October 2023 - 7 nights on Viking Ullur
ESStutts
Third Mate
Durham, NC
Joined 04/2017
8
Cruises2
Reviews40
Helpful VotesPast cruises
January 2023 - 20 nights on Majestic Princess
September 2022 - 12 nights on Grand Princess
October 2019 - 14 Night Western Mediterranean Medley (Barcelona To Rome) Cruise on Sky Princess
Dream Med Cruise
We took a back to back cruise (Barcelona to Rome and then roundtrip Rome) on the brand new Sky Princess. The ship was beautiful but more passengers than I'm really comfortable with - I prefer smaller ships. The itinerary made for a dream vacation. Crew, as usual, were outstanding. Passengers - not so much. There seemed to be an awful lot of entitled people aboard. Saw several disagreements because of overcrowded elevators (people continuing to push in even when it was obvious there was no more room; people rushing to get onto the elevators before others could exit -- simple physics, folks!)
If you're not bound by time requirements, I would highly recommend going in the fall, which is off season. In many of the ports, we were the only ship there. I can't imagine what the crowds would've been like in the summer when there were several there at the same time. The weather was still pleasant (mostly in the high 60s to low 70s although we did have several days with rain).
March 2019 - 10 Night Panama Canal With Costa Rica & Caribbean (Ft. Lauderdale Roundtrip) Cruise on Island Princess
Great cruise - nice mix of ports and sea days
This was definitely a bucket list trip - the Panama Canal was really interesting and I enjoyed seeing a little bit of Central America.
November 2017 - 12 Night Venetian Connoisseur (Venice Roundtrip) Cruise on Pacific Princess
May 2016 - 11 Night Scandinavia & Russia (Copenhagen Roundtrip) Cruise on Regal Princess
March 2010 - 4 Night Bahamas (Jacksonville roundtrip) Cruise on Carnival Fascination
Sky Princess
Sail date: October 27, 2019
We took a back to back cruise (Barcelona to Rome and then roundtrip Rome) on the brand new Sky Princess. The ship was beautiful but more passengers than I'm really comfortable with - I prefer smaller ships. The itinerary made for a dream vacation. Crew, as usual, were outstanding. Passengers - not so much. There seemed to be an awful lot of entitled people aboard. Saw several disagreements because of overcrowded elevators (people continuing to push in even when it was obvious there was no more room; people rushing to get onto the elevators before others could exit -- simple physics, folks!)
If you're not bound by time requirements, I would highly recommend going in the fall, which is off season. In many of the ports, we were the only ship there. I can't imagine what the crowds would've been like in the summer when there were several there at the same time. The weather was still pleasant (mostly in the high 60s to low 70s although we did have several days with rain).
Island Princess
Sail date: March 30, 2019
Great cruise - nice mix of ports and sea days
This was definitely a bucket list trip - the Panama Canal was really interesting and I enjoyed seeing a little bit of Central America.
Cruise tips
Livorno (Florence & Pisa), Italy
Did an excursion to the Academia to see David and the Uffizi Gallery --- really too ambitious for the amount of time we had - we were exhausted by the time we got back. Uffizi was packed. Still enjoyed seeing Florence though.
Did a taxi tour - the driver was knowledgeable and taught us a lot about the area. Loved seeing the Barbary Apes - they were everywhere on the rock.
Beautiful area - we spent time in several towns - saw the church from the Godfather, went to Taomina and had about an hour of free time to walk around and explore. Excellent guide and we only had about 15 people on the tour (arranged through Viator)
Visited the Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain and the Vatican on the first excursion. Came back a week later and did the Vatican and Coliseum. Sites were fascinating but the guide was very impatient and took off like a shot before half the bus had even unloaded. It was a constant struggle to keep up with him. Do not recommend for anybody with health or mobility issues.
Booked a tour through Shore Excursions Group -- their big pitch is to avoid the big crowds by going with them. Well, we had a small-ish (maybe 20 or so) walking group but then they put us on the bus with another group so we still got stuck with a big bus tour. We walked around Valleta and saw St. Johns Co Cathedral and then went to a glass factory in Mdina (lots of good items to be purchased there) and a walking tour of Mdina - an old walled city.
Did a Princess excursion to Cinque Terre - lots of walking followed by a boat ride and a train ride back to the bus. Beautiful scenery but I wouldn't recommend if you have mobility issues.
Did an island drive and a tour of a kumquat liquor distillery. The guide was really informative but this trip really appealed to the less mobile - I would've probably enjoyed a more active tour.
My favorite port of the trip - we did a boat ride to Lady of the Rocks Church (too crowded since there were 3 tours there at the same time and the church is VERY small) and a naval museum. Afterwards, we walked into the old walled city - should have just done that. It's an easy walk from where the tenders came in and was very charming.
Booked an independent tour through Viator - walking tour of Barcelona with a visit to Sagrada Familia and Parc Guell. Well worth seeing.
Arranged through Shore Excursions Group - excellent tour of Pompei, spent time in Sorrento and drove up the Amalfi Coast. Beautiful scenery.
LA SEYNE-SUR-MER (TOULON), FRANCE
Did an excursion to Sanary Sur Mer and Bandol - lots of free time to walk around.
Sky Princess
Take the stairs if you can! Constant issues with at least 1 elevator being out at all times. Too many passengers for the elevators at peak time (meals, returning from shore visits)
I did a cruise of Lake Gatun - we got to see monkeys and other wildlife. The port of Colon is pretty much a dump - they warned us not to go more than a block or two away from the terminal. Lots of urban decay - buildings in horrible shape - they look totally bombed out.
Did a tour of the Jaguar Rescue place - that was fascinating. Fun little arts type market right at the port - good for picking up souvenirs.
Panama Canal (Cruise Into Canal)
Fascinating - one of the highlights of the trip!
Did an island tour and Stingray City. Tour of Hell was ridiculous - a tourist trap that nobody would be interested in if it had a different name. Stingray City was fun but really crowded.
Did a city tour which felt more like a forced march - not adequate time in any one place and we got forced into a couple of shops that were way too small for the size of our group. Street vendors are pretty persistent (although they back off when you say no).
We went river tubing - that was the most fun we had on the cruise.
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