Island Princess - PC 4/3/09

[jap]

This is our first time on a Princess cruise - we have sailed Celebrity, RCCL, NCL and Carnival. Have heard may good things about Princess so we are looking forward. A few questions - has anyone had experience with AnyTime dining vs the Early/Late Seating?? Does Princess have one or two shows??? Is it best to stay on the ship in Panama or do an excursion. Many thanks in advance for all the replies.

[can786]

Traditional vs Anytime dining is really a matter of personal preference. I personally prefer anytime dining as first seating is too early for me and second seating tends to be a bit late. The menu is the same for both but with anytime dining you are likely to have different waiters and tablemates each night. You can certainly ask for a table for two if you prefer. I have done both and they each have advantages, but overall I prefer the anytime dining.

 

And yes, there are two showings of the show in the main showlounge each evening.

[Chelseaprincess]

We did PC on Island in December 2008. It was great! We had anytime dining. The longest wait for a table was about 20 minutes on the first night when we showed up at the restaurant around 6:30 pm. So, we learned our lesson and always tried to be there around 6 pm. We like to eat early anyway. If you don’t mind sharing a table with others (which could be a fun experience sometimes), you probably won’t have to wait at all.

 

As for the shows, I believe we had two different shows almost every night, and both had two showings: around 8 or 8:15 pm and the other one was around 10-10:15 pm. One evening though, we had one show at 6:15 pm and the other was at 8:15 pm.

 

In Panama, we decided to stay on the ship to enjoy the transit through the canal. And we really enjoyed it. My husband even said that he would love to do the full transit next time. I asked others who went on tours in Panama, and the biggest problem was a three-hour bus ride on bumpy roads. I don’t think I would have enjoyed that one.

No matter what you decide, I am sure you will have a wonderful time!

 

Chelsea

[RickEk]

Our first Panama Canal cruise, we took the train to the Pacific side. That was fun. On our second cruise, we stayed on the ship and enjoyed having it pretty much to ourselves. No problem getting a good vantage point for the return transit.