Good cruise/bad excursion

Item: Coral Princess
Rating: 4
Author: tomchris

Coral Princess Cruise Review to Panama Canal, Central America

tomchris

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 49

Overall rating:

4 out of 5

Verified Review

10 Night Roundtrip Panama Canal (Ft. Lauderdale Roundtrip)

Sail date: March 17, 2013

Ship: Coral Princess

Cabin type: Oceanview

Cabin number: P525

Traveled as: Large Group

Reviewed: 11 years ago

Review summary

We have been on several Princess cruises and have never had cause for a complaint. However, our Panama Canal excursion was very disappointing. We were told by a Princess excursion staff member that we could expect to return to port with 2 hours to spare for shopping, etc. Instead, we were gone for approximately 9 hours and didn't return to the ship until almost 8:00 pm... exhausted and hungry. At the outset, our bus was one of the last to arrive at the 'ferry" boat (expected something better!) and we had a hard time finding seats for our group of 6. We had to sit in uncomfortable seats on the lower deck where it was very hot and crowded. The narrator of the tour was on the upper deck, we had a difficult time hearing him, and he referred to a map we had no way of seeing. The lunch served was mediocre at best, and we were continually bothered by a crew member trying to sell food items, hats, photos, etc. While we enjoyed traveling through the locks, we never expected the boat ride to last 5 hours. And then we had to sit for another 2 hours on our return bus trip - this was not well represented in the excursion description. When we finally returned to the ship, we had missed the show we planned to attend and had to rush to get ready for dinner. We believe Princess should offer us some compensation for this unpleasant experience. On a more positive note, we really enjoyed the 2 other excursions we took - ziplining in Costa Rica and expecially the sting ray/snorkel experience in Grand Cayman. Also, our dining room staff was excellent! Our head waiter, Marius, waiter, Thuwat (Sp?), his assistant, Iryina, all went above and beyond to ensure that we had a wonderful dining experience at every meal. We cannot praise them highly enough!

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5

Wonderful service!

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5

Entertainment

3 out of 5

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

Ship tip

Liked the size of this ship.

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Ft. Lauderdale (Port Everglades), Florida

3 out of 5

Oranjestad, Aruba

5 out of 5

Needed more time here.

Thumbs Up 0

Cartagena, Colombia

3 out of 5

Panama Canal (Cruise Into Canal)

5 out of 5

On ship - good, on ferry- bad

Thumbs Up 0

Colon, Panama Did not visit port

Unable to experience due to length of excursion

Thumbs Up 0

Puerto Limon, Costa Rica

5 out of 5

Beautiful rainforest

Thumbs Up 0

George Town, Grand Cayman

5 out of 5

Swimming with sting rays was great

Thumbs Up 0

4 Comments

Gwbigdog 2 years ago

Thanks

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DrCruiser 11 years ago

It is true that it was only people from the Coral Princess. The problem was that the first to arrive scattered themselves throughout the ferry and took up random seats. A better plan would have had some sort of "usher" system like in large churches to help groups sit together no matter which bus they were on. Princess standards should be somewhat adhered to when advertising excursions. It should have noted that the buffet lunch would be more like a "buffet picnic" so that some people were better prepared. While I didn't mind the food, some, obviously, expected a better experience. I can only imagine that older people or those with back problems must have been in significant discomfort in the plastic chairs. Perhaps stadium cushions should be available for those who need them.

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CanukCruiser 11 years ago

The ferry trip thru the canal was only other passenger from our ship so it didn't matter what bus you were on they all originated at the Coral Princess. Yes the chairs were plastic on the ferry and the food basic but seriously it was a ferry boat not a luxury cruise ship. Also the reason we were late arriving back was because of traffic due to construction (this was beyond the excursion staffs control and in fact they sent police to escort buses back.) Also I found some passenger to be very rude to the excursion staff when addressing them, one lady referred to them as "you people" and acted as if they could control traffic.

Thumbs Up 0

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DrCruiser 11 years ago

I couldn't agree more. We also enjoyed Marius, Thawat and Iryna. They are worth seeking out for service in the dining room!

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