Coral Princess Review

4.0 / 5.0
1,032 reviews

Excellent cruise and landtour overall

Review for Alaska Cruise on Coral Princess
User Avatar
Bobzi
2-5 Cruises • Age 80s

Rating by category

Value for Money
Embarkation
Dining
Public Rooms
Entertainment
Fitness & Recreation
Service
Cabin

Additional details

Sail Date: Jun 2012

Princess does an excellent job at the Vancouver embarkation port. Our cab pulled in to Canada Place underground facility for cruise ships, backed in, and our baggage was unloaded and placed for delivery to our room. After going through customs we went to a staging area where we waited for our group to be called to go to our room. At the staging area we were handed our room packet with keys. Within one hour of our cab arriving, we were in our room and unpacking. After unpacking we hooked up with our friends staying in the balcony cabin next to ours, and we had lunch on the Lido Deck at Horizon Court buffet. The buffet was very good but not excellent. Had to ask for lox and cream cheese for example. A touch below what we were used to on Holland America. Also the Coral Princess seems to have a stange layout where it is difficult to get to Lido Deck without going outside, and walking through common areas. A minor complaint however.

Our cabin on the Emerald deck had a balcony and while we did use it, it was too cold to stay out for long. It was not as useful as it would be if one were going on a Panama Canal Cruise for example, where you could stay out on the balcony for hours. We could have saved ourselves some money by booking an outside stateroom. Alaska also does not have the magnificent ports like those cruising southward. Ketchikan, Juneau, & Skagway are underwelming as ports, so no need to be on your balcony as you come into port like one does on a Panama Canal cruise. The other downside of our cabin was it had no sofa, so all we had were two chairs that were no comfortable to just relax for awhile.

But we didn't book a cruise to sit in our cabins. Coral Princess is a nice ship and has all of the ususal amenities one would expect including shopping and gambling venues, many quiet spaces, a coffee bar, and multiple cocktail lounges where the drinks were excellent and not too pricey. We had drinks in the Crooners lounge, named after the Rat Pack, and the bartender made our drinks perfectly. We chose the 5:30pm seating at a table for eight and we met up with four new dining companions that made for fun conversation. Our waitstaff was courteous and professional, and went out of their way to ensure we had a pleasant dining experience. The food was good but not great, a notch below Holland America. The variety was good and wine selection was adequate. We had two formal nights but not many wore black tie, mainly sports coats and suits for the men. Don't know why the first seating was at 5:30 instead of 6:00pm. We had dead time between the end of our dinner and the start of the evening entertainlment. If we travel on Princess again we would probably opt for the anytime dining, which we did use one night, when we got back late from our stop in Skagway. Also when we arrived at College Fjord, it was right at 5:30pm so we skipped our sit down dinner and opted for the buffet once we were out of the Fjord. It would have ruined our trip had we missed College Fjord since that was a major highlight.

Cabin Review

Cabin AE
previous reviewnext review

Find a Coral Princess Cruise from $388

Any Month

Get special cruise deals, expert advice, insider tips and more.By proceeding, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

© 1995—2024, The Independent Traveler, Inc.