jawhoffman

What a great tour! These guys went above and beyond to accommodate me and I am so thankful for their kindness and professionalsim! I was originally scheduled to go on a tour with my husband and another couple from the cruise boat (not anyone we knew). When we got to the tour office my husband got very ill (apparently something he ate for breakfast) and had to go back to the boat. I stayed with our tour guide, Uva, to wait for the other couple so we could begin the tour. Well, they never showed up. I felt terrible about it and told Uva that I certainly wouldn't expect him to take me on a solo tour so I'd just go back to the boat too. "No", he said, "we'll take care of you" and that is exactly what they did! I joined 2 very friendly Canadian families on his very next tour. We visited some beautiful cenotes with an abundance of cool animals, a protected area to see flamingos feeding in the wild, Mayan salt flats (we were given pink salt to take home and the opportunity to buy an authentic Mayan tamale for 1USD which was delicious!) and then some nearby Mayan ruins. We were actually able to climb to the top of the tallest ruin and Uva took our picture there! When the rest of the group was dropped of at a beach resort for their final stop, Uva contacted a drive to take me back to my boat. Thank you Carlos for getting me back to me boat in plenty of time. Thank you Uva for a wonderful tour! Please contact these folks for a tour when you're in Progreso...you will NOT regret it.

I can only imagine how hard it would be to get a drink, especially in the MDR!

I had the all inclusive drink package on Island last month and it was no problem getting a drink anywhere, including the MDR.

We never waited more than a few minutes for ATD either. The first night was pretty crazy but they took groups of 8 from the line to the MDR so that alleviated the wait situation. We had terrific waiters and really good food too!

Yep...that's what they were!

In both the lodges we stayed in they had the 1 cup individual pod machines.

Just got off the Island too and there is an Alfredo's onboard. It's open for lunch in the Sabitini's restaurant. Don't miss it...the pizza is great! Also, be on the lookout for the Alaskan seafood specialties offered at the Bar and Grill. They were served at lunch the day before we docked at Ketichan, Juneau and Skagway. So good! Also the Alaskan seafood buffet served in the Horizon court was terrific. As you can tell, I really enjoyed the food!

We were on the May 11 Island cruise and it was $29.

Yes, I was there last week. 2 servings each of regular and decaf coffee and a couple tea bags as well.

Gosh, I didn't realize how very lucky we were when we boarded the Island on the 11th. We dropped our bags off with porters around 10:00am, then walked over to Stanley Park and took the horse drawn carriage ride. We caught the city bus back and never had more than 15 to 25 people ahead of in any line. We actually breezed right through it all. HAL passengers, on the other hand, were for some reason backed way up and had huge lines in all areas. The enviously watche up move on through our line!

We never recieved anything from Princess with a suggested time to board. The only thing we ever got was the notice the OP mentioned about the 4:30 departure time.

Another whale watching excursion in Juneau to consider is Harv & Marv's. I'd highly recommend it. Liz was our captain last week in her roomy 6 passage boat and our time with her was exceptional!!

In 2000 I went on a cruisetour with my dad that included the longer school bus ride into the park. We saw lots of wildlife and we loved it. A week ago I was on a cruisetour with my husband (It's taken me 15 years to get back to Alaska with my husband but the wait was sooo worth it!) which included the Natural History Tour and he loved that one! He's natural history buff and had no desire to sit on a school bus for more that 4 or 5 hrs so it was perfect for him. To each his own, I guess! (:

Enjoy your cruise with your mom!

I would highly recommend Harv & Marv's tour in Juneau. Our captain was Liz and she was awesome. We saw eagles and an eagle nest, harbor seals, sea lions, orca whales and humpback whales, including a calf and its mother. There were only 6 of us on the boat and there were spots to watch from inside, the front and the back. It was a great trip! We saw lots of whales from our boat but being down close and personal was quite exciting.

We just returned from a cruise that left Vancouver on May 11. We had absolutely wonderful weather...5 days out of 7 were sunny and in the 70s!! The other 2 were overcast with sun in and out of the sky. Our the land portion of our cruise we were lucky enough to see all of majestic Denali!

I had sailed south in July before but really loved the drama of the scenery becoming more majestic with more snow on the peaks as we sailed north last week. There were lots of waterfalls cascading off the mountains wherever you looked! We saw lots of whales. As those previously mentioned, t was nice to be sailing with very few children onboard.

I hear what all you guys are saying but I'm telling you from personal experience (I just got off her) that she is not ruined. We never felt crowded, we never waiting in line for a table in the Horizon Court, we found seats every time we went to the theater (they scheduled On the Bayou for 3 show the night it played). If you have a cruise scheduled on the Island, please don't be afraid. We had a FANTASTIC time...honestly it was pretty near perfect!!!

I just got off the Island on Friday and the refrigerator in our room was the larger of those described in this thread, not the smaller.

I would also recommend a northbound trip out of Vancouver with a land trip added if at all possible. We sailed on May 11 from Vancouver and just returned from a flight out of Fairbanks. We flew from the east coast too and felt like the cruise first gave us the time we needed to leisurely recoup from the long flight and adjust to the time change without worrying about jumping into land excursions right away. And, as others have mentioned, we loved that the scenery along the route just became increasingly more spectacular the further north we traveled! College Fjord was just incredible as was Glacier Bay.

We sailed on the Island and though we'd read some negative reviews about her, we don't have a single bad thing to say about her. Our trip was fantastic...no way it could have been better!!!

Looking at the port schedule going forward...

 

Lots of 3 ship days. Yup, they better get it figured out.

Apparently it didn't take too long to figure it it! We sailed on the Island May 11 , another 3 ship day, and we had an incredibly fast & easy embarkation. The folks on HAL though were backed up and enviously watching us breeze through.

We just returned from an Alaskan cruise and ate in both the MDR and the buffet and enjoyed both tremendously. We chose anytime dining so we could check the menu and then choose, depending on our schedule, where we wanted to eat each meal. Worked great for us and we felt very comfortable in our jeans on casual nights in the MDR.

If the dates and itinerary on the Island work for you, please don't hesitate to book her. We just returned for a northbound trip (May 11 out of Vancouver to Whittier) and we had a fantastic time!! The boat honestly never felt crowded to us and there was always plenty of space for us on any deck, including the "secret decks". The food was wonderful and the crew was AWESOME. I have no clue how anyone who has sailed (and I'm talking about since her dry dock) her could call her the worst ship in the fleet. We had an absolutely AMAZING time!!!

Having the same problem unfortunately.

Just off the Island Princess after doing a 15 day Panama cruise. Alfredo's was open almost everyday I can only think of once when it was closed. Normally it was open from 11:30 to 2.

Thanks! Excited to hear it might be open most days and anxious to try their pizza!

Its in the Sabatini's on the Promenade deck!

Thanks, socaljo! We're anxious to try their famous pizza next month (: Do you know if it was open every day?

It's a side section of Sabitini's (deck 7) that's open from 11:30- 2:30. The only ships that have an entire restaurant called Alfredos are the Grand, Sapphire, Regal and Royal. I've already booked Regal and can't wait to go back to Alfredo's. The best dish on the entire ship (and free) is the Agnolotti pasta at Alfredo's.

Thanks! Looking forward to trying it next month!

Last month the MDR food on the Island was wonderful! I often had trouble deciding from all the interesting menu choices! Superior service in the Provence MDR added to our enjoyment, thanks to waiter & assistant, Ian & Roel, we had a delightful 15 nights dining there. We so enjoyed our table-mates & the service, we didn't eat elsewhere for a change!

 

We even went there for breakfast & lunch on most days! At breakfast there are suggested items, but asking for something else, like their special French Toast, when it wasn't on the menu was NO PROBLEM. Same at lunch, DH loved the huge ground sirloin burger (cooked to order) but wanted onion rings instead of fries. The waiter had to ask to be sure, but he had some yummy rings with his burger that day! On the 3rd might, I asked when I would see salmon on the menu, Ian said, "any night you'd like, just let me know, you can have it tomorrow". Baked potato? Say the word, its yours tomorrow night!

 

LOVE being spoiled like that! Can't wait to have those "hard decisions" to make again in January! :D

Not surprised you loved it!

This is posted in the sticky section at the top of the board.

Cruise Critic Cruisers' Choice Awards 2016>

Best Cruise Ships for Dining

Island Princess

2016 Cruisers’ Choice

8 of 10

Best for Dining

Large Ship

So glad to know that! And where will we find Alfredos on the Island? Thanks (: