Coral Mini vs. Balcony Cabin

[custompcsys]

If this question has been asked before please accept my apologies, but the search function was giving me grief! I am looking at the Coral 10-day Panama Canal itinerary for next April, and saw there wasn't a huge price difference between a balcony and a mini-suite (about $380 for the cabin). This money could certainly represent a few shore excursions and additional cold ones, so I didn't want to spend the money if the difference isn't worth it.

 

Is a mini worth the extra bucks over a balcony cabin? Also, is a mini on the Dolphin deck vs a balcony on the Caribe deck ok? And lastly, is a balcony even worth it on this itinerary? I did Alaska last summer and cursed myself for not having a balcony, so I went for one on my Baltic cruise for this June. Opinions would be appreciated. Thanks! :)

[ship2ship]

My husband and I and our two children had a minisuite on the Coral a couple of years ago for the Panama Canal-- the added room makes a difference when you are talking 4 people. If you check it out, for a given room/minisuite, I believe the overall room/balcony size is a bit smaller on the Coral than some of the other Princess ships. I am a big balcony fan so I wouldn't do it any other way-- I enjoyed the entry into the Canal from our balcony (in addition to going forward to the front of the ship-- on our floor (cannot remember which one) you could go directly out to the front-- this was very convenient and not as crowded as the upper public deck). Have a great time.

[mii]

Having been on the Coral I can safely say that I would choose the mini for the extra room, you have a combination tub and shower and as much as I like the Coral, the balcony showers are a little narrow. Lets just say do not drop the soap. I would take the mini in a heartbeat.

 

Marilyn

[Druke I]

The mini-suites on Coral & Island Princess, while not as large as the mini-suites on the Sun class vessels, are certainly more than adequate, and the extra space in the bedroom and bathroom is well worth the higher per diem, in my opinion.

 

If you can swing it - go for it.

[cruzzers]

We just booked on the Coral for next Feb and have a balcony room, mid-ship on the bump-out section of the Baha deck. Does anyone have any information about what those rooms look like or how big the balconies are?

[Iamthesea]

We had one on the Dolphin during our Panama Canal cruise and it's a must! Ours was near the aft, so we could also go out back to the public deck and watch the locks close.

 

Not only will you get a little more room, you also get a larger bathroom.

[Tom O.]

You might want to take a look at:

http://mysite.verizon.net/res76zxu/princessbalconies/

 

There is some information and pictures that will help you decide. I think you need to know the exact location of the two cabins in question before deciding.

[A1Mema]

Just disembarked yesterday from the Coral after ten days on the Panama Canal cruise. It was the best vacation we've ever taken! We had a minisuite and would definitely choose it again. C416 was the first cabin on the bumpout so we could look straight out to the front of the ship. If you're in the middle of the bumpout, you can only look to the sides unless you lean over.

 

The balconies are small - two chairs and a table - but more than adequate for sitting out and enjoying the air, the view, the ambiance.

 

The added sitting area - a couch, chair, and table - is wonderful when you want to hang out in the cabin. There are two TVs, one facing the beds and the other facing the sitting area.

 

And the bathroom with a full size tub is definitely a plus. Another family came to see it and said they were sorry they had taken the balcony cabin instead of the mini suite. Felt the additional money would have been well worth it.

 

Dottie

[cruzzers]

Tom O.....Thanks so much for sharing the pictures. Looks like you spent alot of time doing this. I got to see exactly where our room will be located and you had a nice shot of the balcony. Now we know we made a good decision in our room choice.

[Seal]

We had a mini on the Dolphin deck on the Coral for a canal transit--not only is it larger and the bathroom is larger and has a bath tub--the best is that from your Dolphin balcony you can look right into the canal and see the edge about 18" from you

 

The Dolphin Deck is just above the life boats and sticks out further than the decks above you, perfect for viewing:D

 

Happy Sailing

 

Nancy

[custompcsys]

Thanks for all the input folks! Sounds like depending on location, the mini is the way to go as long as the money gods cooperate! :)

[TommyC]

Tom O - thanks very much. Excellent website - makes it all a lot clearer. I think I'm going to see if I can now change cabins for an upcoming IP cruise.

[Cruiseteach]

We just did the Panama Canal cruise last month. We had a mini on the Dolphin deck. I would take that cabin again in a heartbeat. The "lack of privacy" was never an issue.There was no rain of cigarette butts, etc., and no one peering over at us. I liked having the sun, and it made the cabin itself much brighter. Some people we met had a covered balcony and felt it made the cabin a bit dark. As has already been said, the Dolphin deck sticks out further than any other and makes the Canal transit very "upclose and personal". I wouldn't want a higher deck. We have previously done balcony cabins on the old Crown and on the Royal. There was so much more room in a mini. It is well worth the few extra dollars.

As for what the rooms look like, a previolus poster about two weeks ago had some excellent photos. I don't remember the thread, though.

[Iamthesea]

I'm not sure if this will work, but here is a link to my Coral Mini Suite photo's:

http://www.kodakgallery.com/BrowsePhotos.jsp?&collid=49919359705.832344349205.1144264724650&page=1&sort_order=0&albumsperpage=12&navfolderid=0&ownerid=0

 

The bottom half of the page has photo's of the HAL SS suite.

[Cruiseteach]

Iam- The site seemed to be password protected. :(

[Iamthesea]

Let's try this one:

http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slideshow.jsp?Uc=mxkp4gp.amdgc26t&Uy=je8zkt&Upost_signin=Slideshow.jsp%3Fmode%3Dfromshare&Ux=0&mode=fromshare&conn_speed=1

[Kirsten T]

If the money gods don't come through, consider one of the aft standard (BE) veranda cabins on Emerald. I'd enjoyed 5 years of Sky Suites on Celebrity before trying Princess, and was pretty sure I'd miss the perks and the extra space, but was very pleasantly surprised. I've had E710 twice now and just booked E625 for next year. The verandas in these cabins are much larger than the standard due to being located within the aft superstructure; they're also more private, again because of the full bulkhead between every 2-4 verandas (depends on location.) The cabin is exactly the same as all other standard veranda categories - beds, chair and desk, very small bathroom, stall shower only. It's a walk to get to the buffet (I count that as a good thing.) But there's plenty of storage space for 2, and the location is excellent for the canal transit. Upon entering the locks you're face-to-face with the canal workers and locomotives. It's a short walk to the stern where you're right in front of the massive gates closing behind you, with a beautiful view of any ship next to or behind Coral. If a bigger, private veranda, close proximity to the canal, good location for the public decks, and saving some money appeals, you'd be happy with an aft BE on Emerald. I think they're a heck of a good deal - half what we were paying for 7 days in a Celebrity suite! (I kind of miss Celebrity's whirlpool bathtub, but ... not when I see the Visa bill.)

You'll love Coral, she's a beauty! Cheers,

Kirsten

[patperry]

I'm on the Coral departing on April 13. We've got a Baja balcony, midship at the bump out. I'll let you know how we like it and try to take some pictures too !