Just off the Coral, any questions?

[Jetswdo]

I wrote as much information regarding our experience on board the ship for New Year's partial canal cruise. I will be more than happy to answer any questions that I can- I have most of the patters which I will refer to answer questions- Unfortunately, I am not tech savy and don't have a scanner to post them, sorry. Anita

[Northender]

Thanks for posting this. We are going in April. Did you do the Steakhouse, by chance?

[hollon]

Were you bored at any time, were there enough things to do, were the shows good (what were they), I'm 99% sure we will be on the Coral in a minisuite or vista suite, what about the food? I'm really not that picky. I'm just use to big royal caribbean cruises and being active. I know you really can't compare those two lines.

[Jetswdo]

First to answer that question- We ate at the steakhouse on New Years Eve.

We had the steak- very very good. I did pay $5.00 extra for the lobster tail which was perfectly good- I've had a lot worse, I've also had a little better-

but I would order the same thing again. The maitre de was unusually nice as well as the wait staff.

[Jetswdo]

The ship itself is lovely. If you are happy with Royal Carribean which caters to a more active clientele-- the climbing walls, sports stuff, water slides, etc. in my opinion you would not be very happy with Princess.

 

Daily on board- the usual casino, bingo, trivia, a few games, etc. This 10 night cruise had a very funny comedian, a decent magician, mentalist- The two main production shows "On the Bayou" and "Motor City"--- I caught the last 10 minutes of "On the Bayou"-- it was a dixie band kind of thing--we would have been bored stiff for that show. (I only enjoy that type of show walking down New Orleans for maybe 10 minutes, hearing "When the Sts. come marching in")

"Motor City" was pleasant enough-- Motown type of review- decent singers- wouldn't say great. There were a couple of other shows- tribute to Nat King Cole- didn't see it, so I can't comment.

 

I would ONLY recommend this cruise, if you are looking for the shortest cruise that includes the Panama Canal, or a cruise with a lot of sea days.

[scienceteacher]

We did that cruise last November. It was wonderful. We ate at the he Bayou Cafe. The service was spectacular as was the food. We enjoyed all the entertainment.

[Mr.Xyz]

I wrote as much information regarding our experience on board the ship for New Year's partial canal cruise. I will be more than happy to answer any questions that I can- I have most of the patters which I will refer to answer questions- Unfortunately, I am not tech savy and don't have a scanner to post them, sorry. Anita

 

I hope your cruise went great. Two questions:

Are there craps tables in the casino?

Did you spend any time around the splash pool on deck 16?

[Paula_MacFan]

What movies were they showing? I'm not going on the Coral soon (CB), but I think they are the same fleet-wide. Thanks!

[sunbird51]

If they still have the Piano bar - where is it now? And do you know who is the entertainer? When we went to Panama on the Coral 2013, it was a witty and very talented entertainer Roger Carr. Just wondering if he was still around.

[floridalover5623]

Sort of surprised to hear that about "On the Bayou" It's one of the better performances that most people enjoy.

[Colo Cruiser]

The ship itself is lovely. If you are happy with Royal Carribean which caters to a more active clientele-- the climbing walls, sports stuff, water slides, etc. in my opinion you would not be very happy with Princess.

 

Daily on board- the usual casino, bingo, trivia, a few games, etc. This 10 night cruise had a very funny comedian, a decent magician, mentalist- The two main production shows "On the Bayou" and "Motor City"--- I caught the last 10 minutes of "On the Bayou"-- it was a dixie band kind of thing--we would have been bored stiff for that show. (I only enjoy that type of show walking down New Orleans for maybe 10 minutes, hearing "When the Sts. come marching in")

"Motor City" was pleasant enough-- Motown type of review- decent singers- wouldn't say great. There were a couple of other shows- tribute to Nat King Cole- didn't see it, so I can't comment.

 

I would ONLY recommend this cruise, if you are looking for the shortest cruise that includes the Panama Canal, or a cruise with a lot of sea days.

 

 

 

Thanks for your comments.

[Coveguy4]

"On the Bayou" is one of the best shows around. Possible with the OP only seeing the last 10 minutes of it hindered a true objective opinion of it. Yes RC does have more activities, but I loved my PC full transit on the Coral and was never bored. I am a more layed back and enjoy the cruise type of person...lol

[RNCheryl]

We took this cruise (Panama Canal) last March. Crooners Bar was our favorite. The piano player for the cruise was Bartie, and old guy who has played for/with or known everyone on Broadway. We came back night after night. He was adorable. Encouraged audience participation. St. Patricks Day was wonderful!

 

Hear, hear Bartie

[floridalover5623]

"On the Bayou" is one of the best shows around. Possible with the OP only seeing the last 10 minutes of it hindered a true objective opinion of it. Yes RC does have more activities, but I loved my PC full transit on the Coral and was never bored. I am a more layed back and enjoy the cruise type of person...lol

The 6 times we saw the show it was fully packed with no standing room left. I'm surprised that anyone could have gotten in to see the last remaining minutes.

[Jetswdo]

What happened was that we were going to the later show and arrived very early- there were 10 minutes left of the early show. Many empty seats, sorry if that upsets those who really liked the show.

So we watched as I said the last 10-15 minutes of the show. It looked like a fun show for people who like that kind of show. Again, if it were an outside performance in New Orleans around Bourbon Street, I would probably have enjoyed it. The people that were in the theater for first showing seemed to enjoy it a lot. It just isn't my kind of show to watch in a theater- different strokes for different folks, what can I say?

[Jetswdo]

I have cruised on most of the different lines- not HAL, Disney, or Carnival---

As I stated, at this point of my life- in early 60's --- we are usually on Princess or Celebrity-- The poster who prefers R.C. prefers a more active type of ship experience-- dh and I prefer a quiet laid back cruise. So once we know the itinerary that will work for us, we then try to book whichever sailing does the job. I loved the Coral itself-- not thrilled with most of the crew- poorly trained as others have posted-- however we had an excellent waitress in any time dining room, twice- Alexa- excellent service- Also as I have stated, a very nice man heading the Bayou steak house.

In my review, I stated the facts regarding the Lotus pool-- we were very disappointed-- It is not an adult area as on the other Princess ships that have that enclosed pool. Crew allowed unsupervised children to run all over the pool and a man playing with his baby in diapers in the pool. Due to this, Princess lost our business for an upcoming Alaska cruise, which is a combination repositioning cruise from Los Angeles, on the Coral. Years ago, we were on the Sapphire for Alaska cruise- loved being in the hot tub while surrounded by the glaciers- a fabulous experience. Food was horrendous on that sailing, but we loved being in that pool area- adults only. So our plan was to do it again, on the Coral, where the food was excellent as I reported.

The Lotus pool area is a deal breaker for us-- In my opinion, management is making a big mistake not keeping that pool for adults only! So Celebrity which has a similar indoor pool, ADULTS ONLY, no extra charge, will get our business for Alaska cruise. (Lotus pool area is nicer, I think on Coral)

A few questions were asked regarding bars and casino. We don't use casinos on ships-- but there was a very good band in Explorers Lounge-- can't remember the name, but many people were dancing and having a great time-

We just had a couple of drinks there one night and really liked listening to them perform. Also movies-- I'm now looking at the patters: Inside Out, Jurassic World, The Martian, Ricki and the Flash, Ant Man, Star Trek Into Darkness, Self/Less, and Woman in Gold----

[floridalover5623]

In my review, I stated the facts regarding the Lotus pool-- we were very disappointed-- It is not an adult area as on the other Princess ships that have that enclosed pool. Crew allowed unsupervised children to run all over the pool and a man playing with his baby in diapers in the pool. Due to this, Princess lost our business for an upcoming Alaska cruise, which is a combination repositioning cruise from Los Angeles, on the Coral.

 

Did you at least tell a crew member about it?

[TriumphGuy]

So it appears Sabatini's is gone from the Coral? Did you try SHARE? From the reviews I've read the initial impressions have not been good. I tend to take reviews with a grain of salt however and try to maintain an open mind.

We're on the Coral Feb 5 Panama cruise, was looking forward to Sabatini's as I love Italian food.

[Happy2cruise]

So it appears Sabatini's is gone from the Coral? Did you try SHARE? From the reviews I've read the initial impressions have not been good. I tend to take reviews with a grain of salt however and try to maintain an open mind.

We're on the Coral Feb 5 Panama cruise, was looking forward to Sabatini's as I love Italian food.

When did they change Sabatini's to Share:confused:. We were on the Coral over Christmas and Sabatini's was still there.

[Colo Cruiser]

When did they change Sabatini's to Share:confused:. We were on the Coral over Christmas and Sabatini's was still there.

 

 

Jan 16th to 31st (this month) Dry Dock

[Happy2cruise]

Jan 16th to 31st (this month) Dry Dock

Thanks Colo Cruiser, more sad news:(......no Alfredo's on the Emerald and now no Sabatini's on the Coral.

[Colo Cruiser]

Thanks Colo Cruiser, more sad news:(......no Alfredo's on the Emerald and now no Sabatini's on the Coral.

 

 

Yes but the bright side is no changes to the Coral like the Island went through. Those were canceled.

Edited January 13, 2016 by Colo Cruiser

[Happy2cruise]

Yes but the bright side is no changes to the Coral like the Island went through. Those were canceled.

What were the changes going to be:confused:

[Colo Cruiser]

What were the changes going to be:confused:

 

 

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2127734

[Northender]

Jan 16th to 31st (this month) Dry Dock

 

Well darn it. :(