Family on Coral to Alaska?

[ckelly14]

Considering a Northbound Princess cruise to Alaska in 2015. I have heard great reviews of the Coral but noticed there is no suite availability for 4, but suites available for 2. I assume there are few (if any) 4 person suites on the Coral? Also, I found out there is very few connecting rooms on any of the Princess ships; tough for a family that wants to spread out. Kids a little young to be in a non-connecting adjacent room. Perhaps the mini- is good enough? What deck? Forward or aft? Planning to book this week- any help is appreciated!

[Colo Cruiser]

Considering a Northbound Princess cruise to Alaska in 2015. I have heard great reviews of the Coral but noticed there is no suite availability for 4, but suites available for 2. I assume there are few (if any) 4 person suites on the Coral? Also, I found out there is very few connecting rooms on any of the Princess ships; tough for a family that wants to spread out. Kids a little young to be in a non-connecting adjacent room. Perhaps the mini- is good enough? What deck? Forward or aft? Planning to book this week- any help is appreciated!

 

I believe that the Coral suites will only hold 3.

Sometimes they will place a rollaway but you must contact Princess for those.

On the larger ships only the Coral/Island/Sapphire/Diamond have true connecting cabins but very few.

We like aft minis due to the nice aft viewing areas. There are viewing areas forward too.

[ckelly14]

I believe that the Coral suites will only hold 3.

Sometimes they will place a rollaway but you must contact Princess for those.

On the larger ships only the Coral/Island/Sapphire/Diamond have true connecting cabins but very few.

We like aft minis due to the nice aft viewing areas. There are viewing areas forward too.

 

 

Thanks for both of your replies. I think the mini- will be good enough!

 

 

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[skynight]

Considering a Northbound Princess cruise to Alaska in 2015. I have heard great reviews of the Coral but noticed there is no suite availability for 4, but suites available for 2. I assume there are few (if any) 4 person suites on the Coral? Also, I found out there is very few connecting rooms on any of the Princess ships; tough for a family that wants to spread out. Kids a little young to be in a non-connecting adjacent room. Perhaps the mini- is good enough? What deck? Forward or aft? Planning to book this week- any help is appreciated!

 

Balcony cabins on the Aloha Deck aft connect as follows: A624/6, 628/30, A704/6, 708/10, 712/14, 716/18, 720/22, 625/27 and 629/31. There are a number of mini suites forward and aft on the Caribe Deck 10 that are designated for 4 occupants they are: C209,15/19/23/29/08/12/16/20/26/30, C705/09/17/21/27/08/16/20/26, and these minis with no balconies C201/202/203/204.

Also on the Baja deck the minis are B207/11/17/23/29/06/10/14/18/26, and these minis with no balconies B201/202/203/204.

 

Full suites on the Coral only are only shown for max. 3 passengers. but you may be able to get a rollaway.

[ckelly14]

Balcony cabins on the Aloha Deck aft connect as follows: A624/6, 628/30, A704/6, 708/10, 712/14, 716/18, 720/22, 625/27 and 629/31. There are a number of mini suites forward and aft on the Caribe Deck 10 that are designated for 4 occupants they are: C209,15/19/23/29/08/12/16/20/26/30, C705/09/17/21/27/08/16/20/26, and these minis with no balconies C201/202/203/204.

Also on the Baja deck the minis are B207/11/17/23/29/06/10/14/18/26, and these minis with no balconies B201/202/203/204.

 

Full suites on the Coral only are only shown for max. 3 passengers. but you may be able to get a rollaway.

 

 

Great info, thanks!

 

I assume the minis with no balcony are larger. Do you know what category that is?

 

 

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[ckelly14]

Connecting balconies are below the fitness center and next to the teen center, not a great location....

 

 

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[Colo Cruiser]

Connecting balconies are below the fitness center and next to the teen center, not a great location....

 

 

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Yes and there have been reviews about noise from the teen center.

[rdsqrl]

Great info, thanks!

 

I assume the minis with no balcony are larger. Do you know what category that is?

 

 

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They are definitely larger. Here's a photo of C204 :

 

And for comparison, here's C217, a regular balcony minisuite:

 

 

The window minis are category MY but they are not rated for 4 people. I'm not sure why sknight above said they were. You can tell which cabins are by going to the deck plans and selecting number of passengers -- the cabins which are whited-out are the ones that won't fit that number and all of the window minis are whited-out at 4 pax.

Edited March 13, 2014 by rdsqrl

[ckelly14]

Thanks for all your help.

 

One of our concerns (compared to Disney) was the availability of family entertainment at night. Previous cruise had decidedly adult entertainment only after dinner. I know that most of these ships have MUTS, but I also heard that evening movies are adult oriented (i.e. The Notebook on one cruise).

 

Anyone want to comment on what entertainment is available? What kind of movies/channels are in the rooms TV? Any difference between the offerings on the Grand/Star vs. Coral? Where can I find activities listed? Sorry about all the questions but new to Princess....

[caribill]

One of our concerns (compared to Disney) was the availability of family entertainment at night. Previous cruise had decidedly adult entertainment only after dinner. I know that most of these ships have MUTS, but I also heard that evening movies are adult oriented (i.e. The Notebook on one cruise).

 

Anyone want to comment on what entertainment is available? What kind of movies/channels are in the rooms TV? Any difference between the offerings on the Grand/Star vs. Coral? Where can I find activities listed? Sorry about all the questions but new to Princess....

 

Movies are usually about the same titles on all of the Princess ships.

 

Examples of recent movies in the evenings on MUTS:

(each shown twice in an evening)

o “Last Vegas”

o “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire”

o “Thor: The Dark World”

o “Gravity”

o “Captain Phillips”

o “Mamma Mia!”

TV channels:

The only channels with live broadcasts are news and sports channels.

There are a number of other channels which have old shows such as Discovery Channel, Family Movies, etc.

Activities:

The daily activities are listed in the Patter. Examples may be found starting at post #16 at http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1962047 These are not for an Alaska cruise, but will be similar for Alaska. However the Alaska cruises will also have lectures oriented towards Alaska.

[ggprincess2004]

There are several children's channels on the TV, and the kids program on Princess has activities for the kids in the evenings.

 

Also, check the port schedule, you may be in port late some evenings.

 

Princess brings park rangers aboard in Alaska, and they conduct Jr. ranger programs. It's not Disney (no costumed characters), but they do have plenty of things to keep children busy, occupied, interested and, IMHO, happy.

[ckelly14]

No, my kids are well past the costumed character stage, but we do like to do things as a family, even if it comes down to sitting and watching a movie together. Most of the above movies are decidedly adult. Would you bring older kids to the shows? I'll check the patters.

[sherryf]

No, my kids are well past the costumed character stage, but we do like to do things as a family, even if it comes down to sitting and watching a movie together. Most of the above movies are decidedly adult. Would you bring older kids to the shows? I'll check the patters.

 

Knowing the ages of the kids would make it easier to tell you about appropriate entertainment.

 

You can see copies of the schedules for both Shockwaves (8-12) and Remix (teen) groups from our Alaskan cruise a few years ago here: http://s204.photobucket.com/user/cruisinmama06/library/Princess%20Patters?sort=3&page=1

[ckelly14]

Knowing the ages of the kids would make it easier to tell you about appropriate entertainment.

 

You can see copies of the schedules for both Shockwaves (8-12) and Remix (teen) groups from our Alaskan cruise a few years ago here: http://s204.photobucket.com/user/cruisinmama06/library/Princess%20Patters?sort=3&page=1

 

I guess I never mentioned my kids ages- 9 and 10 next summer. I guess they would be "shockwaves". I'll take a look at the schedules.

[cruisin63]

Considering a Northbound Princess cruise to Alaska in 2015. I have heard great reviews of the Coral but noticed there is no suite availability for 4, but suites available for 2. I assume there are few (if any) 4 person suites on the Coral? Also, I found out there is very few connecting rooms on any of the Princess ships; tough for a family that wants to spread out. Kids a little young to be in a non-connecting adjacent room. Perhaps the mini- is good enough? What deck? Forward or aft? Planning to book this week- any help is appreciated!

-

 

I've sailed Princess twice, and the mini-suites should suffice for your family of 4. You aren't in your cabin enough for it to make a huge difference. They are nicely laid out, and though not as roomy as your

larger suites, they are still very nice, complete with a bathtub which is a necessity with children in my estimation. We are also taking the Coral to

Alaska, but next year and it will be their Southbound cruise. Are you doing the cruisetour with a land portion?

 

I would try to avoid forward, because if you are ending in Anchorage, you will possibly be going through a little rough patch when you enter the open

sea. there are 4 mid-ship mini-suites located on deck 10 and 11 (Caribe and Baha) It's one of those that I would opt for. Hope this helps.

Edited March 13, 2014 by cruisin63
forgot some info

[sherryf]

I guess I never mentioned my kids ages- 9 and 10 next summer. I guess they would be "shockwaves". I'll take a look at the schedules.

 

Your kids are old enough to go to the shows, and I've seen plenty that age who seem to enjoy them. Depends on their interests. They might not enjoy sitting through a bunch of Motown music, but might enjoy a comedian (the ones I've seen are appropriate for all ages) or a magician. You should have a naturalist on board who will give several lectures during the day throughout the week. They show more appropriate movies on MUTS during the day. We've watched How to Train Your Dragon, Madagascar 2, etc.... even when we didn't have kids along. :p