Island Princess cruise report: Panama Canal 9/20/07

[Sandy R]

Hi Nancy... how are you. It's hard to believe a year has past since our Asia cruise on the Sapphire. I'm going through 1000+ digital photos. I'll be posting them on Webshots and will post a thread on the boards as soon as I'm finished sorting them. I took photos of crocs in Costa Rica, up close and personal, so close you can see their yellow/green eyes. And, Antigua, Guatemala was a total photo-up... I got some great photos that day.

 

Yancy... we love the Princess mini-suites. We were one Dolphin deck as well. We've been used to the Sapphire/Diamond/Star minis, which are a bit larger but the storage space and closet area on the Island were more than adequate. The Island's bathrooms are the same size as the larger Princess ships, which is a big plus.

[mikjr]

We have been on Island before and made use of the Sanctuary pass.

 

I wasn't aware there was a "Sanctuary" onboard the Island. can you explain what it is... and the cost.

 

thanks

[califgary]

This is a GREAT review of the cruise. We are booked on this trip in Sept 2008 18 days roundtrip LA.

Can anyone provide a little more info on the day of the Panama Canal trip through the locks - how far into the lake does the ship go before it turns around and comes back toward the Pacific?

 

Plus we booked a "bumpout" balcony facing forward midships hope this will provide good views of the transit!

 

Gary

[sailinsal]

Hi, to answer the saililng thru partial canal began early, early in the morning. So plan to be up to observe the whole thing. We left the canal after cruising Gatun Lake about 5 pm and went thru the locks as we were at lst seating for dinner. We were in a balcony cabin E633, aft covered balcony. Since this was our 2nd Panama Cruise and lst with balcony we opted to have breakfast on balcony thru room service...........so we began viewing for the bridge of America's as the sun came up. We were thru the MiraFlores locks by 10 and began going thru canal reaching the lake at about noontime. It was very quiet on the lake not much going on,,,,,,,,,,,,,I used binoculars the whole trip, you really need them to enjoy the lake. By 3 or 4 we began sailing back. The weather was humid and very warm but tolerable for much of the beginning of the canal. Then we had real overcast and abit of a shower but no downpour. While transiting,over the ship's audio you could hear a naturalist/tour leader as such inform the interesting sites and did a wonderful explanation of canal. The horizon court provided coffee and such on the open decks from very early until we completed and went into the lake. It is a wonderful day and memorable,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,we anchored in Balboa and then about 9am went to anchor off Panama City for the day and left about 10:30pm.............but you are an 18 day..........................we had 19 day cruise..........one day short so you will do Panama City on the day you go thru the canal and out. This was the most restul and relaxing cruise we ever took and we are 20 cruises and planning Hawaii this time next year on the Golden...................sailinsal

[Sandy R]

When Sailinsal said you need to be up early to see the start of the Panama Canal transit, she wasn't kidding. We were standing on deck around 5:45 a.m.

 

It was still dark outside but we weren't about to miss anything... and we didn't. Our 11th deck forward viewpoint, under the ship's Bridge was perfect, only about 2 dozen people there most of the day. If you stay on your balcony to view the transit, you only get to see one side of the Canal going in and the other side going back. The total view up front was spectacular.

 

When we started our return later in the day, we watched from the back of the ship to get another view of the locks. Sometime during the day, we had some showers but luckily, that wasn't while we were going through any locks. And, during the showers, we ate lunch in the Horizon Court. The transit back ended in darkness with the Bridge of the Americas all lit up... a perfect ending to a perfectly wonderful day.

 

Sandy

[miagirl]

Sandy, thanks so much for all the great information! I've always been a ship's only shore excursion person, but I've decided to go with Charlie in January and I"m looking at the Antigua tour you went on. I do hate the cattle call tours.

[BayCalif-Ariz R Us]

I wasn't aware there was a "Sanctuary" onboard the Island. can you explain what it is... and the cost.thanks

 

Hi Mike - The "sanctuary" is a bit of a misnomer - it is simply the wonderful soothing rooms of the Lotus Spa. Sally (SailinSal is an expert here and perhaps will give you all the details - she took me on a tour: private wonderful showers, hot reclining beds, spa atmosphere/music. Really great for the people who truly want to "get away". I believe a pass if you buy one right away is calculated at $10 for the entire cruise - so it's pricey for a 15 or 20 day cruise. However, I think they often will sell daily passes at $10 so you can choose those days you know you'll use them a lot. Cheers, Denise

[prophotogirl]

Did anyone keep and scan in the Patters? My Brother is going on the Island Princess to the Panama Canal and I'd like to give him a hint of what to expect onboard. This will be his first Princess cruise.

[Sandy R]

Photogirl... I brought the Patters home but there are 19 of them (our's was a 19 day cruise that only went to the Gatun Lake, then returned to the Pacific). I can answer some questions but remember, a 19 day cruise is going to be much different than a 14 day cruise that goes from Pacific to Atlantic or Atlantic to Pacific.

 

Mia... have your camera ready, there'll be lots of photo-ops!

 

Sandy