My cruise on the Coral Princess was my fifteenth cruise, having previously sailed on Princess, Holland America, Celebrity, and Royal Caribbean ships since 1988. I traveled with 3 other adults, ranging in age from 45 to 81. We stayed in 2 balcony staterooms on Dolphin deck, slightly forward of the forward elevators.

We arranged independent flights to arrive in Fort Lauderdale the day before embarkation. We stayed at the Embassy Suites Hotel, one of the loveliest near Port Everglades, where the tropical-themed lobby and atrium put us in a vacation mood immediately. We enjoyed the buffet breakfast, included with the room fee, there the next morning. We purchased the Hotel's pier transfer ($2.50 per person) to the Port. At about 12:30 pm, the transfer van picked us up and took us to the ship. We were on board by about 1:10 pm and experienced a smooth check-in.

The Coral Princess is one of the prettiest ships I've been on, elegant and charming, but not glitsy. There are beautiful paintings throughout, even in the staircases. The first glimpse of the interior when we embarked was the spacious central Atrium, where a gentleman sat playing the white baby grand piano as we entered. Our staterooms were roomy, featured plenty of closet space, and were very clean. We disliked the tiny shower stalls and hard mattresses and pillows. I requested a foam mattress pad and softer pillow and received both within hours of my request. Our balconies were comparable in size to those on other cruise lines. We requested to open the door between them so we could have a larger balcony space to share, since we had neighboring staterooms. We noticed that the covering above the balcony was rusting and needed a paint job soon. Our first day after departing Port Everglades was a relaxing full day at sea. We took a refreshing dip in the adults-only Lotus Pool. This area, adjacent to the Spa and fitness facilities, is beautiful and peaceful. I never saw it crowded. We rested up before dressing up for the first formal night. After a delicious meal in the Provence Dining Room (traditional dining), we headed to the Princess Theater for the Show. We arrived about 20 minutes before the start time and were fortunate to find seats for four. This Theater seats only about 650 people, and there were many people turned away that evening for lack of available seats. They either returned to the later show or missed out altogether. Read more