Coral or Island P through Panama Canal?

[rosiebee]

We're planning a trip to America to take the cruise through the Panama Canal with Princess cruises. We're very flexible as to when we can go. Does anyone have a preference for either ship? We're a couple 60 /62 and not really into very formal evenings. One per cruise is usually our limit. Also is there a best time of the year to do this cruise from Los Angeles to Fort Lauderdale? We aim to do about 3 days in Las Vegas before the cruise and possibly a week at Fort L before returning home. Thanks for all comments. We've always found the Boards at CC really helpful when planning trips.:)

[Pam in CA]

They are sister ships; no difference between them so choose based on date and pricing.

 

The full transit cruise will have three formal nights. If you wish to do only one, you can go to one of the specialty restaurants (an extra charge) or the buffet.

 

This is a terrific cruise. I've done it twice, now. Once each on the Coral and Island.

[pms4104]

Keep in mind that the dry season in that part of Central America runs mid-December thru mid-April. I suspect the prices might be a tad lower in the rainy season, before and after the time frames I mentioned, and higher in the dry times.

 

I will say, tho, that when we went (end-Sept thru mid-Oct 2011), we had only one rainy day, a cloudburst in Costa Rica that cleared quickly. On our transit day, we were fortunate to have pleasant temps and weather, and it wasn't so beastly hot that we migrated indoors to cool off. Others have reported exceedingly hot transit days.

 

For cabin choosing, this is a helpful site: http://mysite.verizon.net/res76zxu/princessbalconies/index.html ... it will help you determine the balconies that are fully and partially covered, as well as those that are fully exposed to the elements.

[highheel girl]

I agree you can't go wrong with either one.

They are identical other then the theme of the casino.

[gertz]

Our favorite ships, you will not go wrong with either. Also a wonderful cruise. Have fun.

[DiRonT]

We have done it on both ships. They are our favorite ships. The only thing I would suggest is to do the 15 day instead of the 14 day. This gives you have extra day in Panama and we love taking the ferry thru the locks on the Pacific side. You really get up close and personal - it is great. We have always done this itinerary in the fall, but next year we are scheduled to go in late April. I am not expecting a huge difference in weather - warm to hot with humidity.

[DougH]

Just got off the Island Princess about a week ago after this trip. Really liked the ship and we had good weather. No rain at all and I didn't think it was too hot. One thing to consider is that I did Ft Lauderdale to LA and we set our clocks back a number of times gaining an extra hour a day. Sailing from LA you will be losing an hour a day as yu pass thru the different time zones.

[onthehighseas606]

We were on the same cruise as DougH on the Island Princess. We left out of Ft. Lauderdale. We had a great time, but we found ourselves eating practically every meal in the buffet. Wasn't that impressed with the food on the ship - I have had better on other ships. You will probably enjoy either ship. We did have rain one night and 75 mph winds the next evening. I would do this cruise again but on a different ship.

[Plant]

We're planning a trip to America to take the cruise through the Panama Canal with Princess cruises. We're very flexible as to when we can go. Does anyone have a preference for either ship? We're a couple 60 /62 and not really into very formal evenings. One per cruise is usually our limit. Also is there a best time of the year to do this cruise from Los Angeles to Fort Lauderdale? We aim to do about 3 days in Las Vegas before the cruise and possibly a week at Fort L before returning home. Thanks for all comments. We've always found the Boards at CC really helpful when planning trips.:)

 

Hi Rosie! If you are "very flexible", I'd suggest you do a Panama Canal cruise from FLL to LA. I'd do the Las Vegas trip after the cruise and the Florida trip before. We LOVE the Island Princess. It's a very "comfortable" ship. You don't have to get dressed up to go to any dinner, just be covered up :)! We're sailing the Island Princess on April 25, 2013 (FLL to LAX). You might want to join us?

[dbeckett]

If you are wanting to make LA either the departure or arrival port then the Coral will be the ship you'll be on.

[rdsqrl]

If you are wanting to make LA either the departure or arrival port then the Coral will be the ship you'll be on.

Both ships do the full transit.

 

OP, I'd agree with the others who said to start in Ft. Lauderdale. It's much, much nicer to be turning those clocks back and gaining an hour of sleep (three times) than losing that hour of sleep!! And your cruise is three hours longer that way . . .

 

[Nebr.cruiser]

We've done the Canal on both ships, and honestly, I can't tell the difference between them, if there is any.

 

I'd choose the date, itinerary, length and price that suited me. I'd go east to west too, probably, because getting an 'extra' hour a day some days is so nice.

[swedish weave]

If you are wanting to make LA either the departure or arrival port then the Coral will be the ship you'll be on.

 

We just got back from FLL on the Island and docked in Los Angeles (San Pedro)

[Putterdude]

We have done full transit on the Coral and really did enjoy her. Over the past few years some have posted that they have been a bit disappointed with the Island but who really knows.

[OPSnorkeler]

We sailed on the Island twice - once for Panama Canal and once for Alaska. We love the ship, but were somewhat disappointed both times in the food - especially in the buffet.

 

Friends just did Panama Canal on the Coral. They loved the ship and liked the food. Not sure how we would have felt about it.

 

We are not picky eaters and have sailed on a number of Princess ships. I am not saying that the food on the Island was bad, just not as good as we have had on other ships.

[Aussie One]

We were on the same cruise as DougH on the Island Princess. We left out of Ft. Lauderdale. We had a great time, but we found ourselves eating practically every meal in the buffet. Wasn't that impressed with the food on the ship - I have had better on other ships. You will probably enjoy either ship. We did have rain one night and 75 mph winds the next evening. I would do this cruise again but on a different ship.

 

My sister and b/inlaw also on the same cruise said the food very poor and service in the dining room bad as well waitors serving dishes before others had finished there meals

[rdemn]

Both ships do the full transit.

 

OP, I'd agree with the others who said to start in Ft. Lauderdale. It's much, much nicer to be turning those clocks back and gaining an hour of sleep (three times) than losing that hour of sleep!! And your cruise is three hours longer that way . . .

 

I'm on the island 1/23/13 from la to fll

with 10 sea days I hope they move the clocks up on sea days

[Pam in CA]

My sister and b/inlaw also on the same cruise said the food very poor and service in the dining room bad as well waitors serving dishes before others had finished there meals

We weren't impressed on the Island Princess last September/October either. It was good, but not as good as on other ships. I really, really missed the always available tenderloin. The hamburger (which you could always order) and tri-tips are a very poor substitute.

 

I'm on the island 1/23/13 from la to fll

with 10 sea days I hope they move the clocks up on sea days

Clocks are changed not for our convenience but when time actually changes so it's in sync with the local port time. For more information about time zones, check out http://www.worldclock.com

[aikensbest]

We were on the same cruise as DougH on the Island Princess. We left out of Ft. Lauderdale. We had a great time, but we found ourselves eating practically every meal in the buffet. Wasn't that impressed with the food on the ship - I have had better on other ships. You will probably enjoy either ship. We did have rain one night and 75 mph winds the next evening. I would do this cruise again but on a different ship.

Strong winds perhaps , but if it was 75 mph you were in a hurricane!!Where was your ship at the time? Never knew of a cruise ship out in a hurricane

[shepp]

You don't have to get dressed up to go to any dinner, just be covered up :)

 

Wellll...there are indeed dress code guidelines, and on formal nights, they're pretty much adhered to by the vast majority of passengers who eat in the main dining rooms. There are also "cover ups" (e.g., shorts, sleeveless muscle shirts) that are not allowed into any MDR dinner, unless the headwaiter is asleep at the switch, and though enforcement is variable, what you said is somewhat misleading. Of course, on most of the ship, including other eating venues, people dress in whatever, but most pax still dress nicely. It's not, in any case, "very formal." There are more suits than tuxes.

 

That having been said, did the full transit on both the Island and the Coral...the Island was a year and a half ago, but I remember dinners to being on a par with the usual Princess standard - may have declined since then.

 

They're both great ships and it's a great cruise. I'd do it a third time.

 

I do hope they've repaired the broken neck on the beefeater mannequin at the casino entrance. It was creepy...

[Plant]

shepp, I agree that there are dress code guidelines, but not everyone follows them. I was going by our experiences on Princess. While we dressed in what we thought was "appropriate" (long skirt, blouse for me, slacks, dress shirt, tie for DH) we've been seated several times with families in shorts and T-shirts, even on Formal Night.

 

We see very few men in suits or jackets. I think the airline charges have changed how people pack, so Formal Night's are going away... .

[shepp]

 

We see very few men in suits or jackets. I think the airline charges have changed how people pack, so Formal Night's are going away... .

 

Not to seem argumentative, but because of these threads, I generally check around at dinner (late traditional in the MDR) and would agree with a lot of other people's estimates: maybe 90-95% of men are at least in jackets. (I went back to my pictures of formal nights on the Island and Coral trans-Canals, and they would provide evidence, but they include identifiable people, so I'm reluctant to post them here.)

 

I've also seen people turned away from the MDR for wearing shorts, which is as it should be. If someone can't at least put on long pants, there's always the HC.

 

But I agree, it's variable. I've seen a man in a grungy sleeveless T admitted to dinner on one ship, on another a man asked to remove his baseball cap before entering the dining room.

 

And as I've said before, I own a lightweight unstructured black linen jacket. It cost very little at Macy's, folds down to almost nothing, and weighs 19 ounces, less than a Starbuck's venti. (I just weighed it.) While I usually schlep along a tux jacket, I've worn the linen one on a number of cruises - worked fine. Anyone who thinks baggage charges prevents them from dressing nicely just isn't trying very hard.

[rosiebee]

Loads of thanks to everyone for all your really helpful replies. I'd never thought about losing time when you go west to east so we'll probably try and start at Fort Lauderdale and it will be brilliant to finish in Vegas. Also appreciated the comments on 'dressing for dinner'. I can usually manage something with a bit of sparkle and husband always wears long trousers in the evening. He does have a linen jacket I can pop into the case, so hopefully that should be ok. If there's a very formal Captain's night, I don't mind giving that a miss. Now that he's retired, my DH is not a happy bunny if he has to wear a tie.

Can't wait to start planning in earnest!

Thanks again, Rosie:)

[deelastcre]

I toured Island Princess a few years, ago and was not impressed. I sailed Coral Princess Panama Canal last month and the ship, crew, and service was outstanding. I would vote for Coral Princess. Out of 12 cruises that one was the best overall.

[thinfool]

We did have rain one night and 75 mph winds the next evening.

 

This is common regardless of the ship you are on. There is what was described as an isthmus across Mexico that allows winds to sweep across with little hindrance from the Gulf of Mexico. As you sail across this, on the Pacific side, the winds can be very strong.

 

For us they started about 9 pm, sustained at 65mph, gusts to 75...but the waves were not super huge because we were so close to the coast. I was asleep thru most of it, but my wife said the winds abated about 3 am when the ship passed out of the area (northbound). 11/12/12 Island Princess