Sailing on the Coral Princess for the first time

[cruisingrob21]

2 minutes ago, cruisingrob21 said:

THIS!!! ☝️ Get one of the few OV's out here or even an inside cabin, they all have very convenient access to this deck area.  We've spent countless hours out here on the Coral.

I'll also add, when the ship is full, it doesn't feel full.  Strikingly so.  In my experience, I have rarely encountered crowds on the Coral.

[Spikesgirl]

1 hour ago, Alaskanb said:

My favorite ship! Just the right size. Really liked the location of the International Cafe. 

Excellent.  I'm loving all that I'm hearing about it.  Thanks so very much!

[Spikesgirl]

34 minutes ago, cr8tiv1 said:

The Coral has many "secret" viewing areas both bow and aft on several decks.  I can't recall which, but the locations are not well marked.  

I will have to hunt them down - thank you!  :D

[Spikesgirl]

1 hour ago, Cruzinnana47 said:

We loved the Coral when we sailed on her in 2008 for our anniversary and 1st Panama Canal cruise (full transit).  The small size suited us just fine, and we enjoyed walking on the full promenade deck.  One feature that we really liked immensely was the aft viewing area on our deck (Baja--11).  We discovered it was a great place to observe the operation of the locks from an aft vantage point, after being outside on several much more crowded areas of the ship.    We stayed out there for the later part of the transit with the added benefits of shade and lounge chairs.

 

 

Sounds like fun.  We're in PNG, so no locks, but I'm sure there will still be lots of beautiful ocean to see.  

 

Thank you!

[Spikesgirl]

17 minutes ago, Thrak said:

We have sailed on Coral Princess twice. The only thing I don't particularly care for is the layout of the central Atrium. It has weird stairs in the middle and just doesn't feel "roomy" to me. Other than that (which really isn't a big deal) I love the ship.

 

We most often sail in balcony cabins but, on Coral Princess, we book B731 which is an Ocean View. We absolutely love the cabin. It's only a few steps to the aft viewing deck which is not used much. It's like having a huge balcony that is very often not used by anybody else. I tried looking in the window during the day but, with the sheer drapes pulled, I couldn't see into the cabin even when I pressed my face to the glass. At night we pull the heavy curtain for privacy.

 

Below is a picture of the aft deck. The window nearest the door is our cabin. (There is a similar cabin on the port side of the ship.) We have spent some great times out on this deck having an evening drink while  watching dolphins play in the wake. It's "almost" like having a huge balcony all to ourselves since most people don't realize this area exists.

 

We would be happy to sail on this ship any time. I agree with others here that On The Bayou is the best show Princess has and it is designed specifically to make use of the unusual rotating stage. I love seeing people's faces when the show starts. Unless one has seen the show before the beginning is a real surprise. 😃

 

Wow!  What a 'balcony'!  :DD   We haven't seen "On the Bayou" at all, so we will check it out.  Thank you for all your help and for the photo!  

[Spikesgirl]

13 minutes ago, cruisingrob21 said:

We really enjoy the Coral.  The double "large" show lounge is nice with the Princess theater forward and the Universe Lounge aft.  Also, aft on Emerald to Baja deck are some really nice aft viewing decks.  The ship is similar to the Island (but better since the island got a pretty bad refit a while back)

 

The wide promenade is well regarded on this ship - the only other ones with one this nice is the Sapphire and Diamond which is nearly as wide in several spots.  The Island, the sister to the Coral, lost her wrap around promenade during a refit a few years back.

 

We also really liked the dedicated card room and library on deck 8 - funny to say but the Coral has the tallest atrium in the fleet, although it's not as impressive as the Piazza styled atriums on the other ships.

 

Topside, the buffet is forward which is different from the rest of the fleet, the covered pool is nice and rare among princess ships now.  Additionally, while the layout is similar to grand class ships on lower decks, there are only 2 dining rooms and all cabins on deck 5 are midship or aft because the dining rooms are forward from the atrium.

 

It's my favorite ship in the fleet still after so many years but it doesnt seem like she will return to the west coast anytime soon so my cruise in 2019 might be my last time sailing on her 😓

Thank you for all this great information!  I think we are going to have fun wandering the ship.  We sailed on the small ship (670 passengers) exclusively and are used to not having many dining options or entertainment choices.  It sounds like this will offer both.  

 

Thanks to you and other Coral passengers, I'm quite excited about this upcoming trip.  I only hope she will come back to the west coast one day.

 

Fingers crossed that she comes back 

[Spikesgirl]

14 minutes ago, cruisingrob21 said:

I'll also add, when the ship is full, it doesn't feel full.  Strikingly so.  In my experience, I have rarely encountered crowds on the Coral.

Nice.  I like not feeling crowded on the ship.

 

[MamaFej]

Thanks for this thread, @Spikesgirl. We are booked for 28 days on the Coral in a litle over a year. This thread is getting me excited about the ship. 

[Thrak]

50 minutes ago, Spikesgirl said:

Here's hoping they hold onto the Coral for a while, then.  😄  It would just be my luck to like her and have them sell it.

 

Coral Princess is a Panamax ship which means it can sail the old locks of the Panama Canal. It would be a huge mistake to get rid of the ship. Other than Coral, Island Princess is the only ship Princess has that can sail the old locks. Island Princess used to be the same as Coral (although without an International Cafe) but they butchered the ship to add a bunch more cabins while taking away public space. It was a truly moronic move by Princess.

[Thrak]

41 minutes ago, Spikesgirl said:

Wow!  What a 'balcony'!  :DD   We haven't seen "On the Bayou" at all, so we will check it out.  Thank you for all your help and for the photo!  

 

Go early and get a set on the lower floor near to the stage. It will be worth going early and waiting a bit.

[andlep]

       I had a fantastic cruise on this beautiful ship last month. Can confirm that the ship never feels crowded and the crew are great. Even though she is getting on in years, she is well maintained and a pleasure to sail on.  

        There are a lot of informative posts in the Australia & New Zealanders thread about this ship. Here is a recent report with lots of photos, and another good live report from September here.

Edited October 11, 2022 by andlep
grammar

[cr8tiv1]

3 hours ago, Spikesgirl said:

Thank you for all this great information!  I think we are going to have fun wandering the ship.  We sailed on the small ship (670 passengers) exclusively and are used to not having many dining options or entertainment choices.  It sounds like this will offer both.  

 

Thanks to you and other Coral passengers, I'm quite excited about this upcoming trip.  I only hope she will come back to the west coast one day.

 

Fingers crossed that she comes back 

 

She has never been home ported on the West Coast.  It would really be nice if Princess would keep one "smaller" ship at San Pedro.  I don't want to be overrun with Royal Class ships as my only choice.  FLL can have the new Sun Princess.

[KYBOB]

I have sailed on the Coral twice; did the Panama Canal and a B2B in Alaska. To me it was the best ship for both itineraries. Also love the small size can you get on and off ease. I have a recent experience on the Caribbean Princess where we were in line 40 min. just to get back on. To keep everyone in line entertained a guy played the bag pipes. On the Royal (I remember the first one, that was a spectacular ship) we were an hour late leaving port once due to the number of people in line to get back on.  We have sailed on just about all the Princess ships with the exception of a couple of the newer ones, the new Sky and Majestic. We like the smaller ships but we started cruising when the passenger count was in the hundreds and you got to know people. Now you are lucky if you see the same person twice the entire cruise. And to us the Coral is one we gladly sail again it seems like home. 

[NSWP]

5 hours ago, Thrak said:

 

Coral Princess is a Panamax ship which means it can sail the old locks of the Panama Canal. It would be a huge mistake to get rid of the ship. Other than Coral, Island Princess is the only ship Princess has that can sail the old locks. Island Princess used to be the same as Coral (although without an International Cafe) but they butchered the ship to add a bunch more cabins while taking away public space. It was a truly moronic move by Princess.

Totally agree having been on both. I am recently off Coral in Australia but been on her for Panama Canal and Alaska, also.

 

I have been on most of the Princess ships, but Coral is my favourite.

Edited October 12, 2022 by NSWP

[Spikesgirl]

14 hours ago, MamaFej said:

Thanks for this thread, @Spikesgirl. We are booked for 28 days on the Coral in a litle over a year. This thread is getting me excited about the ship. 

You are so very welcome.  It's a totally new ship for me and while I am sad that we won't be sailing on the Pacific (the small one) anymore, I look forward to the Coral!  I hope you have a fabulous cruise!

[Spikesgirl]

14 hours ago, Thrak said:

 

Coral Princess is a Panamax ship which means it can sail the old locks of the Panama Canal. It would be a huge mistake to get rid of the ship. Other than Coral, Island Princess is the only ship Princess has that can sail the old locks. Island Princess used to be the same as Coral (although without an International Cafe) but they butchered the ship to add a bunch more cabins while taking away public space. It was a truly moronic move by Princess.

I don't understand Princess at times.  It's not always about how many cabins you can cram onto the ship.  I know that's why they got rid of the smaller ships (Tahitian, Ocean and Pacific). Even though they charged more for sailing on them, I guess it wasn't enough.  Sigh

[Spikesgirl]

14 hours ago, Thrak said:

 

Go early and get a set on the lower floor near to the stage. It will be worth going early and waiting a bit.

Thanks!  I've just retired from a career in theatre, so I'm always in the front row for a show.  :DD

 

[Spikesgirl]

14 hours ago, andlep said:

       I had a fantastic cruise on this beautiful ship last month. Can confirm that the ship never feels crowded and the crew are great. Even though she is getting on in years, she is well maintained and a pleasure to sail on.  

        There are a lot of informative posts in the Australia & New Zealanders thread about this ship. Here is a recent report with lots of photos, and another good live report from September here.

Thank you so much for the links!  I will check them out.  I was lukewarm about this cruise and now I'm excited.  😄

[Spikesgirl]

12 hours ago, cr8tiv1 said:

 

She has never been home ported on the West Coast.  It would really be nice if Princess would keep one "smaller" ship at San Pedro.  I don't want to be overrun with Royal Class ships as my only choice.  FLL can have the new Sun Princess.

I agree.  Bigger isn't always better

[Spikesgirl]

11 hours ago, KYBOB said:

I have sailed on the Coral twice; did the Panama Canal and a B2B in Alaska. To me it was the best ship for both itineraries. Also love the small size can you get on and off ease. I have a recent experience on the Caribbean Princess where we were in line 40 min. just to get back on. To keep everyone in line entertained a guy played the bag pipes. On the Royal (I remember the first one, that was a spectacular ship) we were an hour late leaving port once due to the number of people in line to get back on.  We have sailed on just about all the Princess ships with the exception of a couple of the newer ones, the new Sky and Majestic. We like the smaller ships but we started cruising when the passenger count was in the hundreds and you got to know people. Now you are lucky if you see the same person twice the entire cruise. And to us the Coral is one we gladly sail again it seems like home. 

Bigger isn't always better.  We've always favored the smaller ships, so I'm hoping we will find a home on the Coral

[Spikesgirl]

9 hours ago, NSWP said:

Totally agree having been on both. I am recently off Coral in Australia but been on her for Panama Canal and Alaska, also.

 

I have been on most of the Princess ships, but Coral is my favourite.

That's great to hear!  Thanks!

[nini]

After all of the comments, I realized that I did not mention the fantastic "Blue Bayou" show and the lovely aft viewing decks. Per my research and @Thrak's information, we booked E736 so we also had easy access to these aft decks. And yes, we were able to touch the walls of the locks.

I walked the full Promenade deck many times.

IC next to the smoky casino- YUK!

[Spikesgirl]

21 hours ago, nini said:

After all of the comments, I realized that I did not mention the fantastic "Blue Bayou" show and the lovely aft viewing decks. Per my research and @Thrak's information, we booked E736 so we also had easy access to these aft decks. And yes, we were able to touch the walls of the locks.

I walked the full Promenade deck many times.

IC next to the smoky casino- YUK!

I don't usually go to the IC, so no worries there.  We're midship, so I'm hoping it will be easy access for everything.

 

Thanks!

[nini]

5 hours ago, Spikesgirl said:

I don't usually go to the IC, so no worries there.  We're midship, so I'm hoping it will be easy access for everything.

 

Thanks!

Then do not walk through on Deck 6 because the smoke will get to you each time. The Universe and Explorer's Lounges are both on that floor.

[paradiselivin1]

We've sailed on the Coral 3 times which (I hope) indicates that we are quite fond of this ship. Two cruises to Alaska and the last one around the horn of South America which included Antarctica. We loved the feel of the ship; the multiple viewing areas forward and the size which was comfortable but not cramped. I like some of the options on the newer ships but always have a fondness for this older baby. Will cruise on her again, given the chance..enjoy!