We Are Off on Our World Cruise!

Day 1 Thursday, January 5, 2023

Embarkation

Boarding the Island Princess was quick and easy through Princess Medallion. Prior to the cruise, passengers are directed not to board earlier than their set time. However, we arrived just before noon, and although our boarding time was 12:30 to 1:00, we boarded immediately. All we had to do was scan our medallion, walk a little further to another station where we showed our passports, and we were in! Somehow, in our excitement and eagerness to board the ship, we missed getting our boarding photos taken.

Upon boarding, we found our way to the beautiful atrium, where we settled down to drank champagne with a fellow traveler, our friend Joan, in the Crooner’s Lounge as we waited for our rooms to be ready. After a while, we decided to check our rooms to see if they were ready, and they were. Some of our luggage had already arrived, and the rest were dropped by within an hour.

COVID Testing

According to Princess communications, we were required to take the PCR within 48 hours of boarding. We did not receive our results until we were halfway across Alligator Alley. Our friend who was also on this world cruise did not have a chance to enter her results into Medallion before boarding the ship, but fortunately, no one said a word. Joan was admitted right onto the ship. We heard similar stories from others on board, who were completely stressed out about not having their results in time for boarding, but no staff members said a word. Also interesting, was that Princess communications stated that masks would be required in certain areas. It turns out that masks were not required anywhere on the ship, with one exception.

Before arriving in Los Angeles, everyone had to take a COVID test and wear a mask until a couple of days after leaving the port. After Los Angeles, we missed seeing a lovely couple we had met. We assumed that they had flown home, as Los Angeles was the end of the first "leg" of the trip. However, about three weeks later, we spotted them on the ship again, and they didn't look very well. They shared that they had tested positive for COVID and had been quarantined in sick bay for over two weeks until they tested negative. We were grateful to learn that Princess Cruises keeps such information very private.

Unpacking

Packing for a World Cruise may have been daunting, but unpacking came with its own challenges. We knew it is important to get unpacked that first day, because the staterooms aren’t large enough to live out of your suitcases, even for a couple of days. As a result, I missed the sail away, because I was so distracted with getting everything organized. Overall, unpacking took over four hours.

Although we brought 24 nesting coat hangers and asked the steward for more hangers, there still were not enough. After the closet was packed completely full, we hung clothes on top of each other. Shoes were placed on the closet floor. There was a shelf at the top of the closet, but it was so high that I used it only for items we would rarely need, and tried not to let them get pushed to the back, or we might never see them again. The rest of the clothes were folded, filling up the shelves of the narrow closet. Socks, prescriptions, and writing materials went into the small bedside table and desk drawers.

The open shelves were the only places left for the rest of our items — tech gear, vitamins, masks, hand sanitizer, costume jewelry, travel board games, cards, flashlights, and binoculars.

The folding laundry basket went under the TV in the little “living room” area of the mini-suite, where we also had attached our world map with strong magnets.

We were very grateful to be in a mini-suite, because it is a bit roomier than a balcony stateroom. The shower in the balcony room is frighteningly claustrophobic. Our mini-suite had a big combination shower/bathtub, a nice long counter, and a long shelf underneath the counter. It felt incredibly luxurious to have this extra bathroom space.

Items We are Happy That We Purchased for the Cruise

Travel Fan

The best purchase was our Koonie fan. It is very quiet, USB chargeable, and has a big clip on the bottom that serves as a stand or can be attached to a lamp stand or other object. It provided great air circulation and "white noise." We love it.

USB Charged Night Lights

The small Auvon magnetic motion detector night lights are wonderful. Right away I found a great use for them. The first time I exited our bathroom, I forgot to step down. So I attached one of the night lights to the bottom of the wall beside the bathroom door, and the other to the bottom of the inside of the bathroom door. The lights reminded us of the step. GREAT PURCHASE!

Bathroom Organizers

Items that I am very happy that I made room for were a toothbrush holder that would fit into a corner and a small clear vanity organizer.

USB Chargers

A USB charger with electrical plug-ins was necessary because there are very few outlets in the stateroom. Although it took up desk space, we wouldn't want to be without one.

Travel Bathroom Scale

We loved our small red travel bathroom scale, which was important to have with the all-you-can-eat buffets, pizza, burgers, ice cream and the beverage package.

Door Magnets

Some colorful magnets to decorate your door helps you find your room more easily, because the hallways and doors all look alike. However, just a couple of days into the cruise, our Florida Disney magnet disappeared. Our advice is that you decorate your door only with items you would not miss if taken.

What I Wish We Had Brought

Definitely I wish we had brought more than two cloth folding bins. Smaller bins would have been great for organizing items on the shelve Note to everyone: Bring fewer shoes/clothes and more bins!

What We Should NOT Have Brought

Closet Organizers and Hanging Pocket Shoe Organizer

You Tubers had recommended items that I did purchase and bring, but wish I had not. They took up valuable space in our suitcases, and we cannot even use them: folding hanging closet organizer for sweaters, folding hanging organizer for shoes, and a hanging 24 pocket shoe organizer (for toiletries, presumably), to hang on the bathroom door. We wasted money on these. The closet organizers didn’t fit because the closet was packed with hanging clothes. The door hanging shoe organizer was about two feet too long, and the bathroom door would close with something like that hanging on it. The door is heavy enough as it is. I recommend that you don’t buy these items, at least if you are sailing on the Island Princess.

Too Many Shoes

Also, I wish that I could have made better decisions about my shoes and not brought so many. All the footwear I really needed were the following:

• one pair of dressy wedge sandals for evening;

• two identical pairs of orthotic leather sandals to rotate (because I wore my one pair so often that they wore out);

• one pair of comfortable flip-flops to wear as slippers in our cabin;

• one pair of closed-toe casual or deck shoes;

• and water repellent athletic shoes.

Cliff did a better job with decision-making about his shoes. Instead of purchasing shiny black patent shoes for his tuxedo, he bought black leather shoes that went with sports coats as well. In addition to the one pair of dress shoes, he needed:

• a pair of leather loafers with rubber soles;

• a classy pair of deck shoes;

• two pairs of leather flip-flop sandals (to rotate);

• and two pairs of athletic shoes to rotate, one of which is water-repellant.

For the pool and outside decks, make sure that your footwear is not loose fitting. I accidentally wore my flip-flops on the upper decks, and tripped going down the steps. I barely caught myself, and food on the plate I was carrying flew everywhere.

Too Many Formal Outfits and Dresses

Cliff wishes that he had not bought a tuxedo for the cruise, because he wore it only once, for our vow renewals. At first we participated in every formal night, making sure that we posed for professional photos, which we would later purchase. However, after several formal nights, the mood never struck us again for the rest of the cruise. For a longer cruise such as this one, four formal outfits would have been sufficient for myself. I never wore any of the casual dresses I brought on the cruise. For Cliff, it would have been adequate to bring a black suit and a sports coat, which would be mixed and matched with three pairs of slacks, four shirts and four ties.

Day 2, January 6

With all of the packing completed, we were able to sleep in and truly enjoy the ship on our second day. We explored all of the floors and checked out the pools and eating areas. Our friend Joan and I went to high tea in the Bordeaux main dining room, which was exceptionally elegant. Waiters poured tea into porcelain cups, and brought around trays of tiny sandwiches, cookies, cakes, and scones. It was divine. However, it was the last afternoon tea I attended, because it was just too much food for one day.

Seasick Already?

Those of you who know me well, were surprised that I would go on a cruise again (only our second ever), because I get motion sickness and vertigo so easily. In case you were wondering, it hit sooner than expected — the second night at sea.

As the second day progressed, the seas became rougher. Island Princess is a smaller ship, so you can really feel the movement. The ship rolled and shifted. The pools were like wave pools. One young man was washed out of the pool onto the deck.

It was to be our first formal night, and I was very excited. I started getting ready early, making sure that my makeup and hair were as perfect as I could get them. I was all dressed up in my black dress, hose, and heels, with my red necklace and bracelet, ready to go. I was excited about having our photos taken. Then suddenly it hit. I was seasick! I tried so hard to rally, but just couldn't seem to lift my head from the desk. When I tried to stand up to leave, the vomiting started and wouldn’t stop. I urged Cliff to enjoy the evening with our friend, and crawled into bed.

I lost two nights and two days, just sleeping. No food or liquids, not even water, would stay down. Here is where I thank my long suffering husband, Cliff, for trying so hard to help me recover, and for enduring my propensity for vertigo and seasickness. Additionally, I must thank the Cruise Director, who also has an issue with seasickness, and has been doing her job on ships for many years. Later in the cruise, after my third episode, she provided me with some tips to better manage motion sickness. I avoided water and drank ginger ale instead, took Bonine throughout the day and my prescription Meclizine before going to bed, and if the Captain announced there would be rough seas that night, I ate dinner before 4:00 and went straight to bed. Sometimes, such as when our ship could not dock at Darwin, Australia because of a storm, and we were circumventing the continent, the sea was so rough that no preventions would work. There would be plenty of seasick folks on nights like that.

Day 4, January 8 Cartagena, Columbia

Finally, on the fourth day, just at dawn, I felt the ship slow and the rocking stop. Tentatively, I limped to the sliding glass door, pulled it open, and stepped onto the balcony. A fog hugging the water slowly lifted to reveal a pale rising sun. Skeletal outlines of boats were barely visible through the fog. I could hear the sound of macaws and other birds among the mangrove islands. The air was hot and heavy, like south Florida in late August. As the mists slowly cleared, the sparkling white city of Cartagena emerged, as if every building was made of marble.

Cliff and I left the ship for about 10 minutes to walk on the dock, but the heat, humidity, and searing sun were just too much. Before long, travelers returned from their excursions, all before the posted time of 2:30. Our ship left a little earlier than the planned 3:00. We relaxed through the evening, watched a movie in our stateroom, and drifted off to sleep before 8:00 as our ship headed to the Panama Canal.

Some notes about Island Princess:

This is a lovely ship. Although older, it is well kept. It is one of a few designed to travel the Panama Canal’s old locks, so it is narrower, with smaller staterooms and hallways. The disadvantage of a smaller ship is that you can feel it move more in rough seas. The advantage is that it is comfortably uncrowded.

There is one atrium, which is quite lovely, but it was the only gathering area for many of the games or crafts activities. At times the atrium stairs from the sixth level to the fifth deck were completely inaccessible because folks sitting on the steps or crowded around the tables to work on their crafts.

However, there are fewer dining options than larger ships. There is no sports bar or pub indoors, where you can order a sandwich with your drink. There are two main dining rooms (that for the first two weeks had extremely long lines for dinner), two speciality restaurants, and a couple of very nice bars inside.

Outside around the pool areas are a great hamburger place (also tacos and other options), a pizza bar, ice cream and a pool bar. We don’t enjoy sitting out in the heat, so we sometimes took our hamburgers down to the Crooners Bar to enjoy them. Food is not served there, but the waiters graciously allow us to enjoy our meal. Additionally, on very windy days, food tends to fly off the plates as you carry them to the table.

The casino is small, with many older slot machines mixed in with a fewer newer and flashier ones. However, there is a nice little bar outside the casino, where you can watch the football games live.

The library offers a great selection of games and books, and it is a quiet retreat to look out over the water as you enjoy your books. We found the library to be less crowded after about 2:00 P.M.

We loved the music provided in the Wheelhouse bar, as well as the environment. We especially enjoyed the Aileen & Sticks, a music duo from Ireland. The duo learned The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald just for Cliff. They took us from Irish ballads to requests, such as Tennessee Whiskey. Cliff says their great performances took him into the double digit limits of our drink package. Whenever Cliff walked into the Wheelhouse, Aileen & Sticks started playing Tennessee Whiskey just for him.