Coral Princess Trip Report from Princess newbie with lots of photos

[aussielozzie18]

Right now I should be at my third & final dinner at the MDR but despite great company on Night 2, I can’t face another meal there.

 

 

entree - vol au vent (ok but bland)

 

 

Main breaded roast snitzel (dry & not worth eating- just ate the accompaniments)

 

Dessert was pavlova (it was ok but the one I make is better)

 

The couple I was sitting next two also thought the food in the MDR had been meh and one of their mains was unfinishable too.  The waiter did offer replacements but neither of us were keen.  This 2nd night I was seated on the other side of the restaurant and the Jamacian waiter was excellent.

 

 

 

[aussielozzie18]

11 minutes ago, cheznandy said:

Thanks for all the photo's. What a beautiful port stop Eden is......and those whales!!

Yes, those tables for two, you can't even move in and out.

I want to go back 😀

[aussielozzie18]

16 minutes ago, cheznandy said:

Thanks for all the photo's. What a beautiful port stop Eden is......and those whales!!

Yes, those tables for two, you can't even move in and out.

The couple I sat next to (also Princess newbies) showed me the tables are bolted to the floor so even if you want a little conversational privacy it’s not an option.

Edited October 10, 2022 by aussielozzie18

[aussielozzie18]

 

Sorry for the spelling mistakes, I do know how to spell but I am doing this report on my phone..,

 

 

 

[aussielozzie18]

I’ve got a tonne of photos of the Horizon Buffet but I’ll post those once I am home & give my thoughts & specific cabin number when I get home too.

[aussielozzie18]

 

 

 

Shows - I haven’t seen many.  This is a R & R cruise so I have been catching up on my sleep.

First night - my dining companions went to theLady Gaga Show.  They enjoyed it. It was a mix of Jazz & Gaga sings with the Princess performer stronger on the Jazz.  
They went to the Karioke after and had a ball.

Edited October 10, 2022 by aussielozzie18

[aussielozzie18]

Last night we all saw comedian Simon McKinney.  He is into doing voices and impersonating people from different countries.  Of the three us, the two females found him very funny.  The husband thought he was awful.

[aussielozzie18]

 

Ok, you are probably thinking why did I go see this?  I did a 14 day cruise to PNG and there were a series of talks on board by an Australian war historian and he was fascinating.

Unfortunately, this Gentleman was an American historian  and his perspective was entirely from an American perspective and Australia barely got a look in apart from a couple mention of Allies.  Only a handful of people attended this one.

[yes!yes!yes!]

1 hour ago, aussielozzie18 said:

You boarded the boat only a few steps from the visitors centre.  I booked this as soon as I realised Eden is known for Whales.  It was fully booked and we had 55 on board but once on board there was plenty of space for everyone.  I picked upstairs outside behind where the Captain sits because I knew it would act as a windbreaker which it did.  It was absolutely glorious on the water as we cruised right by the Coral Princess and within 10 mins on the water we saw our first mother & calf.  The first of many.

 

 

 

 

 

We saw approx 8 separate pairs of mother & her calf.  Tail flips, two amazing full body breaches and beautiful scenery (last photo doesn’t do it justice). It did get a bit bouncy but I don’t think anyone got seasick, certainly not upstairs. it got breezy,  I was glad for my two jackets one with a hood, at our furthest point. They served tea & coffee, biscuits, cheese & crackers after we had our fill of whale sightings. . Back at the wharf at 2pm.  It was an amazing whale watching experience. Worth every cent.  Highly recommend.

How much was it?

 

[NSWP]

1 hour ago, MMDown Under said:

how far from your place Les ?

Two and a half hours, three with a break. I sometimes stay at Eden but more often Merimbula which is 20 minutes north of Eden.

[NSWP]

6 minutes ago, aussielozzie18 said:

 

Ok, you are probably thinking why did I go see this?  I did a 14 day cruise to PNG and there were a series of talks on board by an Australian war historian and he was fascinating.

Unfortunately, this Gentleman was an American historian  and his perspective was entirely from an American perspective and Australia barely got a look in apart from a couple mention of Allies.  Only a handful of people attended this one.

I went to a couple of the chaps talks on the 13th to 22nd Sept cruise. Dont you know the  Americans won the war, lol.

[aussielozzie18]

I’ve pretty much given you all the info you need to know about Eden but I just found my photos from the info session in the Princess Theatre. It was well attended, then emptied out for the American historian who followed

 

 

The only negative in my mind was that he gave us info about the local golf course - specifically a photo of a mob of kangaroos that are seen there.  I can just imagine a group of overseas tourists standing in the middle of the course trying to get selfies….not good.

 

 

 

Edited October 10, 2022 by aussielozzie18

[NSWP]

7 minutes ago, yes!yes!yes! said:

How much was it?

 

It is normally about $70 but probably a bit more as a Princess Shorex. Princess would have booked the boat out todaywith a few sailings.

[aussielozzie18]

6 minutes ago, yes!yes!yes! said:

How much was it?

 

I “think” it was $129pp.  I’ll double check when I get home (price not on ticket I have).  I know if you were doing a land based holiday in Eden it would be $5O cheaper but Princess had the whole day booked out.

[MicCanberra]

Thanks for posting, have enjoyed reading all of your posts and seeing all the the photos.

[NSWP]

27 minutes ago, aussielozzie18 said:

I “think” it was $129pp.  I’ll double check when I get home (price not on ticket I have).  I know if you were doing a land based holiday in Eden it would be $5O cheaper but Princess had the whole day booked out.

Normal price range from $75 to $95 depending on time of year and whether 2 or 3 Hour cruise.

[Cruisegroover]

1 hour ago, aussielozzie18 said:

The cc regulars may or may not be interested to hear that there is a large group of “Cruising with Honey” on board.  I am told 200 but I walked past one of the bars and they had it fully booked for pre dinner drinks for 2hrs and the venue was full.

 

She posted on Friday she had 88 people in her group.

[joejoe 59]

Thanks for your review. I've enjoyed all your photos & look forward to visiting Eden when we do out Tassie cruise. 

[NSWP]

32 minutes ago, Cruisegroover said:

She posted on Friday she had 88 people in her group.

Honey must be a Blogger come travel writer who books block cabins for her groups, de facto TA, or a tour operator.Never heard of her until now, I just did a background check, lol.

Edited October 10, 2022 by NSWP

[boeckli]

6 minutes ago, NSWP said:

Honey must be a TA or tour operator. Never heard of her.

 

https://cruisingwithhoney.blogspot.com/

[NSWP]

30 minutes ago, boeckli said:

 

https://cruisingwithhoney.blogspot.com/

Just saw her blogs on Coral, dont think I will cruise with 🍯.She is a bit out there.

[LittleFish1976]

2 hours ago, aussielozzie18 said:

Right now I should be at my third & final dinner at the MDR but despite great company on Night 2, I can’t face another meal there.

 

 

entree - vol au vent (ok but bland)

 

 

Main breaded roast snitzel (dry & not worth eating- just ate the accompaniments)

 

Dessert was pavlova (it was ok but the one I make is better)

 

The couple I was sitting next two also thought the food in the MDR had been meh and one of their mains was unfinishable too.  The waiter did offer replacements but neither of us were keen.  This 2nd night I was seated on the other side of the restaurant and the Jamacian waiter was excellent.

 

 

 

Gosh, I'm a bit worried about the Princess cruises I've just booked if the food is that bad in the MDR! So what was your alternative? The buffet? and if so, how was the food there?

 

 

[aussielozzie18]

37 minutes ago, LittleFish1976 said:

Gosh, I'm a bit worried about the Princess cruises I've just booked if the food is that bad in the MDR! So what was your alternative? The buffet? and if so, how was the food there?

 

 

The alternatives are the Speciality restaurants which you pay extra for or the Horizon Court Buffet which is free of charge.  The food in Horizon Court was tastier than what was served in the MDR.

[aussielozzie18]

Coral Princess crew for this sailing 

[aussielozzie18]

Overpacked so didn’t need to use laundry but discovered it by chance when I got lost.