This was our 6th cruise on Princess and 11th overall. We sailed from LA on nov 22 for 14 nights and arrived in Ft Lauderdale 6 Dec. We had a balcony cabin. The Coral is a beautiful ship. It is in very good condition. The cruise was sold out yet I often caught myself wondering "where is everyone".
There was however a problem with anytime dining. This was due to an overflow from the traditional dining room for both seatings. There were very limited anytime dining slots available from 6:15 to 7:45. They offered different excuses the first four nights. We had to wait in line 20 minutes for a beeper and then another 20 minutes for a table. They would not admit to the traditional dining overflow problem. The maitre D said call in the morning for a reservation. The reservation said you can have 5:15 or 8:15. They acted like this was normal. A prolonged conversation would get the proverbial "its Princess HQ" "we cant do anything". We had to dine at a later time. This was usually 7:45 on. It would have been more appropriate and respectful if they had told the truth about the nature of the problem.
The Coral's dining was improved from the last couple of Princess cruises. This was true in the buffet and the MDR. The service was always excellent. They cut back in some things as always seems to be on Princess. I missed having a good steak on the every night menu. This was replaced with beef tips. The shrimp cocktail keeps shrinking so I usually ordered 2. The 14 day menu was varied and well done. The staff in the buffet really engaged you and were always asking if you needed something. They cooked eggs and often lunch sandwiches to order. The hamburger frill and the pizza was very good. Princess seemed to have upgraded their ice cream in the MDR, very good!