Just off the Coral - a few comments

[DougH]

Are they still doing the "On the Bayou" show in the aft lounge? Island and Coral we the only two ships that offered this and with the Island changes was wondering if they have discontinued it on the Coral also.

[Spideysmum]

Would you recommend your mini suite? Was the balcony covered? Did you have much rain? We are considering the Coral next Sept for Alaska.thanks

 

 

 

Our mini was on the dolphin deck and not covered We did have some rain - not a lot - but even still it was pretty cold sitting out in the deck. It was nice to have the large glass door to watch out even if we didn't open it too often.

 

 

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[pjchow]

Our first cruise to Alaska was on the Coral Princess in 2006, We did the land tour first - Fairbanks, Denali, Anchorage, then boarded the ship for the inner passage. We enjoyed the whole experience, and have made two other cruises to Alaska since. One was on a very small ship - 32 passengers. It could go places the larger ships cannot, but we were bored much of the time since there was little to do other than scenery.

Our other trip on Princess was the Tahitian Princess in 2008. We love that ship, large enough for all the amenities and yet small enough (650 passengers) that it's arrival in port is not overwhelming.

 

Our next cruise on the Coral is in late October/early November, a partial transit of the Panama Canal. This will be our second tri to the Canal, but with a cou9ple of different ports of call.

 

After I retired, I made a promise to myself that if we couldn't go first-class, we wouldn't go and so far, we've been able to do that. It's especially nice on longer cruises and flights to Europe, etc.

 

Mikeb384

 

 

Hi Mike 384. We r pjchow from WI. We are on the Coral 10 day Oct 29 too. Have you joined the roll call?

Hoping the Bayou production is still on Coral. We enjoyed it last time.

Hoping to meet you.

 

 

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[travellover3]

Just returned from our first cruise -Coral Princess northbound from Vancouver. We figured it would be the only way to see Alaska and a one and done for the 49th state.

 

I've been following comments for months about cruising so will add a few of my own

 

Ship was immaculate in every area Our mini suite was overseen by a wonderful steward. The fitness center was better than my gym. We had ATD and never had to wait even by showing up seven-ish. Formal nights saw few in tuxedos and long dresses. Maybe because it was Alaska in September, as one of our dinner companions said. Suited me fine as my usual attire is jeans or workout attire. I did try though and so did my husband who wore a sport jacket and said he felt over dressed.

 

I'm not much of a foodie and usually just happy someone will feed me. The MDR was great and I got to try pheasant and escargot. The buffet had a great salad bar and a lot of selections for lunch. Breakfast was usually also there (hubby not big on pastries at the IC so I only went for elevenish cappuccino and croissant by myself). Sabbatinis was awesome one night - steak and veal and when it morphed into Alfredo's for pizza lunch I was in heaven.

 

We had the everything beverage cards which were thoroughly used from coffees to sodas to wine. I love coffee anytime and I don't object to the much maligned buffet coffee. The wait staff were very efficient and every staff member seemed to be enjoying themselves as well.

 

The only downer in our entire cruise came from a fellow passenger who shopped in Skagway and came back to ship to drop his purchases before heading out. I was at the security scanner when he jammed in front of me and pushed his stuff through yelling "I'm going before you because I've got to catch a train". Then he forgot to take his cell phone out of his pocket and jammed back, stepping on my foot and startled me. I said "no" and then he started shouting at me "you don't tell ME no!!" OMG what a jerk.

 

We took three excursions through Princess - one of them turned out to be an adventure as the rickety old bus broke down on Haine's evening wildlife hike. A few anxious moments but we made it back to the ferry and then back to the ship on time. Didn't really see a lot of wildlife - just a couple of bears and a few Eagles. Whale watch much the same - a couple sightings. It's late in the season.

 

I really DIDN'T enjoy sea days. That's when the beverage cards got put into play a lot. In fact, if we hadn't signed up for the British Isles cruise next May (another case where there are two ports we'd probably never get to see on our own) I think that sea days would off put us so much that, in spite of our Alaska cruise being so great otherwise, cruising could have indeed been one and done.

 

But all was mostly great. [emoji7]

 

 

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Try a Baltic cruise! You will be praying for a sea day just to process all the wondrous sights . Very port intensive!

[SeagoingMom]

LOL. Yeah. Bored silly as I don't relax well at all. I would spend two hours in the fitness center and I did finish three books. I don't gamble and it was too cold for MUTS. Husband hates having television going in cabin I'm seriously not into scenery ad nauseum and every glacier by the afternoon of the first day looked like the one before. I'm more of an architectural and art nut. It was fun, however, meeting new people.

 

 

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Ummm, why did you do an Alaskan cruise? Were you interested in Inuit art or architecture? (Or was the AK cruise your husband's idea? ;))

 

Of course, I was going to ask if the sea days were unpleasant for you because of high seas ...guess not!

[Spideysmum]

Ummm, why did you do an Alaskan cruise? Were you interested in Inuit art or architecture? (Or was the AK cruise your husband's idea? ;))

 

Of course, I was going to ask if the sea days were unpleasant for you because of high seas ...guess not!

 

 

 

Ok. Now I'm getting a tad annoyed. Why would it matter WHY I chose an Alaskan cruise? I'm not a scenery person. So what? I like whales and orcas. My husband likes all kinds of beers. My brother in law is a noted wildlife photographer who spends weeks in Alaska but neither he nor my sister enjoy Europe the way we do and frankly I've been over exposed to his excellent wildlife photos.

 

I liked the PORT stops. I even enjoyed the broken down bus incident on our Haine's excursion. I don't like hours on end playing bingo or gambling or going to silly art auctions or playing trivia pursuit I already said the fitness center was excellent but I can't spend ten or twelve hours on a treadmill. Is that enough??

 

I don't think my post was derogatory towards any part of the journey and I'm glad there are so many who enjoy sea days. Why would it bother anyone that I don't?

 

 

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[SoCal Cruiser78]

...I can't imagine cruising being a "one and done" but we do know a couple who had that exact experience. Their first and last time was Caribbean cruise on Carnival during Spring Break. They will never cruise again!...

 

We were on a Caribbean cruise on HAL a few years back, and docked next to a Carnival ship in Nassau. I spoke with a woman there who was seriously wondering if she could switch to our ship mid-cruise as she was miserable on hers. Not sure what her TA was thinking, as she looked as though she would be more comfortable at a polo match than a hairy chest contest :rolleyes:.

Edited September 17, 2016 by SoCal Cruiser78

[easyboy]

Try a Baltic cruise! You will be praying for a sea day just to process all the wondrous sights . Very port intensive!

Totally agree. Really worth it.

[LA_CA_GAL]

Working 2 Cruise---I agree with you! Sea days are my favorite! I actually would prefer to stay on the ship than get off at ports that I've already been to, to take full advantage all that the ship has to offer, without the crowds.

 

 

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I am with you. Working two jobs and 60 to 70 hours a week, I just love having nothing, nada, zip on the schedule.

 

Rise when I want, do what I want, relax, maybe not do anything except gaze at the sea.

[mikeb384]

There are some really enticing cruise itineraries in Europe and the Mediterranean which are very port intensive and to really interesting locations.

 

We were on our first cruise sometime in the 1980s and I didn't care for it very much. It was on Disney to the Bahamas. Then after I retired, my wife talked me into a Mediterranean cruise and I somehow booked us into an owners suite on the Renaissance before it went belly-up. It was a 10 day cruise from Istanbul to Athens and I was hooked. I absolutely loved being in a different and exciting port every day and the service was magnificent.

 

Our next cruise was from Lisbon to Barcelona, also in an owners suite, and in the years that followed, we have been back to the Med again, this time on Regent Seven Seas also in a very large suite. We've been on the Coral Princess a couple of times; once to Alaska for a Fairbanks to Anchorage ground tour and then the inland passage, and a western Caribbean cruise.

 

Our upcoming cruise will be on the Coral Princess to the Panama Canal - a second trip there. As I become more limited on my mobility, beiong on a cruise allows me to do more than in most any other method of travel.

 

Hope you will give the Med a try; you'lll love Greece and the islands.

 

Mike

 

 

[DrivesLikeMario]

If you don't like sea days, the British Isles cruise will be perfect for you. Make sure you join your roll call and get in on the private tours. They really, really make the experience an excellent one.

 

Thanks for your comments on the cruise. Cruising is like life - you can't get away from idiots even on a cruise. Sorry that guy was a jerk but just shrug it off. Try to remember the good stuff!

[Greymeowsr]

Thanks all for your kind comments. My wife and I will be on the Coral in Dec. and are really looking forward to it. Cruising is the perfect vacation for us. I like the sea days and she likes the opportunity to get a snapshot of a new place every port day. Even a bad cruise would be way better than going to work! Then again, I've never been on a bad cruise and i''m retired. LOL

[Spideysmum]

To Greymeowsr (love your name). You will love the Coral. Such a pretty ship and such a pleasant staff.

 

To Mikeb384 and DriveslikeMario (and all the other nice posters who suggested that I would enjoy a much more port intensive itinerary). Yes. Am looking forward to the BI cruise next May - only 2 sea days out of 12 and not back to back such as the Alaskan glacier days). We're just pretty active people and maybe we haven't learnt the fine art of relaxing as some commentators apparently have. So. On that note we are looking into a couple of Mediterranean jaunts for either autumn 2017 or spring 2018 - maybe both.

 

But seriously, both of us enjoyed what we saw of Alaska but have no tearing desire to re-do this cruise. Too much of the rest of the world to see. [emoji7]

 

 

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[stoneformation]

Thanks for info! We're going on the Coral in December (for the Panama Canal) - will be our first time on her (have been on the Diamond and Star previously). So glad to see a recent review of the Coral!

[ar1950]

Thanks for info! We're going on the Coral in December (for the Panama Canal) - will be our first time on her (have been on the Diamond and Star previously). So glad to see a recent review of the Coral!

 

I would agree that you (and all of the others) who have not been on the Coral will enjoy the ship. Its a nice size and the crew, at least when we were on (end of April/ first of May) was fantastic. The Panama Canal itinerary was great. Maybe next time we will try an Alaska itinerary on her.