Coral Princess Review
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We chose the Coral Princess because the itinerary had a nice division of Port and sea days and it worked well for our Holiday schedules. Boarded without issue in Fort Lauderdale. The ship overall I think was well maintained. Unless you have only been on brand new ships I think some normal wear is expected. Always saw workers painting, varnishing, etc.
We did anytime dining and it was pretty good! I have been on many cruise lines and overall food quality is not what it was back in the day, but everything was tasty and we certainly never went hungry. I was interested that some preferred the buffet. Although there was nothing wrong with the buffer food, I got easily bored with the offerings at breakfast and lunch after about 7 days... We did try all the specialty dining options. Sabbatini's recently changed their menu and for our tastes, we heavily preferred the old menu. This one was just meh... Service was lovely though. Had a couple of fabulous dinners at the Bayou steakhouse. If you like New Orleans style food, they did a good job. Steak was super tasty!
We also did the ultimate balcony dining for the first time and it was SPECTACULAR. What a production and awesome food! Worth every penny of the $100 upcharge. As has been our view on all 12 of our Princess cruises, the entertainment was - Entertaining. Food and entertainment are very subjective, but we are in our early 50s and I think they provided a fair variety of entertainers. I never feel like Princess has enough stuff to do on sea days, but this itinerary allowed a good mix of downtime between ports so I can't say I was ever bored.
Cabin Review
Mini-Suite with Balcony
The ship is older but aside from maybe needing some of the bathroom shower tile replaced ( Mildew issues in the hot humid Caribbean not super surprising but I can see where it would be off-putting),We were in a forward Mini-suite and enjoyed the space and the balcony a lot of our cruise.
Port Reviews
Fort Lauderdale (Port Everglades)
We came in the evening before and didn't have a ton of time - but no complaints! Lots of food and shopping choices near port area.
Aruba
half day arriving at 7 am and leaving at noon... Most places did not even open until 10. Had a nice walk around to stretch legs and get some fresh air and sunshine. too short of a day here unless yet another Diamonds International is on your radar.
San Juan del Sur
LOVED this port. Port area a little surfer town full of happy sun drenched young people. We hired a private guide and visited Masaya volcano, a shopping village area, had a fabulous lunch and great conversation. We were not sure what to expect but really enjoyed this port. As noted above, Wish we had known most places that weren't super touristy only took cash and not credit cards. Actually the one market place we went to was very touristy and they were cash only as well. Feel like we missed out on some neat stuff because we were not prepared for this.
Huatulco
Took a taxi into town and looked around. Again, most vendors at the main market ( In the town, not the port area)only took cash. Was disappointed in the lack of excursions offered. Feel like this place has a ton of potential. Pretty clean, and felt very safe.