What ship for Panama canal

[Southward-Bound]

We are thinking of doing a Panama Canal and the three ships we are looking at are Coral, Caribbean, and Sapphire.

Which one would be better for this trip? Any help would be great. We would be getting a balcony room. We have done the Crown and a few of the larger ships. We have done historic locks on another line. Thank you for your help.

[Torfamm]

10 minutes ago, Southward-Bound said:

We are thinking of doing a Panama Canal and the three ships we are looking at are Coral, Caribbean, and Sapphire.

Which one would be better for this trip? Any help would be great. We would be getting a balcony room. We have done the Crown and a few of the larger ships. We have done historic locks on another line. Thank you for your help.

Are they all the same itinerary?  Have you visited all of the ports before? Do you want to see the new locks this time? My guess is the Coral does the historic locks.
 

 

[PescadoAmarillo]

Personally, I would want my first trip through the Panama Canal to be through the historic locks. With Princess, this means on the Island Princess or Coral Princess. If you do choose to go on a larger ship, it will be through the new locks, which are in no way a substitute for seeing the historic locks. In that case, I believe you can do a full or partial transit through the historic locks on a small tour boat on some itineraries (as an excursion). I would highly recommend doing that. 

[memoak]

If you want the new locks I would pick the Sapphire if you want the old locks Coral. The experiences are pretty different 

[Southward-Bound]

I have been through the old locks before I’m more interested, in which ship is the better of the two for food entertainment, and the shape the ship is in. We are looking from Vancouver to Fort Lauderdale or the reverse   

[Southward-Bound]

56 minutes ago, Torfamm said:

Are they all the same itinerary?  Have you visited all of the ports before? Do you want to see the new locks this time? My guess is the Coral does the historic locks.
 

 

I think we have done all of the ports so more interested in what ship is better

[Torfamm]

4 minutes ago, Southward-Bound said:

I think we have done all of the ports so more interested in what ship is better

What’s “better” will be different for everyone. If you aren’t interested in the Canal itself or the ports maybe the questions are about what does matter to you. 
 

Do you prefer the feeling of a smaller ship or larger? 
 

Do you care about viewing spaces? Do you hate heat? The buffet on the Coral is at the front of the ship provides an air conditioned view forward in the Canal.

 

Do you care about specialty restaurants or bars? There is no Vines on Coral as an example.

[Southward-Bound]

We tend to like the larger ships, and I think maybe Caribean Princess might fit us better, but just wondering about the other two, Coral and Sapphire. 

[memoak]

4 minutes ago, Southward-Bound said:

We tend to like the larger ships, and I think maybe Caribean Princess might fit us better, but just wondering about the other two, Coral and Sapphire. 

The Coral will probably do the old locks since it is one of few ships that go through it

[Thrak]

Coral as it's the only one of the group that can sail the old locks. Having done the old locks twice and the new locks once I definitely prefer the old locks and can't imagine having my first time through the canal being in the new locks.

[martinitime1]

1 hour ago, Thrak said:

Coral as it's the only one of the group that can sail the old locks. Having done the old locks twice and the new locks once I definitely prefer the old locks and can't imagine having my first time through the canal being in the new locks.

Agree 100%. If you have never done the old locks, Coral is a must. It was one of our most memorable cruises of all time.

[Essiesmom]

The OP has stated twice that they have already been through the old locks. So it is about the ship, not the transit.  For something different, take the Sapphire or Caribbean.  EM

[charliedalrymple]

10 hours ago, Thrak said:

I definitely prefer the old locks

 

The old locks are definitely on my bucket list. My parents did a full transit through the old locks and thought it got rather tedious after the first few hours.  Do you share that opinion?  Would you recommend a partial transit or even a small-boat excursion instead?

[Torfamm]

12 hours ago, Southward-Bound said:

We tend to like the larger ships, and I think maybe Caribean Princess might fit us better, but just wondering about the other two, Coral and Sapphire. 

I find Sapphire and Caribbean to be almost identical. I might pick the Sapphire over the Caribbean for the covered pool. 
 

Here are some theads with comparisons of these ships. They might help you decide based on what matters to you. Covered pool? Crown Grill? Alfredo’s Pizza? Promenade deck? Window suites?
 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2975634-planning-for-alaska-2025-caribbean-princess-vs-sapphire-princess/

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2983681-coral-sapphire-or-caribbean-princess-in-alaska/

 

 

 

 

[skynight]

Sapphire will have fewer passengers, 2,650 as it is roughly the size of the original Grand Class ships. The Caribbean is what I would call a super Grand Class ship. It's an original Grand Class design with and extra passenger deck and 3,150 passengers. Both have a full promenade deck, but the Sapphire's is wider. No Crown Grill on the Sapphire. It's a Sterling Steakhouse in the aft section of the buffet seating area. Have read they now serve Brazilian BBQ. The Sapphire has 4 half size DRs mid ship vs the 2 full size mid ship DRs on the Caribbean. Both have the large DR on deck 6 aft. The Caribbean has a nice family pool and splash pool area on deck 17 aft. If there are lots of youth on board this area will attract them and thus keep some of them away from the main Lido pools.

Cabins will be basically the same.

If you have not been through the new locks, I would pick one of the larger ships. They are interesting. The ship fits in the locks with space on both sides as well as forward and aft. The ship is kept centered in the locks with forward and aft tugs. If I remember correctly there are two forward and one aft.

The Coral is a smaller Original Panamax sized ship with 2,000 passengers. It has lots of public space per passenger. The buffet area is forward with sweeping ocean views. It has a large Universe Lounge aft. It will transit the original locks.  

[Essiesmom]

Only one tug each end.

 

[skynight]

Interesting. This looks like the Ruby. When we did the partial on the same ship, Agua Clara locks, in early March there were 2 tugs forward and one aft. Maybe it's different depending on wind, weather, and which locks. 

[Ken the cruiser]

We have been through the Panama Canal 3 times, once on the HAL Veendam, once on the Island Princess, and most recently in May 2022 on the Caribbean Princess (see Live From thread in my signature starting on page 18, post 440).

 

For us our first question would be which ship(s) still have an aft-facing Premium Balcony cabin available. There is no better place to be, if your budget can afford it, when going through the Panama Canal or leaving a port for that matter.

[RenieRaider]

On 4/1/2024 at 2:38 PM, memoak said:

If you want the new locks I would pick the Sapphire if you want the old locks Coral. The experiences are pretty different 

Thank you. How are they different besides the New one being new? If you have done both what would you recommend?

[Arizona Wildcat]

Cabins should not be a consideration as you will want to be on deck to see the canal from there.

[memoak]

1 hour ago, RenieRaider said:

Thank you. How are they different besides the New one being new? If you have done both what would you recommend?

The docks operate in different manners and speed and size. If you have never done the canal I would suggest the old locks for the history 

[Hokulea]

Does Princess have somebody doing commentary as the ships go through the locks?

[cr8tiv1]

Princess usually will have a historian onboard for enrichment lectures.  I do not recall if there is a broadcast during the transit like they do in Glacier Bay.  It is a very slow transit and pretty self explanatory if going through the new locks.  

[skynight]

12 hours ago, Hokulea said:

Does Princess have somebody doing commentary as the ships go through the locks?

Yes. Every time, 6 last time one month ago, I transited the canal there was a narrator who is on the bridge and provided information over the ship's PA system. This information is a broadcast on cabin TVs.

[skynight]

19 hours ago, RenieRaider said:

Thank you. How are they different besides the New one being new? If you have done both what would you recommend?

The original locks are not as large as the new locks. The original locks can handle ships 106 ft. wide x 965 ft long. The Coral Princess is just about this size and thus it is a Panamax size ship. Ships in the original locks maintain centering by electric 'mules which ride along rails on the sides of the canal. There is only a few feet between the side of the ship and the lock walls.

The new locks are much larger and able to handle longer & wider ships to allow new build cargo ships to pass. Ships remain centered in the locks by tugs. The new locks have a water recovery system making them more water efficient than the original locks. You can look up lots of detained information and photos on line.