Great itinerary, disappointing ship

Item: Coral Princess
Rating: 3.9
Author: don731

Coral Princess Cruise Review to Panama Canal, Central America

don731

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 48

Overall rating:

3.9 out of 5

15 Night Panama Canal - Ocean To Ocean Westbound (Ft. Lauderdale To San Francisco)

Sail date: January 31, 2019

Ship: Coral Princess

Cabin type: Balcony

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 5 years ago

Review summary

This ship does not execute well. Poor “show” with many departments trying to up sell guests. Dress code (formal nights) a total joke. We felt stupid bringing tuxedo and gowns. Cunard (also Carnival owned) does a great job enforcing their dress code. Passenger demographic older, and unsophisticated. Observed many people starting to drink at 9AM with buckets of beer. We would consider Princess again only based on itinerary. Balcony value no more than $100-125 per person per night.

Embarkation

2 out of 5

Ship arrived from dry dock hours late, embarkation was 4-5 hours late. Many dry dock items not fully completed.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5

Food was not memorable. Great service by dining room and bar staff.

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5

Pool area okay, but constant loud inappropriate music in public areas.

Entertainment

4 out of 5

Only a few stage shows, which were good.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Outstanding room steward and wait staff. Ships officers were invisible.

Ship Quality

2 out of 5

Arrived from drydock poorly cleaned. Carpets were replaced every day during the cruise, including the carpet in our room.

Cabin / Stateroom

4 out of 5

Standard balcony cabin. Small bathroom but excellent water pressure.

Ship tip

Do NOT bring formal wear!

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Cartagena, Colombia

5 out of 5

Did ship excursion, which was wonderful.

Thumbs Up 3

Panama Canal Transit

5 out of 5

Excellent commentary during the transit.

Thumbs Up 4

Fuerte Amador, Panama

5 out of 5

We will return to Panama City!

Thumbs Up 2

Puntarenas, Costa Rica

2 out of 5

Poor, sad port.

Thumbs Up 0

San Juan Del Sur, Nicaragua Did not visit port

Did not get off the ship.

Thumbs Up 0

Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

5 out of 5

We had a private driver, and visited San Jose de Cabo.

Thumbs Up 1

San Francisco, California

5 out of 5

One of our favorite cities.

Thumbs Up 0

Disembarkation

5 out of 5

Off the ship and through customs in five minutes!

4 Comments

DrueNSandy 4 years ago

Unsophisticated? Wow! Guess that’s what I am since I am “older” at age 70. Get a life!

Thumbs Up 0

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bemis321 5 years ago

I really love people who consider themselves more sophisticated than other people.

Thumbs Up 2

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cruisevacayers 5 years ago

We loved our trip through the canal on the Corral Princess, all of it. But would not have liked them doing a major refix projects why cruisng, cruise lines need to stop doing that or announce it before hand and make it a major discount cruise.

Thumbs Up 3

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PsychoAndBarb 5 years ago

What’s wrong with buckets of beer at 9 am? It’s vacation time and five o’clock somewhere

Thumbs Up 3

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Other reviews of this sailing

Amazing Panama Canal

Mostly Good Cruise thru the Panama Canal

So wonderful