With much excitement, we landed in LAX, the transportation to the ship was fine and we boarded the Island Princess. The ship was very nicely decorated for the Christmas holidays. Our inside cabin reservations was upgraded to a window room, which was nice. We complement the cabin steward with excellent service, and being friendly and courteous. The evening dining experiences were excellent with really good food. The buffet food was good, but the same thing each day with only minor variations. The late night deserts were varied and good.

The Shore excursions were of fair quality and expensive for what you get. I do not think the staff actually go on the excursions to verify the quality and activities. Only if there is a problem will they send a staff person to look. We scheduled our own excursions off the ship which were better and cheaper. These people were very careful to be sure we got back to the ship with plenty of time before leaving.

The evening entertainment shows were awful. There were only three shows that were good, the magic man, male vocal singer, and piano player. The cabin showers were extremely small. The photography staff were pleasant and helpful, and the photographs and DVD were very expensive. The DVD of the cruise included too much yapping and not enough about the Panama Canal or the transit of the canal. I appreciate the international staff, but they should be required to speak understandable English. Since we were both nurses, we noticed the many wheelchair and scooter customers. These people were not allowed on tenders and thus confined to the ship during port/shore days. When we booked the cruise we were told the bow was accessible for customer photography, especially when traversing the Panama Canal. This area was exclusive for crew only, and the front facing areas could not accommodate those desiring the good viewing areas. Even if they would have opened up the bow during the Canal transit, it would have been acceptable. We heard this from many people. Other ship lines do allow passengers on the bow. In Ft. Lauderdale the taxi transfer to the airport was cheaper than the Princess transfer. Read more