LIVE *** Coral Princess Panama Canal Westbound 3/22/10 to 4/6/10

[Duck Duck Cruise]

Are good quality Panama Hats available in Fuerte Amador/Panama City? I am hoping to find something handmade in the $500 range.

Thanks

[liv2cruise4ever]

Are good quality Panama Hats available in Fuerte Amador/Panama City? I am hoping to find something handmade in the $500 range.

Thanks

 

We were there last week....you sure don't have to spend $500 on a hat!!! LOL:cool:

[Putterdude]

Sounds like you had a great day...isn't fun to get up in the morning and find everything dripping outside with the humidity.

[Duck Duck Cruise]

We were there last week....you sure don't have to spend $500 on a hat!!! LOL:cool:

 

That may be very true, but I am looking for a high quality, hand made Panama Hat. Online I've seen them selling for $500 to $25,000 for hand made ones depending on the quality. If I am going to spend that much I want to try it on and see the quality.

 

I know the machine made ones with broader reed can be had for $25 and up.

[Travelrd]

Try going to Quito or Guayaqul in Ecuador. That's where "panama hats" originated and the finest ones are made there.

 

A former Peace Corps Volunteer who served in Ecuador.

 

Thanks

[heisnuts]

I don't know about high quality hats, but there will be a lot of vendors selling cheap hats that will start you out at $20, but then suddenly drop to $15 and then $10 once you say no thanks. Also, they will tend to hound you in Cartagena if you say no after asking how much.

 

The heat is not really that bad. You get pretty used to it and it is kinda nice to be able to wake up and just sit outside on the balcony in your robe as the sun rises.

 

Now onto the update:

 

Day 6 – Puerto Amador

After spending the night at anchor, they started lowering the life boats at 6am to be used for tenders for the day. Today we signed up for the Canal by Boat excursion. We boarded the bus for a 10 minute ride to the dock and then boarded a small ferry type boat for the Canal. We passed under The Bridge of the Americas and then into the Miraflores Locks. We entered the Miraflores Locks with two other small boats so there was lots of room to see the lock in operation. The boat still ties up to the side of the lock because once the water starts to fill the lock there is a lot of water movement under the boat so it keeps the boat from bouncing around in the lock. It also gives you a chance to see the walls up close and touch them if you wish. After the locks you have a little cruise up the Canal and under the Centennial Bridge until you reach Balboa where you get back on the bus for a 40 minute ride back to the tenders.

Overall, we really liked the excursion. It lasted most of the day, leaving at 8am and returning to the ship around 3:30pm, but the time went by fast. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable and a buffet lunch was served. The tour also included soda and water throughout the cruise. It is still very warm (around 90 degrees with 80% humidity), but the ferry had both open and closed decks and even the top open deck had a portion covered if you wanted to be out of the direct sun.

The last tender tonight will be 5:30 and I am guessing we will take off around 6pm. Tonight will be Everybody’s Fine at MUTS and tomorrow will be a full day at sea before we arrive in Puntereas.

[Amphitrite]

I figured since I love reading other live threads, I would take the time to return the favor.

 

Embarkation day

 

We arrived at the dock just before noon and found there was no line at all to get on board. It took us less than 10 minutes to go through security, fill out the health questionnaire, obtain our room cards and get on board. We went to our room first to drop off our carry on bags and sign up for the Chefs Table. We made the cut and will be doing the Chefs Table after leaving our first stop, which will be Aruba.

 

We then went down to the dining room for lunch and found that the traditional dining room was open from 12:00 to 1:30. While there have been a lot of discussions here about the dining room being hard to get into for lunch on embarkation day, we found the staff very welcoming and there was even a sign outside giving the hours. Although, even with the sign and open doors, the dining room was less than a quarter filled by 12:30.

 

We have anytime dining and went down to dinner around 6:30 and were seated right away (without making a reservation first). We retired early since the night before we were on a red eye flight from the West Coast to Florida.

 

Day 1 – Day at Sea

 

We went to breakfast in the MDR, and like at dinner the night before, we were seated right away. After breakfast we went back to our room to spend some time on our balcony. The day went by pretty fast sitting out on our balcony and before we knew it the afternoon movie, Couples Therapy, was playing in the theater. The movie was good and the theatre was not crowded.

 

We made reservations for dinner at 5:45, but we probably would have been ok without making a reservation since they seemed to be seating the walk ins without a wait. Dinner was terrific and we went to the show featuring a hypnotist. I was pleasantly surprised to find the show was pretty entertaining and after the show we went up on deck for an ice cream cone (free soft serve cones are served from 11am to 11pm) and a stroll around the upper deck.

 

Our overall impressions so far are favorable. The only glitches so far have been a cigar smoker in the very first balcony cabin on the Dolphin deck who must have brought a ton of cigars with him. Since he is the very first balcony cabin (D206) all of us on the port side forward cabins will get a wall of cigar smoke every so often and Princess seems to want to do little to enforce the policy of no pipe/cigar smoking on the balcony. The other glitch came this morning when we went to turn on the shower and the head literally popped right off the wall. Maintenance was very prompt to respond and our fixture is currently out for repair. Overall, we look at these as pretty minor inconveniences and have been having a great time so far. Since this is our 6th cruise with Princess, we are pretty familiar with all the processes and the ship seems very familiar to us even though it is our first time on the Coral.

 

Fabulous reading your posts as we are on the Coral next week! Can you tell me where you go onboard to sign up for the Chef's table dinner? Thank you!

[Duck Duck Cruise]

Fabulous reading your posts as we are on the Coral next week! Can you tell me where you go onboard to sign up for the Chef's table dinner? Thank you!

 

You call the dine line as soon as you get onboard.

[travellover3]

I am enjoying your journal and reliving the wonderful Canal sailing on the Coral last year LA-FLL. Also am interested because a few friends are on this sailing with you...first cruise for one of them. Am hoping that they are having a wonderful time, as you are!

[Amphitrite]

You call the dine line as soon as you get onboard.

 

Thank you so much for the info....we're off on the Coral next Tuesday!

[Putterdude]

Still enjoying your posts...thanks.:)

[Noram2]

Thanks for the terrific information about your cruise on the Coral. We sail next week.

[heisnuts]

For the Chefs Table, you will want to call the dine line at x3463 as soon as you get on board. They will put down you cabin number and tell you if you are in or if there is a wait list.

 

Day 7 – Day at Sea

We had a very relaxing day at sea today. There were a lot of people up on deck today, but if you looked you could always find an open lounge chair or two. One thing I have noticed is that the lounge chairs on the far aft decks seem to go empty or only have one or two chairs filled. I am not sure if it is because people don’t know about it or if they would rather seek out a lounge chair up on the Lido Deck, but it a really nice place to sit back and enjoy the sights and sounds of the wake.

Tonight is our second formal night (with the first being the first sea day). Tonight was also the Captain Circle Cocktail Party, which was so big this cruise they had to split it up into two sessions. The third most traveled couple had just over 30 cruises and the most traveled had just over 60 cruises. We are nowhere near that with out 6 cruises, but we did win one of the drawings for a bottle of champagne. We were able to tell them our dinner reservation time and they sent the bottle to our table for our lobster dinner. There was a lot of champagne left after dinner so we asked our waiter to share it with the table next to us, which the folks at that table really enjoyed.

The movie tonight at MUTS will be Ghosts of Girlfriends Past and the afternoon theater movie was The Time Travelers Wife. Due to the distance between Puerto Amador and Costa Rica, we have been cruising at about 13 knots since leaving Puerto Amador and the seas have been glass smooth that whole time.

[Elcruzer]

For the Chefs Table, you will want to call the dine line at x3463 as soon as you get on board. They will put down you cabin number and tell you if you are in or if there is a wait list.

 

Day 7 – Day at Sea

 

We had a very relaxing day at sea today. There were a lot of people up on deck today, but if you looked you could always find an open lounge chair or two. One thing I have noticed is that the lounge chairs on the far aft decks seem to go empty or only have one or two chairs filled. I am not sure if it is because people don’t know about it or if they would rather seek out a lounge chair up on the Lido Deck, but it a really nice place to sit back and enjoy the sights and sounds of the wake.

 

Tonight is our second formal night (with the first being the first sea day). Tonight was also the Captain Circle Cocktail Party, which was so big this cruise they had to split it up into two sessions. The third most traveled couple had just over 30 cruises and the most traveled had just over 60 cruises. We are nowhere near that with out 6 cruises, but we did win one of the drawings for a bottle of champagne. We were able to tell them our dinner reservation time and they sent the bottle to our table for our lobster dinner. There was a lot of champagne left after dinner so we asked our waiter to share it with the table next to us, which the folks at that table really enjoyed.

 

The movie tonight at MUTS will be Ghosts of Girlfriends Past and the afternoon theater movie was The Time Travelers Wife. Due to the distance between Puerto Amador and Costa Rica, we have been cruising at about 13 knots since leaving Puerto Amador and the seas have been glass smooth that whole time.

 

Really enjoying your interesting review. Our friends, who I mentioned previously, Sue & Gus are probably one of the most travelled since they seem to be cruising more than they are home lately and they onlu cruise Princess. So as I said earlier, if you see Sue on her red scooter give her a hug from me, Eleanor.

[Northern Bear]

See if the lounge DJ is still playing Karaoke music instead of dance music.

Once the band stopped and he started playing wordless music the place emptied out. I pointed this out to him while we were on a month ago during a 60's night and he basically said "How am I supposed to know, I wasn't even born yet!".

 

Sure cleared out the room in a hurry.:D

[heisnuts]

Day 8 – Puntereas, Costa Rica

We docked at 7am and today we were signed up for the Aerial Tram & Walking Tour. This tour includes a bus ride through Costa Rica that lasts just under 90 minutes and takes you to the aerial tram that goes through the rain forest. Once there you have a 45 minute walking tour seeing different types of snakes (enclosed in glass aquariums) and different types of plant life. After to walking tour you board the aerial tram for a 70 minute ride through the forest, which ends where you boarded the tram. It is then onto lunch served by the tram company and then back on the bus for the 90 minute ride back to the ship. Overall we really liked the tour. It was very hot and humid, but some of that was because we had a day with no rain (which is pretty unusual). The wet season starts in April and goes through November so the next trip will probably not be as dry. The tour started at 8:45 and we were back to the ship just after 4pm. We will set sail tonight at 6pm.

Our Princess Patter today has an excerpt about how smoking on the balconies is permitted, but cigar and pipe smoking is not. They point out that there is an enclosed lounge for pipes and cigars. It almost makes me wonder if Princess reads these live threads because we only had the smoke the first couple days of the cruise and then it stopped a little after I posted about it on the first day. I cannot tall you how nice it has been to be out on the balcony without having the wall of smoke like we did the first couple days. We have spent at least 3 to 4 hours a day on the balcony and usually more time on sea days.

This cruise we have had amazing weather. It has always been in the 80’s to low 90’s with humidity hovering around 80%. We have not run into any rain yet, and the seas have been pretty tame with the exception of the second sea day where we had a little wind and seas around 7 feet. Even with 7 foot seas the boat was very stable and you could only tell the boat was moving if you stopped to think about it. The rest of the time we have had very calm seas and not a lot of wind. Coming from Oregon, it has been very nice to get out of the 40 and 50 degree temps with rain and sit out on the balcony in shorts or the Princess robe in much warmer temperatures.

One thing I forgot to point out before is that the shower has two pressure settings. The on/off knob first goes half way and then stops keeping the water pressure at half of what is possible. If you press down on the button on the on/off knob and turn the water on higher, the water pressure will go higher. The temp knob works the same way and I remember the temp knobs working this way in the past, but it is the first time I remember being able to do this with the water pressure. It is a really nice feature, and one that you might not realize is there.

Tomorrow will be a day at sea. The Invention of Lying will be showing on MUTS and the afternoon movie in the theater is Twilight Saga – The New Moon. One neat thing to note is that if you miss an afternoon movie because you are off the ship, it usually plays the next evening on the television in the staterooms. However, I don’t think the same applies to the movies showing on MUTS.

[UT-Volsfan]

Did you have to obtain tourist cards while in Panama? Some friends of ours had to get them at the airport last year when they flew down to Panama for a short vacation?

 

We've been enjoying reading your posts and look forward to the rest of your reviews.

[heisnuts]

See if the lounge DJ is still playing Karaoke music instead of dance music.

Once the band stopped and he started playing wordless music the place emptied out. I pointed this out to him while we were on a month ago during a 60's night and he basically said "How am I supposed to know, I wasn't even born yet!".

 

Sure cleared out the room in a hurry.:D

 

Not sure on this one. I have seen karaoke listed in the Patters, but we have not gone to see it. They are also doing an American Idol type show where people compete for best singer.

[heisnuts]

Did you have to obtain tourist cards while in Panama? Some friends of ours had to get them at the airport last year when they flew down to Panama for a short vacation?

 

We've been enjoying reading your posts and look forward to the rest of your reviews.

 

It wasn't needed for us. Princess scanned our USA Passport in Florida when we boarded and we have not needed anything since then.

[heisnuts]

Day 9 – Day at Sea

We happened to wake up early this morning and found an unexpected advantage to getting up at 5am. At 5am there was nobody in the laundry room and we could do a few loads before the rush of people around 6 to 7am that wanted to do laundry on a sea day.

Today has been a very relaxing day sitting on the balcony, walking a few miles around the promenade deck, taking in some ice cream, watching movies and then going to afternoon tea. Today’s movies are Up in the Princess theater and Julie & Julia at MUTS.

They posted the most traveled passengers in the Patter today, Mr. & Mrs. Sirot with a total of 786 days with Princess. It included a picture of them with Captain Manfuso on the front page.

It is starting to get a little cooler during the day, but not by much. We are back up to 22 knots to get to Huatulco on time. The seas have been very calm and we have still not encountered any rain the whole trip, with the exception of a few showers in Florida before we actually left Ft. Lauderdale.

[Elcruzer]

Day 9 – Day at Sea

 

We happened to wake up early this morning and found an unexpected advantage to getting up at 5am. At 5am there was nobody in the laundry room and we could do a few loads before the rush of people around 6 to 7am that wanted to do laundry on a sea day.

 

Today has been a very relaxing day sitting on the balcony, walking a few miles around the promenade deck, taking in some ice cream, watching movies and then going to afternoon tea. Today’s movies are Up in the Princess theater and Julie & Julia at MUTS.

 

They posted the most traveled passengers in the Patter today, Mr. & Mrs. Sirot with a total of 786 days with Princess. It included a picture of them with Captain Manfuso on the front page.

 

It is starting to get a little cooler during the day, but not by much. We are back up to 22 knots to get to Huatulco on time. The seas have been very calm and we have still not encountered any rain the whole trip, with the exception of a few showers in Florida before we actually left Ft. Lauderdale.

Mr. & Mrs. Sirot are my friends, Sue & Gus who I mentioned in my earlier posts. Sue is handicapped and uses a red scooter. I know she would be thrilled if you saw her and told her I said hello. Thanks.

[cruiser boo]

Hi love the live Posts. We are doing the same itenerary in the fall. How many formal nights are there total & what nights?

Are there a lot of tuxes? :confused:

[bconley351]

We're doing the same itinerary later this month. Since we live in Orange County a friend is picking us up to take us home. Has there been any hint in Patters what time the non-flight people will be disembarking? She'll want to pick us up sometime after she drops her kids off at school. We're doing the cruise this direction so we don't have to worry about how well we pack for debarkation.

[Raamo]

We're doing the same itinerary later this month. Since we live in Orange County a friend is picking us up to take us home. Has there been any hint in Patters what time the non-flight people will be disembarking? She'll want to pick us up sometime after she drops her kids off at school. We're doing the cruise this direction so we don't have to worry about how well we pack for debarkation.

 

They'll want you off the ship by ~10, out of your cabin by 8. If you want to carry your luggage off they'll want you off 1st. If you don't mind your luggage sitting outside waiting for you, you can talk to the purser's desk and request the latest time - but it will still be morning.

[Raamo]

Hi love the live Posts. We are doing the same itenerary in the fall. How many formal nights are there total & what nights?

Are there a lot of tuxes? :confused:

 

I did this itinerary in Jan, there are 3 formal nights, for a 15 day there will always be 3 formal nights. I didn't check out the buffet but everyone I saw was dressed very nice - not necessarily in a tux.

 

The exact time formal nights are is subject to change - is the itinerary exactly the same in the fall? They can change slightly season to season.