Questions about the Coral

[SeaTeach]

We have booked a fantastic Panama Canal, but have never cruised on a ship this small, and can't imagine that everyone isn't trying to do the same thing at the same time. Can you please tell me what to expect i.e. what is there to do after 11pm aside from the casino, is it necessary to rush to the Sanctuary in order to reserve time, what's the best time to avoid going to the gym, how early should one arrive to a venue/theatre to insure good seating? In other words what are the secrets? We don't wish to waste time trying to figure out the ins and outs of the ship (by then time will be up). PLEASE help!! Thanks!!

 

Also if you have interior pictures of the Coral, please post. Thanks!!:D

[Pam in CA]

Not sure what other ships you've sailed but the Coral Princess isn't "small." She's actually longer than the Grand-class ships but is narrower to fit through the Panama Canal. The biggest difference between the Coral and the "big" Princess ships is at least 1/3 fewer passengers which means a much better passenger-to-space ratio and better cruise experience. Anything you'll find on the Grand-class ships can be found on the Coral.

[SeaTeach]

Not sure what other ships you've sailed but the Coral Princess isn't "small." She's actually longer than the Grand-class ships but is narrower to fit through the Panama Canal. The biggest difference between the Coral and the "big" Princess ships is at least 1/3 fewer passengers which means a much better passenger-to-space ratio and better cruise experience. Anything you'll find on the Grand-class ships can be found on the Coral.

We usually cruise on RCCL larger ships (i.e. Adventure-137,308 tonnage, Navigator-138,00, etc. The smallest RCCL ship sailed had a tonnage near the Coral's). NCL ships were also larger.

 

The Princess ships (new Crown and Caribbean) that we've sailed has tonnage of 113,000 each. According to CC ship reviews, Coral has a tonnage of 91,627. So, according to our experiences the Coral is considered small.

 

No matter what, the upcoming cruise is #1 on the bucket list.:D

[sunsetbeachgal]

The Coral is a great ship-have sailed on her and on her sister ship the Island. The ship never felt crowded at all-the only place I ever remember waiting is at the Anytime Dining Room as there is only one Anytime Dining room as compared to two on the larger Princess ships. Are you doing Anytime or Traditional dining? The ship, as Pam said, really is not small, it is just narrow to be able to get through the Canal. The Panama Canal is a very interesting cruise-you will be happy that you did it!!

[SeaTeach]

The Coral is a great ship-have sailed on her and on her sister ship the Island. The ship never felt crowded at all-the only place I ever remember waiting is at the Anytime Dining Room as there is only one Anytime Dining room as compared to two on the larger Princess ships. Are you doing Anytime or Traditional dining? The ship, as Pam said, really is not small, it is just narrow to be able to get through the Canal. The Panama Canal is a very interesting cruise-you will be happy that you did it!!

We are fans of Traditional dining because it gives us a chance to really enjoy and become acquainted with fellow cruisers. We're also fans of late seating. I have no doubt that I'll have a SUPER time, and that this will not be my last PC cruise. :D

 

I'd appreciate it if you could answer some of my questions in the original post since you've been on the Coral. Thanks in advance!!:D

[Pam in CA]

When considering size, forget tonnage when comparing the Coral/Island to other Princess ships. That extra tonnage is just extra decks of cabins, not public space.

 

There's plenty to do in the evening on the Coral. What is scheduled depends on the CD but there's the Wheelhouse bar and Explorer's Lounge which usually have entertainment in addition to the theaters. The Coral also has MUTS. There should be plenty of options.

 

Don't know about the Sanctuary as that is relatively new to the Coral. I think it depends on the itinerary as I've heard reports of the Sanctuary filling quickly and at other times, no one's up there. My guess is that like so much else on the Coral, it won't be crowded because of fewer passengers. But I don't know for sure. I'll post my photos of the Coral tomorrow.

[chamima]

We have booked a fantastic Panama Canal, but have never cruised on a ship this small, and can't imagine that everyone isn't trying to do the same thing at the same time. Can you please tell me what to expect i.e. what is there to do after 11pm aside from the casino, is it necessary to rush to the Sanctuary in order to reserve time, what's the best time to avoid going to the gym, how early should one arrive to a venue/theatre to insure good seating? In other words what are the secrets? We don't wish to waste time trying to figure out the ins and outs of the ship (by then time will be up). PLEASE help!! Thanks!!

 

Also if you have interior pictures of the Coral, please post. Thanks!!:D

 

We sailed on the Coral this past Feb. for a Panama Canal cruise. I'll try to answer your questions. As others have said, nothing ever felt crowded.

We reserved the Sanctuary immediately upon boarding because we wanted our choice of seats. There are 2 levels for the Sanctuary and on the upper level there are 2 sets of loungers under a private canopy. We wanted shade so booked one of those but there was also shade on the lower level under a large overhang. A previous cruiser said it was noisy on the lower level (I never saw that, by the way) so that's why we didn't book there. We love the quiet and serenity of the Sanctuary but I have to say that when I walked around the ship there were ALWAYS loungers available everywhere.

The day we went through the Canal might have been worth the entire charge for the 15 days !! The Sanctuary supervisor was out at 6 am with freshly brewed coffee , pastries and fruit! We felt like we were on a private yacht that day!

We also ate late traditional and there was sometimes a show after dinner or a singer in a lounge. There wasn't a ton to do after 11 but we ended up loving the entertainer in the piano bar outside of dining room (I could remember his name if someone gave me a hint - sorry :o ) so sat there many evenings until 1 am or so.

There's also Movies Under the Stars.

There was always seating available in the theater for the late show.

As far as hints, I was very excited that the ice cream bar at the indoor pool (which is lovely, by the way) was open until 11pm and also served my favorite tea. Buy a coffee card the first day and that fabulous (Revolution) tea is free as long as you have one punch left.

I also found that the buffet, which we have come to avoid on the larger ships, was very nice on the Coral and served some really interesting themed meals. Plus, it's in the front of the ship and the views are wonderful!

I don't have any interior pictures but posted one of our cabana.

[Loonbeam]

We did the Coral in AK, and loved her. The biggest difference between her and some of the other Princess ships in many people's minds seems to be the lack of an International Cafe dining option, other than that she offers most of what the other Princess ships do.

 

We found 15-20 minutes to be a good time to get seats for the smaller theatre, 10-15 for the larger one. If you are seeing the second showing of a given production, you could probably arrive 2 mins before and get decent seats based on our experience. And that was before she had MUTS as an option. That said, as always your mileage will vary based on the crowd, the Canal seems to be a slightly older demographic and that may change the mix a little.

 

Sanctuary was not available on her when we sailed, so not sure about the rush. It does seem popular on Canal cruises (we keep debating for our Oct 11 cruise on the Island, since we will be doing a tour at Gatun, and there are only 3 sea days on our itin). It will depend very much on how many elite passengers there are who may be interested, etc.

[Astro Flyer]

At about 92,000 tons the Coral/Island is 15,000 tons larger than Sun-class ships & both carry 2,000 passengers so never felt crowded.

 

We have late TD & go to the gym after 5:00 and it's rarely busy so can do an hour on a treadmill & don't need to limit it to 20 minutes when crowded. After dinner we get to the showroom about 10-15 minutes early & have no problem getting seats. It's easier since some of the shows are performed up to 4 times over 2 nights.

 

No suggestions for after the show but lots of options are listed daily in the Princess Patter...have fun! :)

[Pam in CA]

Here's a photo of the Coral's Panorama Buffet at about 12:30pm on a sea day. Note the table availability, something you rarely find on the "large" ships. :) Also, you can see the big viewing windows looking out over the bow of the ship.

 

[Colo Cruiser]

Here's a photo of the Coral's Panorama Buffet at about 12:30pm on a sea day. Note the table availability, something you rarely find on the "large" ships. :) Also, you can see the big viewing windows looking out over the bow of the ship.

 

 

 

You won't see that "availability" in Alaska. :(

 

We also had table finding issues on our Panama cruise as well.

[Astro Flyer]

I read about a "secret" viewing location on the Coral just beyond doors that said something about it being off limits or some other words. As I recall, it's all the way forward on Caribe & Baja decks below the bridge. I don't think it's available at sea but it was a popular spot for viewing through the canal. It's a very safe location & a great view of the approaching scenery.

 

Hopefully if my recollection needs to be corrected, someone will do it for you.

 

Another spot that was nice was all the way aft because your view isn't blocked by the bow in front. It was also suggested to see one of the locks from some of the lower decks where the rising & falling has an even more dramatic effect...something I wish we had done.

[helenb]

We've never used the Sanctuary, but it does sound like a nice way to view the passage through the Panama Canal! Is the view from there good, or is it 'inward' (i.e. to the interior of the ship rather than the exterior)? Do you have to book the Sanctuary for the entire cruise or can you just book it for that day? What is the cost?

[Mapu]

Sanctuary was not available on her when we sailed, so not sure about the rush. It does seem popular on Canal cruises (we keep debating for our Oct 11 cruise on the Island, since we will be doing a tour at Gatun, and there are only 3 sea days on our itin). It will depend very much on how many elite passengers there are who may be interested, etc.

 

Is the Sanctuary an Elite perk?

[Astro Flyer]

We've never used the Sanctuary, but it does sound like a nice way to view the passage through the Panama Canal! Is the view from there good, or is it 'inward' (i.e. to the interior of the ship rather than the exterior)? Do you have to book the Sanctuary for the entire cruise or can you just book it for that day? What is the cost?

I didn't recall a Sanctuary on the Coral & the current deck plan doesn't show one. :(

[chamima]

I didn't recall a Sanctuary on the Coral & the current deck plan doesn't show one. :(

 

The Sanctuary is on the aft of the ship behind the gym. It was added 2 years ago. It doesn't matter what the deck plan says, I posted a picture of it! It is NOT an Elite perk and I don't know if you can book it just for the Canal day. Other days are $10/half day/pp or $20 full day. If you book the whole cruise it's $15/pp/day.

Astro Flyer is correct about the "secret" forward viewing area but between the aft view from the Sanctuary and our balcony we never felt the need to go up there.

One thing I should mention is that from the balcony on a cabin on a low deck (Emerald) in the rear part of the ship there are times you can actually reach out and touch the side walls of the Canal. We were on Caribe and could look down and see people doing that. If we were to do a Canal cruise again I would book a cabin down there.

[owt205]

We did a 19 day Panama repo on the Coral this spring, and the only thing you WON'T like is that you will always want to cruise on this ship!

Never felt crowded, tons of public space. We always had lounges by the pool, even on sea days, and the great places to view the canal were never too crowded.

The "secret" decks, are not really secret, as the Panama talk in the theater tells everyone to go there! That being said, we never even found them to be crowded.

We choose not to use the sanctuary...it looked nice, but there are lots of nice spaces on the ship that are free! Besides, we found it much more fun to wander all over the ship during the canal, and saw many different views.

The crew, food, entertainment was all superb...we are having a hard time deciding our next cruise, because we want it to be on the Coral!

We have cruises RCL, NCL, and Carnival.....this beat them all by a mile!

Enjoy!

[SeaTeach]

Thanks so very much for all the great info.

[kenexx]

I have one question about the balconies on the Coral if someone may be able to help. Are the balconies on the mini suites on Caribe deck aft covered or totally un-covered or partially covered?

 

Thanks heaps in advance :)

 

Maurice

[Pam in CA]

When I was on the Coral in January, we received a call from the Colombian authorities to assist with a search and rescue of several fishermen whose boat sank the night before. The location was over 50 miles offshore and the Captain went "flank" speed to get there as fast as possible. We were flying! I went out onto the front of deck 10, I believe, and was literally flattened against the front of the ship. We searched for a couple of hours and saw debris but no fishermen. It was interesting to see all the ships doing a search pattern. Unfortunately, only two out of twelve fishermen were rescued. I was standing directly under the bridge and have some great photos of the Captain and staff searching with their binoculars.

[ArthurIhde]

Here's a photo of the Coral's Panorama Buffet at about 12:30pm on a sea day. Note the table availability, something you rarely find on the "large" ships. :) Also, you can see the big viewing windows looking out over the bow of the ship.

 

 

wow thanks for your pic

[chamima]

I have one question about the balconies on the Coral if someone may be able to help. Are the balconies on the mini suites on Caribe deck aft covered or totally un-covered or partially covered?

 

Thanks heaps in advance :)

 

Maurice

 

 

The Coral and Island are different than all other Princess ships. Someone compiled a great listing of covered and uncovered balconies on them here:

http://mysite.verizon.net/res76zxu/princessbalconies/index.html

[simbasmom]

what's the best time to avoid going to the gym

Also if you have interior pictures of the Coral, please post. Thanks!!:D

 

I haven't seen anyone answer your question about the gym, although I admit I skimmed the posts pretty fast. Our som, who's a musician on the Coral, uses the gym every day. He usually goes in the late morning, but he's often commented on how uncrowded the gym is whenever he goes. He's also mentioned the beautiful view from the treadmills.

[lhall85917]

The Sanctuary is on the aft of the ship behind the gym. It was added 2 years ago. It doesn't matter what the deck plan says, I posted a picture of it! It is NOT an Elite perk and I don't know if you can book it just for the Canal day. Other days are $10/half day/pp or $20 full day. If you book the whole cruise it's $15/pp/day.

Astro Flyer is correct about the "secret" forward viewing area but between the aft view from the Sanctuary and our balcony we never felt the need to go up there.

One thing I should mention is that from the balcony on a cabin on a low deck (Emerald) in the rear part of the ship there are times you can actually reach out and touch the side walls of the Canal. We were on Caribe and could look down and see people doing that. If we were to do a Canal cruise again I would book a cabin down there.

 

We had debated booking the sanctuary for the week based on some reviews that we have seen but I also read that the price for the canal day was significantly higher ($75 each maybe?). That was enough to keep us from pursuing it further, can anyone clarify that this is true?

[rdsqrl]

We had debated booking the sanctuary for the week based on some reviews that we have seen but I also read that the price for the canal day was significantly higher ($75 each maybe?). That was enough to keep us from pursuing it further, can anyone clarify that this is true?

I believe that the higher price for Canal day is if you only book for that day. When I looked into a cruise-long booking on embarkation day, the price quoted was $15/day for the entire cruise, with no extra charge for Canal day.

By the way, I ultimately decided against booking it and I'm very glad I did for two reasons. First of all, this is a very uncrowded ship. I never had trouble finding a lounge chair, even not wandering out to the pool area until 11 or noon on some days. There was always something, if not right at the pool, then one deck up. Plus, staying in the Sanctuary on Canal day is kind of missing the point of even sailing the Canal, if you ask me. As others have said, being all around the ship on the different levels is key to really getting the full experience.