Coral Princess

Coral Princess is the lead ship of Princess Cruises' two-ship Coral class, a pair of slimmer, Panamax-sized vessels ordered by P&O Princess in 1999 and built by Chantiers de l'Atlantique at Saint-Nazaire, France. Where the contemporaneous Diamond-class ships were broad Japanese-built vessels, the Coral-class ships were deliberately proportioned to transit the original locks of the Panama Canal, giving them a narrow beam relative to their length. Owned by Carnival Corporation & plc and operated by Princess Cruises, Coral Princess is registered in Hamilton, Bermuda, carries IMO number 9229622, and entered service in 2003.

Construction proceeded through the early 2000s, with the ship launched in 2002 and completed late that year ahead of a January 2003 debut. One of the class's most recognizable design touches is its funnel arrangement: a pair of distinctive structures topped by decorative cylindrical pods evoking jet or gas-turbine engines, a nod to the ship's combined gas-turbine and diesel-electric propulsion and a feature that gives the Coral-class profile its unmistakable "winged" silhouette.

Coral Princess measures 91,627 gross tons and about 294 metres in length, with a 32.2-metre beam and an 8.1-metre draught, arranged over sixteen decks including eleven guest decks. The ship offers 987 staterooms and accommodates 1,970 guests at double occupancy and up to 2,590 at maximum, served by a crew of roughly 900. Fittingly for a ship engineered around the Panama Canal, it was christened at the canal's Gatun Locks on 17 January 2003 by godmother Mireya Moscoso, then President of Panama. The interior mixes traditional Princess public rooms with venues introduced in this era of the fleet, and the ship's scale suits it to long-distance and expedition-style itineraries.

Coral Princess has long been associated with Panama Canal crossings, spending its seasons on canal transits, Alaska voyages during the northern summer, and longer exotic and world-cruise routings that take advantage of its Panamax proportions. The ship remains in active service with Princess Cruises, sailing under the Bermudian flag from its port of registry at Hamilton, with the call sign ZCDF4.