Caribbean or Coral Princess

[cruisenuts4life]

I am looking at these two for the panama canal, I know that caribbean goes through the new locks and coral through the old locks,never been there so not sure if this a big deal or not.Would like some feedback on the 2 ships,which do most prefer.

[Colo Cruiser]

Coral=1900 passengers! :)

Best ship in the Princess fleet. IMO

[NavyVeteran]

I would choose based on the itinerary - not the ship.

 

If I had not been through the canal before, I would go through the historic old locks. I would also read The Path Between the Seas by David McCullough before taking the trip.

 

I would recommend a full transit if that fits your schedule. Otherwise take the partial transit and take the excursion that goes through the western locks on a small boat.

 

I have booked a cruise on the Caribbean Princess through the new locks - but only because I have already cruised through the historic old locks.

[Host Jazzbeau]

Coral was built to just fit in the old locks, so the experience is amazing! The new locks are much bigger so Caribbean will just be another ship.

[Eagle_and_hawk]

We would take the Coral over the Caribbean any day of the week. I realize that is just us, but that small ship is a great option for the canal.

[satxdiver]

We did the through canal trip on the Island a sister to the Coral. Both are Panamax ships meaning they were built to go through the old locks. As such they are smaller ships than the other ships like the CB. So if you like small ships (1900 versus 3100), pick the Coral. I enjoyed being on the Island before Princess mauled it with their latest "upgrade". If you have the time and funds, by all means do the through canal trip rather than the in and out. We have done both and the through canal trip is the one we remember the most. By all means get a balcony on either side as it does not matter. We entered the canal on both cruises at 0500 and were finally in the first locks at 0700. On the through canal trip they had a historian on the bridge explaining what we were seeing and was going on. It was broadcast on the cabin TV. Like many we had the TV on, balcony door open standing outside watching. The through canal trip took almost 11 hours. Be prepared for a long day.

 

One last note about the through canal trip, my partner had made a large sign and we had my university flag that we hung off the balcony when we went into the first set of locks. The ship had their photographers on shore and were taking pictures of the different decorated balconies. The ship had a sign making exercise several days before. The onboard historian held meetings in the theater the day before telling us about the canal, how it was built and some of the history. Don't miss it.

Edited July 11, 2016 by satxdiver

[big aft]

Coral. ...no question. ...our new favorite ship. Have been on Caribbean Princess. 6 x. Vs. 1 Coral

[cruisenuts4life]

Thanks for all the information,I do prefer the smaller ships, I was concerned because my daughter doesn't do well on smaller ships. We will be leaving from florida doing the partial transit and I know the bigger ships have better stabilization on them.How are the seas travelling there?

[Colo Cruiser]

Thanks for all the information,I do prefer the smaller ships, I was concerned because my daughter doesn't do well on smaller ships. We will be leaving from florida doing the partial transit and I know the bigger ships have better stabilization on them.How are the seas travelling there?

 

Its not a small ship......

Its actually longer then the Caribbean.

Just not as wide.

The Coral handles seas very well and has stabilizers etc just like the other ships.

Edited July 12, 2016 by Colo Cruiser

[STREETKING]

We've been on both ships and was on the Coral for a partial canal transit in 2014. We're going to do this same trip in 2018 because we enjoyed the ship so much. We were on the Caribbean for a 5 day cruise and was not impressed with the ship or the service, I believe it may have been spruced up in a dry dock since then so it's condition may be better. Even so we would choose the Coral every time.

 

Brad

[OCruisers]

Its not a small ship......

Its actually longer then the Caribbean.

Just not as wide.

The Coral handles seas very well and has stabilizers etc just like the other ships.

 

Per above -- Exactly.

People often think of Coral as a small ship. She is NOT! :)

[seacruise9]

Hi,

 

I have cruised aboard both ships and agree with the above posts. I would definitely choose the Coral Princess over the Caribbean Princess. The Coral Princess is an excellent ship (I recently cruised aboard the Coral Princess in May 2016).

 

Chuck

[Viesczy]

Coral Princess is nearly 1,000', if that's small I am down right Lilliputian! ;)

 

Coral's "lack" of size is only in the passenger dept.

 

We're off the CB (did her out of Houston on 21 days B2B in the Spring) and I'd sail her again in a heartbeat.

 

Regardless of which ship, you'll be cruising and will have a great time!

[nukesubsailor]

By all means, take the Coral for several reasons.

Fewer passengers yet still a large stable ship.

Going through the old locks will be more interesting than going through the new ones.

The Bayou Cafe specialty restaurant has great steaks plus Cajun dishes.

The production show called "On The Bayou" is great and is in the big lounge at the stern---more comfortable than the Princess theater.

 

I also agree that the full transit will be more enjoyable than a partial transit. There is a lot to see and enjoy during the day as you travel from one ocean to the other.

[Loonbeam]

After the mangling of the Island, the Coral is the best ship in the fleet, bar none. The locks are a bonus, but given the opportunity, she's the first ship I would choose no matter what.

[CruiserGuyWPB]

I was on the Island October 2015, before the changes. She was a great ship.. I think the average is 1800 on board, but it was short with only 1100 on board for my sailing. First one from alaska.

 

 

I hade a great time on the ship, its great .

 

But ill say you NEED to do the old locks first, its a great educational experience and its nice knowing the ship was built for the locks.

 

Its great beign on my balcony and beign able to touch the walls of the locks that made so much history..

 

do the coral now.... you know you can do the others later :-)

[coconut cruiser]

We have sailed both ships. We were on the Coral last February and our cabin and other areas near public bathrooms had a strong unpleasant odor like a port-a-john. It was terrible trying to sleep in the cabin with such a bad odor, made me gag. The service in the anytime dining room was awful too. I loved the itinerary including the canal but swore I would never again sail on Princess, our favorite, after that cruise. My husband convinced me to sail again on Princess but never again on the Coral. Sail on Caribbean Princess much better.

[Colo Cruiser]

We have sailed both ships. We were on the Coral last February and our cabin and other areas near public bathrooms had a strong unpleasant odor like a port-a-john. It was terrible trying to sleep in the cabin with such a bad odor, made me gag. The service in the anytime dining room was awful too. I loved the itinerary including the canal but swore I would never again sail on Princess, our favorite, after that cruise. My husband convinced me to sail again on Princess but never again on the Coral. Sail on Caribbean Princess much better.

 

 

We have experienced sewage smells on virtually every ship we have cruised on in some location or another.

I would hate to have to deal with that in or around our cabin. :(

It still does not deter us from sailing on any Princess ship.

[islandatsea]

Another vote for the Coral Princess. We did a partial transit on the Coral Princess last year. Nice size ship for that cruise. The picture in our avatar was taken during that cruise.

[hpeabody]

I loved the Coral Panama Canal Partial Transit. I did it last October.

 

A couple tips: Do consider the smaller ferry excursion through the locks to the Pacific side. Be outside up on deck 10 going through the first one. (Gatun)

[LeeW]

Thanks for all the information,I do prefer the smaller ships, I was concerned because my daughter doesn't do well on smaller ships. We will be leaving from florida doing the partial transit and I know the bigger ships have better stabilization on them.How are the seas travelling there?

 

The Caribbean side is far calmer than the Pacific side, but Coral does well on both. You WILL get some rough seas at the west end of Cuba and first/last night sailing in the Gulf Stream. This is normal and generally not severe enough to empty the pools. We prefer Coral, but our first cruise was on Caribbean when it first sailed in 2004 (and they did empty the pool on that one). The 10 day Coral/Island partial is one of our favorite itineraries.

[Jetswdo]

This is the only negative thing that should be said:

 

If you are looking for an adult experience in the indoor beautiful Lotus pool area, YOU WILL NOT GET IT. If this is not important to you:

 

I loved the ship layout. Food was very good- almost on the same level as Celebrity. Service and friendliness in Bayeau Cafe, top notch as well as the food.

 

If you want a table for 2, make sure you book early or late seating and check table location carefully upon embarkation. DH and I always book my time dining, and did have difficulty with this on this ship. I believe what I am saying only applies to tables for 2. We like to eat between 6 and 6 :30 usually, there were very few tables for 2 in the anytime dining room. Most were in bad locations- If we were to sail on this ship again, we would book the late time dining. Have been on many cruises, this was the first time this had been an issue.

 

There were plumbing problems, which hopefully have been resolved by now. This can happen on any ship, any cruise line.

[cruisenuts4life]

Thanks for all the response's , now I am really torn between the two because I do like the itinerary on the caribbean princess better,but the majority of you prefer the coral.Decisions !!!

[NavyVeteran]

Thanks for all the response's , now I am really torn between the two because I do like the itinerary on the caribbean princess better,but the majority of you prefer the coral.Decisions !!!

 

Don't think of it as either/or - think of it as first one and then the other. Take the cruise on a Panamax ship through the historical locks first, and then go back later to go through the new locks on a larger ship. Once they start using the new locks with larger ships, Princess may not be building any more Panamax ships - so you may not have that opportunity in a few years.