Only ship doing full Panama Canal transit at time of the booking. May be the first person to loose weight on a cruise ship Ship just came out of dry dock. Suppose to be in Ft Lauderdale night before cruise but didn't arrive until 10 am cruise day prior to cruise. Long wait in terminal. Ship was dirty. Mud / salt on cabin balcony walls & floor. Finally used pool towels to clean area and furniture ourselves. Most exterior public areas filthy. Deck furniture filthy. Cabin bathroom. First 4 days sink drain plugged. Had to dip dirty water from sink with glass to use sink. For 5 days toilet valve was stuck causing toilet to overflow on floor. Every morning bathroom floor was flooded and carpet outside bathroom was wet. Cabin Stewart said maintenance didn't have any repair parts to fix toilet valve. Next 3 days toilet didn't leak but didn't have any water to flush toilet. Had to get water from the shower to flush toilet. Drink service in public areas was terrible. some times 15-20 minute wait for drinks. Most of the time went to bar, tired of waiting on servers. First 2 days of cruise not allowed on upper & sport decks. Crews were still working on ship from dry dock. Sport deck equipment poor. Shuffle Board some equipment missing, deck so rough the pucks wouldn't slide. Court netting loose / torn at several areas. Prominade deck at one end cluttered with shipping crates and rolls of carpeting. Barley room to walk through. Daytime entertainment almost didn't exist. Almost no entertainment on exterior deck. If you did play Trivia or Rip-Off Bingo there wasn't much of anything else to do. Movies under the stars was highly promoted but out of service most on the cruise. Night theater entertainment was excellent. Theater was over crowded and difficult to get seating if not there 45 minutes early. Don't expect drink service, only 2 waiters for the whole theater. Show time scheduled later so both early & late dinners could attend the show at same time causing over crowding of the theatre Getting cocktails in the casino was impossible. One time I seen a waiter walk through but never stopped. Had to go to another bar and get drinks yourself. Food quality was poor. Buffet special was only 1-2 pans. Rest was repeat every day. Food at bottom of pans stuck from being warmed over. Main dining room menu almost the same everyday, usually only had 1-2 changes. Rest was same items every day. Dinner rolls at all dining areas were hard and dried out. Couldn't cut through crust with dinner knife. Dissert was good Probable never again travel with Princess Read Less

This ship gave us an up close and personal experience with the Panama Canal. The ship was just the right size for efficiency, all the staff was amazing. The entertainment was great, needed a little more variety for daytime, and not just shopping. Food was OK, loved the Movies under the stars, and all the nooks and crannies to spend my day relaxing if I wish. We were in B612, and loved having a balcony to ourselves. We were disappointed that due to weather were unable to stop in Nicaragua, but the experience of the Canal was amazing! Cruise staff was extremely friendly, as was all the dining, bar and wait staff. Loved the Princess experience! Our shore excursion to the Walk in the Clouds was a little disappointing in Costa Rica, way too long bus ride, and not much to see when we got there. We did the arch boat ride in Cabo, which was very good, and the Gatun Lake boat to Monkey Island in Puerto Amador was very good as well, We used Dora in Cartagena and she is amazing. Highly recommended. The Everglades tour at Fort Lauderdale was the worst,,,,only because of the organization...the bus an hour late which shortened the tour due to guests needing to get to the airport. Once we got to Everglades Holiday Park, it was enjoyable. Read Less

Be careful of the upsells. Everything you do comes with an equally priced upsell. 150$ tooth whitening with a 150$ maintenance kit. 300$ to swim with dolphins and a 340$ photo package. Massage? 260$ in creams offered. Want drinks? $895 for one person unlimited drinks. The staff was phenomenal. The boat is on its last sea legs I reccomend private excursions at half the price. Just get off the ship and grab a taxi. Unfortunately it took about six hours to board the shop because it was stuck in dry dock being repaired. We were sleeping on floors, without food for a long time. And nothing was offered to us. No snacks. Just water. No “hey sorry here’s a free drink. Or a cruise credit” nothing. But the bartenders, kids zone staff, house keeping, waiters and casino staff were all amazing. It really was the staff that made this entire trip worthy. At least they hire great talented people On and they love to only use 1-2 tender boats so plan to wait in line for an hour or so at each port. You know- just in case you don’t want to miss dinner Read Less

I loved this ship, the crew, the ports and all of the knowledge I learned from the onboard specialist. So informative. Also loved disembarking at my home port! The Coral princess was in excellent condition for as old as she is! Everyone had a fantastic time. I planned this trip one and a half years in advance for my 60th birthday, so worth the wait!! Some cruise ships do not stop in Panama City, this was a plus, great tour and learned even more about the building of the Canal. The cruise itself was seamless, great service and guest entertainers. Not so much the onboard dancers and singers. The thing that is great about cruising is you can choose the entertainment that best suits you in different venues on the ship. The Coral had many nice big showrooms and lounges. We spent a lot of time playing trivia, one of our favorite things to do and they had the best staff ever! Read Less

We fly yearly from the east coast to San Francisco to visit family and friends so we thought sailing there through the old locks of the Panama Canal and see places we had never been before was a great way to go. The ship had just come out of dry dock but I can tell you no attention was paid to anything other than laying internet lines for future use. The couch in our cabin needed a thorough cleaning and the rest of the ship looked tired and ragged in places. Our embarkation was a fiasco! It was late coming into Ft. Lauderdale and as “platinum suite” passengers we waited only 4 hours to board vs the 6-7 hour wait for others with less or no status. There was no compensation offered whatsoever once we boarded - even just a free drink to acknowledge what we went through. This is the 2nd embarkation disaster we’ve experience in the last 3 to 4 years - the first being in San Francisco about 2 or 3 years ago. The port tours were ok in some ports and terrible in others. We have found this to be the case before and may just start using other tour companies in each port. However the transit through the old locks was fabulous! The food and entertainment was just so so and everything else involved an up sell. Really Princess??! What saved this cruise was the fabulous staff all over the ship and our dinner table where we all made new friends and have been in touch since leaving the ship in San Francisco, Read Less

This was the first cruise of the Coral Princess after a rehab in dry dock. Carpets have been replaced, flat screens added to all rooms with satellite reception, new paint and improved internet access are among the changes. The ship is small and was built for the Panama Canal. Overall the cruise gets high marks. My husband and I are in our early 60's and were among the youngest people on the ship. Lots of folks with walkers, wheelchairs, scooters and canes. Excellent weather, no rain and not too hot. We did the Princess excursion "Aromas and Flavors of Cartagena" which was excellent. Demonstration and coffee tasting, local cooking class and tour of the Old City. Very well done. We were a group of 28, split into two class groups. The small size allowed for a high level of interaction with the guides and young people who were teaching the classes. Humberto is the ship's guide to the Canal. He did a fabulous job of narrating the passage through the Canal all day. We made our way around the ship throughout the day. The emergency doors on level 11 was opened so we could view the locks from the front of the ship. This is not advertised. So check "non-traditional" access points. Princess is one of the few ships that stops at Puerto Amador. We did the train trip and the new locks. We did the dome car which wasn't worth the extra expense. There wasn't much to see that you would miss if you were below. Save your money. The new locks are very interesting especially when compared to the old locks and well worth the time to visit. Our tour also took us through the city and past the old town. No stops just the bus ride. Costa Rica was our least favorite stop. All excursions are very long as they take you a good distance from the port of Puntarenas. We did the tour of the Botanical Gardens, Coffee Plantation and some old church. The Botanical Gardens left much to be desired. Birds in very small cages and green houses of orchids that need more TLC. The Doka Coffee Plantation was excellent. We could have spent another hour there, but the guide hustled us on the a public park and church. This stop could have been eliminated and we would have been able to see all that the coffee plantation had to offer. Way too long on the bus. In Nicaragua, we did the Hacienda on Lake Nicaragua. Very relaxing. It's a working hacienda. The family was our host. Local dancers performed traditional dancers and local crafts were demonstrated. Lunch was delicious. This is not an exciting adventure. I sat with the lake in hammock and renewed my soul. My husband watched the performances of the horses and interacted with the local folks. Our last stop was in Cabo. We did the half day sailing adventure. It was fabulous. Wonderful guide. Plenty of food and drink. We saw about whales, sea turtles, marlins and a variety of birds. We had a wonderful room steward and great waiters for dinner. We chose the Anytime Dining but had the same table every night. Food was better than average. Food that we did not like was relaced quickly. Activites on sea days left much to be desired. Mostly trivia, and craft kits during the day. Each night was a different performer. Three nights were productions. All others were one-person shows. Comics with jokes that addressed the age of the majority of the guests. The "enrichment speaker" was terrible. Very dated presentations with extremely poor visuals (think powerpoint with old B/W videos embedded). The wine tasting was excellent as was the cooking demonstration by the Chef and the Head of the Hotel and the tour of the galley. All in all, it was a very relaxing expereince. No drama. Just a wonderful time. Read Less

This was our 8th Princess cruise and it will be our last. The ship was not ready for passengers. The pool was closed the first 2 days while it was being painted. Many public bathrooms were closed the first few days while they were being repaired. The Movies Under The Stars worked the first couple of days, then never worked again. The overall feel of the ship was unlike any other cruise that we have been on. The service was poor. The food was poor the first week. It improved the second week. Lunch in the dining room took at least an hour and a half. If one person asked to have their water glass refilled, the rest of the table was ignored. I gave up getting a Diet Coke for dinner in the dining room. It would take 15 -30 minutes to arrive. Several times we tried to buy a bottle of wine from the wine list to find out they were not available. Our room was not clean. There was food under the desk when we arrived. It was there when we left 15 days later. The towels were old and stained. The balcony was never cleaned. I never saw anyone cleaning railings or other public areas. The pool towels were thin and stained. The entertainment was average at best. The singers and dancers were good but we didn't see them until day 10. There were very few activities during the day. Most of them were sales pitches for the spa or jewelry shops. We felt like there was a charge for everything. I bought the soft drink package and was not able to use it the first day. I asked about it at the desk and was told I could start using it the second day. I could list many other issues but this gives a good idea of the problems on board. Read Less

The service was poor, the meals were nothing to write home about, but our cabin and the ports were great. Also great was Doug Funk, one of the entertainers. He’s so funny. We’ve seen him on other Princess Cruises,so we were happy to see him on this one. The entertainment is usually campy on Princess. Their broadway shows are laughable. But on this cruise we had a magician, a guitarist, a pianist, Doug funk, who were all great. The problem is that the Princess band must play with the entertainers and although they are good, they are too loud and tend to drown out the main act, especially the horns and drums. What a headache. The ports were all good,as were most of the shore excursions. I mentioned the food and service. We’re Elite on Princess and have noticed a rapid decline in service and all around quality since Carnival took over. They cut corners everywhere and made us feel we were on a substandard cruise line. I’ve never seen so much recycled food. Some items had been converted to other dishes at least 3 times. The hot doges were pretty Good, the burgers were half the size of the bun. We had a serious delay in our departure due to this old boat coming out of dry dock. But they didn’t waste any time getting us off at the end. We have to reconsider our booked cruise to New Zealand on Princess. Read Less

The dining room and cabin steward were great. The ship just came out of dry dock and there were technical problems with the Movies at Sea on deck, that was a bit disappointing. Many workers came along on the first leg out of dry dock to finish up maintenance, no big deal - just something we noticed. The Panal Canel was everything we hoped for as this was our first time through the canel. The main dining room experience was great, our regular waiter and assistant waiter for dinner were excellent. The times we went to breakfast and lunch (anytime dining) was equally great. The buffet, or cafeteria as some call it was what you might expect from a cruise ship. My significant other requires gluten free food and I give Princess an A+++. The head waiter was very accommodating and even had the galley prepare special desserts for her (and other passengers) the following night for dinner. Awesome job! We didn't arrange any port excursions through Princess; therefore, no comments on those areas. Read Less

Chose Princess for the full canal transit. The ship arrived late in Ft. Lauderdale late from drydock in Freeport, with many items not completed. Boarding was hours late. Items such as carpet replacement (including our stateroom) continued during the cruise. Balcony stateroom was fine, with outstanding steward. Ship wide food not memorable, with Horizon Court lunch disappointing. Outstanding dining room staff! Princess does not execute well. Dress code that included three formal nights a total joke. We felt stupid bring formal evening clothes. Cunard (also owned by Carnival) has no problem with their dress code. Constant upsell from photo, art, and jewelry staff. Cruise director acted as head salesman. Annoying entertainment staff that spent much of their time doing”wacky games” at the pool, etc. Clientele not sophisticated....many folks started drinking with their first bucket of beers at 9AM. We would choose Princess again only for itinerary and value of no more than $100-125 per night for a balcony. Read Less