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Name: Harry Shaw
Email: hshaw@ix.netcom.com
Age: 50
Occupation: dentist
NumberOfCruises: 3
TravelAgent: No
Ship: Princess-Regal
SailingDate: Feb 17, 1998
Itinerary: Panama Canal
FoodDiningRoom: 95
CruiseDirector:
CabinComfort:
FoodRoomService: 95
CruiseStaff:
CabinAmenities:
FoodLidoDeck: 90
DiningRoomService:
CabinQuietness:
FoodMidnightBuffets: 80
CabinSteward:
ShoreExcVariety:
FoodVariety: 90
DeckService:
ShoreExcValue:
GoodForHoneymoon:
CasinoStaff:
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies:
LoungeService:
TenderService:
GoodForSeniors: 80
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges:
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities:
EntertShowLounge:
OverallPortsofCall: 80
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside:
CruiseActivities: 90
Casino:
AirSeaProgram:
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness:
EmbarkDisembark:
DiscoNightclubs:
DeckSpace:
Stabilization:
ShopsOnBoard: 75
SpaceRatio:
OverallCruiseValue: 95
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 22 Mar 1998
Time: 15:49:17
Remote Name: 204.32.170.56
Remote User:
Comments
Sorry it has taken so long to write the story of my cruise but I am basically a lazy
person.
The flight to San Juan from Baltimore was uneventful. Princess gives you tags so that when
you arrive in San Juan they
automatically pick up your luggage and saves you a big hassle. Literally when you leave
the door of the aircraft they put
you in a holding area where they check you in and drive you directly to the ship.
We arrived about 1 PM so that left us the afternoon in San Juan and we walked through old
San Juan to the forts. By the
time we arrived back at the ship our luggage was in our cabin and we unpacked and had
dinner. (We were second
seating for the trip but they save second seating for the late airlines arrivals on the
first night)
The evening we spent exploring the ship and although we were to leave at 11PM we left
around 1AM due to 200 late
arrivals due to weather in the US.
The first day we did not take a tour and eliminated St Thomas (neither Ellen or I are big
shoppers) and took the ferry to
St Johns and scuba dived and sat at the beaches.
On the other days we took the princess tours of Martinique Grenada and Caracas. The tours
are OK not great but if you
have never been to these islands they are the easiest to do. If you try to do it off ship
(to save a few dollars) I think it is
more hassle than its worth. They show you a lot of touristy stuff and lots of banana
trees. The tour really depends on
your driver. If he’s interesting the tour is. If he’s a bore the tour is.
We did Curacao on our own because my wife is Dutch. We arrived at Carnival so it was very
interesting for us. The other
passengers by this time were tired of the islands and had pretty well had it and opted to
stay on the ship.
The Panama canal was fascinating for the first 2 hours after that it was repititious. My
suggestion is to get up early see
the arrival at the first locks and then go have breakfast and take a nap. Go back around 2
and watch the leaving of the
canal.
Acapulco was not that great. We made a mistake in walking from the dock to the old city.
DON’T do it!!!! The cabbies and
assorted hangers on do not leave you alone and they follow you even after a polite No
thank you. It even got to be from
annoying to scary. My advice take a cab from inside the terminal to where the new area is
and walk there. DO NOT under
any circumstances walk the old city if you are elderly or frighten easily. It was the only
down side of the trip.
Finally some personal notes. We were upgraded to a mini suite cabin A 159. It was
wonderful. Plenty of room and a
terrace. I would never have thought a terrace would be advantageous but it is. Edgar our
steward would deliver early
breakfast and Ellen ate on the verandah her continental breakfast. We also sat there in
the evenings. The privacy was
wonderful. Edgar timed his roomcleaning and bed turn down perfectly.
The individual performers were excellent. Dick Gold the comedian is hysterical and non
stop. One night in the bar he sits
at the piano and can play any song and tell funny stories. We spent the whole night
listening and drinking. They had a
young virtuoso violinist Dominique Starosta who was extremely talented and had a wonderful
stage presence. I fell in love
immediately but Ellen had to remind me that I am 50 and she 25 and that my underwear was
older than she. The Las
Vegas shows were OK . After seeing one you can skip the others.
The Waves bar on the pool deck was great. Robbie Tara Andy and Jaime (the bar folk) are a
lot of fun and they made
they made the trip special for me. We got a little carried away with the water fights but
I haven’t had this much fun since
summer camp in the 1960’s. Some of the other guests joined in and some others were
not too happy but our group had
a great time.
The food was good but not being a gourmet I am happy with anything. The pasta dishes are
spectacular. The service
was luxury class. Our captain Walter and our waiter Dario could not do enough to please
us. The casino has everything
you want. The dealers are either relly personable or have no personality. There is no in
between. The lounge next to the
casino is nice and very quiet. You can dance to the Sound Investment and sit at the bar.
It’s really romantic. All in all it
was a great cruise and Princess does an excellent job and I would recommend it highly.
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