Overall unimpressed
Island Princess Cruise Review to Panama Canal, Central America
10 Night Panama Canal With Costa Rica & Caribbean (Ft. Lauderdale Roundtrip)
Sail date: December 20, 2018
Ship: Island Princess
Cabin type: Suite
Traveled as: Family (older children)
Reviewed: 5 years ago
Review summary
This was our first cruise with Princess. My wife and I had a suite and the kids had their balcony stateroom. We thought that was good arrangement, not having to have all four of us in the suite, but it turned out to be a bad decision (read below). Previously we sailed on NCL, Oceana, and many times on Royal Caribbean. Here's what we thought was good: 1. Destinations (Columbia and Costa Rica in particular) were interesting 2. Embarkation/Disembarkation were run efficiently and quickly. Port stops and excursions were well organized 3. Service at the coffee shop and bar was good. Here's what we didn't like: 1. The biggest complaint was that we could not enjoy priviledges of the suite such as a separate Main Dining Room area, or having breakfast in a restaurant because our kids had their own cabin, not a suite. So they would let us in but not our children because our suite only had two people in it. Had I crammed them into my suite or paid for their own, all would be fine. From the getgo, this situation soured our cruise. I probably should have complained. Princess really needs reconsider this policy. Until then, we will not be sailing with them (or the kids would need to afford own suite!) 2. The service in the Main Dining room was subpar, considerably worse than we've experienced on all of our past cruises. 3. Food variety at the buffet was not as good as on other cruise lines. 4. Meals at the main dining room were just ok. Some menu items were at additional cost and we didn't try those. Food at the Bayou was also average to below average. We ended up eating at Sabatini's several times, the one place with relatively good food and service (at a low low price of $29 per person) So, overall, just ok for this cruise. Not a good first impression with Princess.Embarkation
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
Onboard Activities
Entertainment
Service and Staff
Ship Quality
Cabin / Stateroom
Ship tip
Its older and in need of a refresher.
Ports of call
Ft. Lauderdale (Port Everglades), Florida
Panama Canal (Cruise Into Canal)
Disembarkation
6 Comments
jilesgulf 5 years ago