New Island Princess

[KarateMan]

Another possible reason for the changes to the Island Princess could be the future opening of the new larger locks on the Panama Canal. Those locks will allow ships larger than the Island and Coral to do the canal itineraries. That would free them both up for cruising other parts of the world.

 

But with the changes to Island Princess I would never sail on it anywhere in the world. Not for a free cruise and I certainly would not accept anyone paying me to cruise on it. It is blacklisted for life.

 

The only Princess ships I will sail on are the Grand, Golden, Star, Diamond, Sapphire, Coral, Sun, Dawn and Sea. When those ships are gone its bye bye Princess unless they replace them with similar sized ships.

[bdjam]

But if Venice hadn't enacted those regulations, Princess would have had zero reason to put Island Princess in the Med. They would have continued using either the new ships or the super-Grand-class ships for the Grand Med itinerary. To stem the loss of revenue, Princess deemed it necessary to add berths to the ship. It makes complete business sense. Ipso facto...

 

Bastardizing the ship design - and in this case diminishing the quality of the experience - in order to stem the loss of revenue is only one alternative Princess had in this situation. It's becoming more and more obvious that there is no one at Princess who has any creativity any longer...all the focus is on maximizing revenue no matter what the cost to the product. Buckelew was bad enough...Schwartz seems to be even worse.

[KarateMan]

Bastardizing the ship design - and in this case diminishing the quality of the experience - in order to stem the loss of revenue is only one alternative Princess had in this situation. It's becoming more and more obvious that there is no one at Princess who has any creativity any longer...all the focus is on maximizing revenue no matter what the cost to the product. Buckelew was bad enough...Schwartz seems to be even worse.

 

Would you avoid this ship over the changes?

 

One thing to note is that Coral Princess and Island Princess are similar designs to the Vista class, Spirit class etc. Although different they are a class of ship not unlike the Sun class as well.

 

Why on earth change a ship to such an extreme extent when precedent is and other lines have ships of similar size and passenger ratio. It makes no logical sense at all.

[Host Jazzbeau]

Re the relocation to Venice aspect... To me it will come down to this. I can either pick a cruise on a crowded congested ship where the dining venues will be crowded, opportunity of getting a deck chair minimal, not getting a seat for shows in the main theatre or I could take a look at the Celebrity ships which are looking up to be a good competition. Example the Solstice class are larger than the Grand class but carry less passengers.

 

Good luck sailing to Venice then. The new limit on cruise ships is 96,000 tons. Celebrity S-class is 122,000 so no Venice for them. You'll be on M-class with all the whiners who fill the Celebrity forum with complaints about how old and tired those ships are. But you won't have to worry about X cutting back on the Promenade deck -- those ships never had one to begin with!

[Astro Flyer]

Good luck sailing to Venice then. The new limit on cruise ships is 96,000 tons.!

That's what I thought however others have posted that is not completely accurate.

 

I researched this situation and found this statement in an article 2 months ago saying "The ban will exclude all ships exceeding 96,000 tonnes from St Mark’s basin and the Giudecca Canal in 2015". This link shows a map with an alternative approach to Venice that will be available after dredging is completed. That route will be less convenient to get to Venice "from Marghera, the city's commercial port, from where cruise passengers would be transported to Venice proper on smaller vessels via the Giudecca canal".

 

Based on the articles I've read eventually larger ships will be allowed into Venice using an alternative route further away from Giudecca Canal & St Mark's basin & arriving at a commercial port.

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/cruises/11030820/Cruise-industry-urges-swift-solution-for-Venice-ship-ban.html

Edited October 15, 2014 by Astro Flyer

[bdjam]

Would you avoid this ship over the changes?

 

One thing to note is that Coral Princess and Island Princess are similar designs to the Vista class, Spirit class etc. Although different they are a class of ship not unlike the Sun class as well.

 

Why on earth change a ship to such an extreme extent when precedent is and other lines have ships of similar size and passenger ratio. It makes no logical sense at all.

 

I might avoid the ship, depending on what the reactions of others is after the changes are made. I do know that there will be an extra 200 people on board a previously low density ship...which will spoil the ambiance. There will be no additional seats in the dining rooms and one whole show lounge will be missing...which points to crowding and less than stellar meal times.

[Thrak]

I dislike these changes too, but keep in mind that the major loss areas were designed specifically for the Panama Canal and Alaska. All those public viewing areas (which are so wonderful) are needed for those two itineraries, but less so in the Mediterranean which has lots to offer but nothing like Glacier Bay. Similarly "On the Bayou" is a great show, but has a definite US theme that would be less germane in the Med.

 

That these changes were prompted by the relocation to Venice, where Island is replacing much larger ships on the Grand Mediterranean itinerary. Of course Princess felt the need to squeeze in another 240+ passengers! So as long as Coral stays with the PC and AK routes, we can still hope that Princess will leave it alone. And, even with the new layout I would rather be on Island than Royal/Regal in the Med!

 

I have to agree that it makes sense (Princess sense) to refit the ship for the market where it's going to be used. I can't imagine most passengers in the new venue being all that interested in On The Bayou and, as you point out, the viewing areas that are essential in Alaska and PC are probably considered "wasted space" by Princess in the new area. Loss of a wrap-around Promenade is horrible though...

 

This makes me glad that I'm booked on Coral next year. I would love to see On The Bayou and am happy I will be able to do so. Coral also has an IC which will make my wife happy.

[RickEk]

I might avoid the ship, depending on what the reactions of others is after the changes are made. I do know that there will be an extra 200 people on board a previously low density ship...which will spoil the ambiance. There will be no additional seats in the dining rooms and one whole show lounge will be missing...which points to crowding and less than stellar meal times.

 

FYI, from what I understand, they're expanding the dining rooms. I guess there were some extra spaces on the fringes of the rooms that they can take out and use for extra tables...

[JimmyVWine]

I have to agree that it makes sense (Princess sense) to refit the ship for the market where it's going to be used. I can't imagine most passengers in the new venue being all that interested in On The Bayou and, as you point out, the viewing areas that are essential in Alaska and PC are probably considered "wasted space" by Princess in the new area. Loss of a wrap-around Promenade is horrible though...

 

This makes me glad that I'm booked on Coral next year. I would love to see On The Bayou and am happy I will be able to do so. Coral also has an IC which will make my wife happy.

All true if the ship was being permanently relocated. But it returns to the Panama Canal circuit after its Mediterranean run.

[KarateMan]

To be perfectly honest I think that "spin" about the ship being built with so called viewing areas for the Panama canal and Alaska is a load of BS! I recon Princess are spinning that line to hoodwink the people into believing it is necessary to make such changes based on what some "bean counter" architect came up with who probably grew up in a lunatic asylum.

 

I certainly was not born yesterday and did not come down in the last shower. They may be able to fool some people with that "spin" but they certainly will not be able to fool me.

 

The Coral class is not unlike the Vista class or Sun class or Spirit class. All of those ships have a promenade deck. In place of the two tier entertainment venue on the Vista class they have a two tier dining room and the mid-ship areas are for entertainment. At present I would say the entertainment venues to cabin ratios on a Vista class to Coral class are almost identical albeit the layout is somewhat different.

 

To suggest that the Coral class had some extra space that other ships do not have when clear evidence proves that they are not unlike their contemporary counterparts is just complete lunacy and Princess have probably employed "spin doctors" to implant that idea in the minds of many to justify their unreasonable upgrade to the ship.

[sue2go]

All true if the ship was being permanently relocated. But it returns to the Panama Canal circuit after its Mediterranean run.

 

We are booked on our first Princess cruise to the Panama Canal in Feb '16. I'm hoping that 1) since I haven't been on the Island Princess before I won't be as upset by these changes as many are and 2) that the sailing I am booked on will not be changed??

[Host Jazzbeau]

To be perfectly honest I think that "spin" about the ship being built with so called viewing areas for the Panama canal and Alaska is a load of BS! I recon Princess are spinning that line to hoodwink the people into believing it is necessary to make such changes based on what some "bean counter" architect came up with who probably grew up in a lunatic asylum.

 

I certainly was not born yesterday and did not come down in the last shower. They may be able to fool some people with that "spin" but they certainly will not be able to fool me.

 

The Coral class is not unlike the Vista class or Sun class or Spirit class. All of those ships have a promenade deck. In place of the two tier entertainment venue on the Vista class they have a two tier dining room and the mid-ship areas are for entertainment. At present I would say the entertainment venues to cabin ratios on a Vista class to Coral class are almost identical albeit the layout is somewhat different.

 

To suggest that the Coral class had some extra space that other ships do not have when clear evidence proves that they are not unlike their contemporary counterparts is just complete lunacy and Princess have probably employed "spin doctors" to implant that idea in the minds of many to justify their unreasonable upgrade to the ship.

 

We get it. You won't sail Island. Thanks for posting.

[pablo222]

But with the changes to Island Princess I would never sail on it anywhere in the world. Not for a free cruise and I certainly would not accept anyone paying me to cruise on it. It is blacklisted for life.

 

The only Princess ships I will sail on are the Grand, Golden, Star, Diamond, Sapphire, Coral, Sun, Dawn and Sea. When those ships are gone its bye bye Princess unless they replace them with similar sized ships.

 

You seem to be taking this business decision very personally.

 

To me, it seems really simple -- if they change the product, and

you don't like it, don't buy it.

 

No need for your head to explode along the way

[KarateMan]

We get it. You won't sail Island. Thanks for posting.

 

I know people get that. What I would really like to see is the ability to do some sort of poll to gain other peoples opinion. This thread has been relatively quiet and the changes to the ship are quite radical.

 

We have all heard the line about why Princess stated it is being changed. I called them on it and described their propaganda as BS.

 

I outlined examples of other similar ships with a similar size and layout and emphasised that what is happening to Island Princess is quite a radical departure from what is considered normal even by the standards of other contemporary lines.

 

I can even throw in another class of ship as an example. The Radiance class operated by Royal Caribbean. Again a very similar sleek layout with the ability to navigate the Panama canal. It is a ship not unlike many ships built to navigate the canal given its length and width are at the maximum allowable dimensions to transit the canal.

 

What I would really like to see is some sort of poll that questions cruisers and asks 1.) are they fully aware of the radical changes of the Island Princess, and 2.) would they sail that ship again in the future knowing there are other contemporary ships like the Vista class, Spirit class, Radiance class that are of similar design.

 

I think this is an issue that should be brought into the public eye because I am assuming everyone on these forums are passionate cruisers and love being on ships. I would dread to see the day that cruise ships have evolved into just cabins and dining rooms - which is kind of how Princess are taking this revolution of the Island Princess and I do use the word revolution not evolution.

[caribill]

This thread has been relatively quiet and the changes to the ship are quite radical.

 

 

There is another thread on this subject with plenty of comments.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1985664

Edited October 16, 2014 by caribill

[MaryZ]

Re the relocation to Venice aspect. Even so, and I do want to do Mediterranean cruises in the future, I would honestly avoid this ship at all costs. I would not even accept a free cruise on this ship, I would not even accept payment to sail on it with these changes.

 

In that sense I have effectively blacklisted this ship. I presume that there would be other people with similar views to mine who also would avoid this ship with the changes.

 

To me it will come down to this. I can either pick a cruise on a crowded congested ship where the dining venues will be crowded, opportunity of getting a deck chair minimal, not getting a seat for shows in the main theatre or I could take a look at the Celebrity ships which are looking up to be a good competition. Example the Solstice class are larger than the Grand class but carry less passengers.

 

I think it is a very dangerous move for Princess to make. Surely as word spreads about the changes there will be people who will avoid this ship.

 

Lets be honest here there are going to be upwards of 200+ more passengers on that ship. It does not sound good at all.

 

Well, since I won a free cruise on this ship I have to say...I'm taking it :D Along with an aft balcony that used to be public viewing space.