At Sea

Today is Day 4 of the cruise, and we are currently passing abeam the Los Angeles area on the way south towards Mexico. The island of Santa Rosa has just become visible in the distance. Despite the good weather and clear conditions, there isn't much to see, so we thought we'd share some observations on the dining experiences so far.

Like many cruise ships, Coral Princess has two main dining rooms with capacity to handle the majority of passengers.  These have menus which are refreshed daily and offer a choice of perhaps three of four different options per course.  There is no charge for dining in the main restaurants, and the cost of the meals is included in the overall cruise ticket.

The main dining rooms are supplemented by a few speciality restaurants, and a separate cover charge is levied for making a reservation. On Coral Princess, there are two such restaurants, Sabatini's (Italian) and the Bayou Cafe & Steakhouse.

We weren't able to verify independently, but we had read on a number of cruise forums on the internet, that the first night's dining can be a little chaotic in the main dining rooms.  So, for the first night, we chose to make a reservation in one of the speciality restaurants - Sabatini's on Deck 7, which offers authentic Italian cuisine.  There was a $20 cover charge per head. The restaurant wasn't busy and the quiet surroundings offered an intimate dining experience. This was enhanced further by the knowledgeable and attentive waiting staff who were happy to explain each dish and make recommendations.  For both of us, choosing the main course was a no brainer - lobster three ways, which included tail and claw meat, a bisque sauce and lobster risotto.

We chose the main dining room on the second night. There are actually two main dining rooms, with one being dedicated to 'traditional' diners (Provence - Deck 6) and the other (Bordeaux - Deck 5) for 'anytime' diners. Princess offer passengers the choice of traditional or anytime dining, and your preferences are specified when booking the cruise.  With traditional dining, evening meals are served in two fixed sittings, either 1730 or 1945, and again this is usually specified at the time of booking.  Anytime dining which we chose, is a far more flexible option and as the name implies, it's possible to turn up anytime between 1730 and 2200. The disadvantage, is that tables may not be immediately available if you turn up unannounced, and you may be faced with a short wait.  However, the restaurant is always happy to reserve a table in advance, so it's certainly worth giving them a quick phone call from your stateroom earlier in the day.

The main dining rooms are obviously much bigger, and unless you specify otherwise by making a reservation request, you may well find yourself sitting at a larger table with possibly six or eight fellow passengers.

The Horizon Court is an informal 24-hour buffet restaurant situated at the forward end of Deck 14. We chose to eat here last night, but the overall experience was quite disappointing. The selection and quality of the food presented was considerably inferior to that offered on our previous cruises (Norwegian Jewel, 2009 and Ocean Village Two, 2008). Whilst it's perfectly suitable for breakfasts, light lunches or the occasional snack, the Horizon Court is probably best avoided in the evenings unless you really can't be bothered with the formality of a table service.