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

[beannie]

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!

 

 

Email would be wonderful. Nancy Speltz at yahoo.com can't wait to see it! I forgot to mention earlier that I also loved your review. Thanks for taking the time to do it!

[harleysmama]

Thank you so much for the great recount of your Panama Canal cruise on the Island we will be doing the same cruise in January and your log helped me with some of my excursion plans.

And also the stay of one night in Ft Lauderdale. Looking forward to our trip.

[sbgrace]

Thanks for the review! We are experienced cruisers embarking on our first Princess cruise this fall--the Panama Canal on the Island Princess, just the reverse itinerary from yours. Love the details about the ship.

Chris

[socaljo]

Email would be wonderful. Nancy Speltz at yahoo.com can't wait to see it! I forgot to mention earlier that I also loved your review. Thanks for taking the time to do it!

 

The pics are on their way! Have a great cruise!

[socaljo]

Thanks for the review! We are experienced cruisers embarking on our first Princess cruise this fall--the Panama Canal on the Island Princess, just the reverse itinerary from yours. Love the details about the ship.

Chris

Hope you'll come back and tell us your thoughts on Princess! We really enjoy it, especially the food in the FDR! One of my fave parts of cruising is trying new foods without worry, if I don't like it, it gets replaced! If I do really like it, I can usually get MORE! :D They ruined me with the Twice Baked Goat Cheese Souffle...more, please!! :p

[Mailmom]

enjoying your trip report very much. We are sailing in 13 days.

I look forward to more! thank you.

[MGnut]

enjoying your trip report very much. We are sailing in 13 days.

I look forward to more! thank you.

 

LOL!!! I'm on the same cruise as you are. Are you meeting us in Aruba, not FLL? Our cruise leaves in 10 days, not 13. :)

[TracieABD]

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"!

 

That is really sweet of you to say. I love to cruise and I feel compelled to write. It is a match! I write so I don't forget... Vacations go by so fast, and if I don't document the details, it will be one big old blur.

 

It was nice to read of your experiences!

[socaljo]

Although, the review is technically finished, I did forget to tell you another helpful item we packed on this trip. 3-in-1 laundry sheets, 10 sheets online for about $6. Worked beautifully! No static cling at all! :D Can't waiting to be using more on sea days sailing around Cape Horn in January...

 

Also I may be adding a few pics, a friend is coming over to help me figure out how to get past the "upload error" issue with pics, after all that phrase is so helpful... :( and I'm so not techie.

[socaljo]

If I have learned a new trick, you will see 2 pics of our mini-suite D724. If not, we'll try, try again!

[socaljo]

Ok, so new tricks take a couple tries, here's the view from the door! D724 on the Island.

[socaljo]

Canal locks closing behind us, leaning over our balcony, gives the view of D726 curved balcony. Then the special tug that keeps us in line...because of all the "extra space" on either side of the ship once inside the canal!

 

Wish I had learned this while writing the review...but better than never! :D

 

 

 

 

[wowzz]

Don't worry. Pleased you enjoyed your cruise and we are looking forward to the same cruise next week.

[MGnut]

Canal locks closing behind us, leaning over our balcony, gives the view of D726 curved balcony. Then the special tug that keeps us in line...because of all the "extra space" on either side of the ship once inside the canal!

 

Wish I had learned this while writing the review...but better than never!

 

 

Don't worry. You are doing great. How did you get these pictures to be the size they are? Usually, that type of picture is much smaller. Great job!

 

We will be doing the FLL to Vancouver passage in 9 days, so your review is very helpful.

 

Thanks.

[socaljo]

Don't worry. You are doing great. How did you get these pictures to be the size they are? Usually, that type of picture is much smaller. Great job!

 

We will be doing the FLL to Vancouver passage in 9 days, so your review is very helpful.

 

Thanks.

 

Thanks! I used Windows Paint to resize, put it at 65 from 100. Hope your cruise is wonderful!

[easyboy]

Wish I had learned this while writing the review...but better than never! :D[ATTACH]382791[/ATTACH]

I hope others who post pictures will learn from you if they want an option for a reduced size.

[wishfulone]

Thank you, thank you for a wonderful report. I've just read it from page 1 and have enjoyed every minute. We're doing the same cruise on the Island in November and can't wait.

[socaljo]

Thank you, thank you for a wonderful report. I've just read it from page 1 and have enjoyed every minute. We're doing the same cruise on the Island in November and can't wait.

Thanks! Isn't it comical how much we can enjoy reading about someone else's cruising??? I've been doing it obsessively this past year while planning this cruise. Now, DH went & convinced me to book another for January saying something silly about not getting any younger...I don't think he's realized what a CC-addict he's creating!

[Doglovertoo]

Thank you so much for sharing your experiences. We booked this cruise yesterday and then I found your review. It confirms that we did the right thing! I'm saving this thread so I can refer back to it for our cruise next January. By the way, you should become a professional travel critic. How fun would that be!

[socaljo]

Thank you so much for sharing your experiences. We booked this cruise yesterday and then I found your review. It confirms that we did the right thing! I'm saving this thread so I can refer back to it for our cruise next January. By the way, you should become a professional travel critic. How fun would that be!

I know you'll have a great time! I think I'm probably not "critical" enough to be a travel writer. But I really have enjoyed doing this piece. I will definitely do one for our South American - Cape Horn Cruise in January. Only I'll be making a lot of notes onboard for myself! Its really hard to recall all the great things, times and fun we had, 15 days makes for TONS of memories! Of course, I'm not sure where I'll find the time to do that...but practice makes perfect, right?? :D Just have to keep sailing to get better at it! :p

[wishfulone]

I know you'll have a great time! I think I'm probably not "critical" enough to be a travel writer. But I really have enjoyed doing this piece. I will definitely do one for our South American - Cape Horn Cruise in January. Only I'll be making a lot of notes onboard for myself! Its really hard to recall all the great things, times and fun we had, 15 days makes for TONS of memories! Of course, I'm not sure where I'll find the time to do that...but practice makes perfect, right?? :D Just have to keep sailing to get better at it! :p

 

We did the cruise around Cape Horn a couple of years ago and enjoyed it so much we often talk about going again. It was the most amazing experience. I know you'll love every minute of it.

[socaljo]

We did the cruise around Cape Horn a couple of years ago and enjoyed it so much we often talk about going again. It was the most amazing experience. I know you'll love every minute of it.

Wow! That's a great endorsement! We are definitely excited. It was a surprise to me when DH said let's book it because we aren't getting any younger & the flights will be difficult enough on us now! We did book business class so that should make it more bearable.

[alwalaska]

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.

 

Hi! I'm on the same cruise. Come visit our roll call. It is still small, but growing.

 

Although the reviews are really mixed, I'm thinking about doing the Hop On Hop Off at Fuente Amador. Supposedly the city buses are pretty nice there.

 

Sorry OP to go a little off topic. I'm loving your review and hope that pictures will also follow.

[alwalaska]

Thanks for the photos that you worked hard to upload. I am so excited for our cruise next year. I also think that you did a fabulous job. Nice balance between enough details to be helpful, but not so many as to be boring.

[socaljo]

Thanks for the photos that you worked hard to upload. I am so excited for our cruise next year. I also think that you did a fabulous job. Nice balance between enough details to be helpful, but not so many as to be boring.

Glad you came to the pics! We don't take a lot of the ship or the interiors. Mostly of our excursions! My pals at home were griping last time that they couldn't see our cabin. That's the only reason I took them this time! :p Also, thanks for the kind words about my review! Its the 1st I've written, after reading a billion or so! :D