We just returned from a 10-day Princess Panama Canal cruise. If you are thinking of it, read this and think long and hard.
This was our 3rd cruise with Princess. I did this cruise pre covid with my mother, about 8 years ago. I was so excited to show my husband and grown son all the cool things but much has changed and to me, not for the better, This will be my last trip with Princess.
The ...
To put this review in perspective, just five weeks before this cruise we'd been to a river cruise on the Nile in Egypt. So any review after that may pale in comparison. That being said, this cruise was very nice in where the ship stopped for tours.
We've been on a cruise to the Caribbean before but to different stops along the way. This cruise is listed as a ten day trip which is true enough ...
We chose this cruise because we wanted a January getaway to warmer climes than included the Caribbean with a focus on the Panama Canal. We booked early when this cruise was thinly booked and received a good price and a upper floor veranda upgrade in the process.
We have travel with HAL in Alaska on a slightly smaller but similar ship and were very familiar with the ship's layout.
The Good: ...
We wanted to experience the Panama Canal and my travel agent suggested Holland America (HAL). Our previous cruises had been on Regent, Celebrity, and Crystal and it seemed like a good fit. Don't get me wrong, we had a really good time, but there were some things about the cruise, and HAL's policies, that subtract from the experience. Our cabin needed a serious upgrade as the carpet was completely ...
Plus
Food was normally pretty good
Staff were mostly polite and accommodating
Minus
Not stopping at Nicaragua changed the dynamic of the cruise. Too many days at sea. Also, no explanation or apology, just a note on arrival. Not acceptable
The constant announcements through the canal starting at 6am, and going all day, was a real distraction.
Entertainment was somewhere between ...
We chose this cruise because we had not visited any of the ports of call before, and we have always wanted to see the Panama Canal.
The Issues:
We were disappointed that Nicaragua was cancelled, due to Covid Protocols. We were not told about this until we were on board. More notice should have been given to all passengers. I think NCL knew well in advance about this situation, and could ...
We were a group of 8 initially and just before the cruise 4 friends of one of our group decided to go on the cruise as well.
Six of us chose to stay in the suites in the front of the ship as we wanted a perfect view when entering and traveling through the Panama Canal. That view did not disappoint! As others have written those suites can be very windy and when at sea they were. But we wouldn’t ...
We chose this trip because we live where it's cold and it was on sale with extra perks from prestigecruises.com. We are not exclusive on what cruise line we travel with. Our embarkation time was 1:00 but it appeared we could have come sooner. We sailed right through because I'd done everything to get us in the green line on line before the trip and our medallions had been mailed to us. Our room ...
I chose this cruise as an option. I was offered by Holland America . The employees on the ship were doing the best that they could although I think most of them were brand new. The main reason for my review is the “orange package”. It was not what it appeared to be. Getting on and off the ship it worked wonderfully, but on the ship not so much. There was not a dedicated line for shore excursions ...
We decided to try two things we have not yet done before, and that is a Panama itinerary and sail on Holland America. We are in our late 60's and have cruised on Carnival, RCCL, Celebrity & NCL. We have heard HAL caters to the more senior cruisers (like us). That is evident in their not including a lot of the activities such as water slides, rock climbing, laser tag, etc. I think most people ...