Princess Cruises Coral Princess

Huge Disappointment – We have completed a cruise of 27 nights around Australia 2nd March to 29th March 2024 on the Coral Princess, a ship approximately 22 years old, and showing it. This cruise was to be our trip of a lifetime, however, turned out to be anything but. We departed and returned to Brisbane. Our first issue was the balcony cabin we were allocated, Cabin… Read more

B718, which suffered from engine vibration so bad that a good night's sleep was near impossible. Not even the pillows could absorb the vibration through the bed. We had noticed when we first entered the cabin that a piece of folded cardboard had been placed between the ceiling and one of the wall pillars, obviously to try and stop the rattling between the two components. That should have given us a clue to the conditions we were to encounter. On awakening on our first morning, we found that the carpet in our cabin along the sliding door to the balcony and the carpet between the bathroom and the area for hanging our clothes was soaking wet. We reported this to the Guest Services desk staff, and it was found that a water pipe between our cabin and the adjoining cabin had burst or leaked causing our cabin to flood. Most probably from the incessant vibrations. The next issue we had was the sink in our bathroom which would not drain properly. The water would sit for around five plus minutes before draining away. We again notified the Service Desk staff of this issue and low and behold, 20 days into our trip a serviceman came and cleared the offending clogged drain with a rubber plunger. For the first 5 days of our cruise, the water temperature in the shower could not be regulated and had only boiling hot water available regardless of any adjustment of the hot or cold controls. Talking with other passengers enlightened us to the fact that this was affecting all cabins from decks 9 to 12. On the 5th day this was also finally fixed. Another disappointment was missing out on the planned scenic cruising through the Kimberley region due to and medical emergency requiring us to return to Darwin to take the unfortunate persons to Darwin Hospital resulting in us having to miss this part of the cruise to get back on schedule with our port of call at Exmouth. While this was disappointing, we fully understand that human wellbeing was a priority and do not hold Princess Cruises to account for this unfortunate disruption to our cruise. THEN, prior to getting to Exmouth I became unwell and tested positive to Covid-19 which required me to quarantine in my cabin for the next few days, missing out on shore excursions in Exmouth and Geraldton. This I put down to the fact that the Horizon food court, which operates in a buffet style, allowed passengers to self-serve and share the utensils to place food on their plates, rather than being served by staff. My wife then tested positive to Covid-19 two days after myself and was also quarantined to our cabin. I acknowledge that Princess has given both myself and my wife a future cruise credit to the value of the two days fare each that we were both quarantined, to be used as part payment of the fare on any cruise booked before the 25th March 2025. At this stage we are unsure if we are prepared to gamble on another cruise with Princess after this debacle. But this was not to be the end of the issues, oh no, on the 19th day of our cruise we awoke to find that we had no water supply to our cabin at all, not to the sink or the shower. We later found out that a main water pipe had burst and that no cabins on decks 9 to 12 had any water, this took just over half a day to be rectified, so a few un-showered and stinky passenger wandering the ship. Another issue was the loss of live TV coverage for 10 days of the cruise due to a problem with the ships satellite TV reception. We have been so disappointed with this experience, especially after having done a cruise on the old Sea Princess in 2019 to New Zealand and having had a fantastic trip and therefore expecting the same again on our Princess cruise around Australia. We have done a number of cruises with P&O, the sister company, in the past, and had found Princess to be a little "upmarket" on our previous trip to New Zealand, but wow, it would seem that things have really gone downhill since then. It is such a shame that with the cruise industry in Australia seemingly being in ever increasing demand, that Australians are rewarded with old and age ravaged ships compared to other overseas countries.

Smooth sailing on a beautiful ship – I have just completed a 10 day Papua new Guinea cruise on the coral princess. Medallion worked fine. If you check your journey account and find any charges that shouldn't apply to you they will fix it straight away. Smokers have 3 areas. Deck fifteen can be accessed from the back lift and you can walk to it without having to use stairs. Contrary… Read more

to what other people have said about waiting for refunds one of my shore tours was cancelled due to civil unrest in Rabual and I was refunded straight away. While the ship may be old it was still most beautiful. Lovingly decorated for xmas. It is so nice to have everything done for you. No cooking, cleaning or making your bed. Staff were so friendly and accommodating. Nothing was too much trouble. So many new movies to watch for free on room TV. Was amazing set up on the TV. I have heard some cruise lines charge for their movie. So sad of them. Food on coral princess was perfect. We had Bayou Cafe which was outstanding and they also had crab shack on one night of the cruise. Shows were spectacular. I could go on and on but I will just say I had nothing to complain about. For future cruisers it's always good to do your homework and take a look at the deck plans for things like disability access rooms and easier ways to get around the ship you are boarding.

CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING BEFORE MAKING A CRUISE ON THE CORAL PRINCESS – 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… Read more

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.

Refund Nightmare !!! – Travelled from Brisbane to NZ back in January 2023 as a solo passenger, cruise was faultless but ship had to change course due to bad weather and shore excursions were cancelled. I’ve phoned, emailed and used on line chat to try and get my refund back !! Firstly telling me each time it will take three months to get the refund, it’s been over three… Read more

months now and still getting excuses!! Nothing been followed up as stated from consultants. I don’t think I’ll ever get it back, I’m so disappointed with this cruise line and wanted to book another cruise with them but won’t do it for that reason. I spent a lot of money on that cruise being a solo passenger that I saved for …. For a very long time, I will never book with them again and thinking about exposing them to A Current Affair. We pay good money up front for these things and they won’t refund money owing to us!! Shame on you Princess Cruises!! And why don’t you reply to people’s reviews ???? Worse cruise line ever !!!!! 1 star rating because of this.

Crap compared to the other ships we have sailed in – Hi i have just removed my previous comments , and how our cruise is all over this is what we found. Boarding well they need to get a new system as it was a nightmare for all, people jamming up the entry before their turn to board and no communication to stop this happening , to be fair they should have four lanes an elite lane a platinum lane and… Read more

ruby lane and gold lane with signage as people knew what type of medalion they came under this would have been a fairer method than what went on Covid is everywhere, when you sit in the dining room you can hear the people who do not want to report it coughing and sneezing into their masks, the reason they don't report it is that they do not want to be quarantined , and of the others that have reported it would amount to nearly half the ship. Balcony we had a mini suite and the balcony was so uninviting one did not want to spend time on it , i don't know if a dog would even enjoy it, when we first arrived at our cabin I had trouble opening the balcony door let alone close it after , they did fix it when two of the staff could not close it either Cabin fridge well on this subject they may as well have no fridge at all , we reported on day one that it was not working and on day fourteen no different even though they told us that a replacement had been asked for Cleanliness the balcony was dirty and uninviting the show over bath was mouldy (photos available )and i don't think our room was vacuumed to often because the mess on the floor where they fixed the door was there on day fourteen Meals in the buffet or horizon court where we had our meals were not up to the usual standard for a cruise ship i would go as far to say it would be hard to pick the best from the chew it and spew it that used to be at kings cross and the meals at horizon court, but the deserts were pretty good which won a few points for them The medical staff well what can one say they do not know weather they are Arthur or Martha, my wife contracted covid so was quarantined but I could wander over the ship, i thought this was strange because I was a close contact so was our cabin steward, but I was told later they had made a mistake and I was quarantined but the cabin steward was still free to do the cabins my mind has not stopped boggling my advice to people who want to cruise is not to, now that was hard for me to say as we love cruising but it is not the same as it was before covid. I think my mind could be changed if the industry took the time between cruises to clean cabins and disinfect the ship say 1 week to do it right, but greed and port charges will not allow this so the virus will remain rampant aboard these ships BEST of luck if you take the chance

Great Cruise, TERRIBLE after Cruise service – We were both VERY PLEASED with the cruise - around Australia on the Coral Princess in November 2022 - cabin, staff, restaurants HOWEVER, on returning home, we found our Samsonite suitcase had been holed on one of its edges Registered our complaint, told it would take 6 weeks to replace After 2 weeks rang again explaining we were about to board… Read more

another Princess Cruise, again told it would take 6 weeks from original complaint Then on Monday 9th January, over 8 weeks from the original complaint, we get a call asking how much we had paid for the case!!!!!!!!!!!!! A follow up call resulted in a promise to return our call - still waiting Nowhere near good enough Princess

Disappointed – This was our honeymoon cruise 14 days Brisbane to NZ return. I had previously sailed with Princess years ago and loved it so kinda talked it up to hubby. Alas it was not good. Food was ok never went Hungry however we did not attend the restaurant often as hubby does not eat seafood so was limited in choices. As we are a young couple we were… Read more

hoping there was going to be lots of activities on board, while their daily setout looked full it was not very interesting. Overly catered to older demographic and to be honest there was alot of younger people and young families on-board. And same stuff daily. The band Meridian was terrible and other staff who DJ'd were better. We did meet alot of nice people in the smoking areas which by the way was two, who were just as disappointed. The sail away party lasted about an hour, really where is the party? It was a small ship than I'd previously been on so lacked other amenities like nightclub more shops for shopping more choice of specialty dining and exploring. There was hardly any deck activities which was blamed on the weather yes there were a couple of days you could blame it. The water pipes burst on one level so there were fans everywhere. New years eve party was an absolute let down there were little mini celebrations all over ship but as soon as midnight hit everything started shutting down. Suggestion would be to change your target demographic activities to fun activities pool games like water polo, better movies for under the stars, im sure others would have activity ideas. Itemised account would also be better so people know what's been charged for also a final account should still be available after disembarking as I went in to app to check a charge and everything was wiped clean so had a 100 charge on credit card I don't know what it was for. We also purchased the premier package which we were to get two medallion accessories for it which we got watches which we paid for and was not reimbursed or given cruise credit for. Did a couples massage which was overpriced, but i knew that booking it what I did not appreciate was them trying to upsell me stuff for different ailments and then cold calling me in my stateroom to see if i would like to talk to this person or that waking me up on one occasion. All we wanted was a couples massage experience as part of our honeymoon. After 4 days at sea with not many interesting activities available and relying on food, cocktails and smoking to try and enjoy ourselves we finally docked for a port day. It was a public holiday so everything was closed! Poor planning we could have bypassed that port and spent two days in Auckland. Booked through agent so process was easy. The ship looked old and tired Coral princess ship should be marketed as a slow paced limited activity cruise. Jason was brand new cruise director whose energy didn't match the offerings. He was fun and excitable and we really liked talking to him, but feel he did the best with what he had to work with. The positives were we loved the medallion services and stuff being delivered to us wherever we were, room was always neat and tidied daily. Hubby and I both loved the bed and pillows best sleeps each night. Things i missed from previous experience were the folded towels, and chocolates in our stateroom, would have have to the feeling of being on our honeymoon. This has not put us off cruising but it will be with another cruise line.

Difficult to get refund – We were on Coral Princess in February for 14 night cruise. At the end of the cruise there was a small amount of money left on our account. Told we would receive a cheque in about 3 weeks. That is what happened after a Princess cruise in November 2022. After 3 weeks received an email from HSBC (Princess' bank) saying they needed our bank account… Read more

details. We assumed it was a scam as it didn't mention anything about not issuing cheques anymore. We didn't give any account details & I asked Princess on their chat line to send our money to our travel agent. Received a call from Princess saying they are unable to do that & she (the woman I was speaking to) would try to help us over the phone. Not able to do that either. I have since tried to give bank account details online but it will not accept BSB number. It is not much money but it is OURS NOT PRINCESS' or THEIR BANK'S.

Very ordinary experience – We travelled out of Fremantle on 6 March 2023 up to the Kimberley and back. The food on this cruise was terrible. We have sailed on Princess previously and were impressed with the standard of food, but this time it bordered on inedible. My husband ordered crepe Suzette one night for dessert in the restaurant…it came as a lump of undercooked dough… Read more

on the plate…looked revolting. The cabin staff were polite but appeared over worked as they rarely had time for a smile or word. The entertainment was very ordinary and the costumes all appeared to fit someone else rather than the person wearing it. My excursion to the Ningaloo reef was SO disappointing…cloudy water (which I guess couldn’t be helped) swimming against the current the whole time and just a few fish. The organisers mentioned there was better snorkling a little further on??? Why not take us there. I left thinking I’d never travel Princess again.

Cradle Mountain Shore Tour – Very disappointing. 7 hour trip that gave us 3.5 hours at Cradle Mountain park. Thought we would see more of the mountain than just a view from the lake and a hut. We spent 1 hour and 45 minutes of this time at the Hotel, having arrived 45 minutes early for lunch. Not value for money. Enjoyed rest of the cruise though. Show details

Keep on eye on your bank balance – Travelled recently to PNG and thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience until a considerable amount of money was deducted fom our bank account a few days after the cruise. Problem stems from a pre-paid shore excursion which Princes cancelled. The shore excursions desk offered us a similar excursion advising there would be no extra charge. Well - no… Read more

surprise - we were charged .Obviously a clerical error which should have been easily fixed. Rang Princes and staff could see the problem but nobody with authority to fix. Referred to a "feedback" website however no response to various requests. It is frustrating knowing Princes can access my bank and I have absolutely no control over it. Only choice open to me is to bombard then with emails until I get some sort of response - wish me luck

Just shocking customer service – I am so disappointed with Princess cruises - they have lost my clothes and will not answer any emails every time I ring I go to a call centre in the Phillipines who cannot help me - I have sent 8 emails and rang 12 times still no response. How after this can I ever travel with them again? Show details

Not up to the usual standard – I have tried several times to contact Princess at the email address I was given onboard Coral Princess on the unfortunate cruise to Conflict Islands in September where a ridiculous decision by PNG stopped us disembarking on the islands after delaying us 5 hours in Alatoa This meant a continuous 7 sea days ,and no real effort to provide extra… Read more

entertainment on board,with the usual problem of silly schedules putting events of similar type,eg quizzes and interesting talks and demonstrations put on at the same time The tv was shocking,very old movies and reruns of Everybody loves Raymond Which was stupid the first time around!!! When checking my Elite passage in my cabin I found that my complimentary minibar consisted of 4 vodka and 4 gin miniatures I only drink brandy and was told a swap was not available, first time that’s happened, it’s one of the benefits of being a loyal customer but that seemed to be of little interest to the service desk.I realise supply problems are a reality these days,but the way these things are handled is the the test of good customer service,and Princess fell at the first fence This meant I had to ask for compensation at the service desk where I was offered an unsatisfactory $50 This would not compensate me for the 16 drinks I could have got from 8 miniatures,I declined the offer and am still waiting to hear what Princess thinks is the proper response Does anyone ever reply to Feedback@ princesscruises.com or was I given the wrong email address from customer service desk? I have used Princess for the majority of my cruising but not all of it,I would hate to think the experience I had of poor food and absolutely terrible entertainment I got on this trip was the way we are moving forward The show Encore was awful,the worst I have ever seen on board any ship I have 2 cruises planned shortly,if things do not improve other cruise lines will get my business I would welcome a response to this email otherwise I will be sure the wheels have fallen off at Princess

Great week long cruise – We were doing a short cruise to see if much had changed since Covid. Overall we were happy to be back cruising and have two more booked on Coral Princess. We had a premium balcony room. The layout was good, the balcony big but the bathroom was small. Nothing can be done about the size really! Our little cake of soap lasted us the week …just!… Read more

Bathroom was very clean …new grout and tiling ? Bed and linen were top class. Lots of hanging space and coat hangers outside the bathroom.

Food ….as the ship was not full it was usually easy to find a seat in Horizon Court for breakfast and lunch. Hand washing was supervised before people went in …but once inside you could touch your face and then the tongs! Yoghurt is now served in plastic tumblers from bulk supply (?) so no separate tubs available. Freshly chopped fruit was also in tumblers as was orange and cranberry juice. Omelettes could be made to order and delivered to your table. Variety was good I thought. I had one not so good meal at night in the Bordeaux dining room. It was a formal night but the menu said “ Italian Night”. The old Italian nights with waiters in striped shirts have gone along with the optional limoncellos! I chose snapper …it was dried out and flavourless. I had another delicious bread roll! I was offered another meal but I opted out. Nothing really appealed . Spag and meatballs on a formal night ? Chose a hazelnut soufflé for dessert…tough and dried out! Soufflés have been great in the past. Would rather forget that meal and remember the lovely lamb shank and lamb rack dinners …no complaints there ! For the final night’s dinner I chose surf and turf…beautiful piece of filet Mignon and lovely big prawns …and the bombe Alaska which went by another name . Excellent . I was surprised one night to see a man allowed into the dining room in shorts ! On previous cruises , the maître d’ would have sent him away to dress appropriately or direct him to the buffet. Is this new protocol for casual Aussies ? Seems a shame to let dress standards slip. Men should make an effort …at least on formal nights and wear a long sleeved shirt and a tie.

We only went to one show in the Universe Lounge …a bit so so . This should improve as cruising builds up again hopefully .

The medallion worked well to open our room door …we bought $25 wrist watch style holders for the medallions as we are doing more cruises. Can’t forget them when they are on your wrist! The supplied lanyard was thin and long. We did not use the medallion to order food.

The cruise excursions were very good …the high tea at Seahorse Inn at the end of the whale museum tour in Eden was a highlight …great food and a cocktail! ….and the Hunter Valley wine tasting with lunch was great. Well done there Princess.

So we were generally happy to be back cruising and thought Coral Princess a well maintained and clean ship. The food maybe could have a bit of a tweak!

All staff were great.

Terrible customer service – Our room was comfortable. We had a drinks package but we kept being charged extra on our bill - particularly for water. Restaurant staff were all friendly but alot of other staff were not pleasant. 2 pre arranged shore excursions were cancelled due to weather & 4 weeks post cruise still no refund from the cruise line. Even though the trips were… Read more

booked directly through Princess by us they tell me after waiting half hour on the phone that my travel agent must call on our behalf. They would not even speak to me. I would not use this Company again. The app was not user friendly at all & caused so much time before the cruise & did not work on the boat. You had to book for the restaurants (the included ones) & decent/normal dinner time slots were all booked out before we even started the cruise.