10 Day Round Trip Panama Canal Question

[doe326]

DH and I are planning a 10 day round trip Panama Canal cruise. Which ship would you chose -- the Coral or Island? We're also debating between a mini suite or a balcony. What is the best location for either of these rooms? Thanks for any input.

[hop2it]

I'm not one of the many authorities on this board, but I can tell you that I recently enjoyed a wonderful Canal round-trip cruise on the Island Princess, which I believe is about the same as its sister ship. (Others will confirm or refute.) . . . We were in a balcony cabin forward on Emerald deck (8th) and were delighted with that relatively inexpensive location. It's conveniently situated just above the theater and promenade deck and near the elevators to the Lido deck (pools and buffet.)

[Clutterlady]

The Coral and the Island are sister ships. We had a balcony a little past mid ship on the Emerald deck on our Panama Canal cruise and had a fantastic view!!

[1 HappyCruiser]

While a balcony is a great feature to have, especially if it's a covered one in case it rains, you'll find yourself bouncing around all the time especially when going through the locks. You won't be able to see the opening or closing from the balcony and will have to go to the bow for any decent photo's. Balconies are better suited for traveling all the way through the canal so you can sit back & enjoy the ride.

[jfv379]

The Island and Coral are identical, with the exception that Island has not gone through dry dock yet to have the upgrades of MUTS, International Cafe and Vines. I think the Island is scheduled for dry dock after the Alaska season.

 

We had a covered mini suite (D712) on the Island but on Canal day we were all over the ship. Don't forget the forward areas on Caribe and Baha (sp) decks for viewing passage through the locks.

[Kirsten T]

We like the category BE veranda cabins on Emerald, stern end - large covered veranda, great view, close to the large open deck at the very stern which gives great views of lock doors closing behind the ship. We've never had a mini on Coral or Island.

 

If one ship has had the "upgrades" and the other hasn't then the choice would depend on whether you value the changes. Personally, I was very sorry to see MUTS and the Sanctuary planned for Island and Coral. They took over areas that I used to enjoy (for free) but I realize I'm in the minority. I still love both ships, and the 10-day RT Panama itinerary is great. You'll have a great time!

[Colo Cruiser]

The Coral/Island as mentioned are pretty much identical.

We like Mini's in the 700's close to the aft viewing area.

 

[Colo Cruiser]

Check out this site.....

 

http://mysite.verizon.net/res76zxu/princessbalconies/index.html

[earljr]

You may want to consider the balconies that are

in the "bump out" sections of the ship.

 

We have always booked one of these and find that

the views are much better.

[aussiegirl]

We did this cruise in April on the Island Princess. We had a mini-suite mid-ship on the Dolphin deck. I really liked the location because we were below staterooms on the Caribe deck and above the Card Room/Library. It was certainly a quiet location! It was also an easy walk for us up to the pool/fitness center/Horizon Court (4 flights) and down to the dining room and Universe Theater (3 flights).

We really enjoyed the extra space and the full-sized bathtub in the mini-suite. Our balcony was large enough for 4 chairs and a table and was open at the top. Some folks don't like having an open top because people could conceivably look down on your on your deck, but this wasn't a problem for us as we hardly saw anyone on their balconies anyway. Actually, we liked the openness of the balcony and we often went out there at night and enjoyed looking up at the stars.

I didn't think the balcony was particularly good for observing the transit of the canal. The best place was forward on the Baja or Caribe deck. We also went on the Promenade deck for awhile too.

We took the optional tour to complete the transit of the Canal and I would highly recommend it. You certainly get a completely different feel for the Canal when you are on a small ferry as opposed to being on a large cruise ship.

[tmitchell82]

As others have said, both are identical ships, and very good ships IMHO. In terms of balcony cabins, I would avoid the Aloha deck unless you are on one of the bump outs. We were in A343 on the Island and the overhang from the above deck was pretty significant. You will definitely not get much sun, but it does limit the view. Other than that, I really do not think you can go wrong with either ship.

 

Tim

[doe326]

Thank you everyone for the great input. It will certainly help make our decision easier. Appreciate all the terrific comments.:)

[Plant]

The Coral/Island as mentioned are pretty much identical.

We like Mini's in the 700's close to the aft viewing area.

 

 

We love the Island! I'd suggest either the Caribe deck or the Dolphin deck. Both have access to the aft viewing area.

[Katie333]

You may want to consider the balconies that are

in the "bump out" sections of the ship.

 

We have always booked one of these and find that

the views are much better.

 

I second this, we had our best cabin to date in this section (adjacent to the full suites). We took the Coral but I understand the Island is her sister and thus identical or at least extremely similar. I don't think you can go wrong.

[crazycraftymama]

We were just on the Island and had one of the very aft mini-suites. We really loved it. We could be on our own balcony or walk right out to the back of the ship and we basically had our own balcony that went the whole length of the back of the ship. We had great views of the locks from the back end and really enjoyed it.