Great cruise - nice mix of ports and sea days

Item: Island Princess
Rating: 4.3
Author: ESStutts

Island Princess Cruise Review to Panama Canal, Central America

ESStutts

Contributor Level: Third Mate

168 Days Till Next Cruise

Cruises: 4-6 cruises

Reviews: 2

Helpful Votes: 45

Overall rating:

4.3 out of 5

10 Night Panama Canal With Costa Rica & Caribbean (Ft. Lauderdale Roundtrip)

Sail date: March 30, 2019

Ship: Island Princess

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: A708

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 5 years ago

Review summary

This was definitely a bucket list trip - the Panama Canal was really interesting and I enjoyed seeing a little bit of Central America.

Embarkation

5 out of 5

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

4 out of 5

Cabin itself was adequate size, balcony was pretty standard. Shower was VERY small (about the size of a phone booth)

Ports of call

Ft. Lauderdale (Port Everglades), Florida

4 out of 5

George Town, Grand Cayman

4 out of 5

Did an island tour and Stingray City. Tour of Hell was ridiculous - a tourist trap that nobody would be interested in if it had a different name. Stingray City was fun but really crowded.

Thumbs Up 3

Cartagena, Colombia

3 out of 5

Did a city tour which felt more like a forced march - not adequate time in any one place and we got forced into a couple of shops that were way too small for the size of our group. Street vendors are pretty persistent (although they back off when you say no).

Thumbs Up 3

Panama Canal (Cruise Into Canal)

4 out of 5

Fascinating - one of the highlights of the trip!

Thumbs Up 3

Colon, Panama

4 out of 5

I did a cruise of Lake Gatun - we got to see monkeys and other wildlife. The port of Colon is pretty much a dump - they warned us not to go more than a block or two away from the terminal. Lots of urban decay - buildings in horrible shape - they look totally bombed out.

Thumbs Up 1

Puerto Limon, Costa Rica

4 out of 5

Did a tour of the Jaguar Rescue place - that was fascinating. Fun little arts type market right at the port - good for picking up souvenirs.

Thumbs Up 2

Ocho Rios, Jamaica

5 out of 5

We went river tubing - that was the most fun we had on the cruise.

Thumbs Up 1

Disembarkation

5 out of 5

Because we had paid to have our luggage sent to our final destination (a BARGAIN at $25!), we were off the ship, through customs and to the pick up point outside the port in about 5 minutes. Extremely well organized system.

1 Comment

Gwbigdog 2 years ago

Thanks

Thumbs Up 0

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