h20skibum

Looks like a troll has appeared. Experience with several cruiselines and that is post #1? Really? As Elvis would say:

"We can't go on together

With suspicious minds"

Let's get back on topic and enjoy Paul's great review. It makes me want to get back to NO.

They are for decoration and serve no purpose.

Here is a thread discussing them with some wild ideas. Feel free to make up your own.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1738818

It is a small area.

Here are a couple of photos of it.

It is just to the left of the Casino entrance, plus you can enter the Casino from it.

Looking forward to more of your review. It brings back fond memories. We did this a couple years ago on the Voyager. Hope you had a chance to try Mothers in NO.

We can relate to what an adventure it it can be getting out of Pittsburgh in the winter.

Go Pens.

We have a question regarding your Limon excursion with the train ride. Was it worth doing? How bumpy was the train ride? We read somewhere else that the train was in bad shape and you felt very uncomfortable riding it.

We enjoyed the train ride. It was slow moving, and they stopped to point out monkeys and sloths along the way. You could go to the train car outdoor deck and the guide would make sure everyone could see what he was pointing out. We did not notice it being bumpy.

No one we talked to did a private excursion here, so I can't comment on how they would be.

Enjoy your trip. Wish I was sailing along.

Received hard copy statement that was due 11/11/14 and indicated I had 19,444 points.

On 11/9/14 - called to redeem points for upcoming cruise - to my SURPRISE - 5000 points had been removed.

Only 19,444 points in five years? That likely means the 5,000 they were removing were the ones you got just for signing up for the card.

There are a lot of better options out there if you don't put much on a card. We have used ours for free cruises or OBC's, and would not go five years without a cruise, so we would not let any expire. Just a couple thousand points till our next free cruise, then we may look at other cards.

When is the first formal night first seaday or 2nd sea day?

Thanks for all the recent kind words. I am glad you found the review informative.

The first formal night is the first sea day. Post #98 had a link to all the Princess Patters from our cruise.

 

2 pros and cons of deck 8 Emerald (same area, cost wise) opposed to deck 11 Baha.. Emerald also has balconies twice the size.

 

Deck 11 is about sold out, while deck 8 seems to have many balconies available (also wondering if there is a reason for this)

Deck 8 is just above the Promenade deck and the running track, so it may have a little more noise than Deck 11. Deck 11 has cabins above and below.

We were on the Baja deck for our PC cruise. Although we always have a balcony, for some reason we rarely used it on that cruise. We just had too many other things going on.

Enjoy your cruise.

You could also download all “paperwork” to your iPad and avoid taking the actual papers.

They will need to have a hard copy to send in for verification.

If you bring your own laptop/tablet/computer device, save all critical documents as .pdf files which can be printed upon need whilst onboard.

Even with a laptop, you will not be able to connect to a printer to print anything out.

They lost a small OBC of mine, and I hadn't taken a copy. I used a lot of internet time searching back through emails to find the documentation, only to find you could not print out emails from the Internet cafe. So I forwarded the email to my ipad and took it to Customer services to show them. Bottom line was they only said they would try, and it never showed up.

Printed copies are now on my packing list.

I am so confused with the reviews on this cabin. We are so excited about finally booking a Panama Canal Cruise that is on our bucket list but with the totally opposite mixed reviews of this cabin we are not feeling too excited anymore. I tried to find out information on it before we booked it but didn't get too much. Now I am hearing that the storage closet across the hall is noisy with clanking trays all the time, the crew is smoking in the storage closet, the balcony is small, and there is no privacy! Help! Let's hear the positive things so we can still be excited! :eek:

We were in B426, and our travel companions were in B502 next to your cabin.

I would say noise all the time is an exaggeration. The area across the hall is used for luggage delivery on the first night, so there may be a little noise later than usual if luggage delivery is slow. The only other times we saw this in use was when the rooms were being cleaned and linens changed. This is usually during meal times or while passengers are off the ship. Never saw anyone smoking there, and never smelled smoke.

We didn't notice any noise level that bothered us. As for the balcony, it is smaller on the Baja deck, but it is covered by the deck above. As a corner balcony, B506 thru B622 will have a limited view of your balcony, but you will also have a view of theirs. You will find this for any mini-suite on the hump, regardless of the deck.

Relax and enjoy your trip.

John,

I just found this thread the other day, and I found it fascinating. The Voyager was one of our favorite cruises when it sailed from New Orleans.

Do you calculate weights and displacement as you are building your models, or do you use the lead plates and possibly foam to have the final model sit at the right level? Have you ever figured how many hours it takes you to create one of these?

If you do the Oasis, I will be following along. Great work.

We brought pods, dryer sheets, and lots of quarters. The change machine on our deck was not working. If you bring your own, you don't have to waste time hunting for what you need.

On the Coral PC Cruise, they had two gangplanks depending on your cabin numbers.

Some of the balconies are visible from some parts of the ship as well as from above. The Caribe deck does not extend much beyond the Baja deck above it, but your neighbors above can look down on you.

Photo from deck 15

Photo from Baja deck midship hump balcony (Caribe and Dolphin decks show up in photo)

 

Neither Flickr nor photobucket will let me upload pdf either. For brochures, like the menus which are 4 pages including cover & back, I think pdf makes viewing in sequence much easier... can't imagine why I can't do it? Anyone know?

 

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk

You need to use something like Dropbox for pdf files.

Hmmmm.... I don't worry 'bout Internet minutes anymore, but, in the Patter, I've seen an offer of 40 bonus minutes if you buy Internet minutes on the first day.

The key words are "up to 40 minutes". They have packages of 100 minutes for $69, 200 minutes for $99, 400 minutes for $159, and 600 minutes for $199. You get 10 bonus minutes on the 100 minute plan, 20 on the 200, 30 on the 400, and 40 on the 600 minute plan if you buy on the first day. You can also pay as you go at $0.79/minute. As noted above, there is a 3.95 activation fee.

Just double-checking... what the Panama Canal excursion you took "PC1-615 Panama Canal, Panama (Gatun Lake)"?

That is correct. PC1-615 is the one through the locks.

This is from the current Princess excursion site.

http://www.princess.com/excursion/exDetails.do?t=T&exType=S&tourCode=PC1-615

We are trying to decide about the tour that goes through the locks. Is there food and drink provided on board? And how are the bathrooms? I have read that some thought the tour was boring but I can't imagine that to be the case. Is this the one to do in your opinion. Great pictures.

If it is your first trip to the Canal, you should do this tour. It can, however, be a long and hot day. When we did the tour, they had to wait for another smaller ship to go through the locks with us to conserve water. It does give you a different perspective of the locks when you are so close to them and so low in the water. The tour guide we had on the bus is the same one who did the narration on the ferry, and he was very good.

They do provide a meal on the ferry, and they have plenty of bottled water that is included with the tour. They also have a bar where you can buy a beer or two if you want.

Bathrooms on the ferry were clean and well maintained.

Enjoy your trip.

Thanks for the info. What I was trying to ask is there outside dining on a deck where you take you food and sit outside right by the water?

There are also tables and chairs by the Grille that overlook the pool. It is a nice place for burgers and dogs, and it is also near the pizza place.

Our first was August, 1980 on the SS Norway. We paid around 1,000 pp for an inside cabin. We had the great fortune of being greeted by Hurricane Allen, which was the worst hurricane of the century at that point in time.

We had 40 foot waves, and it made is so much more memorable, and loved it so much, we thought, why not keep doing this over and over.

Thanks to the original poster and everyone on this thread. We are taking this cruise at the end of October. I do have one question though. I know I have seen it before on this or other threads but I can't find it. How do you get to the good viewing area at the front of the ship? I recall seeing something about 'special' doors but now I can't find it.

Forward areas were closed on our cruise. The best forward viewing is either deck 15 or 16. You also had good views of the sides from deck 7.

This is the crowd on deck 16 around 6:00 a.m. Waiting to approach the canal locks.

Deck 15 forward also had a crowd gathering then.

There was space between the glass panels for your camera lens. Some people may say to go to the Horizon Court, but photos through the glass would not be the best.

Have really enjoyed this thread! Cant wait until be board the Coral in April! Thanks again :)

I know you will enjoy the trip. If you are interested, the link below is to a folder in my dropbox that has the Princess Patters from the cruise, ships log, disembarkation, internet and fitness information, and ship's galley tour handouts from our cruise.

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/aro30adn2miobdk/AACarmmu7AF7Mre59dYrGYxSa?dl=0

My wife and I are planning to take the Princess 15 day, Panama Canal (Full Transit) cruise sailing from Fort Lauderdale on November 7, 2015. How can I find the best deal? We usually stay in a balcony stateroom but have been considering a mini-suite. I realize and appreciate the fact that the best cruise doesn't always mean the cheapest price. We have cruised before, Alaska and New England, once using a travel agent and one booked online. Which is better? When I booked online I booked directly with Princess. Third party vendors worry me. Suggestions, tips, advice, and tricks will be greatly appreciated.

We booked the PC (with a friend of ours, who is a TA) far in advance of the cruise, so we could get the cabins we wanted. Then we just watched for price drops. We had two cabins, and saved 1,000 on each cabin when the price dropped.

We were happy with the original price and just viewed the price drop as a bonus that paid for our excursions.

Are the S6 suites the largest cabins on the Coral?

 

Which side is best for a Canal Transit, port or starboard?

You need to move around the ship to experience the canal. You will miss 3/4ths of it by staying on your balcony.

My husband and I are taking this cruise in Oct and can't wait. I had a question about taking water etc on board. Just what is allowed - water, soda? Was the shampoo in your bathroom something you carried on? Good to know about the laundry and the cost. You have answered so many little questions with your review. Greatly appreciated.:)

You can take water onboard. We carried a few bottles and made some room for them in the fridge in the room. I don't know about soda, since we are not soda drinkers (unless it is mixed with rum or something:))

There are shampoo dispensers in the shower, but we never used them. We took our own brands that we use all the time. Since we flew the "bags fly free" airline, we had three large suitcases for this trip and had plenty of room for extras. It also gave us room for the stuff we picked up to bring back home.

Enjoy your trip.

Thanks for taking the time to answer my question. Your explanation helped clear up my confusion.

 

Am I correct in assuming the announcement will come over the ship PA system several times to insure no one misses their excursion?

Yes, it does come over the PA system, so you can hear it if you are on deck or elsewhere. Just to give you an idea of the timeframe, I looked at the time stamps on photos I took. We entered the first lock around 7:30 and entered Gatun Lake around 8:45. We were on the first tender to leave the ship. They had two tenders tied up at a time to load passengers. Our tender was away by 9:40, and they had two more tied up by then and loading passengers and another in the water. We were ashore by 9:48.

That is not to say you will have the same times, but just figure it takes about 1:15 to get through these locks, and not long to get to shore after you board the tender.

I was on deck around 6:00 to start taking photos as we approached the locks, and the upper decks started getting crowded not long after. It is best to move around the ship if you want photos from different vantage points. The Promenade deck also gives some different perspectives.