Final Thoughts on 60 Day South America Cruise on Island Princess

April 22, 2018 

Wow, where to start. This would have easy if I could have done it right after returning home from the cruise. As many of you know that 2 days after our return we flew back to Iowa as my dad’s health was failing.

So, final thoughts on the 60 Day South America seems moot, but I’ll try to remember the hits and misses of the trip.

We tried to keep an open mind on the remodel of the Island Princess (we love the sister ship Coral Princess which hasn’t had the remodel), but we didn’t talk to anyone that thought the changes were a good thing. The gym was moved to a room with no windows. 

They removed a show room and other areas to add more cabins. This forced all venues to be held in just one place. Art auction, bingo, trivia, afternoon entertainment etc. This caused a lot of angry people that had to stop talking after playing trivia to make room for the next event and so on. Add to that they held the art auctions in there as well. That meant they used up around half of the seating to display the art. (set up and left there) They did use the Wheelhouse Bar for dance lessons and an occasional trivia, but not enough to take the stain off the Explorer’s Lounge. Makes sense to me to add more people to the ship and have less space to entertain them. 

While we enjoyed much about the cruise, it honestly was a bit too port intensive for us. We do enjoy a few more sea days between ports. Almost as many ports as on the 111 day world cruises, so less sea days.

The food in the buffet was actually quite good, while the food in the dining room repeated the same menu every 2 weeks. The Curtis Stone portion of the menu rotated 3 different items, so 2 to 3 times a week they were the same. The food quality was also very disappointing. Most food somehow was devoid of flavor. In the buffet, while the food was better, the desserts were the same ones most every night with a few things that were mixed in occasionally. Only 1 or 2 a week were edible in our opinion. They had a soft serve ice cream that we ate a lot of since desserts were so lacking. More often than not, the machines were “broken” and the ice cream was too soft to hold in a cone.  They had 2 machines and only ran one at a time and I think it couldn’t keep up with the demand and didn’t have time to freeze before they tried to use it. On the last week or so of the cruise I noticed they were using both. Much better results.

Worst internet ever on a cruise ship. No matter where you were on the ship.  

Our first cruise director was famous for reporting incorrect times for port times or activities about the ship. Our first captain was great! He made sure we arrived on time and left at the proper time if not a bit longer. The new captain was of the “arrive late and leave early variety”. First captain was funny and was seen schmoozing in the dining rooms, buffets and other venues around the ship. He made funny noon announcements. The new Captain wasn’t seen and rarely heard. (not that it’s really that important, but port times are....) 

It honestly left us feeling like we may need to jump ship and try Holland America or other lines for future long cruises. (after 2019) Hopefully, the Pacific Princess will be a good experience. There was an entertainment director that smarted off a couple of times after the main show, saying things like “you booked the cruise, I didn’t” in response to people complaining about so many formal nights. Instead of the 5 it stated there were something like 9 or 11. He was filling if for the first cruise director that left and the new one that hadn't arrived yet. So, I guess there is a reason he normally doesn't speak in public. 

The same guy also told off people that complained about the worst entertainment of the trip (kind of like the umbrella twirlers on the world cruise) telling them everyone else loved them. How about, “I’m sorry they weren’t to your taste, I’ll make note of that”. Many people walked out of the show. That should have been a clue.  

There were only Captain's Club meetings on the first segment. There were none on any of the rest of them. No welcome aboard or “get off the ship” either. Yet, we had to dress formal despite no parties to go to. We asked the Captain’s Circle Host (that had zero personality) if there was going to be parties or wine tastings for the next 2 segments, she said “maybe”. There never were any more, just the couple on the first segment and the one free wine tasting.

Ah well, just lots of weird ship stuff. The ports were interesting. Highlights for us were the Nazca Lines and the overland to Puno. After seeing seas of penguins and other critters in South Georgia on our Antarctica trip, these were a bit of a let-down. Rio and Carnival were amazing as was visiting the favela! Loved Valparaiso, Chile as well with the colored buildings and the street art, very charming!  

I can tell you that if this was my first cruise setting up private tours I may never have done anymore. With well over 100 tours that I have organized very few have had the caliber of issues of the ones in SA. I have run into it before in SA and Central America, but still it pissed me off when tour operators tell you that you are on a private tour (and paid more for it) and then try to herd you onto their group tour van or bus. To appease you they put you in a random cab to have your private tour. Tour operators were sometimes late, though most not much. 

People just signed up for tours without really knowing what they signed up for. They knew that they joined one of my tours but had no idea what we were doing that day. There were 2 couples at the Cruise Critic meet and greet that asked everyone “how do we know what tours we are on?” They didn’t know the tour, the port or the person they dealt with to set them up. I felt so bad for them, but they weren’t on any of mine, so I couldn’t help them. One other lady insisted she was on a couple of my tours. She was not. She also couldn’t tell me which ports she thought they were. One couple didn’t want to wait for the tour guide to show up (he was caught in traffic) so they just walked away and didn’t tell me. Many tours worked out well, but there were lots of complaining people. Some people should only do ship tours...lol We did have quite a few good tours with really nice tour mates and that was great to meet like-minded people and share the tours, but this time it seemed more trying in general. Quite a few of the tours were set up by the tour operator not a person on Cruise Critic so they were what they were and most were pretty good. They do them often and do a fine job. Also, nice not to have to be the one responsible for the group. As is usually the case the group tends to be the same people since those of us that prefer independent tours over ship tours gravitate to the same tours. Or we are touring with different guides but seeing each other at the sites. 

As I type this I have already set up private tours for about 45 ports for the 2019 World Cruise. Mainly with people we already know which helps a lot. I prefer small groups of 6 to 8 tops, but many of the boat tours have minimums or they fill the boat, so I tried to gather more people to fill the boat. So, one only has so much control over a tour. 

Anyway, I’m off track. South America is a great destination and in general I love the people of Peru with the colorful native dress. Can’t pick a favorite country by any means but love the Alpacas and Llamas. Brazil is so huge that there is a lot of variety of things to see and do there. Ecuador has a lot going for it too. We are nature people so there is a lot to satisfy that need in South America. We just wished it had been on a different ship and the food would have had some flavor and variety. Entertainment was pretty good to very good. However, like on the last world cruise, they had performers perform several nights a week. Guess that is a new trend for Princess. Hey, you are being fed and entertained and you don't have to cook or clean. While I support that theory, it is nice if the ship experience is more positive even though for us it really is about the ports. 

I'm still recovering from this sinus thing and tomorrow we leave Okeechobee for Port St. Lucie until the end of the month if I get cleared to travel by then. Feeling better, so I hope it continues!

Island Princess (ship & sea days) https://photos.app.goo.gl/9K9gEFvTXU5yUYeG3

Rest in Peace, Dad….

March 28 to April 12

We had planned to fly to Iowa on Thursday but moved it to Wednesday when my son Scott called to say the doctor wasn't hopeful Dad would last long and they would try to keep him alive until we got there. Scott arrived a few days before we did.

I was still sick (started out as a cold and progressed to a full-blown sinus infection and bronchitis.) I had taken JIC antibiotics with me and I think they helped the sinus infection, but the bronchitis hung on. They took a chest x-ray, but it was negative. He gave me some mucous cough stuff and an inhaler and said to come back if I didn’t feel better. It’s the first time I have ever been ready to get off a cruise ship. Luckily, it was the end of the cruise and not the beginning. 

I knew Dad was not doing well as I spent many hours on the phone and emails with doctors, my son and Dad while on the cruise. We had planned to visit later in the year after we started our next RV adventure, but that plan quickly changed. 

So, 2 days after returning home after being gone for 2 months we fly to Iowa. All 3 of us went to the hospital to see Dad in Critical Care and all 3 of us were astounded at how alert he was. I hadn’t talked to him where I could understand him in quite some time and Scott said he hadn’t seen him coherent since he was back there (several days ahead of us) I guess he had a rally with the excitement of all of us being there, because as the evening wore on, he went back to not being able to talk.

Dad’s neighbor found him on the floor and called 911. (she could tell when he had lights on when they normally would not be on and she would check on him) Thank you Verla!

This all started when he had his gallbladder removed and was sent to long term care for 5 weeks. He was getting worse instead of better and was sent back to the hospital. He had sepsis and despite treating it aggressively, the infection was not responding. On top of that he hadn’t been able to eat or drink for quite some time and had lost over 30 lbs. They put in a feeding tube the day before we got there.

His palliative doctor called me to set up an appointment for all of us to discuss options. He also said that they discovered he had advanced cancer of his bile ducts. Dad seemed fairly coherent during the meeting, but not sure he understood much of what was said. He had a non-cancerous tumor; sclerosing mesenteritis and I think he thought that was now cancerous. The doctor tried to get him to understand this was a new thing and that he didn’t recommend treatment. (if he could get well from the sepsis)

By Friday I was so much sicker that I went to urgent care at the same hospital where dad was. I was diagnosed with pneumonia in my left lower lobe after another CXR. I was having major fever and chills and the cough was worse. (not sure how it could have been, but it was) So, I got antibiotics and was told to wear a mask and stay 6 feet away from Dad in the hospital. 

Saturday morning, I got a call from the doctor saying he didn’t feel Dad would last another 24 to 48 hours. He was looking worse and they couldn’t get on top of the infection. Plus, even if they did get the infection under control, the cancer would be ugly. He said we should talk about hospice. We scheduled a meeting with Dad and the 3 of us that morning. I told Dad the doctor was going to come in and talk to us about hospice. He said “oh, good” We had him sent to hospice that afternoon. At that point, it didn’t matter that I wore a mask or stayed 6 feet away.

8 days later early on Saturday morning April 7 he passed. For the most part he didn’t even know we were there except for Wednesday night he had one last rally. He sat up and was watching a baseball game with us and was joking about ordering a pizza. He even drank an entire Coke. (no pizza) It made him kind of sick, but he sucked it down. He faded and that was the last we got to talk to him. 

He is in a better place and will suffer no longer. 

As an aside to this saga: I wanted nothing more than to sleep with the pneumonia, but we had so many things to accomplish before he passed. We should be able to avoid probate since we got my name on both bank accounts and did a quit deed on the house. (everything was left to me in the will and I was his power of attorney)

My son Scott was a god-send, as Dad's house should have been condemned. He lived like a homeless man with 9 cats only in a house. (only 3 cats left at this time) There were no contents in the house we could salvage. The smell was so bad it required masks to go in. We got a huge dumpster and Scott filled it. (could have used another one probably) Many things were picked up by the regular trash pickup. So sad, but he refused to leave the house. Everyone said if they don't want to go you can't force them. Perhaps going to court.... There were important papers we had to keep and they of course are covered in cat pee and poo. They are in baggies and sealed. (we used gloves to do it)

Dad had given Scott his Kettle Korn concession trailer and he rented a U-Haul to drive it back to Arizona.

My favorite photo of the 2 of them doing Kettle Korn at the Wright County Fair in Eagle Grove.

Dad’s childhood friend Bud was doing a lot of things for Dad before we got there. Dad was behind a couple of months on bills. Had the money, just didn’t pay them. Bud was trying to get title 19 (medicaid) set up for dad if he needed long term care. He was a big help. He also went into his house (Dad always left it unlocked) looking for bills that needed paying and anything needed for filing taxes. He found the awful mess and was determined that Dad wouldn’t go back to that house under any conditions. He said he’d have his driver’s license revoked if needed. He set up someone to come in and capture the 3 cats that were left. (we never had to tell dad since he passed) Literally everything was thrown out. Bud found a substantial amount of cash just shoved in a drawer and he grabbed that and the shot gun he found by his bed. He found some silver and papers and kept them in his safe until we got there. He didn’t want to over-step, but we assured him he did the right thing and thanked him. 

Bud also wanted to officiate his services at the chapel at the funeral home and at the gravesite. He did a wonderful job as they had been friends since they were 5. The local VFW also came and were the pallbearers and did a military salute and played taps and fired the shots at the gravesite. Without them, we would have been the only people at the funeral. 4 people came to the viewing. It was a horrible snowy day and most folks wouldn’t go out in it and to be honest, most people he knew are dead. He had no friends really, just Kettle Korn folks. It was a simple funeral for a simple, yet complex man.

I felt so bad that I couldn’t be more help with the house, but my lungs couldn’t handle the smell without major coughing. I only spent 2 half days in there. Greg helped Scott with some of the heavy lifting, but Scott really worked for many days wading through the mess. Greg & I spent most of our time running around trying to get his affairs in order. We left last Thursday (April 12) and got the house put on the market on Wednesday and had our final appointment with the attorney.

Here are a few of my favorite photos of Dad

 Commander of American Legion

Army photo

 he was married to Virginia in Hawaii

 Visiting us in Panama

Fishing in Florida

We are all from warm weather climates (Arizona & Florida) So, a spring in Iowa brought us cold, snow and wind!

 Greg cleaning off the car

 this was the drive to the funeral 

the truck says Inedible Animal Food???

These were the light snows, it snowed 10 inches after we left and a few days later 3 more inches. 

I will have more photos of Iowa and a few memories with Dad that I will add to the blog when Scott sends them. 

Dad https://photos.app.goo.gl/Cb65RWPUgPxUK9q53

Sea Day & Home

Saturday March 24 

There were 2 sessions of Bingo today since the final prize has to go. No one won it this morning in the allotted numbers, so this afternoon the big prize will go no matter how many numbers it takes. It wasn’t us or anyone else that played regularly.

Our final entertainment for this voyage was Derek Floyd doing a tribute to Lionel Richie. Would have loved to stayed to watch the International Crew Show (they are always so fun), but being sick had me headed back to bed for the night.

We were all packed up and our luggage put out in the hall.

Our total distance traveled from San Antonio, Chile to Ft. Lauderdale was 5,274 Nautical Miles.

Sunday March 25    Ft. Lauderdale

It was a horrific disembarkation. Some people didn't get off the ship until after noon. We found out that an elevator used for luggage was flooded and it really slowed down the process. Porters were still getting luggage off the ship instead of assisting any of us that eventually got to where the luggage was at to be picked up. On a short cruise we just carry out our own luggage, but for long cruises we definitely needed a porter. Once we gathered our luggage Greg waited in line over an hour for a porter. People were not happy. Lots of people yelling. Immigration went fairly quickly once we got a porter.

I stay with the luggage while Greg gets the rental car, which we hoped hadn't been given away since we were so late picking it up. After another eternity, Greg comes back with an upgraded SUV so we had plenty of room for our luggage. He said there were 3 families at the counter when he got there (speaking only Chinese, except for one family member that translated). The confusion was they thought they reserved 3 vehicles. They only reserved 1. They no more cars to give them, but have a large van that can take all 3 families together. They felt they should get the van for the same price as the 1 car they reserved. (not for the 3 they thought they reserved) So, they hemmed and hawed and finally the rental agent asked them to step aside to think about it since the line was now out the door. Greg was taken care of and the guy behind him was at the next agent being helped, when the lady comes up and says we are going to take the large van and expected the guy being helped to leave so she could get her car. The agent told her that he needed to finish with the rental he was in the middle of. YIKES. Welcome back to real life!

It's 1:00 or later and we were more than ready for lunch. Grabbed some fast food and continued the drive to Okeechobee. We were pleased that both our car and the coach started right up. We got the slides out and started unpacking. 

We both had doctors appointments the next day and Tuesday was devoted to laundry. Since we were headed to Iowa, it was most important to get all of our cold weather gear washed and packed. With so much laundry we used the laundry room here at the park and the one here in the coach. 

This is now almost the end of April and I will continue in my next blog post. Needless to say, photos and adding them to the blog are on the back burner.