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LittleMissMagic's 17-Day ~Pacific Princess~ Panama Canal **PHOTO REVIEW**

LittleMissMagic

By LittleMissMagic,
in Princess Cruises

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LittleMissMagic "Live from...." Rare

LittleMissMagic

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For an appetizer, Chicken Broth -

 

 

Pasta dish, Crespelle alla Valdostana -

 

 

I'll show you a photo of the main courses to prove that they did have more Christmas-y options, like the Hickory-Smoked Ham.

 

28751732900_ed2d05640d_b.jpg

Menu by Victoria Shingleton, on Flickr

 

But you should know me by now....

 

The Medallions of Beef Tenderloin -

 

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LittleMissMagic "Live from...." Rare

LittleMissMagic

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And for dessert, lots of festive options -

 

 

But I couldn't resist the Gingerbread Souffle.

 

 

And we got Christmas cookies!

 

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ProfMHC

ProfMHC

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Loving the "end" of your review. Know exactly what you mean about people not fully reading about the physical demands of some excursions before signing up. Or simply being ignorant or uncaring and signing up anyhow. Just finished a great cruise but encountered the same issue which frustrated both guides and able-bodied participants alike. We did several clearly marked "S" in the guidelines by Princess and some people actually showed up with canes and one was in a post-surgical boot!!!

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Torence

Torence

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I have thoroughly enjoyed your cruise review and photos; this is a bucket list cruise my wife and I have been hoping to do for some time.

 

I share your concern about people knowingly signing up for "S" marked tours and then complaining its too hard. While my wife and I have no problem signing up for "E" or "M" tours, we very carefully review the tour details before singing up for a strenuous tour. It seems like on some of these "S" tours there are always a few people who did not think it through. You are then faced with the prospect of either bineg constantly behind schedule and short-changed at some of the tour stops; or listening to constant complaints of passengers who have a hard time keeping up.

 

On side note, it was really nice to see you and Rachel have a good time with your parents. Our daughter is at the age (21) that it isn't cool to hang out with Mom and Dad. Where there some folks close to your age on this cruise? Is the Panama Canal crusie something we could take our daughter with or maybe its better for just my wife and I? Any feedback would be appreciated. Thanks!

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fabnfortysomething Great Review Rare

fabnfortysomething

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I had to smile at your description of people with canes signing up for strenuous tours

 

my husband has walking difficulties with 2 metal hips and we always book private tours to go at our own pace

We sometimes advertise on our roll call for others to join us but are at pains to point out will be an easy walking tour

 

we remember the one ships tour we did when we were back to the ship early and were waiting 15 mins for able bodied people who just couldn't be bothered to be back on time

 

Victoria I discovered your reviews a few years ago and do a search on your screen name occasionally to find your latest review and have the email notification to see when you post

 

We have a son 26 who refused to holiday with us since he turned 18 and a 24 year old daughter who will still travel with us if we are paying!

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ar1950

ar1950

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Thanks for the great pictures and commentary about the tours. We had started reading your review a month or two before our Panama cruise going he other direction on the Coral. Actually glad to be reading the rest now after out cruise. Its good to hear about some of the excursions that we considered, but, didn't do and what we missed (or didn't miss). We are quite happy with what we did and are satisfied to read about your experiences and see you excellent pictures.

 

BTW, congratulations on your progress through grad school so far.

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LittleMissMagic "Live from...." Rare

LittleMissMagic

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On side note, it was really nice to see you and Rachel have a good time with your parents. Our daughter is at the age (21) that it isn't cool to hang out with Mom and Dad. Where there some folks close to your age on this cruise? Is the Panama Canal crusie something we could take our daughter with or maybe its better for just my wife and I? Any feedback would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

There were two other sets of brothers onboard who were around our age (20-24), and we made another friend who was 27. And that was about all of us - 8 young adults on the ship! Actually, there were a few more in the under-30 crowd - two young couples and one guy who claimed he was traveling alone but was actually traveling with one of the young couples. And then some of the wives of the crew members who were onboard for the holidays looked pretty young.

 

So, no, there were not many young adults onboard, and most of us were only on that sailing because of the holidays. I think the long itinerary and small ship aren't a huge draw for the college-age crowd.

 

But, I LOVE the Panama Canal cruise, and would highly recommend it. When we did the partial transit on Island Princess, there were many more young adults because of the holiday, it's a slightly bigger ship, and a roundtrip sailing, so that itinerary might be more appealing to your daughter. If you sail during a school break, there's a much better chance of having college-age passengers onboard.

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LittleMissMagic "Live from...." Rare

LittleMissMagic

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Victoria I discovered your reviews a few years ago and do a search on your screen name occasionally to find your latest review and have the email notification to see when you post

 

We have a son 26 who refused to holiday with us since he turned 18 and a 24 year old daughter who will still travel with us if we are paying!

 

Thank you!! Glad to have you following along, despite my slow rate of production!

 

I will actually travel with anyone who's paying, so if you need a fill-in for your son, feel free to invite me along! :D:D

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LittleMissMagic "Live from...." Rare

LittleMissMagic

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I'm sorry you haven't enjoyed Costa Rica by cruise ship yet. We've been twice, and although we didn't do anything the second time except walk around in the park outside the pier in Limon, we enjoyed our train and riverboat excursion in Puntarenas.

-Cathy

 

I wouldn't say that I haven't enjoyed Costa Rica - I've made some great memories, for sure. I just feel like there is so much more to explore that I haven't been able to via cruise ship.

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LittleMissMagic "Live from...." Rare

LittleMissMagic

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Thanks for the great pictures and commentary about the tours. We had started reading your review a month or two before our Panama cruise going he other direction on the Coral. Actually glad to be reading the rest now after out cruise. Its good to hear about some of the excursions that we considered, but, didn't do and what we missed (or didn't miss). We are quite happy with what we did and are satisfied to read about your experiences and see you excellent pictures.

 

BTW, congratulations on your progress through grad school so far.

 

Thank you! I have one more year left of grad school, and then it's time to enter the real world. Can you believe I've been in school for almost 20 years straight?!

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ar1950

ar1950

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Thank you! I have one more year left of grad school, and then it's time to enter the real world. Can you believe I've been in school for almost 20 years straight?!

 

Don't be concerned. 20 years from now it will seem like nothing more than a distant memory. :D

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kitkat343

kitkat343

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I wouldn't say that I haven't enjoyed Costa Rica - I've made some great memories, for sure. I just feel like there is so much more to explore that I haven't been able to via cruise ship.

 

I would absolutely agree with this. We traveled to Costa Rica by land and had an amazing time. We stopped there again on the RT Panama Canal on the Coral, and felt Veruga was very nice, but couldn't hold a candle to Monteverde. By the way, that family you were paired with at Veruga truly must have been the slowest people in the world, since my two year old son managed to walk the entire trail during the time we were allotted.

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LittleMissMagic "Live from...." Rare

LittleMissMagic

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On Christmas Night, the Pacific Princess singers and dancers, as well as guest entertainers, put on the "It only happens once a year" Holiday Show.

 

This is not a production choreographed by Princess, but put together by the singers and dancers themselves. It was very enjoyable because it showcased the individual talents of the dancers, including pointe solo by Katie and tap solo by Dylan.

 

 

Also, cruise director Sammi read a hilarious rendition of A Night Before Christmas, cruise-ship style.

 

 

I really appreciated this performance. It was really nice because we had gotten to know the dancers from their activities jobs around the ship, so it was special to be able to see their creativity and individual skills. Definitely the most Christmas-spirited show I've seen (of all seven of my Christmas cruises!).

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LittleMissMagic "Live from...." Rare

LittleMissMagic

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[Day 10] At Sea

 

Today is not a very photo-interesting day. By now, Rachel and I had pretty much established a sea day routine - sleep in as late as we want, go eat breakfast, and lay out in the sun on our very private deck 11, forward. We spent the afternoon hanging out with our new friends, brothers who go to UCLA, and I treaded water for hours while attempting to play water volleyball.

 

What was really enjoyable about such a lengthy cruise is that we never felt rushed to pack in as much fun as possible. And since Pacific Princess didn't have any novelties like rock walls, water slides, or ropes courses, we just enjoyed the company of one another and our fellow passengers.

 

Despite not having a bunch of activities or attractions, we were never really bored. It was just very slow-paced and relaxing.

 

On to the food photos from dinner -

 

Deep-Fried sushi... I have to admit that I find the presentation a bit bland and lacking. Sushi, in my opinion, is a dish which relied very much on delicate presentation. But maybe that's too much to ask for when it's being rolled for the masses.

 

 

Garden Mixed Greens. If you've picked up on my habits, I'd almost always order a salad, and if there wasn't a salad offered on the menu, I would order an always-there Caesar salad.

 

 

Mom ordered the Turkey Pot Pie... which I think is very much like a chicken pot pie, but with turkey.

 

 

And I went for an always-available salmon entree. Not bad.

 

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LittleMissMagic "Live from...." Rare

LittleMissMagic

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[Day 11] Panama Canal

 

And now... the moment we've all been waiting for... THE PANAMA CANAL PASSAGE!!!!

 

Seriously, the Panama Canal is awesome. If you haven't been, add it to your "bucket list" itinerary. After doing the partial transit on the east side in 2012, we were really excited for the complete transit.

 

It was really important to me to document our Panama Canal crossing. My main camera is a Nikon D7100, and I typically use my Tamron 17-50mm lens, switching to my Tamron 11-16mm for wide-angle shots. I don't have a greater focal length for my D7100. So prior to the cruise, I researched lenses and was looking into purchasing a 70mm lens... but I couldn't commit, and I waited too long, and I realized that maybe it wasn't ideal to be switching back and forth between two lenses. So instead of adding another lens, I brought along my Nikon 1 J1 and 30-110mm lens. I switched between the two cameras, and also between the 17-50mm and 11-16 mm. It was actually a pretty nice setup.

 

If you're interested in photography and would like to know more about the gear I use, take a look into my camera bag.

 

And, if you're wondering why it took me so long to write this review, part of it is because I had 1119 photos taken between two cameras during our Panama Canal crossing that I had to sort through and edit!

 

Now enough with the techy stuff, and on with the canal!

 

This was one "sea day" that we refused to sleep in on. We set our alarms early so that we wouldn't miss entering the canals.

 

Rise and shine!

 

 

We watched the sun rise as we slowly approached Balboa, the Pacific entrance to the Panama Canal.

 

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LittleMissMagic "Live from...." Rare

LittleMissMagic

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That very colorful building is Biomuseo Panama by Frank Gehry which opened in October 2014 -

 

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LittleMissMagic "Live from...." Rare

LittleMissMagic

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We had a really amazing view at the bow of the ship. You might remember that Rachel and I were in 7001, while our parents were directly beneath us in 6001. Well, they realized that we had a better, less obstructed view in our stateroom, so they invited themselves up to our balcony.

 

I was not too thrilled because it was really awesome with just Rachel and me - pretty private and comfortable - and I had all of this photography gear. Four people was going to be too crowded! Tough luck, suckers!!!

 

But, they did, like, pay for my vacation, so of course I had to welcome them onto my balcony.... :D

 

 

Our view was pretty stellar, but this guy had the best seat in the house...

 

Edited by LittleMissMagic
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