The itinerary was excellent. The ship was clean (although I have tested positive Covid on my return) and the staff were very friendly. The entertainment was a bit hit and miss but that’s a very personal thing. Highly recommend.
Embarkation
4 out of 5
I received notification that embarkation would be delayed due to enhanced cleaning re norovirus (so not a great start). When I arrived a bit earlier than Princess had suggested my bags were taken immediately and I was checked-in in no time. Then I joined about 300 other passengers - who had turned up very early - to wait for my group to be called. So that took about 30 mins. Overall I would say very good.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
I did not attend any speciality dining. I ate mainly in Palm Dining Room (although all MDR menus are the same). The food quality was good although I think the choices have been reduced from before. There are also some additional charges (only happened one evening and for two specific items - which I wasn’t choosing anyway). The buffet food was good too.
The drink options were very good too. I had the Plus Package and encountered no issues or additional charges.
International Café
4 out of 5
Very popular especially for breakfast and lunch. Good selection of pastries and sandwiches as well as (for a charge) speciality coffees. Good service too
Dining Room
4 out of 5
I ate almost every night in Palm Dining Room. The first two evenings, the queuing system even for those with Reservations was chaotic. But this was resolved for the rest of the journey. I found the ambience here was to my liking and the staff were all very good. On Super Bowl night I had to request that my table be moved (I didn’t have a specific table - usually a different one each night) as the table of 8 immediately behind me were broadcasting the live event on a phone and cheering loudly. I understand the importance of the sporting occasion but I found this unacceptable when there were available times to eat to avoid impacting on other diners. The Maitre D was excellent in discretely moving me.
World Fresh Marketplace
4 out of 5
Good food. Well organised. Friendly staff. Always able to find a table (as a solo traveller that’s always an issue).
Coffee & Cones
4 out of 5
Popular as an after breakfast or after lunch venue for speciality coffees (and ice cream too). Good service and good cappuccino. The mint ice cream sandwich was especially good.
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
The pools looked great and not too crowded (apart from the usual deck-chair hoggers). I didn’t use the fitness centre. I did enjoy the trivia and quizzes as well as the Enrichment lecture on Disney etc from David Wiemers.
Casino
5 out of 5
There appeared to be a good variety of games available although I stuck to roulette. I am not a big gambler so I was delighted to come out over $200 ahead over the week. Staff are professional and more friendly than you would get in a land-based casino. Not too smoky either which was good.
Entertainment
3 out of 5
I found the entertainment in the theatre a bit hit and miss. There were parts of nearly all of the shows which I enjoyed without enjoying a full performance from anyone. The crew performers were very good even if I didn’t always enjoy what they were performing. There was a comedian who was poor. Steve Moris was excellent. The Elton John tribute was spoiled by the performer mumbling a fair number of the lyrics. The 2 young comedians were very funny after a dodgy start.
The house performers - especially Diamond Duo on electronic violins - were very good. I was less fond of the steel drums every night in the Piazza.
Princess Theater
4 out of 5
Good venue. Good amount of comfortable seating which filled up fast especially for the Production shows
Explorer's Lounge
5 out of 5
My favourite venue. I attended a lot of trivia as well as some game shows. The waiters were first class - remembering my order and even my name after a couple of nights (that probably says more about me than anything though!!). Lots of seating. Good acoustics.
Club Fusion
4 out of 5
I visited here for a few quizzes and the Enrichment talks from David Wiemers. It was a very good venue with lots of TV screens so it didn’t matter where you sat.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
From arrival to departure and all stops in between the staff were first class. From the maintenance guys to the ships officers (though I can only recall seeing one - Leon - on a regular basis) these guys smiled and greeted you throughout. Several waiters in The Explorers Lounge knew me by order and by name after a couple of nights. My room steward -Lorena- was first class. She was non-stop working and always smiling. Absolutely no complaints and nothing but praise.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Before my cruise I read about this being an older ship. I could see that. But it was spotlessly clean throughout. I found it easy to navigate too.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
The cabin was my first balcony cabin, located on Deck 12 (convenient for the buffet on Deck 15) and midship. I had booked an inside cabin on the same deck and also midship but received a free upgrade immediately before my cruise began. The cabin was spacious (I was a solo traveller) and clean throughout. I enjoyed the balcony as we sailed thru the Panama Canal but rarely used it otherwise though it was nice to open the curtains first thing in the morning for the views. The bed was fairly comfortable. Cabin bathrooms- especially showers - are small but that was no problem (I am over 6 foot tall and weigh c200lbs - a bit more after the cruise!!)
Ship tip
Definitely book excursions early, I spoke to a few people who couldn’t do the excursions they actually wanted because they left it too late. Also go onboard in a happy state of mind - you are on holiday so enjoy.
I did another excursion thru Princess (solo traveller and first time in Central America). Limon looked like a fairly poor place in parts but no street vendors that I could see. Our tour guide was Edgar and he was first class. We spent about an hour walking in the rain forest and saw spiders, a Hermit Crab, a troop of Howler Monkeys, vultures, a poisonous frog and some sloths. Great views of the Caribbean too. We then took a small ship to look for more wildlife and spotted iguanas, exotic birds, sloths and more monkeys. After a short drive thru Limon we returned to the ship.
The port is well organised and secure. Thru Princess, I did the castle and old town walking tour finished by a speed boat ride which gave a taste of the new city. Our tour guide was Willy and he was very good. The castle requires steep climbs (not for everyone) but has spectacular views from the top. From leaving the bus both at the castle and in the old town, you are in a sea of street vendors. Their product is almost exclusively water/beer, pendants, maracas, hats tee shirts and decorative magnets.to be fair they were not aggressive nor persistent- a shake of the head or “Non Gracias” would almost always get them moving on. In the old town I was looking for a coffee and found a Starbucks branch - beware as they don’t accept dollars (the street vendors are not as choosy) and either local currency or electronic payment. The speedboat ride was excellent and took us back to where the ship was docked.
The main event for this cruise was a Partial Transit of the canal. Get up early (by 6am) and watch the local pilot boats arrive to take the ship thru the locks. The whole experience was fantastic as you watch the water level rising within the lock to move you along the canal. Fabulous engineering.
The ship,is moored in Gatun Lake and you disembark thru tenders. I took a Princess tour (the only type available here) which included a short walk in the rain forest before boarding a small boat to look for wildlife. We weren’t fortunate enough to see much - a swimming sloth, a couple of monkeys and a Toucan. After that we were taken to the Canal viewing centre to see the canal from above - very interesting - before being taken back to the ship which had returned thru the Canal and was docked in Colon.
Excellent whether you do a tour or stay on board.
Another tender port and another Princess tour. I felt George Town a very safe place to walk around in. I did the Hell and Rum tour. Hell is just some rocks but you can say that you went and even get a postcard sent from there and your passport stamped. The rum cake stop was quite good - a few free samples of rum and cake, before going to a rum distillery where you get more free samples. I had 7 samples of rum before 10am - maybe a bit much!! The tour would be interesting, I think, even without the rum samples. I really likes the port. Apart from the weather, it felt quite British (the flag and driving on the left side reinforce that)
I really liked the port. Clean and fresh (and warm). Good range of tourististy shops in the port area. I did an excursion thru Princess to Green Grotto Caves. Interesting to see a bit of the island and there is definitely some poverty. The caves were ok - it’s not a long tour (about 40ft underground). There are some areas where bending is required and of course it’s an uneven surface with one big slope. The tour guide (I can’t recall his name) was excellent and really made the tour a fun experience- without him it could have been quite dry.
I had flown in a few days before and stayed in Miami. What I saw of Fort Lauderdale was good and I would definitely stay there on a future cruise from that location. I did a disembarkation excursion to The Everglades (before being taken to Miami airport) and it was great.
Appreciate your very detailed and informative review. You were much nicer than I would have been concerning the Super Bowl broadcast during dinner. Glad you thoroughly enjoyed Canal transit.
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