TrnrMom

After roughly a dozen departures from Canada Place since 2009, I'm convinced the problem is port security as well. My longest dwell time from post-X-ray to onboard is 45 minutes; my longest from entering the lineups to hitting the X-ray is just under four hours.

 

San Juan is a master of efficiency relative to Vancouver in this regard and it stops me from recommending cruises sailing from Vancouver to friends and family who haven't cruised before because the process can seriously ruin the start of their vacations.

Not to start a border incident here but - Who runs the security screening? All I know is that we were sitting 2 hours before our group number was called to go down those three narrow lfights of stairs. Only three of the five scanners were working. Then it was 30-40 minutes for Canadian customs who just scanned our passports - four stations open, as I recall. Then 30-40 minutes for US Customs even with 10-12 stations open. This seemed to be divided into three sections. Two for paying customers with a third section with two booths for non revenue passengers in the middle. The section on the right moved twice as fast as the one on the left t (we had been chatting with people who were directed to the left,; we were on the right. They told us later they watched us progress much more quickly). The middle section had only a couple of people in it.

Hi Judy !

What a pleasant surprise to see your posts! Sorry about the tough beginning to your cruise. Hope the rest of your cruise will be fun and smooth sailing.

I finally got my air booked. The airfare has been unreal to Fort Lauderdale. I finally caught a better ( not great ) deal sending us through Atlanta. Would you believe on 43 days to go to the Regal b2b. We are hearing some interesting rumors. I only hope they are true. On Nov.5th they are christening the ship with the original Loveboat crew being the godparents. The ceremony is invitation only. There is talk that they will be on the first of our cruises. I am not holding my breath but it would be fun. I will be anxious to hear about your travels.

Regards to Len also !

Sali

Hi, Sally. Look for PM later today...good to hear from you!

We boarded a HAL cruise (our only one on HAL) many years ago with two ships in port and it was not nearly that chaotic. Thanks for the heads up to stay out of Vancouver.

 

One question though was that you said you had to go through US immigration but you are in Canada. Was that a mis-type?

Yes, this was the Golden....and yes, it was security, Canadian customs, the US. In LA we will just need to turn in our a Declarations form as we walk out.

By the way, they are not speeding up to jake up the time. Our expected docking is 8:30 am rather than 7 PM. Weather was the usual coastal bumps and clouds out of VAN but it has been smooth and sunny the latter part of today.

Only thing we can figure is it was Sunday and Canada chose only to operate 3 out of 5 luggage scanners. There were only about four Canadian customs booths open and maybe ten out of twelve US statins, we've been here when we had to be bussed to Ballentyne, and even that wasn't this bad. We will check the port schedule next time or avoid VAN if possible.

Not sure if this has been going on all summer, but yesterday's checkin at Canada Place must have set a record for something. Three ships were in port, but that is not a new thing for Vancouver.

We were directed to walk the length of the pier to room C. There were got in line to hand over our bags - all three ships had a signed location, but it was confusing. I'm sure bags ended up in the wrong place....then we were directed to another line to get a number - group 46 - this was at 12:30. Hoards of people were seated, while others were trying to find seats. The PA system was hard to understand with trucks from Norwegian running their motors, and bag carts being banged. After a two hour wait, we were directed down three flights of narrow, steep stairs to the usual check in place..

Only to wait for 30-40 minutes in a security line. Only three out of five stations were running. Then we walked to another area to find a long Disneyland style line for US Customs. It was exactly like Disney since after snaking through one room, you want to another room,that snaked up to the Customs desks - most of which were open. However, it still took another 30-40 minutes to clear that hurdle.

Finally, we were directed to the right ship's checkin lines. These were relatively short & efficient. We were in our room by about 3:15pm. All in all, a very bad scene. It was hot in thus customs line, but fortunately the dividers were made up of folding chairs. We had older folks who couldn't handle over an hour of standing. There was no supervision. In the first customs room. We had to leave the line to find a security person for an elderly women who was having breathing problems. All in all, a very bad scene ?

Needless to say, muster was an hour delayed,and we finally set sail very late at 6:15.

We were on the May 23rd sailing. Although we enjoyed the itinerary, for us, the service was a tad below what we've experienced on other Princess ships. The large size means more work for staff, and surprisingly longer waits for service in Sabatinis, a Wheelhouse and Passenger Services. We were actually completely ignored a couple of times and had to ask for service....and we weren't bring overly impatient. We hardly saw our steward. Guess we were really spoiled by our experience on the Island.

If you are looking for a quiet place to read a book, there is hardly a place for that on the a Royal....it is a big, busy ship with the atrium now the focus of entertainment. So strange that its designed so that it's such a pain to access via those elevators that stop at every floor for phantom passengers.

In the end though, it's one mans poison , is another's dessert, etc. Just not for us again. I've written a review that is in the process of being published in that section.

No its a 40 minute walk to Nordhavn Station and since you are in port on a Sunday there will be no public busses.

 

 

https://www.google.dk/maps/place/Oceankaj/@55.7138256,12.6196867,897m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m2!3m1!1s0x465252b848542021:0x5125d6ae3b01baee

 

 

There are 2 options as I see it.

 

1) wait to see if the port arrange for a shuttle bus to Nordhavn or Østerport (keep an eye for the Copenhagen thread)

 

 

2) Take the taxi to Østerport and save a few 100 DKK by taking the train directly to the airport from there.

 

The price is 36 DKK and a taxi to Østerport around 100-150 kroner.

 

A taxi to the airport is almost 400 DKK.

 

 

The train to the airport runs all night but service starts to be more frequent from around 06:00.

Can you please recap how early the bus #26 starts and what times it will be there on 6/3. We are on the Royal Princxess now and want to explore all our options for getting to town.

I posted earlier on the Wonderful Copenhagen board, so apologize any of this is a repeat. Internet has been so spotty it's been hard to keep up with the various discussions. I wrote a note to Hotel General Manager Martin Bristow regarding the horrendous backup getting out of the port and asked if Princess with their resources could arrange something for those of us trying to get to town post cruise. He updated me that Princess was aware of this problem which had existed for about a year. It was particularly bad on the earlier sailing since three ships were in port at the same time. He also said Princess had tried a shuttle to town before with little response. However, he was willing to have his staff look into it.

Two days later, I received a call from Jacob on the hotel staff. The best they could do at this stage of the cruise was a bus company that would provide a bus for 35 passengers and there would be extra fees to the baggage handlers. Since Princess would have to absorb the cost If the bus was not full, at three days before the end of the cruise, it was not practical for this cruise, but they would try for later cruises. There is also the city and port authorities to work with regarding traffic control and flow. Anyway, kudos to Princess for trying and being responsive to my inquiries.

Some other possibly useful information - Royal Princess is the only ship in port until 10 AM on 6/3/14....the other ship comes in at 10 and will be on a port call. Leaving before 7 AM will increase your chance of avoiding a huge backup.

So, the way I see it, your choices are Princess shuttle to airport at $44 per person, private taxi, or car service (ask on your roll call to organize minivans or minibuses). Having taken bus 26 around town - it is not practical if you have a lot of luggage or many people are using it. The area for suitcases is not large. It also may not be running very early or on the weekend.

We are going to leave the ship before 7, and keep our fingers crossed. I will report back on that experience later.

Hi. On board Royal Princess now. Forgive me for jumping in ( not up to date on boards - wifi is bad). We took taxi from our hotel free 2 PM - 25 min or less and just under 200kr. Disembarkation looks bad on 6/3 but we are only ship in at that time. Suggest organize for minivan transport for 800-950kr. Anyone currently on the Royal,contact Lonny Kole or Judy Chong. We need 1 or 2 more couples for a minivan on 6/3. Will try to post more when wifi gets better.

I've been searching for some suggestions for our disembarkation day in CPH. We will be on the Royal Princess when she docks on 6/3/14 at Pier 330 in theory at 6 or 7 AM. Our flight to London is at 2 PM. Assuming we need to be at the airport at 11:30 or noon, this leaves us a few hours to spend in town...or not?

We've not booked a ship's transfer, and were hoping to use public transportation (that's a separate question - whether the bus/train will be feasible) or a taxi to the central train station, leave the bags & do "one last thing". If you had, say 3 hours to spend in central Copenhagen, what do you suggest? one last coffee & Danish? We plan to do a walking tour or HOHO/boat tour and hit a few of the major sights, in our 1 1/2-2 days prior to leaving CPH.

Thank you for your suggestions & this useful forum.

We booked that excursion but canceled due to information from this site where others were complaining about air conditioning, food and seating. Being not completely well I decided to forego that event and stay on Coral Princess. WE HAD A GREAT DAY!!

 

We had the whole ship, what felt like, completely to ourselves. no crowds and freedom to go anywhere and get premium views as we transited back to the Atlantic Ocean.

 

It was a tough decision but, FOR US, it was the best choice.

 

Hope this answers your question.

Hi, Wilfros,

Glad to hear you had a great cruise & that the decision to stay on board was the right one for you. I know you were conflicted. Also, sorry about being cutoff from the pictures of the champagne waterfall. We went in to dinner so didn't realize they were cutting folks off.

The above link is for the wrong company - here is the one that provided the ferry for the excursion we took: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g294480-d1767003-Reviews-Canal_Bay_Tours-Panama_City_Panama_Province.html

Found some information on boat tours for the Panama Canal - read these reviews. They are very mixed: http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g298428-d1029113-r104485228-Colon_and_Panama_Canal_Tour-Colon_Colon_Province.html

And here's the website for the company that provided the ferry - there are apparently better vessels available, both from them and another company: http://www.canalandbaytours.com/eng/fantasia-del-mar.php

I recommend double checking, which company and which vessel you will be on per the tripadvisor reviews.

Here is a link to my husband's photo gallery. If you click to page 6, frame 108 is a 3.5 minute video of our trip from Lake Gatun through the Pedro Miguel & Miraflores Locks. We had to wait for a small ship to share the lock with us, which was part of the delay. The video is slow in loading....I also have not had time to caption everything, but that is coming.http://roamingbears.smugmug.com/WanderingBears/Panama-Canal-Cruise-122013/Panama-Canal

It is likely that the seaworthiness of the ferry will not be resolved by your cruise. However, it is also likely that your excursion will be shorter than ours which was unusually long (10:40AM to 8:30 PM). I would ask LOTS of questions of the excursion desk folks - David Gregory is the manager on the Coral. If you go, go with eyes open as to the conditions, and be prepared. Its not for everyone.

Regular cruisers are likely used to the sales pitches & marketing on board & have learned to tune them out. However, we were surprised to be told that "this excursion is running late, so the crafts on board are your only chance to shop", and "for $10 you can come to the bridge & have a photograph taken with the captain", and "we're having a sale for the next 20 minutes". To add insult to injury, it was also announced that there would be a tip box at the end of the gangplank for the crew "for getting you back safely".

Have a great cruise & let us all know how it was!

Thanks Judy,

That was a nice review. hope to see you again on another Princess cruise. You did a fantastic job organizing the Meet & Mingle.

Thanks, Doris...we enjoyed meeting you & Jim & hope to cruise as long and as often as you. Sent you a picture taken in the Elite lounge - if you didn't get it, please e-mail me.

You're welcome, all....

Windsor26 - good point. We've never purchased alcohol in a port, so wouldn't have thought about having the boxes put inside the cabin. I imagine you'd have to remember to alert your steward?

Redwing55 - I'm sorry I don't have any other recommendation. We did hear that you couldn't see much from the train during to the rainforest growing up on all sides. And some felt the Panama city by bus was overly long but interesting. It really depends on your interests. The folks who stayed onboard enjoyed that also,

There have been a lot of trip reports lately on this itinerary, so I won't do a day by day blog style review, but will comment on those features that I've seen a lot of questions or posts about. This was an excellent cruise, despite a few glitches. We had the best MeetnGreet I've participated in, and met dozens of friendly folks.

We had about 40 passengers (out of 57 signed up) at the MeetNGreet, but what was amazing was the attendance of staff. I had delivered invitations on embarkation day, and hotel general manger Karin Luppes had requested her staff attend, if at all possible. We had 10 or 11 staff, including Ms. Luppes, cruise director Susan Rawlings, shore excursions, art director, spa, passenger services, controller, and others. It really set the tone for a great cruise, and we were able to greet some of these people by name throughout the cruise. We also had the most traveled cruisers as part of our group - here's a shout out to Doris & Jim Gregory, a delightful couple celebrating their 65th anniversary year.

Embarkation - this was our first time out of Port Everglades. With 9 ships in port, I envisioned absolute chaos, and made sure to get to the ship early - 11 AM. We used Swingline transportation as recommended by our motel and although, perhaps, a bit more expensive than a taxi, all taxes, fees and tip were included. Despite a mild backup on the causeway, our driver knew there were two Princess ships in port and properly took us to pier 21. Seeing that many cruise ships parked so neatly was pretty impressive.

We were dropped off right in front of the porters and luggage carts, so handed over our bags with no fuss. However, these porters certainly had their hands out until tipped. "I am your porter and you won't see me again". Should have given only minimal tip since he threw my small bag onto the cart, instead of placing it carefully.

Anyway, we had priority boarding, so were escorted upstairs, and were checked in with minimal waiting. As first time elite cruisers, we were then led to the elite waiting reception room, but folks were already boarding, so we just joined the end of the line. Fastest boarding time to date - we were in our room and soon in the dining room enjoying a very nice lunch.

Cabin - we had an aft cabin -B737. While it was great to be near the secret balcony, the minuses outweigh the pluses for us. We won't do it again. A plus was the view from the back and our steward Marco. Minuses -the door to the secret balcony banging every time it was used (they are aware of it - it used to stay open the whole time apparently). Plus it's not so secret anymore - there were groups who used it for their afternoon parties every day. Fortunately, the noise was not an issue at night while we were sleeping. Unfortunately, the seas were rougher than we expected, and these aft rooms pick up a lot of noise from the engines and stabilizers in rough (7.5-12 ft ) seas. So, not for us in the future.

Dining - overall we felt the food was a notch above the usual princess offerings. for the most part, especially the Asian themed lunches in HC. We did have a service problem in the Bordeaux anytime dining room with meals that starting lasting longer and longer until finally the third time, it took 3 hours. After thinking about it, I finally filled out a comment card, since along with the lengthy wait for our orders, the food was terribly dried out when it arrived. The servers also mixed up several items or omitted others. To my shock, I received a phone call from Maître'd Daniele who apologized and made us a reservation, after I confessed to going to the HC due to our bad experiences. He then followed up by sending wine & strawberries to our cabin! The reservation would have been enough, and service was exemplary thereafter. We found out from Carlos, the headwaiter that Princess calculates the turnover time to be one hour and 45 minutes, so something was clearly off earlier in the week.

Service- that brings me to this....this crew and staff bent over backwards in provide smiling service and also strove to make things right, when deficiencies were pointed out. We heard this from several other CCrs so it wasn't just our experiences with our steward, shore excursions and passenger services. Kudos to Hotel General Manager Karin Luppes - quality starts at the top.

Steward- our steward, Marco was great at doing his job efficiently, complying with our occasional requests, answering questions & if something couldn't be done, why that was so. he also made a few very cute towel animals.

Entertainment - we enjoyed the production show "Dance", the Inspiration StringsTrio, magician, Alexander Great, pianist Tetiana, and the Rhapsody band that was in Wheelhouse. The cooking demonstration had us laughing out loud, and the port lecturers were informative. Our only complaint, was that there were often overlapping activities, and one had to choose what to do. We would have liked it if the lectures had been reported more often on Princess TV. We either didn't have the time or energy to do more, due to early starts the next day.

Although Cruise Director Susan Rawlings seemed a little low key for the position, she was efficient and friendly, and taught a very good Zumba class on the sea days - once on a very windy day on the Lido deck since the theaters were all in use.

Alcohol policy - signs were posted regarding the alcohol policy, and we did see a check table at least once - particularly where it was possible to purchase rum. We did see boxes of alcohol in front of cabins the night before disembarkation.

Excursions - except for Panama, we took private excursions organized by CCrs. The Panama Canal by ferry was a disappointment, but Princess made things right for us. I've written about shore excursions for this itinerary separately, so won't repeat that information here.

Disembarkation - this is the first time in a long time, where we saw disembarkation slips being checked. Apparently customs does limit how many passengers are allowed off at a time, and will stop the flow off the ship, if they become too backed up, or for whatever reason. That said, we didn't have an overlong wait in line.. However, this did mean that there weren't hoards of passengers all trying to get taxis, shuttles, etc. at the same time. We used Princess Easy Chek and were pleased at how easy it truly was.

Bottom line - despite a couple glitches (dining room & shore excursion), this was an excellent cruise. Perhaps, it was the great attitudes of the cruise critic members we met, but Princess certainly helped us "escape completely".

Please do not be sorry that I cancelled. It was my decision and mine alone.

 

Many posts earlier on have caused me to be in doubt, yours was just the final straw. This especially given the tone and the wording on your post. Nothing over the top nor angered in any way, just a statement of facts.

 

I am very happy with my decision and am now looking forward to a great relaxed day while enjoying our "on ship" experience of the Gatun Locks.

 

I really appreciate your help in helping me with a difficult decision. It had been a bucket list item but I am not willing to sacrifice everything else on our trip just to see the other end of what I am going to experience a Gatun.

If your wife can't handle heat, the ferry is definitely not for her, the whole upper deck is open air, and covered with an awning. This is where the majority of the seats are. The aisles were very narrow, and the seats were placed in rows. Glad to have been of help. Sali & the others who stayed inboard really enjoyed their day.

I was on the same cruise as Judy and had dinner with her and her husband when they returned fro the ill fated excursion. They had plenty of reasons to be upset. I had decided not to take the excursion. I wanted to experience the locks in both directions and was not disappointed. Ken Williams from Vancouver was the port lecturer and very good. They have different lecturers so I don't know who you will have. To really experience the canal, go around the ship to different vantage points. Go all around deck 14 and listen to the lecturer throughout most of the day. He will tell you all about what you are seeing. After you enter the canal on the left you will start to see some of the construction of the new locks. On the left side you will see 4 mammoth lock doors. They are so big it looks like an apartment building. After you go through the locks and the people going on tours leave,the Coral will stay in Gatun Lake until given permission to re enter. We were surprised that it happened sooner rather than later. You want to make sure you check out the front of the ship as well as the lock experience in the back of the ship. A number of decks ( I think I went to 9,10 and 11 ) have a door to the balcony in the very front and the rear of the deck. You think you are going to the crew area but you aren't. I loved my experience through the canal as well as all my creature comforts and also talking to the port lecturer several

times.

Sali

Thanks, Sali...I tried to be balanced here. I agree that Princess should be more upfront about the rigors of this excursion. For some, it is likely a bucket list item. For those who are unprepared, it be an expensive ordeal. I was surprised that those with mobility issues were allowed on board since the ferry was a so crowded & the PA system did not work in our section. We heard zero commentary unless we went outside. Can you imagine what chaos there would have been in case of an emergency? Come to think of it, there was no safety advisory when we set sail. Yes, it's not the US, so one can't expect everything to be to. US standards, but it seems like its reasonable to expect either a heads up or minimal standards.

By the way the, A/C units worked best on the bottom level, but you couldn't see out there, and the engine noise was so loud, you couldn't hear the PA.

Sorry to cause folks to cancel, but you should know what you're getting into. Fortunately no medical or emergency issues on the excursion, so hopefully we will laugh about this in a few months.

Since there's been a few questions regarding excursions on Panama Canal itineraries, I thought it would be useful to summarize what we did in one post, instead of embedding them in a traditional trip report (which will follow).

We used the Roll Call to join and set up independent excursions in all the ports, except for canal crossing day. We were overwhelmingly pleased with the independent excursions, and very underwhelmed with the ship offered canal transit by ferry. More on that later.

Aruba - this was our first port stop, and also our first visit. Since we aren't big beach people, we took the advice of another poster and contacted Sonny Binns for an island tour. He got right back to us, and let us know he was available for a morning or afternoon tour, minimum persons required was six (for a 24 passenger minibus), no prepayment required. Itinerary included a drive through Oranjestad, north past an industrial area. Sonny told us about Aruba economics, climate, a little language, cost of gas, languages, geography, politics and more as we rode along. We stopped at the rock formations (name fails me), California light house, drove past Palm Beach, stopped at the natural bridges, and the Little Chapel, essentially driving around the island. We all agreed that it was a great tour of about 3 hours, leaving us time to do a little shopping. Tip - free wifi is at Starbucks on the bottom floor of the mall associated with the Casino at the north end of the Main Street.

Cartegena - one of our party contacted Marelvy Pena Hall through her website. She met us at the end of the dock with the minibus, parasol aloft. This tour exceeded expectations and busted any preconceived notions we had about Columbia. Our tour included a city tour, driving though the Manga district which is closest to the dock area. We then toured the cathedral which looks down on the whole city, including the fort and old town. We then went to the fort, but did not climb the hill to enter it. This is by Marelvy's choice since she feels her tour would leave other historic things out, if she spent time in the fort. We did walk the front of the fort as she discussed aspects of its history. The vendors her are particularly aggressive. We then drove to the Old Town, and did a walking tour there which included a tour of the Museo del Oro Zuni, before finishing with a stop at a shopping area. The organizer of our group found Marelvy easy to work with, responding quickly and able to accommodate a few requests we had. No deposit was required, and we all paid in cash at the end of the tour. She also gifted us each with a poster designed by her husband to celebrate the centennial of the city.

Next up on our itinerary was the Panama Canal transit. Princess requires passengers to use their excursions, perhaps with good reason. The infrastructure, distances and logistics are such that getting back to the ship on time can be an iffy proposition. We chose the Panama Canal transit by ferry since we wanted to go through to the Pacific and see the difference in the locks and the geographic challenges involved with the Pacific locks. For some, if you've seen one lock, you've seen them all.

That said, consider carefully your reasons for doing this excursion. Panama by definition is hot, humid and the ferry does not have the same priority going though the canal so your excursion might be lengthy. For various reasons ours was - we left the ship about 10:40AM and returned close to 8:30 PM.

This excursion was simply not up to Princess' standards, even allowing for the the above. The Fantasia del Mar listed to the port the whole trip. It seemed there were too many passengers for the capacity, since some people were forced to sit outside in the sun unshaded most of the time. The air conditioning units, PA system and lighting did not work or did so only sporadically or poorly. The fire extinguishers were rusted and the bathroom doors did not all work.

Food was provided but there was not enough of it and was pretty basic - ham & velveeta on wonder bread, small chicken kabobs, banana muffins, fruit. This problem sounds like whining, but it is what it is. Once lunch was over, there was no food available, which could have been problematic for the diabetics on board. In short, you will be "roughing" it on this excursion, so be prepared. There was water, soda and beer (local, for sale).

When we expressed our disappointment to Princess (in a letter signed by ten of us) regarding the safety issues and the quality of the excursion, they did respond promptly, and we were refunded half the cost of the excursion. We were satisfied but hope that headquarters will investigate the issues we brought up. As one passenger (not with our group) asked, "when is the last time someone from Princess took this excursion"? We heard other excursions also had issues but I can't comment on what those were.

Limon - back to private tours. One of our group arranged for a private group with Mario's Greenway Tours. We selected the 6 in 1 tour since it seemed to maximize our time in Limon. We booked online, and were able to arrange a group discount due to our numbers. We were met at the end of the gangplank by our guide Jackie. Since it was raining we did not initially see the sign, but got sorted out quickly.

Jackie was amazingly informative, funny, and educated us as we went. We did a city drive, a wagon ride through a rain forest, with a short treetop walkway, a canal ride, a banana plantation, a coastal drive, before being dropped off for shopping in the "safe" port area. Although, maybe. I the best of Costa Rica, we all agreed this was probably the best tour we had had a a group.

Grand Cayman- last port stop before Fort Lauderdale. Acting on a CCr recommendation, we booked the 3 stop tour with Captain Marvin. It was great - Stingray City, a reef, and coral gardens. Booking was online and easy, as was finding the office. There were only 16 of us on a boat that could have handled much more. We were the only ones from Princess with the others being families and couples from huge Carnival ship. There were drinks on board, and a small bathroom. Also a photographer, but there was no obligation to purchase from him. Foggy was very helpful with advice on obtaining good shots. We thoroughly enjoyed our time with this outfit. One of the crew also brought up some conch shells, from which he removed the inhabitants, so that the shells could be taken back with us. Not sure how kosher this is, but we now have a great souvenir.

If you have any questions about the above,you can email me at jhchong (at) me (dot) com. Hope this helps! We had a great cruise and will write a trip report soon. The CCrs we met we great!

We used Thrifty last week, for a day rental since our flight wasn't till 7 PM. They were around $50/day, & picked up at the port. They do not go to the airport but there was a independent van who did it for a $10 tip. We suspect he may have been unlicensed to do that, since he said that, and the drop off point was a little always from where we really needed to be. A cab would be about the same since the airport is very close by. I can't remember the name on the van, but it wasn't unmarked, so perhaps he was licensed for elsewhere. There are a couple go gas stations right on the street leading to the port, but on the opposite side,

Looking at the deck plans for the Island and Coral I see there are what appear to be (viewing?) balconies on the rear of Decks 8-11. There are doors shown so are they open to the public? They would appear to be good for going through the Panama Canal.

We just got off the Coral. Yes, the aft decks make for great viewing and are less crowded than the upper and forward decks. But it's good to move around - eye started on 15, went to Baja aft, then a little forward on Baja and promenade.

As for reserving a cabin near one of these, they are having a problem with the doors banging loudly on closing. We had B737 and fortunately this was an issue only during the day time. These rear cabins also tend to be noisy in anything above mild seas due to engine and stabilizer noise and vibration.

Hi,

We're at FLL waiting for our flight. We took independent tours recommended here, except for Panama since that's Princess' rule. Although a partial transit, we did a few of the ports you will do. In Aruba we did an island tour with Sonny Binns. He has a 24 person minibus and needs a minimum of 6 persons. In Cartagena, we had a 17 person tour with Marelvy. She is a wealth of knowledge & will change any preconceived notions you might have had about Columbia. For Costa Rica, we had a group doing Greenway's 6 in 1 tour of Limon, but they will also do tours out of Punta Arenas. See if Jackie is available - she was knowledgeable & funny.

Since we were a partial transit, we had the choice of staying on, or doing a ship's tour. We chose to continue the transit by boat because DH is fascinated by mechanical things. A word of caution here - ask a lot of questions to make sure this excursion is for you. We left the ship around 10:30AM but didn't return until 8:30PM (we had been told 7 PM). The ferry did not appear to be seaworthy - it listed to the port the whole time, & had rusted fire extinguishers. The lights, PA system & a/c did not work in our area. There was inadequate shade for the number of passengers who were boarded, with a good number of seats in the sun. The meal was served around noon, and there was nothing else until we returned to the ship. There was water, soft drinks & beer (for sale).

When we returned we were greeted by Princess staff who got a earful from several buses of unhappy passengers. Although we do not blame Princess for the weather, drizzle or delays going through the locks, one does expect that one will be safe, & that there will be contingencies for such delays. We had elderly & diabetic passengers with us. Fortunately there were no medical emergencies. While one cannot expect that things in Panama will be the same as on board a lovely cruise ship, it does seem like whatever tours are operated will be thoroughly vetted by the cruise line for quality and safety.

I just received an email from Princess that Susan Rawlings would be the new CD on the Coral Dec. 7 , 2013. Although I am not familiar with her, I was interested if other cruisers have sailed with her before. Thanks.

Sali

Haven't sailed with her, but this explains why the Corals rep wasn't able to confirm the officer's list which I requested for our Meet!Greet (so I could extend invitations). Didn't get an email yet from Princess either.

Hi,

I have a slightly different problem...I e-mailed Dancing Bear & SPB based on the personal recommendations of two CC friends...both Julia & Victoria were responsive. However, after reading all 10 pages of this thread...well, I e-mailed for newlaxfan's spreadsheet...like an early poster said, it may come down to "feel" and not just $$ & cents, or even itinerary.

If you have iphone 4 or 5 you can use the walkie talkie feature from iTunes

 

Voxer Walkie-Talkie PTT for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad on the ...

 

https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/voxer-walkie-talkie.../id377304531

Was wondering if this app would work on board....have you tried it?