Coral Princess - The Ship, and the Entertainment

We have always wanted to go on a Princess Cruise so when the opportunity arose and it was my birthday, we took it. It was only a short 5 night cruise and even though we tried to fit everything in and experience all parts of the ship, I'm not sure that we did. Guess we will have to do another Princess Cruise.

 

Ship Details:- Built in 2002 with 1000 cabins, Coral Princess' first cruise was in January 2003. The ship was refurbished in 2019.

Number of decks: 16

Guests: on our cruise it was just over 2000

Crew: 895

Length: 965 feet - Height: 203 feet

Interesting fact: Coral Princess uses gas turbine propulsion.

Its a beautiful ship - well, we have yet to be on a ship that we didn't like. Each space was beautifully presented and we tried to visit each space.

Deck 5 - Plaza Deck - had one of the main dining rooms -Bordeaux, the atrium, guest services (which had a long line most days), and Good Spirits at Seas. There were also cabins on this level.

The Atrium was beautiful. There were two glass lifts that went from Deck 5 to Deck 8.

I took so many photos. There were often musicians playing there.

 

The Good Spirits at Sea bar was often full, we did manage to sit there one evening while waiting for the dining room queue to lessen. Can't believe I didn't take any photos!

There were also seating lounges between the Good Spirits and the Guest Relations deck. 

Deck 6 Fiesta Deck, had the other main dining room, Provence, - we'll try that next time, the shops, photo gallery, casino (5 days wasn't long enough to try the casino), International Cafe, Explorers Lounge, Universe Lounge. There are also cabins behind the casino.

We walked through the casino a few times, and discovered the International Cafe late in our 5 day cruise. We had walked through it, and other than getting a latte and hot chocolate, we didn't notice any food until the last morning - more about that in the next blog - food. 

 

We spent a lot of time in the Explorers Lounge. 

A lot of the trivia and games were located there.

We didn't win anything, but it was great fun

The walk down the ship, past the photo area was lined with comfy lounges with ocean views on one side and the Explorers Lounge on the other.

We often had our morning coffee/hot chocolate here, as it was not far from the cafe and if there were seats available it was lovely to sit and watch the sea go by.

The interior of the Explorers Lounge was very interesting.

Our routine each day was: breakfast, daytime activities and lunch, dinner, show, games, bed. One night after dinner we were in the Explorers Lounge for a game and when it finished Peter decided to stay for the disco. I said I was going to bed, but walked past the Universe Lounge where a band was playing, so I stayed a bit, texted Peter to come down. The Pop Band Cruise Control, was really good.

We saw them later in the cruise in the Wheelhouse Lounge. When they finished we went back to the Explorers Lounge for the disco - no one was there except for the Entertainment staff. So we had a chat, and then Jonnie used his Medallion App to find us and came down for a dance. The Universe Lounge was also where the bingo games took place. and some trivia.

Here we are waiting for bingo to finish and Let's Quiz Again trivia to start.

Deck 7 Promenade - This is the deck we embarked on, and is the deck with the continuous outside walking deck. The front of the ship has the Princess Theatre, which was smaller than we thought it would be although every time we went there it was never full. Evening shows were performed twice, once at 7.30pm and the other at 9.30pm. The first night was a comedian, Andre King. He was very good as most of the jokes were new to us. He also played the next night in the Universe Lounge. The second night was a production show Encore, again very good. The singers were amazing, we were surprised however that the scenery never changed, only the lighting. Third night was an instrumentalist, but we chose to go Fill in the Blank Game Show (Blankety Blanks) and Motown Trivia. Fourth night was a soloist but it was also State of Origin, we chose football. The last show was another Production Show: Motor City. That was good also, mostly Motown songs. We really liked the little tables that came out between the seats for drinks. The venue was a 'Sip and Cover' venue, which meant mask off to sip your drink and mask back on. There was no bar service in the Theatre, one had to walk to the Wheelhouse Bar.

I went to the theatre one day for an Enrichment Talk, which was interesting. 

Wheelhouse Bar was next to the theatre and played music in the evenings. It was a good go to place before and after the shows. It was usually full before the show, and almost empty after the show.

We sat there often during the day just to read and look out the window, although the window seats are not as comfy as the other seats there.

 

There was, what we call, a secret room there that had a lot of history of P&O cruising. Really interesting,  and just inside Wheelhouse Bar near the lifts. 

We did play Jenga in the Wheelhouse Bar and Peter and Jonnie won a coaster each (which of course I got Peter's).

After Wheelhouse Bar is the Atrium again

and Churchill's Cigar Lounge - which is not a cigar lounge in Australia, and Crooners Bar, which we really liked. It is a piano bar and has really cool decor.

 The Crooners Bar was often crowded but we did manage to find a few seats one day and sat with a solo traveller who was on his second cruise of 5 back to back cruises. How we wish we could afford that.

Walking towards the back of the ship, just after the Crooners Bar, is this lovely seating for two area. Great to sit and read, and not far from the bar.

Next is the Art Gallery and behind that is the Chapel. We didn't get to the chapel for a look - just forgot it was there. Shame because we like visiting the chapels. Sabatini's Italian Trattoria and Bayou Cafe & Steakhouse, both extra charge, are on this deck. The Bayou Cafe was sometimes used for craft lessons. We have no idea what the crafts were as the 'Princess Patter (the daily news sheet) only listed 'Arts and Craft' Craft of the Day. Should have gone to one just to see, but there was always something else on at the same time.

Right at the back is the upper level of the Universe Lounge.

 

Deck 8 - Emerald, is mostly staterooms. In the centre is the Atrium and houses the Internet Cafe, Card Room - with games and packets of cards, and a quite substantial Library. The daily suduku, crosswords and name quizzes were also found there.

Deck 9 - Dolphin was all staterooms.

Deck 10 - Caribe, staterooms.

Deck 11 - Baja, staterooms.

Deck 12 - Aloha, our deck, has staterooms and the 'kids clubs':The Beach House Teen Lounge, The Lodge at Camp Discovery, and The Treehouse at Camp Discovery. We saw a couple of kids the first day, but that was it. This was a cruise with most people older than us - and we are old!! Deck 12 also has the Sanctuary Pool, which is an adult only pool and was closed while we were cruising. That would be the best pool in summer.

Deck 14 - Lido Deck (no deck 13) From the front of the ship is the buffet dining area, Horizon Court, including Amuleto sweets bar. More about that next blog - food. Outside the Horizon Court is the Princess Pizzera. We tried it one day, just to try it - it was ok. Lido Bar, Lido Pool were always empty of passengers. We sat at the Lido Pool at the first Sail Away. It was cold and not many people around, but the drinks were good.

The Lido Bar didn't have a lot of customers, and the staff were always ready to serve.

The pool looked beautiful, and it was July, the middle of winter, and it was way too cold to swim. However, there is a movie screen that shows movies most days. Jonnie went to a couple of movies and got pool towels to keep him warm.

  

The next area on the Lido Deck was the Lotus Bar, pool and Spa.

This was Jonnie's favourite area. Not only did it have the ice-cream bar, but it also had an undercover pool, which Jonnie used a couple of times. 

This is also an adults only area so it is strange that the ice-cream bar is located there.

The back of the ship is the Lotus Spa that includes the beauty salon, fitness center, and treatment rooms.

Deck 15 - Sun Deck. This is another deck that one can walk around. It is above the pool (Lido) deck and has a bar and grill, which was closed the whole cruise.

It also has the upper level of the Lotus pool area, and the upper level of the Sanctuary. I think the back end of this deck was also the smoking area as it was above our stateroom, and on port days we could smell the smoke. The Sanctuary looked beautiful but was closed. Would really like to enjoy that part of the ship another time.

Deck 16 - Sports Deck. I didn't go up there - should have, but I thought I had been to all decks, but I hadn't. It has a chess set, shuffleboard, and basketball court at the back of the ship. The front of deck 16 had a splash pool. Next time.....

The Coral Princess is really a beautiful ship and the staff are absolutely amazing. Everywhere in the ship was clean and staff always said hello and I'm sure they were smiling under their masks.

Next blog will be All About The Food & Drinks on the Coral Princess.

What Will We Do Next? - Entertainment and Activities

People go on cruises for many different reasons. One reason is the included activities and entertainment. There is always something going on in different areas of the ship.

Some like to spend each day in and around the pools on deck 14. There is a kids splash area and outside pool, as well as an under cover pool, and a great indoor adults only solarium with small plunge pools, three levels of relaxing sit in pools, and hot tubs. Usually on cruises with an adults only area there are children, either sitting with their parents or running through. The Solarium is not a thorough fare, and therefore we saw no children at any time we were there. There were some noisy adults, but most of the time it was a relaxing quiet place to be, especially on port days.

The Royal Casino on deck 3 is also a popular venue at all hours of the day and night. We were heading back to the cabin about midnight one night when we passed a lady who was on her way to the casino. Peter enjoyed a flutter a few times during the cruise.

Included in the cost of the cruise, but need to be booked, are: The North Star, I-Fly, and Pixels. We used the app to pre-book all three about 8 weeks before the cruise. The North Star went high above the ship and swung out to the sides over the water. The views of the ship were amazing. We arrived 10 minutes before our booked time and were second in the booked line queue. There was also a queue for those who hadn't booked, just in case there was room. It went a long way around one side of the pool (the smoking side - yuk) and some did get on our booking time. We had planned to go on it again, but there was always something else to do.

Pixels we had booked for the first evening. It does not run every night, but on the nights it does there are usually two shows. The first show was already booked so we were booked into the 10.45pm show. Late I know, but being first night I knew we would be up for it. After dinner we went straight to Two70 on deck 5, for the show. It would have been about 9.30pm and all the front seats were already taken. However, we did get a good table right in the centre. The show was good with real people as well as the robot screens in the production. We would go and see it again another time.

I wasn't going to do the ifly on deck 16, but Peter and Jonnie wanted to do it. They both liked it and Jonnie said he would do it again.

Also on deck 16, right at the back of the ship is the Flowrider - we didn't do it, but it was good to watch.

The Seaplex on deck 16 is where the bumper cars operate. The queues were really long for that. We the bumper cars aren't operating, it is a roller skating rink or basket ball courts or trapeze training. Always something going on in the Seaplex.

There is a rock climbing wall, and shuffle board, a library with cards and board games - always hard to get a seat in the library. Each evening there was a show at 6.30pm, usually repeated at 8.30pm. We went to all the shows but one, and enjoyed each one. There were two Production shows on the cruise and we were surprised there wasn't three on a 12 night cruise. The Beautiful Dream was very good and I think if I see it again I would see more detail of the story.

The other production show, Live.Love.Legs. was like a Vegas showgirl show. It was ok, although I believe it was a a shortened version due to the rocking of the ship. It had been cancelled from the night before due to the rocking. Many of the shows were comedians and they were funny.

The Aussie Boys were excellent and sang all Aussie songs.

Other evening activities were bands and musicians in the bars and lounges. Our 'go to' places were Two70, and the Music Hall. Two70 during the day had music, trivia, enrichment programmes and movies - it also had the wonderful view out the back of the ship. At night it became a disco and also had themed shows. The back windows that gave us a wonderful view during the day became a wide screen at night.

Seats were sometimes hard to find in Two70, especially if Bingo was going to be held 1-2 hours later.

We sailed at the end of October, so had a Halloween party in Two70. We went straight after dinner and could only get a seat at the back behind the tables. It was very crowded.

Our other go to place, especially at night was the Music Hall. I loved this venue. One could always get a seat, although not always with a view of the stage.

 The bands here were very good at night.

The Music Hall is on two decks 3 and 4. Deck 3 has a dance floor, stage and bar. Deck 4 has pool tables and a bar. Trivia and enrichment talks were also held here. I went to a few trivia's and all the enrichment talks which were about the bushranger Ben Hall. 

Boleros bar we sometimes went to before dinner. Peter liked their daiquiris. Schooner bar was always packed and the only time to get a seat in the evening was late at night. Kelly, the pianist, was very popular.   

 The Amber & Oak pub had live music at night and was also packed. We never got seats there at night. Did I say it is a big ship?!?!?

 I have probably left a lot of activities out. There is an Escape Room and on the last sea day the Two70 hosted a 60 minute mystery which was hard and very interesting working in groups. Just so much to do - if you want to do it.