Coral & Island Vs. Diamond & Sapphire, The Difference?

[CALMOM]

Can anyone tell me the difference between the Coral & Island versus the Diamond & Sapphire? I am trying to make a decision for next Sept. Alaska cruise. My past experience is that the larger ships are not always the way to go, they do not offer the personal touch that the smaller ships do. However, I have not sailed with Princess yet so I could use some advise.

[lois1112]

I think it is personal preference. i have sailed on both the Island and the Sapphire. I personally like the Island better. The Sapphire is a little to big for me. That being said I am sailing on the sapphire again this November to Asia...so it wasn't bad!

[chrysalis]

go for the smaller ships, the Coral or the Island.

[judynorth]

We have cruised Alaska on both the Diamond and the Coral and I would definitely recommend the Coral over the Diamond. It just seems to be a happier ship. It is smaller and less opulant than the Diamond but we found the crew and wait staff much friendlier on the Coral. That being said, we have friends who just returned from the Sapphire and loved it. The Diamond and Sapphire are HUGE ships and it is a LONG walk from one end of the ship to the other.

[Sillyjilly]

I've been on the Island, Diamond & Sapphire. Of the 3, the Island is my favorite. Perfect size and the indoor pool was much better. (A must for Alaska) The Diamond/Sapphire indoor pool had sliding doors that were constantly opening and closing. It brought in some chilly breezes.

(However the bathrooms for the indoor pool on the Island require you to go out in the cold) Don't know whose idea that was. Yikes!

 

The Island is a very pretty ship and you don't have to hike from one end to the other.:)

 

No matter which ship you choose, I'm sure you'll have a great time.

 

Jill

[CALMOM]

Thank you all for your repsonse. Can you tell me what you think of the Aloha or Baja deck for Balcony cabin? Do you know if the Caribe deck has fully or partial covered balcony? You guys are great, I just love this website!

[chrysalis]

Thank you all for your repsonse. Can you tell me what you think of the Aloha or Baja deck for Balcony cabin? Do you know if the Caribe deck has fully or partial covered balcony? You guys are great, I just love this website!

 

read #13 http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=214933

[CALMOM]

Thank you, Thank you, Chrysalis, this was the perfect answer to all of my questions. Now I can stop driving everyone nuts on the board with all of my silly questions. I have sailed on carnival ships several times but never Princess. Thanks again, your wonderful!

[scmomofboys]

We have been on both of these to Alaska. We have booked the Coral for next year, but we also really liked the Sapphire. The place my husband most noticed the increase in passengers was in the Horizon Court buffet. It was a zoo most mornings and at lunch on the Sapphire Princess. We didn't notice this on the Coral. Personally, I didn't find the Sapphire much larger in size than the Coral, just more people. And check this site for the covered/uncovered balcony locations. http://mysite.verizon.net/res76zxu/princessbalconies/index.html

Someone went to A LOT of trouble and it was great in helping us pick our cabin. Hope this helps.

[taxatty]

I agree with judynorth--we also did Alaska on both the Coral and the Diamond and preferred the former--it seemed less crowded and we didn't miss anything from the bigger ship. You really couldn't go wrong with either one, however. We had a Caribe minisuite on the Coral (C718)--I recall a large 1/2 covered balcony.

Les