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

[strummer]

Loving your review - Good luck in Italy I bet you are super excited!!:D

[LBumb]

ready for more

[gvlgolflady]

Quote...but you are right there are far better ways to see Costa Rica!! We went on a jungle cruise in Torteguero and it was like the real "jungle cruise" we saw every kind of animal and birds. You've go to go back and do it that way to really see it!!

 

 

 

 

 

We did an all inclusive in Costa Rico a few years ago. It was an amazing adventure. We hired a tour guide that was at the resort where we stayed. Did white water rafting, zip line in the rain forest, Arenal Volcano tour and had a great time at the resort with its beautiful beaches. One of the beaches was black sand. Great country to visit; would like to go back again.

 

Victoria I live in Greenville and my daughter got her graduate degree at Clemson. I love reading your reviews and see all of your beautiful pictures. I especially like to see you and your sister in all of your lovely dresses. My daughter is like you, she enjoys dressing for dinner every night. Good luck on your trip to Italy!!!!

Shirley

[LittleMissMagic]

Day 10 - Sea Day

 

Rachel and I ate at Horizon Court and then went to the pool deck. Typical. This morning, they played The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel - it was a good movie I'd never seen before. I enjoyed it.

 

In the afternoon, they did a little boat race. There were two boats competing. One was made out of bottles and duct tape. It worked. The next was a replica of the Island Princess that this little girls' grandfather spent 72 hours building.

 

DSC_6882 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

DSC_6884 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

DSC_6886 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

The announcers were giving the Princess replica a hard time for dropping the cargo and not being the most efficient, but it was the chosen winner by the audience.

[LittleMissMagic]

I then decided that I needed to photographically document the ship. This was something that I had planned to do but put off all week.

 

DSC_6889 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

DSC_6895 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

Sports deck. I went up here only to take this picture.

 

DSC_6894 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

Look at all this deck space with no chairs...

 

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I didn't know this was even here until the second to last day.

 

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[LittleMissMagic]

Why no chairs!?!?!????

 

DSC_6903 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

Oh, here's some chairs...

 

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One chair...

 

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Two chairs...

 

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No chairs!?!?!!!

 

DSC_6909 by vshingl, on Flickr

[LittleMissMagic]

DSC_6911 by vshingl, on Flickr

The Splash Pool is a little less than exciting.

 

DSC_6912 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

There aren't many chairs up here, either.

 

DSC_6914 by vshingl, on Flickr

[LittleMissMagic]

Horizon Court. As soon as you walk in...

 

DSC_6916 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

You can tell it isn't lunch time.

 

DSC_6917 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

Lots of wasted space here. I'm not sure why they need a grand piano in their buffet.

 

DSC_6921 by vshingl, on Flickr

[Coralc]

Quote seems to be broken.

 

"I didn't know this was even here until the second to last day.

 

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8049/8...11eb538e_c.jpg

DSC_6898 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8215/8...a2535511_c.jpg

DSC_6899 by vshingl, on Flickr

"

 

Is that one hole mini golf?

[LittleMissMagic]

Is that one hole mini golf?

 

I think there were 9 holes. They loop around the back and come out the other side. It's a very small area. Although it was enclosed, the roof was open to the air.

[LittleMissMagic]

We took a photo with our favorite bartender before dinner.

 

IMG_1718 by vshingl, on Flickr

[Kiwis Afloat]

I am thoroughly enjoying your review. Thank you for taking the time to do this.

I look for this thread every day, eager to read your next installment.:):)

[LittleMissMagic]

Now, I took more photos of the ship after dinnner. I have been planning this ongoing project in which I will analyze the aesthetics of different ships and cruiselines, and I wish I would've spent more time doing this throughout the cruise because I really felt pushed at the end.

 

DSC_6932 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

I really liked these well-decorated hallways on the 6th and 7th floors of the ship. They're themed to their surroundings.

 

Explorer's Lounge -

 

DSC_6933 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

Water feature in the atrium -

 

DSC_6943 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

I loved the bubbles behind the desk.

 

DSC_6944 by vshingl, on Flickr

[LittleMissMagic]

Favorite bar on the 5th floor -

 

DSC_6945 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

This was the hallway outside of Blue Bayou -

 

DSC_6950 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

DSC_6952 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

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[LittleMissMagic]

Hallway outside Sabatini's -

 

 

DSC_6958 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

DSC_6960 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

I was happy to see Mickey in the art gallery.

 

DSC_6961 by vshingl, on Flickr

[LittleMissMagic]

Hallway outside Wheelhouse -

 

DSC_6964 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

DSC_6966 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

DSC_6969 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

Empty as always.

 

DSC_6970 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

It's such a large venue. They really should schedule some entertainment there. Right now it's basically a waste of space.

 

DSC_6974 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

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[LittleMissMagic]

DSC_6977 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

Hallway to the theater -

 

DSC_6978 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

DSC_6980 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

DSC_6982 by vshingl, on Flickr

[LittleMissMagic]

The Atrium

 

DSC_6989 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

Martini Bar usually had a good crowd -

 

DSC_6991 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

DSC_6992 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

DSC_7008 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

DSC_7009 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

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[LittleMissMagic]

Luckily, I was never bored enough to have to go into the card room during this cruise.

 

DSC_7015 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

The Island Princess definitely has the biggest library I've seen on a cruise ship.

 

DSC_7016 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

DSC_7019 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

DSC_7021 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

The Universe Lounge is actually where they held the majority of their shows, rather than the theater. Probably because egress is such an issue in the theater.

 

DSC_7029 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

Princess gives chocolates at turn-down. Royal Caribbean stopped doing this several years ago.

 

DSC_7004 by vshingl, on Flickr

[goodycruising]

Hi, loving the around the ship pics. Just went back and read the Monarch review, I have loved your reviews, and agree with the many other comments that your photography & commentary is well done. You not only have a good eye for camera settings, but also the scene you are shooting. Enjoy the trip to Italy! :D

[LittleMissMagic]

Day 11 - Disembarkation

 

So we arrived in port that morning with six other ships. Mega ships.

 

DSC_7043 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

Our disembarkation time was 9:45, but we were supposed to be out of the room by 8:00. We were told that we could leave our bags in the room until 9:00 and go eat breakfast which was a great convenience. After breakfast, we got our bags and waited in the casino.

 

We had been hearing over the loudspeaker that disembarkation was backed up because we only had three customs agents. Princess was sure to let us know that it wasn't their faut.

 

We finally got called to disembark the ship at 10:30. They were nearly an hour behind schedule. Once we got off the ship and collected our bags, the customs line was ridiculous. We were a little peeved that they called us so early because we were comfortable waiting in the casino and were having good conversation with our North Carolina friends. There was also no porter line at this terminal, so our porter waited in line with us. Luckily, he was a very friendly guy. He told us that because of all the ships in port, we had gotten unlucky with terminal 19. Princess owns terminal 2, so everything runs smoothly there, but terminal 19 is just a mess.

 

Finally, after waiting in line for nearly an hour, we were moved over to the handicap entry because we had a porter and they needed the porters to hurry up and get back to help more people with luggage. So we get through customs and our porter takes our things to the parking garage, and we tip him and send him on his way.

 

DSC_7054 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

We're waiting outside in the windy cold for like 20 minutes. I finally call Dad. "I can't find the car anywhere!" We ask around, and no one really has the answer in the parking garage. We realize this is probably not the parking garage we parked in... it doesn't look familiar at all. The terminal doesn't look familiar at all. Dad and I go back track to where we exited and asked around there. Finally, someone was able to tell us that we had entered in terminal 2, but we were at terminal 19 now, so we would have to take a shuttle back to the parking garage at terminal 2.

 

So you're telling me that with all of these announcements Princess was making about how this disembarkation mess wasn't their fault, they didn't bother to tell us that not only were we at terminal 19, but that we were at a DIFFERENT TERMINAL!?!?!??? There should've been signs everywhere! It should've been in the Patter! We should've been told as we exited the ship!!!

 

I knew that we were at terminal 19, but it had been ten days - I didn't remember that we had arrived at terminal 2! Why didn't they remind us? You would've think that they would've been announcing that over and over again.

 

We FINALLY left the port at 12:20. And yes, customs sucked, but I also blame Princess. It just really stunk to leave with such a bitter taste in our mouths. We had a great cruise. We really enjoyed Princess and will probably sail with Princess again. But disembarkation is the last place you want to make enemies. You want people to leave your ship remembering what a great cruise they had and wishing they could stay, not begging to go home and then unable to find their car.

[LittleMissMagic]

We had originally planned to spend the rest of the day at a beach, but it was cold and windy.... so instead we drove by the beach.

 

First we headed down to Miami. Rachel had never been to Miami before.

 

DSC_7056 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

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[LittleMissMagic]

DSC_7079 by vshingl, on Flickr

The we drove by the beaches of Fort Lauderdale...

 

DSC_7091 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

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It looked like a really cool beach town, and I'd love to spend more time there when the weather is warmer.

[LittleMissMagic]

We were meeting our table mates from Canada that we had met on our last Christmas cruise on the Adventure for dinner in Orlando. They had just returned from their cruise on the Freedom of the Seas and were spending a few days in Orlando, so we had to meet up!

 

This is actually the first time we've actually reunited with a family we met on a cruise. Often, we'll exchange addresses and emails but never contact eachother again. I'm Facebook friends with many people I've met and will continue to talk to them from time to time, but no true reunion.

 

They left the restaurant choice up to us. I called and got us a reservation for Boma at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge.

 

DSC_7106 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

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[LittleMissMagic]

DSC_7116 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

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We had a lovely dinner with the Smith family (I say their last name only because it's so common), exchanging cruise stories. It was almost as if it hadn't been a year since we'd seen eachother! It was so great to meet up with them, and we're even planning to book the same cruise next Christmas!