Sapphire or Coral

[wdw_dave]

We are taking an Alaska cruise in 08. Myself, DW, and DS's 7.5 and 6. My wife and I have been on the Grand the first year it was out and enjoyed it. It has been our only Princess cruise as we are RCCL frequent cruisers. But my investigating shows Princess does Alaska better. So which ship would you choose and why? I am especially intereted in any comments on the kid / family areas.

 

Thanks

 

Dave O.

[secretcastle]

Dave - we just got back from the Coral from FLL to LA and then we switched ships to the Sapphire for LA to Vancouver and just arrived home this morning. We would choose the Coral again in a heartbeat, probably not the Sapphire again. It is much more crowded (both our cruises were fully booked) and not as well set up. Having said that, I don't know too much about the kid's facilities. Our Coral trip had only 12 children on board as it was a longer (16 days) cruise. Also, the cruise staff on the Coral had a lot more energy and were so much more fun to be around for everyone. Both ships have kids programs , and kids only areas, and I am sure it varies based on how many kids are on board.

Either way,I am sure you will have a great cruise.

Julia

[captainron]

Hi,

Coral hands down. As Julia did this year we did in May 06 FLL/SFO/YVR.

 

Coral is so well laid out/designed that even with a full complement of pax, you can go to different parts of the ship and not feel overwhelmed by the multitudes (which on Coral you seldom see).

 

Also in checking the threads on CDs Coral seems to get some super CDs for her longer itineraries.

 

Ciao for now!!!

[LARGIN]

Coral in a heartbeat

[2Ports]

Coral!

 

Wow - just hit 600!

[OuiOnboard]

Coral seems less crowded to us....and seems to ride better in rough conditions than the Grand class ships. But in the end, we're happy just to be on board.

[Cruise Gypsy]

We have been on the Island (sister of the Coral) and the Sapphire and if I was going to book an Alaska Cruise I would probably book the Coral. We loved the interiors of the Island with it's four story atrium and general seatings areas.

 

But if the Sapphire works better for you - you will be happy with that choice as well. Our favorite area on the Sapphire was the Wakeview Bar since most people don't know about it.:D

[Coral]

Coral and Island Princess!

 

If you are familiar with the Radiance class, these are pretty similiar.

[Druke I]

I for one would choose a Coral class any day before a Grand class.

 

I am not a fan of the megaships.

[fti]

I sailed the Diamond (sister to the Sapphire) last year in AK. Even though it was a "big" ship, there was lots of room in the public areas and we never felt crowded. Spent a lot of time on the promenade deck and very few people were ever out there. It fit our time frame and itinerary priorities and we really enjoyed it.

[hazeleyez3]

We have been on the Island (sister of the Coral) and the Sapphire and if I was going to book an Alaska Cruise I would probably book the Coral. We loved the interiors of the Island with it's four story atrium and general seatings areas.

 

But if the Sapphire works better for you - you will be happy with that choice as well. Our favorite area on the Sapphire was the Wakeview Bar since most people don't know about it.:D

 

So where can we find the Wakeview Bar?

[pamwinn]

It is located under club fusion. You get to it by walking through club fusion and going down a staircase that is located near the dance floor as I recall. It is a little claustrophobic in there though. I have never seen anyone in there at all.

[secretcastle]

we also loved going into the Wakeview bar. The bar part was not open whenever we went in there, but it was a great little place to escape from everything for a little while. We had a hard time finding it at first, they had a bingo game on in Club Fusion, and we had to walk right up to the front beside the cruisestaff to access the stairs.

julia

[NancyIL]

We were on an RCI Radiance-class ship in 2005 (Jewel OTS) and loved it, so I'm really looking forward to our Alaska cruise on the Coral Princess - 2 weeks from today! :)

[mii]

I have sailed both the Coral and Sapphire and while both had their good points I would personally sail the Coral in a heartbeat. It is just the right size(1950 passenger).

 

Marilyn