Review of Island Princess

[mtclimbermom]

My family just got off the Island Princess on a 50th wedding anniversary for my folks. Overall it was a wonderful trip. I have sailed before on the Coral Princess, the Island Princess sister ship. We sailed on the Coral right before it went into dry dock, and it was great. I thought the Island would be just as nice, and in many ways it was, but it also fell short in some areas. The ship looked worn and will greatly benefit from its time in dry dock, but the cabins and ship were very clean. My niece, Abby, has a severe nut allergy. It was handle with great care. The kids staff were trained in the use of the epi pen. We got to know the head chef in both the dining room and the buffet. The head chef in the buffet made special meals for Abby whenever she arrived, even with no notice. During the cruise, the ship had 2 kids only dinner parties in the buffet. Because of Abby, everything at those meals was nut free. The head waiter in the dining room was wonderful with Abby, and would deliver her meals himself, checking on her often throughout each meal. Our waiter at the 5:15 time was Fernando. He was wonderful, making sure he called all of us by name and worked very hard to accommodate the special requests. Fernando took great care of my family. My family had 5 kids using the Shockwaves program (ages 8 - 12). The program and staff were wonderful. My son spent almost all of his time there. We enjoyed being on the ship very much, but there were a couple of downsides to the trip. Unfortunately the music was blaring, and I mean blaring, during sail away. Leaving out of Vancouver is so pretty, but it was unpleasant to be on deck for the party. One had to shout to be heard. It was like a rock concert. My family went to the back deck, away from the music and watch the ship sail out of the city. On the second day of the cruise my mother tripped on an unmarked step. She hurt her foot and needed it elevated for a couple of days. Alexis in customer care was wonderful. She got my mother use of the dining room room service, even though my mother was not in a suite. My family enjoys having drinks and visiting in places like Crooner's and the Wheelhouse Bar, before and after dinner. However, in the evenings the music in both places was too loud to carry on a conversation. That was frustrating. Also, something was wrong with the ship's air filters. The smell of smoke was in many places surrounding the inside smoking lounge. On the first night I could even see the smoke floating in the air in the Wheelhouse bar. I heard many passengers complaining about the smoke throughout the cruise. I think time in dry dock will probably fix this problem. The food was hit or miss, and for the most part I enjoyed it. The goat cheese soufflé was the best thing I ate on the trip. The staff overall was wonderful, polite, and worked hard to serve. But this was the first cruise I have been on where some of the staff were rude. I won't go into details, but it was disappointing. I think the ship will be beautiful and the smoke problem will be taken care of at dry dock. The kids' program is great. But since we never found a place to hang out and visit, and since some of the staff was unpleasant, I think we will go back to the Coral or some other ship.

[Colo Cruiser]

Thanks for your comments. :)

[waltd]

Just remember that crew members change from contract to contract and those on your cruise may not be on the next cruise. We were on the Island in April and had a wonderful time. It will be nice when Princess updates the Island with the International Café.

[Fuzzyape]

mtclimbermom, so happy to hear you had an overall positive experience on the Island. DW and I sailed her through the Canal this February. We too enjoyed meeting folks and hanging out at Crooners. Though we did this before dinner when there was no music. I agree it was difficult to hang out there in the evening. It seemed to me in the evenings every venue had singers or musicians. I did wish I could have found a place to visit with some of the great people I met during the cruise.

 

I was also happy to hear about the great care the staff took regarding your niece's nut allergy. That must have been a great relief to all to see such care being taken.

 

Thanks for the post. Enjoy your next cruise wherever it may take you and on whichever ship takes you there.

 

Counting down the days!

[partybarbie]

Wow, our experience on the Island in March was the complete opposite of yours. I never noticed any smoke smell, with the exception of the designated smoking areas.

 

The staff on our cruise was one of the nicest I have ever encountered and the Asst. Maitre'D, Guido Ascolani, was my waiter on my very first Princess cruise 25 years ago. He remembered me, and went above and beyond to ensure DH and I had an excellent cruise vacation.

 

I didn't find the ship overly loud at all. They were plenty of places to have a quiet talk. The Explorer's lounge had recorded music from 5:00pm to 7:00pm daily, and it wasn't loud at all, as we went there almost every night for pre-dinner cocktails and conversation. Another quiet area was the Bayou Cafe. We went there for pre-dinner cocktails and dinner and it was practically empty.

 

I guess this is another example of how passengers can be on the same ship and have totally different experiences.

[jacketwatch]

Sorry to hear of the shortcomings though it seems many of the crew were excellent. I am sure Princess would like to hear about this.

[boca7]

Going on the Island for the first time & enjoy the elite happy hr. Where does it take place on the Island?

[lovevacadays]

Thank you for your review. I wouldn't rule out sailing this ship again as crew members and staff change all the time. I am sorry to hear you had bad service. Overall, I think Princess provides good service. I guess there are some cruises where there are more than just a few that don't provide good service.

 

I hope the service on your next cruise is better.

[karatemom2]

We were on the Island in May and although we enjoyed our cruise very much I do agree the ship is in need of some TLC in certain areas. We also noticed the smell of smoke in the Wheelhouse Bar and areas near the smoking lounge. Overall we found the staff pleasant and our room steward was the best we have ever had on any Princess Cruise. But we did run into a few that were a bit less than helpful. And I agree, the goat cheese souffle may be my favorite dish that Princess serves. Glad you had a good time overall and that the allergy issue was addressed so well for your niece!

[cdngrl]

I had one cruise where the staff didn't seem up to par. I can't remember which ship but a lot of the crew's contracts were up and they were disembarking when I was. I think their heart wasn't in it anymore and they were looking towards being home.

[partybarbie]

Going on the Island for the first time & enjoy the elite happy hr. Where does it take place on the Island?

 

It's in a sectioned off area of the Explorer's Lounge. One really nice feature was the daily bowl of fresh strawberries. We haven't had that on any other ships.

[KirkNC]

Thanks for the report!

[JimAOk1945]

Which ports did you visit?

[Love.II.Cruise]

Thanks for the review!

[Keith1010]

Thank you for your report.

Keith

[LaurieHoffman]

Which ports did you visit?

 

We took this same cruise and returned on June 25th. It leaves Vancouver and stop, in this order, Ketchikan, Jueanu and Skagway then onto glacier viewing and departing in Anchorage.

 

This was my first Princess cruise, but I have sailed at least 16 other times on various cruise lines. We loved this ship except did notice the same concern the OP listed - the indoor cigar smoking area. The smell permeated over the entire central area including the library and card room. I hated this and and avoided this area as much as possible. The smoke smell needs to be addressed and stay in that room. Other than that though I loved the food, room steward service, horizon court was good, small ship layout great, didn't notice the sail away music as being to loud and was a bit disappointed in the evening entertainment. The dance/singing shows were high school quality in my opinion and my daughters. Other than that I would love to sail her again....

[JimAOk1945]

We took this same cruise and returned on June 25th. It leaves Vancouver and stop, in this order, Ketchikan, Jueanu and Skagway then onto glacier viewing and departing in Anchorage.

 

This was my first Princess cruise, but I have sailed at least 16 other times on various cruise lines. We loved this ship except did notice the same concern the OP listed - the indoor cigar smoking area. The smell permeated over the entire central area including the library and card room. I hated this and and avoided this area as much as possible. The smoke smell needs to be addressed and stay in that room. Other than that though I loved the food, room steward service, horizon court was good, small ship layout great, didn't notice the sail away music as being to loud and was a bit disappointed in the evening entertainment. The dance/singing shows were high school quality in my opinion and my daughters. Other than that I would love to sail her again....

Thanks for replying to my question. Although we will be on a different itinerary on the Island Princess in December, this information is very helpful. We are also planning another cruise to Alaska and may consider the IP for that cruise as well.

[Yehootu]

We sailed on the Island last April. My mother is 90 and uses a cane. I found the ship to be very handicap unfriendly. I hope they do some door updating in dry dock.

As for the crew, I never felt bad leaving Mom alone as there was ALWAYS a friendly crew member to help her , even without asking.

Loved our cruise on the Island, can' wait for the next one.

Tim

[mtclimbermom]

Thanks for replying to my question. Although we will be on a different itinerary on the Island Princess in December, this information is very helpful. We are also planning another cruise to Alaska and may consider the IP for that cruise as well.

We love the itinerary on the Island. It is the same as the Coral in Alaska. I think it is the best Alaska itinerary of any ship, any cruise line. The northbound starts in Vancouver and visits Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway. THe scenic cruising is to Glacier Bay and College Fjord. The trip gets prettier the further it sales north. There is plenty of time in each port. I would highly recommend that itinerary. I also like the size of the ship, not too big and never felt crowded.

[Illyria]

Thank you for your review. We'll be cruising on the Island Princess in September, doing Alaska southbound. I'd be curious to see how pervasive this smoke smell is, since our stateroom is midship on the same deck as the card room and library.

 

I was disappointed to realize that this ship doesn't have an International Cafe (which we LOVED on our last Princess cruise), but I guess the Patisserie will have to do.