Island Princess Review

4.0 / 5.0
1,228 reviews

Panama Canal Bird Watching Trip Report

Review for the Panama Canal & Central America Cruise on Island Princess
User Avatar
Carl from Pahrump
First Time Cruiser • Age 70s

Rating by category

Value for Money
Embarkation
Dining
Public Rooms
Entertainment
Fitness & Recreation
Service
Cabin

Additional details

Sail Date: Nov 2009
Cabin: Balcony

In November 2009 we spent 10-days on the Island Princess cruising to the Panama Canal. We sailed from Ft Lauderdale across the Caribbean to Aruba, west to Cartagena Columbia, thru the first 3 steps of the Panama Canal and into Lake Gatun (Gat-tune), backtracked to Colon Panama, sailed west to Port Limon Costa Rica, went NW across the Caribbean to Ocho Rios Jamaica, around Cuba and back to Ft Lauderdale.

We booked late and ended up with a balcony on Deck 12. We are keen bird watchers and used the balcony mostly to look for Ocean birds. With temps in the mid 80sF, we could be on the balcony a lot.

We selected this trip primarily because it went into the Panama Canal. Some cruises just stop at Colon Panama since it costs big bucks for a cruise ship to pass thru the Panama Canal.

Cabin Review

Balcony

Cabin BC

The room was pretty standard with lots of storage. The bed was very hard and by 2am your back would be hurting.

We didn't use the balcony as much as on other cruises because of smokers in other cabins around and below us polluted the air to the point we couldn't stay out.

Some of the cabin furnishings were in need of replacement; i.e., the bedspread had cigarette holes , the duvet was ripped in several areas, and the refrigerator didn't get things very cool.

We normally stay on Deck 5 or 6. I can't see how being on Deck 12 was any upgrade from Deck 5 - I wouldn't pay more to be higher up on the ship.

Princess must be assigning more rooms to each Cabin Stewart. Our Stewart worked pretty fast, but it still took him a long time to get to our room most days. It didn't used to be that way.

We got good Internet reception in our room (free because we're Platinum).

previous reviewnext review

Find an Island Princess Cruise from $499

Any Month

Get special cruise deals, expert advice, insider tips and more.By proceeding, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

© 1995—2024, The Independent Traveler, Inc.