Through the Canal on the Coral - 12/22/09

[AndyTheK]

On December 22,my wife and I sailed on the Coral's holiday cruise from Fort Lauderdale to Los Angeles, through the Panama Canal. This was our first time on Princess, and the first time through the Canal.

 

We had an active CC roll call (25 or so people), which culminated in two Meet and Greets, one on the first full sea day, and the second (not planned in advance) a few days before the end. Thanks to Danni and Lynne and Don for managing both of the meets. As I'll note later, there were also a couple of more informal meetings in the course of the cruise.

 

OVERVIEW. The ship sailed full. Because it was a holiday cruise, we would expect a lot of families with children, but as it turned out, there were 235 (Princess' count). There was no trouble with teens "marauding" and causing mischief. The weather was wonderful - no rain except for some intermittent showers a few times. Temperature as expected for that part of the world, and the sea was generally calm.

 

THE SHIP. The Coral is not a crowded ship. We never encountered long lines for anything we wanted to do. The ship is in excellent condition. Of course, there was always evidence of ongoing maintenance: ails being varnished, balconies washed from the outside. Public rooms were kept in order.

 

OUR CABIN. Since DW is a mobility-limited scooter user, we had a handicapped accessible cabin - balcony B618 on the Baja deck near the aft elevators. She plans to post a review of the disabled accommodations. The cabin was well appointed, with enough drawer and closet space for the two of us. Everything worked properly, although the temperature on the a/c needed to be reset according to the time of day (if cool enough in the late afternoon, it was too cold at night) The only complaint I have is that the in-room safe is not big enough to hold a notebook computer.

 

CREW. We found the crew to be enthusiastic, very pleasant, and they seemed to enjoy their work. Many of those we cam into regular contact with were simply wonderful. Special mention goes to George our waiter in Late Seating Traditional (also known as "the doughnut man" at the MDR breakfast, which we did not do) who I would nominate as the best waiter afloat, Jason our assistant waiter (also known as "the tea man" at afternoon tea which we did attend a couple of times), Lito the barista in the Patisserie, who knew my name and my regular early morning order by the third day, and Natalia the bar waitress at night in the casino, and at the Lotus Pool in the afternoon. These people really "Made the Difference".

 

PRE CRUISE JITTERS. Embarkation was on Tuesday the 22nd of December. As we have a long trip from Israel to the USA, we planned to fly t Fort Lauderdale a day early to relax and recover from the jet lag. So did several others on the roll call, and we all booked rooms at the Hyatt Place in FLL for the 21st. We originally booked flights on Delta, connecting in Atlanta. About six weeks before the cruise date, Delta dropped the Monday flight from Tel Aviv to Atlanta, and we were rescheduled to connect via New York's JFK airport. On Friday the 18th, it became apparent that a major blizzard was headed toward New York, which would play havoc with air travel in the northeastern USA. Early Saturday, I guessed that the flight from New York to Tel Aviv, which would be the plane taking us to New York, would be canceled. All day Saturday, we were in contact with our travel agent who got us rescheduled for the Tuesday flight through Atlanta (last two seats on the flight). Of course the night at the Hyatt was down the drain. Luck was with us on Tuesday and we landed at FLL a little before 11 AM, just in time to grab a cab to the pier, and board the cruise in plenty of time.

 

EMBARKATION. Remarkably quick and easy. There were virtually no lines at the check in counters. We travel with a manual wheelchair for my wife, and rent a scooter for use on board. We requested in advance, assistance in boarding and had to wait about ten minutes for a crew member to help us on board. The scooter was waiting at the cabin door. We dropped our carry ons, took a fast look around, unloaded our valuables into the safe, and went up to Horizon Court for lunch. We spent some time exploring the ship, then went back to get life vests. By this time some of our luggage was waiting for us, and we met Rolando, our steward. After muster, DW went up to Lido for the sailaway and I joined her after dropping the vests back in the cabin. Our roll call had decided that we'd all wear yellow to sailaway, so we got together with a number of them there.

 

FOOD. As noted before, we had Traditional Late Seating. We were assigned a table seating eight, but only six people showed up. The other four were quite personable and we enjoyed dinner thoroughly. As the cruise went on, two of our tablemates - two women traveling together - met others and switched to anytime to eat with them. The remaining two were a father and teenage son, who eventually stopped eating in the MDR at all. Despite the fact that we don't generally want a table for two, we stayed where we were mainly because of George, who I noted earlier was a fantastic waiter! One night we got a couple overflowed from Anytime, and the last night we invited a couple we became friendly with on board, who had Anytime, to come and eat with us. There was no objection from the Head Waiter. We found the food to be delicious. The variety and preparation were great. George filled special requests (for repeats on other nights for escargots and New York steak, seconds on lobster, and double order of mussels) eagerly. We went to Bayou one night. While the Cajun food offered is not true New Orleans style - toned down from the HOT HOT you find there - it was quite good. The main courses were excellent. Overall well worth the expense. Breakfast and lunch were usually at the Horizon Court. A couple of times, we grabbed a burger and fries at the grill on the Sun Deck. My wife says that they made some of the best fries she has ever eaten! Finally, after a long night at the casino, we often went up to the buffet... even at that hour of night they offered sandwiches, salads, and a few hot dishes.

 

POOLS. We used the Lotus Pool many times, DW in the cold pool, and I in the hot tub. We tried to avoid the hours listed when children (supervised by an adult) were permitted, but sometimes we were then when the children were. However, there was no recklessness or horseplay. We're not sun lovers, so never tried to use the main pool.

 

SPA. Neither of used the gym, nor did we have massage. A few days before New Years Eve, my wife had her hair done in the salon, and was satisfied with the service, and thought the price was reasonable considering we were on a cruise.

 

PORTS. Considering my wife's mobility issues, we are not heavily into shore excursions. They need to be chosen carefully. The staff at the Excursion Desk was pretty knowledgeable about the content of each excursion, We did reserve a few of them pre-cruise, since it was clear that they would be suitable. On Aruba, we did the glass bottom boat tour (a first for her) and thoroughly enjoyed it. In Cartagena, we took the simple "highlights" bus tour. The vendors at the shopping market are the most aggressive we have ever seen in our lives! We enjoyed the folk dance show at the museum. In Fuerto Amador, I went on the Embera Village tour by myself, while her hair was being styled. In Costa Rica, the ride up to the local town was pleasant, and the children's dance was marvelous! We did not go ashore in Hualtco (laundry day) or Cabo. As for Acapulco... On the description by the Desk Staff, I went by myself, and the next time I won't even bother. The cliff divers are impressive, but otherwise Acapulco is hot, traffic is miserable, and there is nothing worth seeing!

 

THE CANAL. What can I say? No superlatives can describe this part of the cruise enough. We read "Passage Between the Seas" as preparation, but even that did not describe the marvel. The day long narration as we passed through locks, Gatun Lake and then more locks, finally exiting under the Bridge of the Americas into the Pacific Ocean, was perfect!

 

ENTERTAINMENT. We spend a lot of time in the casino (review at http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1119239 ) at night, but we do catch a number of shows also. Being new to Princess, the production shows were new to us. We saw "Motor City" and "What a Swell Party" as well as performances by Dan Riley and Adrian Zmed.

 

HOLIDAY FUN. When we boarded, and for the length of the trip, there was Christmas music playing. Decorations all over the ship. Many of us decorated our cabin doors. On Christmas Day, Santa was aboard and gave all the children gifts. The snow machine was running. In the afternoon, there were church services (Catholic Mass and non-denominational Protestant). New Year's Eve was an absolute BLAST! A great band, champagne flowing on deck. We were together with friends we made on board, and the MUTS screen showed the New York ball falling (they were an hour ahead of us) and at midnight, the Captain led the count down!

 

DEBARKATION. Princess accommodates those needing assistance leaving the ship by directing you to the Card Room at the same hour as your "color" dictates. Since we had no flight to catch - we spent three days ion LA with friends, we were not assigned an early departure. We were helped off the ship efficiently, and had no problems locating our luggage. We breezed through customs and our friends were outside the building waiting for us. The dockside porter (whom we had already tipped) even waited with us while our friend went to get his car from the parking lot.

 

IN SUMMARY. We loved the cruise. We loved the ship. We loved Princess. So much so that we booked our next cruise while on board. Princess, we'll "See You in September".

 

Shalom, Andy.

[bhopal21]

Great review Andy, Thanks for taking the time.

 

We did the Acapulco/Fort Lauderdale route in February and could not agree more about Acapulco. Our pre-cruise days there were a waste of time and money.

 

Mike:)

[Clutterlady]

Thank you Andy for the great review! We have the Embera village booked and was wondering if you could tell me a little more about it. Did you enjoy that excursion? Thank you:)

[melsal]

Thank you for the great review. I just keep getting more excited about my upcoming cruise 3/7/10 with each review I read. I agree Acapulco is very busy and not a place I would want to spend alot of time. We booked the ShotOver boat and that should be fun.

[AndyTheK]

Thank you Andy for the great review! We have the Embera village booked and was wondering if you could tell me a little more about it. Did you enjoy that excursion? Thank you:)

It was a very enjoyable day. First, there is a short bus ride to an area where there are kayaks made from hollowed out tree logs are waiting to take us upriver. You'll be issued a life vest and a disposable plastic poncho in case it rains while in the kayak. It did shower during our trip, and the poncho sure was appreciated.

 

Upon reaching the Village, we're welcomed by music and offered a drink. Then we spent some time looking around the village and seeing how some of the local handicrafts are made. We all then gather under the shelter where we are given a short lecture on the history of the people, and treated to a show of music and dance, along with a freshly-made snack of delicious hot fish. At this time, a great circle dance is started, and we are invited very warmly to join in.

 

Finally, the whole community gathers to thank us for visiting and to pose for photos with us. Then it's back to the kayak for the trip downriver, and the bus ride back to the tender dock.

 

This was one of the best trips I have ever taken. I highly recommend it.

 

Shalom, Andy.

[billet]

A great review thank you. We are now even more excited about our trip in April!

[Clutterlady]

It was a very enjoyable day. First, there is a short bus ride to an area where there are kayaks made from hollowed out tree logs are waiting to take us upriver. You'll be issued a life vest and a disposable plastic poncho in case it rains while in the kayak. It did shower during our trip, and the poncho sure was appreciated.

 

Upon reaching the Village, we're welcomed by music and offered a drink. Then we spent some time looking around the village and seeing how some of the local handicrafts are made. We all then gather under the shelter where we are given a short lecture on the history of the people, and treated to a show of music and dance, along with a freshly-made snack of delicious hot fish. At this time, a great circle dance is started, and we are invited very warmly to join in.

 

Finally, the whole community gathers to thank us for visiting and to pose for photos with us. Then it's back to the kayak for the trip downriver, and the bus ride back to the tender dock.

 

This was one of the best trips I have ever taken. I highly recommend it.

 

Shalom, Andy.

 

Thank you so much Andy. Really looking forward to this excursion:)

[eastonce]

Hi Andy,

 

What a great review - I remember it all except the casino and the shows - we didn't make it to the casino or any of the shows.. We too are making reservations for our next cruise - probably the Holiday Cruise on the Grand out of FLL this coming December.

 

Please give our bedt to Joanne.

 

Carol

[Northender]

Thanks for the great review. We are now in the planning stages for Panama Canal and reading your post has helped very much.:)

[Oi]

Thank you for the marvelous review! My DH and I have been wanting to go on the Panama Canal cruise for a long time, reading this review made us feel more excited about it.

 

Your descriptions and details are appreciated. So happy you had a wonderful cruise, hope that when we go it will be as splendid as your and your DW's was.

 

Happy cruising and Shalom! My imi is originally from Isreal. :-)

[AndyTheK]

Thank all of you for your kind words. They make the effort and time put into writing a review worth while.

 

Carol - Our best to you and Frank. We're glad that Frank is feeling better now, and hope that you'll be able to enjoy your next cruise more than this one.

 

Shalom, Andy.

[AndyTheK]

Hello everyone,

 

Joanne has finished editing the hours upon hours of video footage we shot while on our cruise.

 

It is in three parts. You may view them at the following URLs:

 

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=312671977742&saved

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=314394387742&saved

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=320924522742&saved

 

You must be signed into Facebook to view the videos, but you do not have to be a Friend of Joanne or me.

 

YouTube suppresses the audio of any file which their software says contains copyrighted material. Since Joanne has edited a sound track on these videos, there is some music which is unacceptable to YouTube. That is why the videos are up on Facebook.

 

I hope you enjoy the video as much as we enjoyed the cruise.

 

Shalom from Tel Aviv. Andy.

[Raamo]

The cliff divers are impressive, but otherwise Acapulco is hot, traffic is miserable, and there is nothing worth seeing![/Quote]

 

This may be true for the bus based ship excursions. I think the trick here is finding the right guide. We were on the Coral the next cruise after you and in Acapulco we went with Rudy - Tour by Van or something (google should find it) And I was glad I went - we went places you could only go in a van and therefor any bus tour would miss them. The traffic is bad - but there is hidden gems in that city.

[JWJs]

Hello Andy. We were on the 12/21/09 HAL Statendam that went from Fort Lauderdale to San Diego. We saw the Coral many times during your cruise and I have a lot of pictures of the Coral at different ports. We have sailed on the Coral 2 times...most recently Sept 09 for our 1st Alaska cruise. I'm glad you liked Princess.

Your review was great. I enjoyed your videos.

[Justgottago]

Thanks for the great review Andy. It helped us decide to book on Coral Eastbound LA - Ft Lauderdale on Feb 8 2011.