Coral Princess Review

15 Night Panama Canal / Repositioning draws International crowd, mostly seniors

Review for the Panama Canal & Central America Cruise on Coral Princess
User Avatar
Applecruzer
10+ Cruises • Age 70s

Rating by category

Cabin
Value for Money
Embarkation
Dining
Public Rooms
Entertainment
Fitness & Recreation
Service

Additional details

Sail Date: Sep 2016
Cabin: Oceanview

We chose this cruise because the Canal was on our "bucket list" and the last minute deals to fill the cabins were excellent. We like the size of the Coral Princess but if you need water slides and discos into the night to survive, you want another ship. Because this was a long cruise (15 nights) there was a lot of time spent on the ship. Surprisingly to us, the passengers were a mixed group from nearly all English speaking countries: USA, Canada, Great Britain, Australia and New Zealand. This led to some interesting dinner discussions (we had Freestyle dining) with a greater than normal variety of internationals. Because of the length of the cruise and the timing after the school year had just started in the US, there were very few children on board and they were a complete non-issue for the rest of us. The great majority were "seniors", most of whom had cruised with Princess before.

The ship itself was in great shape and in what I would call a 'conventional' Princess design. Unlike some ships the Atrium did not extend all the way up to the 14th deck. We found the Casino to be quite small compared to other ships we had been on (this was our 15th cruise). Moreover, it was mostly smoke-free and one could completely bypass it moving along the deck if desired. That being said, the tables were very close together and there was not a lot of 'gawking' room for kibitzers.

Having Freestyle dining, we were assigned to the Bordeaux dining room on deck 5. Again, this was laid out in a very conventional way. We had different staff nearly every night, which had the advantage of interacting with different waiters but the disadvantage of not getting to know them over the longer cruise length. Also, we had a variety of dining partners. Even when we were not 'sharing' a table, the tables for 2 were set so closely together that it was easy to have a conversation at the other tables should you choose.

Cabin Review

Oceanview

Cabin OE

This is one of only 2 cabins on the Coral Princess that look out over the stern of the ship. Plus, there is an external gallery/walkway across the entire stern that we used as a "private" balcony. This was particularly true on our Panama Canal transit. Otherwise, it was very rarely used, but we did have to be careful with the curtains for our window, in case.....We had sufficient storage space for all 15 nights plus 3 formal nights without crowding. Our bags fit under the beds so they weren't in the way at all. Main drawbacks might be the long walks down the hallways to get to any public areas and dining rooms and the occasional late night bass rhythm from the Universe Lounge downstairs.

Port Reviews

Aruba

Been here before. Spent our afternoon shopping.

Los Angeles

Embarkation no problem at all. Last minute run to nearby liquor store for our 2 allowed bottles of wine for out stateroom.

5 Helpful Votes
previous reviewnext review

Find a Coral Princess Cruise from $388

Any Month

Get special cruise deals, expert advice, insider tips and more.By proceeding, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

© 1995—2024, The Independent Traveler, Inc.