LIVE From the Caribbean Princess - New Panama Canal - Dec 10, 2017

I am looking through excursions for our Panama Canal trip and have a questions. Some suggests jeans if doing the rain forest ziplines etc. but the pictures I see, many people have shorts on. Would you suggest jeans for these excursions. I see you did the tram and zip line.

Thanks

Vicki

I wore Eddie Bauer hiking pants, which are light, don’t absorb water, and have lots of pockets. Since chances are high it’s going to rain in the rainforest, I would stay away from jeans, which would stay wet if you got rained on. I only wore long pants to protect from mosquitoes, but surprisingly, there were very few, so I think shorts would also be fine.

I had a great time on the ziplines. There are 11 runs.

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So they are now taking reservations at the Sanctuary for only specific days on the first day? I recall you had to go up and check if room was available each day or buy the entire cruise. Clarification please. BTW very lovely and informative live. Thank you.

The Sanctuary has a separate page showing all the loungers for each day of the cruise and one for the entire cruise. When someone buys a lounger, a highlighter is used to mark off that spot, and in the case of someone buying the whole cruise, that spot is marked off on every sheet. From what I could tell, any day was available. I told them what day I wanted, and they found the sheet for that day.

Hope that helped.

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The Sanctuary has a separate page showing all the loungers for each day of the cruise and one for the entire cruise. When someone buys a lounger, a highlighter is used to mark off that spot, and in the case of someone buying the whole cruise, that spot is marked off on every sheet. From what I could tell, any day was available. I told them what day I wanted, and they found the sheet for that day.

 

Hope that helped.

 

 

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Thank you for your quick reply. We are Elite, so will make a bee line when we board. We booked a window suite, so a designated outside space would be nice.

Thank you so much for the time and effort (and internet minutes) you spent to enrich our PANCAN cruise in FEB. Apple should offer you a "reward" for advertising the phone's amazing abilities in the hands of a capable photographer.

Our last PANCAN was on the Coral, which had a forward deck accessed from a cabin passageway (maybe deck 9?) Does CB have the same "hidden" deck? And if yes, is it still free to use during the canal transit?

And a second question...do you know if the spa is still offering the increasing discount if you book multiple spa treatments?

tracey

Thank you so much for the time and effort (and internet minutes) you spent to enrich our PANCAN cruise in FEB. Apple should offer you a "reward" for advertising the phone's amazing abilities in the hands of a capable photographer.

 

Our last PANCAN was on the Coral, which had a forward deck accessed from a cabin passageway (maybe deck 9?) Does CB have the same "hidden" deck? And if yes, is it still free to use during the canal transit?

 

And a second question...do you know if the spa is still offering the increasing discount if you book multiple spa treatments?

 

tracey

Thanks Tracey!

There are two forward facing deck spaces (there’s no charge anywhere on the ship for viewing): Lido deck (go all the way forward then keep going through two doors. You’ll end up above the bridge. The nice part about being up here is that over the bridge wings you can see forward and aft. The other is deck 8 forward around the bow. You can walk along Promenade outside forward then up the stairs, or out the door from deck 8 forward. Aft views are from Lido or Promenade.

This shot is from the ship’s photographers. As you can see, it gets busy, so stake out your spot early.

Sorry, I have no idea about spa pricing.

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Awesome blog! I'm leaving in March for a 28 day cruise to Hawaii, Samoa and French Polynesia. You did a fantastic job documenting your adventures.

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Thank you for your quick reply. We are Elite, so will make a bee line when we board. We booked a window suite, so a designated outside space would be nice.

Loved reading your blog, especially from the cold, rainy UK. We will be taking our second cruise in March and would like to experience the Sanctuary, maybe for an afternoon. However, can we only book if we had Elite status?

Many thanks

Loved reading your blog, especially from the cold, rainy UK. We will be taking our second cruise in March and would like to experience the Sanctuary, maybe for an afternoon. However, can we only book if we had Elite status?

 

Many thanks

Not at all, anyone can book it. I meant that as Elites we boarded first, so we made it to the Sanctuary before everyone else. The earlier you go, the bigger the choice of loungers. Sea days especially can get full.

Enjoy!

Steve.

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Thanks for a remarkable review. Our cruise is now less than a year away. Your photos of your canal excursion were great, but could you please provide your overall impressions of the excursion? Good/bad? Any problems or not? Worth the long day?

 

Again, thanks for a great review. Happy New Year!

 

Mike & Cindy

Hi Mike and Cindy. Sorry, just realized I missed your question. I really enjoyed the canal excursion. Experiencing the old locks from a small boat, close enough to touch the sides of the locks, was a wonderful complementary experience to the new locks on the CB, as well as going all the way to the Pacific. Worth the long day. You also get to drive across the new locks rolling gate on the bus, which was cool.

We sat at the very back of the boat on the first level (in the shade). The only issue was that it’s very loud with the engines there, and it was hard to hear the guide, but the unimpeded aft views were worth it. I turned my chair around so I was facing aft. When you’re in the locks you can wander to the side of the boat to touch the walls.

Steve.

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Not at all, anyone can book it. I meant that as Elites we boarded first, so we made it to the Sanctuary before everyone else. The earlier you go, the bigger the choice of loungers. Sea days especially can get full.

 

Enjoy!

Steve.

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks Steve. We are being met at Miami Airport, the day before our cruise and staying in a hotel overnight, then being taken to the port the next day. This has all been arranged by Princess Cruises, not sure if we have made the right choice, the last time we arranged everything ourselves. So, not sure what time we will arrive at the Port.

So, once on board, should I go to the Sanctuary or visit our cabin first? It would be lovely to experience the Sanctuary.

 

Many thanks

Linda

So, once on board, should I go to the Sanctuary or visit our cabin first? It would be lovely to experience the Sanctuary.

 

 

 

Many thanks

 

Linda

 

 

I would go straight up, then after it’s booked head to your cabin.

 

 

 

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Hello, I enjoyed your review very much!:D

My question is regarding your cabin TV.

We were on the Regal 《first time on Princess) and loved the selection of tv shows, movies, etc. All for free.

Do the Caribbean Princess have this? What size is the TV? Is it a flat screen?

We spend a lot of time in our cabin, and we were wowed with the Regal TV size and free entertainment!

Thanks in advance.

Hello, I enjoyed your review very much!:D

 

 

 

My question is regarding your cabin TV.

 

 

 

We were on the Regal 《first time on Princess) and loved the selection of tv shows, movies, etc. All for free.

 

 

 

Do the Caribbean Princess have this? What size is the TV? Is it a flat screen?

 

 

 

We spend a lot of time in our cabin, and we were wowed with the Regal TV size and free entertainment!

 

 

 

Thanks in advance.

I can answer that for you because when the OP was on board they had old TVs. Less than 2 weeks ago during the 1/13 cruise new 43" TVs were installed and the other day they activated the on-demand movies.

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I can answer that for you because when the OP was on board they had old TVs. Less than 2 weeks ago during the 1/13 cruise new 43" TVs were installed and the other day they activated the on-demand movies.

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Do you know if they added 2, 43 in tv's in the mini suites?

Did they hang them in the wall?

Do you know if they added 2, 43 in tv's in the mini suites?

 

Did they hang them in the wall?

 

 

Yes the minis got two. No they are not on the wall. They are where the old smaller ones were. Not a great fit but it works.

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Yes the minis got two. No they are not on the wall. They are where the old smaller ones were. Not a great fit but it works.

 

 

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They still had the old TVs when we sailed. Any pics of the new setup?

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They still had the old TVs when we sailed. Any pics of the new setup?

 

 

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Hope this works. TV is vast improvement over old one and even though it is really big for the room it doesn't over power it.

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They still had the old TVs when we sailed. Any pics of the new setup?

 

 

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Hope this works. TV is vast improvement over old one and even though it is really big for the room it doesn't over power it.

 

 

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A issue with the new TV, I was just off the Caribbean Princess, is the remote control. There is no way to enter the channel that you want. You simply have to scroll up & down. Even the person doing the installation thought it was strange. There is a option where, when activated by Princess, you can view your photos taken on your screen.

Princess does not provide a TV guide like they have done in the past so that you can see when movies will be shown.

If you have a small hand you can reach the TV electrical socket if you want an extra plug.

Tom

A issue with the new TV, I was just off the Caribbean Princess, is the remote control. There is no way to enter the channel that you want. You simply have to scroll up & down. Even the person doing the installation thought it was strange. There is a option where, when activated by Princess, you can view your photos taken on your screen.

Princess does not provide a TV guide like they have done in the past so that you can see when movies will be shown.

If you have a small hand you can reach the TV electrical socket if you want an extra plug.

Tom

It was only an issue when the new TVs were still on the old system. They have now been upgraded to the new system which means the remotes and on demand programming works like that on the Regal and the Royal. Surprised the installer you spoke with wasn't aware of that. You use the remote to select from the onscreen menus.

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BTW the TV was realigned on its mount when they upgraded the system today so it looks a little better.

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Mixed feelings about Grand Cayman today. Booked a Stingray/Snorkel trip with Captain Marvin’s. Everything was great with them, but with four ships in port today, Stingray City was a mass of humanity. There had to be close to 200 people in the water from 8-10 boats. We had to wait until a boat left before there was space to anchor. Same with the two snorkel destinations. Several years ago we booked with Nativeway Watersports, there were only 6 of us on a smaller boat, and we were already done as the larger boats started showing up. I still enjoyed the day, but it was just too busy.

 

 

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What time was your tour. I booked the first tour out at 8:30 am. Wish me luck. Thanks for all the great tips.

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What time was your tour. I booked the first tour out at 8:30 am. Wish me luck. Thanks for all the great tips.

 

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Is that Captain Marvin’s 2-stop tour at 8:30? I booked the 3-stop, which left at 10:00. Hopefully it won’t be as busy for you earlier in the day. It really depends on how many other ships are in port. Regardless, enjoy yourself!

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It was only an issue when the new TVs were still on the old system. They have now been upgraded to the new system which means the remotes and on demand programming works like that on the Regal and the Royal. Surprised the installer you spoke with wasn't aware of that. You use the remote to select from the onscreen menus.

 

 

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This looks very nice!

We spend a lot of time in our cabin relaxing.

Hubby will be very happy.:)

Thanks for the updates.

Princess does not provide a TV guide like they have done in the past so that you can see when movies �� will be shown.

 

If the system is like that introduced on the Royal, you can start a movie anytime you want, pause it if you wish, and then restart it anytime you want.