Alaskan Coral or Royal?

[flamomo]

I too vote for the Coral, if for no other reason that she is a smaller ship … about 2000 passengers, if memory serves me correctly.

In fact, she was the very first ship I ever cruised on, and left me with very good impressions. In the intervening 14 years I have cruised on most of the Princess fleet, (although none of the new behemoths because I don't fancy cruising with that many other passengers no matter what the new innovations are) for a total of over 40 cruises on Princess, and 2 more booked.

[flamomo]

Thank you so much everyone! We are going with Coral and keeping our room as is. Finalizing it tomorrow!

 

(y)(y)

[sunsetbeachgal]

Great choice for your first cruise and trip to Alaska! We are looking at a princess cruisetour next summer, the one with the Canadian Rockies and Rocky Mountaineer train. The only two ships the tour connects to the cruise with are the Golden and the Royal. We happen to love the Royal so will choose this, however this is not our first trip to Alaska so will just deal with the lack of open deck space.

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[RDC1]

Royal is newer, the food is better, and if your kids like shows, the production shows are much more flashy, fun, and unique. They've just gotten a brand new show called The Secret Silk produced by Stephen Schwartz (Godspell, Wicked) which features life size puppets handled by many cast members in the show. Both it and Encore are must-sees for the spectacle alone.

 

If it's just about being outside for the views or for having more space, the Coral is better, but overall, I think your children would have more options on Royal.

 

Coral is also a training ship for many staff members, from what someone told me the last time I sailed, so you might not have as many experienced crew members or cruise staff as you would on Royal.

 

I'd gamble on Royal if you have children and if anything I've mentioned lines up with your situation.

 

 

Nope Coral is not a training ship. Not sure where you got that. The service I experienced there has been as good or better than on other Princess ships

[KBS1607]

My husband and I just got off the Coral on August 1. Several times we asked each other where everyone was. The ship never seemed crowded.

[Steflkd]

My husband and I just got off the Coral on August 1. Several times we asked each other where everyone was. The ship never seemed crowded.

 

This is so good to hear!

[musicpro442]

Training ship? This is false.We have sailed the Coral many times. Never heard such a thing. Crew turnover happens on all ships and they are coming and going on every cruise. It balances out. There are experienced crew on every Princess ship. By the way food is subjective.

 

You never heard such a thing because you didn't know some of the staff like I did. At the time I was onboard when I heard this from the inside, it was indeed one training ship for, as I said, MANY staff members. Not ALL.

 

Your assumption is false. Sorry.

[Coral]

You never heard such a thing because you didn't know some of the staff like I did. At the time I was onboard when I heard this from the inside, it was indeed one training ship for, as I said, MANY staff members. Not ALL.

 

Your assumption is false. Sorry.

 

I don't believe it either.

 

They send people to be trained on all the ships. On the Sapphire Princess, it appeared my room steward had an assistant which I found odd. I asked and she said "I am training". My response was - "you were paired with one of the best to train with".

 

If there did happen to be a training ship, they wouldn't use the Coral Princess. They would use a ship that has many sisters like one from the Crown Class or Royal Class so they get to know the layout of the ship.

 

I had lunch with the HR person on a ship once at one of the most traveled lunches. She was fascinating and I learned a ton from her. She was explaining the amount of people coming and going, different contracts, new employees to Princess, etc.... There is not a training ship.

[floridalover5623]

I really believe that the connotation "training ship" came about because the most experienced trained waiters, bartenders, baristas & stewards were taken from from all the older ships when the Royal class ships were introduced.

[KYBOB]

We have been on the Coral twice; once for a partial transit of the Panama Canal then a B2B in Alaska (So is that 3 times?) Also have sailed the Regal and Royal, we loved the Regal / Royal in the Caribbean, food and buffet where the best we have had on any ship. Also the main Plaza is much larger and we really enjoyed all the entertainment that occurred there. It is a great gathering place to relax have a drink, eat and people watch. The Royal class while has a lot of people we never felt crowded.

 

Royal vs Coral for Alaska my choice without a doubt, no hesitation, would be the Coral, would not even consider any other ship. Mini-suite for sure. We loved; getting on and off the shorter lines, great crew, good food, and the location of the buffet for 'scenic' cruising days was the best location and great view. In the buffet area there are two places up front you can step outside very quickly or go up a deck. For the mini-suites large balcony you can actually sit on. (On the Regal / Royal I would call it a more of a ledge than a balcony). So selecting the Coral was a great choice and have a great cruise.

[nini]

So, too each his own. Having been to Alaska 4 times (love it), I would say

the Royal! We were disappointed with the Coral; the food just was just not

up to par with the other Princess ships and we prefer more common areas

like Vines. The Horizon Court (buffet area) was very closed in and could not

see out of the windows. However, our cabin steward was the best we ever

had!

There are no aft balconies on the Coral, so we booked E736 and were very

pleased with it. We were able to have a wide range of viewing and see the wake.