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Island vs. Coral: Which is better?

gingin410

By gingin410,
in Princess Cruises

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gingin410

gingin410

Posted
Posted

Choosing a Panama Canal cruise comes with the dilemma of choosing between the Island Princess and the Coral Princess...either is fine with us. I know they are sister ships and very similar throughout. So I am wondering if one is actually preferable to the other? And, if so, why?

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IECalCruiser

IECalCruiser

Posted
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Choosing a Panama Canal cruise comes with the dilemma of choosing between the Island Princess and the Coral Princess...either is fine with us. I know they are sister ships and very similar throughout. So I am wondering if one is actually preferable to the other? And, if so, why?
We have sailed on both in the last 12 months and they are both great ships. Coral recently had a drydock that added an International Cafe and improved traffic flow in Horizon Court buffet. Depending upon when you plan to cruise, I would give the nod to the Coral for now.
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Jasperdo

Jasperdo

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I would pick the one doing a full transit over a partial transit. If they were both doing the same itinerary, I would choose the Coral right now for the reasons IECalCruiser gave. It had the International Cafe added earlier this year. And an upgraded Horizon Court.

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High C's

High C's

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We have sailed on both in the last 12 months and they are both great ships. Coral recently had a drydock that added an International Cafe and improved traffic flow in Horizon Court buffet. Depending upon when you plan to cruise, I would give the nod to the Coral for now.

 

Does anyone know if/when these updates will be done on the Island?

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skynight

skynight

Posted
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My choice is the Coral. These were sister ships when built, but the Coral had some positive passenger friendly changes added during the January 2013 dry dock. Most notable are the International Café and a re-design of the Horizon Ct. buffet.

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AndyTheK

AndyTheK

Posted
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October 12-November 26, 2014.
Pam, you have just made our day (year!). We're booked on the Island for February 2015 for 30 days (two full transits B2B). Gonna love the IC!

 

We have sailed on both in the last 12 months and they are both great ships. Coral recently had a drydock that added an International Cafe and improved traffic flow in Horizon Court buffet.
Where is the new IC? The website still has "the Patisserie" label on Deck 5 for the Coral. Is that the upgraded place?

 

We loved the Coral back in 2009. We'll love the Island as well.

 

Shalom from Tel Aviv. Andy

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rdsqrl

rdsqrl

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Pam, you have just made our day (year!). We're booked on the Island for February 2015 for 30 days (two full transits B2B). Gonna love the IC!

 

Where is the new IC? The website still has "the Patisserie" label on Deck 5 for the Coral. Is that the upgraded place?

 

We loved the Coral back in 2009. We'll love the Island as well.

 

Shalom from Tel Aviv. Andy

Hi, Andy! What a great cruise that's going to be -- 30 days on board and the Canal twice -- fantastic! The IC on the Coral is actually in a different place than on the other ships. They cut the casino size (I know you and Jo won't like that part), and added oceanview cabins on one side of the casino and the IC on the other. Take a look at Coral's deck plan for deck 6 and you'll see what I mean. I assume they'll do the same thing on the Island.

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fishywood

fishywood

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Recently off the Coral' date=' the IC is sort of an IC-lite and is located off the beaten path, adjascent to the casino. It had limited fare and saw very few patrons compared to the full sized models located in heart of the atrium.

 

Though I haven't been on Coral since 2009 (two drydocks ago) it seems to me that her IC is in the perfect place to grab a coffee or a snack while heading to or from a show in Explorers Lounge or the Universe Lounge, not to mention the casino. But I am one who has never bought into Princess' philosophy of the bottom of the atrium--pardon me, the Piazza--being the center of social life onboard.

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KruzPrincess

KruzPrincess

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I've been on the Island a couple times, just got off the Coral, and have a cruise booked on the Island for this fall. I wish my upcoming cruise on the Island was actually on the Coral. So, I guess my choice would be the Coral, but the Island is a fine choice, too. I just had a great cruise on the Coral. I enjoyed the updates and the staff is great. You won't go wrong either way, though.

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skynight

skynight

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October 12-November 26, 2014.

 

Pam, That's 6 1/2 weeks. There must be something major planned beyond the changes made to the Coral. A new set of suites? Moving the youth center? Moving the sanctuary? Adding cabanas? An overhaul of the operating system to make it more efficient?

Well, we have 16 months to speculate.

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AndyTheK

AndyTheK

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... off the beaten path' date=' adjascent to the casino.[/quote']depends on what path you beat :) :) Jo and I spend most evenings and some atsea afternoons in the casino, so the new location will be good for us.

 

Hi, Andy! What a great cruise that's going to be -- 30 days on board and the Canal twice -- fantastic! The IC on the Coral is actually in a different place than on the other ships. They cut the casino size (I know you and Jo won't like that part), and added oceanview cabins on one side of the casino and the IC on the other. Take a look at Coral's deck plan for deck 6 and you'll see what I mean. I assume they'll do the same thing on the Island.
Hi Annie. Truth be told, we don't need more tables - casino size is important for slot players; for table players like Jo and me, doesn't really matter. For how good a small casino can be, take a look at my recent terview of our Crown cruise at http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1879495 (this is OT)
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Av8tor

Av8tor

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Where is the new IC? The website still has "the Patisserie" label on Deck 5 for the Coral. Is that the upgraded place?

 

We loved the Coral back in 2009. We'll love the Island as well.

 

Shalom from Tel Aviv. Andy

 

The Patisserie is still on deck 5. The IC is just outside the casino on deck 6. It does show this on the Coral deck plans on the Princess website...

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