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Wonderful review and photos. Thanks for sharing!

Great review and photos! Thanks for doing it.

We were on January 3, 2018 cruise. No BOGO anywhere.

A word of caution on the small boat whale watching excursions. A couple of years ago we has a 3-generation family cruise to Alaska (16 of us). I booked a private tour on a small boat with a local provider. It was to be the highlight of the cruise.

On the morning we arrived in Juneau, I got a call on my cell phone telling me they had to cancel the tour due to bad weather on Auke Bay. ALL of the other tours were fully booked and ALL of them went anyway because they were on bigger boats that could handle the waves. I got a full refund and I don't blame Harv&Marv but it's just something to be aware of.

This happened to us, too. We were also booked with Harv and Marv. I was so disappointed.

Thank you for the wonderful review and photos.

I just reread my post above and realized why I missed your excellent Alaska review. We went in June 2016, not 2017, and weren't home yet from our trip when your review was posted. We were in Skagway one week later than you on June 14. We also had a whale watching tour booked with Harv and Marv, but our tour was cancelled due to high winds on Auke Bay. I was so disappointed.

We rented a car before the cruise and went to Denali NP. Hope you can do this when (not if) you return to Alaska, because we throughly enjoyed Denali.

We just did a partial transit Panama Canal cruise on Caribbean Princess and enjoyed it, too. Add it to your bucket list!

Nice review. Thank you! We got off the ship the day you got on and I agree with what you said about DuVaul. He is so charming, enthusiastic, and funny.

We were on the Caribbean Princess for the January 3, 2018 10-day Panama Canal cruise. They did not offer the BOGO happy hour special.

We were just on the CB and were in a balcony stateroom A222 on Aloha Deck 12, two decks above Caribe Deck 10. Part of your balcony will be covered (the part nearest the balcony door) and the rest will be uncovered and can be looked down on from upper decks.

Thank you for the wonderful review and photos. I also read your Alaska review just now; somehow I missed it when I was preparing for our June 2017 Princess Alaska cruise. We also used Frontier tours in Skagway and had a great day with them.

I will look forward to reading about your future cruise adventures.

Great review and photos. Thanks for doing it.

World Fresh Marketplace, AKA buffet

We sailed with friends (three other couples) on the January 3, 2018 Caribbean Princess Panama Canal cruise. This was a 10-day itinerary with scheduled stops at Princess Cays, Cartagena, Panama Canal, Costa Rica (Limon), and Grand Cayman. The weather was apparently unsuitable for stopping at Princess Cays, so Ocho Rios was substituted. This was my 14th cruise, second cruise on Princess. I am 59, my husband is 63. One of the couples with us had never cruised before. They LOVED it.

We flew down to Ft. Lauderdale the day before the cruise from frozen Iowa (-14 degrees F the morning we left) and stayed at the Holiday Inn Express and Suites on State Road 84 the night before the cruise. We enjoyed a meal at the Old Heidelberg German Restaurant and Pub that evening, then went across the street to Winn Dixie to buy some wine to take on board.

We paid for a shuttle bus transfer to the ship at the Holiday Inn. The shuttle left the hotel shortly after 11:00 and we were onboard by noon! Our room was a standard balcony cabin on Aloha Deck. Our steward did a wonderful job for us.

I thought the food was good, if not excellent. I am not a foodie, so YMMV. We did not eat in the specialty restaurants. There has been a lot of debate about the pizza lately; It was only okay In my opinion, but there were certainly enough other tasty things to eat. My husband and I thought the burgers were good. I preferred eating in the dining room because the World Fresh Marketplace was packed most of the time and it was often hard to find a table. We had some really good sandwiches in the WFM though. I went to afternoon tea once and it was nice. I loved the creme brûlée on the always available menu in the dining room. We had anytime dining and only had to wait for a table once for more than a few minutes, and only then because we went early at 6 p.m. The dining room service was good, though a little slow some evenings. We did not utilize the International Cafe much, though one of the couples with us had a room on Plaza deck just steps from the IC. They got food there every night before bedtime and really liked it.

I enjoyed most of the entertainment. The production show Bravo was particularly good. Cruise Director was Michael (AKA Micca) Reitano; I didn't see much of him. Our group of eight managed to get a turn in the “Escape Room.” We had never done this before and it was fun. We escaped with only seconds to spare.

I was a little disappointed to find that to get a seat in the Princess Lounge you had to show up very early; many shows were SRO. We enjoyed a cooking presentation by the head Maitre d’Hotel and tour of the galley. I also really enjoyed musician Oli Nez, the Princess Orchestra, and the Estrella String Trio.

We didn't use the spa, Sanctuary, internet, or casino, and didn't buy any photographs.

Ports: We had been to Ocho Rios and Grand Cayman multiple times before. We didn't get off the ship in Ocho Rios (weather was rainy and foggy all day), and in Grand Cayman we just got off long enough to check email and walk around town a bit.

Cartagena: We arranged a 2-hour tour for the eight of us on the pier. We liked our guides (a married couple) and enjoyed our visit. Our time in port was shortened due to the CB's propulsion problem.

Panama Canal: Everyone in our group but me took the full day Princess tour of the old locks. I was not feeling well that day and just did not feel up to it. I enjoyed seeing the ship go through the new locks.

Costa Rica: We didn't do a tour here, either. We waited too long to make a decision as to what to do and ultimately didn't do anything. I really regret that now, but perhaps someday we can return.

Overall, it was a relaxing trip and we had a good time with our friends. If anyone has specific questions I will try to answer them. Oh, and one other thing I have seen asked here recently: the CB never had the buy one, get one for $1 bar special. Or if they did, it wasn't advertised in the Patter.

It's still cold in Iowa (1 degree F as I write this).

Thanks for doing this! We will be on the Jan. 3 cruise.

This is such a good review. It has brought back happy memories of our Alaska trip last year on the Star Princess. We also drove to Denali (precruise) and stayed at the Denali Lakeview Inn. We really enjoyed our stay there. I look forward to hearing about your shuttle ride into the park.

Enjoying your review! Thanks for doing it.

We are booked on the CB Jan 3, 2018 Panama Canal cruise. I have not received an email from my TA but when I went to the Princess website a few minutes ago, it shows that Grand Cayman has been substituted for Falmouth, Jamaica. I am fine with this because I would rather go to Grand Cayman, anyway.

We are booked on the Jan. 3 Panama Canal cruise as well. I would be happy if they changed the itinerary to include Grand Cayman instead of Ocho Rios.

Lovely review and photos. Thank you!

Great review! Thanks for doing it. I agree with virtually all of your comparisons between the two lines. I would cruise either line again because IMHO there just aren't that many differences. They each have strengths and weaknesses.

Excellent review and photos. Thank you!

Great review and photos! Thank you for doing it.

Nice review! Thanks for doing it.

Beautiful video! My only disappointment during our 14 days in Alaska was that our whale watching tour in Juneau through was cancelled due to windy conditions. However, we got to see Hubbard Glacier on a beautiful, sunny day.

Your bear photos are outstanding!

Wonderful review and photos! I remember reading your Coral Princess review several times when we were preparing for our June 2016 Star Princess cruise. Thanks for taking the time to do them.