Day by Day review of Island Princess 12/29/2011

[Love.II.Cruise]

I originally posted with the wrong start date of the cruise! Whoops!

 

So sorry for the confusion. The link to the beginning of the review is

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1585364

 

I will post the rest of the review here. For background and the pre-review, see above link. Please post comments and questions to this thread from here on.

[Love.II.Cruise]

Dec. 25, 2011 T-4 Days and Counting Until 10 Night Panama Canal Cruise Aboard Island Princess - in the Keys

 

Merry Christmas from the keys! This year we decided not to exchange gifts. Rather this trip is a gift to each other.

 

We spent some time reading this morning and went to Wahoo’s Bar and Grill at mile marker (MM) 83.5 Oceanside. They had a special on Stone Crab Claws. We were able to get them warm. So we ordered a pound.

 

The pound of stone crab claws consisted of 4 claws.

 

 

On my first one, I felt that I had to crack it a little more to get to the meat. Once I cracked it, I got the meat out and squeezed lemon on it. Then I felt this sharp pain in my my thumb. I looked down and I was bleeding. I guess I’m not that good at cracking Stone Crab. :( After asking the waitress for a band-aide, I proceeded to eat. The retired couple next to us mentioned how they love stone crab... and were giggling that I had cut my thumb.

 

By the time I was done with my first stone crab claw and had my band-aide secured, by DH had eaten both of this claws. So he decided he would crack my second claw for me.

CRACK, SPRAY!

DH (with head down): “Sorry.”

He spayed my entire face with crab claw juice. :eek: Now the retired couple next to us were really laughing. I wiped my face down with a napkin and happily ate the claw meat I didn’t have to crack. :p

 

Last year we tried conch fritters in Key West, and we very much disliked them. They were extremely tough and chewy. However, here we were back in the keys and it seemed appropriate to try conch a second time, prepared in a different way. So we ordered the Bahamian Cracked Conch. The Bahamian Conch is lightly floured, fried and served with a Chipotle Ranch Sauce. I don’t know which we liked more, the conch or the chipotle sauce. The conch seemed to be a consistency between clams and calamari. We would both suggest trying conch here.

 

After lunch we went to Mr. Lobster.

 

 

We wanted to have a special meal of lobster and steak for Christmas Dinner. The gentleman who helped us was extremely helpful and gave us an educational experience. Before purchasing a whole lobster, I asked if we could feed the the body to the pelicans, sort of a Merry Christmas to them. He said they wouldn’t eat it. So he showed us with another lobster, that already had it’s tail removed, how to split it from the head back towards the tail (if it had one). He showed us how they kill them humanely and quickly. He proceeded to tell us how he cooks lobster. He first boils the lobster with all the guts (he called it cholesterol) and then uses that water to make rice. He said it flavors the rice nicely. I thought that would be nice for us to do one day, but we didn’t have rice at the cabin and I figured the grocery store would be closed by now.

 

So we purchased a male lobster that was close to two pounds.

 

[Love.II.Cruise]

The gentleman killed our selected lobster, split it head to tail, pressure washed the guts out, and clipped the intestinal tract out for us. He told us to lay it meat side up on our grill over medium heat for about 10-15 minutes (look for when it turns red and the meat is plump). He also had Stone Crab Claws for sale and we asked if the taste was different based on the size (he had four different sizes for sale). He didn’t think so. He grabbed two out of the ice and showed us the cracker he had to crack the claws. After seeing that, I thought “Now that’s how you crack these!” I was impressed and so was DH. He added the two claws to our bag and wished us a Merry Christmas. We tipped him and wished him a Merry Christmas as well.

 

For dinner, I made ghee, which is a clarified butter where you cook out the milk solids. My DH stuck his finger in it, gave it a taste and said, “Nectar of the Gods!” Oh my! I blushed :o and said that I thought that was a little off the top but I appreciated the compliment. I’m not sure I’ll ever forget he said that. ;)

 

Tonight we were grilling beef tenderloin steaks, the fresh lobster, one squash slit and seeded, the two stone crab claws and mashed potatoes on the side along with the ghee and white truffle oil for the mashed potatoes. Everything was perfectly cooked and timed perfectly! What a meal - and on Christmas! We finished everything but the mashed potatoes and steaks. We saved the steaks for later.

 

We love to cook a good meal. I think this is what we miss sometimes when we cruise. We like to be served, but it would be nice to cook every couple of days. Here are a couple pictures of our Christmas dinner.

 

 

 

 

So, I won't delay any longer... Next up, embarkation day!

[Love.II.Cruise]

Dec. 29, 2011 Embarkation

 

We got to the pier and we were first in line in the boarding group for Platinum/Elite/Suite Boarding Group. Considering there were probably b2b cruisers, we suspected we’d have to race to the Sanctuary to reserve loungers for the week. It was very important to us to reserve the sanctuary because in the past we had a very terrible experience with other passengers and children during a holiday cruise (we’ve done several, but one of them was just over the top horrible). I’m digressing.

 

Once we got our boarding passes we boarded the ship and raced to the Sanctuary. The Cabana’s were already all sold out for the length of the cruise, but we were able to get two nice loungers in the best area for shade. After being first in line to check in and waiting quite a bit of time, we were surprised that we weren’t one of the first to get a Cabana. After some analysis we came to the following reasons of what went wrong.

 

Even if you are first in line, that doesn’t mean the agent that helps you will be fast. My passport wasn’t signed (even though I had traveled with it before this trip and no one asked me to sign it - it was a new passport as of 2010). The agent had me sign my passport (30 seconds lost). Speed of agent... maybe we lost 1 minute due to time for her to get two cards under different names (we have different last names).

 

Now the biggest problem. They boarded the ship based on the location of your stateroom. Ours was forward and they made us go to the forward boarding gangway. If you were aft you went to the aft gangway. Our gangway also entered the ship at a lower deck than the aft gangway. So we had to go up more floors and travel a longer distance across the ship as a result. I think all these factors played into us missing out on the Cabana’s. Although we were a little bummed at first (considering how early we got to the pier and being first in line), we were very happy we still got two loungers in the shade in the Sanctuary.

 

It’s our opinion that if you want to book the Sanctuary for the week on a popular cruise you need to be either a Platinum, Elite, or Suite Passenger. Otherwise, I think you’ll be out of luck. This is just our opinion.

 

After we booked our loungers, we went to book the thermal suites for the week. Wouldn’t you know it, we were the first to sign up. We then went to the Passenger’s Service Desk and signed up for the Ultimate Ship Tour. Wouldn’t you know it, we were the first to sign up for that too. We then made reservations for the Bayou Cafe for the evening (again... first one to make a reservation). Seems like the Sanctuary was very popular this cruise, compared to the importance of other items.

 

My husband and I went back to the Sanctuary later just to walk around, since when we were there earlier in the day we didn’t really “look” around. We meet a woman, I’ll leaver her nameless unless she wants to speak up, who was very upset that she didn’t get the Sanctuary. She arrived early to board and when she got on board she asked where to go to sign up and a person that worked for Princess in a suit told her to go the the Purser’s Desk. Fortunately, Princess did her right and assigned her a lounger (and I think her friend) for the length of the cruise.

 

My DH and I went to our cabin, C206, to check things out. The room was a good size and we were very happy. Some of you might think... “Why would you pick the room furthest forward?” It was important to us to not deal with downwind smoke (since their new policy didn’t start ’till mid Jan. 2012) from other balcony cabins. We also were hoping to really experience some waves this cruise. Our bags arrived before the 3:15pm scheduled muster and we were able to completely unpack before muster. We skipped lunch since we knew we would be eating in the Bayou Cafe this evening.

 

Below are some pictures of our cabin:

 

 

 

 

[Love.II.Cruise]

More cabin photos:

 

 

 

[Love.II.Cruise]

After the Muster, we went up to the top deck for the sail off which was around 4pm. We each grabbed a Mojito at the bar. We’ve never drank Mojito’s before but can say we are now fans of the drink. The weather for sail off couldn’t have been nicer. Once a reasonable distance out to sea we went down to Martini’s and grabbed another Mojito there and some Jalapeño Stuffed Olives.

 

Below are pictures as we leave Ft. Lauderdale:

 

 

 

 

Bye bye Ft. Lauderdale! ;)

 

 

 

Dinner in the Bayou Cafe that evening was not as good as we remembered in the past. We had a sampler of the appetizers, which we do think is a great way to try everything. We still don’t like Alligator, but we didn’t like it in New Orleans either. The shrimp seemed charred but had no seasoning. My DH loves everything shrimp, but he didn’t even like these. The Oyster on the sampler was great and we thought the best was the sausage (which was great added to the Jambalaya since there was only one piece of sausage in it). We tried and appetizer portion of both the Seafood Gumbo and the Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya. This was not the traditional Gumbo and Jambalaya we are used to. Since we had them side by side, they were basically dirty rice with the different proteins. Nothing else was different between the two taste wise and the Gumbo was not a soup/stew. My DH had the Porterhouse and added the lobster tail. I had the Filet. My filet was perfectly done and very tender, but it lacked seasoning... my DH felt the same about his Porterhouse. Then, we were pleasantly surprised by the three flavored sea salts that came around for our dishes. This is exactly what our dishes needed. We couldn’t finish our entrees and passed on dessert. Exhausted from the day, we went back to the room and we crashed early.

[trojangirl90066]

Great review & pics so far. Please keep them coming. I am excited that we are in an aft suite D631 so we can get to the sanctuary ASAP! Question - What time did you get to the port?

[Love.II.Cruise]

Great review & pics so far. Please keep them coming. I am excited that we are in an aft suite D631 so we can get to the sanctuary ASAP! Question - What time did you get to the port?

 

Thanks for the comment on the review and pics.

 

We got to the port at 9:30am. :o And we weren't the only ones there. But we were first for the Platinum/Elite/Suite group. I'd say they opened the doors for us to sit in the terminal around 10:30am. We had our books and we can read anywhere, so it wasn't a big deal for us to sit and wait.

[Love.II.Cruise]

Dec. 30, 2011 , Day 2: Sea Day

We got up early and headed to the Horizon Court for breakfast. We were shocked by how quick they made the omelets. They were both excellent. We then headed to the Sanctuary for the rest of the morning. It was a little hectic up there. Many people were upset that the Sanctuary was already sold out for the week and if they wanted an individual lounger, they would have to arrive at 6:30am the morning the day they wanted to schedule a lounger for the day. Actually, one of the people in the lounger in front of us said on other cruises they were waiting in line at 5:45am! He also said this was the noisiest Sanctuary he’d been in. He said they usually don’t let people just walk through everywhere at this point in the cruise. I don’t know what the norm is since this was our first Sanctuary experience.

 

One gentleman came and grabbed a lounger. The Sanctuary Personnel showed up and asked if he had a reservation and he said “no.” The Sanctuary Personnel proceeded to explain how to reserve the lounger during the cruise. This gentleman wasn’t having any part of it. He looked at it as empty and free for anyone to use. He asked to speak to the Supervisor. Five minutes later the Maitre’D of Bayou Cafe was up here in his jacket and spoke to him so softly I couldn’t hear what was being said. The Maitre’D was able to get the gentleman to leave without a scene being made and the towels were immediately changed on the lounger.

 

Here is a picture entering the sanctuary (I'll post more pictures of the sanctuary later).

 

 

And here is a picture of where we had been. ;)

 

 

Since we had a big breakfast, we skipped lunch again. We figured we’d have good hors d’oeuvres at the wine tasting later today. We went to the Cruise Critic M&G, but unfortunately had to leave 30 minutes early due to the wine tasting. It was great to put a face with the online names.

 

Now for the wine tasting. The only reason we went was because we were happy that Princess was no longer serving Opus One on the tasting (they did this for years and we don’t like Opus One). The wine tasting was $25 dollars and below is what we sampled along with the Sommelier’s description:

 

Heidsick_Co, Monopole Blue Top

A refreshing and elegant sparkler

 

Laboure-roi, Pouilly-Fuisse

Medium-bodied chardonnay, dry with fruity flavor

 

Simi Chardonnay, Russian River Valley

Brilliant golden-straw in color with intriguing notes of spiced apple and rum raisin on the nose

 

Clos du Bois Cabernet Sauvignon, Sonoma

Showing green peppers and several spicy aromas surrounded by toasty oak

 

Sena, Aconcagua Valley

Mocha and tobacco aromas over ripe fruit with hints of dried herbs, a fantastic wine to sample Chilean handcraft

 

Robert Mondavi, Napa Reserve

From Mondavi’s Reserve Cellars, a truly great Cabernet

 

 

We’ve been to several wine tastings (so many we’ve lost count) and we can say this was by far the best we’ve been to! :) We’ve never seen a Sommelier demonstrate the difference between smell and taste as done here. The five tastes are sweet, bitter, sour, salty, and umami (considered savory). Those are the only things you can taste. They had everyone dip their finger in their water and then dip it into a mix of cinnamon and sugar. We were then told to plug our nose with our other hand and then taste the mix. All you could taste was sweet. While it was still in our mouth we were told to unplug our nose and breath. It wasn’t until then that you could tell there was also cinnamon. We thought that was a great demonstration.

 

Nothing was a must have for us in the dining room tonight when we looked at the menu, so we thought we’d grab a salad from the buffet and some pizza. We headed back to the room to watch Crazy, Stupid, Love in our stateroom while sipping on cocktails. This was the first time we used Rum Runners and they worked perfectly. In the past we’ve always packed the actual bottles (bubble wrapped and in an extra large zip lock). The rum runners are nice because they fit nicely in the refrigerator. Thanks to all those that gave this as a tip.

 

Speaking of refrigerator, our room didn’t cool down very well at all considering it was on the lowest setting. The first night I was too hot and it took hours for me to get to sleep. My DH slept on top of the duvet. They came and looked at it during our movie, did some tests, re-calibrated and it works like a charm for the rest of the cruise.

[Love.II.Cruise]

Dec. 31, 2011 New Year's Eve, Day 3: Sea Day

 

I felt a big wave at about 4:20am. I couldn’t go back to sleep so I told my DH I was going to go take pictures of the ship while it was empty. He decided to come with me. The ship was like a ghost ship. Below are several pictures taken. You’ll notice the Christmas decorations are still up for this cruise and all the New Year’s decorations were put up in the middle of the night.

 

Some of these are duplicate photos on different settings. If I had the flash on you could see things more clearly, but the Christmas lights were difficult to see. If I took pictures without the flash, then you could see the Christmas lights better, but might have missed other details. This is a new camera and this was the first trip I got to really experiment with it.

 

Below are pictures of the Atrium:

 

 

 

 

And here is a picture of Explores Lounge:

 

[Love.II.Cruise]

Here are pictures of the Universe Lounge:

 

 

 

 

 

[Love.II.Cruise]

Pictures of the Lotus Pool:

 

 

[Love.II.Cruise]

Pictures of the gym and lotus spa area:

 

 

 

 

 

[lcmslady]

We're getting ready to book a full transit on the Island for next January.

 

I'm loving the sneak peek but now I'm a little concerned about being able to book the Sanctuary.....I was planning on it for the full 2 weeks.....

[Love.II.Cruise]

We're getting ready to book a full transit on the Island for next January.

 

I'm loving the sneak peek but now I'm a little concerned about being able to book the Sanctuary.....I was planning on it for the full 2 weeks.....

 

I recommend one of you takes the carry-ons and the other runs like heck there! I think our carry-ons slowed us down. When we got to the sanctuary, the person taking the reservations was on the 14 deck and we were on the 15 deck (the person that controlled the elevator hit 15 when we said Sanctuary). I ditched my DH and half ran half fell down the flight of stairs. :eek: There were other people there. The person taking reservations went back upstairs with other guests and said "don't worry, I'll come back down to take your reservation... you're next." My DH came down the stairs with both rolly carry-ons. We waited patiently and others started to arrive and waited behind us. The person immediately behind us didn't have his carry-ons (he ran straight there and his partner took the carry-ons to the cabin).

[Love.II.Cruise]

After taking pictures of the ghost ship we then grabbed breakfast at the Horizon Court at 6:00am. Afterwards we walked by the Sanctuary and saw many people waiting to reserve loungers. We then went back to our room to take a snooze and Overboard was playing on TV. Later in the morning we went up and enjoyed the Sanctuary. There were many white caps on the ocean today.

 

Today we decided to have a light lunch at the Sanctuary. My DH ordered the Beef & Beet on Rye which was a lean roast beef sandwich, pickled red beets, leaf lettuce, low-fat mayo and horseradish. I ordered the Chicken Caesar Wrap which was sliced chicken, crisp romaine lettuce with Caesar salad dressing in a what was advertised as a spinach tortilla (but it was regular). Both were excellent!

 

Tonight was our first formal night. On this cruise we decided to not bring formal wear. However, we didn’t want to be inconsiderate to the recommended dress code and other passengers for dinner. We had arranged for the Ultimate Balcony Dinner for this evening. This came with roses, two cocktails, half bottle of champagne, photo, and dinner served course by course. It was to windy outside for the flowers, so they stayed inside.

 

Below is a picture of the hor d’oeuvres and our table set up:

 

 

For the main appetizer we had the crab quiche. There was so much crab in this quiche, it alone could have been a main course. I decided I needed to not eat everything if I was going to try to make a New Year’s pool party. My DH wouldn’t let anything go to waste. He loved it. And of course they also gave us a basket full of bread.

 

 

 

 

After the appetizer we had a salad course which consisted of endive, goat cheese rolled in herbs, tomatoes, sliced pears, and mixed greens topped with their balsamic vinaigrette. This is a great salad, but it is large. Beware the goat cheese balls. With the herbs on the outside you may not realize there is a ball of cheese in there and accidentally put the whole thing in your mouth at once like I did.

 

 

[Love.II.Cruise]

For our main course we had the filet and lobster tails. I immediately noticed they forgot my DHs lobster tail and signaled to him to not say anything. The one they gave me was large enough for us to split. I only had two bites of the lobster and gave the rest to my DH. We both thought the lobster we made in the Keys was better. Go to the beginning of the review and click on the link that will take you to pictures of the Christmas Dinner we cooked for ourselves. You’ll see pictures of the lobster we made for ourselves. The filets for the ultimate balcony dinner were perfectly done.

 

 

 

Last but not least was dessert. From left to right were 4 types of mouse, chocolate, pistachio, strawberry and vanilla.

 

 

Our favorite was the pistachio. And if that wasn’t enough they brought us petit fours! :eek: This was a wonderful meal and despite my DH ate everything except his full dessert and all the petit fours, I think we could have split each course and been perfectly satisfied.

 

Notice how as the evening progressed the sun had set. I love the progressive changing of the daylight in these photos.

 

 

Okay, so dinner was now over and guess who wasn’t feeling well? DH. Our plan was to go to the pool party dressed elegant casual for New Year’s. My DH was in a food induced coma by 10pm. I stayed up and read next to him in bed through the New Year's and went to sleep about 1am. When we got home my DH found out his parents went out on New Year’s and went to a party. He then vowed that this next New Year’s he would be up for it. Only time will tell. ;)

[Loonbeam]

The pastry chef on the Island has been on that same ship 8 years and I think is one of the best in the fleet!

 

Last but not least was dessert. From left to right were 4 types of mouse, chocolate, pistachio, strawberry and vanilla.

 

 

Our favorite was the pistachio. And if that wasn’t enough they brought us petit fours! :eek: This was a wonderful meal and despite my DH ate everything except his full dessert and all the petit fours, I think we could have split each course and been perfectly satisfied.

 

[Love.II.Cruise]

The pastry chef on the Island has been on that same ship 8 years and I think is one of the best in the fleet!

 

I had heard that several times before we left to go on this cruise. On our Ultimate Ship Tour I asked the Assistant Cruise Director about that and he didn't know. But even when we asked him about whether there was a brig on the ship he wasn't sure and had the security officer answer the question. I'll discuss more about the ship tour later in this review. ;)

[srpilo]

Very comprehensive review

 

 

 

Thanks

Srpilo

[Love.II.Cruise]

Very comprehensive review

 

 

 

Thanks

Srpilo

 

I feel I owe this since I got so much help and information from so many people on these boards for my cruise.

 

There is still more to come...

[KruzPrincess]

The pastry chef on the Island has been on that same ship 8 years and I think is one of the best in the fleet!

 

Ditto your thoughts on this. Wonderful pastry chef and staff on the Island. A real treat.

 

To the OP, thanks. I was on the Island over Thanksgiving. It was a nice cruise.

[Love.II.Cruise]

Jan. 1, 2012 , Day 4: Aruba

 

We were scheduled to arrive approximately at 7am in Aruba and to depart at noon. My DH and I have been here before and decided to not get off in this port. We decided to spend the day at the Sanctuary. It rained off and on, but we got to enjoy beautiful rainbows.

 

 

Storm brewing and coming in:

 

 

 

Double rainbows!

 

 

[Love.II.Cruise]

With our loungers being in the covered area, we were fortunate that they did not get wet. In the picture below we had the two loungers furthest to the right all the way in the back.

 

 

If you rent a lounger in the sun and then it rains, I think you are SOL. They do get wet and seem to become unusable. Sometimes they just leave their plastic raincoats on these chairs so they stay dry for the next day (as seen by the turquoise coverings above on the front loungers).

 

Here are few more pictures of the Sanctuary:

 

 

 

Tonight was our first night that we went to the Dining Room. This cruise we went with anytime (first time we do this on Princess). We figured since we knew we wouldn’t be attending formal nights, that we shouldn’t book a table for the entire cruise. I finally tried what others had suggested... an appetizer of Fettuccine Alfredo. Yummy! And it wasn’t too much. This way I could still enjoy an entree. We asked for a table for 2 and I will say the tables are quite close together. So close, that it was unavoidable to speak to the table next to you. If the tables are this close together, I’m not sure why they should even bother having tables for 2 (this is only our opinion of this ship - I know others are different).

[Loonbeam]

If you noted the big wooden locker on the upper deck port side? They have a few spare cushions in there, but not enough to replace all if a unexpected storm hits. They do try to cover them ASAP, but that's one reason if the cabanas were booked I would select where you did..

 

I meant to ask, were Eka and Johjana (forgive spelling) your Stewards? I know Johjana was trying to move to MDR staff (If you weren't aware, the Sanctuary staff goes from there to work in the buffet at night)

 

I actually miss quite a few of the crew from the Island.. That's rare.

 

 

With our loungers being in the covered area, we were fortunate that they did not get wet. In the picture below we had the two loungers furthest to the right all the way in the back.

 

 

If you rent a lounger in the sun and then it rains, I think you are SOL. They do get wet and seem to become unusable. Sometimes they just leave their plastic raincoats on these chairs so they stay dry for the next day (as seen by the turquoise coverings above on the front loungers).