Which Cabin For Canal On Island/coral?

[laginog]

We are seriously considering booking a Balcony or Mini suite on the Island or Coral as soon as the Bookings open up for Fall of 2008 on the "through" Panama Canal 11-day sailing. Is there a "better" cabin to book for Balcony viewing of the Canal passage? We noticed from Tom's website that even though the Princess ships don't have "true" aft cabins, a few of them seem to have wraparound Balconies. Maybe B734, B717, C728, C727, D726, D725, & E736 & E737? Has anyone stayed in these? It does look like only the Emerald deck ones are covered though too. Is that important in October/November? We have not yet experienced an "aft" cabin but we will on the RCI Serenade to Hawaii next October. Or...would we be better off near the front of the ship for the Canal?? I have leg braces so I can't move too quickly to get from one end of the ship to the other when something's happening!!! Thanks for any help...or suggestions! We also will have friends with us that have never cruised before and will be choosing a cabin for them!!

[bjboothman]

I can tell you one thing, nothing happens all that quickly as you go through the canal, it's a pretty slow process and if you are not getting off in Gatun Lake to take a tour, you will repeat the process back through the locks again a few hours later and can see anything you missed. So, if you place yourself in your spot of choice, you can watch all you want until you choose to move. Nobody can tell whether the ship will go through the right or left lane of the canal till you get there - it's impossible to say whether port or starboard will be better. Most of the decks have an open viewing area both in front and back of the ship from which you can watch the transit. I'm sorry I can't say anything at all about the aft cabins you have chosen. We have stayed in C309 which is the corner cabin on the fore bumpout and think it has a great view (on the Coral). We are staying there again in December, though it is not a canal transit this time.

 

The canal transit is very hot and sunny - if you are going to be outside, wear sunscreen and/or a hat. It is the tropics after all. We have done the partial transit on the Coral twice and it is one of our favorite cruises as is the Coral our favorite ship.

[sultan_sfo]

We found that our Dolphin Mini under the AFT bump-out was good. Check the location of the laundry at the AFT on Dolphin and avoid directly across the laundry because the laundry gets a lot of use on a long cruise and both the dryer smell and the persons hanging outside can be an annoyance. On the Dolphin and Caribe, there are nice "small" decks at the AFT which are great for viewing the operation of the locks. The Caribe AFT deck had a few chairs but the Dolphin did not. One can lean out of the balcony and and watch the "Mules" as well. So the only time one would need to go to the fore is to view the ship entering the canal -- but there are hordes of people lined up with their cameras and viewing from the fore decks and horizon court was not all that great except when going under the "Bridge". Most of our viewing was from the AFT Dolphin deck and from our cabin balcony. I am sure you will receive a lot of comments -- cabin location like food is also subjective. /Sultan

[MaryPoppinz]

The only "poor" cabins on the ship would be those three or four cabins close to the bumpouts. Your forward or aft sightlines are obstructed by the bumpout.

 

Other than that, you can't go wrong on either ship. Pick your favorite category and go!

[JotWorld]

We are booked on C727(Uncovered) 10/23 & E737(Covered) 11/02 Coral B2B, For the Reasons you have noted.:) We get true Aft cabins on ships that have them & would take a Aft Balcony Cabin over a Side Mini Suite.;) We are booked on the the AFT Owner's Suite for the 108 Day World Cruise on the PP in 2008 & can Hardly wait:D You will get more bouncing around in the front of the Ship than in the AFT. Bill

[Another Cruise]

We did the 15 day full transit on the Coral last year. We were in Emerald 707. Look at these rooms on a deck plan. If the balconies look larger it is because they are!! A lot bigger. We loved it. One caution about those balconies at the back you mentioned: anyone out on the back decks will be looking onto your balconey when they go to look over the side. The previous poster is right about the laundry rooms. There is one across from E707 so if you like those balconies you might want to look at the other side of the ship!! My husband also has a leg brace and it is a long walk to the front of the ship to the dining room and show room, but there is also a show room at the back of the ship. You will love the Coral!!