Honeymoon Ideas on the Coral

[GoochDSA]

First, I want to say I truely appreciate everyone who posts both questions and responces in the Princess Cruises section of CC. Most of the other forums on CC (as well as just about everywhere else) get overrun by negative threads and snide remarks. Not here. Here there are real questions with real answers and I, for one, find it rather refreshing. So thank you all for doing what you do.

 

Ok, with that being said, on to my question at hand. My fiancee and I are booked on a partial PC cruise, on the Coral, next October for our honeymoon. So far we have a full suite booked, late seating traditional dinning (requested a table for 2, but who knows) and plan on signing up for an Ultimate Balcony Dinner (hoping to be able to get it for about an hour before we are due to leave Aruba). We were going to sign up for the Chef's Table but with her food allergies we will probably skip it. A dinner at both Sabatini's and Bayou Cafe is pretty likely as well. We might try to reserve a day or 2 in the Sanctuary to experience it but with the full suite we won't book it for the whole cruise. So what else are we missing that we might want to look into or keep an eye out for while on the ship? We only have another 486 days to plan (not that anyone is counting ;)).

 

As always, TIA!

[paul929207]

There are lots of activities on the ship. Check the Princess Patter each day to see which ones interest you

[Britter16]

try a drink in the museum - best kept secret on the Coral/Island. We were always alone in there with the wood panels creaking and all the old memorabilia from P&O ships.

[tarheelmjfan]

First, I want to say I truely appreciate everyone who posts both questions and responces in the Princess Cruises section of CC. Most of the other forums on CC (as well as just about everywhere else) get overrun by negative threads and snide remarks. Not here. Here there are real questions with real answers and I, for one, find it rather refreshing. So thank you all for doing what you do.

 

Ok, with that being said, on to my question at hand. My fiancee and I are booked on a partial PC cruise, on the Coral, next October for our honeymoon. So far we have a full suite booked, late seating traditional dinning (requested a table for 2, but who knows) and plan on signing up for an Ultimate Balcony Dinner (hoping to be able to get it for about an hour before we are due to leave Aruba). We were going to sign up for the Chef's Table but with her food allergies we will probably skip it. A dinner at both Sabatini's and Bayou Cafe is pretty likely as well. We might try to reserve a day or 2 in the Sanctuary to experience it but with the full suite we won't book it for the whole cruise. So what else are we missing that we might want to look into or keep an eye out for while on the ship? We only have another 486 days to plan (not that anyone is counting ;)).

 

As always, TIA!

 

I agree with you about the Princess board. It was so refreshing coming here, after planning cruises on other boards. I can only think of one person who may be an instigator. At least, I hope he is. If not, I don't think I'd want to meet him in person. :p

 

I'm glad you asked this question. We're sailing on Island this Oct for our 20th anniversary. We don't want to miss anything special than can be booked either. Have you considered the Ultimate Balcony Breakfast? We plan to do that on the morning of our anniversary. If we enjoy the experience, we'll do it a few more mornings. We also plan to do the other special meals you mentioned. We're ordering champagne/sparkling wine, chocolate dipped strawberries, the deluxe canapes &/or a cheese tray for embarkation. http://www.princess.com/learn/onboard/gifts_services/cellars_culinarydelights/culinary_delights/index.jsp We want to have our first meal alone on our balcony, instead of in the buffet with a 1,000 of our closest friends. :D Since you'll be in a suite, the champagne & snacks may be provided for you. The wine tastings are also on our to-do list. I think they may have other tastings too. We'll also be going to afternoon tea a few times. We'll probably have a glass of champagne with tea to make it a little more special, if there's anyone to order it from. We've decided to skip the Sanctuary, because I don't like to lay in the sun for a long period of time. I hope you enjoy it. If I find anything else we want to do, I'll post it for you. Congrats on your upcoming wedding.

 

try a drink in the museum - best kept secret on the Coral/Island. We were always alone in there with the wood panels creaking and all the old memorabilia from P&O ships.

 

Thanks for the tip. I hadn't read much about the museum. We'll take your advice one afternoon. :)

[HomelessBear]

There's spa treatments you could both do if that's your thing. You could also have some goodies delivered to your cabin such as chocolate covered strawberries, or a flower arrangement.

You can also have dinner in your suite, just the two of you.

 

Have a great cruise and congratulations on your forthcoming marriage.

[Loonbeam]

Okay I have to admit, I have been on them twice and I have no idea where a museum might be (and I am pretty sure I have covered every inch of passenger accessible space).

 

try a drink in the museum - best kept secret on the Coral/Island. We were always alone in there with the wood panels creaking and all the old memorabilia from P&O ships.

[PrincessNancy]

Okay I have to admit, I have been on them twice and I have no idea where a museum might be (and I am pretty sure I have covered every inch of passenger accessible space).

 

Britter16 please let us know where this is located. We'll be on the Coral next March and we'd love to check out the museum.

 

Nancy

[Jasperdo]

Okay I have to admit, I have been on them twice and I have no idea where a museum might be (and I am pretty sure I have covered every inch of passenger accessible space).

 

Britter16 please let us know where this is located. We'll be on the Coral next March and we'd love to check out the museum.

 

Nancy

The P & O Museum is in an alcove between the Wheelhouse Bar and the glass elevators. I'm a history buff, and found it quite fascinating.

Coral Princess by Jasperdo, on Flickr

 

Coral Princess by Jasperdo, on Flickr

[highheel girl]

The P & O Museum is in an alcove between the Wheelhouse Bar and the glass elevators. I'm a history buff, and found it quite fascinating.

Coral Princess by Jasperdo, on Flickr

 

Coral Princess by Jasperdo, on Flickr

 

DH collects alot of P&O stuff and has some of the life preservers/and the Nora Wellings dolls in the first photo.

[cindep]

You're already doing probably the BEST thing for a memorable honeymoon ... booking a full suite. If you decide to book the Ultimate Balcony Dinner, be sure to ask them to customize it however best suits you. You are NOT stuck with the printed menu.

 

You should already have flowers in your suite as well as access to any meal in your cabin that is being served in the dining room. Of course, you'll be having breakfast each morning in Sabitini's which is totally wonderful.

 

If you'd like tea one day in your cabin (possibly the day you go through the canal if you don't take an excursion), that can also be arranged.

 

Enjoy your honeymoon with Princess! DH and I spent our honeymoon on the Grand Princess in 1999 and it will always be memorable to us.

[Loonbeam]

Ah. I just considered that part of the wheelhouse bar. I did notice it :)

 

 

 

The P & O Museum is in an alcove between the Wheelhouse Bar and the glass elevators. I'm a history buff, and found it quite fascinating.

[1025cruise]

There's only one problem with booking a full suite, you'll never want to book anything less.

[cellyml12]

Tarheel hinted that there might be other tastings besides wine tasting. What might those be? We aren't big wine drinkers but other tastings might be fun. Ours is an Alaskan cruise if that makes a difference. Thanks for any info!

[cindep]

Watch the Patter for the day they do the martini demonstration in the atrium. If you're lucky and willing to shake and dance, you may get chosen to shake one up and then sample.

[Loonbeam]

A couple of other thoughts...

 

In addition to the Ultimate Balcony Dinner (which is a MUST do), there is also an Ultimate Balcony Breakfast, which might be a nice Sea Day option. That said, I am beginning to worry you will overload on heavier meals, I would consider scheduling the one of the two specialty restaurants on the fly. Remember, since you are in a suite you also get breakfast in Sabatinis daily. I think as a new perk you may also get a comp dinner in Sabatinis on Embarkation night.

 

Make sure they know its your honeymoon as well. Different crews do different things, but I know when we were in the Coral in 09, honeymooners were invited to the bridge to meet with the captain for a champagne toast (with the good stuff, I might add!)

 

The next one is a bit more iffy, which is renting the thermal suite for the week for both of you. We didn't use it as much as we thought but that was mainly because we loved the sanctuary so much (that said, with a full suite I can see why you would skip it - Just book it for Canal Day if you don't take a tour). But the heated loungers and steam areas were great for relaxing after ports.

[Love.II.Cruise]

First, I want to say I truely appreciate everyone who posts both questions and responces in the Princess Cruises section of CC. Most of the other forums on CC (as well as just about everywhere else) get overrun by negative threads and snide remarks. Not here. Here there are real questions with real answers and I, for one, find it rather refreshing. So thank you all for doing what you do.

 

Ok, with that being said, on to my question at hand. My fiancee and I are booked on a partial PC cruise, on the Coral, next October for our honeymoon. So far we have a full suite booked, late seating traditional dinning (requested a table for 2, but who knows) and plan on signing up for an Ultimate Balcony Dinner (hoping to be able to get it for about an hour before we are due to leave Aruba). We were going to sign up for the Chef's Table but with her food allergies we will probably skip it. A dinner at both Sabatini's and Bayou Cafe is pretty likely as well. We might try to reserve a day or 2 in the Sanctuary to experience it but with the full suite we won't book it for the whole cruise. So what else are we missing that we might want to look into or keep an eye out for while on the ship? We only have another 486 days to plan (not that anyone is counting ;)).

 

As always, TIA!

 

Based on your signature it looks like you are not a newbie to cruising! ;) On our last cruise for our anniversary, we really enjoyed doing the Ultimate Ship Tour. If you are interested in the behind the scenes of a cruise ship, then I highly recommend doing this.

 

We also really enjoyed the thermal suites and the sanctuary. It's your cruise; you know what you like; just have fun and enjoy each other. Have a great cruise!

[5326jan]

Since you are booked in a suite, you'll get a bar set up. If you don't like the bottles they bring you, ask to customize it. You could get only vodka for instance and only one kind of mixer. Just know that it's not rude to ask. :)

[dorisis]

My husband and Ihave been married for almost 60 years and one of the romantic things we do on a cruise is to bring an ELECTRIC candle and sit on our balcony in the evening before retiring with the candle and a glass of wine watching the moon and stars.

~Doris~

[GoochDSA]

Thank you all so much for your responces. Deffinately a lot to keep in mind. And I will certainly be keeping my eye on the Princess threads to see what else may come up.

 

...Have you considered the Ultimate Balcony Breakfast? We plan to do that on the morning of our anniversary. If we enjoy the experience, we'll do it a few more mornings... We want to have our first meal alone on our balcony, instead of in the buffet with a 1,000 of our closest friends. :D Since you'll be in a suite, the champagne & snacks may be provided for you... We'll also be going to afternoon tea a few times. ...If I find anything else we want to do, I'll post it for you. Congrats on your upcoming wedding...

 

Thank you, and congrats on your upcoming annicersary! We still have just over 10 months before the wedding, but with everything basically booked we are getting a little antsy, so we are switching gears a little and focusing a bit on the honeymoon for a bit.

 

The reason we don't plan on doing the Ultimate Balcony Breakfast is that with the perk of Sabatini's every morning and the full MDR menu for room service, that while it may be nice we just didn't think we would miss it by not doing it (especially if we go with the UBD). We will deffinately be enjoying the afternoon tea a few times and at least once we will have it delivered to our room (a nice suite perk).

 

Based on your signature it looks like you are not a newbie to cruising! ;) On our last cruise for our anniversary, we really enjoyed doing the Ultimate Ship Tour. If you are interested in the behind the scenes of a cruise ship, then I highly recommend doing this....

 

That actually sounds right up our ally. I will deffinately have to look more into that.

 

There's only one problem with booking a full suite, you'll never want to book anything less.

 

A lesson we have already learned the hard way. We have always gotten mini-suites on cruises (you know, more space, no perks). On our last trip to Disney (which is where I proposed) we booked Club Level at Animal Kingdom Lodge and we felt spoiled rotten. I think that's one reason we had no doubts about booking the full suite.

 

Does anyone know if suites get the full MDR menu for lunch on embarkation day? I know that the MDR closes on the early side on embarkation day, but we are unsure where we will be coming from. It might be from the airport, it might be from a nearby hotel or it might be Walt Disney World. Incase we miss the MDR lunch would we be able to order room service or would we be forced to head to the buffet?

[Loonbeam]

If you really want to spoil yourself at Disney, do concierge at the Poly and add in the Platinum Plan... Just be prepared for a really scary credit card bill :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On our last trip to Disney (which is where I proposed) we booked Club Level at Animal Kingdom Lodge and we felt spoiled rotten. I think that's one reason we had no doubts about booking the full suite.

 

[GoochDSA]

If you really want to spoil yourself at Disney, do concierge at the Poly and add in the Platinum Plan... Just be prepared for a really scary credit card bill :)

 

I've priced that before... a bit too scary for me. :eek:

 

If we do head to Disney before, we would probably stay Club Level at the Boardwalk Inn (it's Food & Wine Fest. time of year, so being close to EPCOT is a must)... but that is a whole other subject for a whole different set of boards. :D

[Loonbeam]

I will say this, if you do the Plat Plan you don't need club level, you will have MORE than enough to eat (and they often upgrade you anyway). We're doing Plat plan no club in 2013..

 

I've priced that before... a bit too scary for me. :eek:

 

If we do head to Disney before, we would probably stay Club Level at the Boardwalk Inn (it's Food & Wine Fest. time of year, so being close to EPCOT is a must)... but that is a whole other subject for a whole different set of boards. :D

[tarheelmjfan]

I've priced that before... a bit too scary for me. :eek:

 

If we do head to Disney before, we would probably stay Club Level at the Boardwalk Inn (it's Food & Wine Fest. time of year, so being close to EPCOT is a must)... but that is a whole other subject for a whole different set of boards. :D

 

We're going to the F&WF, after our cruise this year. :D We gave up a 14 day cruise to take the Panama Canal cruise, so we're going to make up the days at WDW.

 

Now, back to cruise planning..... :p

[capriccio]

 

The next one is a bit more iffy, which is renting the thermal suite for the week for both of you. We didn't use it as much as we thought but that was mainly because we loved the sanctuary so much (that said, with a full suite I can see why you would skip it - Just book it for Canal Day if you don't take a tour). But the heated loungers and steam areas were great for relaxing after ports.

 

The thermal suite is included as a suite perk. It is great!

[Loonbeam]

Really? That's a total win then! (and a $200 pp perk value)

 

The thermal suite is included as a suite perk. It is great!