Review of 15 Day Island Princess Panama Canal

[jfv379]

Review of Island Princess 15 Day Panama Canal (FLL to LA)

 

Embarkation – This was a speedy process and absolutely painless. We took a shuttle from the Embassy Suites to the terminal at a cost of $15.00 with a stop at Total Wines to pick up a case of our favorite wine that we had purchased the night before. Arrived at the terminal at 11:30 AM and we were in our cabin, mini suite D712 at 12:15 PM. Dropped the case of wine with our luggage and the wine was delivered to the cabin without incident.

 

We met our room steward, Enrique, who at first seemed a little unsure of himself but he soon got into the groove. We had to ask for extra hangers and they were delivered later in the evening. My wife panicked somewhat as all of the bags and the wine was delivered within an hour except for the suitcase with all her clothes. It was delivered two hours later. Off to scout out the ship.

 

While touring the ship we stopped and made reservations for Sabatini’s on our first sea day. We had decided not to do the Chef’s Table as we had participated in that on our last cruise on the Crown Princess and we thought that after that experience we would be comparing the two.

 

Deck 15 for sail away. Our first sail away from Ft. Lauderdale. Very interesting with the blowing of the ship’s horn. Not many people out on the balconies of the high-rises, which we figured was because it was a Thursday.

 

Cruise Critic Meet & Greet – This was our first time joining a Roll Call for a cruise. Personally I had a lot of fun during the roll call and subsequently met a lot of nice people.

We had 83 people on our roll call. We were evenly split between Canadians and Americans with a couple of Brits and Aussies joining along. We decided to have a simple first Meet & Greet on our first sea day and depending on the turn out, we would decide whether or not to have a second M & G and contact Princess for a location and invitation of officers. We had all but 21 people attend our M & G. Before we could organize our second M & G there was an announcement in the Princess Patters for a Cruise Critic Meet & Greet in the Wheelhouse Bar at 3:15 PM. The ships staff had set up the Meet & Greet knowing that there was a Roll Call for the cruise. The staff decided that due to scheduling constrictions with senior staff that they would set the M & G to their convenience. In attendance were the Captain, Hotel General Manger, Food and Beverage Manager and the Cruise Director. Unfortunately, the turn out wasn’t great, as people had scheduled other activities during the time frame chosen by the ship’s staff. It was an extremely nice gesture by Princess but we all thought it needed a little more communication between the Roll Call and the ship’s staff.

 

Main Dining Room – We started off with anytime dining in the Bordeaux dining room. We met with several of our CC friends and had diner with them at a table for eight. We were seated right away. The third night there would have been a wait so the staff brought us up to the Provence traditional dining room. The head waiter ask if we would like this table every night at the same time so we switched dining rooms. Staff and service were excellent. Headwaiter was Duru, waiter was Andrel, asst. waiter Andre.

 

Cuisine – I’m not going to write much about the food because any opinions would be subjective. Suffice to say that we did not have a bad meal anywhere.

 

Sabatini’s - Sabatini’s was excellent as usual and is a really nice venue. Food and service was great. The entertainment factor was exceptional. A senior female passenger was dinning alone and the wait staff hovered over her to make sure everything was perfect. One waiter, Sebastian, played the roll of gigolo and sat at the table with her, taking her hands and kissing them. It was all in good fun and she played right along with Sebastian. Everyone around her table stopped eating to enjoy the show. We didn’t do the Bayou Café.

 

Cocktails and Platinum, Suite and Elite Lounge – Happy Hour or Power Hour $2.99 drinks are available on the Island Princess in all bars from 8 PM until closing. This has definitely cut the size of my bar bill. The PSE Lounge from 5 PM to 7PM is a nice perk with the Drink of the Day and appetizers. Drinks in this venue have been lowered from $5.00 to $2.99 each. I now have a new favorite cheese. Stilton cheese is fantastic. The Steak Tartar was excellent as was the 20-year-old Sandeman’s Port. See the menus at the end of the review.

 

Entertainment – We normally don’t attend a lot of the shows on cruises. We saw Adrian Zmed and he is a show stopper. All new show in the Universe Lounge with stages that rose, lowered and rotated. The Princess singers and dancers were great and put on fantastic shows. One comedian, Scott Wyler, was fantastic. We laughed until our sides hurt. The International Crew Show was hilarious with some quality entertainment. The Champagne Waterfall is now at 7 PM on the first sea day and was held on the 1st of 3 formal nights. The Captains Circle Party was the 2nd formal night and held in the Universe Lounge. There was dancing to music provided by the Princess Orchestra, presentation of the Senior Staff, and of course drinks. The evening of the 3rd formal night was the Captains Gala Farewell Cocktail Party.

 

Internet – I was on the ship for 10 days before I realized that a Platinum member could get 500 minutes free. Each member can sign up for a 250-minute package for $100.00. The $100.00 is then credited back to your account. I had read a lot on the boards about Internet packages and I guess I got so confused I had decided that I could do without the Internet. After it was explained to me, on the ship in plain “English”, I signed up.

 

Staff & Crew – The entire staff and crew were the friendliest we have ever had on a cruise. They seemed to be extremely happy and you were always greeted with a hello or have a nice day by everyone. Never had we been personally address by name by so many of the staff. Happy and smiling faces were everywhere from the staff and crew.

 

Ports of Call – Aruba, Cartagena, Puerto Amador, Punteranas, Huatulco, Acapulco, Cabo San Lucas.

 

Aruba – We had just planned to walk around and do some shopping; however, this day being a Sunday had many stores closed. Also the previous Friday was the celebration of the Queen’s birthday so it was a long weekend for the people of the island. I suppose we should have known that the stores would be closed on a Sunday but we felt that Princess could have put that information in the Patters. Had we known this we would have booked a tour.

 

Cartagena – A surprise for us. This is a beautiful city, especially the colonial section of town. We had a tour with Mr. Emerald, Lee Miles, and I would recommend his tours without reservation. We also learned that because Princess tours use large buses they do not go up to the La Poppa Monastery, as the large buses cannot maneuver the roads. The views over looking the city from the monestary are not to be missed.

 

 

Panama Canal – What can I say? The canal is fantastic. The secret doors on Deck 10 & 11 forward are apparently still a secret. Although many people are aware of these viewing spots, they are much less crowded than the upper decks.

 

Puerto Amador – The building of high-rise office building’s and condo’s are amazing. We booked a tour with My Friend Mario and I would not recommend this company. Although the tour was okay, the guide seemed as if he just wanted to finish the tour. Although we didn’t see everything as promised, the tour was an hour short. Our guide was the claimed to be the original “Mario” who was retired but was call in to replace our guide who didn’t show up for work.

 

Puntarenas – Costa Rica is a lush green beautiful country with many volcanoes. We did a Princess tour to a coffee plantation at an elevation of 4500 feet that included lunch. A very nice tour.

 

Huatulco – Nice quaint little town, but it won’t last. Plans for major construction are in the works to bring this town up to the caliber of Cancun and Cabo San Lucas. It will be a shame to see it in ten years.

 

Acapulco – Here is my best recommendation for a tour in Acapulco. It had been 20 years since we have been in Acapulco so we decided to take a private tour. We joined a group of our new CC friends on Rosie’s tour, www.acapulcorosiestours.com. Rosie Diaz is an excellent guide and provides for your every need. We were a group of ten people and Rosie provided decorative fans for the ladies, scented cold towels when it reached the heat of the day and drinks (water, soda and beer). When we ran out of beer, she stopped and bought more. Rosie is the most pleasant person her knowledge of Acapulco is amazing. She is accommodating in every way as far as flexibility in designing your personal tour of Acapulco. Rosie even provided time for an unscheduled lunch at one of our stops, the Los Flamingo Hotel. We thought that this was the best tour of our cruise. We cannot say enough kind things about Rosie.

 

Cabo San Lucas – We have been to this port a couple of times, once on a cruise (1990 on the old Island Princess, the original “Love Boat”) and once on a land vacation (1994). Because of the short time in port we decided not to do an organized tour. Cabo San Lucas is almost overwhelming from 20 years ago. The Marina area is built to overflowing and the construction around the marina seems to go on forever. We walked the whole marina area and by the time we were done we were too exhausted to try and make it the hotel zone. A leisurely pace back to the ship, with a stop for breakfast, was the end of our time in Cabo San Lucas.

 

Disembarkation – I won’t dwell on the negative. Princess started off right on time with this process but was soon over an hour behind the schedule. The reason given was a problem with CBP. I thought those folks who cleared the passengers were from Immigration and Naturalization. At any rate, we were supposed to be off the ship at 9:15 and didn’t get through the process until 10:45. I’m glad we didn’t have to catch a plane.

 

In summary this was one of the best cruises we have been on. Of course any day on a cruise is better than a day in the office. Our thanks to all our new CC friends who also contributed to making this cruise an exceptional experience. It was quite nice to board the ship already knowing 83 new friends. It seems that the more we cruise, the better the experience.

[Woobstr112G]

Thanks for taking the time to post your review. Sunds like you had a great cruise.

 

Bob

[MrsJJ]

Wonderful review - I'm printing it out as we hope to do this cruise in the future. Great tips - especially the Rosie tour.

Thanks

[tmitchell82]

Thanks for the review. We were on the Island Princess the cruise before yours. I definitely agree with your opinion of Cartagena. We toured with Lee Miles as well and had a great time. The city really surprised me with how modern it was.

[Druke I]

Good review. Thanks.

 

The Canal is a great trip.

 

I still think Jimmy Carter was wrong to give it back - after all, we stole it fair and square!

[jfv379]

For the My Friend Mario tour, it should have read, "we did see everything as promised", instead of "Although we didn’t see everything as promised".

[sunsetbeachgal]

Thanks...we were on the Island in Nov and loved her...my only regret is not doing the full transit of the canal (we did the partial).

[jfv379]

Good review. Thanks.

 

The Canal is a great trip.

 

I still think Jimmy Carter was wrong to give it back - after all, we stole it fair and square!

 

I was surprised to find out that the contract, which Carter gave away, didn't actually expire until 2014. Someone on the ship related that the ship's lecturer on the Canal stated that Eisenhower was the first to suggest giving the Canal back to Panama.

[Eager2Travel]

Great review, John. I need to second everything you said. The Island Princess crew was wonderful and did appear to be a content lot.

Ann

[venusbello1]

It was excellent and makes me very excited for our cruise in November!

 

The note on Rosie's tour in Acapulco was great news... can you share more about the tour? Did you take a standard tour or specify what you wanted to do, if so, what were your specifics?

 

Again thank you for your review... three partial transits, but this my first full transit, looking forward to it! :)

 

VB1

[jfv379]

It was excellent and makes me very excited for our cruise in November!

 

The note on Rosie's tour in Acapulco was great news... can you share more about the tour? Did you take a standard tour or specify what you wanted to do, if so, what were your specifics?

 

Again thank you for your review... three partial transits, but this my first full transit, looking forward to it! :)

 

VB1

 

We basically did the standard driving tour of Acapulco. Stop at Acapulco Princess, Chapel of Peace, White House Hotel, Los Flamingos Hotel and of course the Cliff Divers at the Mirador Hotel. We had lunch at Los Flamingos which was not included. I know it doesn't sound like much but with Rosie and the people in our group it was great fun. Tour was from 9 AM to 4:30 PM or so by the time we got back.

 

If you have been to Acapulco before and want to customize your trip Rosie is very accommodating.

 

I know that you will enjoy your first full transit of the canal.

[Occy]

Well reviewed jfv and your observations fit in with ours. It was a GREAT cruise and so nice to meet so many of our CC friends. I was just sorry that we missed the second M&G. Sld have read the Patter that morning !!!!

 

Hope to see you all again soon. Pearl & Alan

[kath00]

Was it burning hot around the region of the locks (I heard 100 degrees and 100% humidity)? Or was it more bearable. It's the only thing that keeps me from wanting to sail that cruise itiniary...

[jfv379]

Was it burning hot around the region of the locks (I heard 100 degrees and 100% humidity)? Or was it more bearable. It's the only thing that keeps me from wanting to sail that cruise itiniary...

 

Is it hot? Yes, but it is relative. Being originally from Chicago, and being used to heat and humidity, I didn't think it was bad at all. Hat and sun screen are a must. DW was worried about the heat and humidity but she was everywhere I was and we were all over the ship. There are always places to get out of the sun for a break. I don't think it was ever 100 degrees with 100% humidity.

 

We didn't think it was a problem at all. Remember to keep hydrated and drink plenty of water.:D

[Former Goalie]

What and where is the Platinum, Suite, and Elite Lounge, and what is provided (both gratis and for a price)?

[Coolmama_1]

Great review. Thanks for sharing.

[jfv379]

What and where is the Platinum, Suite, and Elite Lounge, and what is provided (both gratis and for a price)?

 

The Lounge on the Island Princess is a cordoned off section of the Explorer Lounge. It could be different on other ships.

 

Each day is a different special drink. They have reduced the price of the drink from $5.00 to $2.99.

 

Various appetizers, cheeses, breads, fruits are provided at no charge.

 

Hopefully you can view the picture below.

 

[SeaLibrarian]

Hi John -

 

Great review -- how I wish we were all still together enjoying Happy Hour!

 

For anyone who hasn't done this cruise -- definitely do it! The Island is a wonderful ship, terrific crew, great itinerary.

[CRLess]

Embarkation – This was a speedy process and absolutely painless. We took a shuttle from the Embassy Suites to the terminal at a cost of $15.00 with a stop at Total Wines to pick up a case of our favorite wine that we had purchased the night before. Arrived at the terminal at 11:30 AM and we were in our cabin, mini suite D712 at 12:15 PM. Dropped the case of wine with our luggage and the wine was delivered to the cabin without incident.

 

 

John - great review. I was going to write one for our recent Ruby cruise but decided against it, not because it wasn't a great cruise (it was EXCELLENT), but I was still seething over an incident with my case of wine. Like you, I checked a case of wine with the longshoremen. However, I was not quite as fortunate....only 7 bottles made it to my room in tact. Someone, whether it be the longshoremen or the folks on the ship, dropped the case and smashed 5 bottles. My cabin steward and his supervisor both came to speak with me, and promised that something would be done. However, the PSD, Andreas, felt otherwise. I wasn't looking for anything special, just perhaps an OBC so I could purchase some replacements or use for corkage fees. We ran into him in Vines one night, and I was shocked at how rude he was to both my wife and I. He was almost acting childish. I have never encountered such a rude crew member and will likely write a letter to Princess. Didn't mean to hijack your thread, but just wanted to let you know that in the future I will carry my wine on personally, rather than trusting the longshoremen and Princess to deliver it to my room.

 

By the way, we did the Chef's Table again and it was great! I won't write a review on it, but it certainly rivaled my last experience on the Crown. Generoso was a wonderful host!

[jfv379]

Didn't mean to hijack your thread, but just wanted to let you know that in the future I will carry my wine on personally, rather than trusting the longshoremen and Princess to deliver it to my room.

 

By the way, we did the Chef's Table again and it was great! I won't write a review on it, but it certainly rivaled my last experience on the Crown. Generoso was a wonderful host!

 

Chris,

 

You can hijack my threads anytime. Barbara knew about your incident from your R/C. I think she was following your R/C as much as she was following ours. I would think that a letter to Princess about your incident is a must. I would have sent it already, but you are probably still trying to calm yourself before composing it.

 

Glad that you enjoyed the Chef's Table on the Ruby. We might try it again on a future cruise. They had three dinners on our cruise.

 

John

[rdsqrl]

Your review brought back fabulous memories of my Coral cruise. It is a great itinerary, isn't it? I want to do it again! Totally agree with you about the pleasant surprise that was Cartagena and, of course, the Canal's awesomeness. Thanks so much for sharing your review.

[O2B@Cagain]

Does Princess do any educational/informational lectures on the canal? Would a history buff be happy?

[Woobstr112G]

Does Princess do any educational/informational lectures on the canal? Would a history buff be happy?

 

I believe they do.....:):):)

 

Bob

[jfv379]

Does Princess do any educational/informational lectures on the canal? Would a history buff be happy?

 

Princess has a Panama Canal expert on board, I don't remember his name, who has a lecture a day or two before the Canal day. He also narrates, on the ship's PA system, the day you transit the canal. Very informative.

 

If your a real history buff, read "The Path Between the Seas" by David McCollaugh (sp). It's not a fireside book but it's very informative. Read it before you go on the cruise.

[O2B@Cagain]

Oh, yes, have read the Path Between ther Seas and will again before we go. Excellent book! I had heard that Holland America had an education program and was hoping Princess would do the same.