Island Princess Review

Nice Cruise Overall

Review for the Panama Canal & Central America Cruise on Island Princess
User Avatar
CruiseMoreAli
6-10 Cruises • Age 60s

Rating by category

Cabin
Value for Money
Embarkation
Dining
Public Rooms
Entertainment
Fitness & Recreation
Service

Additional details

Sail Date: Dec 2018
Cabin: Balcony

1. Food - Poor selection and sometimes cold in the main dining room. Throughout the ship, the food was mostly standard fare. We ate one night at the Sabatini and we were not impressed. The food selection was limited in the main dining room but it did improve towards the end of the cruise. Their coffee is wonderful and I wish I knew what they used! On the other hand, the Horizon Court Bar charges to warm up milk with their Espresso Machine Steamer and that is ridiculous!!! I also thought there was a bit of penny pinching and charging for standard items like water. I understand charging for alcohol and specialty items but not for water! The Chocolate ice cream cones weren’t very good. The Piña Coladas were great.

2. Service - In general, it was very good but dinner service was slow at times during the first few days. It greatly improved as the days progressed and our waiters really tried their best to speed up the serving of our food. In my opinion, the waiters in the main dining are understaffed. We did complain one time to the Supervisor about the food arriving late and cold. He came back the next day to see how things were going but that was it. Overall, the waiters on our table (#161) were very attentive. There was a table next to us that knew one of the Supervisors and they were extremely demanding of the waiter’s attention so that may have played a part in that table getting quicker service. Crew was friendly and attentive. One of our breakfast waiters, Nelson, was wonderful.

3. Room - Was clean and pretty standard (A324 - Deck 12). The pillows are very soft and although they provided us with 4 pillows, I think they should have two that are a bit firmer. There was only one chair in the cabin so one of us had to either sit on the bed or lay down. I would have liked an extra chair. Next time, we’ll book a stateroom with a sofa! Dennis, our cabin steward was ok. He kept the room clean, provided us with extra towels. He didn’t clean the balcony glass doors until we were in the last port (Grand Cayman) and we couldn’t really look out unless we opened the door since there was so much salt water on the glass. The room was a bit hot at times. There were some tiny holes in the blackout curtain liner. Being on the 12th floor, there was some noise coming from upstairs with equipment or stuff rolling around during the day.

Cabin Review

Balcony

Cabin BC

Port Reviews

Cartagena (Colombia)

Cartagena, Colombia was too short and would have loved to explore it more, especially overnight. The street vendors just ruined the experience since they’re so “in your face”. They just don’t go away even when told “NO” repeatedly. We speak Spanish so language was no problem. We were planning to stay longer onshore since there was time but decided to just go back to the ship. Also, the tour guide was ok but just took us to a few sights and then to the jewelry stores that he was obviously getting a commission.

Colon (Cristobal)

The Panama Canal crossing was great and we also took an excursion to the Pacific Ocean. Ferry served lunch and free refreshments.

previous reviewnext review

Find an Island Princess Cruise from $499

Any Month

Get special cruise deals, expert advice, insider tips and more.By proceeding, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

© 1995—2024, The Independent Traveler, Inc.