Coral Princess 10-Day Panama Canal Partial Transit. D631 - Fiji Suite

[Eagle_and_hawk]

Once you get sat down in the comfy chairs, decisions, decisions...............

 

 

CR10 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

 

CR11 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

 

CR12 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

 

CR13 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

 

CR14 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

 

CR15 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

[Eagle_and_hawk]

CR16 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

 

CR17 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

 

CR18 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

 

CR19 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

[Eagle_and_hawk]

CR20 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

 

CR21 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

 

CR22 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

 

CR23 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

[Eagle_and_hawk]

David, we were also on this cruise. Thank you for posting all the wonderful photos--it's fun to get a peek at a suite!

 

The new bed was heavenly. We also thought the food on the Coral this time was the best we've ever had on a cruise.

 

We agree with you on the food. Some of the best we have had in sailing with Princess and very few things we ordered, that we were not crazy about. It was not bad, just not something we would order again.

[Eagle_and_hawk]

Thank you for the post, We leave in a little over two weeks and I look forward to review and Platters. Thank you so much for taking the time to post.

 

My plan is to move onto the MDR menus and patters next. I had to get my PC from work, hooked up to my scanner to get everything working. I am hoping to at least get day #1 soon.

[Eagle_and_hawk]

First of all, I just want to say that the fact that you still call your DW of 30+ years your "bride" and "beloved sweetheart" has been the most endearing part of this review. She is one lucky woman indeed.

 

Coming in a close second, however, is your review and wonderful photos. I am cruising the suite life vicariously through you and am loving all the details. I can't wait for more!

 

Thanks for those thoughts. She is the Love of my life and I miss her, even when she leaves the room. We really enjoy all our time together, no matter where we are, as long as we are together.

[Eagle_and_hawk]

Now that we have left Crooners, on to the activities of the first day of the cruise. These

are the scans of the patters for 2/5. Since we had a suite, we ate at the Bayou Cafe and

Steakhouse. I have a few pictures of that culinary delight I will post soon, but posting these

for those on the upcoming cruise to start looking at if interested.

 

You can also click on the photo name in the bottom right to take you to Flickr, in which you

can see a larger image to zoom in if not clear enough.

 

 

 

AA by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

 

Ab by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

 

AC by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

 

AD by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

[vino100]

In Aruba, it was facing the dock/island. In Cartagena, we were also facing the dock and had a good view of the city.

 

Cayman Islands was a tender port & also faced the island, so all in all, a good side to be on, at least for this trip.

 

We docked back in a different berth in Ft. Lauderdale, but was not dockside. Actually the view was nice as still dark, and watched several ships pull in to the other berths, all lit up.

 

Keeping my fingers crossed we dock the same way you did. Thanks again for all the great info.

[Dreamer115]

Amazing start to the review. We are new to Princess and don't cruise until September, but have not find such a good picture review. Thanks, looking forward to more.

Connie

[Eagle_and_hawk]

On Friday, sail away night, we ate in the Bayou Cafe & Steakhouse. We had eaten there two years

ago and was just as good this time. The servers we had did a great job and glad we decided to eat

there again.

 

A snapshot of the menu at the front of the restaurant. If it's not clear enough, Princess has it

online at their WEB site.

 

 

a19 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

 

 

We started the meal with

 

Mardi Gras Peel-n-eat shrimp Piquante.

Char Grilled with Cayenne and Louisiana Hot Sauce

 

A20 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

 

and

 

ToulouSe ChiCken and Chorizo Jambalaya

Creole Marinated Chicken, Smoked Sausage and Stewed Okra over Dirty Rice

 

 

A21 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

 

 

Since I had decided on steak, I got to select a knife from the Crocodile Mick Dundee collection:

 

A23 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

[Eagle_and_hawk]

The CarpetbaGGer’S trinity Smothered filet of beef

 

A24 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

 

They bring out a plate of side dishes with potatoes, rice, etc. to be shared with the main course.

 

A25 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

 

Together, made an excellent meal.

 

 

A26 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

 

 

They also had on display, the selection of steaks that you could order:

 

A27 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

 

 

A28 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

 

There were four dessert selections, but we were just too full to consider them, so passed on it.

[Eagle_and_hawk]

The Bayou Cafe was also updated with new carpet during the dry dock.

For those who are not familiar with the ship & the cafe, a few pictures

of what it looked like in 2014:

 

 

a30 by Cool

 

Runnings, on Flickr

 

 

 

a31 by Cool

 

Runnings, on Flickr

 

What it looks like now.

 

 

a32 by Cool

 

Runnings, on Flickr

 

 

a33 by Cool

 

Runnings, on Flickr

 

 

a34 by Cool

 

Runnings, on Flickr

 

 

a35 by Cool

 

Runnings, on Flickr

[Eagle_and_hawk]

Since we were in a suite, we did get to eat breakfast at Sabatini's. On port days,

they opened at 7:00am and on sea days, they opened at 7:30am. It was also part of the

dry dock remodel and the carpet had been replaced. According to our server, they are

still in the process of replacing the cushions in here and the Bayou cafe:

 

a40 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

 

a41 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

 

They have a breakfast menu, but you can order pretty much anything you wanted. I put them to the test and sure enough, grits :D

 

a42 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

 

Complete with mimosa's, espresso, and latte's too.

[Eagle_and_hawk]

The Coral does not have a stand alone Alfredo's restaurant. They do offer an abreviated pizza

menu in Sabatini's every day for lunch, except embarkation day. There was one other day they were closed

in the middle of the cruise and not sure if it was for a special event or what the reason was.

 

The menu:

 

a43 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

 

a44 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

 

The Coral Princess:

 

a45 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

 

The Vegetariana:

 

a46 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

 

 

Both pizzas were good and had lunch in there I believe twice during the cruise.

It was a nice change from the pizza at the pool area, although I had my fair

share of that too. :)

[Basmelech]

Thank you for such a well illustrated review. We will be on the Coral in March, and your review is a great addition to our pre-cruise anticipation and prep.

[Wishing on a star]

WOW, again to you (and your 'sweetie") for such a wonderful review and photos.

 

I am loving the patters, too.

 

These photos of the Horizon Court look fabulous.

Really looks great!

(Different than what I had seen in other recent photos, though?)

[Northender]

Thanks so much for all the pictures, patters and menus. We will be sailing out of FLL on April 5th. Reading this review makes me want to pack now.:):)

[Jasperdo]

Thank you for this wonderful review. And especially for all the terrific photos. We were on the Coral before it's drydock renovations. It's nice to see all the updates.

[Eagle_and_hawk]

I just realized I missed the infamous martini menu & wine list from Crooners. Since they are know for the martini's I will add them now before we go any further.

 

a71 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

 

a72 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

 

a73 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

 

a74 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

 

a75 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

 

a76 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

[Eagle_and_hawk]

Saturday - February 6th.

 

After a good nights sleep on the new mattresses, I was up early as normal for me. We always take two travel mugs with us when we are on vacation for coffee. I headed out to the passengers service desk to collect an extra patter to bring home, then to the International Cafe for two cups of coffee. I like to have Dearheart a hot cup of coffee waiting when she wakes up in the morning, and then we start the day sitting out on the balcony, watching the waves go by.

 

Today was the first sea day and no real plans except to explore the ship again and relax. With all the problems reported with the drydock and the the first cruise, I wanted to see how much more had been fixed. The side thrusters were working, pools and hot tubs were full, and I did not see any area closed off. The worse spot we encountered was mid-ship hallway on Dolphin deck at the stair cases. The ceiling was torn out and it smelled like sewage. They worked on it all week it seemed, and was not until the last day or two, they appeared to have gotten it fixed as they were no longer working on it, and did not smell in the area. The ceiling tiles were still down when we disembarked the ship on Monday. We did not hear of any big problems with water, clogged pipes, etc., as least not as much that was reported in the first cruise. No doubt there was still problems, just did not seem to be as wide spread. Everything worked fine in our cabin.

 

The sewage smell stay around parts of the atrium through out the entire cruise. One day it was really bad in Crooners and the next day, it was somewhere else. The last couple of days, one of the elevators in the atrium was so bad, people were avoiding it and taking the stairs. As time went on, it improved some as not as many places it could be smelled, but never went completely away.

 

 

After a relaxing day, it was time to get ready for formal night. This was our first night in the main dining room and was curious as to what table we would get as we were in traditional dining. Since we wanted early traditional, we ended up in Bordeaux with a nice four top table, set up for two, next to the window. We had a great view of the ocean outside and our server, Manuel was one of the best servers we have had. We wanted to get finished in time to make the champagne waterfall as wanted to get our picture taken with it. We made it and so did our short video in the Reflections DVD. After dinner, we went to the various bars to check out all the bands and had great evening listening to them. Everyone was dressed up that we saw, and about ten of us were in tuxedos. Since I have one, it's packs just as well as a suit, and enjoying dressing to the nines a couple of times a year. We did see this sign at the front door, and appeared most were following it through out the cruise.

 

b55 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

 

 

 

A couple pictures of the upgraded Bordeaux Dining room after the dry dock.

 

B50 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

 

B51 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

 

 

 

We didn't eat in the Provence dining room, however they were having a sale on shipboard items

one day and I took a couple of quick photos to show it's updated colors too.

 

 

b52 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

 

 

b53 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

[Eagle_and_hawk]

These are the daily patters for today 2/6. I am glad we always get an extra copy to bring back to scan as by the time it's been folded/unfolded all day, the one they leave us in the box each night, is in rough condtion.

 

 

B1 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

 

B2 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

 

 

B3 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

 

 

B4 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

[Eagle_and_hawk]

This is the menu in the Main Dining Room for tonight 2/6. I was able to get a copy delivered each night to our room to bring home, as I rather scan them then try to take a picture each night.You can request this in a suite since you can order from the MDR menu and have delivered for room service. Since they are larger than standard paper, I am only going to be able to get the food items and not the other text at the top and bottoms where they talk about the chefs, etc.

 

I am only posting the drink menu in this post since it does not change every night.

 

 

B90 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

 

 

B92 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

 

B91 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

 

B94 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

[Host Jazzbeau]

We did see this sign at the front door, and appeared most were following it through out the cruise.

 

b55 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

 

Interesting wording. Do they really mean "dinner jacket" or is this a mis-understanding and Sport Coats are acceptable? Seems odd to demand a dinner jacket and not even mention its close cousin the Tuxedo.

[Eagle_and_hawk]

This is what he had tonight, 2/6 and was all very good:

Crabmeat and Monterey Jack Quiche

savory pie crust, charred red pepper salsa

 

B80 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

 

French Onion Soup

gruyere cheese crouton

 

This was the only night they had this. I asked the server about getting it other nights,

and he said they only did it once a cruise. He offered to ask the head chef if they would

make it special for me, but I said that was not necesary.

 

B81 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

 

 

Chilled Sweet Corn and Potato Soup

jalapeno, shredded basil and smoked tomatoes

 

B82 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

 

 

Farfalle alla Rustica

bow tie pasta with tender veal, morel mushrooms, green peas in cream sauce

 

B84 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

 

Curtis Stone Mahi-Mahi

curried plantains, cauliflower crisps, passion fruit mustard

 

B83 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

 

....and for dessert.....

I think this was the Princess Love Boat dream

 

 

B85 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

[Eagle_and_hawk]

Interesting wording. Do they really mean "dinner jacket" or is this a mis-understanding and Sport Coats are acceptable? Seems odd to demand a dinner jacket and not even mention its close cousin the Tuxedo.

 

I would say either a jacket or sport coat would be fine as see them both in the MDR.