Thanks to the Captain and Crew of the Coral Princess

[gottagocit]

We just returned home yesterday from our Buenos Aires to Santiago cruise that included Antarctica. What an experience!
 

Captain Todd McBain was excellent. The enthusiasm and excitement he openly expressed when discussing our voyage each day, particularly the Antarctic portion, was infectious and wonderful to see and hear. He mingled with passengers in the dining room, horizon court and other areas multiple times and never disappointed when approached for a hand shake or photo. He passion for doing everything he can to ensure a safe and enjoyable cruise is obvious and seems very important to him. The crew was also excellent and seemed happy to take care of everyone.
 

Maria from trivia and other games and Jovi (Jovi Cash) from Bingo, trivia and other venues stand out as awesome hosts. After 16 voyages this turned out to be our favorite so far. The 4 days in Antarctica were amazing as was The Falklands. 
 

The Coral is still a great ship and in good shape from all indications. Even with a sold out voyage it rarely felt crowded. The only exceptions were during the usual rush to get ashore for port stops or immediately after a show or other event. Breakfast in the horizon court was sometimes hectic but that’s the exception. The weather and seas were excellent almost every day which made for a huge plus in so many ways. 
 

Thanks Princess,

Chris 

[4hunters]

Sounds like you had a great trip!  Thanks for posting about it. 👍

[Wichard]

We are sailing on the Coral on March 5th from Santiago to Fort Lauderdale and hope Captain McBain will still be aboard.   We were on the Pacific Princess in December and the Captain spent a lot of time with the passengers as well.  That made for an enjoyable and pleasant trip.

 

Richard 

[Shaver John]

We will also be on the Coral on March 5th for 32 days. Could you tell me did they have Zumba on your trip. I understand that the Zumba instructor had a leg issue on earlier cruises, just wondering if it has healed and if Zumba is back. Thank you so much, so glad you had a great trip, we are getting so excited.

[gottagocit]

24 minutes ago, Shaver John said:

We will also be on the Coral on March 5th for 32 days. Could you tell me did they have Zumba on your trip. I understand that the Zumba instructor had a leg issue on earlier cruises, just wondering if it has healed and if Zumba is back. Thank you so much, so glad you had a great trip, we are getting so excited.

We did not see Zumba on any of the patters. There was exercise and Tai chi classes however. 
Hope you have as good of voyage as we did. 

[compozer]

We also think Captain Todd McBain is excellent.    We will be on the Coral next November and are keeping our fingers crossed that he will still be assigned to the Coral.

[gottagocit]

3 minutes ago, compozer said:

We also think Captain Todd McBain is excellent.    We will be on the Coral next November and are keeping our fingers crossed that he will still be assigned to the Coral.

I didn’t catch when he would be leaving the Coral but he did say he would not be the captain when she returns to the Antarctic next season. There was a 2nd captain onboard who was spending time on the bridge on each of her trips down there this season to take advantage of the “ice training” and experience before taking the bridge. It’s not that this captain was new, as I understood it, but just getting some experience in the ice fields etc while he could. 
There were also two “ice pilots” onboard with 50 years ice sailing experience between them while we were down there to help provide oversight and advise. 

[lois1112]

4 hours ago, gottagocit said:

We just returned home yesterday from our Buenos Aires to Santiago cruise that included Antarctica. What an experience!
 

Captain Todd McBain was excellent. The enthusiasm and excitement he openly expressed when discussing our voyage each day, particularly the Antarctic portion, was infectious and wonderful to see and hear. He mingled with passengers in the dining room, horizon court and other areas multiple times and never disappointed when approached for a hand shake or photo. He passion for doing everything he can to ensure a safe and enjoyable cruise is obvious and seems very important to him. The crew was also excellent and seemed happy to take care of everyone.
 

Maria from trivia and other games and Jovi (Jovi Cash) from Bingo, trivia and other venues stand out as awesome hosts. After 16 voyages this turned out to be our favorite so far. The 4 days in Antarctica were amazing as was The Falklands. 
 

The Coral is still a great ship and in good shape from all indications. Even with a sold out voyage it rarely felt crowded. The only exceptions were during the usual rush to get ashore for port stops or immediately after a show or other event. Breakfast in the horizon court was sometimes hectic but that’s the exception. The weather and seas were excellent almost every day which made for a huge plus in so many ways. 
 

Thanks Princess,

Chris 

Chris I agree with this 100%

Of over 30 cruises with Princess this was by far my favorite.

Captain McBain was great

[gottagocit]

21 minutes ago, lois1112 said:

Chris I agree with this 100%

Of over 30 cruises with Princess this was by far my favorite.

Captain McBain was great

Hey, it’s good to hear from you.
It was a special trip for sure and one that will be difficult to top. 
 

[lois1112]

1 hour ago, gottagocit said:

Hey, it’s good to hear from you.
It was a special trip for sure and one that will be difficult to top. 
 

I don't think it is possible to top

[Rocking Waves]

This voyage with Captain McBain was the trip of a lifetime to a very special place!!!!  The crew were also lovely and we met so many interesting cruisers.  We were so lucky on many accounts and the Coral was a very comfortable ship.  This will be our favourite and most remarkable cruise among many other also delightful journeys!!!!

[gottagocit]

19 hours ago, lois1112 said:

I don't think it is possible to top

I can’t disagree with you. 

[coo359a2]

22 hours ago, gottagocit said:

I didn’t catch when he would be leaving the Coral but he did say he would not be the captain when she returns to the Antarctic next season. There was a 2nd captain onboard who was spending time on the bridge on each of her trips down there this season to take advantage of the “ice training” and experience before taking the bridge. It’s not that this captain was new, as I understood it, but just getting some experience in the ice fields etc while he could. 
There were also two “ice pilots” onboard with 50 years ice sailing experience between them while we were down there to help provide oversight and advise. 

The second Captain on board was Captain Paulo Ravera.  Not sure of first name spelling.  We were told he was a qualified ice captain but was on board this season to get the "lay of the ice" in Antarctica.  One ice pilot was a retired Coast Guard Captain with years of experience in the Arctic and Antarctica waters.  The other ice pilot was from Chile.  

[harleysmama]

We were on that cruise also and agree about Captain McBain he is the greatest and anyone that will sail with him in the future is very lucky!!

Karen

[azbirdmom]

Agree with you!  We were on the cruise before your's and Captain McBain had to deal with a delayed departure from San Antonio, storms off the coast of Chile, a changed itinerary, and a generator fire while we were off Elephant Island.  So in addition sharing his enthusiasm for Antarctica, he also calmed the passengers and kept us informed of the situation every couple of minutes.  What we encountered ran the gamut but it was reassuring to know that Captain McBain was at the helm.

[Margarita Jane]

So great to see this. We will be sailing Coral from Buenos Aires to San Antonio, embarking on February 20. We are really looking forward to this cruise, even more so now!

[AF-1]

Thanks for your quick review. Do you guys think the ships captain mingle more on the smaller ships; than on the larger ones?

[Coral]

On 2/11/2020 at 8:57 AM, gottagocit said:

 

The Coral is still a great ship and in good shape from all indications. Even with a sold out voyage it rarely felt crowded. The only exceptions were during the usual rush to get ashore for port stops or immediately after a show or other event. Breakfast in the horizon court was sometimes hectic but that’s the exception. The weather and seas were excellent almost every day which made for a huge plus in so many ways. 
 

 

The "older ships" never felt crowded. Their space ratio is excellent compared to the Caribbean/Crown class and later.

 

Glad it was a great trip!

Edited February 12, 2020 by Coral

[Croptop]

@gottagocit Thanks for posting your thoughts about your time on the Coral. I'll be sailing on the Coral in 2021 (Buenos Aires to Ft. Lauderdale) so I've started my year long devouring of any info about Coral that I can find.

 

 

[oldfashioncruiser]

We loved it the times we have sailed with Captain McBain.    Best captain around!!!

[Merc85]

On 2/11/2020 at 6:57 AM, gottagocit said:

We just returned home yesterday from our Buenos Aires to Santiago cruise that included Antarctica. What an experience!
 

Captain Todd McBain was excellent. The enthusiasm and excitement he openly expressed when discussing our voyage each day, particularly the Antarctic portion, was infectious and wonderful to see and hear. He mingled with passengers in the dining room, horizon court and other areas multiple times and never disappointed when approached for a hand shake or photo. He passion for doing everything he can to ensure a safe and enjoyable cruise is obvious and seems very important to him. The crew was also excellent and seemed happy to take care of everyone.
 

Maria from trivia and other games and Jovi (Jovi Cash) from Bingo, trivia and other venues stand out as awesome hosts. After 16 voyages this turned out to be our favorite so far. The 4 days in Antarctica were amazing as was The Falklands. 
 

The Coral is still a great ship and in good shape from all indications. Even with a sold out voyage it rarely felt crowded. The only exceptions were during the usual rush to get ashore for port stops or immediately after a show or other event. Breakfast in the horizon court was sometimes hectic but that’s the exception. The weather and seas were excellent almost every day which made for a huge plus in so many ways. 
 

Thanks Princess,

Chris 

Chris, I totally support your summary....it was a great voyage with a very caring and communicative captain.  And for sure it never felt crowded except at peak breakfast times in Horizon Court.  Really excellent trip!!

Edited February 12, 2020 by Merc85
added some photos

[gottagocit]

16 hours ago, Croptop said:

@gottagocit Thanks for posting your thoughts about your time on the Coral. I'll be sailing on the Coral in 2021 (Buenos Aires to Ft. Lauderdale) so I've started my year long devouring of any info about Coral that I can find.

 

 

You won’t be disappointed with the Coral imo. She’s a fine ship. 

[AF-1]

Those are some great pics of the icebergs.  How many total sea days did you have?

[gottagocit]

The cruise was 16 days in length with Just 4 stops in Montevideo, Stanley Falklands, Punta Arenas and Ushuaia, Argentina. 

[azbirdmom]

One side note.  Captain Paolo Ravera rode along for the entire Antarctica season to get familiar with the territory as he will be the captain of the Coral next year for the Antarctic cruises.  I was thinking that he has the best job in the world to be up on the bridge learning and enjoying the spectacular scenery but not having the stress or responsibility for everyone on board.  Then this morning I was catching up on news and heard an announcement replayed that the captain of the Diamond Princess made.  That captain was identified as Paolo Ravera.  First I have heard that he is on the Diamond but talk about going from the best job in the world to the most stressful in a short period of time.  Sending good thoughts to all on board the Diamond!