What will Island Princess look like after May 2015?

Does anyone have drawings/renderings of how Island Princess will look from the back after the unfortunate drydock in April-May 2015? Will it lose its aft curves and appear more like a floating squarish brick (with all those aft cabins added and the open decks removed)?

Looking at the new deck plans, with all the cabins added where they simply do not belong based on the original design, I expect the ship will become so aesthetically unappealing that Venice should just ban it from entering its port, to protect the city view. Would serve Princess right.

Curious question I'm interested to find out also.

I'm pretty curious too, after the conflicting information we have received and the new deck plans shown on the website. It looks to me like Princess has completely forgotten a very critical part of the whole cruise aggregate - satisfied paying guests - without whom there will be NO RETURN WHATSOEVER on their investment. Their dry dock plans do nothing to enhance or even maintain the passenger experience on the Island, and I think there are too many people out there who have seen and enjoyed her as she was originally designed for them to put this one over on us. I really don't want to cruise with 250 additional passengers accommodated in space converted from enjoyable public venues into additional revenue producers for the money grubbing pencil pushers in the head office.

The redesign is a total disaster as far as I am concerned, and I agree that the ship's exterior profile will be irretrievably damaged by this ill conceived makeover. Not to mention the diminishment of the passenger experience that will come with the elimination of the full promenade deck with its wonderful viewing, the complete loss of the Universe Lounge and its show, the conversion of the fitness center into what will be a cramped stinky windowless afterthought, the card room crammed into half of what was a lovely library, loss of the Sanctuary Pool, and all the other little cuts and takeaways. It was originally stated that the Bayou Café was to become a Crown Grill and the International Café was to be added - that at least would have eliminated some of the overcrowding of dining facilities caused by the extra passengers. Now, those seem to have been eliminated according to the new deck plan.

I arranged a trip for my husband and me, along with two other couples, on the Grand Mediterranean itinerary next June - now I wish I could get out of it but the others are committed and I feel that we are trapped. I am frustrated that we will have to make final payments in April, before we know the full magnitude of the damage to the ship and the overall cruise experience. Would it be too much to ask that they at least tell us the full extent of their scheme? Princess has told me specifically that the drydock plans are not yet finalized, but if not, why are the new deck plans already online? How can you be scheduling a redesign of this scope with no firm plan by now? I think they have lied to me and are trying to keep people in the dark until the last possible moment.

It's pretty obvious that I am furious about this overt money grab on Princess's part, and I think we will be grossly overpaying for the experience they plan to provide us. Seems odd to me that more people are just accepting of this kind of treatment rather than inundating Princess with complaints and cancellations.

The redesign is a total disaster as far as I am concerned...

Usually with comments like this, I sort of take them with a grain of salt. But after taking the time to do a side-by-side comparison of the 'before and after' deck plans, all I can say is 'holy cow'. I've never been on Island Princess, and had actually contemplated sailing this ship doing a partial Panama Canal in the next few years, but not now.

It might be interesting to hear from others who have been on this ship to comment on this major refit, and what it is doing to the ship in their opinion. I imagine the consensus will be unanimous.

:D

I guess that I'm fortunate not to have been on the Island prior to its makeover so I won't miss what isn't there when we do our Grand Med cruise next September. Having said that, it will be odd to be on a Princess ship without an aft lounge of some kind.

Of course, they're doing it to make money :rolleyes:, they are a business after all. With the closure of Venice to all larger ships they either have change the itineraries to skip using Venice as a embarkation/disembarkation port, modify the smaller ships to make them cost effective for the existing itineraries, or shell out the money (not to mention the time it would take) to build a new cruise port near enough to Venice to be practical.

Princess execs probably figure that the risk of changing the Island to be more profitable is the least risky plan at this point. Would you do a Grand Med tour if you couldn't take extra time at the beginning or end to spend more time in Venice?

I guess that I'm fortunate not to have been on the Island prior to its makeover so I won't miss what isn't there when we do our Grand Med cruise next September. Having said that, it will be odd to be on a Princess ship without an aft lounge of some kind.

 

Of course, they're doing it to make money :rolleyes:, they are a business after all. With the closure of Venice to all larger ships they either have change the itineraries to skip using Venice as a embarkation/disembarkation port, modify the smaller ships to make them cost effective for the existing itineraries, or shell out the money (not to mention the time it would take) to build a new cruise port near enough to Venice to be practical.

 

Princess execs probably figure that the risk of changing the Island to be more profitable is the least risky plan at this point. Would you do a Grand Med tour if you couldn't take extra time at the beginning or end to spend more time in Venice?

Completely agree. We have not been on Island Princess before so won't miss what was there before. The thing I will miss is the IC but we will make do as we have such a port intensive cruise and will use the dining room on sea days. We try to stay out of the buffet as much as possible when cruising.

Anyway, we will enjoy our Grand Med cruise in October. It's the ports that are the stars of this cruise not the ships.

Jackie

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I say they should eliminate public areas altogether. No more wasting valuable space on theaters and restaurants. Put in more suites instead of the promenade deck. I bet there is enough room on every Princess ship for at least 500 more cabins, not the measly 200 they are adding on the Island.

Cruise ships should be like airplanes: everyone stays in their seats ... pardon me -- cabins -- for most of the duration of the trip. Meals to be served on tiny plastic trays, delivered to your cabin by cruise attendants. No more private bathrooms, either. There shall be two public bathrooms in the front and two in the back of each deck. And no congregating there, either!

I have cruised on the Island before and am going on my last cruise on her in December, over the New Years, before they turn her into garbage. This may very well be my last cruise on Princess. Adios, greedy corporate pigs.

Very sad. CORAL & ISLAND PRINCESS were two of the best ships in the Princess fleet. I really enjoyed my CORAL PRINCESS cruise through the Panama Canal.

This looks like Carnival Shipbuilding at its finest. The same treatment was essentially done to CARNIVAL DESTINY aka CARNIVAL SUNSHINE. Basically removing public areas and converting them into cabins with little regard for the original integrity of the design. The simple goal is revenue enhancement.

A complete disgrace to this design IMO with no benefit to passengers. The result will be a higher density ship with fewer public areas and amenities.

How unfortunate.

I say they should eliminate public areas altogether. No more wasting valuable space on theaters and restaurants. Put in more suites instead of the promenade deck. I bet there is enough room on every Princess ship for at least 500 more cabins, not the measly 200 they are adding on the Island.

 

Cruise ships should be like airplanes: everyone stays in their seats ... pardon me -- cabins -- for most of the duration of the trip. Meals to be served on tiny plastic trays, delivered to your cabin by cruise attendants. No more private bathrooms, either. There shall be two public bathrooms in the front and two in the back of each deck. And no congregating there, either!

 

I have cruised on the Island before and am going on my last cruise on her in December, over the New Years, before they turn her into garbage. This may very well be my last cruise on Princess. Adios, greedy corporate pigs.

Well said!

I, too, am very disappointed that they are adding so many staterooms (passengers) and reducing public areas. Although I mainly cruise for the destinations, I like to be able to enjoy the ship as well. I feel that many Princess ships already do not have enough seats in the dining rooms and theaters. To add so many more passengers without adding seating capacity to the dining room and theater is really upsetting. I think I am moving towards fewer cruises and taking land based trips instead, as crowds, lines, and waits for everything really take away from the enjoyment of the trip. I hope Princess will not continue to add staterooms to their other ships.

To add so many cabins and reduce the common areas is a big mistake! Princess needs to look long and hard at this. Cruising is discretionary and people will be looking at other ways to spend their vacations. Waiting in long lines, not having enough seating, crowded gym and pool is not our idea of fun!

How disappointing.

I have a mini-suite booked for the 17 day TA on the Island in March. I have never been on her, but sailed twice on the Coral, her sister ship. In August we spent 2 weeks on the NCL Getaway- NCL's new big ship- lots of cabins and long hallways. The public areas were always packed with staff running for folding chairs every night. We had a good time, but a ship with so many people and limited public spaces are not ideal. On NCL now room service comes with a charge around midnight and the big buffet closes at night- they keep a small beverage area open. I hate to see ships try to pack in the guests with no thought to the general cruise experience. We chose the Island for the itinerary and because we had been on the Coral. I'd rather put up with pre-renovation saggy mattresses than be herded in with more passengers with fewer places to go.

But after taking the time to do a side-by-side comparison of the 'before and after' deck plans

We are booked on this ship next month for a partial transit. I'm glad we are going now instead of after the refit.

Can you (or someone else) post the "before and after" deck plans or a link to them? I would love to see the differences. I checked the Princess website but can't find "new" ones.

Thanks!

The Island has been our favorite ship because of the aft decks and the uncrowded public spaces. We are so sad the Princess accountants have prevailed.

Usually with comments like this, I sort of take them with a grain of salt. But after taking the time to do a side-by-side comparison of the 'before and after' deck plans, all I can say is 'holy cow'. I've never been on Island Princess, and had actually contemplated sailing this ship doing a partial Panama Canal in the next few years, but not now.

 

It might be interesting to hear from others who have been on this ship to comment on this major refit, and what it is doing to the ship in their opinion. I imagine the consensus will be unanimous.

 

:D

Can you post the side by side comparisons? What are they doing to it?

The Island has been our favorite ship because of the aft decks and the uncrowded public spaces. We are so sad the Princess accountants have prevailed.

Indeed. I'm happy the Coral seems safe...for the time being. But what's happening to the Island is really, really ugly.

Can you post the side by side comparisons? What are they doing to it?

I have never quoted myself before.

I just did the side by side comparisons myself. What a shame that they did what they did. Adding all those extra cabins while at the same time eliminating the public spaces. They should be prosecuted for theft by the the paying passengers that booked under the prior deck plans. I would be extremely upset about what they eliminated. Princess really needs to get back in the game. They are lacking in innovations, and entertainment. I know it is all about revenue, but you don't want your passengers to be bored and overcrowded. I know the Oasis just added more cabins too, at the expense of some public space, but not to the degree that Princess has just done on the Island Princess.

We cruised the Island on a partial Pansma Canal last year and it became my favorite ship to date. It felt spacious yet intimate and we loved all the hidden forward and aft decks, as well as, the promenade deck. We did miss the IC but would still sail her in her present form again.

The new redo makes us not want to go again.

We would choose the Coral now as she has the IC and sll the other features of the old Island.

I suppose for comparison purposes you could look at the Coral deck plans against the new Island plan

The Island has been our favorite ship because of the aft decks and the uncrowded public spaces. We are so sad the Princess accountants have prevailed.

Please don't blame the accountants. Top management lays out the scenario, "us" accountants compute the numbers, prepare the proposals and then present the studies to the brass. THE BRASS makes the final decisions.

For this reason, we have cruised on the real Grand Princess and it's two sisters in the past and have ignored the four Super-Grands (ie CB, etc.)

 

Can you (or someone else) post the "before and after" deck plans or a link to them? I would love to see the differences. I checked the Princess website but can't find "new" ones.

 

http://www.princess.com/deckPlans.do?shipCode=IP

http://www.princess.com/deckPlans.do?shipCode=IP

Thanks for the link. After seeing the deck plans, I can now understand what will happen. Although we have not sailed on her yet, I feel sad about the changes that will occur.

After cruising a several larger ships, we are looking forward to being on one of the Princess "little sisters." It is terrible to think she will be changed so much. :(

Where can I see what the new design/refit looks like? This does not sound good...

OTAs, brick and mortar TAs, and cruise review sites should adapt some key metrics tp compare/evaluate ships, such as:

- public sq ft per cabin

- public sq ft per pax capacity

- pax capacity per MDR seat

- pax capacity per total dining seat

- pax capacity per showroom seat

- etc.

Doing so in a consistent and pervasive way could help we travelers easily make meaningful comparisons and maybe some day even become a design consideration is today of greater import than it since buyers/builders would know pax will be looking at it and TAs recommending based on it.

The aft third of the Promenade deck is history, along with the aft viewing areas. This is probably enough to cancel our Med cruise next year. :(