Island Princess 10-Day Panama Canal Review - Not quite LIVE ... but close

[SweetAngel]

Two days ago, I stepped off the beautiful Island Princess after an amazing 10-day cruise. This is my "almost LIVE" report ... written one cruise later. I hope to provide some detailed information for anyone planning a future voyage on IP.

 

Now, as Island Princess is sailing again with a brand new group of passengers, I'll share my day-by-day accounts of my own experiences and adventures.

 

I invite any of my fellow roll call members, the Panamaniacs, to share your experiences here as well.

 

*********************************************************

 

Day 1

 

Today was the day we waited months for! At noon, JD and I boarded the free shuttle from our lovely LaQuinta Inn hotel to the pier.

 

 

Princess had embarkation down to a science. They were there to take our luggage right from the shuttle drop-off. In just 20 minutes, we passed through all the formalities of boarding, took the customary "Welcome Aboard" picture, and settled in our very own cabin, Aloha 712. We could hardly believe it! With five previous cruises, I had never experienced such a smooth embarkation. JD and I were thrilled that, for once, our first day would actually be a FULL day!

 

 

Our Room:

 

We were pleased with our balcony cabin. The walk-in closet was huge, the colors and decor of the room were soothing, and the balcony ... well ... unfortunately it's true: Once you have your own private balcony, you won't ever want to go back to an interior room. Having your own private outdoor space is invaluable.

 

 

We did notice right away, however, that our room had very strong vibrations (coming from the engines, I assume) all the time, even at port. We got used to it (because we had to), and we made jokes about having a vibrating bed. A fellow Panamaniac told me that the vibrations were because our cabin was up high and so far aft -- don't know, but I never experienced vibrations like this before. JD and I were okay with it, but I could imagine a lot of people being unhappy.

 

 

We loved the idea of being one deck away from the pools, buffet, and pizza. The spa and gym were right there too (and there was no noise from the treadmills above). There was also little traffic in our quiet, back hallway. Plus, the aft elevators had very short wait-times and were rarely full (except right after shows in the Universe Lounge).

[kimchee1212]

We'll be on the Island in December and I'm very happy to finally get a thread about it :D, even if it's an almost live thread.

 

 

Thank you for sharing!

[SweetAngel]

After settling into our cabin, we headed out to explore the whole floating resort. Princess had given us cards to stamp at various locations throughout the ship for a chance to win up to $1000 in prizes. It seemed a little tedious at first, but we quickly realized that this was a great way to see the ship and to learn our way around. It was a fun little game that nearly everyone was playing.

 

 

I used the time to take pictures of all the public rooms which you can view at:

http://s362.photobucket.com/albums/oo65/moonbutterfly1/Island%20Princess%20Oct%202009/ .

 

 

Because we were wearing our Panamaniac t-shirts (designed by Darkenstormy, one of our CC roll call members), we were easily recognized by our fellow cruise critics and made fast friends.

 

We got lots of compliments on the t-shirts. Everyone loved them, and some people wanted to buy them right off our backs. We used an online t-shirt site. You can probably find it by doing a search on "panamaniacs" and then change the dates to match your own voyage.

 

 

Stopping at the Lotus Bar, JD bought one of those ultimate drink cards for $90. That gave him unlimited mocktails, frozen drinks, and fruit drinks as well as sodas. You can also buy a soda card (without the fruit drinks) for half that price. I knew I'd be happy with water, tea, and lemonade (and juice at breakfast), so I didn't see a need for the card. JD, however, thought it was great, and he definitely had his 4-5 daily virgin daiquiris, mango smoothies and pina coladas.

 

[SweetAngel]

Eventually we made our way to Horizon Court for our first buffet lunch. The selection was good, especially all the choices on the salad bar, and, of course, I had to try a little of everything.

 

After lunch, we finished exploring the ship and made it back to our cabin in time for muster drill. And, yes, here Princess amazed me again. Based on all my previous cruises, my definition of "muster drill" meant long, miserable periods of standing in hot, sweaty rows, 10 people deep, packed like sardines on a narrow outside deck. Hats off to Princess for the most relaxing, entertaining, yet informative muster drill of them all. We were guided into the Universe Lounge, carrying our life jackets instead of sweltering in the bulky things. We relaxed as the light-hearted assistant cruise director, Amanda, led the perfect demonstration.

 

In the theater and lounges, Princess makes use of audio/visual technology to give a better demonstration of what to do in an actual emergency than you get standing outside by the lifeboats. Together, we all put on our jackets, but just long enough to prove we could do it. Then we were on our way again ... in half the time of any other muster drills.

 

Now it was sailaway, the time to meet our fellow Panamaniacs up at the Lido Bar. We lucked out with this roll call group and got a really great bunch of people to make friends with.

 

 

And Fort Lauderdale -- Wow!!! I am used to sailing away from industrial ports such as Galveston. This was a beautiful port of luxurious resorts and sandy beaches. And the weather? Perfect, warm sunshine!!!

 

 

Most people hurried down to dinner after the sailaway party, but since we had anytime dining, we stayed up on deck to watch the buildings get smaller and smaller in a glorious sunset.

 

 

The convenience of choosing your own dining time is nice, but I do prefer traditional dining just because I enjoy getting to know my servers, and I love the personal attention I get from them. We were waitlisted for early dining but received anytime dining instead.

 

One nice thing about anytime dining is that we could choose to sit with a group and meet new people or to sit at a table-for-two (and generally get served faster that way if we needed to make a show).

 

*****NOTE -- If you like karaoke or game shows and you also want to see the stage shows, then you MUST dine early. There is no choice in this matter. Karaoke is only done for one hour 10:15-11:15 pm. Game shows are 9:15-10:15pm. That means that you must attend the 8:00 stage show. AND that means you must start dinner by 6pm. No if's and's or but's. Since we loved the night time activities (especially karaoke) we found ourselves eating early every night after sailaway night.

[RickEk]

Thanks for the review and pictures... looking forward to seeing more! :)

[SweetAngel]

Tonight we chose to share a table for 8 and met some very nice people, one of whom was celebrating her birthday. So we joined the Princess waiters in singing "Happy Birthday" as they brought out a lovely dessert.

 

 

Dinner was excellent. Tonight was prime rib night. Our waiter convinced us to go medium rare so that the meat would be juicy, and indeed it was! Delicious! The pina colada soup was served in a coctail glass so it really was much more like a smoothie than a soup.

 

I enjoy taking pictures of food, but I won't bother you with them here. If you are interested, you can see them at:

http://s362.photobucket.com/albums/oo65/moonbutterfly1/Island%20Princess%20Oct%202009/Island%20Princess%20Food%20and%20Drink/

 

For dessert, JD and I both chose the Love Boat Dream, easily one of the best desserts onboard. It is a heart-shaped chocolate moose on a thin brownie served with raspberry sauce on the side. (JD would end up eating this lucious dessert nearly every night of the cruise). Our leisurely dinner took two full hours, making us a bit late for the 10 pm "Welcome Aboard" show, so to my disappointment, we missed the dancers (I guess they only did one number).

 

The cruise director, Paul, introduced himself and then a comedian (Scott Wyler) took over for the entire show. He was okay, not the funniest I've seen but we had a few laughs. However, I do prefer more of a variety show for the introductory show.

 

People must have been exhausted, for there was hardly anyone out after the show. JD and I visited all the lounges to taste the nightlife. A couple from England (the token dance couple of our cruise) was dancing to Latin music played by a lively band in the Wheelhouse Bar (The Rosie Quartet - they played requests). Explorer's Lounge played DJ music after the Sunday night NFL football game. Asst CD, Amanda, was the DJ, and she took requests. JD and I danced with about two other couples until we were the only ones left. I began to worry about the nightlife on this ship, but no worries: It was only this first night ... and the very last one ... that were dead. We were to have many fun, fun nights ahead ...

 

JD and I hoped to get some late night pizza as we are used to doing on other ships, but alas, this was one of our few disappointments with Princess. Pizza is only served during afternoon hours until 7pm. Yikes! Since I didn't want to replace my delicious dinners with pizza, I only ended up trying it twice (and it was pretty good). And of course I suffered an over-full stomach trying to eat dinner a couple hours later. :(

 

Horizon Court is open 24 hours, though, which is good for late night snacking. And then there is always free room service.

 

So we retired to our room where we were happy to find our requested robes and two heart-shaped chocolates.

 

 

I never got complimentary robes before, so that was nice. I do miss the towel animals. I know some people could care less about them, but I really loved finding that special treasure in my room at the end of a long, exciting day.

 

Before retiring, we enjoyed the overhead canopy of stars from our balcony. I wasn't sure I'd like the uncovered balcony until night came. Once I saw those stars, I was glad my balcony was uncovered. (Island Princess has covered, uncovered and partially covered balconies).

 

What a wonderful day!

[sunsetbeachgal]

Angel,

 

Hi and thank you for taking the time to post your review...love the photos. We will be on the Island in a few weeks-can't wait to hear about the ports!

[JUANO]

We are booked on the ip dec. 10, and i would like to know if many gentleman still wear tux on formal night. I don not want to be the only one wearing a tux, as I experienced on a carnival cruise several years ago.

Juano

[SweetAngel]

We are booked on the ip dec. 10, and i would like to know if many gentleman still wear tux on formal night. I don not want to be the only one wearing a tux, as I experienced on a carnival cruise several years ago.

Juano

 

Hi Juano.

 

Day 2 and 8 are formal nights. Yes, many gentlemen were wearing tuxedos. Nearly every single man was in a tux or suit. Between 6-10 pm, we saw only one couple not dressed up. They really stood out riding down the glass elevators of the Atrium. The Atrium is a great place to people watch and see all the wonderful outfits. As I looked around, a lady next to me commented on how much more elegantly dressed everyone was than on her previous cruises.

 

Was your Carnival cruise out of Texas? I noticed that Texans generally do not dress up as much or that they consider jeans to be dressy.

 

Princess seemed to have a touch of class that was a step above the other cruise lines I have taken. That's just my personal opinion based on my own experience of the five cruise lines I have used.

 

It's also true that most people on this cruise are over the age of 50. Being in our 30's and 40's, we were definitely in the minority, but that didn't stop us from having the time of our lives.

[Off2China]

We'll be boarding the Island Princess on October 31st for the same trip. Keep writing--love the pics, too!

[Cozzette2]

Wow, as if I wasn't excited already, the pictures are great. Thank you so much for taking the time to post your review, it is sure getting me even more psyched.

Kris

[East Coaster]

Angel, thank you for taking the time to share your pics and post your review! We will be boarding the Island Princess in November. Look forward to more of your review especially the ports!

[DrivesLikeMario]

Angel, what color were your luggage tags? (I know this is a weird question.) Thanks for the "almost" Live report! Enjoying reading it.

[kimchee1212]

Would you mind telling me what time late traditional is?

 

:D

 

Thank you for posting your review! Enjoying it very much.

[OCruisers]

:) WOW! This is GREAT! Thanks so very much for your time to post it!

[SweetAngel]

Angel, what color were your luggage tags? (I know this is a weird question.) Thanks for the "almost" Live report! Enjoying reading it.

 

Leaving the ship, we had Pink-4 ... Not sure getting on -- JD thinks they were white???

 

Would you mind telling me what time late traditional is?

 

:D

 

Thank you for posting your review! Enjoying it very much.

 

Early Traditional Dining is 5:30 pm

Late Traditional Dining is 7:45 pm

 

Oh and you are all welcome for the review! This does take some time, but I enjoy reliving the cruise again.

[SweetAngel]

Day 2

 

“Star Trek” was showing all night last night on the Princess Channel, so I stayed up very late watching it. Thus, I rose very late on Day 2 and skipped breakfast. It seemed strange to be fasting on a cruise instead of feasting, but I didn’t want to miss the morning trivia at 11:15 am in Wheelhouse Bar (same time every day).

 

Wheelhouse Bar

 

Trivia is a pretty popular activity onboard, and some are very serious players. The assistant cruise directors each took turns running the activity, so if you came regularly, you’d get to know them all and even get some clues to help with future trivia questions. (Amanda gives out an answer for next time and Garrett always asks at least one question with the answer “Canada”). Almost always, I could find a few Panamaniacs in there to team up with. Each day, as more people found their way, the room got fuller and fuller. Even JD started coming regularly with me.

 

 

After Trivia, we went to the California Sushi and Oriental Lunch Buffet. The sushi bar is the most amazing I have ever seen, clever designs, and what a selection! Don’t miss it: It is hidden in the very back of Horizon Court. Horizon Court also changes the soups daily to match the various themes, and there are some very interesting ones. I enjoyed trying soup (in tiny amounts) with my meals. I made all my portions tiny so that I could try lots and lots.

 

 

***** NOTE: I have to say that the entire Island Princess staff is the best, most friendly I have ever experienced. Wow! Waiters, room stewards, bar tenders, even the cleaning crew, and maintenance workers all stopped and said, “Hello” no matter what they were doing. So many times, they went out of their way for us … as I will comment about in the days to come.

[D&N LUV 2 TRAVEL]

Thanks so much for taking the time to do this. It sure helps others like myself that are going on the same cruise to get better prepared.

I'm glad to hear the late traditional dining is 7:45 because I have heard all sorts from TA's etc that it was 8:30. Did the late traditional time stay the same for the entire cruise ?

 

Leaving the ship, we had Pink-4 ... Not sure getting on -- JD thinks they were white???

 

 

 

Early Traditional Dining is 5:30 pm

Late Traditional Dining is 7:45 pm

 

Oh and you are all welcome for the review! This does take some time, but I enjoy reliving the cruise again.

[SweetAngel]

Thanks so much for taking the time to do this. It sure helps others like myself that are going on the same cruise to get better prepared.

I'm glad to hear the late traditional dining is 7:45 because I have heard all sorts from TA's etc that it was 8:30. Did the late traditional time stay the same for the entire cruise ?

 

Yes it stayed the same each night. I think on the Alaska cruises it was later. We were on the second 10-day Panama cruise of the season.

 

Traditional Dining was in the Provence Dining Room.

 

Anytime Dining was from 5:30-10pm in the Bordeaux Dining Room.

[No.CaliforniaGirl]

THANK YOU Angel & DJ! Amazing detail - just exactly what we need. It really set my heart pounding to see those onboard pics of the gleeming interiors! We are thrilled to go on this cruise and can hardly wait for this coming Friday 30th to catch that midnight flight out of San Francisco - then board the Princess on Halloween! Very grateful for your insight - suggestions and heads up!

[Jaberwocky]

Thanks so much for posting about this cruise on Island Princess. We will be taking the same ship/itinerary in 2010, and we can't wait. I am anxiously awaiting the rest of your report and pictures.

We are not planning to take formal clothes on this trip. Will we be out of place around the ship on the evenings of formal dinners? We understand that we will be eating in the buffet on those nights, but were hoping to be able to be out and about on the ship even though not formally dressed. What are your observations on this?

Also, what time did you arrive at the port to get on the ship? Thanks for your replies, and keep on posting additions to your trip report! :)

[Wormy53]

THANK YOU Angel & DJ! Amazing detail - just exactly what we need. Very grateful for your insight - suggestions and heads up!

 

Exactly!! This is the same ship we took to the Panama Canal - for us the perfect size - big enough to have all the goodies, yet not so big that you felt like you were standing in a line all the time! Did you check out that wonderful library with the loungers? Great!!

 

Thanks so much for taking us back to Panama to do it all over again!!

[JUANO]

hi juano.

 

Day 2 and 8 are formal nights. Yes, many gentlemen were wearing tuxedos. Nearly every single man was in a tux or suit. Between 6-10 pm, we saw only one couple not dressed up. They really stood out riding down the glass elevators of the atrium. The atrium is a great place to people watch and see all the wonderful outfits. As i looked around, a lady next to me commented on how much more elegantly dressed everyone was than on her previous cruises.

 

Was your carnival cruise out of texas? I noticed that texans generally do not dress up as much or that they consider jeans to be dressy.

 

Princess seemed to have a touch of class that was a step above the other cruise lines i have taken. That's just my personal opinion based on my own experience of the five cruise lines i have used.

 

It's also true that most people on this cruise are over the age of 50. Being in our 30's and 40's, we were definitely in the minority, but that didn't stop us from having the time of our lives.

 

no, our carnival cruise was out of tampa one passenger mis-took me for a table captain

[JUANO]

no, our carnival cruise was out of tampa one passenger mis-took me for a table captain

[Nebr.cruiser]

Thanks for the review--we'll be on the Island Princess Dec. 10th. Can't wait!