Duck Duck Cruise’s Panama Canal Cruise Blog - LIVE on the Coral Princess

[MTJSR]

Duck Duck, the weird yacht you ran into, was in San Francisco bay for a week or so, it is owned by a Russian Billionaire and the interesting thing about the design is he is paranoid at being attacked. The side cannot be climbed up on and the entire yacht is bomb proof. He has a special sex room (seriously) and a radiation proof room built in. It was on our news and other details of it's design were kept secret for his protection.

[Colo Cruiser]

Duck Duck, the weird yacht you ran into, was in San Francisco bay for a week or so, it is owned by a Russian Billionaire and the interesting thing about the design is he is paranoid at being attacked. The side cannot be climbed up on and the entire yacht is bomb proof. He has a special sex room (seriously) and a radiation proof room built in. It was on our news and other details of it's design were kept secret for his protection.

 

 

Its darn ugly. :eek:

[simbasmom]

I'm just loving reading about your cruise. It almost makes me feel as if I were there sometimes. If you're lucky, you might see Gaetano, the illusionist perform later in your cruise. Keep your eyes open at those musicians, especially the trumpets!

[Working 2 Cruise]

Its darn ugly. :eek:

 

Agreed.

[StLouisCruisers]

Great blog! What was the temperature during the day on the 3 day hop between Vancouver and LA? We are coming down this weekend on the Golden and wanted to know how the temps may be at sea.

 

Temps were about 62 degrees on that segment of the Coral's voyage.

[Duck Duck Cruise]

FRIDAY – SEPTEMBER 24 – SEA DAY

We slept in and didn’t get to breakfast till 10:30 so we tried the Horizon Court again. The biscuits and gravy were dry, rock hard, lumpy gravy and so salty I could not even eat it.

 

Seen: Woman with her hands full trying to push open the door with her butt…(which is what women do right ladies?) A man on the other side of the door opened it for her and she said laughing, “I used my rear end on the far door and it worked just fine!” Everyone within hearing distance was laughing.

 

Saw: A very healthy little birdie in the pool area flying about. It must be much less exhausting than flying yourself south for the winter. Is that how the scout birds arrive so early?

 

Trivia: It was very well attended and our first time. On past cruises we thought you had to go to every one and be part of a team but that isn’t the case. You can go anytime or not, play with others or not, or just listen like we did. It was fun and we were lousy because our “Brainiac Science Wiz Woman” and our “Head full of useless knowledge man” are not here with us! LOL Selenograph is a scientific map of what?

 

Lunch: We met with a head waiter to sign our acceptance and health waiver for the Chef’s Table and then we had lunch in the dining room. This ship has the most lovely quiet places you can be anytime of the day or night. The lunch table behind us were having quite a fun time and became very loud………I wanted to use my favorite teacher’s voice, “Outside voices please!” LOL Really, we don’t begrudge anyone having a wonderful vacation, it is just that we have been really spoiled by the ship and feeling many times like you are all by yourself.

 

Food was good: Chicken broth egg drop soup was delicious and I want to make it at home. Deep fried (not greasy at all) shrimp, calamari, white fish and scallops very yummy. Vince had the Ossobuco and Saffron Risotto. He said they were excellent.

 

Overheard: The couple at the next table (4 inches away) were discussing what she was going to wear for dinner. I think they were having dinner at the Captain’s Table or Chef’s Table, I’m not sure which. He asked her which jewelry she brought. She told him about a particular ring and he asked her, “You didn’t bring a bigger diamond?!!” Turns out they are celebrating their 50th Anniversary today. They were done with lunch and he just walked out and left her to get up and out by herself. She laughed about it, “See, this is what happens after you have been married 50 years!”

 

Laundry day: There 5 sets of washers and dryers and two large ironing boards in the laundry that is near our cabin D726. They hold a lot of clothes and only take $1.00 each to wash and dry. Approx 40 minutes to do each load plus or minus a few minutes depending on the cycle you choose.

 

We were still full from lunch so just went to the Lounge to watch the very funny comedian Kevin Jordan. Just like any comedy show, you don’t want to sit anywhere near the front few rows. He had a blast picking on the audience and was very funny.

 

Tomorrow is Acapulco……sorry for anyone wanting to know about it, the only thing we can tell you would come from the port info we get in our cabin because we are not getting off. Vince is going to be taking deck by deck photos of everything on the ship just like he did with the Golden so when we return we will post to our blog. I might just relax and take a nice long soak and swim.

[Duck Duck Cruise]

Thanks so much for your writes ups. We are taking the Coral from Ft. Lauderdale through the Panama Canal October 6th. We've never been on the Coral it's smaller then the ones we've been on recently.

 

How do you like the Coral? Thanks again for your write ups.

 

Connie

 

LOVE it! I believe it is our favorite ship now. Just the right size and You Can Get There From Here.

[judynorth]

Selenograph - map of the surface of the moon. :rolleyes:

[DocM4]

I agree Lin - I really enjoyed the Coral - although, we had such a good time on the Golden that 'she' will stay in my 'heart' as well. I will say that I didn't care for the Sea Princess as much. The balcony's are so small - it worked ok to Alaska, but not for a warn weather cruise.

 

Love hearing from you - can hardly wait till tomorrow. Thanks so much.,

[Nightengale31]

Thanks so much for sharing your cruise adventures :D My husband and I are doing the partial transit on the Coral on 10/26/10. Booked this cruise on a whim a month ago and got I think the last mini on the Dolphin; D504. Can't wait to hear more about your experiences :)

[50scruiser]

I'm really enjoying hearing about your adventures. My husband and I are in D726 on the Coral for the March 25 partial transit.

[Duck Duck Cruise]

SATURDAY – SEPTEMBER 25 – ACUPULCO

 

Note: They say that the internet connectivity is not guaranteed. Last night that was the case, hence the early morning post today.

 

I usually take notes throughout the day so I can remember what we did, saw or heard. I forgot to do so today and we will see how it goes.

 

We did not get off in Acapulco which was the first time staying on the ship in any of our cruises. I must admit I really liked it. We had more of a brunch and Vince took off to photograph 8 different decks and I swam and enjoyed the Lotus Pool for a couple hours….there was only one other person in the pool for 20 minutes or so. It was wonderful.

 

I wanted to mention that the Lotus Bar has a machine that squeezes “Fresh Orange Juice”, of course you do have to pay, but it is so worth it! A 12 oz glass is $2.75. I think we might spend more on that than drinks except for the fact we tried a Mojito for the first time……..I took a sip and went to set the glass down and just couldn’t! They are evil good!

 

When Vince was done with pictures for the day he joined me in the hot tubs. They have been 105 and up but today one of them was at least 110! You know when you run a bath and you want it to be really hot so you just fill the tub with the hot side of the faucet on first and then add cold water to be able to step in. This one was so hot you couldn’t even step in! I think the thermostat was broken. We will see tomorrow if it is better.

 

We tried Afternoon Tea again and it was about the same in service as before. We sat with a couple from Liverpool and a couple from Vancouver. The man from England asked the waiter if he could have a salmon sandwich and the waiter sent over a head waiter who went to check with the kitchen, came right back and told the gentleman that the salmon sandwiches would be right out.

 

Now that is service! Being from England we were instructed on how to make a proper cup of tea. Did you know that long ago the reason one would pour cream or milk first was to not crack your fragile china tea cup with the boiling water.

 

Relaxed for awhile and went to see the Princess Production of Motor City. The band was excellent……especially the trumpet player! LOL

 

Please remember these are our opinions only and if you have seen the show and liked it that is good for you. We found it to be a bit strange and on par with a college production. I will say that the performers do work very hard and put on the best show they possibly can. I am not sure about the choreographer because things just didn’t fit or flow smoothly.

 

There were singing and then girls dancing, walking and waiving like they were in a beauty pageant. Then the men would come out and do cartwheels like it was a gymnastic show. Some of it didn’t have anything to do with Motown and one time two of the girls were singing and one pushed the other in a play fight type movement. Two songs later she did the same thing and it just didn’t make any sense. Oh well, we had no where to go until the Island Deck Party.

 

We were still full from tea so we skipped dinner. When we went to the upper deck pool area where MUTS is we watched the second half of the Oregon State vs Boise State. We of course being from Eugene, Oregon were rooting for the Beavers. Sad to say they lost. We were not the only ones rooting for Oregon though, which was fun to hear.

 

The deck party was a bore, old people doing the Macarena and The Village People YMCA. The band was so so they just couldn’t get people moving…..maybe because of the heat today.

 

Tomorrow is a sea day and our Chef’s Table.

[Duck Duck Cruise]

I'm just loving reading about your cruise. It almost makes me feel as if I were there sometimes. If you're lucky, you might see Gaetano, the illusionist perform later in your cruise. Keep your eyes open at those musicians, especially the trumpets!

 

Hi Dorothy,

 

We asked at the desk to find out where Matt was playing and they called us to leave a message that we were to meet him after his performance at MotorCity in the Wheelhouse Bar.

 

We had a Mojito with him and visited for about a half hour. He told us he was on the Golden in March of this year and we were on the same sailing to Hawaii with him!

 

He is so busy with rehearsals for new acts that fly in and out at the next port or two. He looks wonderful, healthy and very happy. In fact he had to go because he made a reservation with some friends to have dinner together in one of the restaurants.

 

We took this picture of him for you. I asked him to stand by the flowers so you would have a bouquet from him to you!

 

As a mom of a MAN I know how it is to have them away. Know he is well and happy and doing what he loves to do.

 

He laughed when we told him how his mom tracked him down through a CC member and passenger.

 

Lin

[Woobstr112G]

SATURDAY – SEPTEMBER 25 – ACUPULCO

 

 

Note: They say that the internet connectivity is not guaranteed. Last night that was the case, hence the early morning post today.

 

 

I usually take notes throughout the day so I can remember what we did, saw or heard. I forgot to do so today and we will see how it goes.

 

We did not get off in Acapulco which was the first time staying on the ship in any of our cruises. I must admit I really liked it. We had more of a brunch and Vince took off to photograph 8 different decks and I swam and enjoyed the Lotus Pool for a couple hours….there was only one other person in the pool for 20 minutes or so. It was wonderful.

 

I wanted to mention that the Lotus Bar has a machine that squeezes “Fresh Orange Juice”, of course you do have to pay, but it is so worth it! A 12 oz glass is $2.75. I think we might spend more on that than drinks except for the fact we tried a Mojito for the first time……..I took a sip and went to set the glass down and just couldn’t! They are evil good!

 

When Vince was done with pictures for the day he joined me in the hot tubs. They have been 105 and up but today one of them was at least 110! You know when you run a bath and you want it to be really hot so you just fill the tub with the hot side of the faucet on first and then add cold water to be able to step in. This one was so hot you couldn’t even step in! I think the thermostat was broken. We will see tomorrow if it is better.

 

We tried Afternoon Tea again and it was about the same in service as before. We sat with a couple from Liverpool and a couple from Vancouver. The man from England asked the waiter if he could have a salmon sandwich and the waiter sent over a head waiter who went to check with the kitchen, came right back and told the gentleman that the salmon sandwiches would be right out.

 

Now that is service! Being from England we were instructed on how to make a proper cup of tea. Did you know that long ago the reason one would pour cream or milk first was to not crack your fragile china tea cup with the boiling water.

 

Relaxed for awhile and went to see the Princess Production of Motor City. The band was excellent……especially the trumpet player! LOL

 

Please remember these are our opinions only and if you have seen the show and liked it that is good for you. We found it to be a bit strange and on par with a college production. I will say that the performers do work very hard and put on the best show they possibly can. I am not sure about the choreographer because things just didn’t fit or flow smoothly.

 

There were singing and then girls dancing, walking and waiving like they were in a beauty pageant. Then the men would come out and do cartwheels like it was a gymnastic show. Some of it didn’t have anything to do with Motown and one time two of the girls were singing and one pushed the other in a play fight type movement. Two songs later she did the same thing and it just didn’t make any sense. Oh well, we had no where to go until the Island Deck Party.

 

We were still full from tea so we skipped dinner. When we went to the upper deck pool area where MUTS is we watched the second half of the Oregon State vs Boise State. We of course being from Eugene, Oregon were rooting for the Beavers. Sad to say they lost. We were not the only ones rooting for Oregon though, which was fun to hear.

 

The deck party was a bore, old people doing the Macarena and The Village People YMCA. The band was so so they just couldn’t get people moving…..maybe because of the heat today.

 

Tomorrow is a sea day and our Chef’s Table.

 

Sounds like a great time on board. Hope you have a great experience at the Chef's Table.....:):):)

 

Bob

[simbasmom]

Hi Dorothy,

 

We asked at the desk to find out where Matt was playing and they called us to leave a message that we were to meet him after his performance at MotorCity in the Wheelhouse Bar.

 

We had a Mojito with him and visited for about a half hour. He told us he was on the Golden in March of this year and we were on the same sailing to Hawaii with him!

 

He is so busy with rehearsals for new acts that fly in and out at the next port or two. He looks wonderful, healthy and very happy. In fact he had to go because he made a reservation with some friends to have dinner together in one of the restaurants.

 

We took this picture of him for you. I asked him to stand by the flowers so you would have a bouquet from him to you!

 

As a mom of a MAN I know how it is to have them away. Know he is well and happy and doing what he loves to do.

 

He laughed when we told him how his mom tracked him down through a CC member and passenger.

 

Lin

 

Thanks so much! I'll bet Matt's laugh at my tracking him down was accompanied by rolled eyes and a "That sounds like my Mom."

[Duck Duck Cruise]

CHEF’S TABLE – CORAL PRINCESS

The diners met at La Patisserie and Jean Paul lead us to don our lightweight chef’s jackets. We were marched through the dining room and into the galley where we had a brief instruction and washed our hands.

 

We gathered a short distance away from the hand washing station in a part of the galley that was closed where they usually line up plates on a very long stainless steel counter (The Pass) and were entertained by Chef Thomas Ulrich.

 

Some asked questions, some listened, and some…(us) snooped and peaked around as much as we could to take video and pictures. It was a blast. We were served champagne or sparkling water and 4 different Amuse Bouche.

 

 

Here is a menu:

Tuna Tartar with Wasabe and Pickled Ginger in Nori Sheets (The flavor was good, a bit heavy on the ginger, some tasted wasabe and some didn’t)

 

Braised Escargots in Vol-Au-Vent(puff pastry) (Drool….Yum…More, More)

 

Buckwheat & Potato Blinis with Hackleback Caviar & Chive Crème Cheese (We watched the cook making the blinis and the Soux plating. Tasted very good.)

 

Terrine of Foie Gras with Balsamic & Port Wine Syrup (Ohhhh Yea! The reduction syrup was amazing with the Foie)

 

After that we took off our jackets and went through the dining room to a beautiful table with a large fresh flower arrangement, lovely wine glasses, fresh baked bread sticks in a woven real bread basket. Pictures were taken with Chef and Jean Paul standing behind each couple.

 

Wine was described for each course and then waiters presented….

Southern Italian Calamari Risotto with Grilled Shrimps & Green Onion Vinaigrette (We also watched this being made in the galley, the calamari was tender and the shrimps were cooked perfectly. The chef drizzled the vinaigrette on the top and it was the most wonderful flavor. He also described how easy it is to make at home.)

 

Strawberry and Cracked Pepper Sorbet (It served its purpose of cleansing the palate. However, the presentation was very pedestrian compared to the art work presentation on the Golden of the sorbet.)

 

Roasted Veal Shank & Aged Beef Tenderloin Carved Table side with the Chef’s Portobello Mushroom Sauce, Bearnaise Sauce & Green Peppercorn Sauce (The meat and sauce portions were excellent. We enjoyed watching the chef cook the sauce and describe how the meats were cooked. The final preparation before carving was “Flaming Off”….meaning he poured some sort of lit alcohol over the meats while a crew member was standing by with a fire extinguisher.)

 

Today’s Market Vegetables with Chateau Potatoes (Very disappointing…the tiny, baby asparagus was bitter, the rest of the veg were tasteless and boring)

 

Potted Stilton with Port Wine and Walnuts, Rosemary Biscotti (If you like Stilton Cheese it was good, but it is a very powerful cheese)

 

Oven Baked Chocolate Lava Pudding & Vanilla Ice Cream with Raspberries

Sauce (Vince tasted the cake which they called pudding with the dessert wine paring and said it was very good. I tasted it without and found the cake to be dry. I was expecting the inside of the cake to have a hot chocolate sauce inside but it did not. They said the ice cream was home made but it didn’t taste any different from high quality vanilla purchased in a store.)

 

Coffee or Tea with Executive Chef Thomas’s Home Made Biscotti and Amaretti. (Nice wrap up to the evening. The cookies were amazing…..like nothing I have tasted before…I want to buy boxes)

 

The ladies were presented a rose by Jean Paul and the men presented a wonderful large cookbook by the chef along with the photos of earlier in the evening.

 

If you have been thinking of doing the Chef’s Table you might want to make it part of your vacation…..like an excursion. It is $75.00 per person with wine parings and $60.00 without. You won’t be disappointed; in fact, any food you have the next couple days will pale in comparison.

[Duck Duck Cruise]

MONDAY – SEPTEMBER 27 – SEA DAY

Today is day 9 of our 18 day cruise. We rested and recovered from the Chef’s Table and didn’t eat anything for over 24 hours! Then because of the richness of the dinner we chose rice and salad!

 

We watched Stevie Wonder in concert at MUTS as the sun was going down. The weather was warm and lovely. At 6 pm we are about 12 hours from port in Costa Rica. Several Frigate Birds were checking out the ship flying up and down and all around the sides and just over the top. They are huge and amazing birds.

 

After the concert they were showing Monday Night Football so we decided to go back to our cabin and relax for the evening. We did not do much today so I will take this time to post some of the things that are in the Patter.

 

English Pub Lunch with Guinness or Strongbow Cider, Bangers and Mash, Fish and Chips, Cottage Pie and Ploughman’s Lunch.

 

Mexican Buffett in the Horizon Court

Communal Jigsaw Puzzle

Table Tennis Tournament

Mahjong Players Get Together

Wii Soccer

Crochet Lessons

Science Lecture Series: Important Medical Advances with Professor Marvin Goldman

Spanish Lessons

Line Dance, Ballroom Dance

Red Hat Ladies Meet at Crooners Bar

Wii Basketball

Friends of Dr. Bob and Bill W. Meeting

LGBT Get Together

Slot Tournament

Bingo

Art Auction

 

Movies: When In Rome, Oceans, Avatar, The A-Team

Performers: Rey Ortega Ventriloquist and Bobby Hamilton Brooks Singer

 

One more thing……..we talked to another passenger that is also a travel agent with 25 Princess Cruises under his belt so he has lots of experience. He and his wife have traditional seating for dinner. He asked the head waiter why the main traditional dinning room has been mostly empty.

 

The head waiter told him that anyone in Traditional Dining can go back and forth between traditional dining and anytime dining whenever they want. But those with anytime dining can not eat dinner in the traditional dining room. He believed you could only change between the two types of dining during a cruise if room was available but that is not the case.

Between Traditional diners who choose to eat in the anytime dining room on some nights and those who choose to eat in the buffet some nights and those who eat in the specialty restaurants or at the chef’s table there are many empty tables in the traditional dining room nightly. His opinion is within a couple of years traditional dining will not exist at all.

 

That explains why we had to wait 45 minutes for a table for two in anytime dining when we showed up shortly after they opened. Whether you agree with this, like it or not things are changing.

[nanlaur]

Enjoying very much your posts! "Our" ship is in drydock, but will soon be following you.

 

His opinion is within a couple of years traditional dining will not exist at all.

 

This makes me sad. We tried anytime a couple years ago and really didn't like it at all. We missed eating dinner with the same small group and the service was far inferior. We are waitlisted for late traditional for our Feb. cruise. I'm hoping that by the time we board we can get a table assignment--we are at about 66 on the list.

[Whoo]

Enjoying very much your posts! "Our" ship is in drydock, but will soon be following you.

 

 

 

This makes me sad. We tried anytime a couple years ago and really didn't like it at all. We missed eating dinner with the same small group and the service was far inferior. We are waitlisted for late traditional for our Feb. cruise. I'm hoping that by the time we board we can get a table assignment--we are at about 66 on the list.

 

I agree. We had Anytime Dining one time where it was just "ok", no lines for being seated but inferior service once seated. The second time we tried Anytime it was a disaster - long, long waits for a table unless you lined up at 5:00 pm before the dining room opened, or waited until after 8:30 pm (too late for us to eat a big dinner). Slow, terrible service. No more Anytime Dining for us...

[Colo Cruiser]

Thanks for the continuing live from. :)

[Woobstr112G]

Glad you enjoyed the Chef's Table. Thanks again for your continued reports.....:):):)

 

Bob

[mycruz]

Still enjoying your reporting, as I knew I would! The menu for your Chef's Table sounded very good and I'm looking forward to participating again on our next cruise!

 

Can't wait to hear about your day in Costa Rica. Not surprised either to hear about the dining situation, I've noticed the same thing over the last few cruises and no doubt, traditional dining will probably be going away, at least on Princess.

 

Mary

[kellor]

Thanks for all the great info! We will be on the Coral - Nov 22 - C508 and I would love to know if this will be a great spot as we go through the canal or if we should head to another area.

 

Regarding the Thermal Spa - what makes it so great - is it worth the money? My husband has had back surgery and I'm wondering if this would be good for him as he is in constant pain.

 

Sad to hear about the dining room as we always eat Traditional - the staff gets to know you and your likes and dislikes -- I always feel so spoiled by them.

 

Again, loving your blog - Thank You

 

Lori

[baseballmom2]

Thanks for taking time out of your cruise to report back to all of us! I'm enjoying it! Enjoy the rest of your cruise, can't wait to hear all about it and see the pictures! :)

 

I read that you are from Eugene, my mom grew up there and we make the 2-3 day drive every summer to visit your beautiful state! :)

[Duck Duck Cruise]

TUESDAY – SEPTEMBER 28 – PUNTARENAS

 

We started out the day at the Lido Pool at 5:30 am. I woke up being way too excited for the day to begin….Little did I know that the day would surpass any anticipation I had.

 

We ate in the dining room for a leisurely breakfast because we were not taking any excursions or leaving Puntarenas. After breakfast we got all our gear in order for hopefully placing a geocache or two. We were off the ship about 9 am which was long after all the excursions left.

 

The pier is very long and there are buses, vans and a trolley/train type of thing that will take you to the end of the pier and back to the ship. These vehicles were around all day.

 

To the left of the pier the vendors were set up by 10 am and were gone by 5pm. We went back to pick up one thing I saw earlier and they were putting things in boxes.

 

In the morning we walked first to the right of the pier because we saw some statues from the ship and wanted to check them out for placing a geocache.

 

There are many very interesting statues in white all different and run along the waterfront with easy sidewalk walking most of the time. There were a few places you have to watch for uneven areas, but nothing that would make walking difficult. The statues continue past the vendors for quite a distance taking you past street food vendors and restaurants.

 

We were able to place 4 geocaches, ate lunch at a wonderful open air restaurant looking across the street to the bay, did a little shopping for Molas, Coffee and gifts. It rained while twice during the day……the second time we were soaked, laughing, walking through puddles and trying to use our umbrella. The rain is warm so it really didn’t matter if we were wet or not.

 

On the way from one of the geocaches we placed near the church you can see from the ship we watched 3 young teen girls walking home from school hold each other under rain pouring off the awnings and getting each other completely drenched they were laughing and so were we….it was so cute!

 

We came back on the ship for a couple hours to get dry. We dripped all the way to our cabin. At 5:30 we attended our Geocaching Flash Mob Event and met 3 local geocachers…..by local we mean they came from San Jose about a 45 minute drive in good weather conditions! It was SO much fun meeting them, we took pictures, exchanged Travel Bugs, took more pictures and gave them some caching containers.

 

The ship had an all aboard for 6:30 and we were on by 6:10! That is the latest we have ever been but we made it just fine.

 

If you don’t do an excursion there is enough to see and do in Puntarenas, the people are very friendly and some of the vendors we talked to would bargain and some would not. It doesn’t hurt to try. We now have wonderful memories of Puntarenas.