Coral Princess vs Jewel of the Seas through the Panama Canal

Just wondered if people have opinions on these two ships. I currently have a cruise booked on the Coral, but it is with a refundable deposit. I have not done a Princess Cruise before. But I can get a much cheaper price for a balcony cabin on the Jewel of the Seas. I have done a Royal Cruise back in 2003. So looking for pros and cons on both, ports are slightly different, Coral is a 15 day and Jewel is a 16 day.

I've been on Coral Princess on a Panama Canal cruise. Also been on Serenade of the Seas (same class as Jewel, I think. Coral is a beautiful ship, and I'd give a slight edge to Princess for food quality. Still, I'd choose Jewel, based only on the fact that for me, RCCL ships are more wheelchair friendly. For an extra night and a lower price, my choice would be Jewel of the Seas.

Coral is a wonderful ship for a full Panama Canal transit. (y)

Just wondered if people have opinions on these two ships. I currently have a cruise booked on the Coral, but it is with a refundable deposit. I have not done a Princess Cruise before. But I can get a much cheaper price for a balcony cabin on the Jewel of the Seas. I have done a Royal Cruise back in 2003. So looking for pros and cons on both, ports are slightly different, Coral is a 15 day and Jewel is a 16 day.

Coral Princess and RCI Radiance Class ships are nearly identical in terms of activities, amenities, service, dining and entertainment. To me the difference is the actual ship. Jewel is much prettier, more spacious and the cabins are larger. On Coral, you don't get a couch unless you book a mini suite. Jewel has a couch in every room, and the balconies are much nicer.

I would only consider Coral if it was cheaper. With Jewel cheaper, it's a no brainer to me. I recommend Jewel.

I've been on Coral once and the Jewel several times and much prefer the Jewel. In fact we are booked on the Panama Canal cruise next February.

On most 16 day cruises from Royal (and X too) offer a port call in Panama in addition to your transit. On the other hand Princess only offers a Panama stop on just a few of their Canal cruises. Consider that if you haven't already.

I'm booked on the Jewel's 16 day Panama next March. I compared the itineraries, and if you're going West-to-East, I think the Jewel's itinerary is better. It's a good Mexican cruise with an overnight in Cabo San Lucas. Princess is focusing more on Costa Rica and Nicaragua.

I prefer the layout of RCCL ships to Princess. Princess buffets are bottlenecks, and the RCCL ships have many more windows. I don't like the closed-in feel of the interiors of Princess ships.

Cheaper and an extra day, Jewel. Have done 200+ nites on Radiance Class with another 100 scheduled. Also I am doing the Jewel both ways threw Canal next Feb/Mar....

Hi,

I have cruised aboard both the Coral Princess and the Jewel of the Seas. I liked both ships and would certainly consider sailing on either of them again. Overall, the ships are fairly comparable. Because the Jewel is less expensive and the cruise is one day longer, I would choose the Jewel.

Chuck

Thank you all for your help. After a closer look, the Princess cruise is actually cheaper overall. I booked the Princess cruise last summer on their 3 for 1 deal, so I got upgraded balcony room, free gratuities ($405.00) and $300.00 OBC. When I deduct these from the Princess price and add the gratuities on the Jewel price, Coral is about $340.00 cheaper. And it was with a refundable deposit. I liked that the Jewel was west to east, the Coral is east to west, and I thought the overnight in Cabo San Lucas would be fun. But I have a shore excursion in mind for Nicaragua that I would have been disappointed to miss. And another thing I was looking forward to on Coral was the Ultimate Balcony Dinner, sounds romantic and decadent. I will keep an eye on pricing, but guess I will stay with the Coral.