Island Princess - 4/19 Sailing - Very Long

[Ethel5]

Brian,

Thanks you for such a detailed review. I think I will plug in that cruise for spring 2007. Already have the next 3 booked! I loved the Croal and it's nice to know that the Island is very similar in beauty, service and entertainment.

[Cruisin' Chick]

Thank you for your answer. We'll have to check it out. Two more questions:
you mentioned fresh squeezed OJ -- how much did you pay for it? And the Lotus Pool that is covered -- is that adult only? (on our previous Princess cruises the pool under the retractable roof was opened to all, which was great as my daughter learned to swim last summer and enjoyed trying out her new skill on the Sapphire). Thank you in advance.:)

[bdjam]

[quote name='ssantow'][size=3][font=Comic Sans MS] You said check-in was a breeze. What time did you arrive at San Pedro?[/font][/size][/QUOTE] [font=Comic Sans MS]We arrived in San Pedro at about 1:00 p.m. When we got there, there were quite a few people there already and the line for general check in was probably about 15 to 20 people deep. We have Platinum Check In and there was no one in front of us when we got there, so it was a couple of minutes at the check-in window. We had to queue for security, however and that took a bit. Then we were straight through to the ship (with a short stop for the photo and security photo). [/font]
[font=Comic Sans MS][QUOTE] [font=Verdana]Thanks you for such a detailed review. I think I will plug in that cruise for spring 2007. Already have the next 3 booked! I loved the Croal and it's nice to know that the Island is very similar in beauty, service and entertainment.[/font]
[/QUOTE] [font=Comic Sans MS]Look for it in 2007! Really, if you love cruising and especially days at sea, or if you want time to relax and still have an active vacation, or if you want to sample the islands, or if you just want to be at sea…this is the cruise for you![/font]
[QUOTE]you mentioned fresh squeezed OJ -- how much did you pay for it? And the Lotus Pool that is covered -- is that adult only? (on our previous Princess cruises the pool under the retractable roof was opened to all, which was great as my daughter learned to swim last summer and enjoyed trying out her new skill on the Sapphire). Thank you in advance[/QUOTE] [font=Comic Sans MS]What’s that credit card commercial say? “Fresh squeezed orange juice – priceless.” It really was good…worth the 1.75 plus gratuity. I think part of the fun was that Martin and I had our little banter every sea day morning, but it still was really good. And it really was fresh squeezed - I saw them cut the oranges and squeeze them. Just to clarify, regular orange and cranberry juice was available at the stations in Horizon Court at no charge, while other juices were available at no charge on request. [/font]

[font=Comic Sans MS]I[/font][font=Comic Sans MS][font=Comic Sans MS] had thought the Lotus Pool was adults only based on some other posts I’ve seen on this board, but I didn’t see any Adult Only signs posted (and only really looked for them once), so maybe that’s no longer true. There was one little girl in the pool with her parents a couple of afternoons. There were only about 10 kids on the trip, so there wasn’t a lot of demand for the pool by the minors – maybe they restrict it when there are a certain number of kids on board? In any case, it didn’t seem to be restricted on this cruise. [/font]
[/font][/font]

[GrammaZ]

Wonderful review. Just what I wanted to hear. We are not sailing until February but can hardly wait. We are booked on the Caribe deck in a BA catebory but with a guaranteed cabin, so at this point not sure where they will eventually put us. Hopefully an upgrade to a minisuite. One question. We were on the Grand over New Years and the coffee was horrible. How was the coffee on the Island? Do I have to bring my coffeemaker?

[spingal]

[quote name='GrammaZ']Wonderful review. Just what I wanted to hear. We are not sailing until February but can hardly wait. We are booked on the Caribe deck in a BA catebory but with a guaranteed cabin, so at this point not sure where they will eventually put us. Hopefully an upgrade to a minisuite. One question. We were on the Grand over New Years and the coffee was horrible. How was the coffee on the Island? Do I have to bring my coffeemaker?[/QUOTE]
Overall I thought the coffee was better! It isn't very strong but at least tasted better.

[sunshine426]

I had planned on bringing my coffee maker after reading all the threads, but it was not funtioning the night I started packing, so I just forgot about taking it. I am usually pretty picky about my coffee, and found the coffee, fine. Not the best, but certainly quite palatable. I did find the coffee in the pattesserrie to be fresh brewed. I would stop and get a cup on my way into the dining room for breakfast. The other coffee tasted a little "thin" to me. My husband said that it all tasted good to him. I guess it is just up to the individuals. bon appetit!

[AzTraveler]

We was expecting the worse as far as the coffee was concerned, but to our surprise it was pretty good. After a couple of cups we became accustomed to it. I went down to the pattesserrie one morning to get fresh brewed but it was before they opened so I just went to the Horizon Court to fill out special insulated cups.

As far as the kids, LARGIN had researched and advised us prior to sailing that there would be 20 kids on board. I counted only 10 different kids and none of them was rowdy, which we can credit their parents Iam sure!

We are looking forward to our next cruise, but I think it will be difficult to find one any better than the 4/19 on the Island Princess!

Harold

[bdjam]

[font='Comic Sans MS']I’m in agreement on the coffee – I found it fine, but then again, I always have found it fine. As noted, the Patisserie offers fresh brewed, so something besides the concentrate is available if you want it. I did see a couple of people during disembarkation carrying their coffee makers with them – so if you’re a real coffee connoisseur, you might want to bring it. [/font]
[font='Comic Sans MS'][/font]
[font='Comic Sans MS'][/font][font='Comic Sans MS']As for kids, I did hear there were 10 on board. I didn’t see any behavior problems at all – well, except for one. We had a balcony cabin on Caribe and a couple of doors down from us was a family of four – the youngest being a maybe two year old boy. I was reading on the balcony one of the first sea days and I looked up and he was standing on my balcony. Apparently there’s enough room for a small child to get between the partitions that separate the balconies and the railing. I yelled at his mother something like “is this your son?” and she says “he’s OK – I’m watching him.” By this time, he was heading back and on the balcony next to me – when the occupant of that room saw the kid, he started screaming at the mother and she finally realized where the kid was. I think she thought I was screaming at her because every time I saw her in the hall after that – pushing the kid’s huge stroller – she aimed for me with it. We could actually hear the kid screaming in the room from the elevator bank – and we were quite a walk from it. Other than that, the kids were great![/font]

[QueensChick]

Thanks so much for your terrific review.
...and now, the anticipation.

[bdjam]

[quote name='QueensChick']Thanks so much for your terrific review.
...and now, the anticipation.[/QUOTE]
[font='Comic Sans MS']You’re welcome and I think you’ll find the anticipation worth it![/font]

[spingal]

[quote name='bdjam'][font='Comic Sans MS']I’m in agreement on the coffee – I found it fine, but then again, I always have found it fine. As noted, the Patisserie offers fresh brewed, so something besides the concentrate is available if you want it. I did see a couple of people during disembarkation carrying their coffee makers with them – so if you’re a real coffee connoisseur, you might want to bring it. [/font]
[font='Comic Sans MS'][/font]
[font='Comic Sans MS'][/font][font='Comic Sans MS']As for kids, I did hear there were 10 on board. I didn’t see any behavior problems at all – well, except for one. We had a balcony cabin on Caribe and a couple of doors down from us was a family of four – the youngest being a maybe two year old boy. I was reading on the balcony one of the first sea days and I looked up and he was standing on my balcony. Apparently there’s enough room for a small child to get between the partitions that separate the balconies and the railing. I yelled at his mother something like “is this your son?” and she says “he’s OK – I’m watching him.” By this time, he was heading back and on the balcony next to me – when the occupant of that room saw the kid, he started screaming at the mother and she finally realized where the kid was. I think she thought I was screaming at her because every time I saw her in the hall after that – pushing the kid’s huge stroller – she aimed for me with it. We could actually hear the kid screaming in the room from the elevator bank – and we were quite a walk from it. Other than that, the kids were great![/font][/QUOTE]
INCREDIBLE!! :eek: I do not get some parents!! That child could have climbed on the balcony furniture in empty balconies (I assume based on what you wrote that they were not next door to you) and been overboard in a heartbeat! What was that Mother thinking?

My 4 year old niece was with us and she was firmly told to NEVER go out on the balcony alone. We watched her like a hawk!

[bdjam]

[quote name='spingal']INCREDIBLE!! :eek: I do not get some parents!! That child could have climbed on the balcony furniture in empty balconies (I assume based on what you wrote that they were not next door to you) and been overboard in a heartbeat! What was that Mother thinking?[/QUOTE]
[font='Comic Sans MS']I agree - he was tall enough to be able to climb up on the chairs, and if he could do that, the table and the railing were not far behind – and that’s pretty much what my neighbor was yelling at the mother when she finally realized the kid wasn’t on her balcony. [/font]

[GrammaZ]

Thanks so much for the coffee reviews. I really appreciate your opinions. We like our coffee strong and bold. I do understand that coffee is a very personal thing and on other threads this has been quite a talked about issue. On the Grand I found the dining room slightly better than Horizon but not by much. Thank goodness for Bailey's. I had a couple of cups at the Patisserie (or whatever it is called on the Grand) and found it only slightly better. The other option other than my own coffeemaker is paying for the cappaccino. My solution to the different strengths of coffee people like is to make it strong and bold and then offer hot water to weaken it. Seen that done lots of times at different functions. The hot water is always available for tea. Won't let it ruin a wonderful cruise though, not really a big issue. We will be sailing Carnival in a few months and will compare the coffee there. We will be in Italy so it better be good.

[bdjam]

[quote name='GrammaZ']Thanks so much for the coffee reviews. [/QUOTE]
[font='Comic Sans MS']Since you’re doing Hawaii, you might want to bring the coffee maker so that you can sample some Kona coffee while you’re there…[/font]

[Theta_Potata]

I really loved your detailed review. My DH and I will be on this cruise 9/23/05. I am very excited. It will be our first cruise and I will tell you the reviews really take out some of the mystery of what we will expect. Would you be willing to answer a question for me? I was wondering about the shore excursions offered through princess... When you book them online do you pay for them then or are you charged when you get on the ship? I have some conflicting information on this.

Thanks,
Diane

[bdjam]

[quote name='Theta_Potata']II was wondering about the shore excursions offered through princess... When you book them online do you pay for them then or are you charged when you get on the ship? I have some conflicting information on this.

Thanks,
Diane[/QUOTE]
[font=Comic Sans MS]Diane – the shore excursions booked online are charged to your ship-board account. You pay for them with the rest of your charges at the end of the cruise.[/font]

[font=Comic Sans MS]Enjoy your cruise!![/font]

[suzyluvs2cruise]

I can only imagine how it would feel to find a toddler on your balcony. And then for the mother to just brush it off............thank goodness nothing happened to him. I work in an elementary school and it never ceases to amaze me at the actions (or lack of action) of some parents.

[Theta_Potata]

[quote name='bdjam'][font=Comic Sans MS]Diane – the shore excursions booked online are charged to your ship-board account. You pay for them with the rest of your charges at the end of the cruise.[/font]

[font=Comic Sans MS]Enjoy your cruise!![/font][/QUOTE]

Great! Thanks for the information. One less thing to figure out. :)

[Taters]

Thanks for the review! I enjoyed it very much! I'm glad to hear that the dining room service has improved since we were on this cruise over the holidays. Princess has a very good product.

Taters

[Aloha Me]

My compliments as well Bdjam on some great information. We will be sailing the Island to Hawaii in March 2006 and have avidly been reading any post I can find. Like others (my first Princess cruise), I was concerned about negative comments as well. But we learned from our previous cruises to take this information with a grain of salt. Much depends on your own expectations. We try to go with a good attitude, make our own fun and do our best to try all kinds of new foods...and it's worked for us. I will probably keep this thread handy to read through again as we get closer to our departure, so thank you for taking the time to write it.

[url="http://www.smileycentral.com/?partner=ZSzeb001_ZNxdm395"][img]http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/36/36_1_11.gif[/img][/url] [url="http://www.smileycentral.com/?partner=ZSzeb001_ZNxdm395"][/url]

[kryos]

[quote name='spingal']Overall I thought the coffee was better! It isn't very strong but at least tasted better.[/QUOTE]
I can honestly say that the only "bad" cup of coffee I got during the entire cruise was ... would you believe it ... in Sabatini's! That coffee tasted absolutely horrible and I didn't even finish it.

The rest of the coffee ... and believe me, I love my morning coffee, wasn't all that bad. Not Dunkin Donuts quality (I'm sorry, but Dunkin Donuts makes the best cup of coffee in my humble opinion), but not anywhere near as bad as some people on these boards have made it out to be. Just put sugar and some cream in it, and it tastes fine. I would always enjoy two to three cups every sea day morning in the Horizon Court, and I'm still alive. :)

Blue skies ...

--rita

[sunshine426]

[quote name='Taters']Thanks for the review! I enjoyed it very much! I'm glad to hear that the dining room service has improved since we were on this cruise over the holidays. Princess has a very good product.

Taters[/QUOTE]My husband and I had anytime dining,(which hasn't been reviews as much) and we found it lovely. It was so conveniant to choose our dining times, and we always enjoyed the company of a shared table when we desired, table for two very easy to come by. we never made a reservation, just showed up and were seated immediatley. We waited 10 minutes two times only. The food is the same as traditional, with the exception of the baked alaka march, and the table side deserts (bananana flambe). If you have any questions regarding personal choice, I will try to answer.:)

[bdjam]

[quote name='Aloha Me']My compliments as well Bdjam on some great information. We will be sailing the Island to Hawaii in March 2006 and have avidly been reading any post I can find. Like others (my first Princess cruise), I was concerned about negative comments as well. But we learned from our previous cruises to take this information with a grain of salt. Much depends on your own expectations. We try to go with a good attitude, make our own fun and do our best to try all kinds of new foods...and it's worked for us. I will probably keep this thread handy to read through again as we get closer to our departure, so thank you for taking the time to write it.[/QUOTE]
[font='Comic Sans MS']No doubt you will enjoy this cruise. I would think even with the highest expectations, it would be difficult to find fault in the trip. [/font]

[VikingRob]

Me and my DH will be taking this cruise in Feb 20th. We are both so looking forward to it. I really loved your review had I have a couple of questions, if you don't mind. My DH really wants to try the specialty restaurants, especially the Bayou Cafe, but he doesn't want to miss the really good dinner nights in the dining room. Do you have any suggestions on what nights would be best to make reservations for the restaurants?

I know that your cruise was in April and ours is in Feb, but being on a 15 day cruise what would you say was the average age of the passengers? What kind of crowd was it? I am assuming not many kids. That really doesn't bother as we have kids, but are not traveling with them this time. We are both in our mid 40's.

Any other sugestions that you might have would be great and thanks again for a great review!

Kim

[MFH]

We'll be on the Island in January, can't wait! Your review made it seem so real! Thanks!