Regal Princess (partial) review 12/04

[NancyM]

Hello all,

The night before you travel through the canal, there is a documentary on the tv about the building of the canal. It was very informative ( though, I fell asleep 1/2 way through!)

 

We watched the first set of locks from the Baja forward deck (only accessible from the starbord side). It was crowded, but you could get a nice place to view if you migrated toward either far end. We were just over the crews pool area which seemed even more crowded as people were layered 5-6 deep.

 

The last set of locks, we watched from the aft deck on the Carib deck. There were hardly anyone on these decks. There were chairs provided and some shade was available. I think that this was the best view I had of the locks. We watched other ships in the next lane as well as ours. They actually sent 3 ships at once! it was amazing how they fit 1 tug, 1 excursion ship and 1 freighter all at once.

 

-Nancy

 

PS. Mary Jane, thanks for answering the captain question! I've been out of pocket for a couple days. I didn't see the kite... I wish I had! That sounds like a lot of fun!! Who did you have to get permission from?

[Mary Jane 711]

ROsej, unfortunately we didnt get to go to Costa Rica. Our ship had a sick passenger which had to be returned to HUatulco, long story, but we were extremely disppointed not to be able to go to CR. We are thinking of making a special trip there. Maybe stay a couple of weeks. Our initial idea on going on this cruise was the fact that we could stop in CR. My husband is a professional fern grower here in California. We are also members of LAIFS, Los Angeles Int'l Fern Society. ANd were hoping to get a look at the ferns there before we made a bigger trip. So anyway, I cannot comment on the excursions. All we got was an extra day at sea. It made a pretty monotonous gap in the trip. We went from Huatulco all the way to Aruba before we got any excursions.. Of course we got off in Crisobal. But that in itself was a bit of a farce. I did have some great local beer there though. It was called Sobroso..It was pretty good, and i am not a beer drinker. Other than that the stop there is just for buying trinkets and stretching yor legs. Oh and the way Princess habdles the diembarking was frightful. They had us lined up for about an hour in the crowded area on Plaza deck. We were all just anxious to get off the ship. Some people with no patience were angry because others would get off the elevator and cut in line. SOme woman called my husband a not so nice name, and he reciprocated. It wasnt pretty.

But lets forget about that shall we? We did have fun though. Of course alcohol makes just about anything fun.

[Ready to Sail!]

Not only were people crowded on Plaza deck but all the stairways for about 5 decks up were filled with people. We took one look and decided to just go and relax for about a half hour to 45 minutes. Then we walked off the ship without a problem. Like Mary Jane said, everyone was just so anxious to get off the ship.

 

I have to tell you that there is one very good reason for getting off the ship and shopping in Cristobal in my opinion and that is for the Molas. These are beautifully sewn cloth designs made by the Cuna Indian women who mostly live on the San Blas Islands off the coast of Panama.

 

You can buy them unfinished or on a number of items like totebags, potholders, ect. I got hooked on them several years ago when our daughter brought us home one from her vacation to the area. If you buy the unfinished ones you can do a number of things with them such as just framing them for a nice wall picture or making a pillow, totebag ect. I'm a quilter and hope to incorporate one or more into a small quilt.

 

I bought several unfinished ones and they run around $20.00 but price varies depending on the size, ect. If you buy one be sure and talk to the seller about who made it, ect. You will find it very interesting.

 

They do sell Molas on the ship and they are more expensive but it will give you an idea about them before reaching Cristobal. They have both unfinished ones and many items made with the Molas.

 

The internet is a good source of information and pictures and you can even find them for sale on ebay.

 

Carol

[jnc411]

ReadytoSail: Thanks for the info on the Molas, it sounds like something I would really like to get. When we went thru the Canal before we didn't have a stop in Panama at all , so at least I would like to get off at least for a little bit, just to say been there done that :) . Anyway thanks for the heads up about the Molas.

Cori

[rosej]

Thanks for your reply....Mary Jane. Sorry you didn't make it to Costa Rica. One of our relatives spent the summer there on a research program through his college. He loved it and really encouraged us to try out the skywalk and see as much of the country as possible. Hopefully, the ship will make port and we'll get to explore. When I see those lovely ferns, I'm sure it will bring you and your husband to mind (what a great occupation!). Hope you get to spend some time there in the future.