On December 14th we flew Continental from SLC to Fort Lauderdale to board the Coral Princess the next day for a 15 day cruise to celebrate our anniversary and Christmas. The cold temperatures in Florida were a surprise and we hadn't brought enough warm clothing. But the hotel our cruise specialist recommended, Hyatt Airport South, was comfortable and they picked us up at the airport and dropped us off at the ship the next morning free of charge. We were close to a shopping center for restaurants that evening we arrived and for last minute shopping and had free continental breakfast at the hotel.

The ship boarded us quickly at 12:30 p.m. 12/15/10 and we sailed late at 5:45 p.m.due to a delay or some mechanical problem. We had a balcony cabin and were situated just 3 decks below the Horizon Court at the front of the ship. The first two nights it rained and the seas were rough. It was also rough the last night from Cabo San Lucas to Los Angeles and rough enough to almost knock us out of bed. Most days were overcast or rainy but the sunshine came through at every port of call.

On the 4th day we docked in Aruba for 5 hours. We took a Princess tour of sightseeing and an Ostrich farm. It was very good but overpriced and too short. We hurried to see the rocks, the ostrich farm, the arch, shopping, the light-house, and downtown. The ship left at 12:30 p.m. that day. We took independent tours in Cartagena (Lee Miles Tours with J.C. a schoolteacher, Puerto Amador (Panama City) with Mario's Tours, Puntarenas (Ricky Ricardo tours with Gustavo), and Acapulco (Rosie's tours)that we found on Cruise Critic beforehand and booked. But you did have to pay in cash when the tour was completed. They were low cost and we saw more than on typical Princess arranged tours. The vans were smaller and had between 6-10 people each. And the all day passage through the Panama Canal was a great tour aboard ship. In Panama (we missed the tour due to the tender waiting), but Mario Jr. of Mario's Tours,took us by private car to all the places we would have gone with a group. In Puntarenas, Gustavo was our guide through a monkey preserve, sugar cane farm, crocodile river tour, lunch, and the rain forest trams. And in Acapulco, Oscar took 6 of us to a chapel, the open markets, a silver market, Los Flamingos hotel where Johnny Weissmuller spent his time, to the cliff divers, and to see the murals of Diego Rivera. These tours were well done and just the right amount of time and less $$ than the planned tours of the Princess line. We were able to change any of the planned stops if the group voted for the change. Read more