Island Princess Review

Panama Canal Transit - Rough beginning - but overall a great trip!

Review for the Panama Canal & Central America Cruise on Island Princess
User Avatar
kbmagic
10+ Cruises • Age 60s

Rating by category

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

Additional details

Sail Date: Dec 2017
Cabin: Mini-Suite with Balcony

We have sailed with Princess several times (this cruise marked our 15th and we will now be 'elite' - yay!). One itinerary we've been wanting to try was the Panama Canal.

We also had never been to the Florida Keys, so we saw this as an opportunity to check both of these adventures off of our 'bucket lists.'

We were enjoying the evening before our cruise in Key West - when we received an email (around 8pm) from Princess - notifying us that our ship was going to be delayed a day due to not completing activities in Dry Dock. The email instructed us to find accommodations for one more night - and we would be reimbursed a 'reasonable' amount for those accommodations. Our lazy relaxed evening just got a bit crazy! We contacted our travel agent and she went to work to find us a hotel for the next night.

Cabin Review

Mini-Suite with Balcony

Cabin MB

Our cabin was a mini-suite - and we learned that part of the dry-dock activities were to replace the mattresses. We have a select-comfort bed at home, and have gotten a bit spoiled by how comfortable it is... we've resigned ourselves to the fact that beds we encounter when we travel will not be as comfortable - but the new mattress in our cabin was surprisingly comfortable! We were pleasantly surprised!

In our cabin were two new GIANT Televisions - also new from Dry-dock. The remote controls were a bit strange (no numbers - just up/down controls) but we got used to them and they were fine.

The cabin was fresh and clean - and our balcony was a nice size. We wished that the balcony was covered - but the weather was nice throughout the cruise and we got a lot of use of it. Because there was not a cover - we found that the noise from the cabins around us seemed to be amplified a bit - we could hear conversations and music, etc., from our neighbors, that we don't recall hearing in previous sailings - but it was not a huge problem.

The bathroom was clean but not 'new' as we had thought it might be. The sink had epoxy patching where it had probably cracked - but everything was in working order so no complaints!

Port Reviews

San Juan del Sur

Took a tour of the city and then a cruise on Lake Granada - our guide was great and we had fun!

Huatulco

Took a city highlights tour - it was interesting and we enjoyed it.

2 Helpful Votes
previous reviewnext review

Find an Island Princess Cruise from $489

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.