Our daily activities aboard Island Princess

Rickee Richardson 10/26/18 Rickee Richardson 10/26/18

Day 06 - Panama Canal

We sail through the locks of the Panama Canal and kayak in Gatun Lake

Oct 26, 2018 - Early this morning, Island Princess passed under the Atlantic Bridge, the third and newest bridge to span the Panama Canal.

*Atlantic Bridge from our starboard balcony*

Soon after passing under the bridge, we enter the first of three locks (on the Atlantic side). The three locks will raise Island Princess 85 feet to the level of Gatun Lake and the Panama Canal. When the ship enters the first lock, electric "mules" are attached to the ship to pull and guide the ship through the locks. A Canal Pilot is on the bridge with the Captain to oversee the whole operation. In fact, the only time a Captain of a ship is not in command of his vessel is when it is transiting the locks of the Panama Canal.

Today, we are using the "old" locks which are still restricted to Panamax standards. These locks can handle ships up to 950 ft. in length and 106 ft. wide. There are some newer cruise ships (and freighters, tankers, etc.) that are too large to fit through these locks. Royal Princess, for example, is 126 ft. wide and 1,083 ft. long. She simply cannot fit into these locks. Fortunately, the Panama Canal Authority expansion project has added a second set of wider, longer and deeper locks. The new locks can handle ships up to 1,200 ft. long and 160 ft. wide. So, good news for Royal, Regal and Caribbean Princess!

*Tanker passes through locks toward the Atlantic*

Dr. Dean, our resident Destination Expert, provided commentary on the Panama Canal over the ship's PA system during the transit. Guests on the outer decks could hear the commentary and it was also broadcast over the closed circuit television system in guest cabins. He informed us that Island Princess has to pay $385,000 to the Panama Canal Authority to transit the locks today! Once we ascend into Gatun Lake, Island Princess deploys the anchor and we prepare for our shore excursion, "Agua Clara Locks and Kayaking in the Canal".

Excursions today require tendering to shore, and there are a lot of guests going ashore today. Princess has everyone divided into groups (1,2,3,4,5,6, etc.). We are also given numbered stickers to wear to indicate the shore excursion we have selected. As a matter of fact, guests are not allowed to go ashore if they are not on a ship's excursion . The process of getting this many people ashore in a short amount of time is no easy task. Princess has been doing this for a long time, so they know what works. There are long lines and large crowds, but it was managed well. We boarded the tender boat for the short ride to shore.

Once ashore, we are directed to a motor coach. As we board the vehicle, rain is beginning to fall. Yuck. Our first stop is at the Agua Clara Locks Visitor Center. By the time we arrive there, the rain is coming down pretty hard. We wonder how much fun kayaking in the rain will be.

The Agua Clara Locks are the result of the Panama Canal Expansion Project, the newest set of locks that can handle larger vessels. There is a great lookout point where you can watch these behemoth ships transit the locks.

*Huge freighter transiting the Aqua Clara Locks*

There is a theater in the visitor center that shows a short movie explaining the expansion project and there is a small gift shop selling a variety of Panama Canal souvenirs. We spent about an hour at the visitor center before boarding the bus for the ride to the Melia Resort Panama Canal, the starting point for our kayak adventure. It is raining pretty hard when we arrive at the Melia and walk down the long walkway to where the kayaks are waiting for us in the water. Rickee brought a dry change of clothes to wear after the kayaking, but there was not really anywhere to store items to keep them dry. We were offered the opportunity to place our items in one of the boats at the dock that had a canvas cover, but all of the benches in the boat were already covered in rain. I put our camera into a Ziploc bag and took it with us in the kayak.

Rickee kayaking in the Panama Canal | CruiseReport | Rickee Richardson

There were about 18 kayaks in our group and a guide led us around the lake. I sat in the back seat of the kayak with Rickee in front. That way she has no idea when I stop rowing to take photos. I just let her do all the work! The waters on the lake are very calm, in fact, it is almost like glass. This makes rowing much easier.

Local guide explains flora and fauna in Panama Canal | CruiseReport

Our guide stops to explain the wildlife visible in the trees and foliage along the shores. We spot some Howler Monkeys in the trees just above us.

Howlower Monkeys in Panama Canal | CruiseReport

We spent about an hour-and-a-half kayaking around the lake, and to a couple of small islands on the lake to look for monkeys. About half way through the journey, the rain stopped and it became quite pleasant. Of course, we were already soaking wet by the time the rain stopped. Unfortunately, we were told by someone in the Shore Excursion department that we did not need to take a towel with us for this excursion, so we did not. At the end of the kayaking, Rickee's dry clothes that had been left in the boat were wet and smelled like gasoline, and I had no towel to use to dry off. Rickee used paper towels in the resort's bathroom to dry off. CruiseReport.com Tip: Take a towel with you from the ship if you book this excursion!

Kayaking in the Panama Canal | CruiseReport

Overall, we enjoyed the excursion and felt like it was a good value at $89/per person. We board the coach for the short ride to the port of Colón where Island Princess is waiting for us. While we were on excursion, Island Princess went back through the Gatun locks to the Caribbean Sea and docked at Colón to retrieve guests. We are back onboard Island Princess by around 5pm.

Tomorrow, Island Princess will be in Puerto Limón, Costa Rica.

Rickee Richardson 10/25/18 Rickee Richardson 10/25/18

Day 05 - Cartagena, Colombia

A Hop-On/Hop-Off tour of Cartagena followed by an amazing Chef's Table dinner

Oct 25, 2018 - This morning, Island Princess is docking in the port of Cartagena, Colombia.

This is a large and busy port with a lot of container ship and tankers. Since it is a long hike to the cruise terminal, Princess has arranged a complimentary shuttle to ferry guests to/from the ship/terminal. The cruise terminal here is quite nice with lots of little shops and an outdoor aviary with exotic birds and wildlife.

We have scheduled a City Sightseeing Hop-On/Hop-Off bus tour for this morning. As soon as we disembark Island Princess, City Sightseeing folks are at the end of the gangway to take our tickets and guide us onto a waiting shuttle. The tour includes a bus tour of Cartagena as well as a guided walking tour of the Old Town. Guests can opt to do both, or either one.

We chose to do the walking tour only. The shuttle drive to Old Town takes about 30 minutes and as soon as we disembark the bus, local merchants swarm around us selling everything from sunglasses to hats to bottled water.

Local merchants selling all kinds of items

One of the double-decker Hop-On/Hop-Off buses is just about to leave on its 90-minute tour through the city. There are 14 stops along the way where guests can "hop off", do some shopping, have lunch, explore, then "hop on" when ready to continue their tour. A bus comes around every 30 minutes or so, depending on traffic.

We have done many of these Hop-On/Hop-Off bus tours with City Sightseeing all over the world and have always found them an excellent, and affordable, way to see an unfamiliar city. But, we have never done a walking tour with them, so today Raul will guide us through Old Town.

There are about 20 guests in our walking group and everyone is given a set of ear buds and an audio receiver. This allows everyone to clearly hear the guide talking through his transmitter.

The tour begins with a walk through the old city gate under the clock tower.

Once inside the walls of Old Town, we begin walking through a labyrinth of narrow streets, and into expansive plazas.

There is some beautiful architecture to be found here, not the least of which are the elaborate churches.

Raul took us to a local chocolate museum where we enjoyed a complimentary chocolate milk drink. Many on the tour purchased chocolate items in the store.

Of course, everywhere you look there are local street vendors selling their wares. Rickee finally gave in and purchased a decorative head band. Even though the vendors are persistent, they are not aggressive or pushy. A simple "no, gracias" will send them away if you are not interested. One unique merchant was an artist who painted on a mirror with his fingers and palm, only using a small sponge for a couple of effects. He gave us a demonstration and it was amazing. He did a beautiful painting in about two minutes! We bought two of his paintings ($10) to take home as gifts.

The walking tour took about 90 minutes and was an excellent way to see the Old Town Cartegena, which is definitely the highlight of this port city. After the tour, most guests joined the Hop-On/Hop-Off bus for the driving tour of the city, but we opted to catch the shuttle back to the ship.

Of course, the first thing Rickee wants to do once back onboard is to head straight to The Sanctuary. So, I took my laptop with me so I could work on the blog while enjoying the view of Cartagena from Deck 15 aft!

We had the chance to get a photo of The Sanctuary team who have been taking care of us. What a great group of guys! They are always on hand to bring a glass of cucumber water, or take a lunch order, or bring an umbrella for shade.

They even serve afternoon tea at The Sanctuary. Rasim brought us each a plate of delicious sandwiches, cakes and cookies. Unfortunately, we are booked for The Chef's Table dinner this evening, so we can't enjoy all of these wonderful treats.

As mentioned before, this evening we have been fortunate to be selected to dine at The Chef's Table. This is a special, once-per-cruise event that is strictly first-come, first-served for reservations and is limited to no more than 12 guests. As instructed, we met the 10 other guests in La Patisserie at 6:45 where we were each fitted with white lab coats to wear during the galley portion of the event.

*Rickee with Silvio, the Maitre'd Hotel in the galley*

We were escorted into the galley on Deck 5 by Silvio Zampieri, the ship's Maitre'd Hotel, where we were introduced to Executive Chef Dirk Daumichen.

Chef Daumichen took the time to explain how galley operations work on a Princess ship. Each guest enjoyed a glass of champagne during his presentation. Soon, trays of appetizers began to appear, one-by-one. First was a deep fried King Crab leg with a delicious mustard dipping sauce.

Next was a decadent Foie Gras lollipop coated in a port wine jelly served with crushed pistachio. I am not a fan of Foie Gras, but I have to admit, it was delicious.

As if the Foie Gras Lollipop was not creative enough, next up was a white tomato soup that was as tasty as it was unusual. Chef Daumichen explained how he was able to make the tomato soup white, and it is quite an interesting process.

The Pancetta wrapped Angus Beef with Stilton cheese cube served next was drizzled with a Balsamic glaze. This was our least favorite of all the appetizers, but still quite interesting. I am just not a fan of bleu cheese.

Our last appetizer was a small potato filled with Hackleback Caviar. I am not a caviar fan either, but this was pretty good if I do say so myself.

Believe it or not, all the dishes I have just described are just the appetizers! Now we still have a huge meal ahead of us! We remove our white jackets and are escorted from the galley to a special table at the back of the dining room. Each place setting is marked with a name card. Soon after we are seated, a white wine is poured and our starter course arrives: a Porcini Mushroom Risotto with Jumbo Shrimp. It was excellent.

For an intermezzo, Chef Daumichen once again reached into his bag of tricks to produce a Bloody Mary Sherbet with Grey Goose Vodka. Sounds weird, right? Trust me, everyone at the table agreed it was incredible.

Of course, we were already full before the main course arrived. And, arrive it did in the form of two silver platters full of protein! The first had racks of lamb and beef tenderloin.

The second tray had Grilled Sea Scallops and Main Lobster Tails.

After a beautiful glass of Shiraz was poured for each guest, we were served a platter filled with each item!

A sweet potato mash was the perfect accompaniment to a plate of perfectly cooked proteins. Everything was simply amazing, and there was much more than even I could finish. But wait, there's more! Two more courses, if you can believe it. A cheese course was a ramekin filled with Chives and Pink Peppercorn Cheesecake. I don't even know how to describe this dish. It was sweet, savory, and spicy. Definitely one of the most interesting, and delicious dishes I have ever tried.

Finally, the dessert course arrived. The Sable Breton was almost too beautiful to eat. Imagine white chocolate dollops atop a mango panna cotta atop a crispy cookie base.

A tray of Chef Dirk's Homemade Petit Fours was passed around, as if we had not eaten enough already. Ladies were presented with a rose and the Chef's Table event finally came to a delicious end. Of course, there were a couple of other surprises thrown in, but we have to leave something to your imagination. This is a meal we will remember for a long, long time. It far exceeded our expectations. If you love good food and good wine, do whatever it takes to get on the list early for a seat at The Chef's Table.

Tomorrow, we will going through the locks of the Panama Canal.