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

[Eagle_and_hawk]

Desserts to finish off another good meal: :D

 

Traditional New York Cheesecake

macerated strawberries

 

d35 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

Orange Grand Marnier Souffle

vanilla bean sauce

 

d36 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

 

Tomorrow is Cartagena, another port day.

[Northender]

I enjoy having my second cup of coffee with you and the great pictures.:)

[CruiseQueenB]

Loving the review! I've never been on this class of ship and your review is making me feel like I'm onboard right now! Counting down the days until my next day at sea...:)

[clutchcurrier]

David and Ellen,

My DH and I were on the Coral in Oct/Nov, 2011 for the full transit of the canal. However, we left from Los Angeles. I remember it was really chilly in LA and the further we got to Cabo the warmer it got. We had wonderful time on the Coral for our 30th Anniversary. We will be on the Royal this Nov for our 35th. Hope to do a review. Enjoying your review and remembering the Coral fondly.

 

Linda

[Colo Cruiser]

The chefs were having the fruit and vegetable carving in the atrium today. It's impressive how they can carve these items so quickly.

 

 

C20 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

 

C21 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

 

 

 

 

Simon!!

Edited February 19, 2016 by Colo Cruiser

[Eagle_and_hawk]

Tuesday - February 9th.

 

Today we stopped in Cartagena, Colombia.

 

First, the daily patters for this day:

 

E1 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

 

E2 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

 

D3 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

 

E4 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

[Eagle_and_hawk]

Back in 2014 when sailed this cruise the other time, we took the excursion "Highlights of Cartagena, Fortress & Las Bovedas" and really enjoyed it.

We had a tour guide and went to Visit the Old City, the Castillo de San Felipe de Barajas and the Historical Museum of Cartagena.

Then to Las Bóvedas, San Pedro Claver Sanctuary, and a short stop for shopping.

We would recommend this trip for first timers if you are interested in the historical tours.

These are the tours we typically look for when we travel.

 

Anyway, we decided to go with the Spanish Gallon Harbor cruise as I like old sailing ships.

The ship was tied up on the other side of the dock where we were at, so a short walk.

The tour lasts about two hours, sailing very slowly around the harbor while they give you some history on the area.

There are a few dancers on board who change costumes several times and put on a short show.

It was an interesting couple of hours, although next time, we might try something different.

After we were back at the dock, you could take a free shuttle over to the duty free shopping area.

 

A few pictures of the area and from the excursion.

 

First the view of the harbor from the balcony when we arrived:

 

e20 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

 

E21 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

 

E22 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

 

E23 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

[Eagle_and_hawk]

The ship:

 

E24 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

 

E19 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

 

The dancers in one of several costumes. It would be a good idea to try and get in the middle of the ship, under the tarp as very hot.

Those on the side seats only get a little shade, depending on how the ship is turned.

 

E25 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

[Eagle_and_hawk]

Some of the sights you will see around the harbor.

 

Military ships:

 

E27 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

 

And they have many confiscated ships from drug runners, just sitting at the docks.

The guide was telling us how kilos of drugs was seized on several of the boats as we passed by:

 

E26b by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

 

We sailed into this part of the harbor, and then turned around & went back to the Coral.

 

E28 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

 

E29 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

 

E30 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

[Eagle_and_hawk]

Once we were back to the dock, a shuttle tooks us over to the little duty free area.

They drop you off in front of one shop that only sells liquor & perfume.

Go around to the right of this, walking along the dock and you come up to the other shop that sells coffee, souvenirs, etc.

There was also some wildlife to watch in front of this area back there, along with restrooms.

You could take the shuttle back to the ship or about a 10 minute walk.

 

E31 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

 

E32 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

 

E33 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

 

E34 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

 

After we were back on board, we noticed in the patter that they were going to have the stuff out to make a poster.

We had already planned on doing this and brought a few things with us.

For those who have not been thru the canal, some people make a poster to hold up to the passing workers and

another Princess photo opportunity of course.

They will have photographers with still cameras & video, standing on the sides of the canal.

The video is for the Reflections DVD. Last trip, they had a contest for best poster, but not this time.

They also had a helicopter flying around taking pictures & video, for the same reasons, but again, no chopper this time.

 

If you are wanting to do this, I suggest you take anything you might

need onboard except the poster board, as they provide that.

We did not know they had such a small collection of things to draw with and

most were probably left by other passengers.

If we had know, we would have picked up a couple packs of markers & templates to use and just left them on the ship.

We did get our poster made in time for the transit.

[Eagle_and_hawk]

After rambling some more around the ship, it was getting close to 5:15pm, so getting ready head out to Bordeaux.

 

Today's Menus for 2/9:

 

E5 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

 

E6 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

 

e7 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

[Eagle_and_hawk]

Honey & Rum roasted Pineapple

strawberry-coconut relish

e70 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

 

Black Bean Chowder

hearty soup with golden-fried tortilla strips and sour cream.

 

E71 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

Red Wine Braised Beef Short Ribs

root vegetables, baby onions, whipped potatoes

 

--This was really good, although a lot of fat I had to dig thru.

 

E72 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

 

Chili-Spiced Szechuan Shrimp

hoisin sauce with garlic, ginger, sesame oil, bean sprouts, and cilantro, fried rice

 

E73 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

 

We both had the same dessert tonight:

 

Chef Norman Love

Chocolate Journeys: Chocolate Cheesecake with Vanilla Mousseline and Strawberry preserves.

 

E74 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

[Eagle_and_hawk]

This is where I will stop until next week as won't be around my scanner this weekend. I was just looking at the Flickr folder where these pictures are hosted and showing 221 pictures/scans. :eek:

 

The next day will be Wednesday, the Panama Canal transit & Colon, so it will take a while to get all of that together.

 

Enjoy the weekend.

 

David

[Wellybeth]

Have been lurking for a couple of days and just wanted to say a quick thanks for taking the time to do this review and all the great photos. We were on Coral to Alaska in 2014 and it's nice to see the changes they've made. Toying with the idea of doing a partial on her next year for our 20th and you're doing a great job of selling it so far!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Edited February 19, 2016 by Wellybeth

[Northender]

Have a wonderful weekend you two.:):)

[jovisoul]

Thank you so much for taking the time to post reviews and pictures! We are taking the Partial Transit in October. First time on the Coral. Looking forward to it more each day!

[Eagle_and_hawk]

I was looking through the pictures I had already uploaded, and decided I could add a few more from around the ship, since I don't need my scanner.

 

The Lotus Spa Pool is a great place to to get out of hot/cold/rainy weather. With the glass roof and being enclosed, it's usually pretty comfortable inside. This is a great ship for Alaska too, especially if you like to go in September like we do. It's going to rain at some point and the weather will normally be a lot cooler than July. When the weather turns bad, and people are not wanting to be around the pool up top, this is a wonderful option. One of many reasons we picked her for our next Alaska cruise.

 

 

It also has the upper level for loungers for increased seating.

 

 

 

 

M4 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

 

M5 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

 

M6 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

 

M7 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

[Eagle_and_hawk]

M1 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

 

M3 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

 

M8 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

 

It's also where the soft serve ice cream is located:

 

M2 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

[Eagle_and_hawk]

On the opposite side of the atrium from Crooner's is the Churchill Lounge behind these glass doors:

 

M12 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

 

I believe it originally started as more of a cigar lounge, although

it's also popular with cigarette smokers who do not want to stand outside in the smoking areas.

They did have a selection of a dozen or so cigars in the humidor and the servers

in Crooners will stop in at times to see if anyone wants a drink.

It was also updated with new carpet & chairs during the drydock too.

 

M11 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

 

m30 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

 

M10 by Cool Runnings, on Flickr

[dforeigner]

Awesome pictorial review so far. Thanks for sharing.

[Eagle_and_hawk]

We were several days into the cruise at this point and the staff has been friendly every where we have been on board.

We would pass a few in the hallways that would just walk on by, although not the norm.

We try to say hello to all of them when we pass.

I usually look around for the ships officers and did not see them much the first couple of days.

That's really what I would have anticipated with coming back from the previous cruise and still working on some of the issues.

When I did see them, I could hear them discussing ships business as they were moving down the hallways.

As the cruise went on, they were out and about more, which I seen as a good sign.

The biggest problem that was still evident was the area mid-ship staircase

on Dolphin deck that the ceiling was out, and the awful smell as mid cruise,

it was still bad. I don't know if that smell went from the hallway into the

cabins or not as that would have made for a bad trip all week. In either

case, it would not have been something you would have wanted to open

the door too each time when leaving. After we got back, I realized that

two decks below mid-ship was the atrium, which may explain the smel

l down there was noted by many of us, as seemed like the ventilation

system was moving it around the area.

I still heard of a few problems with water in some cabins. Don't really know

if that was related to the dry dock or not as these things unfortunately

happen all the time with marine craft. Hoping the folks on there now are

having a trouble free adventure.

We didn't go to any of the shows in the evenings as already seen

On the Bayou last trip. Judging from the packed venues and long lines,

they are still popular. Usually after feasting in the MDR, we would head

to one of the lounges to hear the bands & sometimes dance as that's

what we enjoy. We found the bands to be pretty good to sit back and

listen too all during the cruise. The one piano player went from the

atrium to the Bayou Cafe through out the cruise. I will let some of

the other reviewers discuss the production shows.

The next day will be the transit and with going through the locks

early in the morning & the excursions, it makes for a long,

although exciting day.

 

 

 

[lv2cruiseanywhere]

Thank you for your beautiful review; we will be on the Coral Princess in April.

 

You said you didn't go to any of the shows, but did you see the entertainment in Crooner's Bar? We are big fans of Ray Coussins and I was wondering if he was on your cruise. We are looking forward to listening to him nightly in April. In fact he is the reason we picked this cruise. We have been through the Panama Canal several times.

 

Thanks again, the Coral Princess looks beautiful.

[Northender]

Thank you for your beautiful review; we will be on the Coral Princess in April.

 

You said you didn't go to any of the shows, but did you see the entertainment in Crooner's Bar? We are big fans of Ray Coussins and I was wondering if he was on your cruise. We are looking forward to listening to him nightly in April. In fact he is the reason we picked this cruise. We have been through the Panama Canal several times.

 

Thanks again, the Coral Princess looks beautiful.

 

Hi there, we have a roll call going for this cruise. Stop by and take a looksee. My husband loves Ray Coussins and will be happy to hear he will be on this cruise. We have not received an emails from Princess at all, so I did not know this. Will keep it a surprise for him.

[Eagle_and_hawk]

Thank you for your beautiful review; we will be on the Coral Princess in April.

 

You said you didn't go to any of the shows, but did you see the entertainment in Crooner's Bar? We are big fans of Ray Coussins and I was wondering if he was on your cruise. We are looking forward to listening to him nightly in April. In fact he is the reason we picked this cruise. We have been through the Panama Canal several times.

 

Thanks again, the Coral Princess looks beautiful.

 

Yes, Ray Coussins was playing in Crooner's several nights. We heard him once in passing by on the way to somehwere else and had Crooners full. I don't recall him playing anywhere else though. Chris Jankowski was the one we heard more often as he would be in the atrium while waiting to eat, then later in Bayou Cafe. We enjoyed listening to him a few times too.

 

The ship does look even better than our trip two years ago and sure you will have a great time in April

[RedHeadTexan]

Thank you for taking the time to do such a wonderful review. We are going on our first Princess cruise on the Coral in November and your pictures are getting me really excited. Thanks!

 

Lisa