My recent sailing on the Island Princess through the Panama Canal was great fun. The 15-day cruise started in Ft Lauderdale and end in LA. This cruise segment was part of the World Cruise, which is 116 days! Island Princess is one of the few smaller cruise ships that can go through the Panama Canal Historic Locks. The ship accommodates 2200 passengers. Definitely want to get a Port side stateroom with balcony to view the transit/locks. I had cabin D234 on Dolphin deck 9—excellent location with amazing views right from our balcony.
In Cartagena (Colombia) we did the Walking tour of the City with a small group. It was 3.5 hours with stops at a museum, churches, Fort and stop at local market.
Costa Rica included the NATUWA /Macaw Conservation Sanctuary that was booked with Princess. It was a full bus for 4.5 hours and included a boat ride. All kinds of birds and animals that are rescued animals that receive the necessary care for recovery and protection.
In Guatemala we did a small group Shore Excursions tour called Avocado Plantation and Colonial Antigua. Best guacamole I have ever had! It included a scenic drive through coffee plantations, volcanoes and an avocado plantation. We also visited the downtown area with stops at couple churches and Jade Factory. The Guatemala coffee is also very good.
Puerto Vallarta is fun to explore on your own. We just took cab to downtown to walk around and have light snack/drink along the waterfront. Cab was $20.00 each way. I highly recommend all the excursions we took.
On board we had dinner in the Bordeaux Dining room with a set time for 5:30pm. Would rate the food about a 7.5. Breakfast was good in Bordeaux for the early time to catch the tours we took. The Horizon Court buffet was good service with and plenty to choose from.
Entertainment onboard was nice variety of shows and lounges had good music for evening. The ship has 2 pools, 1 is covered and is smaller. The daily activities had a wide variety to keep you busy - especially for those days at sea which we had 3 times with 2 days at sea between ports.
If you are a Commodore with Princess you will get upgraded to Elite status once onboard ship. Elite amenities provide mini-bar set up, invite to wine tastings and free laundry service.
We thoroughly enjoyed the experience with Princess!
