margob111

Dani24, we will be sailing on the Grand in October in a window suite, so if you can take pictures, that would be awesome.  We are in suites F307 and F309.   This is our first time in a suite so am really looking forward to it.  Being in a window suite, hubby is going to miss the balcony we usually get with a mini suite, but it's a short cruise so he can deal with it.  I'm going to exchange the alcohol for the new coffee package.

Enjoy your cruise to Alaska.  We did a land tour to Alaska but flew to Anchorage and sailed from Whittier. 

Thanks in advance for any information you provide.

Margaret

We also did the connoisseur class with meals included.  We were happy with our choice.

So sorry to read of your loss.  Sending comforting thoughts your way during this difficult time.

I believe I have the Patters from our full transit Panama Canal cruise that we took last January from Ft. Lauderdale to Los Angeles if you'd like me to scan them so you can get an idea of what was offered.

On 10/3/2018 at 6:28 AM, AZ Karaoke Girl said:

Thanks everyone. Now I can unpack my hair dryer cuz I don’t mind the ship dryers but holding the button down for 10 minutes is the pits.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

I read somewhere that people use a rubber band so they don't have to hold down the button.  I was going to try that on my next cruise.

Thanks all for responding to my inquiry. I’ll switch out the mini bar for canned Diet Coke then.

I already have the Sip & Sail package so don't need the mini bar - can I get onboard credit or should I just trade the mini bar for the appropriate number of canned sodas?

We did the Thumbs Up Tours 10 in 1 Highlights tour earlier this year. Kari was our guide. Really enjoyed this day. Highly recommend it and see if you can get Kari. I posted a review on Trip Advisor in February.

I’ve been on both Celebrity and Princess cruises and think you will be happy. We were on the Coral in Alaska a few years ago and again on a full transit of the Panama Canal earlier this year from FLL to Los Angeles. As far as the quality of food, I have no complaints about the food on Princess. My first Celebrity cruise on the Solstice, the food was great, the second one on the Constellation, not so much.

We have a window suite booked on the Grand Oct. 2019. We always book mini suites but got the window suite for the same price as a mini and get all the benefits of a suite. We like a balcony so we’ll see how much we miss not having one.

I have not done the northern route, but have been looking at it -- hope they continue to do in the future years, can't do this year, going to Europe. I have visited Vancouver and Victoria on other cruises, loves these ports, have always heard good things about Seattle. Time of year is good "fall", Calif coast weather is nice in the fall. That goes for both north and south. Washington and Oregon do get more rain year round than California... that being said, spring time in California can be rainy... so weather unpredictable in California in the spring.(some years very dry and some very wet) .. never the less I have booked the southern route from San Francisco to Mexico and back in the spring of 2019. I have done this route only once before. liked Santa Barbara, San Diego... Long Beach and Esinada are not great in my book. We enjoy time at sea and time on board when in ports as well. -- so went ahead and booked. We live in near San Francisco... so can do either easily,.

We are going north October 13 of next year. If you decide to go, let me know. I’m in San Mateo as well.

I have always purchased two coffee cards per cruise because we do like our lattes. I have coffee cards left over from our Panama Canal cruise and won’t be on another cruise until October of 2019 so I guess they won’t be valid.

After reading this thread, if I find any items, I will either watch the staff log it in, or report it and leave my name and cabin number and hold onto the item myself.

We just came back from an excellent cruise on the crown. Great service, great room and the ship looks great. We had a few punches left on our free elite coffee cards (switch out for mini). I put the card inside the blue binder in cabin b749 for a future cruiser to find. The card has an expire date of 12/31/18 and we are not cruising again till 2019.

What a nice surprise that would be! I saw the thread title and decided to read it. I always look through the binder; someone mentioned putting notes in the safe - that's a good idea too.

I think you will be happy with the Coral. Our first Princess cruise was on the Coral in Alaska. Perfect ship for that trip. Earlier this year we were on her again for a full transit through the Panama Canal from Ft. Lauderdale to Los Angeles. Great ship.

Thanks for the in depth review. We are considering booking a window suite.

Do these suites hear a lot of noise or get a lot of smoke from the casino?

I purchased MedJet last year for my husband and I. I usually only buy it if we are traveling outside of the US but since it was good for a year, it covered us while we were in Europe and Hawaii last year and then while we were traveling on a Panama Canal cruise the beginning of this year. Worth it for peace of mind for the evacuation insurance.

We are debating as usual about our shore excursions. We saw a river raft trip on the Corsoni? river. Is this worth while? How rough is it? They kept saying you will get wet.How wet? Also looking a one of the gondola/ overhead tours. How are these?

Any help appreciated.

I didn’t do either of the excursions you mentioned but our group of 12 did a shore excursion through Thumbs Up Tours, their 10 in 1 Highlights of Puntarenas, when we were there January 28 (also on the Coral) and I highly recommend it. I worked with Kari and she was also our tour guide. Several of us posted reviews on Trip Advisor and on here as well. Have fun regardless of the excursion you choose.

I always get a rx from my dr for antibiotics and tamiful when traveling.... esp. when flying.

Being a nurse I pack a emergency kit with otc stuff

Better to be safe than sorry.

Wonder if one gets sick on the ship and order to stay in their cabins if that is covered under travel insurance??

Wash your hands

On our Alaska cruise a few years ago, a respiratory ailment was going around - lots of coughers boarded that cruise. Hubby got sick and went to the medical center and was given a prescription for Tamiflu. The worst part was that at the time I worked for the company that made Tamiflu and had some at home but never thought to bring it. Hubby was confined to our cabin for 3 days and missed an excursion or two. All was ultimately reimbursed by insurance. I brought some Tamiflu with me on our cruise last month.

did it have to be on embarkation day only?

Yes, it was only good on embarkation day.

I'll let you know if someone posts some detailed info / restrictions on the BOGO specialty restaurant(s)

I just used the BOGO at the Bayou Cafe on embarkation day on January 20. No restrictions that we encountered. I didn’t pay attention to the bottled water coupon or would have used it at that time. We made a reservation by going to the Bayou when we boarded.

We will be sailing soon....my husband has a summer weight suit for formal nights, and I plan on wearing black slacks with a fancy top.

I forgot to answer the question about dress when I answered about formal nights last night. Black slacks and a fancy top will work great. I actually brought a black cocktail dress with a lace jacket, black slacks with a lace top and I forget what I wore for the other formal night! I took two pair of black leggings and several nice slacks for smart casual in the main dining room and got a lot of use with them and mixing various tops. Hubby wore a suit and nice shirts for formal night.

I was on the same cruise as Crawford (hi Mike!), so thought I would add some of my observations and experiences.

gdlamberth - We were in Baja 223. I didn't realize how far forward we were until I was on the ship. The only time it really bothered me being that far forward was when we had some rough water a day or two into the cruise. Since we were so high up and forward, we felt a lot of movement that night. Not an enjoyable night. We also heard deck chairs being moved, I guess the deck was being mopped, and at 4:00 a.m., that wasn't very pleasant. Also, we were on the starboard side but I would choose port side if I were to go from Ft. Lauderdale to Los Angeles again.

SactoRick - I think you wanted to know about excursions. With the exception of the Thumbs Up Tour in Puntarenas, we did all Princess excursions.

Grand Cayman - Trolley Roger Train, Scenic Tour of Georgetown - ok.

Cartagena - Fortress, City Walls and Shopping By Land & Sea - more walking than I expected but it was fine. Wear a hat, as it was hot so walking up a steep hill could be difficult.

Fuerte Amador - Panama Canal & Locks Transit - we enjoyed this one because we were in a small boat going through the locks so you could touch the walls of the locks and you get a different perspective since at several points you are as high as the mules and big ships and later you are below the level of the mules. Transferred to bus to take a city tour. Lunch was included.

Puntarenas - did Thumbs Up Tour 10 - in 1 Highlights - recommend it. We saw a lot, have some great pictures of a capuchin monkey on hubby's shoulder, they are looking eye to eye, and some great pictures of alligators.

Puerto Quetzal - Filadelfia Coffee Estate, Colonial Antigua & Lunch - the coffee estate and lunch was fine. Antigua was disappointing because of the vendors - they are very bothersome - they continue to follow you and there are a lot of them. Hubby has bad knees so this was hard for him to do all the walking on cobblestone. I should have just stayed local and then did my shopping in the locations outside of the ship.

We had the early dining because I had heard of the issues with any time dining. Looking back, I would have chosen any time dining. Early dining was too early. Food the first few days was not good; in fact, we thought the food on our excursions was better. We did eat at Bayou the first night, and that was decent. Ate at Sabbatini's another night but I liked Bayou better. Had the pub lunch one day - fish & chips was ok, bangers and mash was better. Had pizza at Sabbatini's for lunch one day and it was decent.

AhoyAway - 3 formal nights - first at sea day (Jan. 21), 4th at sea day (Jan. 29), second to last sea day (Feb. 2).

Hope this helps.

Anyone know about B215. Is there lots of movements at the front of the ship.

I was in B223 until this past Sunday. I didn't realize how far forward I was until I was on the ship. This was our second time on the Coral and she's a great ship. We hit some really rough water on our second day. Hubby almost fell out of bed that night. The higher up you are, the rougher it is on that deck. I also didn't realize that even though we had cabins above and below us, I was woken up at 4:00 a.m. one morning by chairs being slammed on the Lido deck, guess they were mopping the decks, and another morning heard vacuuming about 1:00 a.m. Also, the laundry facilities are a loooooonnnnnggg way away!

Someone asked about the card room - there is one on Deck 8.

Also, the aft deck on Baja was never crowded - there was at most 4 people, and 2 of them were us.