Island Princess Review

Very Enjoyable Cruise

Review for the Panama Canal & Central America Cruise on Island Princess

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Sail Date: Oct 2009

Background: My wife and I are in our 50's and both retired. This was my 15th cruise with about half on Princess. Embarkation: We had always flown to our cruise port but this time we decided to avoid that hassle and drive to Ft Lauderdale from our place in North Carolina. We broke up the trip up by driving to relatives in Orlando and then to Lauderdale a day early. We stayed at the Renaissance Hotel (very nice) which was less than 5 minutes from ship and easy walking distance to several restaurants and short drive to a Total Wine store for last minute provisions..... On the day of the cruise we dropped the bags off with a porter and then parked in the parking garage which was easy walk to check in. It was shortly after noon and check in lines were not too bad and we were quickly on the ship Ship: Our cabin was balcony on Emerald deck. The balcony was fairly large, with four chairs and a small table, and the cabin was very quiet during the entire cruise. Room steward was great! While we noticed a few rust spots on the ship, its' overall condition was very good. Entertainment: Other than comedian Rondell Sheridan, who was great, the entertainment was average for a cruise line. The casino had a lot of smoking and no non smoking area so we did not visit very often. Dining: We had fixed seating as we had done the anytime dining on other cruises and felt service was not up to par in the past. The service we had on this cruise was wonderful and we enjoyed the food each evening. We ate in the main dining room several times for breakfast and a couple time for lunch and always enjoyed the variety and quality of the food. One evening we ate at Sabatini's, one of the alternative extra charge dining rooms, and the quality of the food was excellent, but the quantity was a bit over the top. Anyone going to dinner there should make sure they are hungry and give themselves over 2 hours for dinner.... We did visit the Horizon court for some breakfasts, lunch and some late afternoon snacks. Lot of variety, good quality and good service......but too much dessert temptations! Ports: Went to a beach in Aruba. In Cartagena we went on the so called Inquisition Palace and shopping tour through the ship. It provided a photo op of the fortress but no tour (which was fine with us as was very hot that day), a drive through the new part of the city, couple good stops for shopping and walk through the old city and inquisition palace.We thought it provided good overview of city without being out in heat too much. In Panama we were up early for the approach to the locks which was very interesting. We tendered off the ship in Gatun Lake to our waiting tour bus. We took the "Highlights of Panama" tour which took over 7 hours. After an hour bus ride we boarded small boats for "eco tour" of canal area where we saw some wildlife (but not much) and visited an Embera Indian village which was very interesting and best part of tour. We then drove back to the Gatun locks and got a review of its workings from the observation deck. Most of this was redundant with what we heard during our lock transit that morning. Probably would not recommend this tour as made for long day and other than Indian village not that interesting. In costa rica we did the zipline in the rainforest which was exhilarating and we felt safe with the two cables and safety practices of the guides. Several people we met went on the tram ride in forest which they recommended. In Ocho Rios we went on tour that included Fern Gully, Shaw Park Gardens and we walked up Dunn's River falls (don't forget your water shoes). Enjoyed the tour but took most of the time we had so little time for anything else before ship sailed. Other: Pool area was good but normal practice of too many people holding chairs for hours while being gone. We enjoyed the drinks and service at the Martini bar with bartenders Beverly and Tomas. Prices for drinks seem to increase on every cruise!! Nice international guest contingent as met people from Poland, Germany, UK, Mexico, Canada and of course New Jersey. As normal some people complain about everything on a cruise so as normal we judge all aspects on our own. Disembarkation: We were one of the last off the ship since we were driving. As Platium members we had relaxing time waiting in the Wheelhouse Lounge and talking with people there. We got off the ship at the time previously estimated. As most people had left by then it was easy to find a porter and our bags. Curbside my wife stayed with the bags and I walked to our car, paid ($ 15 per day) and we were off..... We throughly enjoyed the cruise and would recommend it.

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