Coral- Panama Canal Partial

[Furbette]

Husband and I arrived at the pier at 11:00 am and were in our room at 12:15. This is our sixth cruise with Princess and first on the Coral.We had a balcony on Aloha deck and were directly below the Lido deck mid-aft. Loved it as we had a large roof/cover and no noise from above.

We choose anytime dining as we prefer to eat around 7:30 and never had to wait more than 5 minutes for a table for two or to share and we never made reservations. .Menu choices were good and service was excellent. We used room service in early Am for light breakfast and were more than pleased with timeliness and service.

We found the overall ship’s crew was very friendly and helpful. Our cabin steward was rarely seen ,but did a great job . We used Princess excursions and recognize we probably paid a higher price over independent operators, however , we never felt pressured to get back to the ship and they had convenient pick up and drop off locations. The latter is important if you don’t prefer long hot walks.

The limited time in Aruba is a joke. We had been there several times prior so we just got of and strolled around the downtown area. Even that was very uncomfortable as it was extremely crowded as ther were four other ships in port at the same time. We noticed that there were many, many,people late to reboard ,

At the end of the cruise we used EZ Off for our luggage as we did not have a flight until 11:30 AM. Try it, it is great.

Following are some observations and opinions. No need to flame us if we hurt your feelings:

The coffee card is a waste of money. The fresh brewed at the IC is terrible. Some of the specialties are ok, but we thought the coffee in Horizon and dining rooms was better,

The IC in general has gone downhill. We tried on several occasions and got sandwiches, Danish, and desserts all at different times. The bread products were never fresh, sandwich combinations had very little imagination, and desserts were rarely fresh.

We drink a lot of water and used the Horizon or simply ice water from fridge to fill containers as needed that we had brought on board. So, its not worth the price or effort to bring your on board.

We prepaid our gratuities for crew partners as well as tipping modestly for room service on a daily basis. We also provided gratuities for tour guides and drivers.

The dress code is becoming more casual in the dining rooms. For those that take issue with this, “get over it”! We always dressed appropriately. Husband wore coat and tie most evenings, and I had drees suits or skirt. We saw many jeans, some shorts, and other casual type attire there, We noticed this but never let it take away from our enjoyment for the evening.

Staff is cracking down on the lounge reservations in the pool area. They were promptly removing items that the “lounge lizards were using to secure spots.

[vino100]

thanks for the review. Looking forward to boarding her next month. :D

[Wishing on a star]

Thank you for the update.

I am hoping that any plumbing issues, or other issues that were reported on earlier cruises have all been taken care of, and are no longer problems?

 

We are very much looking forward to our first cruise on the Coral!

We do have late dining, as I don't see us being at the dining room early on an Alaska, port and viewing intensive, cruise. I understand that they could possibly, and have, set aside part of the Anytime dining room for Traditional, and that Anytime can be more of an issue.

 

I HATE to hear that the IC was so very poor.

Our cabin is located midship, convenient to the IC, and we were looking forward to taking advantage of this. It was just wonderful on the Ruby last time we cruised. We already have our coffee card, and I am thinking that we might be very disappointed. With the new coffee card, have they changed the actual coffee that they 'supposedy' brew?

 

I noticed from travelers photos that the offerings did not look that great... And, not only that, but even with the small display cases, they were only about 2/3 full of trays of pastries/snacks on offer. How sad.

 

I wonder if there might be a way to send some feedback to the head of Food and Beverage on the ship, or even Princess, to let them know that the IC has been so poor.

 

Sounds like you had a wonderful cruise!

Glad to hear the the staff were addressing the chair-hogs!

Edited March 18, 2016 by Wishing on a star

[Furbette]

There was never an issue with seating for the Anytime Dining. In fact on the second formal night, the dining staff asked if we would not mind moving to traditional for that night because traditional had many empty spaces. They literally escorted us upstairs . We noticed that after 8 there were many vacant tables on all evenings in AT

[sunsetbeachgal]

We had no problem with the brewed or specialty coffees at the IC, but agree that the morning food items were not on par with the IC's on the larger ships. The morning breads, crossants, etc. never really tasted all that fresh. We thought the cookies were good, never tried their lunch offerings as I couldn't tear myself away from pizza and a salad from the buffet.

 

But we loved the setup and atmosphere and visited the IC every morning.

Edited March 18, 2016 by sunsetbeachgal

[Wishing on a star]

I am counting the days until that pizza, and buffet!

That pizza and a salad sound SO good!

[socmft]

Which venue is the pizza and salad - that does sound great! I'll be on Island.

[long cruiser]

The port charges for a intransit canal cruise is getting ridiculous (311.00)person.That's highway robbery.

long cruiser