Just BACK! Island Princess-Never a More PERFECT Cruise!

[Cruiserkenn]

We were equally surprised to see the Ruby! :p Didn't expect double disembarkation going on...but it didn't seem to congest things much at all for us. No change to the Island's schedule, this was the itinerary I've been salivating over for a year! :D

 

Thanks so much for letting me know! Glad your disembarkation was a good one, too. Fun and funny that we were both surprised to see each other's ships in San Pedro (the Island and the Ruby). I, too, had planned this trip for over a year, and I thought that my research had been thorough. No harm done, thank goodness!

 

Thanks for your great review and wonderful comments:)

[anteaters]

Thanks so much for all your information! You have a flair for writing! I loved the detailed description of your port excursion (especially that you also provided the name of the excursion) in Cartegena and am looking forward to the rest of your ports. Jo Anne

[anthonyy7]

Congrats on your 30th anniversary! Loving the trip report

[zahav1]

Thank you for the great review, we're doing the same one next February, LA to FT Lauderdale. Did you stop at Fuente Amador? I've been looking for port information on this one and can't find much. Some private tours, some good Princess tours with only 20 people, and some information on taxis that doesn't sound so good.

 

Also, knowing that the chair hogs are not in full force is comforting.

Edited April 10, 2016 by zahav1

[socaljo]

Congrats on your 30th anniversary! Loving the trip report

Thanks! :D

[socaljo]

Thank you for the great review, we're doing the same one next February, LA to FT Lauderdale. Did you stop at Fuente Amador? I've been looking for port information on this one and can't find much. Some private tours, some good Princess tours with only 20 people, and some information on taxis that doesn't sound so good.

 

Also, knowing that the chair hogs are not in full force is comforting.

Because the Ocean to Ocean goes all the way through both sets of locks, there is no stop in Panama. The shorter cruises in & out of FLL do port I'm told.

[socaljo]

Thanks so much for all your information! You have a flair for writing! I loved the detailed description of your port excursion (especially that you also provided the name of the excursion) in Cartegena and am looking forward to the rest of your ports. Jo Anne

 

Aww, thanks, JoAnne! I'm working on the next segment this afternoon while watching the Angels struggle in baseball!

[zahav1]

Because the Ocean to Ocean goes all the way through both sets of locks, there is no stop in Panama. The shorter cruises in & out of FLL do port I'm told.

 

Yes, most 14-15 days cruise don't stop in Panama, but the February 3rd one does stop near Panama City for a whole day, it skips one of the Mexican ports instead. I think in 2017 only this one cruise makes a stop in Panama City.

 

We do stop in Costa Rica and Guatemala.

Edited April 10, 2016 by zahav1

[socaljo]

Actually, up next was the LOTUS SPA for my 2nd massage. That kinked neck of mine felt much better soon, remarkably better, in fact! They were running a great deal when doing multiple treatments, and massage is my addiction...Liza, the Spa manager, arranged all my visits with a God-sent fabulous massage therapist, Chix! After experiencing her ongoing treatments, I suggested she jump ship & meet me on the crown in January! I can only HOPE!

 

I've always done massage on board, it keeps my titanium neck from freaking out completely with the abuse it endures when I travel. By the end of most travel, I'm whimpering to get home or taking pain meds. Not only did I take NO pain meds more than Tylenol (PC night!), our biggest $$$ spent in the spa, had me feeling great when we got home!! The last 2 massages I was in NO pain walking in the spa for my treatment, that has not happened before. They now add a 15% auto gratuity on, which is fine with me, but when I went in for my last treatment, I also took Chix a nice cash tip, just for keeping me feeling so great the entire time! Yes, its pricey, but we don't have bar tabs, our biggest gambling is the small pack at Bingo...and being pain-free following a 15 day cruise??? PRICELESS!!!

 

Now to the fun we had in Costa Rica! We were up & out for the tour early (as most were!) gathering just after 7am. We did the Corobici River-Raft Float, Scenic Drive & Lunch. The "scenic drive" is because it takes 2 hours to get to the river! The nice part is we did get to see so much of the countryside!

 

The picture in the Princess excursion description is not quite accurate, it shows a large raft with maybe 15 people in it. No one is paddling but the guides. We were in a 6 man raft with a guide...and white water waiting for us 20 yards up that we could see...wait, the title said FLOAT?!?!

 

This river after the rainy season is a Class 4, now supposed to be a 2ish...We were in the 1st raft loaded, paddles in hand (stressing me out-my hands can't grip anything for 2 hours)...then (by the grace of God) a man came to our raft & said, nope, give me your paddles...quickly & GLADLY handing mine to him. Our raft did have huge driver paddles anchored on the back. So our guide, a young fellow, jumps aboard and says, "OK, hang on tight, it's my 1st day!" And off we went to the white water straight ahead! Of course, he was pulling our chain! Sweet kid, took great care of us, other rafts from our group came by saying, "hey, how come they don't have to work??? Where's their paddles??" And I just smiled, waved and enjoyed the ride!

 

And it was mostly a Float... but for a few baby rapids they took us through & were great fun. From the river we saw lazy Holler Monkeys sleeping in trees, a white-face capuchin running up another tree, iguanas whose bodies were 4 feet long plus the tail, running along the banks. Sleeping bats on a rock when our guide took us over to bank of the river to see them. Great fun enjoying that float! And the most scrumptious lunch, your choice of fish, chicken or chorizo given on the bus. The fish was fantastic, sorry don't remember the type, I'd not heard of it, some locally caught yummy stuff. We were in a huge traffic jam going back to the port, returned about 45 mins after scheduled, still in plenty of time. It was supposed to be all aboard at 5, some other tours were not back until 5:45! But being Princess excursions, we waited!

 

Nicaragua Next! And thanks to all of you for taking the time to read & comment, I'm enjoying re-living it all again!

[socaljo]

Yes, most 14-15 days cruise don't stop in Panama, but the February 3rd one does stop near Panama City for a whole day, it skips one of the Mexican ports instead. I think in 2017 only this one cruise makes a stop in Panama City.

 

We do stop in Costa Rica and Guatemala.

 

Nice for you! Glad they are spreading the wealth a bit with different ports!

[easyboy]

Actually, up next was the LOTUS SPA for my 2nd massage.

Nicaragua Next! And thanks to all of you for taking the time to read & comment, I'm enjoying re-living it all again!

 

Keep on posting! I like your details.

[anteaters]

Reading your log is so much fun! I think we'll change to the excursion that you did in Cartegena instead of the shorter one I booked that does not include climbing up to the fortress....but I think in Costa Rica, I'll stay with our Walk in the Clouds high suspension bridges through the rain forest excursion rather than your very wet sounding rafting one. But you do make everything sound appealing! Thanks! I can't wait to read more! Jo Anne

[jawhoffman]

Sure am enjoying your review...thanks for posting! Wondering if you chose ATD? We'll be aboard Island in 30 days and can't wait!!

[socaljo]

Sure am enjoying your review...thanks for posting! Wondering if you chose ATD? We'll be aboard Island in 30 days and can't wait!!

 

We did late Trad. this time, 7:45 dinner. We did ATD on our 2 week Hawaii cruise & got tired of waiting in a line or waiting with a pager. On a shorter cruise, I would.

 

This time it was great to walk in every night, right to our table, our preferences & names were known by the 2nd night. We also made new friends with great couples from New Zealand & Tennessee! We had so much fun with our dinner table mates that we never went elsewhere for dinner! That was a 1st for us! :D

[socaljo]

In Nicaragua, the 2 hour bus ride was comfortable and very scenic. Stopping for a quick view of Playa de Virgen, a bay of water. So much poverty here too, to no one's surprise. Along the bay, several families live in grass roofed shacks, one woman hanging her laundry, after getting it out of the wringer washer! Her young son & dog hanging around, probably watching all the rich tourists come see their little bay.

 

We went on the "Mombacho Volcano 4WD & Hike, Vistas & Lunch" excursion. The hike is listed as strenuous, and it is! But it's gorgeous, and unlike any volcano I've seen. This one sits above a "cloud forest" so the hike to the rim is through a strikingly beautiful forest that's within this cloud. So, its a bit cooler up there, and not sunny till the top. That does help, drastically! To get to the head of the trail, this is the 4WD part, we were in a 20-ish person rustic steel-benched trailer hooked to the back of powerful cab. We crawled up the, at points, very steep, one lane, cobblestone road, for almost 30 mins. Grateful we weren't walking!

 

At the trailhead there's a small nature center (and bathrooms), then the hike begins. It's 1.5km, takes about 2 hours with the group. We saw many colorful wildflowers, wild orchids blooming from a vine hanging in the top of a tree! At an exhausting part near the top, there's a big sign, in spanish & english, "DO NOT ENTER PUMA TRAIL WITHOUT GUIDE" What?!#!??$%!? I did not read PUMA in that tour description...no I didn't, thank goodness! That's a locked, gate at the trail, don't know how that keeps the pumas in...but atleast that wasn't part of our tour!

 

Then, finally, we were there! From the top, you can look down on the cloud, made me think of driving in to the LA area & seeing the not-so-pretty cloud hanging there! There's an active steam vent at the top, and you can look out over the crater. The trail is very well maintained, because of the dampness of the cloud forest, the trail has steps made from tree trunk circles, big & thick and sometimes wet enough to be slippery!

 

The walk down is very pleasant, stopping to take pics of the flowers & we even got one of a translucent butterfly! Its wings totally clear, with a band of copper-colored edging, which is how we could see it! The body was almost clear itself! We must have been late getting to our lunch place (seems like it was close to 2pm), similar choices - fish, chicken or vegetarian. The fish was again very tasty, but stone cold, along with the rice. We were starving...and gobbled down our cold lunch. The ride back seemed faster, probably because most of us were dozing off!

 

Then we were back to a couple sea days. We did a little bingo, a bit of massage & a game of Dominoes with our CC Roll Call buddies. Nothing too strenuous! Our last port in this voyage was Cabos San Lucas. We've been before, so had no need to go again. Instead, we thoroughly enjoyed a virtually empty ship! That was particularly nice! DH enjoyed doing laps & floating alone in the Lotus Pool for more than an hour, then had his choice of 50+ chairs to sit & read. I was catching a few rays up on 15, soooo many chairs to choose from...what a dilemna! Then we went to Trident Grill, and had fries cooked extra crispy for us, cuz we're the only ones up there! And had double chicken on my sandwich, YUM! Sometimes all ya gotta do is ask! For instance, DH discovered the ground sirloin, 1-inch thick burgers that are served in the FDR at lunch, he scarfed one of those often during our lunch visits, one day he asked if they had onion rings instead of fries. Waiter says, hmm, not sure, I'll ask. Bingo! Onion rings are available even if not on the menu sometimes! During one dinner, a tablemate asked for Butter Pecan ice cream, nope, sorry, but guess what WAS on the menu 2 nights later?? Butter Pecan ice cream!! He was thrilled!

 

The cutest thing that happened one night at dinner, was while we were ordering desserts, it was probably 12 nights in, DH is diabetic & most of the sugar-free desserts didn't appeal, so he would tell our waiter, "nothing, thank you". Night after night, "nothing, Ian, thank you" So this evening, when DH said his usual, Ian said, "really, nothing is what you'd like", "yep", says DH. Our desserts all come out, we're eagerly inhaling them, and Ian walks over to DH with a plate, sets it down in front of him, and on the plate, written in beautiful script is the word "NOTHING" with fancy chocolate doodles all over the plate!! We roared with laughter at that one! Thanks, Ian, our FDR experience was wonderful, in a large part, thanks to you!

 

All in all, the best cruise we've had to date, we are looking forward to topping it with the Cape Horn cruise in January!

 

Thanks all for following along! Till we sail again...

[socaljo]

Reading your log is so much fun! I think we'll change to the excursion that you did in Cartegena instead of the shorter one I booked that does not include climbing up to the fortress....but I think in Costa Rica, I'll stay with our Walk in the Clouds high suspension bridges through the rain forest excursion rather than your very wet sounding rafting one. But you do make everything sound appealing! Thanks! I can't wait to read more! Jo Anne

 

Suspension bridge...oh heck no! You are braver than I, JoAnne! Wet is good, it was hot! :p

[JimAOk1945]

I'm enjoying your review very much. The Island Princess is a gorgeous ship. We enjoyed our cruise on her in December 2015. Cartagena was our favorite port stop.

Edited April 12, 2016 by JimAOk1945

[anteaters]

Suspension bridge...oh heck no! You are braver than I, JoAnne! Wet is good, it was hot! :p

 

Thanks so much for writing, Jo Anne. I'm sorry that your log is over! I greatly enjoyed it. I'm glad that you had such a good time but from your personality that came through your writing, I'm sure that you will always have a great time on each and every trip! Jo Anne

[beannie]

socaljo, I am the poster who asked about D726. You have no idea how relieved I am that the balcony is covered. Thank you so much for remembering and for posting about it. You may have saved a marriage:eek::eek:

Edited April 12, 2016 by beannie

[easyboy]

All in all, the best cruise we've had to date, we are looking forward to topping it with the Cape Horn cruise in January!

 

Thanks all for following along! Till we sail again...

No doubt about it! Thanks again!

[jamesr3939]

Great postings!! We are doing the SF to FLL in March 2017. We only live a short distance away from SF so it's great to avoid the long flight usually both directions.

[TracieABD]

What a wonderful cruise review! I loved hearing about all of your experiences. Thank you so much for taking us along on your journey!

[socaljo]

Thanks so much for writing, Jo Anne. I'm sorry that your log is over! I greatly enjoyed it. I'm glad that you had such a good time but from your personality that came through your writing, I'm sure that you will always have a great time on each and every trip! Jo Anne

How sweet of you! Must be something about that name...:p

I do like to have fun, and we've recently figured out we aren't as young as we used to be :eek: So we're trying to keep it going Full Steam Ahead while we can! :D

[socaljo]

socaljo, I am the poster who asked about D726. You have no idea how relieved I am that the balcony is covered. Thank you so much for remembering and for posting about it. You may have saved a marriage:eek::eek:

 

I am THRILLED that you saw this, beannie!! I hung over the edge of your balcony many times, taking sunrise pictures & canal lock pictures! And yes, I met the nice people in there! If I had a clue how, I'd post a pic of it... I'll try. Darn it, I have a couple great shots, but I guess they're too big to post, I get "upload errors"...I'd be glad to email it to you!

[socaljo]

What a wonderful cruise review! I loved hearing about all of your experiences. Thank you so much for taking us along on your journey!

That's a big compliment coming from you, tracieLynn! You've inspired me to do it without even knowing! :p I've read most of your LIVEs! That's why I knew I had to start writing as soon as I got home, I'd forget the little moments that made things so special! So much going on! Although I may start keeping some notes along the way next time! Maybe during DH's "happy hour"!