JOWgrandma

Here is my version of the same cruise with four people, 51, 59, 71, and 79. We had two separate rooms on the Aloha deck, floor 12.

The only issue with the rooms was that when you turn on water from your bathroom sink, there is no cold water. And, beware, some of the stations for hand washing has water that was much too hot!

We were all "anytime dinners" and had to make reservations for every night for the dining room. The food was not worth it, but it was much better than the buffet. No fear, there are two restaurants up by the pool and International Cafe has good tuna sandwiches.

I agree completely with JOWgrandma regarding the seating at the theaters. Once we missed a show because we started going 60 minutes early to ensure seats, and even then, one night my hubby had to stand. But, that could also be due to a woman saving six seats and then only needing three. For the shows that we attended, we enjoyed, including the Broadway themed show.

Yes, try everything that is offered, especially the "Escape Room." Not only did we complete the challenge without 1/2 of our team; the two seniors did not know what to expect but participated fully and had a great time. One thing, when you do attend the events, no matter what your preference, bring a sweater. Every room is freezing cold.

At Crooners the bar tenders were Chest and Artie ( I think) but the best ones were at Explorers.

Did the Escape Room and had great fun. Also went to the art lectures and auctions. Informative and fun to watch other people spend money!

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Thanks for the review!

Was wondering JOWgrandma how many cruises have you been on?

This is my 4th. Two Caribbean and Alaska.

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Walking between the balconies is no problem. We were back and forth throughout the cruise. Have fun!

Just finished a 10 day cruise with stops in Cartagena, Columbia; Panama Canal; Limon, Costa Rica; and Grand Cayman. Enjoyed it very much. Had a deluxe balcony cabin C259 that was great. 6 of us traveling together ages 63, 65, 75, 80, 84 and 88. Three adjacent cabins with connecting balconies. Two oldest were in a handicapped accessible room. Very spacious. Huge balcony. Shower in the regular rooms was phone booth size but that’s typical. Room steward was efficient and friendly without being intrusive. Food in the dining rooms was wonderful. Get anything with goat cheese! Yum! Buffet was fine. Nothing to write home about but decent food. Biggest complaint is lack of sufficient seating. Especially with 6 of us, we searched for at least 10 minutes for a table several times at different times of day. Very annoying. Anytime dining for dinner is a joke. One dining room available all evening. Second dining room only available for Anytime dining after 7:30. First night and last night we waited an hour for a table. Again, very tough with three octogenarians. Same problem with theatre. Earlier shows require showing up 45 min early and standing in line. The entertainment is good. Final show (Broadway) was disappointing. Music selection was boring and singers/dancers who were great in previous shows, were lackluster. Maybe they were tired by the 9th night. Didn’t want to schedule excursions for the whole group at every stop. Hired a taxi/guide just off the pier in Cartagena for $20 each... made sure he spoke English. Great ride around town and had a great chat with the driver about life there. Did the same thing in Grand Cayman. A couple of us did the 6 hour train/bus at the Panama Canal to The Visitor Center and Panama City. Great excursion. Highly recommend it. Did the train/boat excursion in Costa Rica. Great excursion. Got an excellent tour of the area and saw tons of wildlife on the boat. Sloth. Monkeys. Lizards. Iguana. Herons. Toucans. Lots of other birds.

Lots to do on the boat if you’re willing to just get out of your room and do it. Zumba classes. Art lectures. Movies up on deck.

All in all a fun 10 days. It give it a strong B+.

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The thing that really bothered me was we were told the Carribean Princess would be repaired when it returned to Florida on Oct. 7. But a few weeks ago another person posted that their cruise which starts on Oct. 21 already had itenerary changes for the same reason! Apparantly they are not repairing the problem!!

Panama Canal cruise leaving on Nov 10 and we have been notified of one port change and shortened times at a couple of others. So it doesn't look like any repairs before Late Nov.

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Thanks, everyone. Lots of helpful comments. Can't wait for my Panama Canal cruise in November.

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Is there some advantage to pre-paying the $13.50/day tips? I don't understand why anyone would do that. What if you're not pleased with the service?

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