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
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