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10-Day Island Princess - Panama Canal Partial Transit - Chistmas Cruise Photo Review

LittleMissMagic

By LittleMissMagic,
in Princess Cruises

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AmberTeka

AmberTeka

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Posted (edited)

i really enjoyed your review. You and your sister are as cute as buttons. Your Mom and Dad seem like total winners. there were a few things I wondered about.

On Sea Days did you try any of the trivia activities or such? On the Princess ships we have been on, they are very competitive and very well attended. Many bragging rights to the winners. Also the ball room dancing..the Rumba..the cha cha cha..other games..cooking demonstrations..did not any of that appeal to you?

 

Also, your family seems to be blessed with prosperity. I wonder why you did not take ship tours? We have always paid a little more to be on tours where we feel safe, and the buses, vans...are certified safe. We did one independent one in the Bahamas, and long story short, when we finally got back to the ship..we swore no independent tours for us ever again.

 

If my tour guide..had gone to the home of another guide..and an argument over money had broken out..I would have jumped out of the car and started running.

Your review..besides convincing me to book the Island Princess for January of 2014...also convinced me...................stick with the Carnival Shore Trips.

Hope you have a great time in Italy. Eat a lot of good food..see some marvelous sights.

If your family has not been to Cureso so..Aruba...Barbados...all of the Dutch Antilles..I bet you would enjoy that ten day Emerald Cruise.

The new dress...the Grecian Draped Ivory one...really a pretty dress. It was modest..but still flattered your figure a lot. Good Choice!

Edited by AmberTeka
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Phoenix cruiser

Phoenix cruiser

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Posted

This doesn't deserve to be simple called a great review, it is an awesome travelogue. If a career in architecture doesn't work out you should consider being a travel writer! I know it pales by comparison, but here is a link to my traditional Cruise Critic format review of this same cruise.

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=113258.

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LittleMissMagic "Live from...." Rare

LittleMissMagic

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i really enjoyed your review. You and your sister are as cute as buttons. Your Mom and Dad seem like total winners. there were a few things I wondered about.

On Sea Days did you try any of the trivia activities or such? On the Princess ships we have been on, they are very competitive and very well attended. Many bragging rights to the winners. Also the ball room dancing..the Rumba..the cha cha cha..other games..cooking demonstrations..did not any of that appeal to you?

 

Yeah, I played some trivia but found that I was significantly disadvantaged being under 30. Other things like the galley tour and towel demonstrations I've done on other cruises, so I wasn't really jumping to do it. I also thought that they put things at bad times. I would be on the pool deck for pool games, then they'd have something inside. I'm not going to go to an indoor activity on my swimwear.

 

Also, your family seems to be blessed with prosperity. I wonder why you did not take ship tours? We have always paid a little more to be on tours where we feel safe, and the buses, vans...are certified safe. We did one independent one in the Bahamas, and long story short, when we finally got back to the ship..we swore no independent tours for us ever again.

 

That was the first time anything has gone really wrong for us, and I was never scared or worried that I wasn't going to get back on the ship. I like adventure. I don't like overpaying for excursions. The cruiseline pockets a sum of the money with their tours, and I'd rather give it straight to the locals. I'm also a procrastinator. I was very busy the last month of school preparing for final review, and I'm usually the one to research excursions in advance. So I just never got around to booking anything on advance. We actually tried to book a Panama Canal tour, but everything was sold out.

 

If my tour guide..had gone to the home of another guide..and an argument over money had broken out..I would have jumped out of the car and started running.

 

It's a good thing you book straight through the ship then. You wouldn't survive a horror movie! No matter the situation, I try to stay calm and think before I act. Taking off running could send a lot of negative messages - "I'm guilty!" "I'm scared!" "Shoot me!". In this situation it's you against everyone else... You're gonna outrun the guy in the car? You don't know where you are or how to get back to the ship! The best thing to do is put on your don't mess with me face and deal.

 

Your review..besides convincing me to book the Island Princess for January of 2014...also convinced me...................stick with the Carnival Shore Trips.

Hope you have a great time in Italy. Eat a lot of good food..see some marvelous sights.

If your family has not been to Cureso so..Aruba...Barbados...all of the Dutch Antilles..I bet you would enjoy that ten day Emerald Cruise.

 

We actually did a similar itinerary on the Serenade of the Seas, but it's one I enjoyed and would love to do again!

 

The new dress...the Grecian Draped Ivory one...really a pretty dress. It was modest..but still flattered your figure a lot. Good Choice!

 

Thank you very much! I tend to be more modest in clothing choices than my sister, so when I saw her cruise dresses, I freaked out that I wasn't sexy enough. So I went to the store in search of a plunging neckline, but I felt like a tramp. I was glad to find a dress that was stylish but modest and more mature looking.

Edited by LittleMissMagic
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joand452

joand452

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Wonderful review and photos, Victoria! It was good to get the perspective of someone who's cruised mostly on RCI.

 

We've done more cruises on RCI, but three on Princess and are waffling about trying another Princess cruise (the California Coastal). Our last cruise on Ruby really put me off. Nothing specific, but the service wasn't nearly as good and friendly as on RCI. The Wheelhouse Lounge is beautiful on all ships, but all were smoking venues on the ships we were on, so we never went in (except for pub lunch one day). And Crooners was empty each night!! The entertainer was good, too (unlike some we've had on RCI; we steer clear then). I really liked most of the entertainment, especially those in Explorer's Lounge. We're bigger people and those seats in the main theater are narrow! RCI wins there!

 

Thank you again for taking the time to take us along on your cruise. Looking forward to your next one!

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caribill

caribill

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The Wheelhouse Lounge is beautiful on all ships, but all were smoking venues on the ships we were on, so we never went in (except for pub lunch one day). And Crooners was empty each night!!

 

The Wheelhouse has been smokefree for several years now.

 

It depends on who the entertainer is, but on many of our Princess sailings the crowd at Crooners has overflowed into the walkways.

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MomtoCCC

MomtoCCC

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With such a great cruise review and some time in Italy on the horizon, any chance you will have an Italy travel blog posted any where???

 

Great idea! I would love to read about your Italy travels (and live vicariously :p)

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blueridge20

blueridge20

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Thanks so much for your wonderful review!! We like Princess very much and prefer it, but we just returned from our first RCL cruise. We were on the 10 day Dec 14, Vision of the Seas. We enjoyed it, the itinerary was very good, and price better than 10 day on Emerald! :D

 

I did see the negative comments and I think you seem like a wonderful young lady, very thoughtful and insightful. Hope you have a wonderful time in Italy, and look forward to reading your next review.

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LittleMissMagic "Live from...." Rare

LittleMissMagic

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Hello, everyone!

 

I arrived in Italy today. Unfortunatley, my luggage did not. :( Our flight from Charlotte was delayed half an hour which gave us ten minutes to spring across the airport in DC, and our bags didn't make the plane. It's been a very stressful day of travel!

 

If you'd like to follow along with my Italy adventures, my travel blog is www.victoriaonvacation.blogspot.com

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