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

[Psychedout]

Thanks for the great pictures. My Brother in law and his wife are sailing on the Island in 10 days.

[Psychedout]

SweetAngel,

 

How did you like the Hotel you stayed in pre cruise? Was it close to the port and stores?

 

Thanks

[lovetocruise1960]

Angel. As a fellow "Panamaniac" I'm still loving this review...makes me want to go back and try some of the things I didn't do! Hope you're doing well.

 

Sara

[SweetAngel]

I can't thank you enough for sharing all this information and your wonderful pictures with us.

 

I also have to say ..., can you let us know where you're cruising next? Because you clearly know how to have a good time (even when stuck in an elevator :eek: ). You're definitely people I'd love to cruise with. :D

 

I'm glad it's appreciated. I was wondering if there was anyone out there (besides me) who still wanted to see this thread through to the end.

 

Right now I'm working two jobs and taking classes to finish my Masters Degree, so I'm not planning any cruises ... perhaps after graduation in December 2011.

[SweetAngel]

SweetAngel,

 

How did you like the Hotel you stayed in pre cruise? Was it close to the port and stores?

 

Our LaQuinta Inn was a few miles from the port. We chose it for the complimentary shuttle ... both to the airport and to the pier. That way everything was taken care of for us. The shuttle took us to the pier early enough for an easy embarkation with plenty of time to enjoy our first day onboard the ship.

 

We read the reviews of the hotel before we selected it, and the reviews were pretty good. Even so, the hotel was nicer than we expected. The swimming pool is a good one, and the outdoor landscaping is lovely with a gazebo on a lake. Breakfast is pretty decent and complimentary. The room was huge and very nice with a microwave, fridge, gigantic desk, wireless internet access, and a large walk-in closet.

 

From the hotel, we walked to a large shopping mall and a wonderful restaurant with outdoor dining. The restaurant was so fantastic - I wish I remembered its name. The mall is about 8 or 9 blocks away from the hotel - the restaurant a few blocks farther.

[SweetAngel]

Angel. As a fellow "Panamaniac" I'm still loving this review...makes me want to go back and try some of the things I didn't do! Hope you're doing well.

 

Sara

 

Hi Sara. Nice to hear from you again. Glad you are enjoying this --- stretching out a single cruise to last the whole year through.

 

When I think of you, I think of that wonderful day in Jamaica when we danced along while JD played guitar with the band.

 

I'm doing great. Hope you're doing well too.

[Psychedout]

Our LaQuinta Inn was a few miles from the port. We chose it for the complimentary shuttle ... both to the airport and to the pier. That way everything was taken care of for us. The shuttle took us to the pier early enough for an easy embarkation with plenty of time to enjoy our first day onboard the ship.

 

We read the reviews of the hotel before we selected it, and the reviews were pretty good. Even so, the hotel was nicer than we expected. The swimming pool is a good one, and the outdoor landscaping is lovely with a gazebo on a lake. Breakfast is pretty decent and complimentary. The room was huge and very nice with a microwave, fridge, gigantic desk, wireless internet access, and a large walk-in closet.

 

From the hotel, we walked to a large shopping mall and a wonderful restaurant with outdoor dining. The restaurant was so fantastic - I wish I remembered its name. The mall is about 8 or 9 blocks away from the hotel - the restaurant a few blocks farther.

 

Thank you and good Luck with school, work etc., been there, done that:D

[Nebr.cruiser]

First of all, thanks for the great review and pictures. I've been following along as the report comes in. We were on the Island Princess just after you, in December. We had a fantastic time too.

 

May I ask which La Quinta you stayed in in Miami? We are leaving on a TA April 10 and need a hotel for the 9th. I liked the idea of airport and port shuttles as well as convenient shopping and eating.

 

We've stayed at the Hyatt downtown twice and it is very nice, but not much right around there, though we always walked over to Bayside.

 

Thanks in advance!

[Psychedout]

First of all, thanks for the great review and pictures. I've been following along as the report comes in. We were on the Island Princess just after you, in December. We had a fantastic time too.

 

May I ask which La Quinta you stayed in in Miami? We are leaving on a TA April 10 and need a hotel for the 9th. I liked the idea of airport and port shuttles as well as convenient shopping and eating.

 

We've stayed at the Hyatt downtown twice and it is very nice, but not much right around there, though we always walked over to Bayside.

 

Thanks in advance!

 

I thought they stated in Fort Lauderdale. I would like to know also which La Quinta it was.

 

Thanks

[lovetocruise1960]

Hi Sara. Nice to hear from you again. Glad you are enjoying this --- stretching out a single cruise to last the whole year through.

 

When I think of you, I think of that wonderful day in Jamaica when we danced along while JD played guitar with the band.

 

I'm doing great. Hope you're doing well too.

 

 

That day was probably one of my favorites too..JD was a hoot playing with the band. everything here's great in Sunny California. I'm going to St. Croix in May with Cindy and Ken from our Panamaniac group. Trip out!

 

Keep the posts coming....:D

[Nebr.cruiser]

I thought they stated in Fort Lauderdale. I would like to know also which La Quinta it was.

 

Thanks

 

Oh gosh, most likely they did stay in the Ft. Lauderdale area, since the ship sails from there. We just did it in December (different itinerary) so I really should have known this!

[SweetAngel]

May I ask which La Quinta you stayed in?

 

I believe it was listed as the Airport LaQuinta - Fort Lauderdale.

[Nebr.cruiser]

I believe it was listed as the Airport LaQuinta - Fort Lauderdale.

 

Thanks. We're sailing out of Miami in April so I'll have to keep looking.

[SweetAngel]

Day 10 – Final Night

 

The Pools closed early!!!!!

 

This was my biggest disappointment of the entire cruise: Princess closed down ALL pools onboard and ALL hot tubs very early. I don’t understand why. No one was doing any maintenance. I reread the Patters and could find no notice of an early closing. There were no signs posted. It was just extremely disappointing for me since that is the way I like to spend my final evening on a cruise. All I can tell you is that I was completely bummed the rest of the night.

This is the Lotus Pool before they emptied it.

 

In fact, everything on Princess seemed to close down early. It felt to me like Princess didn’t care to make this last day a full day. There was no goodbye show … no final appearance by the entertainers … no door prizes… no viewing of the Cruise DVD … no comedic review of all we had done and been through together.

 

There was a Passenger Talent Show (but we did not attend) and there was another comedy show with the two comedians (Jason Neistadt and Rondell Sheridan).

 

We did go to the “Movie Poster” Trivia Challenge at 9:15. That was a lot of fun, and guess what???? We finally won!!!!!!!! Well, we tied, but Assistant Cruise Director Leah kindly gave prizes to both winning teams. (JD is practically unbeatable when it comes to movie trivia). So here, at the last game of the last night, I finally got my long-sought-after prize! Now I am the proud owner my own Princess shopping bag.

 

Then, at 10:15 was the Princess Pop Star Final. Of course we had to go to that and cheer on our fellow Karaoke contestants. Neither my favorite nor JD’s favorite won, but they were all great!

 

JD and I walked around the ship at 11pm to try and catch some nightlife, but there really was very little going on. I guess most people wanted to go to bed early and end their vacation … not me.

 

I also suppose that the Princess entertainers wanted to rest up for a whole new crowd tomorrow. That is probably why most of the entertainment was from the passengers tonight – talent show – Princess Pop Star … Anyhow, I couldn’t help feeling a little gypped out of my last cruise night, and I mentioned aloud that I paid for a 10 night cruise not 9. I think mainly I was still sore about the swimming pool.

 

Crooner's Bar

Despite my feelings at the end of this last night, I still knew that this was the best cruise I ever took. That probably made it even harder to know that it was over.

We watched the Rosie Quartet play requests in Wheelhouse Bar until around midnight when they closed up and shut down. Assistant Cruise Director James was there to give us a final goodbye. Then we headed back to our cabin for a good night’s sleep.

Wheelhouse Bar - Elevator Entrance

Wheelhouse Bar - Side Entrance

[wetnwildsm]

My wife and I just completed the same cruise, March 10 - March 20, 2010 and have to agree with all the comments above. This was a fantastic cruise, ship, and staff. The embarkation in Ft. Lauderdale and dis-embarkation in Acapulco were the smoothest I've ever experienced....I wonder if that is because this is a smaller ship (translate fewer people)? We enjoyed the ports of call, shipboard activities, and ship staff emensly....and truly recommend this cruise! The canal was on my bucket list....so I've gotten that one checked off! We (in our mid-50's) were among the youngest on board, but we spoke to several couples at dinner in there 70's and 80's that were still way more adventurous than we were, talking about adventure touring to China, South America, and Antarctica!

[Solara]

Hi Sweet Angel, Since we are finally leaving on the Island Princess next week I decided to reread your review tonight. I have to thank you again for all the time you spent writing this.

 

I do have a couple of questions for you. On the Panama by Boat Tour is someone on the ferry narrating as to what you are passing by? I've always wanted to sail the Canal just concerned about the length of this tour. Did anyone you talked to that stayed on board feel like they missed something?

 

Also I know you mention line dancing classes but do you know if there were ballroom dance classes too?

 

Thanks so much!:o

 

[dshefter]

Sweet Angel: Outstanding review. We are on a similar 10-day itinerary this November on the Island's sister ship, Coral Princess. I am sure many of the things are the same.

 

Curious: What are the two formal nights? My wife and I want to plan Ultimate Balcony Dining and don't want to do it on either of the formal nights.

 

Secondly, how many tours did you book with the ship? We have booked a private tour with Lee Miles for Cartagena and another member of our Roll Call is working on a tour with Oscar Brown Tours in Costa Rica. Was the Panama excursion worth it?

 

Saw some great photos from Jamaica. Did you book through the ship? I have been to Ocho Rios several times and visited Dunn's River Falls. My wife really is not interested in going there. Want to look into doing something else that is fun and the water slide and bobsled looked fun.

 

You can e-mail me at dshefter@usga.org.

 

Thanks for your wonderful review.

[Cozzette2]

Solara, yes there are Ballroom dancing classes and then toward the end of the cruise they had an exibition and trophies.

 

We also booked with Lee Miles and Oscar Brown, both good choices, we had a blast.

 

Sweet Angel, thanks for all the great info and especially the pictures it got us really excited. I don't know about you but I am ready to go again.:D Kris

[Solara]

Solara, yes there are Ballroom dancing classes and then toward the end of the cruise they had an exibition and trophies. Kris

Thanks for the info on the ballroom dancing classes!:)

[lidstone]

Could someone tell me how I would know if our balcony on our Island Princess is covered? We need it to be. We are cabin # B510 on the Baja Deck. Thanks for any help with this?

[Petunia1950]

Check http://mysite.verizon.net/res76zxu/p...ies/index.html. That should help.

[lidstone]

Thank you very much. It is amazing all of the information that is on this board. So many of our trips have been better because of what we have learned on Cruise Critic!

[Globaliser]

That site is the work of CC member Tom O. and it's awesome.

[Working 2 Cruise]

I would agree with other posters that this is a great review with wonderul photos. The canal looks fabulous! Here is my problem: the food and cabins she shows on the Princess ship look awful! I cringed as I read through the thread with increasing doubt about my upcoming Princess cruise.

 

I just returned from a HAL Caribbean cruise where the food was significantly more gourmet than the photos shown here. Mushroom gravy? Fajitas? I cannot even imagine those items being served at dinner on a cruise ship. The cabins looked small and the furniture out of date. What is that awful circular light on the mini suite ceiling? I am not a picky person; I just want a cruise experience in food and lodging as nice as a first-class hotel would be. Princess has upscale advertising that paints a lovely picture of their cruise experience' date=' but these photos show another side of the picture. White plastic furniture?

 

I have a suite on the Crown Princess booked for the New England/Canada 10-day tour in September and was considering a Panama full transit on a Princess ship next January. Now I wonder if I should call my TA and change cruise lines. I am not a frequent cruiser and have only cruised twice each on Royal Caribbean and HAL and on an Avalon river cruise. But all looked much better than this ship. What am I missing?[/quote']

 

Since you seem to like HAL so much, why not stick with tried and true? Obviously, you would not like the food, would not like the accomodations, etc... Princess is wonderful, but apparently, you might prefer something more upscale.

 

P.S. You are missing the boat!

[Working 2 Cruise]

I enjoyed your review and photos very much! You make me want to book this one for next year... We are all booked up this year! I noticed one person with seemingly negative views of the ship and Princess on this thread (note that she has never sailed Princess) and just spoiled some of the fun I was having reading your review and, I am afraid, I kind of responded in kind...

 

You did a great job and I hope you will be cruising (and posting) soon!

 

Nina