises, one (in 3 weeks) to San Francisco a place we love and a month after that a week of Wagner opera in Germany (and Austria). This way we are always anticipating and looking forward.

 

After each event we roll the video on our first day back-the videos are in 1080p HD on a big screen Sony and bring the memories flooding back while we take turns doing our cruise laundry. Eventually I try to relate our private adventure and share it on CC and Youtube.

 

I have written 3 reviews (blogs,whatever you would call them) on CC since January, two of them with video. I have one more cruise to recall which was the Crown to Aruba and Curacao which was our first aft suite cruise (free upgrade) our first Ultimate Balcony Dinner, first Skywalkers experience and first Ultimate Ship Tour experience. Carol also sang in the pop choir. It was a much different experience in many ways from the Coral.

 

The Crown review I will do in the fall before she comes back to the USA so that may help people thinking about her or the ports a chance to see what is in store. I had good excursions and enjoyed both ports.

 

After that I am caught up on the past.

 

Just today I canceled my Royal booking for January to take instead the Caribbean Princess to Western Caribbean. A new ship (to us) and new ports.

She features my favorite Skywalkers so I am excited for that.

 

The Royal I will save for the Med or Baltic in the future.

 

So Gator, read on and enjoy the flowers and beautiful Vancouver photos still to come. Thanks for your kind comments.

 

Norris

[Bimmer09]

Butchart Gardens is big and there are lots of different levels with steps for access so not good for anyone who is mobility impaired. I imagine we did not see all of it. We had to sit down on shady benches now and again, stop and smell the roses as it were. There is near the entrance a refreshment area with outdoor tables where we enjoyed some frozen yogurt and bathroom breaks.

 

Here and there are some art pieces.

 



 



 



 



 



 

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Shade garden

 



 



 



 



 

Shooting video

 

[Bimmer09]

This is the tiny HD camcorder I was using. It has no viewfinder you can hold up to your eye-just a screen that pops out from the side. The view in this screen can disappear when the sun hits it. The end result in 1080p is stunning at home.

On youtube they upload it as 720p so the detail is gone from the image (sigh)

 



 



 



 

[Bimmer09]

Before leaving Butchart Carol bought some seeds to plant in our own garden in Michigan (we have no garden in Chicago). They grew successfully.

 



 



 



 

We had a wonderful 90 plus minutes in Butchart. I did notice some "wheelchair" icons on signage in one of my photos so you can access some if not all of it. We didn't see all of it but enough to know that we would visit again.

 

The taxi driver was still waiting and soon we were back by the harbor in Victoria with an hour to spend before our flight back to Vancouver. It would have been nice to see inside the Empress Hotel but the weather was so perfect that we stayed outdoors by the water.

[Bimmer09]

 



 

[Bimmer09]

Soon we were on our flight back to Vancouver.

 



 

Norwegian Pearl was in port.

 



 



 



 

Landing next to Canada Place. Coral Princess had already sailed, heading back to Whittier without us.

 

[Bimmer09]

Once back in Vancouver we had dinner plans-not our original plan to eat in the Pan Pacific's fine dining 5 Sails restaurant but on Granville Island which I had visited several times over the years since my first Van visit in October '78.

 

The restaurant was the Dockside and I picked it as I wanted us to have a water/skyline view. Scenery-wise it did not disappoint!

 

 

On the taxi ride there the taxi driver crashed into another car-a sideswipe so we weren't injured and the taxi was driveable. I am a stickler for arriving on time and had built in a cushion for things such as crashing in a taxi, geese walking across the street or traffic light failure. We still arrived on time.

 

The restaurant was a great setting with a lame kitchen and staff that were rather clueless. There were 4 girls at the hostess stand when we arrived. They ignored us as all 4 were trying to figure out a Groupon party arrival who didn't want to pay full price but use a coupon. I made our presence known and one of them broke away to serve a party with a reservation. She called a young girl over to show us to our table. This girl made no eye contact, no "walk this way" and headed off into the outdoor patio at breakneck speed without looking back to see if we were following. I let her walk around in circles for a while and then we went out there and picked our own table.

 

Luckily we had a good waiter and even though the food wouldn't cut it in Applebees the service and the ambience was top-notch. Plus we were hungry from a day spent in Victoria.

 

Another taxi (another Prius as most Van taxis are) and we visited Gastown to see a friend who was playing at the Blarney Stone pub. I hadn't seen him since 1978 and he had been playing there since 1984....yikes! He was in the pub, according to the bouncer, but the place was packed and noisy and not the place I wanted for a reunion, after all. We would meet up a year later when I joined Diamond Princess in Vancouver.

 

Sunday August 28th 2011 was the day we flew home. I was of course up early and on the streets with a cup of coffee. There was just me and the homeless people sleeping in doorways near Canada place.

 

Carol's plan was to take a Hop On Hop Off bus trip and she did later and took the photos you will see of Stanley Park.

[Bimmer09]

The area around the Pan Pacific is busy at night. Gastown is right there with bars and restaurants and the streets are filled with people.

 

Luckily on a high floor in the Pan we were oblivious to the revelry and a good night's sleep was had. We will always stay at the Pan Pacific.

 

There are two Starbucks within 20 feet of the hotel. One on street level and one down an escalator in an underground food court. I was on the street with coffee and wandered away from the sea eventually.

 

There were more ships in port....

 



 



 



 



 

 

[Bimmer09]

 



 

Carol did her HOHO bus tour while I took care of my suitcase packing. As I wasn't on the trip I won't be able to identify what you are seeing but the grassy bits with the sea and people jogging is the huge Stanley Park which is a marvelous resource for the people of Vancouver. It's a clean , modern, livable city ( I have friends who live there) with an unbelievable setting of mountains and sea. If you join a ship there, or leave one, set aside a day to explore this fine city. You will be glad you did.

[Bimmer09]

 



 



 

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[Bimmer09]

This is a street in Gastown which starts by the Pan Pacific. It's where the landmark Steam Clock is.

 



 



 

[Bimmer09]

Back in the room I was packed and ready for the taxi to the airport and a direct flight home to Chicago. Good flying weather. That is the Statendam down below our window.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The unloading area in front of the hotel was stacked with bags incoming to join Celebrity Century and the Statendam. It would have been nice to get on another ship right away and go to sea again but that would have to wait a few months.

Off to the airport!

[Lin336]

Great review. Thanks!

[Bimmer09]

This is the arrivals Customs line at YVR as we were leaving.

 

 



 

We used the Red Carpet Club lounge (United Airlines) at YVR and it was mighty fine indeed and the first I've seen that had free beer on tap-serve yourself!

A salad bar was another nice touch.

 

Soon I was strapped into a seat and taking pictures like these....

 



 

[Bimmer09]

I didn't know going into this Coral cruise whether Carol would like the experience of being on a ship for a week,eating mass-produced meals and all that comes with cruising. Once the Coral started moving in Whittier she had two thumbs up and they stayed up for seven days of comfort and pleasure.

 

She walked the Promenade deck each morning with arms swinging and a new spring in her step. She had never thought of cruising over all these years she had been traveling and now she had the wind in her hair, leaning on a railing, watching the magic of a sunset at sea as the Coral raced along at 20 mph, taking us to a new port with new excitements ahead- trains and kayaks, helicopters and whale boats, float planes and totem poles.

 

She became Miss Patter and always had it to hand on board, well highlighted and she had a schedule of events to get to while I drifted along in my own cruise-mode.

 

I had, in some way, prepared her for what was ahead with tales from my days of cruising back in the mid 80's and early 90's but the Royal Caribbean and Carnival ships of those days had long gone. They were no longer spartan vessels but now floating resorts of considerable magnitude and organization.

So there were many great surprises for me too.

 

I had joined CC in late 2009 and focused on boards other than Princess- RCI, Carnival, HAL and Seabourn off all things. I guess I had a hankering to find out how the industry was after all these years away from it. Once I had settled on the Coral for Alaska I started to read the PCL board daily. The members who write on this board gave me all the info I needed to maximise the cruise experience. There is no more valuable tool for cruise planning than Cruise Critic. Members share their experiences freely.

 

So many cruise lines and so many ships to take to so many new places....

 

We had been taking fantastic vacations together in the USA, Canada and Europe for 17 years prior to the Coral. Driving and resting holidays with occasional adventures thrown in, like flying through the Red Rocks of Sedona in an open-cockpit biplane or helicopter or sailing down the Rhine on a sightseeing ship.

Now we could add cruising to our choices!

 

I got off the Coral with two FCCs in hand as we knew we would cruise at least on more time. Maybe the first was a fluke?

 

Within a week of getting home to the cats I got an e mail from a cruise planner at Princess, telling me he would be my aide to booking any future cruises and we formed a good relationship by e mail. He would later play a part in us getting a free upgrade to a suite on our next cruise which would be the Crown to the Southern Caribbean, January 2012.

 

Why I probably won't sail the Coral again....

 

The Coral is a fabulous ship with a stellar crew. Let me say that! However she does not have two features I have grown to love in my 3 cruises since;

 

AFT cabins. Once we sailed aft-after having admired the aft balconies on the Sapphire as we pulled out of Juneau-in a PH suite on the Crown we fell in love with the location and the wake noise and the lack of wind back there.

The Coral has no aft cabins.

 

Skywalkers...we love the view from up there and the quiet. We don't go to the disco.

 

We can only take 7 day cruises and only 2 a year so can't take the Coral through the Panama Canal. That can wait until we retire and by then wider ships than the Coral will be able to pass through.

 

The new Royal Princess, now at sea, is also without a Skywalkers but still has the aft cabins and a dazzling interior. I just cancelled a suite booking on her to the Eastern Caribbean but it was more due to the itinerary (which we did in January on the Ruby) than disappointment with the Royal. There is disappointment and the ship itself is now not strong enough to make it the destination regardless of ports-so we are booked on the Caribbean Princess out of Houston to the Western Caribbean in January 2014. Aft suite with shade and the daddy of all Skywalkers! Never been to Texas and excited for Houston and the Johnson Space Center. FCCs I bought on the Ruby have also allowed me to book the Ocean Princess, Venice to Rome in September 2014 and where Princess will take us after that is currently up in the air.

 

We have enjoyed the Princess experience very much and feel like part of the family that includes all the members on the PCL CC board. We may try another line along the way....maybe Celebrity M Class, HAL, Oceania, RCI?

 

In four cruises taken we have Platinum status and 5 more cruises (2 already booked) will get us to Elite. Good for Internet minutes!

 

I have relived my cruises on the Ruby, Diamond and Coral on this board and hope that those who have followed along on each thread have enjoyed the pictures and video. I only have the Crown left to write about before I am caught up on my Princess History. That I will scratch off my list in September. It may help anyone who hasn't sailed on her or sailed to Aruba and Curacao.

 

After that it will be the Caribbean Princess, then the Ocean Princess and then.....?

 

Thanks for coming on the journey and keeping me company for the past 3 weeks or so!

 

In the meantime we have the 4th of July in San Francisco harbor to look forward to, followed in August by a week of opera in Germany and Austria.

 

Bye for now,

 

Norris

[margob111]

What a great review. I just booked our trip on the Coral for May 2014 to Alaska. I can't wait. Checking all the reviews to figure out our excursions. Thanks for taking the time to post your review.

[Bimmer09]

What a great review. I just booked our trip on the Coral for May 2014 to Alaska. I can't wait. Checking all the reviews to figure out our excursions. Thanks for taking the time to post your review.

 

Margaret- you are in for a treat on the Coral to Alaska and if you like to get off the ship and do excursions the ports there are rich in opportunities.

I booked my Coral excursions as if it was maybe our one chance of visiting Alaska on a ship, so there was no budget when it came to excursions.

 

We have been there twice now in the past two years and will return no doubt.

 

For the 2nd trip we sailed on the Diamond and there is a photo/video review of that on CC from last September (click on my screen name to find it). For that one I chose excursions that didn't involve flying or trains as I wanted us to be on the ground, feeling Alaskan soil beneath our tootsies and this worked out well for us. We're not beach people or shopping people and Alaska has more to offer us than Caribbean ports. I think Alaska is (for us) one destination where if it rains our day is not shot-the rain has always been soft drizzle. On the Coral we had off and on drizzle for 5 days and on the Diamond (same week on year later) we seldom saw rain.

 

Happy cruising!

 

Norris

[margob111]

Norris, I will check out your photo/video review on the Diamond. I was just on a Caribbean cruise last month, didn't do anything for me, so really looking forward to Alaska.

[PathfinderEss]

Wow great review and awesome photo's.

[Whimsy]

I really enjoyed your review and a look at the Coral Princess. I'm a little nervous about sailing on heh, all mu Princess cruises have been on the larger ships, which I have loved. I'm sure though I'll survive my 11 nights on a ship!

 

May I ask a few questions? What kind of camera do you use and would you mind if I shared some of your Coral photos with others? They really give a good look at the ship and will keep everyone happy while we tick off the weeks till we sail.