Booked 2025 Panama Canal Cruise and have questions. So. many. questions.

[MacMadame]

So I booked a cruise on the Coral Princess for Jan 2025 for myself and dh (aka Mr. Mac) after doing a ton of research and looking at PC cruises on many lines. Even after doing all the research and reading many, many threads on Cruise Critic, I still have questions. They are:

 

When I booked, no excursions were available. Now they're available for every port but Puerto Vallarta. Any guess as to when PV excursions will show up or does this mean there won't be any? If there typically are excursions there, what kinds are they usually?

 

Are there any adult-only areas on the Coral?

 

Where are the smoking areas (besides the casino, I know about that one) and how easy are they to avoid?

 

When will the formal nights most likely be? From what I've read there will probably be some sort of Captain's welcome party probably on the 2nd day (sea day). But what about the other two? Is the 2nd one always "White & Gold" or do they change up the themes periodically?

 

How will time changes be handled? I keep reading and watching (on YouTube) warnings to "make sure you stay on ship time when in port" but why would the ship be on a different time than the ports? That's just asking for trouble. (We're going East to West so will go from Eastern Time to Pacific Time over the course of the cruise.)

 

I read that we can bring a bottle of wine or champagne on embarkation day. Mr. Mac and I are not big drinkers and would rather have Sparkling Cider. Since it costs many times more on the ship than it does at home, could we bring a bottle of Martinellis on embarkation or will it be confiscated?

 

I have other questions but I am hopeful they can be answered by searching the convoluted Princess.com site. 😄

 

TIA!

[cr8tiv1]

I took the San Sebastian Excursion in Puerto Vallarta.  Really enjoyed the all day tour.  Others took a free walking tour (Google) but it seemed to difficult for me to navigate a way to the start of the tour.  Also there are many vendors at the port.  Save a few extra minutes to visit a few of them/shop.  

 

I also took the bus excursion that took me on a city tour (with stops at a couple of stores, of course).  Highlight was the "free" turtle nesting spot near the dock.  

[travelin.sisters]

there should be excursions in PV as it is a very common port for west coast cruises, I don't know if I have ever taken one there (just shopped in the shops at the port)...no idea why they are not showing yet.

 

we did Panama on the Island & I didn't have any trouble avoiding the smoking areas, I don't know about adult only areas, but my guess would be there won't be a lot of kids on that cruise.

 

formal nights might show up on the app within a couple of weeks before your cruise (look for formal night photos in the activities) in my experience not many participate in the white & gold theme.

 

most ports the ship switches to local time but I have been at ones that it doesn't it is well announced & on the signs as you depart, but yes it is challenging...PV is one of the ports that the ship doesn't always switch to local time.

[Yehootu]

Easy, go across the Street to Walmart/Sams Club😀 We've done a Zipline tour and our kids have done the full adventure tour with zipline, rock slide, ATV's.

[SCX22]

On 10/8/2023 at 7:05 PM, MacMadame said:

When I booked, no excursions were available. Now they're available for every port but Puerto Vallarta. Any guess as to when PV excursions will show up or does this mean there won't be any? If there typically are excursions there, what kinds are they usually?

 

Don't need to do an excursion in PV.  Take the bus or a taxi to Proyecto Escola.  That's the city center where Los Arcos and the Cathedral are.  From there you can walk to Zona Romantica.  If the beach is your thing, the public beaches start past the Sheraton Buganvilias.  

 

On 10/8/2023 at 7:05 PM, MacMadame said:

How will time changes be handled? I keep reading and watching (on YouTube) warnings to "make sure you stay on ship time when in port" but why would the ship be on a different time than the ports? That's just asking for trouble. (We're going East to West so will go from Eastern Time to Pacific Time over the course of the cruise.)

 

The Event Listings from the first day will list the days when the ship's time will go back, specific to you because you are heading west.  Cabin steward will leave a note on your bed the night of a time change.  Ship time on Princess always matches the local time in port.

 

On 10/8/2023 at 7:05 PM, MacMadame said:

I read that we can bring a bottle of wine or champagne on embarkation day. Mr. Mac and I are not big drinkers and would rather have Sparkling Cider. Since it costs many times more on the ship than it does at home, could we bring a bottle of Martinellis on embarkation or will it be confiscated?

 

Probably won't be confiscated.  And if it does, at least sparking cider is cheap.  YMMV.

[capriccio]

Not an answer, but a recommendation:  read David McCullough's The Path Between the Seas before you go!

[EDVM96]

On 10/9/2023 at 4:05 AM, MacMadame said:

Any guess as to when PV excursions will show up or does this mean there won't be any? If there typically are excursions there, what kinds are they usually?

 

Take a look: https://www.princess.com/ports-excursions/puerto-vallarta-mexico-excursions
 

[Honolulu Blue]

On 10/8/2023 at 10:05 PM, MacMadame said:

How will time changes be handled? I keep reading and watching (on YouTube) warnings to "make sure you stay on ship time when in port" but why would the ship be on a different time than the ports? That's just asking for trouble. (We're going East to West so will go from Eastern Time to Pacific Time over the course of the cruise.)

First of all, have a fun cruise!  I'm considering going the opposite direction, since I've already done the east-to-west PC crossing thing (not on Princess, and not through the classic locks).  I'll put it on my "consider" list.

 

On your other questions, I think my colleagues have answered them as well or better than I could, but the one I quoted I have some perspective on.  Carnival ships (I mean Carnival Cruise Line, not the whole corporation) tend to stay on ship's time for their shorter cruises.  They think it's a convenience TO YOU, the passenger, to not have to worry so often about silly, unimportant things like time changes.  I understand their perspective, but don't always agree with it.  But Carnival will do regular time changes on their longer cruises (also sometimes on their shorter ones) that cover long distances through multiple time zones, and as already mentioned, Princess tends to follow local time.  On one of my Princess cruises, we changed time one day and switched back one or two days later.  That was a bit of a whipsaw, 🤬 but somehow, I managed to survive it.

[skynight]

When I booked, no excursions were available. There is over 14 months. Don't worry. Excursions will be ready in plenty of time. It's a good idea to join the roll call for your cruise. Private tours may be formed.

Are there any adult-only areas on the Coral? The Sanctuary, decks 14 & 12 aft, fee area.  If interested go directly there on boarding to book. For a tropical cruise like yours the sanctuary fills quickly. Believe there is a special fee for the P.C. crossing day. In January and for long cruises there will not be very many youth on board. Basically all areas will be youth free.

Where are the smoking areas? Section of the casino, deck 6. Churchills, deck 7. Probably by the Bar & Grill on deck 15 above the Lido Pool. Probably a small standing section of the promenade starboard outside of The Universe Lounge. Smoking prohibited in all cabins and balconies. Note that the smell of smoke travels from the casino into the International Cafe area.

How will time changes be handled? Princess adjusts the ship time to match local port time. When there is a time change you will be notified.  You will be turning clocks back a total of 3 hours as you progress up the Pacific. Time changes are made overnight.

 

 

 

[wallyj]

11 hours ago, SCX22 said:

 

  Ship time on Princess always matches the local time in port.

 

 

Not true, especially PV. Been there many times with Princess and local time can/will be 1 hour ahead of ships time. The Captain decides if time changes occur on ship.

Edited October 11, 2023 by wallyj

[Arizona Wildcat]

6 hours ago, skynight said:

When I booked, no excursions were available. There is over 14 months. Don't worry. Excursions will be ready in plenty of time. It's a good idea to join the roll call for your cruise. Private tours may be formed.

Are there any adult-only areas on the Coral? The Sanctuary, decks 14 & 12 aft, fee area.  If interested go directly there on boarding to book. For a tropical cruise like yours the sanctuary fills quickly. Believe there is a special fee for the P.C. crossing day. In January and for long cruises there will not be very many youth on board. Basically all areas will be youth free.

Where are the smoking areas? Section of the casino, deck 6. Churchills, deck 7. Probably by the Bar & Grill on deck 15 above the Lido Pool. Probably a small standing section of the promenade starboard outside of The Universe Lounge. Smoking prohibited in all cabins and balconies. Note that the smell of smoke travels from the casino into the International Cafe area.

How will time changes be handled? Princess adjusts the ship time to match local port time. When there is a time change you will be notified.  You will be turning clocks back a total of 3 hours as you progress up the Pacific. Time changes are made overnight.

 

 

 

The ship is not always on local time when off Baja California.   The reason is some days you cross back and forth the time zone line.  The ship's daily will tell you what to do.

You are over a year till your cruise.  Great to plan, but be aware things can and will change.  On our Panama Canal cruise we had changes in port times, port stops, shore excursions,  and dining times.

Just go with the flow and ask your questions on your Roll Call.

[skynight]

9 minutes ago, wallyj said:

Not true, especially PV. Been there many times with Princess and local time can/will be 1 hour ahead of ships time. The Captain decides if time changes occur on ship.

I have experienced your scenario on Mexican itineraries that make the classic 3 port stops in Cabo, Mazatlan and Puerta Vallarta.  Cabo and Mazatlan are on Pacific time while P.V is on Mountain time. Princess did not make the time change on the P.V. stop.

But, I would think on the poster's itinerary there will be a time change before reaching P.V. The ship is sailing north from Panama to S.F. In January Panama will be on EST. Costa Rica and then Guatemala will be on CST. Clocks will move back one hour between Panama and Costa Rica. Puerta Vallarta is on MST, another hour back. Believe the ship will change the time to match P.V. time, the 2nd hour, on one of the sea days between Guatemala and P.V. The final hour will be between Puerta Vallarta and S.F. 

[SCX22]

2 hours ago, wallyj said:

Not true, especially PV. Been there many times with Princess and local time can/will be 1 hour ahead of ships time. The Captain decides if time changes occur on ship.

 

On a weeklong Mexican Riviera on the Discovery from LA this year, I was told by Guest Services that since the restart, ships have been directed by corporate to have ship time align with the local time in port.  Not sure how accurate this statement was, but the sailing I was on followed this rule regarding time changes. We lost and gained an hour in a matter of 48 hours.

[MacMadame]

21 hours ago, travelin.sisters said:

there should be excursions in PV as it is a very common port for west coast cruises, I don't know if I have ever taken one there (just shopped in the shops at the port)...no idea why they are not showing yet.

It's weird because all the other ports have them and I've already booked the ones we're interested in (Doing a non-ship excursion in Cartegena and booked that too.)

 

8 hours ago, Arizona Wildcat said:

Just go with the flow and ask your questions on your Roll Call.

My roll call has 2 posts. Both by me! 🤣 I'm guessing it's too soon for a lot of discussion. That's part of why I posted here instead.

 

16 hours ago, EDVM96 said:

Take a look: https://www.princess.com/ports-excursions/puerto-vallarta-mexico-excursions

Thanks! I think I saw that at one point but then I couldn't find it because now I go through my booking for everything.

 

I didn't realize PV was on Mountain Time. I assumed it was on PT like California (where I live) and Tijuana and Cabo (the only two places in Mexico that I've been to).

 

I'm very excited about this cruise! When I was a kid and learned about the Panama Canal in school, I imagined sailing through it on my way to a new life in California as many settlers did when it first opened. 🙂

 

[RNCheryl]

The Coral is my favorite, and we were on the Canal cruise a few years ago.  Main take aways from our cruise.  Crew is fantastic.  Got a coffee every morning and as soon as the barista saw me, started our brews.

 

Cartagena Colombia excursions require a great deal of patience in ignoring aggressive vendors.

 

I have never been so hot in my life, and we live in Florida.  Sailed in February.  Just take precautions; hydrate, light colored clothes, sun screen hats

 

This was my least favorite cruise, but my husband can't wait to do it again.  Go figure.