Coral Princess to Panama 10/24/13

kinch417

Bar Steward
Greetings,

It's been a long time since I haunted the forums. Our next cruise will be with Princess, our 1st; and Princess is highly recommended by our friends. Has anyone done the Canal with Princess? If so, could you share some dos & don'ts about the ship, onboard activities and excursions.

Your knowledge and experience is much appreciated.

Kinch
 

JacquieP

Staff Captain
We were on Coral's second voyage to Panama and loved it. You will find a wider variety of woods used on the Coral and the colors tend to be a little different from the majority of the fleet. The atrium is beautiful and gives a feeling that you are under water. Most people think that the Caribe deck balconies are the best, especially on the "bumped out" area, and are definitely larger than on the other decks.

One of the excursions we did on out first Canal cruise involved taking a smaller boat to the Embara Indian replica Village on the shores of Gatun Lake, and on the second cruise, we took a small boat from the Gatun Yacht Club through the remainder of the locks, then took a bus back to the opposite side of Panama was docked. Keep in mind that the weather will be very hot and humid, but overall, I loved both cruises. Go for it!
 

kinch417

Bar Steward
Thanks for the reply JacquieP. I like the idea of seeing the other locks! how much did that trip cost and how long did it last. also, was that booked through Princess or independently?
 

RichC

Lecturer
Thanks for the reply JacquieP. I like the idea of seeing the other locks! how much did that trip cost and how long did it last. also, was that booked through Princess or independently?

We haven done the 10 day Canal since 2008 but even then the only tours that were available to see other parts of the canal had to be booked through Princess. The option of booking through outside operators can only be done when the ship docks at a distant port. The people going on canal tours were disembarked via Princess tenders when the ship turned around in Gatun lake & if you weren't on a Princess tour you couldn't get off the ship until you reached the next port. The Princess tours rejoined the ship later in the day at that port.
I've got some old Patters you can read but they're from the Island Princess and now over 4 years old so I don't know how much they're worth for any information.
 

jimoshea

New Member
I'm going December 28, 2013.
Any tips? Did you do the Embera Indian tour?
 

JacquieP

Staff Captain
We did the Embara Indian tour several years ago and really enjoyed it. It is designed as a replica of a real village, but at the time, quite a few were living there. Please be reminded that most of the women are topless, as that's the way they live. It is very warm and, of course, is tropical, so be sure to wear cool clothing and good shoes.
 

RichC

Lecturer
Greetings,

It's been a long time since I haunted the forums. Our next cruise will be with Princess, our 1st; and Princess is highly recommended by our friends. Has anyone done the Canal with Princess? If so, could you share some dos & don'ts about the ship, onboard activities and excursions.

Your knowledge and experience is much appreciated.

Kinch

Did they still have the "On the Bayou"??
 
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