Just So-So

Island Princess Cruise Review to Panama Canal, Central America

Cruises: 7+ cruises
Reviews: 0
Helpful Votes: 7

Overall rating:

2 out of 5
Verified Review
Island Princess

10 Night Panama Canal Partial Transit (Ft. Lauderdale Roundtrip)

Sail date: January 04, 2016

Ship: Island Princess

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: E709

Traveled as: Singles/Friends

Reviewed: 8 years ago

Review summary

Not really crazy about the Island Princess.  It's an older ship and has been upgraded but still needs some work.  Glass outside our balcony wasn't cleaned from the time we boarded until the day we disembarked.  Anytime dining is a disaster;  lines are so long waiting to get seated.  We were told that the size of the dining rooms were reduced to make room for extra cabins therefore reducing the number of guest who can be seated at one given time.  First port of call was Grand Cayman which was a 'tender' call and because of the 'swells' the tender service was halted and then restarted so it took a lot longer accommodating all of the passengers getting off in Grand Cayman.  Cartagena was the next port of call and it was quite enjoyable;  next was the Panama Canal which was awesome.  We stayed onboard and watched everything from the balcony.  Then we stopped in Colon to pick up those passengers who went on tours of the canal;  didn't get off there as we were told it wasn't that safe.  Then to Limon, Costa Rica -  very depraved area;  all of the residences had bars on the windows and doors;  beaches were cluttered with trash and tree branches;  streets were full of pot holes and trash;  very poor area;  not sure why they even stop here.  Then to Ocho Rios Jamaica which was just OK.  Food on board was just OK;  not much of a choice on the daily menu;  only a few new things each day.  Then there was the WIFI;  that was just horrible.  I'm not sure why they even offer WIFI;  it was worst than Dial-Up; the speed was so slow that you wound up spending a fortune if you use the 'pay as you go plan'.  Other plans were way over priced!

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

1 out of 5

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5

Entertainment

3 out of 5

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Ship Quality

3 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

3 out of 5
Glass outside balcony wasn't cleaned from the time we boarded until we left.

Ship tip

Make sure you choose assigned seating as the anytime dining is a disaster. Don't bother with the WIFI; it's so slow (worst than dial-up).

Ports of call

Ft. Lauderdale (Port Everglades), Florida

5 out of 5

George Town, Grand Cayman

3 out of 5

Cartagena, Colombia

5 out of 5

Panama Canal (Cruise Into Canal)

5 out of 5

Colon, Panama

3 out of 5

Puerto Limon, Costa Rica

1 out of 5

Ocho Rios, Jamaica

3 out of 5
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2 Comments

noname111    8 years ago

Thank you for posting your review.

We found anytime dining to work if we arrive soon after the DR opens.  Anything after 6pm is a crapshoot in terms of getting promptly seated.  That goes for every ship we have been on.

TeamDavonavo    8 years ago

We have enjoyed the island princess. we took the Fort Lauderdale to L.A. route. the glass on the balcony was a bit cloudy, but I assume that was the salt air and spray. the room was very clean. After our trip, it went into dry dock. it was my understanding that the work to add statehood was to be in the stern by the universal theater (which had little use) The dining rooms were forward???? We are scheduled for an Island Princess, Alaska land, sea trip in June. it will be interesting to see the changes. I bet the dining might be more crowded due to the extra rooms.

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