Wonderful

Coral Princess Cruise Review to Panama Canal, Central America

Cruises: 4-6 cruises
Reviews: 2
Helpful Votes: 57

Overall rating:

5 out of 5
Verified Review
Coral Princess

11 Night Panama Canal Partial Transit (Ft. Lauderdale Roundtrip)

Sail date: December 12, 2014

Ship: Coral Princess

Cabin type: Oceanview

Traveled as: Singles/Friends

Reviewed: 9 years ago

Review summary

I chose this cruise based on the itinerary and a previous good experience with Princess.  I wasn't crazy about all the days at sea, but truly enjoyed the port lectures by Dr. Dean (may I have his job when he retires?).  The crew is wonderful.  My steward, Domingo, was terrific.  All the dining room staff were great.  The mattresses in cabin Plaza 536 do need replacing as even when the bed in made the dips are obvious, making it impossible to use my "queen-sized" bed as a queen-size.  I could only sleep on the side less worn.  Shore excursions were great.  In Jamaica, the open-air tour of a plantation showed a lovely horse and carriage.  Be warned it is actually a hay wagon with benches (no ladder for climbing up)  and towed by a smelly diesel tractor.  Tour guide, Donovan, was okay EXCEPT for the many, many Monica Lewinsky jokes that were out-dated and in poor taste.  Check-in for the cruise was easy as was disembarkation.  I chose the EZ option so Passenger Services printed my boarding pass and got my suitcase to the airport.  It arrived at my final destination in good shape.  This service is well worth the $20.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5
I particularly loved that the food was not over salted like in American restaurants.

Entertainment

3 out of 5

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

3 out of 5

Ship tip

I really did like channel 40 with the maps showing the ship's location.

Ports of call

Oranjestad, Aruba

5 out of 5
The two shore excursions I wanted were already booked, but since it was my first trip everything was new. Ryan was a great guide.

Cartagena, Colombia

5 out of 5
Frank was an amazing, knowledgeable tour guide. Be sure to see the Old City. Get your photo with the sloth at the mall.

Panama Canal (Cruise Into Canal)

5 out of 5
I watched the journey through each chamber from a different spot to get a great perspective. First chamber from deck 15. Second from my window on deck 5. Third from deck 7. Get a balcony for this trip.

Colon, Panama

1 out of 5
Simply a place to re-board the ship. Very poor city with terrible traffic congestion

Puerto Limon, Costa Rica

5 out of 5
Marvin was a great guide. The tram through the rain forest was amazing. I wish we had had longer than one hour on the Tortuguero Canals.

Ocho Rios, Jamaica

3 out of 5
This is a place to do stuff (water sports, etc.) rather than sight seeing. Open-air carriage ride at the plantation shows a horse and carriage, but it is a hay wagon with benches towed by a smelly diesel tractor. Donovan's bad Monica Lewinsky jokes were inappropriate.
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1 Comment

Gwbigdog    2 years ago

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