Just off the Coral

I got off the Coral yesterday, Ocean to Ocean Panama canal, and It was incredible

wanted to make some comments here and I'll answer any questions

ship seemed in good shape to me, crew was so good (I sailed on Coral last year and did not have good experience)

I did the chef's table- and would do it again in a heartbeat. It was one of the best meals I've ever had (I live in Los Angeles and have been to many nice restaurants) any questions?

I also did Ultimate ships tour- loved it. too much stuff to take home- lucky for me I didn't have to fly home after cruise

I did traditional dinning- early. Food was mostly very good- a few nights not so great, but I would say over all it was very good

I was at a table for 8- lots of butter on the table (I think 3 or 4 dishes) it was replaced when gone.

Pizza (not alfredos) they've changed the crust and most people said it wasn't very good. I ate the toppings only and they were good

I used the self serve laundry and had no problems

Did you do LA to FLL? If so what did you do in each port? Thanks

Which excursions do you recommend/not recommend? Thanks!

Did you do LA to FLL? If so what did you do in each port? Thanks

Yes, I flew from LAX to FLL 2 day before cruise

we did a tour of the everglades

Did you do LA to FLL? If so what did you do in each port? Thanks

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good guess !!;p!!

since the OP posted as such before your post...:rolleyes:

Which excursions do you recommend/not recommend? Thanks!

which tours is very subjective

We did:

Aruba- the 4 wheel drive tour and Arashi beach . I loved this tour.. I had not been to Aruba before and thought it was a good way to see it in a short time (only 5 hours in port)

Cartanega- this was my least favorite port. we did the mangroves and old city tour. the mangroves tour was nice. group size was way to large and the tour guide was not good. Many very aggressive street venders (almost to the dangerous side) I talked to people on the ship who did the hop on/ hop off and they like the tour- however they said no time to get off at all (also a short day in port)

Fuerte Amador- we did the Embra Indian village and I loved this tour. Several people I talked to did the tour of the "new" locks (we sailed though the "old" locks) and some people loved it- some did not. This was our second trip through the canal so we felt okay not seeing the new locks (and its a reason to go again)

Puntarenas (Costa Rica) la paz waterfall gardens. Very long drive both ways (about 3 hours---but nothing is close to the port really) I loved this tour. it was a lot of walking. Princess rated it as moderate activity (and I would agree) tour ticket said 600 steps- which there were.........but not all at one time. Lunch was buffet and okay

Puerto Quetzal (Guatemala) Fina Filaelfia coffee plantation and tour of Antigua. I loved the coffee plantation, lunch was excellent (steak, black beans, corn) with home made tortillas and sides. I would have liked more time in Antigua but it was fine and we had about an hour on our on . Lots of venders here as well- but not aggressive at all

If you were asking about the cruise, that is...

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Thanks for posting!

We were on the Coral for the Panama Canal 100th Anniversary year. Loved the Coral & viewing areas.

We will be returning to her for Alaska in June. [emoji16]

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Thanks for sharing

Srpilo

I know food is subjective but could you comment on what stood out in the MDR and buffet as well as what was not good in both venues....will be on the coral in 3 days....:):)

Thanks so much for the very helpful feedback!

I know food is subjective but could you comment on what stood out in the MDR and buffet as well as what was not good in both venues....will be on the coral in 3 days....:):)

Pasta (as always) was excellent-

I love seafood- it was a 15 day cruise and lobster was on menu 3 times.........first as some type of spiced thing- I don't do spicy but my sister got it and said it was excellent- on the last formal night we got lobster tails (I think other choice were great as well) the tails were a good size. I had a crab stuffed trout one night as well.

beef- I had the prime rib (very good) and the last night had new york strip steak

one night I got 4 appetizers instead of a "meal" as they all sounded good (It was Italian night, I know it was prosciutto and melon , pasta fagoli, eggplant Parmesan, can't remember the last one)

the short ribs were also good

Thanks for your post.

How was the internet? I was on the Coral for a partial transit from Ft. Lauderdale in March and I thought the internet was pretty bad. I am planning to do a full transit in December from LA and am hoping for an improvement. Other than the internet, I liked everything else about the Coral.

Thanks for your post.

How was the internet? .

Yes, good question-we were last on the Regal when they were trying to get ***** up and running - that was the only time we both used ALL our Platinum minutes

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Like Lois, we got off the Coral yesterday. Had a blast. This was our second time through the Canal and it was just as good as the first time if not better.

Crew was very friendly. We had the best stateroom steward ever. Also, the new bed was amazing. I slept like a happy baby.

One of the photographers was from our 2016 cruise. She takes the best pictures. I was stunned as to how well they turned out. We had the photo package and came back with more than 100 pictures.

We went to Sabatini's on a sea day at lunchtime and had Alfredo's pizza there. Yummy!

Main Dining Room food was good. I think it's time to change the menus up a bit. However, I never went hungry and they did have some of my favorites. ;)

In Fuerte Amador, we did the Panama Canal & Locks by Boat excursion. It was one of the best excursions we have been on. We went through the Miraflores and Miguel locks (the older ones). We were so close to the locks we could almost touch the wall. The tour guides were very good. I highly recommend this excursion.

In Puntarenas we did a Walk in the Clouds excursion where we went to a rainforest and walked over three suspension bridges. Very pretty.

Just went out on our own in the other ports and walked around.

I haven't been on this ship since 2010 but I like the layout of the Horizon Court and the happy crew member greeting us with silverware. I do not care for where they put the International Cafe though.

I like the hand washing stations at the Horizon Court (similar to what is on the Royal and Regal). The water felt so good. Much better than the "cut finder" that is at other places.

If you've never been to the Bayou Cafe, I highly recommend it. I was traveling with 5 other people, 4 of whom had never been to the Bayou Cafe. They all liked it so much that we went back a second time.

My best friend was on Voice of the Ocean. She didn't win but she sang her heart out and we were proud of her.

I did the chef's table- and would do it again in a heartbeat. It was one of the best meals I've ever had (I live in Los Angeles and have been to many nice restaurants) any questions?

Were you able to reserve this ahead of time? How often did they run these? We are on a longer cruise in the fall and might be interested in this.

Have they added a Wine Makers diner to the Coral? I have heard no, just hoping.

OP;

Thanks for taking the time to post your thoughts on your recently completed cruise.....:):):)

Bob

Thanks for your post.

How was the internet? I was on the Coral for a partial transit from Ft. Lauderdale in March and I thought the internet was pretty bad. I am planning to do a full transit in December from LA and am hoping for an improvement. Other than the internet, I liked everything else about the Coral.

Internet was not bad

we had one sea day with a slow connection, otherwise not bad at all.

Were you able to reserve this ahead of time? How often did they run these? We are on a longer cruise in the fall and might be interested in this.

 

Have they added a Wine Makers diner to the Coral? I have heard no, just hoping.

You can not (at least not yet) reserve this ahead of time.

we signed up (called the dinning line) first thing when we boarded the ship. I would encourage anyone to do this, it was remarkable. (it was only done the one time on a 15 day cruise)

As far as I know no Wine Makers dinner

You can not (at least not yet) reserve this ahead of time.

we signed up (called the dinning line) first thing when we boarded the ship. I would encourage anyone to do this, it was remarkable. (it was only done the one time on a 15 day cruise)

As far as I know no Wine Makers dinner

Thanks for the specific information and all the other info you posted. Great Help!:)

Hopefully they have it a couple of time on our longer trip. Enjoy your future travels and I hope to help you sometime.

I did the chef's table- and would do it again in a heartbeat. It was one of the best meals I've ever had (I live in Los Angeles and have been to many nice restaurants) any questions?

I'm interested in doing the chef's table for our cruise to Alaska in a few weeks. Understand it is $85pp if you don't do the wine. Is that correct on your sailing? And, what exactly was prepared for your special dinner? Just curious if it would be worth it for us, as we're into extremely good healthy food but not so much fine dining type of food, specifically french cuisine.

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Many thanks for your review. We did the canal on Coral (17 days SF to FLL) and are booked for a 19 day LA to LA partial transit on Coral (in the same cabin as before) next November.

Totally agree about the street vendors in Cartagena. They were insane! Fortunately for us we booked a tour with Dora and the vendors all knew who she was and all but one left us alone. The one who didn't realize who's tour it was actually climbed into our van trying to sell his stuff! Dora had been momentarily distracted (that's all it takes so be careful) getting the last person back to the van and this guy was crazy pushy. She turned around and saw him and let him know he was not welcome. I would guess some of the other vendors had a good laugh at his expense when we left. Dora has folks who do tours for her but we had booked early so our group of 8 from the roll call actually had Dora herself. Excellent tour and it was wonderful not to have to deal with the mobs of street vendors. Dora's tour can be found HERE

Yes, I flew from LAX to FLL 2 day before cruise

 

we did a tour of the everglades

hi lois, we are Kiwis on the coral in Febuary and can you give any tips on what Everglades tours there are .

Cheers

Don & Jo