Thinking about Coral for a NYE cruise

[OSUZorba]

I am sure this type of question gets asked all the time, so I will go ahead and apologize. I did search first and couldn't really find what I was looking for.

 

My wife and I are thinking about doing a New Years Eve cruise this coming December, and I noticed the Coral Princess partial Panama Canal transit cruise.

 

My wife (31) and I (30) (no kids), have been on 4 RCL cruises and 2 Disney cruise, ships ranging in size from Disney Magic (same size as Coral) to Oasis of the Seas. We enjoy going to the shows, comedians, guests performers, etc. We also like interactive entertainment, like karaoke, trivia, and a little dancing.

 

So I had a few questions.

1. What are the age demographics like over NYE, specifically on this cruise if anyone has experience? I know Princess has a reputation of having an older clientele, I was wondering if this was true over NYE.

2. I know RCL and Disney are awash in kids over NYE, is this true for Princess?

3. Do the shows and guest performers appeal to young adults? One thing I dislike about Disney is the guest performers are definitely slanted for the family shows, so even their "adult" shows are pretty PG.

4. How is the pool situation on Coral? Is there plenty of space and are the pool areas enjoyable to hang out in? (I love the RCL pool areas)

5. Are there plenty of activities in the evening? And what time does the ship start shutting down?

 

Thanks for the help!

Edited January 19, 2015 by OSUZorba

[rdsqrl]

I did a 15-day full transit Canal cruise on the Coral over Christmas/NY. One of the best cruises I've ever taken. She's my second favourite ship in the fleet; I have not one bad word to say about her at all.

 

1 & 2. I'd expect a range of ages for a holiday cruise. Our longer cruise had 250 children, which were a lot for this ship, but you hardly noticed them. We had oldsters, middle-agedsters, youngsters; a good mix.

 

3. I've never sailed Disney (wild horses and a free cruise wouldn't get me to spend one penny with the Disney organization), but in my experience, the Princess entertainment is aimed at adults. One of the best shows (subjective opinion!) features the music of Cole Porter -- no exactly aiming at the Taylor Swift/Justin Bieber demo. Movies run the gamut: Lego Movie and adult action/adventure/love stories.

 

4. Plenty of pool space. One indoor pool, one main outdoor pool; lots of loungers about.

 

5. Good selection of stuff to do at night: main production shows in the theatre, comedians & game shows in the smaller venues. A pianist/singer in the piano bar, Crooner's (kind of a Rat Pack vibe place -- my favourite). Bands for dancing in the Wheelhouse Bar. There will be a big party ship-wide for NYE. Our cruise had dancing out on the Lido deck and the countdown on the MUTS screen. Lots of confetti, etc. There's a nightly "disco" late-night dj in Explorer's Lounge, from about 11pm. It wasn't terribly busy every night but it was there.

 

Hopes this helps.

[RNGALNG]

I am sure this type of question gets asked all the time, so I will go ahead and apologize. I did search first and couldn't really find what I was looking for.

 

My wife and I are thinking about doing a New Years Eve cruise this coming December, and I noticed the Coral Princess partial Panama Canal transit cruise.

 

My wife (31) and I (30) (no kids), have been on 4 RCL cruises and 2 Disney cruise, ships ranging in size from Disney Magic (same size as Coral) to Oasis of the Seas. We enjoy going to the shows, comedians, guests performers, etc. We also like interactive entertainment, like karaoke, trivia, and a little dancing.

 

So I had a few questions.

1. What are the age demographics like over NYE, specifically on this cruise if anyone has experience? I know Princess has a reputation of having an older clientele, I was wondering if this was true over NYE.

2. I know RCL and Disney are awash in kids over NYE, is this true for Princess?

3. Do the shows and guest performers appeal to young adults? One thing I dislike about Disney is the guest performers are definitely slanted for the family shows, so even their "adult" shows are pretty PG.

4. How is the pool situation on Coral? Is there plenty of space and are the pool areas enjoyable to hang out in? (I love the RCL pool areas)

5. Are there plenty of activities in the evening? And what time does the ship start shutting down?

 

Thanks for the help!

 

1. Ages. We were on the Sapphire a couple years ago for New Years, heading to Hawaii. Sort of the same deal. It was a 14 day trip instead of the 10 day you will be on. We are in our 50's. There was a good mix for this cruise, not a lot in their 30's but not a lot in their 70+ either. We found on this cruise a lot of the personnel had families on board.

 

2. Kids. A 14 day cruise keeps the children count down a little. On a partial, 10 day, you might have a few more than we did. We only had 3 kids total on our 14 day through the canal on the Coral.

 

3. Shows. Most early shows are a PG+. The later shows, usually held in bar areas - comedians, magic, games, and such, can be about a PG 13 and up. (We have done a Disney and I don't think the shows are anything like Disney.) If you do book and the music show in the Vista lounge on the Bayou is still playing, don't miss it!

 

4. Pools. There is one pool that is under cover and can be used under any weather, the other is outside. Chairs around the pool go fast, as on any ship. And their are the chair hogs. If you worship the sun and pool, go early to claim your space. I am not one and will only spend a little time during the day there, usually under cover. MUTS will be on all the time, showing movies, concerts, or sporting events. Easy access to the bar, pizza and burgers, ice cream, and the buffet.

 

5. There is always something happening in the piazza, a string quartet, some of the dancers from the shows, the Captains welcome aboard party with champagne water fall to name a few. There will be a show of some sort in the theater, in the vista lounge, and in some of the bars. You will be bale to celebrate the new year at six in the evening (with the British) or wait till midnight. On our cruise, there were parties going on in the piazza and outside in the pool area. You get hats and horns at dinner, and streamers to throw closer to the actual time. They had a screen in the piazza with a live stream of one of the TV stations and their celebration. There was a band there with lots of dancing. Sadly, 15 minutes after the strike of midnight, the place was empty and all was being cleaned up. The ship will start 'closing down' around 11 each night. Bars remain open, I'm sure, for awhile, but most things in the daily newspaper end at about that time. The International cafe is open 24/7 for food and coffee.

 

We really enjoy our trip onboard for new years. Hope you try it too!

[Wehwalt]

I was on the Island on NYE for a similar sailing. We went to Nassau on December 30 instead of Ocho Rios later to have 12/31 and1/1 at sea. Given that the cruise continued to 1/9, I would say there were more young people than children. It was formal night, and even lots of the younger people were well dressed and stayed that way through the party. There was one top deck that lasted at least until 2 am, which is when I think they cut out the music but people were hanging around the top deck at least until 3 am.

[shepp]

I happened to sail the Coral partial transit on 12/10/14, the sailing preceding this past Xmas/NYE sailing. On my cruise, there were several dozen kids, maybe 50 or 60 at the most. I have it on good authority, however, that there were over 400 children booked for the holiday sailing.

 

In my experience, since it relates to your concerns, the more kids, the more likely the indoor pool area will be noisy, and the hot tubs in full use.

 

I would also say that if you're the sort of young adults chiefly into popular music from later than, oh, 1985 (which is to say, made during your lifetimes), the production shows won't particularly float your boat. On the Royal, someone was piping the Decemberists over the Lido's PA, and I was gobsmacked to hear something from the 21st century.

 

That being said, the Coral is lovely, the cruise is great, and don't miss the Embera Indian excursion. NYE aboard is plenty fun. But be prepared for lots of kiddies and (non-Sid) renditions of "My Way."

Edited January 19, 2015 by shepp

[san diego sue]

Most school districts children return to school first week of January.

May not have as many kids on board as a Christmas cruise.

New Years cruise should be fun. We have been on ships at that time (Christmas and New Years). Lots of kids don't bother us. They have their own activities.

[shepp]

Lots of kids don't bother us. They have their own activities.

 

Playing with elevator buttons always seems to be a favorite.

[h20skibum]

Although we were on over Easter, and not NYE, the activities and shows would be essentially the same. If you go to post 98 of my review ( see signature below), you will find the Patters from the cruise that will give you an idea of the shows and activities.

 

As an Easter cruise, there were some kids, but not a lot. The demographics were mostly 40's to 60's. If you like rock climbing, flow rider, ice skating, and those types of activities you find on Royal, you will not find them here.

 

Overall, it is probably a little lower "energy level" than you would find on one of the larger Royal ships.

[OSUZorba]

Although we were on over Easter, and not NYE, the activities and shows would be essentially the same. If you go to post 98 of my review ( see signature below), you will find the Patters from the cruise that will give you an idea of the shows and activities.

 

As an Easter cruise, there were some kids, but not a lot. The demographics were mostly 40's to 60's. If you like rock climbing, flow rider, ice skating, and those types of activities you find on Royal, you will not find them here.

 

Overall, it is probably a little lower "energy level" than you would find on one of the larger Royal ships.

 

Yeah, I enjoy all of the activities on RCL, but I've had just as much fun on Disney without that stuff. I think RCL depends on the ship entertaining you, where Disney provides more entertainment. Thanks for the link to the Patters, that will help a lot.

 

1 & 2. I'd expect a range of ages for a holiday cruise. Our longer cruise had 250 children, which were a lot for this ship, but you hardly noticed them. We had oldsters, middle-agedsters, youngsters; a good mix.

 

5. Good selection of stuff to do at night: main production shows in the theatre, comedians & game shows in the smaller venues. A pianist/singer in the piano bar, Crooner's (kind of a Rat Pack vibe place -- my favourite). Bands for dancing in the Wheelhouse Bar. There will be a big party ship-wide for NYE. Our cruise had dancing out on the Lido deck and the countdown on the MUTS screen. Lots of confetti, etc. There's a nightly "disco" late-night dj in Explorer's Lounge, from about 11pm. It wasn't terribly busy every night but it was there.

 

Nice to hear there was a good mix, that is what I hoping for. I don't really mind kids on ships. It is just usually kids take up the extra berths, so the ship starts feeling really full. (I did Oasis once in April and once in June, both "full" but the April sailing the ship felt like it had tons of space, in June it felt very crowded, the difference was about 1000 kids).

 

The entertainment sounds enjoyable.

 

I would also say that if you're the sort of young adults chiefly into popular music from later than, oh, 1985 (which is to say, made during your lifetimes), the production shows won't particularly float your boat. On the Royal, someone was piping the Decemberists over the Lido's PA, and I was gobsmacked to hear something from the 21st century.

 

That is what I was a little worried about that the shows would be "too old" for us, opposite of Disney being a little "young" for us.

 

Thank you for everyone's responses, they have been very helpful.

Edited January 20, 2015 by OSUZorba