Panama Canal Tourism Authority

Aloha Everyone,

The Panama Canal Tourism Authority was a huge disappointment. Princess Cruises and Chris Roberts did a phenomenal job of presenting this project. Like the two of us, most people who took the walkway thought we could get about one mile exercise each way.

No stores, no eateries, once we reached the other end, we were surrounded by people offering their visitor transport services. 

Main interesting thing was to see a USS Coastguard providing protection and rescue to ships.

Panamanian security, they were casual and laid back. No verification of government issued photo IDs required. All they checked was our medallions and we were back on the ship.

Aloha -- Cathi

Panama Canal Full Transit

Aloha Everyone,

This is our 7th Panama Canal Full Transit. Aside from those of us who are doing back-to-back full transit, passengers on this cruise seem to be older. Many are using canes and a number of them are using double canes that transforms into a chair. Passengers are not rushed or pushing others away to gain a better view of this engineering wonder.

J.J. and I were relaxed. No hurry to grab viewing space. Chatted with fellow passengers and exchanged pleasantries.

I was more focused on travelers whose reactions were from wow to ho hum.

Interesting activity of a helicopter hovering over the Crown Princess were spotted by many of us who were on the 7th floor promenade deck. It was explained that the helicopter was following us to take video footage which will be edited to short advertising clips. This, we assumed, is one of the benefits of being voted as the #1 among Princess Cruise ships.

Interesting history, numerous geopolitics and financial and human costs were involved in building the canal.

Aloha -- Cathi

Panama Canal Transit Lecture

Aloha Everyone,

This will be our 7th Panama Canal Transit. To update details and refresh our memories, J.J. and I attended this morning’s Panama Canal Transit Lecture.

One main information we learned is that they no longer call the locks Old and New. Reason seems somewhat political, but now they are referred to as Original & New Locks.

Aloha -- Cathi

Crab Shack

Aloha Everyone,

J.J. was happy with the Crab Shack dinner on board the Crown Princess. The entree crab, served both iced and boiled, included clams, mussels, shrimps and crayfish.

After I nibbled on my crab pieces, I enjoyed watching J.J. picking each morsel with his fingers.

The venue is one section of Horizon Court cordoned off for Crab Shack diners. Some tables were used multiple times.  Each table had a waiter assigned. Definitely one can almost feel like dining out in a specialty restaurant. $55 per person prefix menu was worth the experience. They likewise added an 18% service charge.

Aloha -- Cathi

Day 1, Returning Back to Los Angeles, CA

Aloha Everyone,

This was the simplest experience as transit passengers. We estimated that there were less than 40 of us. We were the last to leave Coral Princess. No formal entry to Florida. In the past we physically walked out of the building then walked back in.

There were customs and immigration but basically transient passengers walked through as a group. 

By the time we returned to Coral Princess, our luggage and clothes on hangers were transferred to our new stateroom 622. Nearly identical except orientation of left to right requires a minor adjustment.

Big news is Coral Princess won Princess Cruise contest nudging out previous winner, Ruby Princess. Happy Captain Diego Perra, announced one time $25,000 bonus plus one week free WiFi for the entire staff. $25,000 bonus to be used for special party We were informed that each member were given a medal signifying this accolade.

Staff, including newly boarded members are all smiles. Recognition by the management and the company has lasting effects on their performance and attitudes.

Aloha -- Cathi

Ports of Call, Aruba

Aloha Everyone,

J.J. and I were trying to recall specific things we saw during our previous visit to Aruba. We recall European or more specifically this Dutch flavor of this island. They are trying to make this as a Southern Caribbean destination to compete against Hawaii??? Weather was humid with strong winds blowing while we walked to the main shopping street.  

My main objective was to look for a box of bandages. J.J. saw a Dollar store and correctly guessed that it must be something similar to a Dollar General discount store. He was correct. We purchased a box of smaller bandages and paid US$5 for 50 pieces.

No real security checkpoints. All we had to do was show our Princess Medallion to get back on board. 

Aloha -- Cathi

Panama Canal Full Transit

Aloha Everyone,

Aloha -- Cathi