Review -- Coral Princess Panama Canal

[Another Cruise]

Coral Princess Sept. 20-Oct. 5, 2005 Los Angeles to Ft. Lauderdale

15 days

Ports of Call: Cabo San Lucas, Acapulco, Huatulco, Puerto Caldera, Panama Canal Transit, Cristobal, Aruba, Jamaica.

 

EMBARKATION: Smoothest yet. Arrived at San Pedro pier around 11. No lines at any of the counters. Went to Platinum check-in and then we were taken to Platinum waiting area. We were first group to board. Went straight to room. No problems.

 

ROOM: Regular balcony room. Booked as a gty BE. Room was E707. We were 11 cabins from back of ship on Emerald. These have larger balconies other than standard balcony rooms. Measured it as 2 feet deeper. Extra room was really nice to have. Had large square table and two high back chairs that had adjustable backs. Room was very smooth through entire cruise. Bad part—all food is at the front of the ship. Good part – all food is at the front of the ship!! Really bad part—the laundry room is directly across the hall. NEVER AGAIN! First week was OK, and on a 7 day cruise would probably be fine, but second week the washers and dryers never stopped. People would NOT keep door closed and talked over sound of machines. Actually had to get up out of bed at 11:30 one night and go across hall and ask them to shut door. Put up a sign one day asking for door to be kept closed – worked for a day. Hall smelled like soap.

 

FOOD: Thought Horizon Café was really good. Breakfast there was better than dining room. For lunch we often called room service. Had really good sandwiches and soup. Dinner was Personal Choice and we really liked this. Best items: soups, vegetables, beef, and lobster. Desserts often looked better than they were but the raspberry crème’ brulee now ranks as my best cruise dessert ever. Bayou Café was great. The best steak on the ship. Service was perfect. Well worth $15 charge. Sabitini’s—yes it is too much food, but it is really good and you don’t have to eat all of it! Bayou and Sabitini’s were never busy. Some nights they were empty. One waiter said they expected that on this cruise. I think, because many passengers were older that they thought they wouldn’t pay the extra charge. I think they were right. Service in dining room was hit and miss. I do think you get better service when the same person is waiting on you throughout your cruise. Dinner would take anywhere from 1 hour to 2 ½ hours, depending on service. Two items that were never announced: from 3:30-4:30 every afternoon there was a free ice cream sundae bar set up in Horizon Court. There were 2-3 different flavors and they are made on board. There is also often (maybe everyday, we missed this) a special themed buffet set up at lunch. One day was by the pool. One day was Sushi in Horizon Court.

 

ENTERTAINMENT: Great. Singers and dancers are very talented and stage sets and costumes are very professional. Enjoyed all shows. Other entertainers included singers, comedians, ventriloquist, impressionist, magician (weakest act), pianists (best acts). There are several choices of lounges and styles of music throughout the ship. Our favorite was the piano player, Ron Van Dyke, in Crooner’s Bar. There are also lots of pool games, movies, bingo, Trivia, etc. going on all the time. There were many evenings that some sort of theme party was held on the open deck at the pool. Lots of games, dancing, contests, etc.

 

SCHOLARSHIP AT SEA: This was our first cruise to offer this. Had pottery, computer classes, motivational speakers, financial advice, and wine tasting. Wine, pottery, and computers have charges. One wine tasting is $7.50, but if you order wine you get part of that refunded. Wines served at this were $22 - $30. Maitre D’ Wine Tasting is $25 per person. Taste more wines and more expensive wines. Included Opus 1 ($175 a bottle) and French Champagne. Much nicer, smaller group, more informative. Held in Sabitini’s. Several people commented that they were disappointed that Princess didn’t have someone on board to give a talk about the countries we were going to and about the Canal. I think they would have filled the theater for those.

 

PORTS & TOURS:

Cabo was the only port to require a tender. Lots of people, few tenders. Took a very long time and we were only there from noon until 5:30. Had to get tickets for tender and wait a long time to get off. Tenders were very rough. Cabo was extremely hot almost 100. We went to Pueblo Bonito. Cabs are available about a block from pier. $10 each way. Guards at front gates questioned us and we told them we just wanted to go to the bar and have drinks and they let us in. Told waiters same thing. It was sooo hot we decided to stay on patio deck overlooking ocean and not go down to beach. Had great Margaritas. Vendors can’t come onto hotel area. Took one look at Cabo Wabo in the daylight and decided to pass. Cabo is beautiful and so was hotel area. You will have great view of Land’s End and arches from ship. Makes great backdrop for someone to take you photo from the ship.

 

Acapulco – Big city, dirty, noisy, but something you probably need to see once. We have been there many times, and now we get a taxi and go to the Hyatt and use their beach. Cabana, 2 lounge chairs with cushions and towels was $14. Vendors will hassle you all day, but take “no” and leave. However, if you look at something or buy something, you will get swamped by all of them. I got a massage on beach for $20 and the entire time someone was trying to sell me something else. There is a Wal-mart across the street if you forgot anything. Takes American money. Has a big liquor dept. and a great Mexican bakery. Bought cans of tonic water for 38 cents and limes to go with the bottle of vodka I had ordered from Princess.

 

Huatulco – Beautiful. Wish we had been there longer. Very clean. Lots of shops and restaurants on the beach. Had a lot of water “toys” for rent. Really nice jewelry shops. Also had a small grocery/convenience store. There were cabs near pier, but not enough time to really go anywhere. I think you will start to see more ships stopping here.

 

Costa Rica – We had to change our docking from Puntarenas to Puerto Caldera because of tides, ocean conditions and size of Coral. This was announced several days ahead. We took the Princess tour Eco-Jungle River Adventure. I think if we ever go back to Costa Rica we need to do a tour on our own. We saw a lot of wildlife, but mostly birds. We were also in first boat out and we saw more than people on later tours. I think this tour is misnamed. It is a boat ride down a very dirty, trash-strewn river. They explained that people upstream dump their trash in river and is floats down to where we were and it is solid along bank. Birds and lizards were identified as “close to the blue plastic thing on the bank.” I expected more of an “ecology/save the jungle and rain forest” environment. Far from it. I understand it is a very poor country, but I think there are probably other tours that would show more of Costa Rica and what I have heard is a beautiful country. I will read CC closer next time for this port.

 

Panama Canal Transit—Trip of a lifetime. Got up at 4:45 am to be sure I didn’t miss Bridge of the Americas. Saw crocodile and monkeys as we entered first lock. You will have no way of knowing when you make your room choice which side of ship is best. We liked it best when another ship was going through next to us on starboard side and we stayed on our balcony and watched locks open and close from there. Also went to front for first lock and then to back to watch second. Rest of day we had a great view from our balcony. Also had Ultimate Balcony Breakfast delivered at 9:30 which was perfect timing as that was when we left second lock and entered Gatun Lake. The last set of locks (West to East transit) was the best. There are three locks there. There will be a guide onboard who will narrate from the Bridge and she does a wonderful job. Docked at Cristobal after Canal transit. The line to leave ship started at front of ship and ran entire length of ship and overflowed into Universe Lounge before they were ever cleared to open gangway. There is a large warehouse type area next to ship filled with vendors and everyone from the ship is headed to the same place. Advice: You will have plenty of time to shop. The line will move quickly once is starts. Just stay in room or a lounge and wait for line to move and then get off. Also—just about everything for sell here is made in China or India and is very overpriced. Much of it has Panama painted on it, but that is not where it came from. Exception: the beautiful had woven bowls and containers made by the local Indians and sold by them. There is a duty free liquor shop that has great prices. You can tell who has been here before because they make a mad dash for this store. An hour later that was a long line. Example: Cointreau was $25 onboard Coral and $18 here. There is also a bar area in middle of shopping area where you can get a Panama beer. There are also dancers in native costumes who will perform.

 

Aruba—Had never been here before and we loved it. I’m sorry for the turmoil there right now, but I’m not going to get political. The island is beautiful and so were the people we met there. We got off ship about 9 am and got a taxi to the Marriott. The Marriott does NOT want cruisers there for the day. The beaches are public and you can go anywhere on them, but hotel areas are a different story. We tried our Mexico version of wanting to pay to rent chairs on beach. Got an emphatic, “That is not possible”. Cabanas are selected by guests and have signs on them if they are taken for the day. However, even though I promised the “lovely” lady at the towel booth I would not say a word (I think she meant to the security guards) a cash tip changed her mind and we stayed on the beach until 1. Drank Balashi beer—brewed in Aruba and very good. We had made arrangements with our taxi driver to pick us up at 1 and take us on a 2-hour tour of Aruba. Best tip for Aruba: ask for Tonny Bosch taxi #184. He truly is our “souvenir from Aruba. Has a brand new Toyota Prado for his taxi. He is a native and he took us everywhere. Saw highlights: lighthouse, Ayo rock, Natural Bridge, stopped at Aloe factory to shop, and even stopped to restock our Diet Coke and V-8 supply (remember that bottle of vodka?) If you have ever been to Ayo Rock and saw the area across the road with the very unique cactus fence, that is Tonny’s land and his private tribute to the plants and wildlife of Aruba. He knows everything about this island and he was a true delight. This day was totally unplanned and on of the best of our cruise.

 

Jamaica – We had been here twice before and did not like it. Thought about staying on ship, but read CC posts about Phil Lafayette and booked tour with him. What a great day. Went to Falls, went river tubing, stopped at local Ocho Rios Jerk Stand and had great jerk chicken, ribs, pork, festival bread and Red Stripe beer. Drove through Fern Gully area and stopped at Shaw Gardens. Then stopped at Margaritaville to shop for a while and then took us back to ship. Best tour possible. Falls are $15, tubing is $20 and Phil charges $20 for his part. Lunch for 2 was $19. We now see the beauty in Jamaica and can’t wait to go back.

 

Disembarkation: The Wheelhouse Lounge was set up as the Platinum Lounge to wait for disembarkation. We were in one of the last color groups to be called, so this was a nice perk. Much better than standing in hallway. They served coffee and Danish.

 

We loved the Coral and would like to cruise on her again. The décor is beautiful but not gaudy at all. The Lotus Spa pool area is much nicer than other covered pool areas I have seen. There were some problems with Internet access, but might depend on where ship is at that time. Glad we had free Internet for Platinum level or probably would not have dealt with it. There was a very offensive sewer smell just outside the Princess Theater on starboard side. Noticed it first night. Got better a few days later, then returned. Hope that was just a temporary problem! One thing I did notice is there are very few announcements made during the day. In fact, there are some things that never get announced. There was no “must attend” meeting for filling out customs declaration forms. Muster Drill was such a nice change from Carnival. No standing in rain/heat wearing life jackets. You meet in a lounge area, which is where you would go in an emergency. You get all info needed, but handled so much better. Now, what did I like better on Carnival. The pizza is much better, and I miss the soft serve ice cream machine, but maybe that is why I only gained 1 pound in 15 days. We think everything on this cruise was handled much more smoothly than any we had done so far. Can’t wait for the next one.

[LARGIN]

Thanks for the great review.. The Coral is a great lady and our favorite..

[TorontoTL]

Thanks for posting your review of the Coral Princess full transit through the Panama Canal. We will be on the Coral doing a 10 day partial transit in about 3 1/2 weeks. I can't wait! Reading your review makes me even more excited. Glad things went well for you on your cruise.

[mii]

Thank you for the review. We will be on her next May for the repo back to S.F. I read with great interest in Punteraras regarding the eco-river tour. We had thought about that but it sounds like there might a problem with trash in water. Will have to rethink that. Again thanks for the review.

 

Marilyn

[legalslave]

Thank you, thank you, thank you for posting a review! Waiting for a current review of the Coral has been like a child waiting for Christmas! Also appreciate the time you took to post while on your cruise. It meant so much to many of us.

 

Diane

[Linda the Book Lover]

The DH and I will be on the Coral in April and I am hoping you can give me an email for Phil Lafayette. The DH AKA “ice cream person” wanted to know about the ice cream flavors and accompaniments. I will enjoy the wine tasting! I loved reading your review!

[Iamthesea]

People would NOT keep door closed and talked over sound of machines. Actually had to get up out of bed at 11:30 one night and go across hall and ask them to shut door. Put up a sign one day asking for door to be kept closed – worked for a day. Hall smelled like soap.

I understood that the laundry room doors were locked after 10:00 and no one could enter to do their laundry. :confused: We are across the hall from the laundry room (we are port and LR is starboard) and now you have me worried. I'm afraid that I will not be as nice as you if I hear noise. The smell of soap is much better than the smell of sewer gas. :D Did the smell get into your cabin?

 

So sorry you didn't enjoy the Eco River Adventure. We are booked for it next week. I am going to see if we can switch to another excursion once we get on board.

[kittys]

Thank you for the review. I have been waiting (ever so patiently) for it. We will also be doing a tour with Phil Lafayette and am glad you enjoyed it and glad to hear it is a good tour. Our cruise is 53 days away, but who's counting. Thanks again!!!

[mmsoko]

Have been waiting for your review and you didn't disappoint. Thanks so much for writing it and also for posting from the ship.

 

Our cruise is a long time off so I'll be watching for everyone's reviews:).

 

In Cristobal, is it easy to identify the Indian made woven pieces?

Can you take purchases from the duty free shop directly to your cabin?

 

Thanks again.

[Iamthesea]

I printed out your review for my DH to read last night. While reading it he turned to me and said "We don't have a stateroom across from the laundry room...do we?" :eek: And then he said "Didn't we book the Eco tour?" :eek: :eek:

 

:( :(

[mii]

I have been reading this thread because of some interest in the Eco-tour adventures. When we did the partial transit on the Coral r/t from Fort Lauderdale we took the Tortuguero Canal/Eco adveantures from Limon in Costa Rica and it was one of the most fabulous excursions ever. What the O/P is talking about is cCosta Rica on the Pacific side not the Caribbean side. That is two different excursions. Thought everyone would like to know.

 

Marilyn

[LisaH]

As a user of the self-service laundromats (but a courteous one), I would NEVER book a room across the hall from one. Just an honest opinion.

[Druke I]

Like the poster immediately above, we try not to book a cabin directly across from a laundromat.

 

On Regal Princess, 3-01, Singapore to Beijing, two women (not ladies) got into a hair-pulling, fist-flailing cat-fight over a machine, which of course spilled into the adjacent hallway, down on Plaza Deck. At other times, machine users congregated in the hallway to avoid the heat, and generally were less than considerate considering the proximity to cabins.

[cruzinchris]

Another Cruise,

I enjoyed your review; thanks. I'm hoping that DH and I will book the Coral for January, 2007 (Panama Canal from FLL) while we are on the CB in January.

Chris

[Iamthesea]

Two things: We are on the port side of the ship in a balcony D714 & 716 (see deck plan http://www.princess.com/ships/co/deck/co_dolphin_index.html) As you can see, the laundry room is on the starboard hallway. Will we still hear noise from that area? I feel sorry for the occupants of D720. :eek:

 

mii - Thanks you for clearing up the excursion confusion...I think! Our tour is called the Jungle River Eco - Adventure. Sounds the same as the OP's excursion. The description says that we take a 1 1/2 hour bus ride to Costa Rica's Tortuguero Canal region on the Mawamba boat. Is this what you did?

[mii]

Two things: We are on the port side of the ship in a balcony D714 & 716 (see deck plan http://www.princess.com/ships/co/deck/co_dolphin_index.html) As you can see, the laundry room is on the starboard hallway. Will we still hear noise from that area? I feel sorry for the occupants of D720. :eek:

 

mii - Thanks you for clearing up the excursion confusion...I think! Our tour is called the Jungle River Eco - Adventure. Sounds the same as the OP's excursion. The description says that we take a 1 1/2 hour bus ride to Costa Rica's Tortuguero Canal region on the Mawamba boat. Is this what you did?

 

That is exactly the one we did and was fabulous. The one in Punternares(sp) on the Pacific side has a completely different description on a different river. If you want go into the Punterares site on princess shore excursions and look at the description. They are totally different.

 

Marilyn

[Another Cruise]

Sorry for the confusion on the River tour. The Costa Rica's Tortuguero Canal tour is on the other side from where we were. I have heard it is excellent. We were on the Pacific side. If you are on the opposite side of ship from laundry room you should be fine. We were directly across from it. From now on DH says we will pick the room we want and not do gty again. At the shops in Cristobal you will have no trouble finding the baskets made by the Indians. Tribe members have a separate area inside the large building and they are dressed (or not) in native attire. The baskets are beautiful, but not cheap. Small ones are $20 or more. But they are authentic. Some people said they had the name of the person who made them on the bottom of basket and they were able to take their picture with the person who made it. You can bring wine back on board. There will be a table at the gangway for you to check other liquor and it will be delivered to your room on the last day of the cruise. All items are scanned and if they find it they will take it and keep it until the last day. Something Princess does offer is that you can pre-order liquor to be delivered to your stateroom upon your arrival and you can also go to some of the bars and purchase bottles there to take to your room. Prices are on the Princess web site. I saw several couples who were traveling together and each couple bought a different type and they were getting together for cocktails before dinner etc. Probably a little more expensive than buying back home, but you don't have to cart it with you. I had some suitcases pushing the 50 lb mark so it was give up shoes or liquor. I kept the shoes and ordered the liquor! I figured after 4 Bloody Marys on a 15 day cruise the rest were free.

[beachlovergirl]

Another Cruise - Thank you for the informative review. How was the air conditioning on the Coral? Were any places on the ship really cold or too hot? When we were on the Caribbean Princess I thought it was way too warm, so that's why I was wondering what you thought about the Coral. We're on the Coral on Oct 25th and can't wait. By the way, the raspberry creme brulee has always been my favorite Princess dessert.

 

Thanks!

Dee

[LisaH]

If you are on the port side and the laundromat is on starboard (or vice versa), you will be fine...HAVE FUN

[Iamthesea]

Thanks all about the laundry room. :)

 

Marilyn and Another Cruise - Thanks so much for making me feel better about the excursion. :)

 

Another Cruise - The baskets sound wonderful!

 

We are ordering liquor and beer for the room. I assume they have set-ups also???

 

I am also curious about the air conditioning...Hot Flashes!!! :o

[weaver145]

Did I miss how to get ahold of Phil Lafayette??

[Iamthesea]

http://www.phil-lafayette-tours.com/

[LARGIN]

Iamthesea.. We will be in D716 in May when the Coral does the full transit Panama. I would appreciate knowing your views, both good and bad on your room location.. Also you said D714 & D716 are balconies.. They do have a balcony but they are mini-suites..

[Linda the Book Lover]

Iamthesea, thanks for the address for Phil Lafayette.

Another cruise, did you take the Falls/tubing combo? We want to do both and of course, my husband the “parrot head” must go to Margaritaville.:)

[Iamthesea]

Iamthesea.. We will be in D716 in May when the Coral does the full transit Panama. I would appreciate knowing your views, both good and bad on your room location.. Also you said D714 & D716 are balconies.. They do have a balcony but they are mini-suites..

Yes, I am aware they are mini suites and I will take some photo's.