Island Princess Balcony Question

[southwestgal]

Hi All,

 

I'm planning a March 2008 Island Princess Panama Canal full transit cruise. We would like a mini-suite with a covered balcony. Does anyone know if these exist? I checked the Island Princess reviews and the "cabin selection" thread but couldn't find anything. I would prefer a covered or partially covered balcony to a full open balcony for this cruise since it is 15 days.

 

In checking the deck diagrams, it appears that the AC category mini-suites on Dolphin Deck cabin D705 and higher have covered balconies. Can anyone confirm that? Also, anyone have experience in these cabins? We are used to having cabins mid-ship or forward. We've read comments that the aft cabins can experience noise and vibration - something that I would like to avoid.

 

Any suggestions for good cabin selection on the Island Princess would be gratefully accepted.

 

Thanks!

[LARGIN]

Go here for all of the info you will need. Have a great cruise..

 

http://mysite.verizon.net/res76zxu/princessbalconies/index.html

[JotWorld]

http://mysite.verizon.net/res76zxu/princessbalconies/id3.html

 

It's the Best for Island/Coral Princess's.:cool:

My Best to you & your cruise.

Bill

[senior lady]

We were on the Coral ( sister ship to the Island) We were on Caribe deck 311. It was a reg balcony cabin, but the balcony was great. Very large and probably 1/4 covered. This side of the ship also got less sun. I would recomend these cabins

:D

[JotWorld]

Go here for all of the info you will need. Have a great cruise..

 

http://mysite.verizon.net/res76zxu/princessbalconies/index.html

You Beat Me to it! (Wink)

[secretcastle]

Karen,

We are going on the same trip next spring tha you did. We have a port side balcony on the Caribe deck - do you think that will be good as far as views, etc go? We are not concerned if there is more or less sun on that side, just wondering if there is any reason to try to get switched so we have better views for the Canal transit. Thank you so much,

your neighbour in Langley,:)

Julia

[senior lady]

The canal is the same on both sides. In fact our friends were in C312 and we ordered the "champagne breakfast" for the canal transit. It was sooooooo hot on their balcony that we had to eat inside. We enjoyed the cruise. The only complaint i had was that after we left Cabo it was to cool to use the balcony. In fact the day in San Fran was on 54:eek: We bought winter jackets on our tour of the city.

It was an awsome 19 days. We'll do it again in a few yrs. Some people that met on board have booked it again for next yr. We decided that Hawaii was a better idea.

 

When your going throught the canal, just go to then end of Caribe deck at the front of the ship and go through the doors marked "crew only" that is the best view. We spent the whole day up there. Take lots of water as it is very hot and humid. What a fantastic site. Don't bother to book any excursions for Panama city. Chances are that you'll get in late and it's to much of a rush. My DH took the tour of the "works of the canal" and said it wasn't worth it. I just took a tender and wandered around the shops at the dock.

If you have any questions feel free to ask me.

you can e-mail me. I have all the patters and info.

kpalmer7ca@yahoo.ca:D

[JGR01]

I am not certain on the Island . but you might look into a mini (or full) suite at the AFT of the ship.

 

the views are increbile .. granted it is where you have been vs where you are going .. but the speed is so slow thru much of the canal there is minimal wake.

[southwestgal]

Thanks to everyone who responded and for the links. I really appreciate it!

[princesshw]

:confused: You had mentioned that you went through the doors marked "Crew Only", is there a reason that you did that? I believe that Princess makes it very clear that you are not to enter these areas, even if invited by a crew member. The area that you went into is strictly for crew. There are plenty of passenger areas for you to enjoy the scenery without going into off limit areas.

[dchip]

Check out my pics of our cabin on the Coral Princess in the link below. They are in Sea Two!! I went out on the aft Dolphin deck and got great pics of the Canal. I was also in the front of the ship on the Baja Deck.You can check out those pics in the same link. It was our 2nd full transit. Different directions ;-))

 

Cheers, Denise

[senior lady]

:confused: You had mentioned that you went through the doors marked "Crew Only", is there a reason that you did that? I believe that Princess makes it very clear that you are not to enter these areas, even if invited by a crew member. The area that you went into is strictly for crew. There are plenty of passenger areas for you to enjoy the scenery without going into off limit areas.

 

For the canal viewing they allow passengers to go through the "crew only" doors at the front of Caribe and Baja deck. It's just a open area. Great for viewing the canal, as your right under the bridge and can see what's coming up next.

We probably spent most of the 8 hr transit up at the front:D

[southwestgal]

dchip:

 

I'm currently looking at the cabins in the D712 vicinity. I've never had an aft cabin. Did you experience any vibration or noise issues?

 

Thanks.

[dchip]

We did experience a little vibration, more than I have felt in other ships but I love the aft locations and the vibration is just another way of getting rocked to sleep ;-))

 

On 2 nights of the 15, I could detect a slight bass vibration from whatever lounge was under us. No big deal at all. I am tuned into the bass because my son's band practiced in our garage for 10 years!!!!!

 

The cabin location is wonderful, the aft deck for canal viewing was super.

 

Enjoy, Denise

[palolake]

Your pictures are awesome! We're doing the Panama Canal cruise in January and next January we are going to Aruba. Can you tell me what excursions/tours you took in Aruba and Costa Rica?

[dchip]

In Aruba we did DePalm Island. Amazing. If you love to snorkel this is the place!! Last time we did one of the catamarans out to the wreck and lunch. Snorkeling wasn't as good as DePalm but the scenery and boat ride were fabulous.

 

Costa Rica the guys zip lined on a Princess tour and my sister and I did the SkyWalk and Pura Vida Gardens. It was the best excursion ever. Also with Princess.

 

Check out the pics again. Many photos of our shore excursions ;-))

 

Enjoy, Denise