Coral Princess Opinions Please

[windsor26]

2 hours ago, arxcards said:

It was announced last March, when Crown Princess was announced as coming to Australia. A shame she is leaving, but she was built for cruising either side of the Panama.

Princess think that the experience of the old canal is better for views etc than the new boring one

[arxcards]

1 minute ago, windsor26 said:

Princess think that the experience of the old canal is better for views etc than the new boring one

They are probably right. 

We will get the new locks on Crown Princess next year, but it seems to be much less of an event than the old locks.

[Jean C]

On 1/18/2024 at 2:53 PM, yes!yes!yes! said:

the pool, especially the inside one are really dated/scruffy.

I have to agree, the inside pool leaves a bit to be desired. With respect, not so much scruffy, but well and truly dated and rather kitsch in decor.  It's narrow and deep with a "current", so only good for swimming or hanging off the sides. On my last cruise feral kids constantly jumped in splashing everyone else, while the parents smiled sweetly at them, stuff everyone else 🥴

 

The uncovered outside pool is fine and popular, again deep though.  I tend to seek shade wherever possible so was disappointed with the inside pool.  The Sanctuary pool may be better but not being one to enjoy lazing on sunloungers, I didn't pay to go there.

[yes!yes!yes!]

9 minutes ago, Jean C said:

I have to agree, the inside pool leaves a bit to be desired. With respect, not so much scruffy, but well and truly dated and rather kitsch in decor.  It's narrow and deep with a "current", so only good for swimming or hanging off the sides. On my last cruise feral kids constantly jumped in splashing everyone else, while the parents smiled sweetly at them, stuff everyone else 🥴

 

The uncovered outside pool is fine and popular, again deep though.  I tend to seek shade wherever possible so was disappointed with the inside pool.  The Sanctuary pool may be better but not being one to enjoy lazing on sunloungers, I didn't pay to go there.

the sanctuary pool on coral  is for general use, just adults only.

you don't have to be using the sanctuary to use it

[OzKiwiJJ]

2 hours ago, yes!yes!yes! said:

the sanctuary pool on coral  is for general use, just adults only.

you don't have to be using the sanctuary to use it

Wrong, the Sanctuary pool on Coral is for Sanctuary guests only. We saw several people asked to leave the pool when we were on Coral in 2022. The Sanctuary stewards were very aware of how people could get to the pool without coming into the Sanctuary area, they knew who the Sanctuary guests were at any point in time, and if they saw any strange faces in the pool they would come down and ask them to leave immediately. Usually they just had to mention the extra cost to use the Sanctuary facilities and those people would be out of there like a shot!

[OzKiwiJJ]

2 hours ago, Jean C said:

I have to agree, the inside pool leaves a bit to be desired. With respect, not so much scruffy, but well and truly dated and rather kitsch in decor.  It's narrow and deep with a "current", so only good for swimming or hanging off the sides. On my last cruise feral kids constantly jumped in splashing everyone else, while the parents smiled sweetly at them, stuff everyone else 🥴

 

The uncovered outside pool is fine and popular, again deep though.  I tend to seek shade wherever possible so was disappointed with the inside pool.  The Sanctuary pool may be better but not being one to enjoy lazing on sunloungers, I didn't pay to go there.

The Sanctuary pool is very small and is divided into two sections. One is a shallow lounging area with a ledge seat running around half of it, the other is a deeper section. Neither section is big enough to do any serious swimming in. It's a great place to cool off on a hot day though and I've had many interesting chats with other cruisers while floating around in the pool. It was in reasonable condition in 2022. On one cruise they repainted it on an embarkation day so it was closed the next day until it had refilled.

[MicCanberra]

2 hours ago, yes!yes!yes! said:

the sanctuary pool on coral  is for general use, just adults only.

you don't have to be using the sanctuary to use it

 

10 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

Wrong, the Sanctuary pool on Coral is for Sanctuary guests only. We saw several people asked to leave the pool when we were on Coral in 2022. The Sanctuary stewards were very aware of how people could get to the pool without coming into the Sanctuary area, they knew who the Sanctuary guests were at any point in time, and if they saw any strange faces in the pool they would come down and ask them to leave immediately. Usually they just had to mention the extra cost to use the Sanctuary facilities and those people would be out of there like a shot!

I think the Sanctuary pool is being confused with the Lotus pool.

The lotus pool is indoors although the roof can open. It has two hot tubs as well. I used the pool and the hot tub a lot 

[OzKiwiJJ]

54 minutes ago, MicCanberra said:

 

I think the Sanctuary pool is being confused with the Lotus pool.

The lotus pool is indoors although the roof can open. It has two hot tubs as well. I used the pool and the hot tub a lot 

Also Coral is the only ship to have a dedicated Sanctuary pool. The other difference is the Sanctuary is aft on Coral unlike all other ships. 

 

Most other ships have a Lotus Spa Pool which is directly below the Sanctuary, or a Retreat Pool which is just aft of the Sanctuary. A lot of people think the Lotus Spa pools are part of the Sanctuary or part of the Lotus Spa. They aren't but it does keep it a bit quieter and usually kid-free. 😁

Edited January 19 by OzKiwiJJ

[arxcards]

58 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

Also Coral is the only ship to have a dedicated Sanctuary pool. The other difference is the Sanctuary is aft on Coral unlike all other ships. 

 

Most other ships have a Lotus Spa Pool which is directly below the Sanctuary, or a Retreat Pool which is just aft of the Sanctuary. A lot of people think the Lotus Spa pools are part of the Sanctuary or part of the Lotus Spa. They aren't but it does keep it a bit quieter and usually kid-free. 😁

The Lotus pool on the Grand ships is awesome, and freely available without any day passes. Glad that is not known by everyone. Alternatively, the Lotus pool on Coral is horrible. 

[MicCanberra]

The Lotus is adults only and apart from them allowing it to get far to hot in the area, I found it great, we were often the only ones there.

[arxcards]

37 minutes ago, MicCanberra said:

The Lotus is adults only and apart from them allowing it to get far to hot in the area, I found it great, we were often the only ones there.

It felt like a chlorine sauna. That could be just how it was at the time, but there was also nobody stopping the kids from using the pool either.

[OzKiwiJJ]

2 hours ago, arxcards said:

The Lotus pool on the Grand ships is awesome, and freely available without any day passes. Glad that is not known by everyone. Alternatively, the Lotus pool on Coral is horrible. 

We were on one cruise, possibly the over-crowded Ruby Princess cruise we did in 2019, where a very noisy bunch discovered the Lotus Spa Pool. I'm not sure what happened but after the one day of loud shrieks and laughter, and quite a few four-lettered words shouted, they didn't come back again 

[yes!yes!yes!]

12 hours ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

Wrong, the Sanctuary pool on Coral is for Sanctuary guests only. We saw several people asked to leave the pool when we were on Coral in 2022. The Sanctuary stewards were very aware of how people could get to the pool without coming into the Sanctuary area, they knew who the Sanctuary guests were at any point in time, and if they saw any strange faces in the pool they would come down and ask them to leave immediately. Usually they just had to mention the extra cost to use the Sanctuary facilities and those people would be out of there like a shot!

when I was on it. I asked and they said adults only. non paying adults were allowed.

it must have changed since then. my friend went in it every day without paying. 

[yes!yes!yes!]

9 hours ago, arxcards said:

It felt like a chlorine sauna. That could be just how it was at the time, but there was also nobody stopping the kids from using the pool either.

I haven't used a pool onboard for years.

I have a pool at home.

[lyndarra]

2 hours ago, yes!yes!yes! said:

I haven't used a pool onboard for years.

I have a pool at home.

I've occasionally used the pools but avoid hot tubs like the plague they contain. These are cruising's real petri dishes, IMHO.

I used my home pool, a couple of days ago, for the first time in years. The last two summers never seemed hot enough for me.

[OzKiwiJJ]

4 hours ago, yes!yes!yes! said:

when I was on it. I asked and they said adults only. non paying adults were allowed.

it must have changed since then. my friend went in it every day without paying. 

When were you on Coral? We had the same Sanctuary stewards on all five cruises we did in 2022 and they definitely did not allow non-Sanctuary guests to use the pool. And that makes sense as it's so tiny that it wouldn't even fit everyone who had paid for the Sanctuary if they all decided to have a dip at the same time.

[MicCanberra]

1 hour ago, lyndarra said:

I've occasionally used the pools but avoid hot tubs like the plague they contain. These are cruising's real petri dishes, IMHO.

I used my home pool, a couple of days ago, for the first time in years. The last two summers never seemed hot enough for me.

If it's windy you could put your wind surfer in it

[arxcards]

4 hours ago, yes!yes!yes! said:

I haven't used a pool onboard for years.

I have a pool at home.

When doing aquatherapy, one needs aqua. Ideally, it would be in an aft pool like the one on Grand or any of her sisters. Coral suffers in comparison.

[yes!yes!yes!]

2 hours ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

When were you on Coral? We had the same Sanctuary stewards on all five cruises we did in 2022 and they definitely did not allow non-Sanctuary guests to use the pool. And that makes sense as it's so tiny that it wouldn't even fit everyone who had paid for the Sanctuary if they all decided to have a dip at the same time.

I'm not going to argue with you. I'm telling the truth.

I was on coral for 5 cruises back to back in 2022. I think I boarded on the 2nd of August. arxcards was on one of the cruises at the same time. my friend who went swimming for free was on the last 2 cruises.

I think you went on after us.

[MicCanberra]

Deck 12 - Sanctuary pool, outdoor pool, Sanctuary guests only.

 

Deck 14 - Lotus pool, Adults only, indoor pool with retractable roof.

Lido pool outdoor pool, all ages.

[MicCanberra]

We were allowed, I.e not stopped or checked) in the Sanctuary when we cruised the WA coast and the Kimberley.

[OzKiwiJJ]

1 hour ago, yes!yes!yes! said:

I'm not going to argue with you. I'm telling the truth.

I was on coral for 5 cruises back to back in 2022. I think I boarded on the 2nd of August. arxcards was on one of the cruises at the same time. my friend who went swimming for free was on the last 2 cruises.

I think you went on after us.

Yes, we did one end of June then four from 3rd of Sept onwards with a couple of short breaks (four days and three days). I do remember on one of the cruises, 3rd Sept I think, there was a lady who sat by the pool most days. She didn't have a lounger. One of the stewards said she had been given special permission to use the pool. Maybe that was your friend? Other people on that cruise were turned away when they tried to use the pool.

[OzKiwiJJ]

24 minutes ago, MicCanberra said:

We were allowed, I.e not stopped or checked) in the Sanctuary when we cruised the WA coast and the Kimberley.

On the Round Australia cruise I think they gave up trying to keep people out if the Sanctuary during the Kimberley scenic cruising, especially while the ship was doing the 360s, but it wasn't too bad. 

 

The worst incursers were the fitness walkers who just barged through the Sanctuary, usually talking loudly to each other as they went, then had to backtrack because the gate on the port side was locked. Some people are either just oblivious to signs or totally self-entitled.

[MicCanberra]

I am a self entitled sanctuary imposter then, no locked gate, either side, but I only took some pics. I didn't use the pool or the loungers.

[yes!yes!yes!]

59 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

Yes, we did one end of June then four from 3rd of Sept onwards with a couple of short breaks (four days and three days). I do remember on one of the cruises, 3rd Sept I think, there was a lady who sat by the pool most days. She didn't have a lounger. One of the stewards said she had been given special permission to use the pool. Maybe that was your friend? Other people on that cruise were turned away when they tried to use the pool.

no my friend is an extremely large male. he was on for 10 nights in August