New to Princess Please help

[Almost Packed]

Hi everyone.  

I am looking to book a 15 day full Panama transit.  I have sailed many times on Carnival and once on Royal.  I really do enjoy Carnival and love that there is something always to do (as well as doing nothing if I choose).  I am considering this cruise because it has many ports that will break up the 15 days so I'm not terribly worried about "being bored".  But I was curious if someone could tell me some of the activities I might find on board.  I see general activities such as casino, library, bar and spa but are there fun activities, trivia, games etc?

 

DH really wants a panama transit cruise and this one fits our budget and timing is great for us as we'll be celebrating our 15th wedding anniversary as well. 

Any suggestions, tips or comparisons/contrasts are greatly appreciated.  

 

Thanks in advance.

[GUT2407]

Yep plenty of trivia.

 

 

[mcrcruiser]

7 minutes ago, GUT2407 said:

Yep plenty of trivia.

 

 

If you google :Cruise Ship Deck Plans  you can pull up your ship & pre examine all the nooks  of the ship deck by deck .first that will tell you if the ship has a spots court  for tennis or basketball ,also it can tell you in there is a miniture golf course on top of the ship  . You can locate the casino ,the various bars ,specialty  restaurants  , showrooms , Movies under the stars ,pools , MDR , Lido ie 

 

 For port research there is a port section on cruise critic that you can read prior  cruise critic member posts as to what there is to do for your cruise  .There is web site that will give you videos ,port maps & ideas for 1200 world wide cruise ports . 

 

Hope that this info is of help to you 

 

  

[CC Rider 69]

24 minutes ago, Almost Packed said:

Hi everyone.  

I am looking to book a 15 day full Panama transit.  I have sailed many times on Carnival and once on Royal.  I really do enjoy Carnival and love that there is something always to do (as well as doing nothing if I choose).  I am considering this cruise because it has many ports that will break up the 15 days so I'm not terribly worried about "being bored".  But I was curious if someone could tell me some of the activities I might find on board.  I see general activities such as casino, library, bar and spa but are there fun activities, trivia, games etc?

 

DH really wants a panama transit cruise and this one fits our budget and timing is great for us as we'll be celebrating our 15th wedding anniversary as well. 

Any suggestions, tips or comparisons/contrasts are greatly appreciated.  

 

Thanks in advance.

Hello fellow Texan,

Living close to Galveston we do a lot of Carnival (Plat), but we did Princess when they sailed out of Houston. We really like Princess and hated to see them leave our area. Now we have to fly somewhere to sail them.

Oh well, your question, or my answer to your question.

I found not as many crazy fun (hairy chest) things on Princess. Yes, they do have lots of trivia. Do not expect a "Funnel of Fun" CCL's new medal, or the 24K Plastic Ship on a Stick. Princess has a new reward system for their games. Someone else can explain that. Princess does have different dance classes, they do have karaoke (a fan favorite). Usually Fish n Chips one day in one the bars (really pretty cool), or you can get bangers and mash. I would suggest tying to find a Princess Patters (daily event schedule) somewhere on-line here and you can get a idea of what activities they have.

Hope this helps a little. Have fun on your transit, we're doing a partial out of Galveston on the Valor in about 45 days or so.

[Ken the cruiser]

We're in our mid 60s and are heading back to Princess (and Celebrity) because of the variety of upbeat entertainment both cruise lines offer like lively evening shows in multiple venues, interactive game shows, lectures on sea days and just all around fun things to do. 

[skynight]

Kinds of things you can expect.

Lots of trivia, normally twice a day sea and port days, plus trivia style games in the evening.

Zumba, on sea days, no charge, check Princess Patter for time and location.

Karaoke, Voice of the Ocean, theme parties ie. 70's night, ballroom dancing, live music in lounges around the ship all evening, game shows like the marriage game, yes/no game, shows each evening in the theater, and if you are on the Coral Princess also in the Universe Lounge.

Not too many pool games, but there probably will be some pool side games.

Might be a boat building contest if you are into that.

[jasbo49]

Because there is so much to learn on this trip, there will almost certainly be lectures on the history and technology of the canal projects. There may also be enrichment lectures on something totally unrelated. I've seen lectures on Hollywood film history, aviation, money management (yawn) and navigation (fascinating}.

 

If you're musically inclined, there will probably be a Princess Pop Choir, where you can join 20-40 other cruisers and learn a few songs to be sung in the atrium area late in the cruise. You practice on sea days, so it gives you something fun to do each day in case you aren't sold on other activities. I think we also had steel drum lessons on our Panama Canal cruise.

 

If you like live music, I'd suggest sampling all the groups playing in the bars and the Piazza early on. A couple times we've found one we like late in the cruise and wished we'd discovered them earlier.

 

Jim

[margob111]

I believe I have the Patters from our full transit Panama Canal cruise that we took last January from Ft. Lauderdale to Los Angeles if you'd like me to scan them so you can get an idea of what was offered.

[daydreamer16]

The 15 day Panama Canal cruise is awesome. We did FLL to LA in 2015 on the Island and are doing SFO to FLL on the Coral next month. The day in the canal is so interesting, lots to see and there are lectures and commentators.  We entered the canal at 6am and didn't exit until 8pm!

[riffatsea]

Hi,

We are Platinum on Carnival. We just got back from our first Princess cruise and it was a full transit through the canal from LA to Florida! We loved it! The one thing we missed from Carnival was the Comedy Club. They did have some comedians on a few nights but it was not the same as having a dedicated space for them and having many shows on many nights.

There was trivia but of course no ship on a stick!

There were many great movies under the start and on the cabin tv. They also had many sports events shown since it was football season.

There were free stretch classes and line dance and social dance classes but no zumba because the person who usually does that was not on board.

They had the typical bingo and karaoke and lots of different live music around the ship.

There were many ports so that the sea days felt like nice restful times in between the running around on shore!

[TracieABD]

22 hours ago, GUT2407 said:

Yep plenty of trivia.

 

 

So much trivia...

 

[RNGALNG]

On our transit through the canal, we had crafts a couple of times that we could attend, there was a 'make a poster' event that you then showed to the judges the day you went through the canal. We won a DVD of the trip for making one. There are events all day long in the piazza, cocktail making, fruit carving demos, and games such as ring toss onto Champagne bottles, elevator races, Wii bowling, paper airplane toss, egg drop, boat making (it has to sail across the pool with, I think a six pack of coke on it).

 

Check out the patters from those who have done reports. Things are nonstop from about 8 AM to 11+. 

[Almost Packed]

Thanks everyone for your replies.  It really eases my mind as I love Carnival because there's always something fun to do.  I was bored out of my mind on Royal.  Thankfully we had some amazing people and islands to visit despite having to miss Fiji due to a cyclone.  

So the Princess Patter is the same as the Carnival Fun Times (Capers) ?   

Also, is it extra to attend the lectures?  I hate being nickeled and dimed.  So I just want to know what to expect for my budget.  I see there are contests and possibly themed nights.  Do I need to bring items from home to make things?  I'm just trying to be as informed and prepared as possible.  

Thank you again everyone who replied.  Also, if you have those patters, I'd love a copy you can email me  theonlytam@aol.com  

[skynight]

9 hours ago, Almost Packed said:

Thanks everyone for your replies.  It really eases my mind as I love Carnival because there's always something fun to do.  I was bored out of my mind on Royal.  Thankfully we had some amazing people and islands to visit despite having to miss Fiji due to a cyclone.  

So the Princess Patter is the same as the Carnival Fun Times (Capers) ?   

Also, is it extra to attend the lectures?  I hate being nickeled and dimed.  So I just want to know what to expect for my budget.  I see there are contests and possibly themed nights.  Do I need to bring items from home to make things?  I'm just trying to be as informed and prepared as possible.  

Thank you again everyone who replied.  Also, if you have those patters, I'd love a copy you can email me  theonlytam@aol.com  

Lectures are free and normally in the theater. Educational ones can fill up, so get there a little early. You do not need to bring anything from home. Regarding theme nights, which Princess calls Cruise Classics, you can never know in advance which ones they may have. Passengers really don't dress in costume, and there are no costume contests. There is always a deck party or two. Many passengers do wear island shirts to these. If you are into boat building, you may want to bring a roll of duck tape. Boats are constructed from items found on the ship. The contest is your boat has to sail the length of the pool carrying a 6 pack of beer or soda. Your cruise may or may not have this activity.

There are very few activities that require a payment. No nickel & dime. In some craft making sessions you may be charged a small amount for the supplies. There are "events" listed in the Princess Patter that are really sales talks. Be aware of these and I would suggest avoiding them. I have seen them sponsored by the spa and the jewelry store.

The Princess Patter is a daily bulletin delivered to your cabin each evening. It is also available on a smart device through Princess@Sea which you access once on board.

Note that Princess changes their clocks to match local time. You will get notices in your cabin and on the front page of the Patter on the evenings you need to change your clocks. 

[Cobra427SC]

Not as exciting as a game show, but much more cerebral and useful,  would be to read David McCullough's excellent tome on the building of the canal..."The Path Between the Seas". His insight into this incredible project is mesmerizing, but not for the faint of heart. The time it takes to read will be repaid in spades (pun intended)  as you make the transit. Hint: unless your're an English major and graduated Summa Cum Laude, you might wish to have a dictionary nearby. steve

[jimlouisesophie]

We will be on the Coral sailing from San Francisco enroute to Fort Lauderdale.  As this is the first Princess cruise for us, does the library stock a lot of books?

[TracieABD]

1 minute ago, jimlouisesophie said:

We will be on the Coral sailing from San Francisco enroute to Fort Lauderdale.  As this is the first Princess cruise for us, does the library stock a lot of books?

It kind of goes back and forth... Sometimes yes and sometimes no. I think unfinished books may mysteriously get tucked away in suitcase prior to disembarkation.

 

BTW- The library on the Coral is truly lovely. I really feels like a library. Try to find a minute to sit in the comfy chairs!

[jimlouisesophie]

thank u, Tracie, for the reply

[RNCheryl]

What Jasbo49 said about the Pop Choir.  The most fun I have had on a cruise.  Talented and not so talented.