Coral Princess ?'s

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REZ4JC

Guest
We are thinking of booking this cruise for late Jan. 2005. We have been all over the Caribbean and went to Tahiti this year. My questions are:

Should we book a year in advance?
I am thinking about a mini-suite, which side is the best side for the view, port or starboard?
Is it easy to find and book excursions on your own?


Any suggestions and comments would be appreciated.

Thank You
 
L

Lady Jag

Guest
If you post this on the community board, you may have more luck. I'll be happy to help when we return from the Coral in a couple weeks. We'll have 2 minis on the starboard side. From what people told me, there is no way to tell which side will be better for your cabins since you won't know which side of the Canal you'll be going through until it happens.

We booked our own shore excursion for Grand Cayman (Capt. Bryan's catamaran to Stingray City), almost booked independently for Jamaica but decided against it, and will just be taking a taxi to the Sloth Sanctuary in Costa Rica on our own. For Panama, I wouldn't book on your own. Getting back to the ship is a bit trickier from what I've heard and it's safer to do a ship sponsored excursion. We're doing the Ocean-to-Ocean tour. I've also heard very good things about the Exec. Dome RR car tour.

More after the cruise!! :)
 
S

seagarsmoker

Guest
I'd already put a deposit down if your going just for price and room protection. As for the Coral, you'll see many reviews this week since many C@ cruisers will be coming home from the P@NAMA group cruise. IMHO it looks like the perfect ship to me. A sun class ship with another entertainment deck added on.
 
B

bear

Guest
Going to the Panama Canal on the Island Princess (sister ship to the Coral) this Thursday . Booked our cruise 8 months in advance. Choose two minisuites starboard on the caribe deck forward. Starboard or Port I hear is a toss up. Surprising how many rooms had already been booked at that time. When we were due to make our final payment our travel agent checked fare for any reductions. We were pleasantly surprised to find a $600 reduction for each cabin, so if you book early make sure your travel agent checks for fare reductions as your cruise gets closer. We booked all of our shore excursions through Princess. They may be a little more expensive but the peace of mind is worth it to me. If you get travel insurance and keep check on the fares I can't see where you could go wrong booking early. The newer ships tend to book faster. I always look for the newest ship to my destination and book early.
 
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Einstein

Guest
Just arrived back from the Coral and I would say that either side is about the same actually. On our cruise the ship was always docked on the right side of the pier so therefore the port side cabine will give U a better view of the pier. If U prefer privacy while docked at the pier I would opt for the starboard side of the ship. Be forewarned that during the sea days it will be VERY windy so U will get minimal use of the balcony. As for the transit of the canal I would recommend U head to one of the front PUBLIC balconies on the Caribe or Aloha deck that VERY few people know about as that will give U your BEST viewing opportunity. Enjoy as I know U will. :thumb

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