Coral versus Majestic same itinerary

[Sallyandtex]

Hi,

We have never been on a Princess ship. Have been on other lines, HAL my favourite. 

My elderly parents have asked us to accompany them on a 10 night journey. They are  new to cruising . Our group would range  55-85years.

I like smaller ships with less crowds, and am worried Majestic too crowded.

Has anyone been on both have pro and cons for each regarding activities, shows etc. I was wondering this in terms of social distancing.

With the covid situation,   are they limiting full capacity on Princess ships?

 

Thanks 😊 

[cr8tiv1]

I have never been, nor will ever cruise, on the Royal Class Ships (Majestic, Royal, Regal, Discovery, Enchanted). 

 

I have down a b2b2b (18 days) on the Coral Princess to Alaska (and Panama Canal).  She is a beautiful ship with lots of outside viewing platforms.  Depending on what your budget is, my first choice would be a balcony.  To be specific, B309/B310 or C309/C310.  Next I would choose the Plaza Deck for oceanview or interior behind the Art Gallery.  She has lots of secret doors that lead to outside viewing areas.  On The Bayou is a production show only on the Coral (and maybe the Island).  The Coral is small enough to do the inland passage, a beautiful scenic ride.  I do believe both go to Glacier Bay, a not to be missed day.

 

The Majestic has new amenities, but, in my opinion, not necessarily improved.  

 

Biased, YES !

Edited May 8, 2022 by cr8tiv1

[thinfool]

Also not a fan of the newer, larger Princess ships.  Coral or Island would be my choice...even the Ruby, which is larger than the Coral, is a great ship.

So take the cruise....it will likely only be your latest, not your last.  On the next trip, take whichever ship you dont take this time.

[vakamalua]

The Coral is our favorite Princess ship.  Just before COVID, we spent two weeks on her cruising South America / Antartica--never felt crowed, lots of places to relax, etc

[Sallyandtex]

16 minutes ago, cr8tiv1 said:

I have never been, nor will ever cruise, on the Royal Class Ships (Majestic, Royal, Regal, Discovery, Enchanted). 

 

I have down a b2b2b (18 days) on the Coral Princess to Alaska (and Panama Canal).  She is a beautiful ship with lots of outside viewing platforms.  Depending on what your budget is, my first choice would be a balcony.  To be specific, B309/B310 or C309/C310.  Next I would choose the Plaza Deck for oceanview or interior behind the Art Gallery.  She has lots of secret doors that lead to outside viewing areas.  On The Bayou is a production show only on the Coral (and maybe the Island).  The Coral is small enough to do the inland passage, a beautiful scenic ride.  I do believe both go to Glacier Bay, a not to be missed day.

 

The Majestic has new amenities, but, in my opinion, not necessarily improved.  

 

Biased, YES !

Thankyou so much for the detailed reply! I suspected Coral would be better but was unsure

[Cuedon]

If I recall the math correctly, Majestic on the last two MexRiv trips were at 93% and 95% capacity... over 3000 passengers. Effectively no social distancing, and mask percentage among passengers was maybe 15%. Casino was very smoky. Dining rooms were back to regular spacing.

[Coral]

I have not done Majestic but would choose Coral Princess also 🙂 

[mtnesterz]

Crowds? Strangely, the Coral feels more crowded in many spaces.

Someone on CC came up with a calculation of passenger space based on tonnage and passenger count... Over my head.

More importantly, where are you going? If going to Alaska, then the only good choice is Coral.

The main difference is the buffets. The Coral's Horizon Court has a panoramic forward view with buffet lines port and starboard. Relaxing place to sit, eat and enjoy the view! By comparison, Majestic's World Fresh buffet has a single area of serving stations that gets crowded.

Edited May 9, 2022 by mtnesterz

[LACruiser88]

Obviously, everyone has a different opinion on this topic, but we love the Royal class ships.  We would choose them any day over the older ships.

[jean s]

We have cruised on both ships and enjoyed both of them.  The Majestic is newer, larger and very beautiful.  However if I had to choose it would be Coral.  I enjoy the size of the Coral, the promenade deck and the fact that there are less passengers.  

[Sallyandtex]

14 minutes ago, jean s said:

We have cruised on both ships and enjoyed both of them.  The Majestic is newer, larger and very beautiful.  However if I had to choose it would be Coral.  I enjoy the size of the Coral, the promenade deck and the fact that there are less passengers.  

This was what I was thinking, especially when it comes to tender ports, I have found on other smaller pax numbers it is less stressful. 

It was a cruise to Queensland coast Australia,  mundane compared to Alaska, but we still like viewing the ocean and more of a low key feel.

[Sallyandtex]

Just now, Sallyandtex said:

This was what I was thinking, especially when it comes to tender ports, I have found on other smaller pax numbers it is less stressful. 

It was a cruise to Queensland coast Australia,  mundane compared to Alaska, but we still like viewing the ocean and more of a low key feel.

P.s forgot to mention Coral is cheaper too by about $500 AUD for balcony but only 1 night less

[hobbyfarmer2]

We have cruised 3 Royal class ships and the Coral.  They are all great choices.  We enjoyed the dancing and music on Coral in the Wheelhouse bar as well as the walkable wrap around promenade.  We have found food choices to be a bit better on Royal class.

[cruzin4us]

I've been on both the Coral and the Majestic.   The Majestic is a beautiful ship and it would be my preference.

I am also a HAL fan and just got off the Zuiderdam and I like the small ships as well.

If I was to book a room on the Majestic, I'd book one in the mid section of the ship.  This makes it easy access to the International Cafe and a lot of stuff happens in the middle of the ship (Alfredos), games, etc.

If your parents are pretty mobile, it's an easy ship to navigate (and it's pretty to boot).   

[LoriPhil]

Coral is always our first choice.  Unlike other ships it has public viewing along the aft of the ship, wide promenade deck encircling the ship, great Wheelhouse Bar, and we always loved the library with its comfy chairs and large viewing windows.  It doesn’t feel like a crush to debark or reboard the ship after an excursion - probably because of her smaller capacity.

[sewingmolly]

Another vote for the Coral.  It's my favorite ship.  I just love the layout of it.  I won't cruise on the Royal class ships since they don't have a promenade deck, so I've never been on the Majestic.

[caribill]

3 hours ago, LoriPhil said:

Coral is always our first choice. .... It doesn’t feel like a crush to debark or reboard the ship after an excursion - probably because of her smaller capacity.

 

Also, at each port there will be less people from the Coral than there would be from the Majestic  which will make the port less crowded which is always good.

[SinbadThePorter]

I'm not on the Coral until next month, but I have been on Majestic.

 

Of all the ships I've been on, Majestic offered the least in the way of a seagoing experience.

 

When I'm on the sea, I like to feel as though I'm on the sea. Majestic seems to be designed to give a hotel experience, not a sailing experience. The atmosphere on board is part shopping mall, part hotel and almost nothing nautical.

 

I loved the Sea Princess, the Ruby and the Diamond, but Majestic left me cold. If she is representative of Royal class ships then I'll stick with the oldies but goldies.

[Shaver John]

We loved the Coral. It was so nice, and I do love the bigger, newer ships also, but the Coral has so much charm.

[KLM3164]

20 hours ago, Sallyandtex said:

I like smaller ships with less crowds

I’ve been on both the Coral and Majestic and based on your comment I would go with the Coral. I love both of these ships but if you want smaller with less crowds then you want to sail on the Coral. I sailed on the Coral through the Panama Canal (before shutdown) and it was heavenly. Although the ship was at full capacity it never felt crowded to me. I was on the Majestic 2 weeks ago and it was at around 85% capacity and definitely felt crowded. If the Majestic was at full capacity I think it would feel very crowded. My favorite sailing on the Majestic was last year when it was at only 50% capacity. At that time it felt very spacious and it’s a beautiful ship but the Coral is also a beautiful ship.

[PescadoAmarillo]

11 hours ago, SinbadThePorter said:

I loved the Sea Princess, the Ruby and the Diamond, but Majestic left me cold. If she is representative of Royal class ships then I'll stick with the oldies but goldies.

I believe the Majestic Princess represents the BEST of the Royal Class ships. I, too, value a connection to the sea over the glitz. We were on the Majestic Princess in the New Zealand fiords on a miserable weather day and there was no covered place to stand outside to watch the scenery. Ditto Alaska. I would choose the Coral anytime with its multiple covered outdoor viewing platforms. 

[VibeGuy]

Coral has a favorable space ratio and it has a really nice midships covered pool area if the weather is inclement, which can be opened to the sky if it’s nice, unlike Majestic’s forward covered pool area.  I also find the buffet seating layout pleasant. 
 

 

 

[ekka49]

When is the Coral Princess sailing to Alaska.

My understanding is that the Coral will be sailing out of Australia from June 2022.    Until September 2024.

[SinbadThePorter]

1 minute ago, ekka49 said:

When is the Coral Princess sailing to Alaska.

My understanding is that the Coral will be sailing out of Australia from June 2022.    Until September 2024.

 

True. The OP mentioned smaller ships vs Majestic, which turned the conversation to Coral.

 

Although Island Princess is sailing Alaska.