Coral Princess to Alaska - front of the ship question

[ruetundra]

I just booked my Alaska cruise with Princess last night. The one question my TA could not answer was...on the caribe deck - front of the ship the brochure shows something in tan. Is this an observation deck for passengers to use? I see no doors at the end of the hallaway.

 

Thanks

[LARGIN]

good question.. We were the ship last May and will be again in a week and a half. We will be in the aft bumpout on the caribe.. I'll wander forward and check it out..

[Colo Cruiser]

On Baja and Caribe and I believe Dolphin deck too, forward, you can go through a door that is marked no admitance and go out onto the forward deck right under the bridge. Each passageway has a door to the front. Great viewing on both Alaska and Panama. Not many people go out there. You can be seen by personal on the bridge and have never been told to stay away. :)

[kkorman]

Yes, this is a good viewing area. THe y were packed in the PC and in AK. Be sure to push the doors hard or it will feel like they are locked. Just as nice are the decks in the back.

[jrask]

I see other applications for these "no admittance" signs ... Laundry room ... The entire spa facility. What a cruise!

[jesunrise]

:confused: PLEASE UPDATE AS TO ACCESSIBLITY TO FRONT OF SHIP ON CARIBE and BAJA DECKS. Anyone on Coral recently??

[Billy and Charlie's Mum]

:confused: PLEASE UPDATE AS TO ACCESSIBLITY TO FRONT OF SHIP ON CARIBE and BAJA DECKS. Anyone on Coral recently??

 

Yes, we were on the Coral last year in the Panama Canal. If you walk along the corridor on either the Baja or Caribe decks there is a wooden door marked "no admittance" push that door open, then you will see another door - open that and you have THE BEST viewing area on the ship. We didn't find that too many people knew it was there and it was not too crowded. It is directly below the bridge so you can turn around and wave to the captain LOL!

 

Just be aware that it is only unlocked when the ship is not on the open seas. It was open for our Panama canal transit and I am sure it will be open for your Alaska adventure. Enjoy, we will be there on the Diamond in May..... can't wait.

[tutuwahineLV]

what amazes me is how many of you ignore the 'no admittance' signs...:confused: I'm just saying.....

the signs are there for a reason, and obviously passengers are not supposed to be in those areas,:( so do the signs say 'no admittance, except for glacier viewing? sunset watching? .... or do you just ignore them and go blazing through because you feel entitled??

I know this will stir the pot and rattle some cages, but it does amaze me when people pay no attention to posted areas

[speedyjane]

what amazes me is how many of you ignore the 'no admittance' signs...:confused: I'm just saying.....

the signs are there for a reason, and obviously passengers are not supposed to be in those areas,:( so do the signs say 'no admittance, except for glacier viewing? sunset watching? .... or do you just ignore them and go blazing through because you feel entitled??

I know this will stir the pot and rattle some cages, but it does amaze me when people pay no attention to posted areas

 

Very good point.

[itzmered]

what amazes me is how many of you ignore the 'no admittance' signs...:confused: I'm just saying.....

the signs are there for a reason, and obviously passengers are not supposed to be in those areas,:( so do the signs say 'no admittance, except for glacier viewing? sunset watching? .... or do you just ignore them and go blazing through because you feel entitled??

I know this will stir the pot and rattle some cages, but it does amaze me when people pay no attention to posted areas

 

The crew on the Island told us that we were allowed to go out there. I even have pictures that I bought that the ships photographers took of us while out on those decks. I dont think they sent the photographers out there to take outr pictures so they could identify who was being naughty :p

[Saruman]

What amazes me is the existence of such an area marked "no admittance" when they clearly allow it under some circumstances. What good are rules and signs that are not enforced. This only makes people less likely to follow other rules and signs. You can't have it both ways. If this deck is open to passengers, it should be marked so. Obviously Princess has no problem with its use, yet it is marked "No Admittance". This is ridiculous and counter productive. As a former teacher, I know that having a rule that is not enforced or openly disregarded by teachers only encourages students to disregard ALL rules. Not enforcing speed limits encourages us to speed ALL the time. Allowing folks to "save" seats in the PRincess Theatre or deckchairs by the pool when their stated policy is otherwise only encourages passengers to disregard ALL rules and policies.

 

So, Princess, which is it? I'm baffled.:confused:

[Saruman]

duplicate post

[Saruman]

duplicate post. Can't seem to find how to cancel the post entirely when this happens....

Sorry.

[RickEk]

These balconies are absolutely accessible to passengers during certain circumstances ie: transiting the Panama Canal, glacier viewing, etc. The Sun-class vessels even have loungers out there. When they don't want people out on the forward balconies, they will LOCK the doors. It's the same with the super-Grand-class ships that allow passengers onto the bridge wings from the Lido deck. When they don't want you out there... they lock the doors. Simple as that.

[DGSFlorida]

Spent a good deal of time on those forward observation decks in October during 2 Panama Canal cruises. No big deal moving between the "crew doors" and a second door which actually opens onto the outside area. On the Caribe deck there is only a short hallway with a storage closet used by the crew for items like spare replacement carpet tools, etc. The doors are left unlocked when the crew expects passengers to want to access the decks for observation. I would describe the usage as unwritten "don't ask, don't tell."

The Dolphin deck also has a similar deck but must be accessed through an area with multiple crew hallways. Don't expect to go there. You may see crew members out on that deck.

There are also corresponding balconies on the aft of each deck which are accessed directly via doors at the end of each hallway.

[rdsqrl]

what amazes me is how many of you ignore the 'no admittance' signs...:confused: I'm just saying.....

the signs are there for a reason, and obviously passengers are not supposed to be in those areas,:( so do the signs say 'no admittance, except for glacier viewing? sunset watching? .... or do you just ignore them and go blazing through because you feel entitled??

I know this will stir the pot and rattle some cages, but it does amaze me when people pay no attention to posted areas

Perhaps you should restrain your umbrage until you've actually sailed on one of these ships. Passengers are encouraged to use these areas at all times when the doors are unlocked; often on my cruise, the inner door was actually propped open. That's the point of these two ships -- they were built specifically for the Panama Canal, with forward and aft viewing decks. The only reason the forward ones have the double door/locked door arrangement is because no forward-facing deck is accessible when the ship is underway.

[zahav1]

I was just on the Coral, came back two days ago. This was the Panama Canall cruise and we spent 5 hours on that deck. You go forward on deck 10- Caribe, keep on going, the hallway makes many turns, it does not say No Admittance, just that you need to close the door after opening it. You'll see a brown door, and then you go through a tiny hallway and then go through a second door. The ship's lecturer tells everyone to go there, but amazing, there were only about 30 people there. It's the best spot, no obstructions, you can see forward, left and right.

[SiBreeze]

When I did the Panama Canal on the Coral, announcements were made about viewing from the front of the Caribe and Baja decks. They were jam packed, you could hardly move out there. We were squished together shoulder to shoulder and at least 5 rows deep. Folks were out there as early as 5am saving spaces.

 

I must say Princess is not very consistent with the enforcement of any of their policies. Attire in the dining room on formal night, saving of seats in the theater, saving lounge chairs, children at the adult only areas and the list goes on and on. I guess it is just part of the entitlement mentality.

[RickEk]

I was just on the Coral, came back two days ago. This was the Panama Canall cruise and we spent 5 hours on that deck. You go forward on deck 10- Caribe, keep on going, the hallway makes many turns, it does not say No Admittance, just that you need to close the door after opening it. You'll see a brown door, and then you go through a tiny hallway and then go through a second door. The ship's lecturer tells everyone to go there, but amazing, there were only about 30 people there. It's the best spot, no obstructions, you can see forward, left and right.

 

Personally, I don't remember a "No Admittance" sign either. From what I remember, the door isn't marked at all...

[tutuwahineLV]

Perhaps you should restrain your umbrage until you've actually sailed on one of these ships. Passengers are encouraged to use these areas at all times when the doors are unlocked; often on my cruise, the inner door was actually propped open. That's the point of these two ships -- they were built specifically for the Panama Canal, with forward and aft viewing decks. The only reason the forward ones have the double door/locked door arrangement is because no forward-facing deck is accessible when the ship is underway.

 

I have no problems with unlocked/unmarked doors... I was responding to the post by ColoCruiser, who stated that they went throught the doors marked no admittance...