Review - Coral Princess - Panama Canal - 2008-02-25 to 2008-03-06

[JetJock_YHZ]

Review - Coral Princess - Panama Canal - 2008-02-25 to 2008-03-06

 

This is my first posting of a review on cruisecritic.com. Your feedback is welcome!

 

My partner and I booked a suite (C701 - Tahiti Suite) on the Coral Princess. This was our 4th cruise and our 3rd on Princess.

 

We arrived in Fort Lauderdale the night before the cruise and stayed at the Hilton Fort Lauderdale Grande Hotel and Yacht Club. This is virtually across the street from Port Everglades and within walking distance to Total Wine. We bought a few bottles to bring on board and had no problems.

 

We showed up for embarcation around 14h00 and walked right through to check-in with our e-checkin boarding passes. Everything went smoothly and we were in our stateroom about 15 minutes later.

 

We had requested that the beds be separated, but they were together forming a very comfortable queen. We decided to leave it. The bed was quite comfortable, but we asked our room steward, for an egg-crate underlay and top-sheet. The duvet was nice, but is nicer with a top sheet. This is not normal setup, but worth asking for.

 

The ship sailed about 1.5 hours late as some passengers were delayed due to winter weather up north.

 

The suite itself was nicely appointed and after having stayed in mini-suites previously, the full suite was well worth it. Furthermore, the perks that come with a suite, like free, unlimited internet access, daily hors d'oeuvres, a boutinere/corsage on the first formal night, a welcome glass of champagne, all the complimentary laundry and dry-cleaning/shoe polishing you want and a beautiful flower arrangement (that lasted the full 10 days), plus the many other amenities, really helped to offset the premium on the price.

 

Muster station drill was painless and well done by the crew. It took about 20 minutes.

 

Coral Princess, herself, was very clean and in excellent shape. Other than the lack of a Skywalker's Bar high on the stern, I really enjoyed this ship.

 

We are in our 40's, and felt very young on board! The age demographic was a bit older, but it did not stop anybody from kicking up their heels and having a good time. However, the vessel became a virtual ghost ship after 23h00 every night.

 

The first 2 days were at sea and offered a chance to de-stress.

 

The first stop was Aruba. We did not take any tours, but did a walk-about and had a few relaxing drinks.

 

Cartagena, Columbia was the 2nd stop and I really did not like it at all, although it is a beautiful city. We booked a private walking tour which was mediocre at best - caveat emptor. I have travelled to a lot of places, but I have never been hassled so aggressively or frequently as in Cartagena! It was very annoying and Columbia has a way to go if they want to increase tourism. Beware of the taxi drivers - we got ripped off! English can be a problem.

 

The 3rd stop was the Panama Canal. It was an early rise and the ship entered the Gatun Locks on schedule. It was facinating! Coral Princess has two public decks that are not widely advertised. There exists access to forward and aft decks on the Caribe and Dolphin decks. Obviously, not too many people knew about them as there were very few passengers there for the transit. The forward deck is the best one for observing the transit, and the aft one is just as good as you sail into the next lock.

We booked a land tour with Princess to do a boat tour of the Canal. We were tendered and bussed for about an hour to the embarcation point. The small ferry continued through the Miraflores Locks to the Pacific and we then took another 1 hour bus ride back to Cristobal. It was nice, but was a bit of a cattle-ride and was expensive.

 

The 4th stop was Puerto Limon, Costa Rica... by far my favourite!. We booked a private tour with www.okeydokeytours.com and our guide, Jose, was fantastic! I highly recommend them! We did a great 13-station zip-line canopy tour, a 1 hour horseback ride, and an eco-river tour. Lunch and beer were included and Jose even took us to a local grocery store to buy coffee and vanilla, which was much cheaper than at the tourist market. This tour lasted for about 6 hours and cost just $95.00 each... a much better deal than Princess had to offer. The owner of the company, Charlie Soto, even phoned us on Jose's cell phone to make sure we were being treated well. It was a class act!

 

Day at sea...

 

Ocho Rios, Jamaica... we were tired and went to Island Village for a few drinks.

 

Day at sea...

 

We got back in Fort Lauderdale and disembarcation was a breeze. Being suite-passengers, we were invited to the Wheelhouse Bar with the Platinum and Elite passengers to await our call.

 

In general terms, we were extremely impressed with the crew, the food, the entertainment and the level of service. I really have no complaints and highly recommend that you consider taking this cruise or any other cruise with Princess. We purchased 4 future cruise credits on board, so you know where we'll be for the next few Canadian winters!

 

I'm not sure if it was appropriate or not, but we tipped our steward $20 in advance on the first day, and again on the penultimate day. We received excellent service and ended up with a cute collection of "towel-imals" by the end of the cruise (I especially liked the "hanging monkey" on the 2nd last night!)".

 

If you have any questions or want more detail, please ask.

 

Happy cruising!

 

Carl and Brett

Halifax, NS, Canada

[teripp]

Thank you for the review. This is the cruise I want to take for my 50th :) in about 4 years and just love to hear about it.

[mii]

I am glad you had a good time on the Coral. She is my favorite ship so far. We also did the partial transit in 2004 and a full transit on her in 2006. This coming May we are doing a B2B2B on her to Alaska. Thanks for a well balanced review.

 

Marilyn

[RSWBADGER]

Nice review, we are sailing on the Coral in a month, can't wait. The Coral is a great ship, this will be our second time sailing her.

[mamatrouble]

I hope you left the room in great shape as we have the same one in 3 weeks...If you have any pictures I would LOVE to see them... cdcarpenter3@yahoo.com...

Any pointers that you can give us for the room,how was the balcony/furniture,any problems with the room steward,did u plan any parties/order room services,ect....anything you want to tell please do..

 

We are doing the boat tour also and the A1 tour so glad you enjoyed them..Was the zipling as good as I heard as I have never done this before..

[Guest arowe6]

Thank you for a wonderful review. We are doing the same cruise on the Island Princess this coming November and your review got me excited again.

 

-Andrew :p

[reggielew]

Hi!

 

We are thinking about doing the same cruise on the Island Princess in November. I have two questions that I hope you can answer for me. (1) Do we need any special immunizations to go to the Panama Canal? And (2) are there two different shows most nights (like one in the main theater and a second one like a comedian, etc., in a different room?) Our last several cruises have been on the Caribbean Princess which has a lot of different entertainment every night. Since the Coral and the Island have many fewer passengers, I was wondering if there might be fewer entertainment options.

 

Thanks very much for any information you can give me.

 

Reggie

[Colo Cruiser]

Great review thanks.

Is the Hilton the old Marina Hotel at the foot of the 17th St bridge?

 

 

 

No shots needed for Panama.

Entertainment is basicly the same on the Coral/Island. :)

[johnmik1]

Great review thanks.

Is the Hilton the old Marina Hotel at the foot of the 17th St bridge?

 

 

 

No shots needed for Panama.

Entertainment is basicly the same on the Coral/Island. :)

 

Yes,the Grande is the old Marriott Marina on 17thSt by the bridge.

[Colo Cruiser]

Yes,the Grande is the old Marriott Marina on 17thSt by the bridge.

 

 

Thanks I wonder if it is better then it use to be now, didnt it get a lot of damage from a hurrcaine? :)

[johnmik1]

Thanks I wonder if it is better then it use to be now, didnt it get a lot of damage from a hurrcaine? :)

 

In Sept of 2006 and Jan of 2007 we stayed there and the main tower was closed as they were repairing the hurricane damage.Only the lower building was open at that time.In Jan of 2008,it appeared to be fully renovated but we didn't stay there for that cruise.

[Colo Cruiser]

In Sept of 2006 and Jan of 2007 we stayed there and the main tower was closed as they were repairing the hurricane damage.Only the lower building was open at that time.In Jan of 2008,it appeared to be fully renovated but we didn't stay there for that cruise.

 

Thanks, may have to check it out on our next stay. :)

[mamatrouble]

Thanks, may have to check it out on our next stay. :)

Will be staying there April 4th and will report back with a review and pictures...

[mamatrouble]

Review - Coral Princess - Panama Canal - 2008-02-25 to 2008-03-06

 

We arrived in Fort Lauderdale the night before the cruise and stayed at the Hilton Fort Lauderdale Grande Hotel and Yacht Club. This is virtually across the street from Port Everglades and within walking distance to Total Wine. We bought a few bottles to bring on board and had no problems.

 

Happy cruising!

 

Carl and Brett

Halifax, NS, Canada

 

Would like to know about the Grand since it was just remodeled this year and we are staying there the night before also...Thx again

[dforeigner]

Thank you for taking time to write a review.

[mycruz]

Thanks for the review. This is one of my favorite cruises on my favorite ship! Loved Limon as well, it certainly is a beautiful place.

[JetJock_YHZ]

The Hilton Grande is a beautiful hotel and the staff and location are excellent, but they are new to the Hilton family of hotels and still have a bit to learn. We were upgraded to a mini-suite in the tower. However, if you arrive after 22h00, you'll be carting you own bags up to your room by yourself. The Bell staff are not available 24/7. I am a Diamond member with Hilton HHonors and expressed my dissatisfaction (in no uncertain terms) at check-in.

 

If you have the time, do a water-taxi ride... it was cheap and really good!

 

Carl and Brett

 

PS: We stayed at the other Hilton (Beach Resort) after the cruise - again, a great hotel and Bell staff are available 24/7... highly recommended!

[Queenston]

Thanks, may have to check it out on our next stay. :)

 

For a recent review, go to Trip Advisor where I posted my pre- and post-cruise review as Queenston. The hotel has been extensively renovated and is lovely, except for the points mentioned in that review.

[Griff4AU]

Nice review.

 

I was on the Coral for Alaska last year and enjoyed the ship very much.

[Queenston]

Thank you so much for your very helpful review! We are going on the 14 day Coral through the canal at the end of next January so this was a very informative review indeed.

 

I would just like to ask if you have any pointers re what to avoid? Sounds like there is not all that much on the Coral that needs avoidance! We have already booked and been confirmed for early traditional with two friends who are joining us from Kelowna, so the dining should not be an issue. Did you try Sabatini's on the Coral? We really enjoyed in on Emerald.

 

(Wonderful city, Halifax! You are so lucky to live in such a well appointed Atlantic port. And Dal is an amazing university.)

[JetJock_YHZ]

Hi Queenston,

 

We dined at the Bayou the 1st night, as we heard that the dining rooms were a bit disorganized on the 1st night. We liked it so much, we went back there again on the last night! The food and service were great.

 

We also dined at Sabatini's one night and, while it was OK, nothing to write home about. It was a bit rushed with too many courses for my taste.

 

We did the Ultimate Balcony Dinner on the Star a few years ago, and had to eat inside as the wind was high. It was a bit weird with 2 waiters in the room, looking at the TV through the sides of their eyes. However, it was nice and the food was good.

 

We tried to do the Chef's Dinner on Coral Princess, but, alas, it is not yet available.

 

You will enjoy this trip. The transit of the Panama Canal is fascinating, but you have to get up early.

 

Let us know how you make out!

 

If you have any other questions, please ask.

 

Carl and Brett

Halifax, NS, Canada

[cherylakers]

Carl and Brett

 

Thanks for the great review. We are going on her 4/15. Can you tell me how many formal nights??

 

How was the food?? Do they still have the great pasta in the parmesan bowl??

 

Everyone seems to love the Coral. We have recently been on the Diamond and the Star and love their big ships so I am hoping we love her too.

 

Thanks

Cheryl in Sunny Florida

[reggielew]

Hi!

 

We are planning to do the Panama Canal on the Island Princess in November. Are there any lectures or slide presentations, etc. onboard to familiarize the passengers with the history and the construction of the canal?

 

Thanks for all the previous information.

Reggie

[eskiemom]

I will be on the 4/15 cruise as well. There are two formal nights. One should be the captains gala (free cocktails) and the 2nd the next to the last night at sea?? Also, you talked about the parmesan bowl pasta-they do still have the wonderful fettucine alfredo. At least they did when I was on the crown last year.

 

For reggielew, according the everything I have read, they do have someone on board to speak about the history of the canal. There is a book that everyone recommends reading prior to the canal trip but I can'r remember the title. I am sure you can find it on other posts.

[mamatrouble]

We are planning to do the Panama Canal on the Island Princess in November. Are there any lectures or slide presentations, etc. onboard to familiarize the passengers with the history and the construction of the canal

I found 2 good books"the Path between the Seas"(Over 800 pages) and good short one with all the ports in it called "Panama Canal by Cruise Ship" this one I'm carrying with me in less than 2 weeks.