Review: Coral Princess. January 7-17,2016

Just returned from 10 days cruise from and back to Ft. Lauderdale. My wife and I have cruised several times on Princess, we have also been on its closest competitor Celebrity. Some thoughts on the cruise.

General Impression: One of the better cruises we have taken. Was very port intensive, with great touring of the canal. We passed through the old canal, but was able to observe the bigger ships cruising through the newer locks of the Panal Canal. Overall, well worth the money.

Condition of the Ship: It is an older ship and their are areas of the Coral Princess that shows her age. In the bathroom there was mold growing inbetween the tiles in the bathtub/shower, and the shower curtains definitely needed replacement. Overall, however, considering the age of the Coral Princess, the ship was in excellent shape.

Embarkation and Return: The ship sails from Port Everglades. The ship returned to a different location in the port, so if one used the parking garage they needed a bus shuttle to get themselves back to the car. Going through customs however, was fairly quick and easy. We did have Global Entry which did speed up the process.

Buffet on Lido Deck: Plenty of room to eat, one did not have to look to hard to find a table. In addition, the dining area had fairly long hours for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Food selection and quality of food was fairly good, however we did feel that the salad bar could use some improvement. For late night snacks there is a 24 hour cafe located next to the casino where one could get coffee, deserts and small sandwiches.

Dining Room: There are two separate dining rooms. One is for formal or traditional seating with two designated times, the other is for anytime dining. Warning: Between 6:00 P.M. and 7:30 P.M. anytime dining gets very crowded with long lines. Because of this we usually dined at 8:00 P.M. and had no problems getting a table. Food was fairly good. We did notice that instead of a steak, the ship offered a hamburger as an alternative. Service was good, but at times it could be somewhat rushed. We also had breakfast in the MDR which was fairly good with good service.

The ship serves burgers, franks, and chicken sandwiches on deck 15. Pizza which is fairly good was served on deck 14. One could also get soft ice cream or milk shakes (extra charge unless you had a soft drink card for the milk shakes.)

Cabins: We booked a mini suite (C417). Balcony was small, but we had an excellent forward view of the ship, great for traveling through the canal. Two televisions in the room. Plenty of storage space. If one doesn't mind spending the extra money, the mini-suite is the way to go. Our suite will become Club Class starting in February.

Entertainment: Several broadway type shows. They were short, but overall great quality. Must see. Note that the theater has limited seating and we did have to show up at least 30 minutes before the shows to get a good seat. But well worth it. One one night we had a Magician and on another night a comedian.

Movies Under the Stars: Weather permitting a nice option on Princess. With inclement weather, movies on moved to the lounge in the back of the ship.

Bars: The Coral Princess has numerous bars with various types of entertainment. Also entertainment in the atrium every night. Plenty to do until 12:00 A.M., at which time the ship begins to quite down. But action continues in the Casino until early morning.

Next Posting: Panama Canal.

Nice review that will effect our future cruise choices. Thank you.

Thanks for your review.

Thanks for taking the time to post your review.....:):):)

Bob

Thank you for your review

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Nice review so far. Seems a balanced account of the ship. I will say that if I found mold in my tub or whatever I would have had a word with the steward and expected it to be remedied.

Love Coral Princess. Only sailed her once so far but it was a 17 day full transit through the canal from SF to FLL so we had a fair amount of time to check out the ship. We had a wonderful cruise.

Thanks for checking in with your review.

the shower curtains definitely needed replacement.

Thanks for your report. I enjoyed reading it and await the next part.

If you ever have that problem with a shower curtain again, just ask the cabin steward to replace it.

Thanks for posting your review as interested to hear the condition of the Coral, since it's been almost a year now since the dry dock.

I was on the Coral in December and my bathroom was spotless.

You really should have said something to your steward or guest services if it bothered you.

I felt that the ship was in great shape. It's my fave!

I was on the Coral in December and my bathroom was spotless.

You really should have said something to your steward or guest services if it bothered you.

I felt that the ship was in great shape. It's my fave!

I also was on Coral in Dec for the 10 day cruise to Panama Canal. I too loved the ship. So much, my next Alaska cruise will probably be on this same ship. I did not have mold, but you could see the grout might not be perfect - normal for a older ship. I liked the layout of the ship, I enjoyed the food very much - MDR each night and buffet most breakfast and lunches. Thought the buffet food was good and huge amount of choices.

Thank you for sharing, we are sailing on Coral in March. Looking forward to part two.

Thank-you for the report.

Thank you for your review which is not only positive but informative

58 days till sailing

Reading your review will get me closer to my sailing in March.

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One of the reasons my wife and I selected Princess is that there cruises are usually "Port Intensive" and this was no exception. We did have two initial days at sea, after a late start (due to the incident at Ft. Lauderdale Airport) from Port Everglades.

Our first stop was on day 3 at Aruba. Short 1/2 day stop in the A.M. My wife and I just toured the town (a lot of shopping) and feasted on "real"coffee with donuts at Duncan Donuts. Then back to the ship.

Our next stop was at Cartagena, Columbia. We had taken a similar cruise over 10 years ago, but at that time, could not stop in Columbia due to the civil war. Finally the country is at peace. We took the city tour, saw the fortress and toured through the old city and basilica. Very charming, typical of old world spanish cities.

Our next stop was the real reason for the cruise, the Panama Canal. We got up before sunrise as the ship neared the canal. We had booked a mini suite and our balcony faced forward, so we had an excellent view as we approached the canal. We had breakfast on the Lido deck as we started to pass through the canal, and we did further observations as we entered Gatun Lake from the top of the ship. We selected to get off and travel a short distance by bus, and then boarded a smaller boat and continued through the second set of Locks to the Pacific Side. If one has to select only one tour on the entire cruise, this is it. Totally, absolutely, unbelievably fantastic to take a small ship through the canal locks. By the way, we did travel by bus over the newer set of locks and did see the superships that were previously to large to travel through the Canal. Very long day, but well, well worth it. Make sure you take your cameras.

Our next stop was at Costa Rica. We took the Hacienda Tour where we traveled into the mountains to an plantatation where we had demonstratons in regards to coffee, sugar, and surgar cane, and Macademia Nuts. A bit touristy, but scenery was breath taking. We were above the clouds. It reminded us of Hawaii.

We then stopped at Jamaica. We have already done the falls in the past, so we decided to take a lesiurely river raft down the Martha Brae River. Very quite, beautiful scenery. Must see tour.

Of course we did have several sea days, but Princess does have several lectures and numerous activities so we didn't get bored.

Thanks so much for the review!

Helps us pass the time until ours in February!

:)

Thank you for your helpful reviews. We are sailing in March, so your advice really helps. I am delighted to hear the food and entertainment were ok since our last trip on the Emerald was disappointing.

Thanks for the review.

Thanks for posting your review as interested to hear the condition of the Coral, since it's been almost a year now since the dry dock.

I was surprised to hear that too since we were on her first voyage after last years dry dock. We had a HECK of a time with post dry dock issues but she did not seem run down.

I am going to take a chance and assume there were no visas required for any of the countries visited, right?

You never know when the requirement will pop up. Happened to us with France once, two weeks before our flight.

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I am going to take a chance and assume there were no visas required for any of the countries visited, right?

You never know when the requirement will pop up. Happened to us with France once, two weeks before our flight.

 

 

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You are correct, there are no visas needed for any of the countries visited on the 10-day, partial transit.

I was surprised to hear that too since we were on her first voyage after last years dry dock. We had a HECK of a time with post dry dock issues but she did not seem run down.

We were on the cruise right after you & was reading everything, from all the live postings we could during that week. Still remember that thread we had going, with every tid bit of news and the sea maps, where we were sll watching the live tracking when it was having engine problems.

When I saw the map of us going in circles i was floored !!!

We were one that had a really bad experience because of the flooding in our room. That wouldn't have even really been an issue if they've come to take care of it on day one. But we had to ask, I believe it was eight times to get it fixed. And our hallway reeked of mildew and was completely flooded. Water would squish up around your shoes when you stepped on it. And then we were dragging that mold into our room. My husband has asthma and that was not good for him at all. A lot of people gave us a lot of flack on those live postings saying you should have made the best of it, like we did. They didn't have a flooded hallway.

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We passed through the old canal, but was able to observe the bigger ships cruising through the newer locks of the Panal Canal. It is an older ship and their are areas of the Coral Princess that shows her age. Plenty of room to eat, one did not have to look to hard to find a table. In addition, the dining area had fairly long hours for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Food selection and quality of food was fairly good, however we did feel that the salad bar could use some improvement. There are two separate dining rooms. One is for formal or traditional seating with two designated times, the other is for anytime dining. Warning: Between 6:00 P.M. and 7:30 P.M. anytime dining gets very crowded with long lines. Because of this we usually dined at 8:00 P.M. and had no problems getting a table. Food was fairly good. We had an excellent forward view of the ship, great for traveling through the canal. Two televisions in the room. Plenty of storage space. If one doesn't mind spending the extra money, the mini-suite is the way to go. Several broadway type shows. They were short, but overall great quality. Must see. Note that the theater has limited seating and we did have to show up at least 30 minutes before the shows to get a good seat. The Coral Princess has numerous bars with various types of entertainment. Also entertainment in the atrium every night. Plenty to do until 12:00 A.M., at which time the ship begins to quite down.

stevenr597: Our next stop was at Cartagena' date=' Columbia. We had taken a similar cruise over 10 years ago, but at that time, could not stop in Columbia due to the civil war. Finally the country is at peace. We took the city tour, saw the fortress and toured through the old city and basilica. Very charming, typical of old world spanish cities. [/quote']

 

Appreciate your excellent review and the very detailed comments, tips, etc. I have highlighted above a few of your info items most of interest to me. In late February, we are doing a 15-day Ft. Lauderdale to San Francisco sailing that goes through the Panama Canal and that will give us our first visits in Colombia, Central American and Mexico. Yes, it will be on the Island Princess. A sister ship to your Coral Princess. Looking forward to our first sailing with Princess and sampling their product, ship, service, staff, etc.

 

Keep flowing and glowing with your wonderful sharing, answering important questions, etc.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

From our Jan. 25-Feb. 20, 2015, Amazon River-Caribbean combo sailing over 26 days that started in Barbados, here is the link below to that live/blog. Lots of great visuals from this amazing Brazil river and these various Caribbean Islands (Dutch ABC's, St. Barts, Dominica, Grenada, etc.) that we experienced. Check it out at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2157696

Now at 47,068 views for these postings.

I am going to take a chance and assume there were no visas required for any of the countries visited, right?

You never know when the requirement will pop up. Happened to us with France once, two weeks before our flight.

 

 

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No visas required, we just took our cruise card and driving license when we left the ship for port calls.