Really loved getting away for 15 days and seeing the Panama Canal. Great older, smaller ship. Really enjoyed relaxing on deck and eating whatever I wanted. I miss you Caribbean Princess! They added a 4 day extension after San Francisco to Canada. At first they were asking for a lot of money but right before the cruise they dropped the price to very cheap. We couldn't make our schedule work but many other (mostly Canadians) opted for the extension. Two days before Princess decided to go to dry dock early and cancelled the extension. This was devastating to many people. They tried to make flight accommodations but were having a hard time. One guy we talked to was being flown to an airport 4 hours from his home. Princess just said they needed more time in dry dock but pretty sure it was because there was several covid cases onboard. Unfortunately that soured many people's trip.
Embarkation
4 out of 5
I posted of my experience in the Chat for this ship. Pretty good experience. Nobody cared if we were early. Lots of Elite and wheelchairs so embarkation started slow. So nice once onboard though. Only 1700 people on board so no real lines etc.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
In the past, many of the same MDR dishes were in the buffet. On this ship the MDR and buffet dishes were always different. Both were good, the MDR typically had fancier dishes. The buffet food was either served by staff or was put in individual dishes that you could grab. Sometimes it was hard to know if you should just grab it or wait to be served. Typically, if the item was in an individual dish, you could grab it. If there were serving tongs, wait for staff to serve you... I thought the food was above average cruise fare. Every meal in the buffet had some different items. Even breakfast always had several unique dishes. Only a couple of times was I disappointed in the buffet choices. Several days for lunch they served fillet mignone and it was pretty good. Some of the dishes were amazing. Poolside grill and pizza were OK. Probably best Lido Pizza on the seas but was still just OK. The 4 cheese pizza though had a really good flavor. We mostly ate breakfast and lunch in the buffet but when we went to the MDR for those meals, they were good. We always ate dinner in the MDR. You could see the menu for the whole cruise on your app. We picked one dinner menu that did not excite us to go to the Crown Grill. It was good but not that much better than the MDR. I had the 22oz Porterhouse. It was big but close to half was fat and gristle. My wife's 8 oz fillet was very good. You can order all the appetizers, sides, desert you want but second main course was $10 charge. The MDR had lobster twice. I most always ordered two entrees and at least one was always really good. The Chocolate Journey deserts is where Princess shines. Decadent! Make reservations as soon as you can. We reserved a table for two but said we didn't mind sitting with a group so sometimes they sat us at a big table. Waiters were very attentive and quick.
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
Didn't participate in much but they had a good amount of activities. They had some lecturers but they did not interest me very much. The older crowd enjoyed though.
Entertainment
4 out of 5
They only had two production shows, one at the start of the cruise and one near the end of the two weeks. They said the main singer had voice issues (probably covid). Live music around the ship was pretty good with a definite vintage slant. The nightclub with DJ was deserted. The Cruise Director begged people to go.
Children's Programs
Only five children on board but they looked like they were having fun.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Princess staff always seems so nice and truly genuine. This was a repositioning cruise and the ship and staff had never been to the Pacific. It was fun to see the staff excited to see the sites like the guests were. Saw lots of staff taking pictures out on deck. They were going into dry dock so I think the staff were extra happy for a change in routing and some relaxing time.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
I love this size ship and layout. Not too big that it was a bother walking to different venues. The rear MDR is hard to get to because the kitchen is on deck 6 between the two MDRs. You have to go up to deck 7 then down to deck 6 for that MDR. It is worth it though because the service is very quick in either MDR because the kitchen is close... Everything clean, they were always painting something.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Inside cabin but only 10 steps to the rear deck and pool. Large closet. Plenty of storage. Bathroom small but functional. Shower curtain. Only one outlet. Just one plug so bring a power strip.
Ship tip
Remember it is an older ship. Don't expect it to be a large glitzy ship.
Amazing. Got up early to be at the front of deck 7 at 6:30 am. Very cool to go through the locks but it is also very slow. It takes hours to get through each set of locks. If you read up on the history of the canal first it is extra special to see the things you read about.
Appreciate this review following your regular updates. We will be experiencing the transit soon (different cruise line). Glad it was all you hoped it would be!
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