Question about vibration on the Island Princess

[2pbears]

We decided to book a Panama Canal cruise for 2017 but were very disappointed to see that the Coral is only doing partial canal cruises and repositioning cruises for the 2016-2017 season. We were not all that happy with the Island the last time we sailed on her and that was before all of the controversial changes so we almost decided not to book. But after thinking it over we felt that if we tweaked a few of our cruise habits we could probably minimize the downsides to the Island (most notably by booking Traditional Dining as opposed to our preferred ATD).

 

We are looking at a cabin on Emerald deck aft (E629 to be exact). I have read comments to the effect that the vibration since the refit affects those cabins that were added to the aft of the ship. Since the aft cabins on Emerald deck were not an addition can we safely assume that they will not be prone to vibration? I will appreciate any expert advice you all can offer.

[LeeW]

We prefer either far forward or far aft cabins. Most of the ships, including Island and Coral have a lot of vibration when docking due to the thrusters. Not much you can do about this. Doesn't last all that long, but watch what you put near the edge of the desk. We haven't noticed much in the way of vibration at other times.

 

We actually prefer the partial transits to the full transit since Princess no longer sails from Acapulco. The Pacific side is a long distance between ports in open ocean and tours in Nicaragua, Guatemala and Costa Rica on that side tend to be nine hours in a bus. Great tours, but three days in a row can be wearing. We like the Caribbean ports better.

 

If you have not gone through the Canal and are doing a partial, look into the tour that takes a smaller boat through the remainder of the Canal (currently called Panama Canal Locks and Transit by Small Boat). You get off the ship in Gatun Lake and take a bus over to the pilot dock at mid-canal, then go through the rest of the locks. Watch for the dent in the Miraflores lock and ask the pilot about it.

[2pbears]

We prefer either far forward or far aft cabins. Most of the ships, including Island and Coral have a lot of vibration when docking due to the thrusters. Not much you can do about this. Doesn't last all that long, but watch what you put near the edge of the desk. We haven't noticed much in the way of vibration at other times.

 

We actually prefer the partial transits to the full transit since Princess no longer sails from Acapulco. The Pacific side is a long distance between ports in open ocean and tours in Nicaragua, Guatemala and Costa Rica on that side tend to be nine hours in a bus. Great tours, but three days in a row can be wearing. We like the Caribbean ports better.

 

If you have not gone through the Canal and are doing a partial, look into the tour that takes a smaller boat through the remainder of the Canal (currently called Panama Canal Locks and Transit by Small Boat). You get off the ship in Gatun Lake and take a bus over to the pilot dock at mid-canal, then go through the rest of the locks. Watch for the dent in the Miraflores lock and ask the pilot about it.

 

Thanks LeeW. The full transit appeals to us because we can disembark in San Francisco which is our home port (no need to fly home after getting off the ship). We always book aft or mid-aft cabins but the vibration I have been reading about is specific to those cabins that were added during the refit and seems to be more than the vibration from the thrusters when docking.

[Tyskie]

We were in E624 Island for the Mediterranean. Extremely quiet, no vibrations, not in new section. Very happy with our choice would definitely choose it again. Sad to see aft open space gone but.............

Edited January 3, 2016 by Tyskie

[brt49]

We did the 15 day LA to Fort Lauderdale on the Coral over thanksgiving. We were in D705. Lots of vibrations. Constant. But it kind of rocked me to sleep each night.

Edited January 4, 2016 by brt49