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Coral Princess Panama Canal--any hints?

sueswny

By sueswny,
in Princess Cruises

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sueswny

sueswny

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I just booked the Coral Princess for a last-minute cruise in two weeks. POrts: Cartagena, Colon, Limon, Ocho Rios. Through Panama Canal. This is my first Princess cruise and my first cruise in this area. Any helpful hints or advice that you can share? thanx

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Pachutabelle

Pachutabelle

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We are scheduled for Panama Canal cruise in Jan with the same itenerary. I have read sweetangel's cruise review several times. She posted wonderful pictures and gave a thorough review of her cruise. Do a search for sweetangel and it should come up. I think someone reposted it a few days ago on the Panama Canal board. Have a fabulous cruise.

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geoherb "Live from...." Rare

geoherb

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Be sure to write a message on your roll call thread. I'm sure the folks there who have had more time to research the ports will be able to give you great advice. You might be able to join some of them for private shore excursions. Also check out the ports of call boards for each port.

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GreenBayDave

GreenBayDave

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During your ship's transit of the Canal make sure that you move around. Use to passageway at the forward end of Baja or Caribe deck to acess the forward viewing area as you enter one of the locks. Also, get to an aft viewing area as you exit.

 

You might want to plan lunch in the Horizon Court. There are tables at the most forward area that provide wonderful views.

 

Have a great cruise.

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GreenBayDave

GreenBayDave

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One more thing. There will be a dessert buffet presented in the Horizon Court on two of your sea days. Watch the Patter for the days. It's worth going up there to see even if you don't partake. (I was able to limit myself to six different offerings. After all, one was sugarfree.) It's a great photo opportunity watching the chefs and assisstant chefs set this up. Go up early to watch the production.

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caribill

caribill

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I just booked the Coral Princess for a last-minute cruise in two weeks. POrts: Cartagena, Colon, Limon, Ocho Rios. Through Panama Canal. This is my first Princess cruise and my first cruise in this area. Any helpful hints or advice that you can share? thanx

 

 

We are scheduled for Panama Canal cruise in Jan with the same itenerary.

 

Actually it appears that you are doing full transit and she did partial but I think you will still get a lot of good information fromher posts.

 

Actually, the 11/15/10 Coral and the 1/29/11 Island voyages are both partial and not full transits of the Canal.

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powderhorn

powderhorn

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Congratulations! You have picked a wonderful itinerary and ship. We did this last February and it was our best cruise yet. Click on the Coral Princess link on my signature below for some videos of the trip.

 

Also, some pics at Picasa at:

 

canal http://picasaweb.google.com/pandcpayne/Canal#

 

Huatulco http://picasaweb.google.com/pandcpayne/Huatulco2010# pics of a great snorkle excursion we booked - awesome beaches and coastline to explore

 

Acapulco http://picasaweb.google.com/pandcpayne/Acapulco2010# walked up to see the cliff divers do there thing. The walk was a stroll through some neat parts of town and is doable from the dock if you are in reasonable shape.

 

Have a wonderful time! :)

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Grandmaanne7

Grandmaanne7

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We did a full transit in January 2009 on the Coral. The whole experience was truly awesome! My best tips would be to rise before the sun on the day going into the locks and try to get a seat at the very front of the ship to watch the entrance into the canal. It was quite a party atmosphere (I'm sure many people had more than just coffee in their thermal mugs:eek:) The approach and entrance takes a few hours but it is well worth the patience and you may make some new friends as well. The other tip would be to take ship excursions. We don't usually do this but found them to be extremely reasonable and quite informative and entertaining. Our port stops were short and in places we had never visited before (one was Cartegena, Colombia) and we were a bit apprehensive about our safety and ability to return to the ship in time. We loved every minute of our excursions and felt that we got to know a bit about each country. One last tip is to read The Path Between the Seas before you go. It puts a whole new spin on the entire trip.

 

Enjoy your cruise! The Coral is amazing, especially the adults only pool, and the Panama Canal is a true Wonder!!

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Kirsten T

Kirsten T

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Lotus pool area is great when you're furthest south - they keep the roof closed and the AC on. (Actually, that's a really nice pool anytime.)

Cheap, good coffee beans at the small "craft" market on the pier at Limon.

If you stay onboard during both the in and out transits of the canal, check out the stern deck of Emerald deck - walk all the way back and out the doors - on the way in, and the forward viewing platform on Baja on the way back out. Terrific views!

Bring a gallon of sunscreen and WEAR IT, as another posted said. Learned that the hard way in 2005. ;)

If you've got Anytime dining, consider either Bayou or Sabatini's the first night to avoid the 1st night mayhem at the Bordeaux. It takes people a day or two to figure out the system (everyone tends to show up at 7.)

It's a great cruise, lovely ship - you'll have a great time!

Cheers-

Kirsten

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BillB48

BillB48

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I am guessing that the OP is doing a partial transit, as the itins I saw, Puerto Limon is not listed on the full transits, only the partials. The only reason I mention this, tours at the Canal on partial transits must be booked through the ship.

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