Jump to content
Cruise Critic Community

Coral Princess- Charging to use rear decks?

Eileen G

By Eileen G,
in Princess Cruises

 Share

Recommended Posts

Eileen G

Eileen G

Posted
Posted

We are so excited to be going on the Coral Princess to Alaska. We chose the Coral over the Crown because the Coral has more outdoor viewing areas. I have been reading a lot of reviews on the Coral and a lot of people on Cruise Critic have mentioned how great the rear decks are for viewing. I was reading another cruise board and one review of the Coral from Jan 2014 said Princess was charging passengers to use the rear decks. Is this true? We have an inside and we were planning on using the rear decks as our "balcony". When we sailed HAL to Alaska we spent a lot of time on their rear decks even though we had a balcony. Has anyone heard of this?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Astro Flyer

Astro Flyer

Posted
Posted (edited)

Partially covered aft viewing decks with loungers on Baja and Caribe deck are free. What you must be reading about is the aft facing Sanctuary area which includes a pool & has an additional fee (decks 12, 14 & 15).

 

We enjoyed many hours on the Baja aft viewing deck in Alaska on the Coral last summer and it was the best inside "balcony" we've ever had on a cruise. ;)

Edited by Astro Flyer
Link to comment
Share on other sites
scampi

scampi

Posted
Posted (edited)
We are so excited to be going on the Coral Princess to Alaska. We chose the Coral over the Crown because the Coral has more outdoor viewing areas. I have been reading a lot of reviews on the Coral and a lot of people on Cruise Critic have mentioned how great the rear decks are for viewing. I was reading another cruise board and one review of the Coral from Jan 2014 said Princess was charging passengers to use the rear decks. Is this true? We have an inside and we were planning on using the rear decks as our "balcony". When we sailed HAL to Alaska we spent a lot of time on their rear decks even though we had a balcony. Has anyone heard of this?

 

I think what they were talking about is the Sanctuary area on Lido deck, deck 14 of the Coral Princess at the very stern that has a cover charge. But all the other open decks on the various levels are "free" and great for viewing Alaska whether you are viewing from the bow or stern or anywhere on Promenade Deck 7 of the ship. Or they may have been talking about the more expensive "Premium balconies" on other Princess ships where the these specific balcony cabins are at the stern & have larger balconies & are popular because of viewing the ship's wake. However I don't see any of these in the deck plans for the Coral.

 

Scampi

Edited by scampi
Link to comment
Share on other sites
DrivesLikeMario

DrivesLikeMario

Posted
Posted
I think what they were talking about is the Sanctuary area on Lido deck, deck 14 of the Coral Princess at the very stern that has a cover charge. But all the other open decks on the various levels are "free" and great for viewing Alaska whether you are viewing from the bow or stern or anywhere on Promenade Deck 7 of the ship. Or they may have been talking about the more expensive "Premium balconies" on other Princess ships where the these specific balcony cabins are at the stern & have larger balconies & are popular because of viewing the ship's wake. However I don't see any of these in the deck plans for the Coral.

 

Scampi

 

The Coral and Island Princess do not have the big open aft deck like you find on most HAL ships. The aft decks are pretty narrow and 2 of the aft decks are part of fee-based Sanctuary. You can use the other aft decks but they are very, very narrow in comparison to HAL and there are very few lounge chairs and if you use them, it isn't easy to see over the solid metal railing.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Eileen G

Eileen G

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Thanks for the reassurance. All the princess ships I have been on are Grand class where the Sanctuary has been up front. I didn't know the Sanctuary on the Coral was in the rear. That really makes me feel better:). Thanks

Link to comment
Share on other sites
DrivesLikeMario

DrivesLikeMario

Posted
Posted

photo-e.jpg

 

Here's a picture of the aft area. You can tell how narrow the aft decks are from this. The top few decks are for The Sanctuary only.

 

The 2 decks with lounge chairs on them are the only real area to sit down at and as you can see, there are only about 10 chairs on each deck. There will be a lot of people standing at the railing too, so seeing past them could be very difficult. It would probably be better to stand if you choose to use these decks for viewing.

 

Enjoy your cruise, Eileen! :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Eileen G

Eileen G

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Those two decks look great. On HAL we were on the Volendam and the decks were similar. We were the only ones on them most of the time. HAL had nice blankets to use on deck in the cabins. Does Princess have anything like that?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Loonbeam

Loonbeam

Posted
Posted

Blankets were available in the pool areas and you could take them wherever, but there were no staff on the aft decks (maybe a photographer came by...)

 

Those two decks look great. On HAL we were on the Volendam and the decks were similar. We were the only ones on them most of the time. HAL had nice blankets to use on deck in the cabins. Does Princess have anything like that?
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Colo Cruiser

Colo Cruiser

Posted
Posted
Those two decks look great. On HAL we were on the Volendam and the decks were similar. We were the only ones on them most of the time. HAL had nice blankets to use on deck in the cabins. Does Princess have anything like that?

 

We had red plaid blankets available in the cabin on our Alaska cruise.

They are also available on deck.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
thinfool

thinfool

Posted
Posted

Blankets, other than for use as cushions may not be an issue on a PC voyage.

 

Ours was in November and it was hot and humid. Mid to high 80's. 90% sun during our all day transit.

 

We alternated between inside, air conditioned venues and outside, on-deck locations to view various aspects and locations of our transit.

 

It is a great trip....and we will do it again.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Eileen G

Eileen G

Posted
  • Author
Posted
Blankets, other than for use as cushions may not be an issue on a PC voyage.

 

Ours was in November and it was hot and humid. Mid to high 80's. 90% sun during our all day transit.

 

We alternated between inside, air conditioned venues and outside, on-deck locations to view various aspects and locations of our transit.

 

It is a great trip....and we will do it again.

 

No you won't need blankets going to the Caribbean but they are very useful in Alaska. We like to sit outside all day while not in port watching the incredible scenery go by. It's good to know Princess has them available.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 3 months later...
judyjudy56

judyjudy56

Posted
Posted

There are no aft facing cabins with balconies on the Coral. There were a couple of cabins with windows on Baja that were aft facing. Seemed weird to us that people out on the aft deck could look into your cabin if you had the curtains open.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
sjmbruce

sjmbruce

Posted
Posted
photo-e.jpg

 

Here's a picture of the aft area. You can tell how narrow the aft decks are from this. The top few decks are for The Sanctuary only.

 

The 2 decks with lounge chairs on them are the only real area to sit down at and as you can see, there are only about 10 chairs on each deck. There will be a lot of people standing at the railing too, so seeing past them could be very difficult. It would probably be better to stand if you choose to use these decks for viewing.

 

Enjoy your cruise, Eileen! :)

 

I was on the Island for the Panama Canal and the Coral for Alaska and never knew about these decks! I did all of my aft viewing from deck 7 and 15. Guess it is time for another cruise to check those decks out.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Jasperdo

Jasperdo

Posted
Posted
I was on the Island for the Panama Canal and the Coral for Alaska and never knew about these decks! I did all of my aft viewing from deck 7 and 15. Guess it is time for another cruise to check those decks out.
Neither did anyone else. It was deserted just about every time we went out there:

 

8649517226_0be78b3515_c.jpgCoral Princess by Jasperdo, on Flickr

Link to comment
Share on other sites
OCruisers

OCruisers

Posted
Posted
We are so excited to be going on the Coral Princess to Alaska. We chose the Coral over the Crown because the Coral has more outdoor viewing areas.

 

We love Crown Princess but also love Coral Princess. We would also pick Coral for Alaska ... so many great viewing areas all over the ship! :)

LuLu

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing
  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • Hurricane Zone 2024
      • Cruise Insurance Q&A w/ Steve Dasseos of Tripinsurancestore.com June 2024
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Cruise Critic News & Features
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...