This itinerary has been on our bucket list for a long time. The enrichment activities provided by Chris Roberts and Dr. Angel Colon were most enjoyable and greatly increased my awareness on the topics covered. Please continue these enrichment lectures with fine speakers like these two gentlemen. The crew was awesome and provided perfect service as well as exhibiting tremendous good morale. Special thanks to bar staff, Shailesh, Komang, Edgar, Mario, Geraldine & Sheila. Thanks to IC staff as well including Papa Ver, Anoop, Lito and Yehven. We loved the numerous spaces for the passengers to sit, eat something or have a drink. Our faves were the Wheelhouse bar (biggest fave), Crooners, the IC, MUTS, Explorers bar. The Blue Jade band was the best entertainment and dance band we have heard so far on a ship. We closed the Wheelhouse bar every night due to them. The ship's band was the best we have experienced to date as well. The theatre really need two more exits. Many somewhat disabled people took a lot of time using the two available exits making me really hope that there would be no emergency that required the theatre to vacate. Read Less

An amazing cruise and would recommend a Panama cruise to all. The ship was going into dock for some refurbishment but this did not spoil our trip. It did look tired and old fashioned in some areas. It certainly did not detract from our enjoyment. The entertainment in the theatre was a little disappointing overall but there were plenty of alternatives if you wanted. Driinks packages were expensive as with many of companies and would look for offers next time. The trips we took with the ship overall were good and very well organised. Staff were all exceptionally helpful and friendly. Restaurant staff in particular we r out of their way to ensure we had a positive experience every day. Would definitely cruise with Princess again and try one of the newer and/ or larger ships in the fleet. Will look for offers and also consider sailing from Southampton uk Read Less

Transit through the Panama Canal is really interesting. It was sunny every day but oppressively Hot during excursions in the afternoon. Service is excellent and the fellow passengers are very friendly. The food is fine, not gourmet except if you want to pay extra. The coffee card is not transferrable from Cruise to cruise anymore. Ship is impeccable. The Internet was spotty but I understand that the ship is in for refit and upgrade to Internet services right now. I really recommend this excursion if you want a relaxing trip with several Sea days. It is definitely a more senior crowd that takes this cruise. The entertainment by and large is excellent, especially the production shows. There is a good variety of guests entertainers and also groups in the lounges. I recommend taking a snack on excursions as our for our trip in the jungle of Costa Rica turned out to be 6 1/2 hours with no lunch. We were on a train and had a boat ride through the mangroves and it was well worth it but we were really hungry. Read Less

We selected this cruise as we wanted to do the full transit of the Panama Canal. We had previously been on the Coral Princess for partial transit and enjoyed the ship. This time did not disappoint. The service was top notch all the way around. In the main dinning room the food was very good with amply selection. Club Class dinning was worth the extra money with no wait to be seated and excellent service. The extra menu item each night was a plus and cooked to perfection. We didn't use the buffet so cannot comment on this. The ports were nice with lots to do within walking distance on most. Ship tours were very good. Ship was in good shape considering it was last cruise before dry dock only showed some wear but they were continously painting and cleaning. Only complaint was slow internet. I would definitely recommend this cruise on the Coral Princess. Read Less

We have been on the coral 3 times previously. This was our third time thru the Panama Canal, and 2nd time through on the Coral. Since we wanted to go through the original locks this was or the Island were the only ships. We had a wonderful experience. We were in a mini suite that was upgraded to club class. The entire staff was friendly. The service was wonderful and club class was an unexpected joy. It is great to be able to walk into the dining room and find a table for 2 during any time dining without having to wait. It is in its own section of the dining room and the staff stays the same during the entire cruise. They remember your name and your preferences. In Panama we choose to take a ferry thru two sets of the locks. It is a totally different experience then being on the ship when it goes through the canal. In Puerta Vallerta we went whale watching in a Zodiac which was awesome. The only cons on the ship were that the international cafe does not carry a non-milk substitute such as almond milk. Also there were not as many shows as I expected. A lot of one person singers or musicians in lieu of the cruise singers and dancers. Having cruised with Princess on a total of 9 cruises I can honestly say that this was the best cruise in every way I have taken on the line. Read Less

The ship needs an overhaul. Common areas are a tad ragged. Service in the dining rooms was indifferent. The dress code is not enforced which diminishes the overall experience. Hawaiian polo shirts on formal night just doesn't make it! The food, for the most part was just OK. Entertainment was not so great. The forced musical numbers were horrible and we walked out. Good comedians. There was not many places on the deck to sit and read as the big screen at the pool was constantly on with either music, ads, or movies even when the forward decks were closed because of high winds. Gidget Goes Hawaiian was one of the movies- REALLY! It also would have been nice if an officer (security) walked the deck and asked folks not to play their Bluetooth boom boxes. The sailing through the canal was very nice especially with the narration. We won't sail with them again. Very disappointed. Read Less

We wanted to take this cruise as we have never cruised the Panama Canal and wanted to go through the old locks. We usually cruise the grand class ships, so I was a little apprehensive about the smaller ship (no Vines, small International Cafe) but we were pleasantly surprised. The layout of the ship was fine and it was very easy to get around. Having less passengers meant it was easy to find seats in venues, dining rooms and the pool. I have heard about issues with Anytime dining if you weren’t Club Class but, other than the first night, we had no trouble getting seated either with a group or by ourselves. The food was good and there were several options to choose from including an option to choose an entree from the steakhouse, Bayou Cafe, for an upcharge. Our room location was great, the steward was fantastic. The only complaint we had was the sofa in the room. It was very worn out. I am hoping it is replaced when the ship goes into dry dock. We took the Princess shore excursions which were very good. All in all it was a great cruise. I wouldn’t hesitate to do this cruise again on the Coral Princess. Read Less

Always wanted to do this one. Being able to take 15 days to travel to Mexico, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, and Columbia was icing on the cake. The on-board experience was excellent. We spent a good deal of time at one club, the service and friendly demeanour of the crew made us feel we were in a favourite neighbourhood pub. On shore trips were also great. Our state room steward went out of his way to attend to our every need. I had a malfunction of my running shoes, a glue repair was required. Ronald was able arrange the fix, and did so free of charge. My wife requested distilled water, and and extension cord for her Cpap machine, it was present at check in. When we checked in to board, everything was streamlined and effortless. From the time we checked in until we were in our cabin was less then 30 minutes. Well done on our return as well. Disembarkation was very efficient, and clearing customs slick. Read Less

If you like smaller older ships with a full promenade deck, service with a smile, and a full transit of the Panama Canal this is the cruise for you. We chose this itinerary as it left from Los Angeles, a direct 2 hour flight on Southwest Airlines from El Paso for us. I cannot compare to the itinerary that begins in Fort Lauderdale but we loved this one that visited Fuerte Amador at the Pacific end of the canal, a full day transit through the old locks, and Cartagena after the transit; for us the other ports were "icing on the cake". On arrival in LA we had a smooth journey, using Execucar, to San Pedro where we stayed overnight at the Doubletree Hotel. The hotel food is enjoyable and they provide a shuttle to the port. Our shuttle was at 10:30 am and we quickly gave luggage to the porters, checked in at the cruise terminal and were through security and onboard before noon. On boarding we were given a list of places open for embarkation dining with their times -- it included one of the main dining rooms! We chose the International Cafe then headed for our mini-suite cabin D711. Robert, our cabin steward, arrived with the sparkling wine, and the cruise began! I located the Maitre D' and ensured that we had a table for two. We use early traditional dining, on this ship it was at 5:15 pm in the Provence dining room. After our first dinner we met with the head waiter to request low sodium meals. He provided us with the menus for the next day, we made our selections for the starter and main course, and he delivered them to the galley where the chef's worked their magic. All our dinners were delicious. Lunch for us was usually at the International Cafe or the wonderful freshly made individual pizza at Sabatinis. Pizza and a Grolsch beer became a favorite treat. We had two pub lunches on this cruise. I will not review the enjoyable varied evening entertainment as it was as described in Princess literature. On sea days we really enjoyed the port and enrichment lectures. The port lectures were invaluable to visualize how we would get off and back on the ship and gave glimpses of Princess excursion sights. The enrichment lectures on this cruise were on the History of Medicine and Surgery -- fascinating! On the first sea day at 10:30 am we had our Cruise Critic meet and greet with about 50 members attending. Several of the senior officers welcomed us including the Captain, Maitre D', Executive Chef, Entertainment ,Hotel and Bar Directors. They were all very gracious and obviously worked as a good team. This was reflected in all the crew members that we had contact with. Part of the fun at this Meet and Greet was a gift exchange of items that represented us in some way. For the first time we used shorter Princess excursions in all ports except for Cartagena. As the ports were new to us, and we have joint issues, we decided to mostly do bus tours in Mexico with short stops to see sights and buildings. People were on time when getting back to the bus and the excursions went smoothly and were as described. We live near the Mexican border in southern New Mexico so the culture and foods in Puerto Vallarta and Huatulco were not new to us. What was new was the tropical setting! Due to the unrest in Nicaragua we decided prior to the cruise not to do an excursion but went to the San Juan Del Sur Victoriano Hotel for coffee, use their internet, and view the bay. Many locals were using the beach as it was a Sunday. Choosing an excursion in Costa Rica was a challenge for us as we had both spent several weeks there independently. We eventually decided to do the very enjoyable Macaw Sanctuary and mangrove boat ride; the guide was excellent and we felt we had experienced Costa Rica in a new way. In Fuerte Amador we wanted to visit the colonial part of Panama City and could not locate a local guide. The Princess tour took us on a bus ride through the city to the old city (Panama Viejo) and then back to the colonial part (Casco Viejo) that is undergoing restoration where we had a walking tour. It is always fascinating to see the history of modern cities and how they are restoring areas. We had chance to do a little shopping, pick up a cold soda at the farmacia, and visit restrooms in shops ($1 pp) then back to the ship. Next morning we were up at 6 am to begin the canal transit. I highly recommend you read or watch videos on the history of the canal and attend the ship lectures to put the transit into context. We had a perfect sunny day with a slight breeze in the mid 80s. The locks are fascinating and an engineering marvel. We had a map of the canal from a guide book that was very helpful and another I had downloaded from the internet. I found it to be an exciting day. Cartagena was our last port. I had arranged for an 8 person tour with Dora a year in advance and it exceeded our expectations! http://www.cartagenatour.com I had requested a tour for slower walkers and we had the humorous and highly knowledgable Mercedes as our guide. What a great day as we began at the monastery La Popa overlooking the city, had short visits to the fort and old dungeons that have been converted to artisan stores, then a stroll around the old town and it's churches and plazas. I had the most blissful iced coffee from a jeep at the dungeon area (they use purified water and ice) as it was very hot. One of those memories that stick with you while on a fabulous tour. Two days later we were in a cold (46F) Fort Lauderdale. Debarkation was very easy as we were on a debarkation tour to the Everglades and had used Easy Check valet service for our bags. We were first in the US immigration line and also had a Global Entry card so it was very quick. It was interesting to see the Everglades from an air boat but the reptiles were well hidden due to the unusually cold weather. In all it was a great cruise! Read Less

B423 Coral Princess, 06Jan-21JAN2019, San Pedro to Fort Lauderdale via Panama Canal - Bucket Trip :D. First the bad, yes the ship shows signs of wear, but what do you want for a ship going into refurbishment after our trip? The crew was working on things so unless you are a real nit picker, it really was not that bad (about a dozen seats in the theater were broken? Rusted out areas?) but I did not mark anything down. Hopefully the next group will have a fresh ship. Bedding, our bed had one mattress that had a 3 inch or so dip, BEFORE putting weight on it. But the steward had that changed out within a few hours of our complaining. Smaller ship than we are used to, so there was some adjustment for the strange traffic patterns like elevators and passageways, but nothing that an intelligent person should mark down since it was a matter of learning routes and knowing where things are. The international cafe was in an odd area, small, and not as good as the other ships we have been on, that was worth a quarter point off. The Atrium (Piazza) was poorly designed for the few entertainment venues held there, more of a nexus for the stairs, shops, and services. Anytime dining tended to have a line, but then this trip was mostly older folks who eat early. The good. The aft pool was covered, nice for the cooler days and help prevent sunburn during the hot days. Horizon Buffet, small, but a nice linear layout with a large selection of hot items (I ate more hot lunches on this trip instead of just making a salad). Usually the buffet also had several ethnic dishes and often a curry dish I liked, and several times large shrimp from the grill. And after about 2PM, chips, guacamole, and salsa (on the days they left out the quac, I asked and received it). Had good to great service there. Dinner was mostly great, food was much better than our last trip on the Caribbean. Granted there were ho hum days, but even then I had a lot I liked (2-7 appetizers and all but two times a main + desert?). Actually gained some weight on this trip[ despite all the stairs I did (up to 38 flights a day). We got the same table every night and the table assigner started telling us “Go to your table”, loved it! Our server, Lorina, was excellent Evening main shows were mostly ranged from very good to excellent (“On the Bayou” and “Encore” were excellent), one good, and two fair (the comedian, Scott Wyler, and juggler, Mark Nizer, were not very good). Still lacking late morning and early afternoon music. One thing I enjoyed were the enrichment lectures by Dr. Angel Colon, ranging from various medical breakthroughs in history to art and environmental. And the Blue Jade Band was very enjoyable. Actually had several tours we took that we enjoyed a lot. Embarkation and disembarkation all went very smooth and fast (but then we are elite level). Due to lack of formatting in this, I am just going to finish and say - GREAT TRIP, well worth the cost, all the pluses and minuses added up to a 5 star trip. Read Less