CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING BEFORE MAKING A CRUISE ON THE CORAL PRINCESS

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Reviews: 2

Helpful Votes: 8

Review summary

PRINCESS MEDALLION CLASS: THE SO-CALLED PRINCESS MEDALLION CLASS (SYSTEM) IS MANDATORY AND APPEARS TO BE A SCAM AND A LICENCE FOR PRINCESS TO PRINT MONEY AT YOUR EXPENSE. ANY STAFF MEMBER CAN CHARGE ANY AMOUNT TO YOUR ACCOUNT AT ANY TIME – YOU CANNOT SIGN FOR ANY CHARGES AND YOU DO NOT GET A COPY OF, OR ANY DETAILS OF ANY ITEMS CHARGED TO YOUR ACCOUNT ! We queried 8 or 9 items on our bill and most were acknowledged AS BOGUS AND WERE WITHDRAWN ! The MEDALLION appears to also used to spy on you – THEY USE IT TO KNOW EXACTLY WHERE YOU ARE AND WHAT YOU’RE DOING AT ALL TIMES ! THE FOOD: THE FOOD AT THE CAFETERIA (HORIZONS) IS THE BEST OF A VERY AVERAGE LOT ON THE SHIP. HERE YOU WILL FIND THE MOST CHOICES PLUS THE FOOD QUALITY, WHILST VERY AVERAGE, IS BY FAR SUPERIOR TO THAT IN THE DINING ROOMS. The food we were served in the dining rooms was RATHER PATHETIC BOTH IN CHOICE AND QUALITY. THE SHIP: The old, drab and poorly-designed ship Coral Princess is way past its “Use by” date and in our opinion, should have been scrapped or sunk years ago. THE CABINS: We had a “mini-suite” on deck 11 and found it VERY SMALL, POKEY AND DRAB IN APPEARANCE. I need to use a walker for balance and mobility reasons and our cabin doorway was so narrow, I WAS FORCED TO FOLD MY WALKER UP EACH TIME JUST TO GET IT INTO OUR CABIN. The bed was comfortable but THE PILLOWS WERE PITIFUL. THERE WAS ONLY ONE TINY GRAB RAIL IN THE SHOWER. IT IS QUITE A CHALLENGE TO HAVE A SHOWER WITHOUT ALSO HAVING A SERIOUS FALL, IF YOU ARE ELDERLY OR UNSTEADY ON YOUR FEET. EXCURSIONS (Princess organised) We went on the “Devonport Village & Auckland’s North Shore” Princess excursion. After driving around for a little over 3 hours, I asked the driver if we could stop for food or at least a drink. I advised him that, as a diabetic, I needed to have food or at least a drink every 3 hours. His reply was “I AM CONTRACTED BY PRINCESS TO DRIVE YOU AROUND FOR 3 ½ HOURS AND THAT’S WHAT I’M GOING TO DO” When other passengers also asked about a food/drink stop, the driver’s response was “I’VE NEVER HAD SUCH A GRUMPY LOT OF OLD BASTARDS AS YOU LOT” However, he drove us to a wharf with shops and stated “Everyone who wants food or drink, get off here. About half the passengers got off the bus there. When I asked him how we would get back to the ship, his reply was “THAT’S YOUR PROBLEM” After having a snack and a drink, we managed to catch a ferry across the harbour and return to the ship As a result of this experience, my wife then immediately cancelled all other booked excursions except the “TE PAPA MUSEUM AND CABLE CAR” in Wellington, as soon as she returned to the ship. THE STAFF: Our cabin steward seemed to try hard but was very forgetful and WE HAD TO OFTEN ASK EVEN FOR BASICS. On the positive side, we did ENCOUNTER SOME AMAZING STAFF (ESPECIALLY THOSE FROM BRAZIL AND INDIA). THEY HAD AN EXCELLENT “NOTHING WAS A PROBLEM ATTITUDE” ACCOMPANIED BY A MARVELLOUS SMILE AND WERE ALWAYS COMPETENT, POLITE, COURTEOUS AND RESPECTFUL. SMOKING AREAS: If you are a smoker, don’t even consider a cruise on this ship ! There are ONLY TWO SMOKING AREAS – tiny wind and rain-swept areas out on deck, at either end of the ship. The one at the front of the ship is on deck 15 that is ACCESSIBLE ONLY BY A STEEP FLIGHT OF STAIRS ! SMOKING IN THE PURPOSE-BUILT FOR SMOKING, CHURCHILL CIGAR LOUNGE IS NOW BANNED – I wonder whose stupid idea that was ! ROOM SERVICE: We used room service on 3 occasions. Each time or order was ridiculously incomplete – ABSOLUTELY INCOMPETENT AND HOPELESS ! First day: They sent one cup only and no sugar even though two teas with sugar were ordered ! Second day: They sent one cup only again and no butter or marmalade which was again specifically ordered ! Third day: No toast or butter was received even though again these were specifically ordered ! I MEAN HOW HARD IS IT TO ASSEMBLE TEA AND TOAST FOR TWO ? DISEMBARKATION AND LUGGAGE HANDLING: They managed to COMPLETELY TRASH AND RIP OUR SUIT BAG (see pic below) containing tuxedo and reefer jacket on the journey between our cabin and the luggage collection are onshore.

Embarkation

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

Onboard Activities

Service and Staff

Ship Quality

Cabin / Stateroom

Ports of call

Brisbane, Australia

Auckland, New Zealand

Tauranga, New Zealand

Napier, New Zealand

Wellington, New Zealand

Port Chalmers (Dunedin), New Zealand

Cruise Fjordland National Park

Disembarkation