Very enjoyable Princess cruise
Island Princess Cruise Review to Panama Canal, Central America
15 Night Panama Canal - Ocean To Ocean (Los Angeles To Ft. Lauderdale)
Sail date: December 05, 2016
Ship: Island Princess
Cabin type: Oceanview
Traveled as: Couple
Reviewed: 7 years ago
Review summary
Princess does an excellent job of keeping passengers as busy as they want to be on days at sea, and offers those who jist want to relax plenty of open soaces to do just that. The Island Princess is a mid-size ship (approximately 1,700 passengers), but you never feel crowded, even when the ship is full, as this voyage through the Panama Canal was.
Can't say enough good things about cruise director Simone Smith. She was smart, organized, theatrically talented, warm, witty, funny, friendly, creative, gracious, enthusiastic, energetic (enough for three people), welcoming, appreciative (she thanks people for coming to the shows and stopping by to chat), and professional. Everyone liked her. Just a sweet, engaging woman. She is a terrific cruise director and represents Princess Cruises well.
The ship was clean, the entertainment outstanding (Las Vegas-quality performers), the food good and plentiful.
There are a few things that Princess needs to work on. They placed a smokers' lounge in a room on the middle deck of the midship atrium, which was filled with the scent of cigar and cigarette smoke amost hours of the day. There are only four comfortable chairs in the library; several card tables in the librthe library were occupied by chatty people, which is counter to the need for quiet in a library. Some of the port excursions were not good. And the Internet service is spotty, depending on satellite connectivity, and overpriced, since waiting for connectivity often eats up the minutes purchased.
Overall, this was a very good cruise with an interesting itinerary.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
Onboard Activities
Entertainment
Service and Staff
Ship Quality
Cabin / Stateroom
Ship tip
It's a good idea to get to the early theater show (8:15 PM) about 30-45 minutes early, because tje early diners line up to get in and ignore the ship's instructions about not saving seats for their friends and family. We had anytime dining and found this to be better than an assigned eating time.
Ports of call
San Pedro (Los Angeles), California
Traveler Photos
