Coral Princess is a Coral Class Cruise ship that entered service with Princess
Cruises in early 2003. One of two Coral Class ships – the other being Island
Princess – Coral Princess was designed as a new generation Princess cruise ship
that is small enough to transit the original locks of the Panama Canal.
With the retirement of the Sun Class cruise ships in 2021,
Coral Princess is now the baby of the Princess Cruises fleet, with a tonnage of just over
91,000 tons, making her slightly smaller than Island Princess.
I recently cruised aboard Coral Princess as a guest of Princess Cruises. This trip gave
me a great opportunity to learn about the ship and its facilities, and share this with you.
So, lets go aboard Coral Princess and see why this ship remains a firm
favourite with many repeat guests twenty years after her launch.
Hi I’m Chris Frame, I make write books about maritime history and lecture aboard cruise ships,
I also make youtube videos on the topics of maritime history and cruising If this sounds
like something you’re interested in please feel free to subscribe.
We’ll start our tour of Coral Princess on Plaza Deck, the lowest entertainment deck
aboard the ship. Here you’ll find the Guest Services Desk,
where passengers can engage with Princess staff on all matters relating to the onboard experience,
just like the front desk of a Hotel. Plaza Deck is the ground floor of the ship’s central atrium,
with the large staircase and glass elevators dominating the central part of this room and
raising up several decks to create a central meeting point across the main passenger areas.
There’s plenty of seating here thanks to the nearby Good Spirits Bar,
as well as a shore excursion desk for those passengers wishing to book a tour
in person – something you can also do via the Princess Medallion App.
Just forward of the Atrium, the Bordeaux Restaurant is one of the ship’s two main
dining rooms. À la carte menus are paired with friendly service and an open seating environment,
offering a welcoming, care-free dining experience.
Take the glass elevators up one deck and Fiesta
Deck provides a wide array of passenger experiences.
Head to the aft end of the ship and you’ll find The Universal Lounge. A split-level space,
this lounge doubles as a show room in the evening, providing an alternative entertainment option to
the larger Princess Theatre found at the forward end of the ship. The rest of Fiesta Deck is
dedicated to passenger experiences, including a third lounge called Explorers. This area offers
an intimate atmosphere with a small stage and plenty of seating as well as a bar for drinks.
A photo gallery links to the ship’s Casino, complete with the International Café,
which is a popular coffee shop serving all manner of milky drinks and light meals.
Shops surround the atrium area here,
while at the forward end of the passenger deck is occupied by the Provence dining room.
Promenade Deck is where you’ll find Coral Princess’ magnificent
teak wood wrap around boat deck. The deck is wide and spacious, as well as
being sheltered – so it offers passengers a wonderful, traditional maritime experience.
The upper level of the Universal Lounge occupies the aft end of Promenade Deck,
while the forward end is home to the expansive Princess Theatre.
Complete with tiered seating, the Theatre offers excellent sight lines and modern
sound and lighting and is home to the ship’s main production shows.
Bookended by show lounges, the rest of the deck is dedicated to passenger facilities.
The Bayou Café is a key feature, with its New Orleans inspired décor,
the restaurant attracts an extra tariff and offers a themed menu that includes lobster.
Sabatini’s Italian can also be found on Promenade Deck, with an Italian inspired menu
this experience also attracts a cover charge. Heading forward, past the Fine Arts Gallery,
Crooners Bar provides drinks to patrons on comfy seating near the atrium. Churchills Lounge was
once a Cigar lounge, but has since been converted into a quiet nook with views over the boat deck
and seemed popular with readers who wanted to take in a good book with views of the sea.
The Wheelhouse Bar was probably my favourite room aboard Coral Princess. It is steeped
in maritime history from the era of P&O Princess. Princess Cruises was acquired
by P&O back in the 1970s and much of its early growth was thanks to P&O
investment. As such, many of the older Princess Cruises ships carry P&O-era memorabilia, and the
Wheelhouse Bar is one of those sea going treasure troves, with models, paintings,
posters, and even a ship’s bell. It also serves drinks and is a great spot for meeting friends.
Next we will move up to Emerald Deck, but before we do… did you know that we have a
tee mill merch store selling cruise clothing made from ethically sourced
cotton. You can choose from our Sea You On Board range or our classic liner logo. We
have both summer and winter ranges and every sale helps the channel, so check it out at
chrisframeofficial.teemill.com – thanks in advance!
Emerald Deck is home to many passenger cabins, each equipped with the Medallion Class smart
entry system. In fact, all cabins and staterooms aboard Coral Princess are medallion enabled.
There’s also some passenger amenities here, surrounding the atrium including
the Card Room and a very poorly stocked Library – Princess our books would be a great edition to
help boost the collection – hint hint! An internet café sits forward of the atrium,
which seems like a bit of a throwback to 2002 as most passengers used their own
devices. Coral Princess had very good internet speeds – the best I’d seen at sea recently – and
coverage is of a good standard throughout the ship so full marks to Princess here.
The next few decks – Dolphin, Baja and Aloha are mainly dedicated to cabins,
however the Kids Club zone and Sanctuary Pool are found at the aft end of Aloha deck.
Lido Deck sees another action-packed collection of amenities, starting with
the Sanctuary – an adults only zone at the aft end of the ship. Here you can escape
the pace of the main passenger areas and relax in a quiet, private retreat.
A well stocked fitness centre links into the near by beauty salon,
which includes a thermal spa suite and saunas. This area leads through to the Lotus Pool,
complete with hot tub jaccuzis. It is also accessible from the deck above,
and has a glass magrodome that allows it to be used in all weather conditions.
Around one hundred metres forward the Lido Pool offers an alternative swimming option. At the
forward end of Lido Deck, you’ll find the Horizon Court, Coral Princess’ alfresco restaurant.
This is a great place to grab a casual bite, with lots of options across a variety of cuisines.
Sun Deck is a great place to take in the views, with a large open deck space.
It is also home to movies under the stars, thanks to the large screen just forward of the funnel.
At the forward end of Sun Deck, The Bar and Grill offers casual bites,
including burgers, hot dogs and freshly made pizzas.
And finally, Sports Deck – the smallest aboard Coral Princess – provides a blend
of relaxation and recreation, with the intimate spash pool area at the forward end of the deck
juxtaposed by the energetic sports centre at the aft – complete with basketball court!
Coral Princess is a charming ship with lots of great public spaces aboard. I thoroughly enjoyed
my time aboard and would rate the ship among my favourites in the Australian cruise market.
Shortcomings such as the understocked library could easily be overcome,
while delighters such as multiple show lounges,
great dining options and spacious cabins make for a highly enjoyable cruise.
Thanks again to Princess Cruises for providing the opportunity
to sail aboard and share with my youtube subscribers. If you haven’t subscribed yet,
hit the subscribe button and let me know what you think of Coral Princess in the comments below.
Thanks for watching and until next time, I hope to sea you aboard.