Just back from the Coral

[LMC]

My husband and I sailed the Coral Princess on the March 24-April 3 Panama Canal cruise. This was cruise number 14 for us- we have cruised with Carnival, Celebrity, Holland America, and Royal Carribean- this was our first Princess cruise. Because, we have cruised so many times with so many lines, and all in the Carribean, I feel we have some different perspective to offer- and this review will do that. We are in our late 40's.

 

We did our own air arrangements and flew to Florida the day before we boarded the ship (we boarded within 1/2 hour of sailing time once due to flight problems- will NEVER go through that again!!). We left our hotel (the airport Wyndham) at 11:00am the day of boarding, and were in our stateroom by 12 noon. We had done all of our pre-boarding online, so it went very smoothly.

 

We had a category AA Minisuite (had booked and paid for a Guarantee AD)- our stateroom was B217, which was forward. The room was great- lots of space with a great balcony and bathroom with full tub/shower. We were very pleased with it.

 

The alcoholic drinks on the ship were a great value (a medium Frozen Margarita- which was huge- was $6.50). Try a Mojito- a great drink with mint, rum, lime juice and club soda---MMMM!). The only free beverages they had was water,coffee, tea, milk at mealtime, and iced tea. (HINT- we brought water bottles with us and brought small Crystal Light lemonade packets- went well with the Pint of Absolut Vodka we brought on board!).

 

The food I must say was substandard to every cruise line we have ever been on. Now, before anyone freaks out- I will explain.... The buffet line on the Lido deck (the Horizon Court) is so horribly set up logistically, causing crowding in the strangest places. Even the workers were in the way most of the time. And the seating capacity is not adequate for the size of the ship- we often had to walk around several times to try to find a place to sit. Also, there are no trays, which makes it hard to get a meal, salad, and drink in one trip. We found the food selection just ok- nothing spectacular. The best day was when they did a pasta station. They also had a seafood buffet on the last sea day shich was very good.

 

Breakfast was the usual- but the selection at Horizon Court was better than the dining room. They did have a fresh egg/omelet station which was good) . On past cruises, the dining room had eggs benedict and fluffy French toast (2 of my husband's favorites) but they did not serve that on the Coral. They did have smoked salmon in the dining room (my favorite) but not at the buffet.

 

We had Traditional Dining- late seating, and again, none of the food "wowed" us. It was simply "ok". I prefer fish, which was usually very bland, save for the sauce and the vegetables and accompaniments served were pretty traditional. I had steak once, which was very tough- did not send it back because I was already pretty full. They do have Caeser salad available every day, which was good because the other salad offered was pretty boring. The lamb was very good, as was the lobster. Mu husband did have prime rib on the last night, which he said was good.

 

Another thing that really bothered us- you have to pay for ice cream on Princess!!!! I have never paid for ice cream on a cruise before. The pizza was ver good- served from 11-7. My husband had a burger from the grill once, and he said that was good.

 

I'm not saying the food was bad- I'm simply saying that I have had much better food on other cruise lines. We did not starve!!!

 

We did not do any shore tours- so I cannot comment on those. We did do lots of shopping (YAY). It rained the whole day in Costa Rica- so we did not get off the boat at all. In Jamaica, we shopped and went to Margaritaville- we were intending to swim there, but it was cloudy by the afternoon so we just had our Margarita and nachos- YUMMY!! Cozumel still has horrible damage from the Hurricane, but that is still my favorite port. We cabbed into town ($6 each way) and did major shopping. The shopkeepers have suffered such a loss of income- they were all wonderful and just happy to have the business. Please do not think that it is not worth going downtown- it really is. We had lunch (and another Margarita!) at Carlos and Charlie's- I love that place!!! We also shopped in Grand Cayman- had a great day there as well- had luch at Senor Frog's- and another Margarita! I understand there will be a Margaritaville ther in May, but I do not know where. On Panama Canal day, we were up early (by 6). We ordered room service breakfast (note- the card in your room only has continental type things on it- we added things like omelets, bacon, and sausage and we received everything). Your balcony is a great place to watch the passage through the canal- there is a running commentary on the TV, so we left our balcony door opened and heard it fine. It was absolutely fascinating- we loved it and it was the highlight of our trip!

 

We did not use any spa services so I cannot comment on that- did use the Lotus Spa pool a lot though-no kids!

 

We had a great time, a wonderful vacation, but we have decided that Princess is not for us.

 

I am happy to anser any questions you have. I will monitor this thread for a few days- or email me of you prefer. Happy Cruising!!!!!

[BillyBoat]

Hi Linda, We will be on the Coral ( 2nd time ) April 23rd. We are looking forward to the cruise VERY much, and I'm sorry the Coral was not a good fit for you. 1. Did you catch any of the lounge entertainment? Good..bad..or what? 2. How was the over-all service? 3. How did the tendering go at Coz? 4. Where is Carlos and Charlie's at Coz? 5. Where is Margaritaville in Jam? Like you, my wife likes to shop...and SHOP... did you find any great buys while in Coz? (notice how I stopped numbering questions...I thought you might not notice one last one) Thanks for all your help in advance....by the way..which is your favorite cruise line/ship?

Thanks again...BillyBoat

[2Ports]

Thanks for your review - we're going on the Coral in October for my wife's 50th and our 25th (both in Oct.) Already counting the days!

[custompcsys]

Its nice to see a reasonable, logical post from someone who didn't necessarily think their Princess experience was the best. While I may not agree with you, I certainly respect your choice and opinion,and thank you for presenting your case as you did. Its refreshing to see :)

 

Just out of curiosity....you found the food on Carnival better? I did the Fascination last year and thought their buffet didn't compare in quality and selection to the Horizon Court - although I must admit, I did run into the same seating situation on the Diamond that you did on the Coral. Always got a table, but a few times it took some "hovering" :rolleyes: I also thought the fare in the dining room was superior on the Diamond, and Carnival did not offer a personal choice option, which is a biggie for me. We came to the same conclusion about Carnival you did about Princess....good time, served its purpose, but not my cup of tea for the future.

[Coral]

Thank you Linda for your review.

 

On every Princess cruise I have been on - eggs benedict has been served at least once if not twice in the dining room and french toast is served once in the dining room. It is part of the daily special - it would surpprise me if it wasn't served in the dining room on your cruise. I wish french toast was available every day but it is usually on the last day of the cruise in the dining room. And for some reason - the french toast in the dining room is different then the french toast in the buffet.

 

I have sailed Carnival but it was so long ago - I can't compare the food. Friends recently sailed Carnival and thought it was excellent and in some cases, better than Princess (and these are Princess fans). Carnival must be doing something different recently. Unfortunately - I am not a fan of the decor on Carnival and it would take a special itinerary on one of the more subdued ships (preferably Spirit class) to get me on Carnival again. I much prefer Princess's soft decor to the decor on Carnival.

[A1Mema]

We were on the same Coral Princess Panama Canal tour and were very happy with it. Eggs Benedict and French Toast (the James Beard recipe) was served the last day in the dining room. There also was smoked salmon on the buffet one morning, white fish a couple of mornings, other meats other mornings. It varied from day to day.

 

We had no trouble finding a table at the buffet and think it might be different depending upon your time of arrival.

 

We had early seating for dinner and after several nights another couple and my husband and I switched to the alternative dining and loved it. We had a wonderful waitress, were able to change our time for dining on different nights, which was great, and were able to add friends to our table as we met them. It will be our choice for dining on our next cruise(s)!

 

We never had any complaints about the food. Found it tasty, well prepared, and a nice variety. There are some choices that are always available - like shrimp cocktail and tournadoes - and with an appetizer, soup, salad, entree, and dessert were never hungry and always happy!

 

We dined at Sabbatinis one evening and would do that again. There are 18 courses (about a half dozen are selections of antipasto) and you only choose your entree. I chose the lobster tail and my husband the veal chop and my mouth still waters at the memory. Don't each much for breakfast and lunch that day.

 

We found the service to be excellent. Everyone had a smile on their face and was willing to answer questions or help in any way. We had no problem with the tendering in Cozumel. They passed out a paper the night before saying that they used an outside company as the Coral tenders weren't large enough and that the waits might be long and that it might not be up to the standards that you might expect but we had no problems. We did not take any excursions there so waited until after lunch and walked right on the tender and had the same experience when returning.

 

The only shore excursion we took was the boat ride at the Panama Canal and I'd recommend it highly. Had read wonderful reviews before we sailed and the trip lived up to our expectations. It is a totally different experience to go through the canal on the ship and then on a smaller ferry where you can actually see the water going down and touch the side of the canal and see the doors open and close behind and in front of you. Seeing the Bridge of the Americas in the Pacific was inspiring.

 

As for buys, we only shopped at the markets right on the pier. We picked up some souveneirs (the gift shop on the ship sells tee shirts for all the ports as well as what you find in the ports!) but we think our best finds were in watches. We got a his and hers Skagen set for $129 and two Movados from the museum collection for $299.

 

Happy to answer any other questions.

 

Dottie

[MHS4]

... Eggs Benedict and French Toast (the James Beard recipe) was served the last day in the dining room. ..

As for buys, we only shopped at the markets right on the pier. We picked up some souveneirs (the gift shop on the ship sells tee shirts for all the ports as well as what you find in the ports!) ...

Happy to answer any other questions.

Dottie

 

Dottie or LMC,

Is there a breakfast menu posted outside the dining room as there is a dinner menu? Since our last cruise was in 2003, perhaps that isn't even done anymore. Just wondering if one can tell before going in what's on offer.

 

Also, Dottie, how do the prices of the ship's tee shirts compare with the pier market's? I would imagine the quality is better, but spending $30 for a "garden shirt" is a bit much :-)

 

Thanks

Marion - Coral April 23rd

[A1Mema]

Marion -

 

There was no menu posted outside for any meal. The only preinformation I saw was in the Patter for something special in the Horizon Court - like sushi one day and seafood another.

 

The secret to buying the shirts on the ship is waiting until the day after you leave the port when they're marked down. I bought a nice one in Ochos Rios for $9.95 and the ones in the gift shop were marked down to $11.99 the next day. Almost everything was at least 30% off after the port.

 

The gift shop also has special sales in the dining room where everything is $10 - evening bags, costume watches, etc. I bought a couple of the bags and a bunch of the watches (which are still running!!!!!)

 

Dottie

[Bonnie-Jean]

We were on the Coral March 14-24.

 

We had a great time. Weather was perfect in every port.

 

Free Ice Cream in the Horizon Buffet everyday between 3 and 4:30PM.

 

Menus for the dining room are posted outside the main doors for each meal.

 

Found smoked salmon often in the Horizon Buffet.

 

Perhaps the above is not a normal routine. Just my observations.

 

Bonnie

[mii]

We will be on the May 3 repo on the Coral and was wondering if you kjnow who the Cruise Director is. Thanks

 

Marilyn

[Len3]

Thanks for the review. We are booked to do the partial PC in April, 2007. This will be our 2nd with Princess. Our lst Princess cruise was last August on the Sun. After sailing with Carnival, NCL, and RCCL, we thought that Princess was far superior. Sorry it didn't fit for you.

[NZYU]

Breakfast was the usual- but the selection at Horizon Court was better than the dining room. They did have a fresh egg/omelet station which was good) . On past cruises, the dining room had eggs benedict and fluffy French toast (2 of my husband's favorites) but they did not serve that on the Coral. They did have smoked salmon in the dining room (my favorite) but not at the buffet.

 

We had Traditional Dining- late seating, and again, none of the food "wowed" us. It was simply "ok". I prefer fish, which was usually very bland, save for the sauce and the vegetables and accompaniments served were pretty traditional. I had steak once, which was very tough- did not send it back because I was already pretty full. They do have Caeser salad available every day, which was good because the other salad offered was pretty boring. The lamb was very good, as was the lobster. Mu husband did have prime rib on the last night, which he said was good.

 

Another thing that really bothered us- you have to pay for ice cream on Princess!!!! I have never paid for ice cream on a cruise before. The pizza was ver good- served from 11-7. My husband had a burger from the grill once, and he said that was good.

 

Sorry to disagree. They did have Eggs Benedict at least once and smoked salmon at least three times in Horizon Court on that cruise.

 

Free ice cream around 3 PM at the back of Horizon Court, too. It was only there for a short time. Ice cream was a free option at dinner. Our servers often brought us our choice of dessert plus as many scoops of ice cream as we wanted.

 

We found most all the food to be excellent. If not, for example, the frog legs were very small, our wait staff at second seating brought us a second entree.

 

Did you see the seating at the front of the boat? Once we found it, we seldom had trouble finding seating.

 

Great cruise. Sorry you didn't enjoy yourselves.

[NZYU]

Entertainers were either good or bad. I will focus on the good ones here.

 

The show called "Dance" was outstanding in all aspects: skill of performers, costumes and setting.

 

Sarge, a commedian, was fantastic. Good the first time and even better the next.

 

One of the singer / pianist was also fantastic. I'll see if I can find a patter with his name and post it later.

[MaryPoppinz]

I've had ice cream, Eggs Benedict and JB French toast on every Princess ship, including Coral. Are you sure you didn't just miss them when they were served?

 

The menus are posted in a glass display case near the dining room entrances.