LIVE FROM - 9/20/17 Island Princess Coastal, Panama and More Panama

How is the food at the HC and the MDR? No international cafe on the Island?

Have not been to the MDR the entire time. Food is too good in the HC and they have several specialty nights (Mongolian BBQ, German Night, Stir Fry, Mexican Buffet, etc.) that are just too tempting to pass up.

No IC. Not sure if she will get one in the December dry dock either. The Patisserie still has the full bar and coffee bar, just a limited selection of pastries in the morning, no lunch foods or soups and no dinner selections.

Have not been to the MDR the entire time. Food is too good in the HC and they have several specialty nights (Mongolian BBQ, German Night, Stir Fry, Mexican Buffet, etc.) that are just too tempting to pass up.

 

No IC. Not sure if she will get one in the December dry dock either. The Patisserie still has the full bar and coffee bar, just a limited selection of pastries in the morning, no lunch foods or soups and no dinner selections.

Is there a charge for the specialty nights? I know that there is a charge for the Crab Shack or whatever they call it. We will be on the Island on Dec 6th, hopefully it will have the new beds etc.

Enjoying your posts.

We are boarding the Island December 21.....when is the dry dock scheduled... before or after that????

Would be nice to have some TLC before we board😜

Like all your ship/port info ... great tips.

Thanks

We are boarding the Island December 21.....when is the dry dock scheduled... before or after that????

 

Would be nice to have some TLC before we board😜

 

Like all your ship/port info ... great tips.

 

Thanks

The dry dock is before, sometime at the end of November, Dec 6th cruise should be the first cruise after the dry dock

Is there a charge for the specialty nights? I know that there is a charge for the Crab Shack or whatever they call it. We will be on the Island on Dec 6th, hopefully it will have the new beds etc.

 

Enjoying your posts.

No charge for these 'theme' nights in the HC. (Crab Shack is different.) That's why we like the variety in the HC. We had MDR food with Paul and Elizabeth last night in their suite and was not impressed with the menu or the final product. In the HC, if I don't like something, there is at least a half a dozen other things I can try quickly - and there is always the option for a burger or pizza.

As I've said before, and multiple chef's have validated, there is no set menu for the HC. They wing it based on what they have on board. That's why with a good head chef, the HC far exceeds the MDR IMHO.

As I've said before, and multiple chef's have validated, there is no set menu for the HC. They wing it based on what they have on board. That's why with a good head chef, the HC far exceeds the MDR IMHO.

That’s really interesting. Is that unique to Princess?

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Looks like you had a dampish transit yesterday:

Have not been to the MDR the entire time. Food is too good in the HC and they have several specialty nights (Mongolian BBQ, German Night, Stir Fry, Mexican Buffet, etc.) that are just too tempting to pass up.

 

No IC. Not sure if she will get one in the December dry dock either. The Patisserie still has the full bar and coffee bar, just a limited selection of pastries in the morning, no lunch foods or soups and no dinner selections.

No IC in the works. Patisserie is the substitute. Main reason is to install the new Princess beds.

The dry dock is before, sometime at the end of November, Dec 6th cruise should be the first cruise after the dry dock

True and the Dec 6 cruise is the first on Island with the new Princess beds.

10-23-2017 Cartagena

Our time line through the canal yesterday was about 30 minutes behind the published times in the Patter. Not too delayed like the previous cruise. The Patter times were:

0530 – Pilot Onboard Off Balboa

0630 – Bridge of America’s

0730 to 0840 Miraflores Locks

0905 to 1000 – Pedro Miguel Locks

1015 – Centennial Bridge

1115 – Gamboa

1400 to 1600 – Gatun Locks

1650 – Cristobal breakwater

We had a little bit of a scare going through the locks. In Colorado, when hiking above timberline you have to pay attention to your hair. Even on clear days, but especially on cloudy or thunderstorm days, when your hair stands on end, get down, get flat on the ground, you could be hit by lightning. So we are standing on the port side balcony of Paul and Elizabeth’s suite looking at the line of traffic waiting for the bridge, watching a distant thunderstorm, when I look over and the hair on Paul’s head is standing straight up! We beat a hasty retreat back indoors and under the steel structure of the ship!

This was our first time off the ship in Cartegena. We did the ship’s tour hop-on, hop-off. It’s just a few dollars more than usual and we wanted to make sure we got early seats on the bus. Which we did, even though the ship was a bit late in docking. The HOHO is very uncomfortable. The open air nature, while the bus is moving, is the only saving grace as it was hot for sure, but you still are exposed to the sun and the seats are not comfortable at all. In fact, at the first stop, someone was selling handmade seat cushions!

Because the port time was short (all aboard was 1330), we picked up the bus right on the pier. (According to Paul and Elizabeth, who watched the entire proceedings from deck 7, the jockeying of busses on the small pier between the NCL Sun and the Island was hilarious.) Got to the clock tower about 0900 (stop #2) and started the run around the island. To get back to the ship we would have to drop off the bus at stop #15 and catch a shuttle back to the ship. The walking tour of the walled city takes off from #2 and #15. The walking tour was 90 minutes, but we wanted to spend some time around the port, so we just caught the shuttle. Good thing too.

The port area is a free excursion all by itself. It has a large aviary for various birds, but there are Peacocks and Peahens roaming freely around the area, with Macau’s and monkey’s everywhere. A bat cave, a deer pen, a flamingo pen and just a whole lot of stuff to see, do, eat and shop. Including a Juan Valdez coffee shop. They do have paid WiFi, but everyone we talked to said it was slow, slow, slow. Not worth the $5 for 2 hours.

While the trip around the city on the HOHO was interesting – the fortress is huge – the port area for photos of birds and monkeys is actually better IMHO. And they have beer…

Loved the review of the 19 day LA-LA. We will be doing that in April. Lots of sea days to relax. Wife addicted to a few programs, are you able to hook up a laptop to the TV on the Island to watch downloaded programs. Mahalo!!

Loved the review of the 19 day LA-LA. We will be doing that in April. Lots of sea days to relax. Wife addicted to a few programs, are you able to hook up a laptop to the TV on the Island to watch downloaded programs. Mahalo!!

I have only tried casting via wireless HDMI from a surface pro 3 and it would not work. The TV screen would not refresh fast enough. Wired is probably a different matter as there are HDMI ports on the TV. Someone else might know the answer to that...

10-25-2017 – At Sea to FLL

Paperwork and prep for packing day. Get all of the cash tips sorted out, nominee cards, etc. Gives me a chance to reflect back over the cruise and remember all the great times we had over the past 5 weeks.

But, yesterday was a short day in Aruba. 1300 to 1830. We did the Atlantis submarine. We’ve done the one off of Waikiki several years ago and wanted to compare them. Its fun and interesting with lots of fish, two shipwrecks and lots and lots of coral. We bottomed at 125 feet as well. The water was not as clear as Hawaii. This limited visibility to around 100 feet, which is not bad, but not as good as say St. Thomas or Grand Cayman. The entire trip took about 2 hours with pickup just down the dock from the ship and about 30 minutes in the actual submarine. If you’ve never done it before, you should at least once in one of the Atlantis locations.

After submarining we did Bayou Café to celebrate our, and Paul and Elizabeth’s, anniversary. Probably the best filet I’ve ever had on a ship. Perfectly cooked, tender and very tasty. Service was extra special, the sides (mushrooms, asparagus, potatoes) cooked perfectly and tasty as well. The lobster tail, an upcharge of $5, was well done as well. Not quite, just a hair, as good as the last one several weeks ago, but that one was near perfect. Judy enjoyed it and that was all that mattered.

A nice quiet evening meal with friends watching the lights come on in Aruba as we sailed away. The perfect evening.

Now back to filling out those cards…

Looks like you had a dampish transit yesterday:

 

 

 

Where did you find these pictures? I would like to share the link. Thanks!

Where did you find these pictures? I would like to share the link. Thanks!

https://www.pancanal.com/eng/photo/camera-java.html?cam=MirafloresHi

Once you are at this site there is a button for Gatun Locks Hi Res. There are other buttons for other cameras on the Canal, but they have not been working recently.

10-27-2017 – Disembarkation and Wrap-Up

Got away without packing and watching everyone else leave, but not this time. Time to go back to work, back to the real world for a while.

This was a really good cruise because of the staff and the fun we had. The locations were secondary. Yes, the canal was neat and some of the locations were fun to visit, but quite frankly we would have had a blast just sitting on the ship the whole time.

Food in the HC was exceptional. Even tried “Gourmet Burger” night. Lamb, beef, chicken and vegetarian patties with a build your own slider bar of fixings was pretty good. Love lamb burgers and the slider concept was great because I was able to eat a lamb and a beef burger. The meat was excellent.

We also tried to watch Wonder Woman at MUTS, but that didn’t work out well. Between the wind, the chilly air and the extremely uncomfortable lounge chairs, we quit halfway through, went to the room and completed watching it on Channel 45.

Disembarkation was timely, transfer to FLL painless – we did not use EZCheck although it was available.

Now on to planning for the next adventure!

Thanks for riding along…

Final tidbits and tips from the Island Princess 2017 Panama Canal transits…

1 – The front viewing decks on 10 and 11 are open during the canal transit and are the best views on the ship. However, keep track of the sun, as there is very limited shade unless the sun is behind the ship – as in morning transit, north bound (Pacific to Atlantic) – the sun will rise in the south east and you will have shade. No chairs – standing room only.

2 – Aft deck 8 is still open for viewing at all times. Much smaller than the forward decks, but a very good aft view. No chairs, standing room only, mind the sun!

3 – There are indoor spaces on Deck 8 that have good views, as well as the HC on Deck 14, of the Canal crossing and are in air conditioning. Not as good as outside, but cooler for sure.

4 – For these cruises (R/T LA and LA to FLL), no excursions were offered during the night in Gatun Lake. But it is a perfect night for a UBD!

5 – On the Island, Sabatini’s becomes Alfredo’s pizza from 11:30 to 14:30. Different toppings, but same crust as the Pizzeria in the Lido Deck.

6 – Orange/Red striping on cabin deck carpets on Port hallways (even cabins) – but not everywhere (like the new cabins on the stern of the ship) – so beware. Blue striping on Starboard hallways (odd cabins). Hopefully this will be fixed during dry dock – unless they are moving away from the color coding – in which case we will all be lost!

7 - The lack of the Universe Lounge is really telling on Zumba and Dance classes. Zumba is held on the open deck on sea days at 0900, but it’s hot and the sun can give your hairline a sunburn in very little time. Stake out your space in the limited shade under the edges of deck 15. Same with Line dance class, but its later in the morning and shade is harder to find. Ballroom dance is held in the wheelhouse, but space is very limited on the dance floor and its hot in the space. The Thai Chi at sea is fun, in the wheel house and not too crowded.

8 – Elevators: Forward Elevators from 7 to 14 ONLY. Midship Elevators from 4 to 15. Aft Elevators from 5 to 14. Atrium Elevators from 5 to 8 ONLY.

9 – Don’t miss Encore – even if you don’t like opera. It’s a very well done show. On the Bayou is another one that is great to see on the Island. Look for the riff on Thriller, you will enjoy it.

10 – Callie replays the MUTS movies on Channel 45 the following day after they air on MUTS.

12 – All of the lectures are also replayed on one of the channels and the DNA/genetic lectures are pretty interesting.

13. – The HC menu has specialty luncheons and dinner stations – like Sushi, Mexican, Gourmet burgers, Mongolian BBQ. Mike has started listing these in the Patter so you can plan lunch and dinner accordingly.

14. – The HC has ice cream every night for dinner behind the dessert counter, but you have to ask for it.

15. – Brewed coffee is only available from 0600 in the Patisserie. They also have specialty teas and the normal specialty coffees. The HC has a specialty coffee machine, but no brewed coffee. Sabatini’s has specialty coffee as well.

16. – The covered pool is basically unused after 1800. Great time for that last minute soak in the hot tub or swim in an air conditioned space.

17. – BOGO – Buy one get one for $1 is in the Wheelhouse from 1530 to 1630 nightly.

18. – Not to miss. Escape Room. Callie’s trivia. Callie’s musical, movie or TV theme trivia. (It’s Mr. Ed Callie, not Mr. Rodgers!) Zumba with Walter/Holly or Amparo. Dancing with Romeo. Liar’s Club. Country Wester Night. Deck Party. Ultimate Balcony Dinner. Mongolian BBQ, Gourmet Burger or German night in HC. Marriage Match Game. Encore and On The Bayou. There are more, but I just can’t think of one right now…

On the 19day Pacific Adventure, do you happen to remember when the formal night were. From your Live Post, I did see the 2nd sea day, as the first one. Mom is 93 and wants to be sure when they are. Is the escape room a charged event, and even if so, how hard was it to get a time for the activity?

Mahalo

On the 19day Pacific Adventure, do you happen to remember when the formal night were. From your Live Post, I did see the 2nd sea day, as the first one. Mom is 93 and wants to be sure when they are. Is the escape room a charged event, and even if so, how hard was it to get a time for the activity?

Mahalo

Formal nights were 9/25, 10/4 and 10/10.

Escape room was free. As soon as you see it in the Patter, you need to sign up for it. they will run two escape rooms per night on the nights they do them. One early and one late. It is a BLAST!

Thank-You for the quick reply. We've done several escape rooms with the kids and have actually beaten a few. Look forward to it.

Mahalo

Excellent reviews. Thank you for taking the time to share!

Finally finished the detailed review:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1gt7phdulqwekfILroCaCxTeI3zEL1eOu/view?usp=sharing

About a 4MB PDF.

Finally finished the detailed review:

 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1gt7phdulqwekfILroCaCxTeI3zEL1eOu/view?usp=sharing

 

About a 4MB PDF.

thank you for taking the time for the review. I did the canal all the way threw many years ago and now booked the 19 day for march 2019.