Day by Day on the Island Princess thru Panama Canal

[easyboy]

Too bad the $99 photo package offered in other ships is not being offered on the Island.

Enjoying your review.

[GweninTX]

Too bad the $99 photo package offered in other ships is not being offered on the Island.

Enjoying your review.

 

I think it is because it is a 15 day cruise and the $99 is for shorter cruises, but I am not sure why it is higher!

[GweninTX]

Day 6 – 2/8/17 – Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala – Antigua

 

Ron and I continue our hour long walk each morning. We see the same walkers on deck 7 each and every morning. Some cut thru the ship to make it a real circle, Ron and I just make a U-turn and stay outside the whole time. It is hot and muggy again this morning and we are both drenched by the time 7:00 AM has rolled around. We are going on a Princess excursion today to Antigua that leaves at 9:30 AM. The Horizon court is a mad house as everyone is trying to all eat at the same time to leave the ship. We do manage to find 4 chairs together, but every seat is taken up here. If you don’t like crowds, I would suggest room service on a port morning. Since the Island Princess has no International café – your breakfast choices are slim. The dining room is open too, but they are very slow. Today is my husband’s 67th birthday. We sang to him at breakfast.

 

At 9:15 we head to the Bordeaux dining room to meet our tour group. Ours is just a bus ride into Antigua and then we are on our own. At 9:45 our group number is called and we file off the ship to our large modern bus. Thank God it is air conditioned as it is very hot here in Puerto Quetzal. The port area does not have much right here. There are some booths with local handicrafts in them. Lots of textiles being sold by the women. I would suggest taking the bus into Antigua as it is a beautiful ride and it has a lot more to see and do. It is a 90 minute ride to Antigua, but our bus host, Vincent gives us a good overview of what we will see and is available while in Antigua. It is very scenic and we see 3 volcanoes on the way in. We also see lots of sugar cane fields, coffee plantations and banana fields. The time passes quickly and soon we are in downtown Antigua. Vincent offers to personally guide anyone for the day for $10 per person. All the other guides who meet our bus charge $15 per person for a walking tour. We decide to stay with Vincent for the day. There were 12 of us who walked with him all day and I highly recommend a guide as they can really tell you what you are seeing and also point you in the right spots for shopping and for lunch.

 

We start out in the Jade Museum. It is very interesting and was founded by a woman from Fort Worth, TX. She and her husband went to Antigua to mine jade and actually saved the industry because none of the locals believed there was any jade there. They have a huge factory there and we got to see then actively cutting and polishing the pieces. All pieces of jewelry and artwork are certified the gemological institute as being pure jade. I bought a necklace and earrings and Peggy bought a beautiful ring. We walked through a neat handicraft stall that had locally made items. So much of the stuff on the streets is from China, but the items in these stalls were all made by locals. I bought a beautiful embroidered cross body bag. Marilyn bought one for herself and all her granddaughters.

 

We ate lunch at a local hotel and they had a marimba band and I thought of my daughter, Penny who played the marimba all thru high school. She would have loved it! There were 4 marimbas and 2 men on each playing together. A dance troupe also performed while we waited on our lunch. I had a bowl of black bean soup and Jerry had chile rillenos. All of the food everyone ordered was good and we enjoyed the entertainment. The streets in Antigua are cobblestone and very rough to walk on and to ride on. We toured a beautiful Catholic church after lunch. Afterwards we took a Tuk Tuk across town to the chocolate museum. The ride was an experience. These are a small enclosed area with a seat big enough for 3 small people and are powered by a motor scooter. They charge $1 per person to ride. I would have enjoyed it more with only 2, but we made it. I was not impressed by the chocolate museum; I would skip it if you go in the future. We also stopped at an artisan rum shop and several purchased rum. Ron got a kick out of the name – it was Rons Rum. We made our way back to the jade museum as that was our meeting point to catch the bus at 3:30 PM. Prepare yourself by all the people selling things on the street and trying to get you to buy. If you make eye contact and touch their wares, be prepared to be hounded. Marilyn was followed for three blocks with a woman trying to agree on a price to entice her to buy her shawl. She was not taking a polite no for an answer. We boarded our bus and were on the road again by 3:45 pm. We were provided large bottles of water for free on the bus and I highly recommend this tour from Princess.

 

If you stayed on board the ship today your entertainment choices included bible study, spa special of 15% off any service, movie in the Princess theater, “Keeping up with the Joneses”, crazy golf, Galaxy Quest on MUTS, Animal Planet trivia, bean bag toss, free sample massages by the spa staff.

 

We got to the ship at 5:20 and the women all went straight to the dining room as we were in capri pants and the guys went to the room to change into slacks. They are enforcing the “No Shorts” rule in the dining room in the evening and turning men away who have them on. The all aboard time was 6:30 PM and the dining room was only about 1/3 full tonight. Our waiter did not mind us being a little late, but we apologized for the delay. Our menus have featured local cuisine every night and I have really enjoyed seeing new items and menus that I have not seen on other cruises. Tonight, they had oven baked plantain chips with guacamole, beef satays with peanut sauce, and a Puerto Rico Asopeo soup. I had a garlic cream soup that was excellent. For the entrees you could choose from Lemon Sole, Spaghetti Carbonara, Bahamian fish stew, pork rib chop, roast beef with Yorkshire pudding and the Curtis Stone special, Chicken and Leek pot pie. We had chocolate cake since it was Jerry’s birthday. We all sang again and he blew out the candle for his wish to come true!

 

Tonight, we chose to hurry to the Princess theater after dinner to see the comedian/magician, Jeff Peterson and Indy the Magic Dog. He was voted Comedy Magician of the Year. He was very good and his dog stole the show. For everyone who was missing their animal, they got to enjoy the antics of Indy. Later in the evening between shows I got to pet her and she was a cutie! I highly recommend this show if he is on your ship. There were only two shows tonight and not a single seat available at the 7:30 show by 7:05. You have to get there early if you want a seat.

 

Other choices for this evening were Name that Tune trivia (we were at the magic show or would have gone), an Effy event, Karaoke Power hour, Pub night trivia and Ye Old Pub night in the Explorers Lounge at 10:45. We wanted to go to it, but were just too tired. I hated that it started so late, we have attended on other ships and really enjoyed it.

 

Tomorrow is a sea day, stay tuned!

 

For those on future cruises, there is a Happy hour in the afternoon from 3-4 PM where you can buy a drink and get the next for $1. They also have this from 10-11 PM. Both are in the Wheelhouse bar and are very well attended.

[andio2of5]

Too bad the $99 photo package offered in other ships is not being offered on the Island.

Enjoying your review.

 

Easyboy.....the $99 photo package is offered on our Feb 28, 2017 Panama,(FT Lauderdale to San Francisco) 15 day cruise on the Island. I purchased it and plan to make GOOD use of it :D. I don't know if it's just for our cruise or any cruise but under the description of it it states "*Pre-cruise promotional offer valid through February 28, 2017 only."

[easyboy]

Easyboy.....the $99 photo package is offered on our Feb 28, 2017 Panama,(FT Lauderdale to San Francisco) 15 day cruise on the Island. I purchased it and plan to make GOOD use of it :D. I don't know if it's just for our cruise or any cruise but under the description of it it states "*Pre-cruise promotional offer valid through February 28, 2017 only."

Thanks andio2of5. We also got the $99 package for our Mar 25, 2017 Crown cruise:). Just thought that it is also offered on the OP's Island sailing.

[GweninTX]

Easyboy.....the $99 photo package is offered on our Feb 28, 2017 Panama,(FT Lauderdale to San Francisco) 15 day cruise on the Island. I purchased it and plan to make GOOD use of it :D. I don't know if it's just for our cruise or any cruise but under the description of it it states "*Pre-cruise promotional offer valid through February 28, 2017 only."

 

That may be the answer -- if you purchase online before the cruise it is cheaper. I did not want it, so I really did not pay attention, but I know on our Crown Mexican Riviera 7 day it was only $99 onboard.

[GweninTX]

2/9/17 – Second Formal night & Sea Day

 

Jerry and I slept in this morning. I did not wake up at my usual 5:45 time, I think I was exhausted and my body needed to catch up on sleep. Since we woke up late we decided to forgo breakfast and just get coffee and muffins at the Patisserie. I also had a banana in my room. I think I have told you about the food that the Patisserie serves, but in the morning, they have 4 trays of miniaturized muffins and sweet rolls. These are the same as the full-sized ones in the Horizon Court. No donuts anywhere that I have seen. At about 11:00 they change over to a tray of finger sandwiches. These remind me of the ones that are served at the afternoon tea. About 2:00 they change over to tiny petit fours cookies, again, like the ones served at afternoon tea. If you want the yummy chocolate chip or peanut butter ones, they are only in the buffet.

 

The boys beat us twice at hand and foot canasta. We continue to play in the library. They have a ventilation problem in that room, it gets warm in there. We have complained and they have fixed it a couple times, but it continues to be warm. The ocean is very smooth and I talked to one of the navigation officers and he said he thought it would be this way the entire cruise. We have not seen any more wildlife from the windows. But we are thankful for calm waters. It is so calm that it does not seem like we are moving.

 

At 1:00 pm we head up to the Horizon Court to have lunch. I stop on the way at the pizzeria and they are serving Hawaiian pizza – it is just wrong to put pineapple on a pizza. I then perused the buffet and saw nothing that appealed to me, so I went to the grill on 15th floor and stood in a long line for a yummy hamburger. They also have grilled chicken breasts, veggie burgers, hot dogs, bratwurst and knockwurst. And of course, those yummy hot French fries!

 

The morning activities continue to be a repeat daily, so I will only add the new items. A destination presentation on the Panama Canal was held in the Princess theater. A photography class was held in the photo lounge. Ron Bowers, the enrichment lecturer gave a talk on, “The influence of Cop TV shows”. I have been watching the recordings of his lectures and they are very good.

 

In the afternoon, “The Legend of Tarzan” was being shown in the Princess theater. The runway fashion show was held in the Piazza. For arts and crafts they made a box. And on MUTS, “Captain America, Civil War” was being shown. Jerry and I played some 3 card poker and neither of us were very lucky. Peggy played the slot machines and Ron took a nap. We decided at lunch time that we would go ahead and get our formal wear on and wear it to trivia since it was at 4:30 and our dining time is 5:15. We got 15 at trivia and were beaten by 17. These were very hard questions, but we all enjoy it and do not need a bottle of cheap ship champagne.

 

The formal night menu was very strange. We had been asked early in the cruise if we wanted escargot and we all said yes. Well tonight it was served, but was not on the menu. I am wondering if it was served to help make this menu a little better and more deserving of a formal night --- I have no idea. The escargot was heavenly! We broadened the palate of Peggy and Ron and got them to try escargot. They LOVED it. Bud was the only one who turned up his nose at them, so we shared his plate! It is my second favorite item served on a cruise. My favorite is twice baked goat cheese soufflé and it is coming up in the future – I have asked! Other appetizers included tropical fruit kabobs, Tom Kai Gai soup, corn and Italian sausage chowder and a cold tropical fruit soup. The main dishes were not very exciting for formal night. The lobster was a small West Indies poached lobster and was served with grilled watermelon and a vegetable chorizo stew. Prime rib was also offered and I opted for it (bad choice, tonight’s piece was really tough!) There was also Kingclip filet of fish which Marilyn had and she said it was OK. Roasted pork belly was offered again and I wish I had ordered it. But I knew we were having one of my favorite desserts tonight, so it was fine that I did not eat the prime rib. Chocolate Journeys – Chocolate Hazelnut bar is of the devil it is so good! It is so pretty, you hate to eat it too. It has a crunch hazelnut cookie base, then the richest chocolate crème layer on top, topped with dark chocolate Chantilly. It is a blend of milk and dark chocolate. Chocolate curls decorate each end and is finished off by a whole hazelnut enrobed in gold dust. It is a feast for the eyes and the palate! You could also enjoy French vanilla soufflé, Sugar free Crepes with chocolate cream cheese filling, ice cream and petit fours.

 

We run to the Princess theater to stake out our seats for the 7:30 evening show, The lighting fingers of Stephen Kane, pianist and vocalist. He was very good and played a great variety from classical to Jerry Lee Lewis – Great Balls of Fire! We enjoyed him a lot – I highly recommend. All of the evening entertainment on this cruise has been excellent – not a bad one yet!

 

The other events were the same as other evenings. They did have the auditions for Voice of the Ocean, which we will definitely go to as we have enjoyed it on 2 other ships! The casino was smoke free tonight, but I have to say it has never been really smoky on other nights.

 

Tomorrow is our second port, Puntarenas, Costa Rica and I have a group going with a guide, Ricky Ricardo. He says he is THE Ricky Ricardo. Stay tuned for one of my favorite places in the world, I think I could move there and be happy!

[Micahs Grandad]

Glad your having such a great time.

 

Looking forward to April:)

[cdslmom]

thanks so much for letting me know!

[bunyababy]

Does the Island Princess still the The Sanctuary which is located Aft and is two decks with a pool? I read somewhere in another thread that the only Princess Cruise Ship that has a pool in the Sanctuary is the Coral Princess? I stayed for 10 solid days in the Sanctuary on the Island Princess and it was the highlight of my cruise. I would go on either the Island or Coral again just for the Sanctuary. I really need to know if both of these ships still have the pool because I was wanting to book another cruise. Thanks kindly :)

[JohnS43]

I was on the reverse of this trip (Ft. Lauderdale to LA) over the holidays on the Island. We had somewhat different ports, however -- no stop in Guatemala, and we had two stops in Mexico (Cabo and Huatulco) which you apparently did not. (Our itinerary was Aruba-Cartagena-Canal-Puntarenas-San Juan del Sur-then the two Mexico stops. 15 days total.)

 

Anyway, enjoying your daily review, but one small correction: Simone Smith, the cruise director, is from Australia, not Canada. I'm not sure if she has done or will be doing this on your cruise, but on ours she had a panel Q&A session with her staff, and another one where she answered questions herself. And on the last full day of the cruise, she did a live broadcast/taping of "The Wake Show" from the atrium, with audience participation.

[Kylie]

We are enjoying your review since we will be on this cruise in January 2018 with a little different itinerary but we have already booked some of the things you are doing.

Thanks for posting!

[GweninTX]

Does the Island Princess still the The Sanctuary which is located Aft and is two decks with a pool? I read somewhere in another thread that the only Princess Cruise Ship that has a pool in the Sanctuary is the Coral Princess? I stayed for 10 solid days in the Sanctuary on the Island Princess and it was the highlight of my cruise. I would go on either the Island or Coral again just for the Sanctuary. I really need to know if both of these ships still have the pool because I was wanting to book another cruise. Thanks kindly :)

 

Yes, there is a sanctuary and it is GORGEOUS!! You will love it! There is a lovely pool in this sanctuary and I plan on using it before the cruise is over!

[GweninTX]

We are enjoying your review since we will be on this cruise in January 2018 with a little different itinerary but we have already booked some of the things you are doing.

Thanks for posting!

 

I highly recommend all the tours we have taken - if you need more information on any of them you can send me your email address and I will be glad to hook you up! I am a day or 2 behind and we took a GREAT TOUR in Panama City today - Fuerto Amador.

[GweninTX]

So sorry about the misinformation on Simone - she is a sweetie! We have really enjoyed her and she tells the funniest awful jokes every evening that she swears her Dad sends her!

[Bonnie1750]

Has the Island got the new mattresses yet?

 

 

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[RobinAnn]

I was on the reverse of this trip (Ft. Lauderdale to LA) over the holidays on the Island. We had somewhat different ports, however -- no stop in Guatemala, and we had two stops in Mexico (Cabo and Huatulco) which you apparently did not. (Our itinerary was Aruba-Cartagena-Canal-Puntarenas-San Juan del Sur-then the two Mexico stops. 15 days total.)

Not meaning to derail this thread, but John, could you tell me when the formal nights were on your cruise? We're on a similar-time trip on the Coral Princess this year (12/21 - 1/5).

 

And thanks to Gwenin for her contemporaneous travelogue.

[GweninTX]

Has the Island got the new mattresses yet?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

Yes - they have very comfortable pillow top mattresses! The pillows leave a lot to be desired if you like a firmer foam type pillow, but if you like fluffy ones you will be in heaven! Be sure and ask for a top sheet as they only put a duvet on the bed if you do not ask for a top sheet!

[GweninTX]

2/11/17 – Sea Day (I wrote the wrong date on yesterday)

 

A well-deserved sea day today! I get up and walk with Ron and get the day started right. It is still very warm and muggy. If you are doing this cruise, I suggest bringing capris & shorts for daytime wear and a very light jacket for layering. This cruise has been much warmer than I thought. 80’s and 100% humidity is very warm! We ate in the buffet – it is just easier and quicker. The food in the buffet has been as good as the dining room for breakfast.

 

We meet in the card room/library for our morning game of hand and foot canasta. The girls break their losing streak and actually win again. But the boys are ahead for this cruise - 5-4.

We play thru till 1:15 PM and hope the crowd has thinned out. It was not quite as crowded as earlier, but this place is always packed.

 

The usual suspects for entertainment were available this morning. Extras from the norm included: Navigation@sea in the Princess theater, Cartagena shopping highlights talk, destination presentation on Cartagena, cruising with Princess in Alaska presentation.

 

In the afternoon Ron Bowers gave a lecture on “Death of Marilyn Monroe” (I watched this on channel 36 and he I great), art auction, afternoon movie, “Sing Street”, salsa dance class, elevator roulette, and the arts & crafts – make a valentine!

 

We met at 3:30 to have a drink and stake out our seats for trivia. In the Wheelhouse bar they have a special each afternoon that you can buy one, get one for a $1. They do have to be the same drink to qualify, but they are packed every afternoon. We get 17 out of 20, but one team got 18. There were some hard questions – anyone know what a fear of cats is? Elurophobia. We protested about one question as Marilyn and I had years of Latin – he said the word Lego meant “To Connect”. I googled the answer after it was over as it was driving us crazy – Lego means “to gather or collect”. I took a screen shot on my iphone and showed the cruise staff. They said they would correct the slide and offered us prizes and I refused – it was just peace of mind for me that my 5 years of Latin were not wasted!

 

Dining room choices tonight for appetizers were bay scallop cocktail, prickly pear & pineapple, fried fish croquettes, roasted golden cream onion soup, and a chilled sour cherry soup. Marilyn and I wanted to taste prickly pear so she ordered it. It was awful, w3e both wanted to spit it out! The entrees included grilled rockfish, fish & shellfish casserole, Puerto Rican roast pork, Cowboy strip steak and Chicken & Leek potpie. I had the steak and it was very tender and good. Jerry had the shellfish casserole and it was full of scallops, shrimp and lots of mussels. Marilyn tried the rockfish and she liked it too.

 

The entertainment for the evening included a comedian, Doug Funk in the Princess theater. He was great – he did improvisational comedy with members of the audience. He was very sensitive to them and if they did not want to play – he did not force them. If you get a chance to catch his show, go – he is a hoot! You could also enjoy Karaoke under the stars and the Love Boat Disco deck party.

[Essiesmom]

Early morning and they are entering the canal under the Bridge of the Americas:

 

 

[Essiesmom]

Approaching Miraflores Locks

 

 

This is the link to the canal cams:

 

https://www.pancanal.com/eng/photo/camera-java.html?cam=Miraflores

 

Only the Miraflores-Hi res cam and the two Gatun Locks cams work at this time. She has to get into the second lock at Miraflores before you can see her, so maybe 45-60 min from now...

 

Pausing to get hooked up to the mules. You won't get this view from your balcony...

 

 

Entering the first lock

 

EM

Edited February 13, 2017 by Essiesmom

[Essiesmom]

Waiting for the water to lower in the second lock:

 

 

Finally, into the second lock, where we can see her. Note that at lowest level, the windows of OV cabins are looking at the walls of the lock:

 

 

[Essiesmom]

All the way up, and the lock gates are opening for her to proceed. She will move out and pause at the end of the jetty to get released from the mules

 

 

 

And off she goes to Pedro Miguel locks

 

Edited February 13, 2017 by Essiesmom

[Essiesmom]

At Pedro Miguel

 

[Essiesmom]

Heading under Centennial Bridge.