travelin.sisters

have a wonderful time...don't worry about doing everything, just enjoy what you & he are up to each day & the time together...

Thanks, everyone! I went with the princess itinerary! I honestly don't have much time to plan (almost 30 days until the trip!) and have 3 babies at home, so I just decided to do the land/cruise as planned. If I had more time, I would definitely research planning my own land portion (in fact, I bought fodors guide to do this!) Thanks for all your help. I am SO excited!

there is an open area on deck 8 aft that wasn't very crowded & you can see the working of the locks pretty closely as you pass through--it is a great place to spend a bit of the day, you will want to move around to various spots on board some even if you have a balcony which is a more relaxing place to watch the canal for the bulk of the day if it fits in your budget

 

Travelin.Sisters: MIL keeps telling us that she can handle it all and that we should go enjoy ourselves, so it'll be interesting how this will play out.

 

:)

Maybe someone can plan something to do with just her? There are various groups throughout the day or afternoon tea or the spa? So she could have a treat for her self with one or a few of you? They may also need more "down time" or even an afternoon nap than younger folks...hope it is wonderful for everyone.

My 2 cents for what its worth.

Last year on the Island Princess we had a hard time getting down the hallways with a walker because the cleaning carts didn't leave enough room for a walker (or wheelchair) so I had to move a number of them each trip to get from the room to the elevator, also sometimes people were really rude pushing in front of my sister as she tried to get into the elevator with her walker (although there were also people who were very helpful) so allow extra time to get anywhere.

It sounds like you have created a good plan but remind everyone that plans will have to be flexible as you see what works & what doesn't. Maybe plan a "debrief" after the first day & a few more times during the trip to see what is working & be sure it is not too much for anyone.

It looks to me like the factor deciding of if it will work or not is your MIL accepting the help?

You also might consider a walker with a seat for your MIL...that is what we had for my sis although she could walk without it, the support helped her & it gave her someplace to sit when we had to wait in line for the dining room or other places.

Nothing ever works perfectly so keep a sense of humor & enjoy the trip & time with them & one another.

you've already gotten lots of great info...will try not to repeat what other's have said but if I do please forgive me...well I will repeat one thing, relax & enjoy the trip!

First-time cruisers who know nothing but are learning. VERY grateful for this site and all of you! :D

Princess Star to Alaska on August 4 -- Vancouver to Anchorage (Whittier).

 

Can you help with these questions? What's your preference for:

• Post-embarkation: What do you do your first hours/day on the ship? Any tips? If you travel with anyone with difficulty with stairs, go to your muster station (it will be in a designated bar or lounge...info on your cruise card AKA ID/room key) early while the elevators are still running & find a nice seat...your Princess Patter (the daily schedule will tell you the time)...I travel with seniors & getting to the drill by stairs is very hard for them) by the way the Patter is your best friend...I check it as soon as I get on & every night before I go to bed & highlight what I might like to do...don't always do everything but that way I don't realize after that I really wanted to do something & missed it (you can also use the Princess@sea web tool on your phone to keep track of activities...it's free)
  
• Welcome Party: What and when is this? Yay or nay? I don't but that's just personal preference
  
• Formal nights: Yay or nay? Any tips? When are they typically held? Yay & don't stress too much about how you are dressed...it's often the night they serve special entrees like lobster
  
• Final debarkation: Any tips? Realize that the "best laid plans" often get messed up & don't get so stressed that it leaves a bad last cruise memory
  

Then a few likely silly questions: there are no silly questions

• Anytime dining: Where can we learn more about this? We are scheduled but are a bit confused. Are we always seated with other diners or will we ever be seated alone? We know there are buffets and menu-based dining rooms included... do we need to make daily reservations for both? Is "anytime" really anytime? If you are scheduled I would stay scheduled...I much prefer it, your waiters will remember your preferences & take such good care of you. You can request a table size in the cruise personalizer & they will try to give it to you (or as someone said talk to the maître d' when you first board)...also you didn't ask, but if you have any food allergies, list these ahead of time in the personalizer & they will really lean over backward to work with your requirements
  
• Shows/entertainment: We are super interested. How do we see shows but still have dinner?
  
• Timing in ports: When the itinerary time says that we're in port from 6:30am - 2:30pm, does this mean we actually need to be back on ship earlier? How much earlier?
  
• Tipping: We believe in tipping. We know that the gratuity is built in, though. Thoughts on additional tipping for our steward, bartenders, servers, etc.? Do what you feel is best, but realize that the $15 or so/day is spread among a lot of people...if someone has been exceptionally helpful you can always give them something extra...also make sure that share with management if someone has made a difference in your experience, last cruise our waiters said that it was especially important to mention them in the survey that was sent after our return
  

THANK YOU for your advice... here's to a wonderful experience! (y)

I have read many reviews of The Island. I have noted that there is a huge difference in the reviews of those that are new to the ship and those that sailed on her before the renovations were done. Most reviews are positive from the 1st time cruisers and negative from the repeat cruisers. I will be on a Panama Canal cruise on her in March and I am confident that I will enjoy the cruise and not notice the extra 200 passengers. You can always find less crowded spots on a ship.

We did the Island partial transit of the Panama canal last year (19 days) & I loved her, my sister & I think she is our favorite Princess ship we've been on & only felt crowded one day (when they had to cancel all shore excursions at the last minute & everyone was hanging out wondering what to do).

yes...we slept with our balcony doors open some nights on the Island (which I believe is the same design) on our Panama canal cruise last year...it was wonderful to listen to the waves & the first couple of nights out of LA it was the only way to be cool enough to sleep (we were the first cruise going south after the Alaska season & it took them a few days to get the AC calibrated) ...always closed them when we left the cabin

I always do something for our doors, I find it fun & they make ME (& my family) happy. For our last big family Christmas cruise I did childhood pictures of everyone for their doors & a note pad & pencil to leave messages for the group. Other cruises I have done signs...or last cruise was Panama Canal & I did a map with different smaller magnets to add for each port as we reached them. Usually I do photos I print at home & sticky back magnet sheets but for the Christmas cruise I ordered car magnets from Vista Prints (noted by an earlier poster as momentos of the trip for each family group).

If you enjoy doing it & your group & the kids will appreciate it...decorate away!

Thank you for mentioning that- I just went and checked the Cruise Personalizer and found the "food allergy" box. Checked it and wrote shellfish. I will also make sure to talk to the Crown Grill prior to dining there.

thanks!

-Jerie

I also have a shellfish allergy & had never noted it in cruise personalizer because I felt I could just pick & choose what was safe to eat, but on the last cruise when asking about ingredients in a dish the waiter had the headwaiter come over & talk to us (my sister also has allergies) & every night after that he would bring the menu for the next night & help us to pick out our meals (he was even able to get her some dishes she wouldn't have been able to order because the sides had her allergens but he had them make them with out those) it gave us more options (& we got to see the menu earlier) & I will always fill out the allergy section from now on.:D

thank you

My first CC board post. I want to first of all say thank you for the informative review & gorgeous photos. I feel much more prepared & excited for our upcoming cruise. We are doing a Princess round trip Panama Canal from Los Angeles in Sept & I am starting to plan.

I am wondering if you can tell me which section you visited at the Izapa Ruins? Our cruise has tours that either go to section A or section F & I am having trouble figuring out which is the better choice.

Again thank you so much for sharing your experiences & photos. Kathy

The fourth port in our five ports in a row marathon was Puerto Chiapas, Mexico. During our pre-cruise research, we could not find much to do here, and, having now visited this port, we would both say that a sea day would have been far preferable, especially given how many ports we had on this cruise. (Plus we love sea days.)

 

I'm not a big fan of staying on board a ship in a port I've never been to, so before the cruise we kept reading the descriptions of the various NCL shore excursions, and finally booked "Chiapas Through the Ages," primarily because it would take us to the Mayan ruins at Izapa, about a half hour or so drive from the ship. At least we'd see Mayan ruins.

 

We sailed into Puerto Chiapas at dawn.

 

 

The dock area has a couple of pavilions with vendors, etc. (And containers of Chiquita bananas!)

 

 

The ruins at Izapa include plazas, temples, ballcourts, and stelae. We spent perhaps an hour there, the highpoint of our day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

(photos by turtles06)