Ahoy the shore (1st in a series)

Ahoy the shore

We are on the Fifth day of a 10 day cruise departing from Port Everglades (Fort Lauderdale Florida) aboard the Island Princess. We embarked on Friday April 3 and spent the first few days at sea, finally reaching our first port (Aruba) yesterday. Our course so far has taken us up around Cuba and then in toward the coast of Venezuela. This is the fourth ship in the Princess cruise line that I have traveled on to date—the others being the Sapphire Princess, the Golden Princess and the Diamond Princess.

Layout of the ship:

Although the Island Princess (built 2003) is smaller (at a gross tonnage of 91,627 and a net tonnage of 53,394) than the other ships I have traveled on, it is similarly appointed and feels much roomier than it is. It carries a maximum of 2,368 passengers and 810 crew. Since it was specifically designed to be narrow enough to fit through the Panama Canal, it is a very slender 105 feet wide by 935 feet long.

Our stateroom is located on the Plaza deck (level 5) toward midships right behind the Patisserie coffee bar, juts off the central atrium lounge area (which stretches 4 floors up to the level 8). The tour desk, guest services and future cruise bookings desk are all located on our level. There is also a gangplank position on the 5th level as well as one below on deck 4.

The two main dining rooms (Bordeaux and Provence) are located on decks 5 and 6 respectively (under each other). Shops are located on level 6 as is the casino, the Explorers lounge and the lower (main) level of the Universe show lounge. Level 7 is the promenade deck and features the two specialty restaurants (Sabatinis and (Canjun themed) The Bayou. The latter doubles as a jazz club venue after dinner hours. Entry to the Princess theatre is also on level 7 as is the balcony of the Universe lounge and the Wheelhouse bar and the Crooners martini and piano bar. The Card room, library and internet cafes are located off the atrium on level 8.

Ship activities:

Our cruise director Billy Hygate is a very experienced Princess veteran. So far, we have attended two show performances—one in the Princess theatre and one in the Universe Show Lounge. The former featured the Princess singers and dancers in a performance of “Piano Man” (a tribute to artists like Billy Joel, Elton John, Barry Manilow, Neil Sedaka and Liberace). The latter featured a performance by comic magician Scott Alexander. Also on board are comics Billy Vader and actor-performer Adrian Zmed (who had a co-starring role in TJ Hooker in the 80s). We have also attended two evening gameshows “Majority Rules” and the “Newlywed, Not so Newlywed Game” hosted by the assistant cruise director. Our team triumphed in the former (claiming beach bags as prizes) while the latter was a big disappointment. Although twenty plus pairs signed up for the three available spots on the Newlywed Game stage, the couples (supposedly) randomly selected were poor picks and the show wound up more painful than amusing to watch. There is a screening of the Oscar nominated film “Doubt” this evening that we may try to catch.

Food and Drink:

The food on board has been fine to date. We had an excellent (Italian themed) multi-course dinner last evening in Sabatinis and we have a reservation for the Bijou Caféin tow evening’s time. We have selected Traditional Fixed Dining (early seating). Although service has been somewhat disappointing (our head waiter is breaking in a new assistant) the food quality has been consistently good. Two of my table mates are disappointed that the original Princess cheesecake has been replaced by a new lighter (less dense) variation on the recipe. So far I have focused on the seafood entrees and have enjoyed flounder, rock fish, Alaskan salmon and sea bass. We have also attended a wine sampling and afternoon tea in the dining room – I enjoyed the latter more than the former. The classical quarter perform in the restaurant during the afternoon tea.

In terms of casual dining options, the Horizon Court café (forward on the Lido pool deck) offers a reasonable selection of entrees at meal times and some snack selection between meals, until the wee hours of the mornings. We have not tried it at dinner time but have eaten there for breakfast and lunch twice and also went there for a late nights snack one evening. The larger round tables at the very front of the ship offer exceptional views. I have also sampled the pizza and burgers from the pool grille and both are quite tasty. Daily specials have included a sushi and Mexican food bar but I did not get an opportunity to sample those. My travel-mates ordered a specialty ice cream cup from the sundae bar and professed it quite delicious.

Hidden Gem:

In my view the hidden gem on this ship is The Sanctuary-- an exclusive outdoor lounge area located at the rear of the ship on two levels-- the Lido and Sun levels 14 and 15. For an admission price of $10 per half day (there is a morning and afternoon session) you get access to an oversized chaise lounge chair with super-padded mattress. The dedicated attendants will reserve your seat with a special extra large beach towel and also retrieve refreshment items for you (for a $3 gratuity charge). The area offers a selection of both shaded and sun exposed loungers, depending on your preference. You also get excusive access to the Pelican Pool (4’11” deep) at the rear of the ship, which offers a great place to take a relaxing cool dip. It is a much more civilized place to spend a half day in the sun than on the crowded and noisy general pool deck. Compared to rates for cabanas in Vegas or decks chairs in the sand on South Beach, it represents great value. It also offers a better valued alternative to upgrading your room to a balcony unit, since most terraces don’t come with lounges or attendants.

Ports of call:

So far we have hit two ports—Oranjestad, Aruba and Caretegena, Columbia. With three more ports—at Cristobal, Panama; Limon, Costa Rica and Ocho Rios, Jamaica still to come.

Aruba:

We were only in Port in Oranjestad, Aruba for a morning and did not book an excursion. Aruba is one of three islands that comprise the Netherland Antilles, located about 20 miles off the northern coast of Venezuela. Breezy Oranjestad has a population of about 30,000 and is quite prosperous as Caribbean islands rank. Aside for tourism, it is also known for the production of aloe. We spent our morning wandering through the portlands garden spaces and shops (most owned and maintained by the Renaissance hotel). We also spied a very impressive collection of iguanas on the rocks by the sea edge. Thereafter, we paused for refreshments (rapidly consuming a pint of Heineken beer) at a shoreline eatery. The one drawback was that the lineup to reboard the ship was quite long and slow at the end of the morning. After re-boarding we immediately headed to the Sanctuary to escape the crowds and enjoy the sailaway.

Cartagena:

We booked an excursion (# 100 “Best of Cartagena & Fortress”) in this port. This excursion seemed to be one of the more popular, based on the crowed seating section in the Princess theatre awaiting the call to board the buses. The local buses were on the small side and were quite cramped. Although they were air conditioned, between the cramped quarters and the hot Columbian sun, the bus felt more like a sauna by the end of the afternoon. However, we were assigned a very capable local guide—Fernando Lopez—who kept us on time and well informed throughout the tour. We visited several sites on this tour—La Popa monastery (at the highest point in the city) the Fortress of Dan Felipe de Barajas, the “dungeons” in old walled city, a stroll thru the old city streets and town square and into the Church of San Pedro Claver and the Navy Museum (where we received complimentary refreshments and watched a local folklore show) . 20 minutes was also allocated for shopping in a modern local shopping centre. With the exception of the fortress, which required walking up a steep incline, the main challenge on the excursion was staying in the shade out of the sun and evading the numerous strolling local merchants peddling everything from t-shirts and panama hats to cigars, costume jewelry and coffee beans.

Overall, I found the city to be a study in contrasts. It is extremely poverty stricken, with over 40% of the population living below the poverty line. Some of the areas built on the hills (for example on the ascent by windy road up to La Popa)-- that are susceptible to mudslides in the rainy season-- resemble shanty towns, while there are beautiful palatial period homes located on what used to be the outskirts of the old city and modern residential towers in the new city. Aside from the agricultural products (like coffee and tropical fruit) for which it is well known, the country also has a petrochemical industry and is the world’s leading producer of emeralds.

More to follow…