Here are a few notes from our recent outing, going on the Coral Princess from Ft. Lauderdale to Vancouver. It was 20 of the best cruising days we have had and despite some minor issues there were many great times we had on and off the ship.
After a long red eye with two connections we arrived in FLA and it was great to connect with a fellow who had been an exchange high school student in our home 17 years ago. He is now married and has a infant child and we chatted for hours about both those days and the time that has passed since then. His wife found some of the stories of when he was with us funny.
Embarkation was pretty good and though there was not a separate room for Elite and Platinum, we did move through shorter lines and got on the ship relatively quickly. Our room onboard was more that we expected with a great layout that allowed for easy movement. As predicted the bathroom was small, but not too small and storage layout was good. We were on the Baja deck (11). Some friends we met were on Caribe (10) and I think booking that category next time is in order as they had a bit larger balcony.
We enjoyed the cabin very much considering it one of the best we have been in as far as layout is concerned. The double bed had plenty of room to walk between it an the wall and there was even a strip on the wall that would guide you in the middle of the night. The cupboards were adequate and as far as storage for shirts, pants, my suit, etc. it was good to have them out of the way of passage. Every once in a while it was close quarters when the bathroom door was opened, but that was an issue easily addressed. The cabinet for the safe was adequate to store lots of other clothes and I liked the way the safe operated. The bathroom was well laid out with plenty of storage place for toiletries. I had read the shower would be small, and it was, but it was manageable. As a side note, I did a lot of showering in the Spa, but my wife did all of hers in ours. I only hit the "grab bar" a few times and that really was not an issue. I loved the bed ... better than the king we have at home, so comfortable and I wish I could have taken the pillow. The balcony was small, but fully covered and that was appreciated. Two chairs and a small table were enough.
We had a pre arranged tour with a fabulous guide, "Dora the Explorer". I would recommend her as she was very knowledgeable about the port and the places she took us to.
We have been there many times and chose to walk about. We enjoyed the water walkway and were able to say no to the many merchants who wanted to do business with us.
We independently walked about town using the David Foster trail. It was a beautiful day and we took lots of photos of the city as well as visiting a number of small shops where we made purchases. The city is very clean.
We simply walked about the town on our own and did some shopping and exploring. It is a nice town though none of the cruise tours looked like they would meet our needs.