Live from the Island Princess Dec 5-20 Panama Canal

[Colo Cruiser]

Great photos. :)

[suzyed]

Thank you...I'm looking forward to your review! We are sailing on the Island in 2017, so very much want to hear you impressions of the ship, particularly the new cabins and also what you liked about the Canal cruise! :)

[js4rq]

Loving the photos...looking forward to more.

[mdgary]

Day 3 and we are en-route to Aruba. No rain since we left Ft Lauderdale but it has been a little windy. For those wondering if the extra cabins makes it feel too crowded it really doesn't (with the exception of The Princess theater). If you want to see one of the shows it's best to arrive about 30 minutes early (at least for the late show). The ship is well maintained and all the crew members we have met are very friendly and helpful. We have a table for 2 in the Provence dinging room and our servers are Soto (from Mexico) and Presdeah (from India) and both are doing an excellent job. The food choices in the main dining room seem to be more limited than on previous Princess cruises but the quality and taste are still very good. This is our first trip on the Island and much prefer the layout of the Horizon court over previous trips on the Caribbean and Sapphire. The buffet has a good selection and we have always been able to find a table with no problem. For the smokers (of which I'm one) the only smoking areas are Churchill lounge or deck 15 starboard by The Grill and it's uncovered. Aruba tomorrow with more to follow.

[mdgary]

And some random pictures from around the ship:

[reedprincess]

Thanks so much for the photos! Really whetting our appetite foe our sailing on the 20th. Thanks for the continuing updates!

Enjoy!

[InTheSticks]

Thank you, mdgary, for the updates and photos. We'll be in B743 in April going from LA to FLL. Looking forward to hearing more. Enjoy your trip!

[Stuartm]

Great photos. Thanks for posting.

 

cheers

 

Stu

[thecruiselover7]

I just got off the Island Princess on the Dec. 5. I highly recommend you check out the piano entertainer that's in the Crooners Bar every night. (Jim Long) He's very talented.

 

Have a great cruise!

[reedprincess]

Hi there! One question: can you confirm whether there is a craps table in the casino? That would be a bummer for us if there isn't one..... Thanks!!

[Colo Cruiser]

I just got off the Island Princess on the Dec. 5. I highly recommend you check out the piano entertainer that's in the Crooners Bar every night. (Jim Long) He's very talented.

 

Have a great cruise!

 

We enjoyed listening to him on our Med cruise last month. :)

[123cwm]

thanks so much for posting!! We are sailing on the 20th as well. Great information and pictures! Looking forward to more.

[jc7292]

We are doing this cruise in February, La to Ft Lauderdale. I am so looking forward to your review and photos. Is there smoking in the casino? Also is there 3 card poker and let it ride? Enjoy your cruise.

 

 

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[jawhoffman]

Thanks so much for your posts & pictures! I was particularly interested in your comment that that public spaces don't feel overly crowded. We'll be on her in May and I can't wait!

[TracieABD]

Thank you for the update!

[mdgary]

Just a quick update...Short Aruba stop completed and heading to Cartagena. Arrived in Aruba around 7:00 and did the Butterfly/aloe factory and rock formation tour which lasted around 3 hours. The butterfly farm was nice and interesting but we were only there around 30 minutes but got some good pictures. The aloe factory and rock formation was ok but nothing special but the tour driver/guide was very nice and gave a good narration on the tour. This was avery short stop and pulled out pf port around 1:30 and heading to Cartagena.

 

Now to answer a couple of questions:

For reedprincess: I did check the casino and sorry to tell you but there isn't a craps table.

For sue2go: We have early dining in the Provence dining room but spoke with some people that have AD and they said it wasn't any problem and that you can call for reservations in advance.

For califgary: We have one of the new aft cabins and love it. Just a little vibration but not any problem.

For cruiselover7: We have seen Jim a couple of nights already and he is very good. Look forward to seeing him for the rest of the cruise.

For jc7292: The casino is basically no smoking except in a area of a few slot machines (according to the patter). We don't gamble but I did walk through the casino and there is a 3 card poker table. Not sure about let it ride.

Also the bartender and server in the Crooners lounge are Excellent. Will get there names but they go out of there way to make sure you have an enjoyable trip.

And just to let you know. Internet speed is actually fairly good and make sure you get the Princess app to use onboard. The app is free to use and you can pull up the daily schedule, hours and account info. Hopefully I answered all the questions for now but if not please let me know. More to follow.

[js4rq]

Thank you for the update... enjoy the rest of your cruise! :)

[InTheSticks]

mdgary - Does the ship time change as you cross timelines? Thanks for all the pictures and information. We all appreciate it!

[casavaha]

MDGARY: I am still interested in the live music in the Explorers Lounge and Wheelhouse.

There is supposed to be an Argentine group in the Wheelhouse. Do you see much dancing.

Thanks,

 

Greg

[jc7292]

Thank you for taking the time to answer questions. Enjoy!!!

 

 

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[espmass]

Thanks. It's good to hear your favorable comments about the Island. I have been following the thread concerning how ugly this ship is and how much people don't like it and their comments have had me worried about my upcoming 3/4 cruise on the Island. Those comments plus so many empty cabins still available for my cruise plus only 4-5 people on our roll call have had me kind of nervous about my cruise. Glad to hear you're enjoying it so far.

[sue2go]

Thanks so much for taking time to give us all answers and for sharing your cruise with us! Enjoy!!

[kcstar]

Thanks so much for posting. My sister Nancy and I are on this ship beginning Dec 20. We really enjoy reading about your cruise.

[mdgary]

MDGARY: I am still interested in the live music in the Explorers Lounge and Wheelhouse.

 

There is supposed to be an Argentine group in the Wheelhouse. Do you see much dancing.

 

Thanks,

 

 

 

Greg

 

 

The is a band named Xcite in the Wheelhouse and they do a bit of 50's/60's dance music. We saw them one night and they area 4 person band and sounded really good. We Aren't dances but there were several people out on the floor. Hope that helps.

[mdgary]

Thanks. It's good to hear your favorable comments about the Island. I have been following the thread concerning how ugly this ship is and how much people don't like it and their comments have had me worried about my upcoming 3/4 cruise on the Island. Those comments plus so many empty cabins still available for my cruise plus only 4-5 people on our roll call have had me kind of nervous about my cruise. Glad to hear you're enjoying it so far.

 

 

You will have a great time. Like I mentioned before, other than the theater no problem with crowds and the crew is fantastic.