Coral Princess or Island Princess

[Wineart]

Haven't been on Princess in years, but am considering a partial Panama Canal on either Coral Princess or Island Princess. They seem to be sister ships with identical itineraries, so would like to know if one would be better than the other!

[WWCJR]

Haven't been on Princess in years, but am considering a partial Panama Canal on either Coral Princess or Island Princess. They seem to be sister ships with identical itineraries, so would like to know if one would be better than the other!

 

I have been on both and they are both great ships. But presently I would choose the Coral over the Island as the Coral just had a dry dock January-February of this year. It had an International Café added, some additional cabins and the Horizon Court was redone and has a better flow now. They also took out the piano and bar area and made it into a desert station and beverage stations and additional seating. The Island is scheduled for a dry dock in October-November 2014 and no doubt will get these same upgrades. There might have been some other changes as well and I will leave those to someone else.

[IECalCruiser]

For the reasons WWCJR stated I would prefer the Coral, at least until the Island has her drydock. Having said that, we did our recent full transit of the Panama Canal on the Island and enjoyed her also. We could have waited for the Coral's drydock but timing was better for Island's cruise.

[mr green]

We have never been on Island, but Coral has a 'feeling' about her that is her to put into words.

 

john

[Pam in CA]

Like the others, they are sister ships and identical except for the upgrades done on the Coral. If your cruise is before the Island's dry dock and upgrades next year, I'd take the Coral. If it's after the Island's dry dock, it's a toss-up and I'd book based on dates and pricing.

[skynight]

Coral for the dry dock improvements mentioned. These are my favorite Princess ships. Lots of public passenger space, plus the great Universe Lounge which is only on the Coral and Island.

[Sitmar Lady]

The Coral because the odds are you will sail with our Favorite Captain, Nicoli Benetti (I always mis-spell his name so feel free to correct me).

 

He's humble, kind, and loves his passengers.

[cruisequeen4ever]

Agreed; Coral because of the upgrades and refurbishment

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[Host Jazzbeau]

The other part of this choice is the minor variation in itineraries on some of these sailings (Ocho Rios vs. Grand Cayman, and reverse order of ports).

 

Based on another current thread, the preference for Grand Cayman over Ocho Rios is far greater than the preference between Coral and Island. [i hope they're wrong, because we're going to Ocho Rios on Coral in January!]

[WWCJR]

There was another thread that asked about the Coral Princess and it has more information on it about the Coral and I also posted pictures of the updates of the International Café and Horizon Court. It can be found at this link:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1890144

[Wineart]

OK, then Coral it is! Just booked it for January, 2014......Thanks for everyone's input!

[Cancun01]

Great! A few weeks back I wrote that the international cafe would not be a deal breaker for me....having just got off a wonderful cruise on the Island, there were times that I wished there was an IC

[TipsyT]

OK, then Coral it is! Just booked it for January, 2014......Thanks for everyone's input!

 

You are going to love the Coral and your trip through the Panama Canal. It's been our favorite ship and itinerary to date. Now that she's all fancied up, we may need to get back on the Coral. :rolleyes:

[Host Jazzbeau]

Which sailing in Jan. 2014? We're on Jan. 19. If that's you too, please join the Roll Call:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1850588

[KruzPrincess]

Good choice. I just spent 2 weeks on the Coral and loved it. I enjoyed all the updates and the crew was wonderful, friendly and happy. I currently have a cruise booked on the Island and have been on the Island a few times, but I think I liked the Coral better. You'll have a great time.