Coral vs. Caribbean Princess - please advise

[lawgirl]

My husband and I went on a Thanksgiving cruise on the Caribbean Princess in 2004. It was our first Princess cruise - others have been with RCCI Radiance class and one Celebrity. Although the ship was nice, the cruise was not what we expected given others' reviews of Princess in general. We thought that Princess would be on par with RCCI. However, on the Caribbean Princess we felt that with RCCI food and service were simply better than Princess and the RCCI ships felt less crowded. (Of course we did book at about the worst time to take a cruise for crowds) When we returned and posted a review, we were told that the Caribbean Princess is not like other Princess ships and so we are thinking of giving Princess another try -- a 10 day Panamal canal cruise on the Coral Princess. Can anyone compare the two ships? Will we be more satisfied with the Coral Princess? Any tips on good cabins/decks especially for canal viewing? Thank you very much!

[spongerob]

Coral and Island Princess seem to have quite a loyal following. I think you'll find the differences noticeable and to your liking. Caribbean Princess has her fans, too, and for some good reasons, but IMO it was like an entry-level Princess, or Princess-Lite.

[Murphey]

Coral/Island Princess are wonderful....perfect size.....,beautiful ships...I would pick one of these hands down before the CB.

[Miramar]

I haven't been on the Caribbean Princess, but I did the 10 day Panama Canal on the Coral in early November 2004. I never found it to feel over-crowded; in fact I think the Coral is a great size and the public areas are broken up well so that you never feel like you're sailing with thousands.

I've also sailed the Grand, Sea and Dawn Princess and found the size of the Coral to be a nice compromise between the Grand class and Sun class vessels.

The Caribbean Princess has the same amount of public space as the Grand but has added one additional passenger room deck so it makes sense that it might seem more crowded, especially if you sail during peak times.

[Kirsten T]

Been on Celebrity a number of times and Coral once; doing Coral again this January. Food was better on Celebrity but was perfectly acceptable on Coral; their pizza and buffet were both a notch above Celebrity, in fact. The ship never felt crowded and the service was outstanding. We picked Coral because of her size (not in the "mega" class) and for the itinerary, which was awesome! (That's why we're repeating this year.) You couldn't pay me to book a Grand class ship but Coral was just right.

Cheers,

Kirsten

[divadiverfl]

Ditto about the food on Cel. Going on the Coral in Feb to the Canal. Been before but with another ship. Can't wait for the Coral.......

 

:) :)

Been on Celebrity a number of times and Coral once; doing Coral again this January. Food was better on Celebrity but was perfectly acceptable on Coral; their pizza and buffet were both a notch above Celebrity, in fact. The ship never felt crowded and the service was outstanding. We picked Coral because of her size (not in the "mega" class) and for the itinerary, which was awesome! (That's why we're repeating this year.) You couldn't pay me to book a Grand class ship but Coral was just right.

Cheers,

Kirsten

[Druke I]

Haven't been on the Caribbean Princess, but have been on her slightly smaller sister, Golden Princess, and have also been on the Coral Princess.

 

I am not a fan of the megaships, and much prefer the smaller Coral Princess, which we found to be well laid-out, not crowded, and a better rider in rougher water than the larger ships.

 

I think any ship that can't fit through the Panama Canal is too big.

 

Isn't wonderful we have so many choices?

[legalslave]

Kirsten T, what date in January are you sailing on the Coral? We are on 1/23/06.

 

Diane

[ahracer]

You won't find a better design then the Coral/Island ships. It is the least crowded feeling ship I've ever been on. At times it feels like you are the only people on board.

 

Scott

[OrlEngr]

Add another dedicated fan of the Coral Princess. The ship was in great condition, the Panama Canal cruise was very interesting and had some fun ports. 10 day cruise is very nice .. allows some time to truly unwind.

 

 

I beleive I have read that the coral princess has as much public area as the Carribean .... but at lot less people. We never found crowds a problem with the exception of disembarking.

 

Food was excellent ... anytime dining was painfree!:)

[KAJOKG]

This is not even a contest.....Coral, hands down. I've been on the Island, Coral and the Caribbean. Would go on the Coral again in a heartbeat (the Island is much the same), but I will never go on the CB again. The Coral is my most favorite ship. The right size, a good crew, great itinerary, good food and the shows are not bad. It's a fun, comfortable ship. We had minisuites A504 on the Island and A503 on the Coral. These are cabins on the end of the bumpout section and we really loved them, and the location.

[doven]

we just got off the Coral in May from Alaska. It was a lovely lovely ship with quiet areas if you were looking for them, noisy areas if you wanted fun, good food, very willing and nice personnel. We would definitely choose this same ship again - plus as other posters said - it wasn't too big and it was not too small - just right with lots to do, even if you just wanted to sit and watch the beautiful scenery as you sailed or simply people watch. The perfect cruise!

[waterrats]

I have heard that the smaller princess ships are less crowded then Caribbean Princess. CP has an extra deck with cabins that increases passenger totals but the common areas are supposedly the same size.

 

I love RCCI Voyager Class ships and will be sailing with RCCL in 2006.

[Coral]

The Coral Princess is the same size as the Radiance but has fewer people (better space ratio).

 

I have not sailed on the Caribbean Princess (too many people for me) but have sailed on other Grand class ships (Caribbean Princess minus 500 extra people) and I would choose the Coral Princess hands down over a Grand class ship. I also much preferred the Coral Princess to the Radiance.

[KAJOKG]

We definitely felt crowded on the Carbbean Princess. Basically it's the same ship as the other Grand Class ships, but with 500 more passengers. Many don't mind that but we certainly did. After that cruise we went on the Star, which is a really nice ship....same size as the CB, but with 500 less passengers. The difference was very, very evident. Never felt crowded on the Star.