Panama Cruise March 2016
Island Princess Cruise Review to Panama Canal, Central America
10 Night Panama Canal Partial Transit (Ft. Lauderdale Roundtrip)
Sail date: March 14, 2016
Ship: Island Princess
Cabin type: Balcony
Cabin number: B645
Traveled as: Couple
Reviewed: 8 years ago
Review summary
was great to work with prior to our cruise. We loved seeing the Panama Canal & Aruba. Not so impressed with the ports/piers we stopped at. Every port was a different pier than what we were supposed to stop at except Aruba. Princess cruise staff while on ship were great, not so good when we went ashore at Jamaica, Costa Rica & we didn't get to go ashore in Panama unless we had an excursion booked because we were once again diverted to an alternate pier. We did however get off the ship at the pier to shop in a tent with local vendors, about 15 stalls. We did 2 excursions, one in Columbia, the other in Jamaica. Columbia we did a hop-on hop-off bus tour. Not sure what to expect but did get off at a beach & were immediately approached by locals trying to give us a massage or to rent their tent & chairs on the beach. We were not interested in any of this but they followed us the whole time we were there. After 30 to 45 minutes of this we left. Got on bus & off again for a guided walking tour. The guide was great & spoke very good English. Dunn's river falls in Jamaica was very very busy & we did not like the so-called beach after the falls. It was all rocks with chairs, no sand. Could not even swim because the rocks were so bad & water was too shallow. Once again we docked at a bad pier so no shopping in area, it was a cargo port. I give this a 3 star rating because of the conditions of the piers we docked at.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
Onboard Activities
Entertainment
Service and Staff
Ship Quality
Cabin / Stateroom
Ship tip
We chose anytime dining, very long line when they start seating unless you go after 7:30pm. The ship is very nice, not too confusing to get around once you've been on a day or so.
Ports of call
Ft. Lauderdale (Port Everglades), Florida
Panama Canal (Cruise Into Canal)