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Blue Card review - Island Princess Panama Canal

sue2go

By sue2go,
in Princess Cruises

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sue2go

sue2go

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Posted (edited)

Thanks to all here at CC for their tips and help in my planning for our Panama Canal cruise on the Island Princess! Here's a quick review.

 

We arrived in San Pedro the day before our cruise and stayed at the Crowne Plaza which was perfect for us. Lunch and dinner were at San Pedro Brewing Co which we loved, and breakfast at Grinders before boarding.

 

Embarkation - quick and well organized. Arrived at noon, on the ship and in our balcony stateroom (B527) at 1:30.

 

Cabin - B527. Very comfortable! Loved the location, close to midship. Met our steward (Sammung) who took great care of us. Requested a top sheet, but did not have to ask for extra pillows (had 4 already) or to have our balcony opened to join our friends next door, as it had not yet been closed from the previous cruise. Loved having that to visit while sitting on our balcony.

 

Ship - having never sailed her we didn't have the pre-change shock many have expressed. We found her to be in great shape. We enjoyed walking the 7th deck and were not upset to have to cut thru to complete the loop due to the new cabins. Racked up many steps there.

 

Anytime Dining - our group of 4 arrived at various times and with the exception of the second night never had to wait to be seated. That night, an hour with a beeper before a table was ready. Most often we said we would sit with others and enjoyed meeting new friends. Toward the end of the cruise, we opted to be seated at a table for 4 more often (tiring of making similar small talk night after night) and again no problem.

 

Ditching formal - we didn't do formal nights and never felt out of place. One night we dined at the Bayou (nice dinner but almost nobody there at 6:30), one night in the Horizon Court, and one night pizza and salad in our cabin via room service.

 

Activities on board - LOVED zumba. LOVED Movies under the stars. Attended several shows and enjoyed them - mostly the song and dance stuff. One comedy show was only OK for me - laughed at about half of it. On the Bayou was WONDERFUL! Really a great show - done in the Princess Theater very well. Attended a few talks - good. LOVED Pop Choir. If you are inclined JUST DO IT. We had so much fun and did 2 performances - one Sound of Music and one pop tunes.

 

Crowding? Never had problems but showed up early to shows (30 min or so). Never had a problem getting a lounge chair on 14 or 15. Horizon court could be crowded at peak times and the theater did get full.

 

Ultimate Balcony Dinner - AMAZING! Food was great, service was stellar, and it was well worth the $$. Booked via room service for the night we were in Panama before the canal day. Good choice for us.

 

Coffee report - got the coffee card and was happy we did for the brewed. Husband enjoyed a few specialty teas and coffees as well, but for me it was worth the price just for the brewed coffee. Did have the other in the Horizon Court a couple of times - not awful, not great.

 

Soda card - I love club soda, so preordered a soda only card and it was honored despite disappearing before the cruise for purchase. When our friends asked about it instead of soda and more, they were told it could be purchased by going to the service desk on deck 5. I was able to take my own (larger) Tervis tumbler and they would happily fill it for me.

 

Guatemala - did Antiqua on your own. Picked up a local guide - $10 per person for a 6 person tour upon getting off the bus. Many available - just pick one. Happy we did, showed us a lot and took the worry of finding our way around away. Showed us things we would not have seen wandering on our own.

 

Costa Rica - did Princess's POAS volcano. Favorite excursion, favorite port! It was clear, we had a great view and a wonderful guide. Loved lunch (strawberry juice was to die for) and Sarchi was fun too.

 

Panama - Emberra Village via Princess. Had to do Parara Puru due to low water levels which I knew was not "as authentic" but we decided to stick with it. Guide was not good for this one. English was so poor that at first I thought he was not speaking English. His mic was not working properly, cutting in and out. Once we go to the village and were being given info in Spanish by the Emberra representative, the guide was so poor at translating the Emberra fellow said (in perfect English) OK I'm going to help him out and proceeded to tell us the info in (again) perfect English! However we did enjoy this visit, just not exactly what I was hoping for. Still very nice.

 

The Canal - amazing, long day, glad we did the full transit. Each lock to me had it's own distinct personality. So glad we did this.

 

Colombia - did Princess Fort & old town. It was OK, but with 3 ships in town it was packed, we didn't always hear our guide and almost lost her once. Spent 20 of our 30 min time in the shopping area in line for a bathroom. Just OK for us.

 

Aruba - did Trikes Aruba. So. Much. Fun. Saw a lot of the island and had a great time doing it. Nice folks too.

 

Disembarkation. Not good. We had made our own arrangements so requested a later time to allow those with flights to catch to get the earlier times. We got off an hour and a half after our scheduled time, no information on the reason for the delay, no access to the close in women's room (due to security reasons) and the one that was available one deck up had 2 potties and one was out of order. Not pretty.

 

Staff - almost all were absolutely great. We did meet a couple here and there who were not but that was very much the exception. Good job treating guests well (and please remember you are a guest - not a boss - and treat the staff with appreciation and respect!)

 

All in all we were happy with food quality, facilities, activities and would happily cruise Princess again. We are not big cruisers, going about every 5 or 6 years.

Edited by sue2go
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batoryfirst

batoryfirst

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We did the Feb. 3-Feb. 18 FLL to LAX cruise and loved the Island Princess.

 

Especially loved MUTS for the Super Bowl and the movies in general. Pizza, burgers, fries, popcorn and Horizon Buffet within steps of MUTS.

 

Ship was lovely and staff was excellent.

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sue2go

sue2go

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Thanks so much for the review! It's encouraging to see such positive comments about the Island. Can you tell us where you were able to use your card for brewed coffee? We sail on her in May and can't wait!!

 

La Patisserie on deck 5 - opens at 6 am. Nice folks there. I understand you can also get brewed at bars... but when we were at bars we were not drinking coffee so I can't confirm that. Also may be able to get it in the Horizon Court, but we would go grab a cup and take it with us to breakfast. Enjoy your cruise!!

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vino100 Great Review Rare

vino100

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Thanks for your review. sounds like you had a great time.

We will be on the Coral in April and have booked the Embera Indian excursion. I am a little concerned now that you mention that is not where they took you. Can you give a few details about your excursion? did you still ride in canoes? How long was the excursion? Thanks.

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VTX-AL

VTX-AL

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Nice review - thanks. We are booked on the Island spring of '17 Panama, Fort Lauderdale to Vancouver so were interested in your comments. Haven't made any choices on excursions, etc yet.

 

...VTX-Al

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sue2go

sue2go

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Thanks for your review. sounds like you had a great time.

We will be on the Coral in April and have booked the Embera Indian excursion. I am a little concerned now that you mention that is not where they took you. Can you give a few details about your excursion? did you still ride in canoes? How long was the excursion? Thanks.

 

We had booked the excursion long before our cruise. When we got into our cabin there was a sheet of information saying that due to the low water levels the tour operator had informed them they would be going to an alternate village. Yes, we still rode in canoes, and I would still do the excursion again - I really did enjoy it. However the canoe ride was shorter. The excursion was still about the same amount of time - a long bus ride through the country to the Chagras Park, where we had an opportunity to use the rest rooms before going to meet the canoes. Then to the village, where we were met by Emberra people who assisted folks up the hill while others played traditional instruments. Then the talk about their life and history, lunch of plantains and tilapia, a dance demonstration, and the opportunity to walk around and to purchase some of their wares. It was really the same, just closer and I had read not quite as "authentic" as the other village. We were given the opportunity to rebook if we chose to do something else but we still went and were not sorry we did. It was a good excursion. You just won't know until close to time to go if the water level permits going further into the forest to the originally scheduled village. The main complaint I had was with the lack of ability to communicate effectively in English on the guide's part.

Edited by sue2go
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vino100 Great Review Rare

vino100

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We had booked the excursion long before our cruise. When we got into our cabin there was a sheet of information saying that due to the low water levels the tour operator had informed them they would be going to an alternate village. Yes, we still rode in canoes, and I would still do the excursion again - I really did enjoy it. However the canoe ride was shorter. The excursion was still about the same amount of time - a long bus ride through the country to the Chagras Park, where we had an opportunity to use the rest rooms before going to meet the canoes. Then to the village, where we were met by Emberra people who assisted folks up the hill while others played traditional instruments. Then the talk about their life and history, lunch of plantains and tilapia, a dance demonstration, and the opportunity to walk around and to purchase some of their wares. It was really the same, just closer and I had read not quite as "authentic" as the other village. We were given the opportunity to rebook if we chose to do something else but we still went and were not sorry we did. It was a good excursion. You just won't know until close to time to go if the water level permits going further into the forest to the originally scheduled village. The main complaint I had was with the lack of ability to communicate effectively in English on the guide's part.

 

Thank you so much for the quick reply. It sounds like even if the water is down it will be a fun excursion.

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jawhoffman

jawhoffman

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La Patisserie on deck 5 - opens at 6 am. Nice folks there. I understand you can also get brewed at bars... but when we were at bars we were not drinking coffee so I can't confirm that. Also may be able to get it in the Horizon Court, but we would go grab a cup and take it with us to breakfast. Enjoy your cruise!!

 

Thanks so much, sue2go! Nice to know about the Patisserie. If my husband can't wait until then he'll just have to go with the coffee(syrup style) from room service until it opens. Can't wait...I know we're have the best time ever!!

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