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Which ship for Alaska - Royal, Coral, Golden or Island?

~*Lou*~

By ~*Lou*~,
in Princess Cruises

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~*Lou*~

~*Lou*~

Posted
Posted

Hello

 

We haven't sailed with Princess before but will sail with Princess to Alaska in 2019 (southbound from Whittier to Vancouver).

 

We have a choice of 4 ships - Coral, Golden, Royal and Island. We are a family of 4 (children will be 9 & 11 at time of cruise) and we'll be in an internal quad share cabin.

 

Priorities are:

1. possibility of an indoor swim for the children,

2. availability of ice cream,

3. sports facilities (golf? soccer?) and

4. good outdoor viewing spaces (front? aft? easy deck to move form side to side?).

 

Many thanks for any suggestions

Lou

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RunnerGirl26.2

RunnerGirl26.2

Posted
Posted (edited)

I would choose Coral or Island. Sailed to Alaska on Island. (Coral over Island due to dry dock changes to promenade deck) They each have the "secret" balconies forward and aft. Nice game room and library. We had cabin on deck 8, behind the lifeboats (E702) that had a double deep balcony and was fully covered. (all is based on sailing a few years ago on Island Princess, before dry dock)

Edited by RunnerGirl26.2
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Thrak

Thrak

Posted
Posted

I'd choose Coral because I love that ship. It also has fore and aft viewing decks on Baja and Caribe. Just go all the way forward or aft and then out onto the viewing decks.

 

My last choice out of your possibilities would be Island because I really dislike what they did to that ship.

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vmom

vmom

Posted
Posted (edited)

I would choose the Coral also. Fewer passengers means more open viewing areas. I've cruised the Coral to Alaska and through the Panama Canal. Its a great ship. It has a great aft viewing area that most people don't know about.

 

There is a covered, enclosed pool.

Edited by vmom
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fishywood

fishywood

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Posted

Royal Princess does not have an indoor pool; the other three ships do.

 

All will have soft-serve ice cream available all day. On Coral and Island the ice cream stand is inside the indoor pool deck.

 

I did not inspect the sports facilities when I was on Royal in November but they do have some sort of laser games and golf simulators, plus an enclosed sports court. The other three ships I believe orginially had putting greens and/or golf simulators but they were not maintained and the venue was eventually replaced by the Platinum Photo Studio. Coral has an enclosed sports court; Island has an outdoor venue called The Lawn Court but I have no idea if it is sports related. None of the ships have an area where one can kick around a soccer ball unless you want to usurp the basketball court for that purpose.

 

As for outdoor viewing, Coral is probably the best as she is the only one with aft viewing areas on the stateroom decks as well as up top. There are also areas above the Lido deck you can climb up to, and lateral movement should be easy. Island used to be Coral's twin but passenger capacity increased, and viewing areas decreased, when renovated a few years ago. For indoor areas, Coral and Island have the Horizon Court forward rather than aft (if you wish to hog a table all day) and Golden has Skywalker's Nightclub sticking out high over the stern.

 

Royal Princess will have her first season in Alaska in 2019. But upgraded amenities aside, her open decks have proven insufficient for her nearly 4,000 passengers in the Caribbean. How that will translate to Alaska is the wild card in your decision. Which should also take into account the nearly double amount of passengers than Coral and Island getting on and off the ship in each port.

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susiesan

susiesan

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Posted

I am looking for the same info but for a NB Vancouver-Whittier cruise in late May 2019. My priority is outside viewing space and a covered balcony.

 

After arriving Alaska we will rent a car and spend another week visiting Denali and other parks. If the cruise ends in June then it should be a bit warmer at the northern end of the trip.

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Coral "Live from...." Rare

Coral

Posted
Posted
I am looking for the same info but for a NB Vancouver-Whittier cruise in late May 2019. My priority is outside viewing space and a covered balcony.

 

After arriving Alaska we will rent a car and spend another week visiting Denali and other parks. If the cruise ends in June then it should be a bit warmer at the northern end of the trip.

 

Just make sure you time Denali for after June 1.

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sewgood

sewgood

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Posted

I have only been on the Golden. (August and September this year)

It does have a indoor pool.

There are only a few hard benches on the promanade deck. No deck chairs.

It is easy to get from one side of the ship to the other on the top outside decks for scenic sailing.

The ship does feel crowded in public areas especially deck 5 around the IC. Extremely hard to get a seat there during the day.

Great staff in all areas of the ship.

There were a number of places around the ship including the Horizon Court where you would be dripped upon by leaking pipes. Not nice when it lands in your food. Some poeple as a joke would wear raincoats down to trivia in the vista lounge, but we did get to know the spots not to sit in.

We had a great cruise on the Golden but if leaking pipes worry you and you like to sit down at the IC for a coffee and maybe a snack this is not the ship for you.

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RunnerGirl26.2

RunnerGirl26.2

Posted
Posted
I am looking for the same info but for a NB Vancouver-Whittier cruise in late May 2019. My priority is outside viewing space and a covered balcony.

 

 

 

After arriving Alaska we will rent a car and spend another week visiting Denali and other parks. If the cruise ends in June then it should be a bit warmer at the northern end of the trip.

 

 

 

Fully covered and double deep balconies on Emerald deck behind the lifeboats on Island and Coral Princess. We had E702 on Island. Great location.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

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Wishing on a star

Wishing on a star

Posted
Posted

Coral wins for the actual ship, layout, viewing, etc...

We sailed the Coral a couple years ago.

It seems like it has a more space/staff per guests? It does not feel crowded.

The Buffet was HORRIBLE. And I have no problem putting that in bold for emphasis.

But, the MDR was EXCELLENT, every night. Hot fresh good, excellent and timely service, etc.

NOTE: the pool area and pools, and even hot tubs, were simply not heated enough to use in Alaska.

Possibly later in the season, if one were encounter the sun, it might be a bit better. But, with Princess, just do not count on these areas being heated adequately.

NOTE: The Coral is a very very low-key ship.

 

Having noted the above, if I were to plan another cruise to Alaska today, I would probably choose the Royal.

I feel confident in hoping that the Royal would have more to offer, Activites, Restaurants, etc... and a much better 'vibe' onboard.

I would not choose the Coral, only due to the covered pool area. I just wouldn't count on that in Alaska.

 

Happy Planning!

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Cuizer2

Cuizer2

Posted
Posted
Hello

 

We haven't sailed with Princess before but will sail with Princess to Alaska in 2019 (southbound from Whittier to Vancouver).

 

We have a choice of 4 ships - Coral, Golden, Royal and Island. We are a family of 4 (children will be 9 & 11 at time of cruise) and we'll be in an internal quad share cabin.

 

Priorities are:

1. possibility of an indoor swim for the children,

2. availability of ice cream,

3. sports facilities (golf? soccer?) and

4. good outdoor viewing spaces (front? aft? easy deck to move form side to side?).

 

Many thanks for any suggestions

Lou

 

I've been on the Caribbean Princess, the Sapphire Princess, the Coral Princess and the Royal Princess.

 

All the ships have free ice cream and a sports area where you can play soccer (or basketball, but not both at the same time), a mini golf course and a place to practice driving (by hitting the ball into a net).

 

I cannot recommend the Royal Princess. It does not have an indoor pool and it does not have a forward observation deck. Here is a link to my review of the Royal Princess which includes several photographs of the ship ...

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2575145

 

The Coral and Island Princess both have an indoor pool and both appear to have forward observation decks.

 

The Golden Princess does have an indoor pool and it does appear to have a forward observation deck above the bridge.

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susiesan

susiesan

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Posted
Fully covered and double deep balconies on Emerald deck behind the lifeboats on Island and Coral Princess. We had E702 on Island. Great location.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

In looking at the deck plan for these aft balconies on Emerald deck it appears the cabin is smaller than usual but the balcony is bigger. The forward balcony cabins on this deck appear to be have bigger cabin space and a shallower balcony. Are the forward "secret" deck 8 balconies also completely covered?

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Whimsy

Whimsy

Posted
Posted

My vote is for the Coral. We sailed on her twice and both times the forward and aft viewing decks outside our staterooms were very nice for different views. The Dolphin mini suites are wonderful in the aft, just don't book the very last ones as they are not covered. I found the staff to seem more relaxed and at ease on that size ship than the larger vessels too. I think less passengers gives them less stress.

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UpcountryTravelers

UpcountryTravelers

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Posted

Haven't been on Golden, but have sailed on her sister ships. Have been on Royal, Regal and others you can see below.

 

Go with the CORAL! By far. Forward AND aft viewing decks, nice balconies, forward buffet, covered pool. Plus she is a beautiful ship and not too big (2,000 passengers vs. 3,500!).

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