Coral Princess Panama Canal 11/29 Review

[Uno]

Here is a link to my review!

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=50119

 

Please feel free to ask me questions...

[Pia1913]

Here is a link to my review!

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=50119

 

Please feel free to ask me questions...

 

Thanks for the review; enjoyed it and Kevin Hughes too. One question: is there internet access from your cabin?

[Uno]

No internet access in our cabin. We could only receive wifi while in the atrium area and it was very slow. We ended up using the ship's computers most of the time.

[LARGIN]

Thanks for the review. Do you remember the names of the Maitre D' and Head Waiters?

[Pia1913]

No internet access in our cabin. We could only receive wifi while in the atrium area and it was very slow. We ended up using the ship's computers most of the time.

 

OK. Now I know not to shlep my computer to Fairbanks. :(

[Caribbean Sunsets]

Thanks for the detailed and easy to read review. PC is our next adventure.

[mii]

Thanks for your review. We are doing the full transit from Ft. lauderdale to L.A. next april and I was very much interested in Guatamala and Nicaguara and what you did there. We have done a full transit before but did not include those two stops. In Guatamala did you speak tio anyone on your ship that did the combination of the Coffee plantation and Antigua ships tour?

 

Again thanks for the review. the coral is our favorite ship and this will be our 6th time on her.

 

Marilyn

[Uno]

Thanks for the review. Do you remember the names of the Maitre D' and Head Waiters?

 

 

The Maitre D'Hotel is Elia Tinonin. He is a nice guy. I talked to him a couple of times.

 

The employee of the month was the Head Waiter Internal Services, Victor Portillo Rodriguez.

[Uno]

OK. Now I know not to shlep my computer to Fairbanks. :(

 

Yeah -- as long as you can check email via a webpage and you don't have to download your pictures to a laptop then you might as well just use the ship's computers. FYI on sea days in the afternoons it gets pretty crowded.

[Pia1913]

Yeah -- as long as you can check email via a webpage and you don't have to download your pictures to a laptop then you might as well just use the ship's computers. FYI on sea days in the afternoons it gets pretty crowded.

 

The Ruby just spoiled me. That's what I liked best; being able to log on from my cabin and not having to get dressed and run down to the internet cafe (where I tend to spend way too much time). I don't do pictures at all, so that's not ever a problem.

[Uno]

In Guatamala did you speak tio anyone on your ship that did the combination of the Coffee plantation and Antigua ships tour?

 

Marilyn

 

I think some of our tablemates took that excursion and had a good time, but I don't know any details. It sounds like a good excursion. We almost chose that one ourselves.

[Nancyquilts]

Here is a link to my review!

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=50119

 

Please feel free to ask me questions...

Thanks for the report - we're looking forward to our January cruise. Hope Kevin Hughes is still there - he's our all-time favorite. Nancy

[Katie333]

Great review! We are taking a similar partial transit trip (with almost the same cabins) in February. I am really getting excited, thanks for posting!

[Colo Cruiser]

Thanks for the review.

[bhopal21]

Here is a link to my review!

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=50119

 

Please feel free to ask me questions...

 

Does the Coral have a Bayou Cafe, and did you try it?

 

Mike:)

[mii]

Does the Coral have a Bayou Cafe, and did you try it?

 

Mike:)

 

Yes, the Coral and the Island both have the Bayou Cafe. I have been on Coral only and sometimes the food has been very good and then there have been times that it is so so. As I understand the filet is really good.

 

Marilyn

[scottam]

Uno,

Thanks for the review. I'm so glad you had a great cruise. We are anxiously awaiting our PC cruise on the Island in Feb.

 

I have a couple of questions for you, if you don't mind ...

 

What guide book did you use in Antigua and where did you find it? We are also doing the Antigua On Your Own Tour and would be interested in such a book. Also, did you hear any comments from other on the tour who hired a guide and what they thought of the tour and the cost?

 

We are also doing a post cruise night in Ft. Lauderdale and are considering the Riverside Hotel. I'm glad to hear you enjoyed the hotel. Did you stay in the old or new section and would you stay there again? How convenient was the water taxi to the hotel?

 

Thanks again for the great review!

[Uno]

Does the Coral have a Bayou Cafe, and did you try it?

 

Mike:)

 

We did not go there mostly because I had read several so-so reviews about the Bayou Cafe. I figured one specialty restaurant was enough and so we went to Sabatini's which was very good (everyone loves Italian food!).

[Uno]

Uno,

What guide book did you use in Antigua and where did you find it? We are also doing the Antigua On Your Own Tour and would be interested in such a book. Also, did you hear any comments from others on the tour who hired a guide and what they thought of the tour and the cost?

 

We are also doing a post cruise night in Ft. Lauderdale and are considering the Riverside Hotel. I'm glad to hear you enjoyed the hotel. Did you stay in the old or new section and would you stay there again? How convenient was the water taxi to the hotel?

 

I bought a Fodor's guidebook on Central America at Border's. You can of course find more specific guidebooks about Guatemala if you want. The book I had was sufficient for our tour and provided some good background infomation about all of the countries that we visited. Please note that in Antigua some streets have two names. This was a bit confusing but if you look on a map you will see that 4a C. Oriente is the same as Calle de la Concepcion. This is important to know since sometimes only one of the two names are on the street signs.

 

Also one place that I wanted to go was the old convent -- Convento de las Capuchinas. We finally found it (it was not obvious since there were very few tourists there and we had street name confusion) and they would not take dollars for admission. Every other place we went in Antigua took dollars, but not this place. We did not feel like exchanging money, so we did not go to this convent. According to my guidebook it is an interesting site.

 

I did not talk to anyone on my bus that hired a guide, but I read in past posts that it was a positive experience. We liked touring on our own since we were able to get to the cafe early and could go where we want. On the other hand, the tour would probably only last an hour or so, and you would have plenty of time to walk around on your own. I would recommend one of the guides that are at the Central Park.

 

Regarding the Riverside hotel -- we stayed in the new tower (and paid extra for this). Since we arrived early in the day (from the cruise ship) they did not have our regular room available for check in and they upgraded us to a balcony room! It was very nice. We needed a good room to relax and rest up after the cruise! Cruising is hard work! We walked around the shops and then later walked up the riverwalk (and saw lots of big yachts and drawbridges). The water taxi was close (you have to walk a few blocks around some construction). We did not ride the water taxi, but it looked like fun. I would definately stay there again since it was a class act hotel. We had lunch at the hotel and it was good. And as I mentioned in my review, Johnnie V across the street was a great restaurant for dinner.

 

I must say though, I wondered if I should have booked a hotel on the beach just to see the waves and beach. It depends on what you like, and we ended up liking the riverwalk and the restaurants in the area. I was a bit disappointed in the shops. I had expected more variety. But for one night it was fine.

[scottam]

Hi Uno,

 

Thanks for the additional info!

[Colo Cruiser]

Does the Coral have a Bayou Cafe, and did you try it?

 

Mike:)

 

 

They are excellent. :D

[Nancyquilts]

Scottam - If you don't want to carry the whole book, or borrow one from the library, you could always copy the pages you need and take them with you. I find this works well for us and saves space. Nancy

[rockymo]

Uno, thanks for the information. Did you see tour info and drivers available at the ports in Guatamala, Nicaragua and Costa Rica? Did you hear of any passengers doing this? and were they happy with it? Thanks so much for your help.

[Uno]

Uno, thanks for the information. Did you see tour info and drivers available at the ports in Guatamala, Nicaragua and Costa Rica? Did you hear of any passengers doing this? and were they happy with it? Thanks so much for your help.

 

In Costa Rica and Guatemala there were taxis and tours available. In Guatemala there was a travel desk where you could book tours. In Costa Rica I talked with one couple that took a tour via a taxi for something like $20 per person for four people. They had a good time. I think they spent most of their tour in Sarchi. The port (Puerto Corinto) that we visted in Nicaragua did not have tours or taxis that I know of.

[rockymo]

Thanks Uno, that is just what I needed to hear. There are four of us and we like to go out on our own. We don't like those all day ship tours.