Port info- Coral Princess voyage from FLL to SF

[twocats]

I know this itinerary is done for the year but for those of you planning for next season, here are my observations.

 

Wed. April 27, 2005

Fort Lauderdale Florida

Arrived at dock much too early because we had to turn in a rental car. Jay Mendlesohn, Embarkation/Debarkation dept was a great help to us.

Arrived at 9 am, After some confusion where to wait we settled in for the morning. Soon a few others arrived and we started the line. About 11 am lots of people there and they called for the Platinum/Elite cruisers. No too many by so the man that helped us at the port steered us toward their line. We were actually allowed to board about 11:30. We were aboard with 15-min. Took lots of pictures while turning the ship. Luggage was in the room by 5. Met the room steward, Alex, asked for feather pillows and a lounge for the balcony. We went off to the buffet for lunch.

 

 

April 30, 2005 Aruba

Aruba Danish Queen’s Day, most of shops closed. Not sure if the particular day is celebrated annually or what.

Here we had prereserved a car from SuperCarRental online. We wanted to tour the island at our own pace since we had all day. Picked a Suzuki Vitara (at least I think it was), AC and fully enclosed. Didn’t want to get too hot or sunburned. We asked for location information at the pier for the company and were directed to a site about a block away. We signed papers and made our payment. Received a map but since most stores were closed and those open would be closing by 2 pm, we parked and shopped a bit first. Once on the road we stopped for gas, a bit of confusion, bought way too much for the ride around the island but didn’t really matter. Signs are not so good on the island and it is easy to get confused. We wasted a lot of time but everyone speaks English (most speak 5 languages if raised on the island) so we would ask for directions and get on our way. A suggestion is that if you want to stop at a beach it’s best to do it early on the ride, actually right out of town before the California Lighthouse. Somewhere in that area we saw the Jolly Pirate Ship tour. Might be a good beach there. We made the tour around the island hitting almost all of the advertised sights. Dropped the car off and walked back to the ship. All the sights mentioned here on CC were worth seeing. Pretty warm here, but not too humid, nice breeze that day. The lunch place that was the “hot spot” apeared to be “The Paddock” . After getting back on ship we could see the back which was on the water. They were having contests to see who could pole-vault the farthest over the water. Wild crowd.

 

Monday May 2, 2005

A.M. Panama Canal Transit

Canal transit started early, we watched a bit from the balcony then decided to try to get up front. We headed to front decks to no avail, all top decks were loaded 5 people deep. Finally I went to the bow on our deck, the Caribe and located a spot. It was enjoyable and definitely not discover by the masses. Just keep going on either side of the ship through the double doors and there you are. We went through the first locks watching from that deck and then came back to our balcony. Somewhere in the a.m. we went and had breakfast. We watched most of the day from our balcony. We called for lunch, sandwiches, and stayed there until later when we went to the front for the trip under the Bridge of the America’s. Beautiful site. The whole day was terrific. We felt the port side was the best for viewing heading from the east to west. We had the town of Gamboa on our side and most of the ships and freighters passed on our side. Lots of town people in Gamboa shouting and waving as we passed through, also the Norwegian Spirit followed us through, very exciting when they cruised up next to us in the locks. The visitor center was filled with people from Panama City and they gave the USA quite a big hello and a nice welcome. Weather was ok during the day; early in the day it was sunny but as the day progressed it got cloudy and misty. At one point we had thunder and lightening but still very warm. By the time we had reached the Centennial Bridge it was raining and then again as we went under the Bridge of the America’s. Did it bother anyone, not much. Our balcony was half covered and half uncovered so we were fine.

 

P.M. Puerto Amador

Very disappointing, we arrived late after a long day through the canal. We were advised to go to the Explorers Lounge to wait for tender tickets. We went early and waited at the entrance to the bar. When the girls arrived they went to the stage and proceed to make announcement regarding the lateness of the hour and discussed Princess Tours going first on the tenders. Finally they passed out tickets, where lots of people jumped ahead of us. The final result was after sitting another long length of time they played a trivia game to keep us busy. Then they started making announcements that it would be a 20-minute ride over and 20-min back. More discouragement to the hundreds of people waiting until most of us gave up. It was dark by then and most of us hadn’t had dinner yet either. And we were up early to begin the transit though the canal. The were only using 3 tenders and the wait would have been pretty long. Oh well, I really just wanted to plant my feet on Panama soil. Our tablemates went on the Princess tour and I can only repeat what they said, only good if you really like museums, also were uncomfortable going through the very poor part of town. They were uncomfortable because cruisers had so much and those people were so very poor.

 

Wednesday May 4, 2005

Puerto Caldera, originally scheduled for Puntaranas

Here we choose the Pacific Arial Tramway scheduled by Princess. Good tour - about a 45 minutes walk on a pathway through the rain forest, then the tramway ride. Very interesting but not much wildlife to see. May is the end of the dry season, so it didn’t seem too much like a rain forest. Nice AC bus ride through a rural area. Might be other tour choices that would be better but for the price it was good.

 

Friday May 6, 2005

Huatulco - New port very nice, weather probably the warmest here (low 90’s) and most humid. After we boarding the ship we decided to book the Catamaran Boat trip. So we had not read much, lines were long and we didn’t have time to ask many questions of the tour-booking agent. So... we were a bit disappointed, somehow we thought it was a small catamaran and it would be a more personal tour. Wrong, the boat held probably 200 people; we managed to get some seats on the bottom level in the shade, and some shade above but not completely covered. Nice ride although a bit choppy, (don’t get seasick) We were served free margaritas, some soda choices, and fruit; fresh pineapple and watermelon. Also free bottled water. Toward the end of the tour we stopped in pretty deep water for our swim. One had to jump or climb down a back ladder, swim around (couldn’t touch bottom) and then climb back onboard. No place to change, no towels, therefore VERY few people (maybe 10 or so) swam. After 10 minutes we were off back to the pier. Many people very disappointed in the advertised “swimming time”. Go early to the bathroom, later in trip, terribly hot and messy. Two toilets available for women. Yuk. Not too much available for shopping.

 

 

Saturday May 7, 2005

Acapulco - Here we had prebooked a tour with Shotover Jet Boat. We arranged for them to pick us up at the pier (AC van) and take us to the boat pier for an 11 am ride, then transport to see the Cliff divers at 1 pm, and back to the ship. Actually we had them drop us off at CaboWabo for lunch in town. We shopped a bit on the way back, finally got too tired and hot, flagged down a bicycle taxi for a couple of dollars and they took us back to the pier. Plenty of shopping right there. This company has a web page and we emailed back and forth with Annie Wilcox, a very nice young woman from England, in Mexico for 5 years. On the ride out to the Jet boat, we stopped for a scenic look at the bays. Boat ride through the lagoon was really wild and fast. Lots of fun. Better price than with Princess.

 

 

Monday May 9, 2005

Cabo San Lucas - Here again we prebooked our tour online (discount) with the same company that Princess uses for ATV rides. We had a ball. Longer ride and much cheaper and private transportation; 2 hours with just 4 of us each on our own ATV and no! I had never driven one before. Our guide was a very pleasant young man. A very quick lesson and off we went. We were separate from the Princess tour although we saw them finishing at one of the stops. They were gone by the time we got back, since our ride was longer. Alex from the Shotover Jet Boat company met us with a sign at the pier (tender port) and accompanied us in an AC taxi to the starting point. Nice ride with commentary along the coast about 30 min. We were given, helmets, a new scarf (were we to keep it as a souvenir) to tie around our faces for dust protection, (although I let it drop below my chin after a bit) and goggles. We wore long pants and tennis shoes for protection from dirt and sun. Short sleeves were fine, although use lots of sunscreen. Ride was so fun, remember we are ages 62 to 73. What a great time we had. We came back to the pier, did some shopping and headed back. Lots of other choices in Cabot for things to do, many offerings at the pier, glass bottom boats with tours out to the Arch and so on, just not sure of any of them.

There was a huge building (sort of a wherehouse) that was filled with vendors. Great shopping and people we ready to bargin a bit.

 

Well that is it, if you are into shopping at the ports try to attend the shopping seminars put on by Princess before each port. Great info and sometimes coupons for discounts. Maps will be included in the Patters. Feel free to post questions, I will try to answer or maybe someone else previously in these port or on the Coral will post. Here is a link to some photos we took at the ports discussed.

http://community.webshots.com/user/bbcb0

[Another Cruise]

Thanks for the info. We will be doing this cruise in the opposite direction leaving Sept. 20. What was the reason you didn't stop in Putarenas? Was this a change from your original schedule? Aruba sounds so beautiful, can't wait to see it. I think the full canal transit will definitely be a highlight. I was glad to hear you saw a lot from your balcony and also about the double doors to the deck area most people don't know about. That might one of the best tips I've seen abut the Canal transit! Thanks.

[twocats]

I am not sure why the port was changed, heard Puntaranas was small but definitely had more shopping. Also heard too many ships coming into Puntaranas but again only rumur no fact. We were the only ship at Puerto Amador. The appear about the same distance to the tour we took so that part didn't matter. I was disappointed we didn't get to swim in Aruba, the day went so fast and we waited too late in the day. Hope your trip is wonderful.