Good quality, not great.

Coral Princess Cruise Review to Panama Canal, Central America

Cruises: 7+ cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 59

Overall rating:

3 out of 5
Verified Review
Coral Princess

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

Sail date: October 28, 2015

Ship: Coral Princess

Cabin type: Oceanview

Cabin number: P607

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 9 years ago

Review summary

The shows onboard were very short, the singing and dancing of the troupe was not the best.  The ship did offer a lot of other entertainers that were so much better. They offered outdoor movie viewing on a big screen with popcorn.  As a couple who have cruised before we found the food in the banquet area to be redundant day after day compared to other cruise lines.  A few nights the food in the dining room was overcooked.  Overall the crew were nice and friendly.  The one problem we had was in Grand Cayman.  We had gone to the excursion desk to check on the weather for the next day before booking a beach trip, since it had rained the night before. They sold us the beach trip after checking the weather.  The next morning the skies were black and grey with rain clouds looming. We no sooner reached the beach area when lightening, thunder and rain started and they closed the beach.  We and most of the tour stayed at the restaurant under tarps until the bus came back for us 3 hours later.  Some people did take a taxi back to town. When we went to the excursion desk to speak to them about the tour, they were rude.  In fact, one guy at the excursion desk was very rude to four other people that wanted to complain about not knowing their tour was cancelled after being sent down and up the decks of the ship, no one knew what was going on.  We did finally get a 30%  discount on our tour.  Limon, Costa Rica was really just a port.  The dock area where we had to walk on had lots of ruts in it.  We saw one man trip and fall in one of the railway ruts. The "town" had maybe 4 stores for shopping.  We enjoyed the Panama Canal and going through the 3 locks.  It is worth booking a tour and getting off the ship.  We took the Gatun Lock and Embera Indian Village tour.  Getting up close to the locks was the best part of our trip, we loved the Panama Canal.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5
Food court was redundant day after day. Dining room food was overcooked a few times.

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5
They didn't offer a lot of activities compared to other cruise lines.

Entertainment

3 out of 5
The dance troupe was not that good. The shows were short and the singing not the best.

Service and Staff

3 out of 5
Veronica who gave a short Spanish course and who organized a passenger choir was great.

Ship Quality

3 out of 5
The pool area didn't have too much tables and chairs, it was mostly chaise lounges. If you wanted to sit outside, good luck finding a table. Poor design getting from the back of the ship to the front dining buffet area. You had to go outside and walk through the pool area and then into the buffet. They had outdoor carpet and when it rained at night, you had to walk through this wet carpeting.

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5
Our Steward, Jerry was good. No towel animals, but that was OK. Had 2 chairs and a small table which was nice. Nice large window to look at the view.

Ship tip

Take advantage of the BOGO deals. You get one drink at regular price and another for $1.00 more. If you ask for a ticket during the BOGO hours you can enter a contest for prizes. We didn't know until the last day. For trivia folks, get to the Wheelhouse Lounge 1/2 hour early.

Ports of call

Ft. Lauderdale (Port Everglades), Florida

3 out of 5
If you go down the day before the cruise book a hotel near the port.

Oranjestad, Aruba

3 out of 5
Take the local bus 10 to DePalm Beach area. Beaches are open to the public. You can take a taxi back to town. Go to the "Paddock" bar for a drink overlooking the port and the ship. Check out the bar with all the money hanging all over.

Cartagena, Colombia

5 out of 5
Take a tour that includes the Fortress La Bovedas. Watch out for all the people trying to sell you things, they haunt you the whole time. In and out of the fort, church and streets.

Panama Canal (Cruise Into Canal)

5 out of 5
Take the Gatun Locks and Embera Indian Village tour. You take a short bus trip to the Melia Hotel and board a boat for a ride on the Gatun Lake. We saw monkeys. The Embera village was very nice and they had crafts for sale. The Gatun Observation area was right on the locks. Great views of the ships going through the locks. Also great view of the new locks. Very good tour.

Colon, Panama

3 out of 5
A few stores for shopping and not far from the ship. You can also get some Embera Indian crafts in town.

Puerto Limon, Costa Rica

3 out of 5
The banana plantation was interesting.

George Town, Grand Cayman

3 out of 5
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