What will Island Princess look like after May 2015?

[dmwnc1959]

She will be late in then Dave. I haven't figured out why my screen captures are only posting thumbnail size on this forum, the originals are normal size. What am I doing wrong?

 

 

She'll only be 'late' arriving to port for whatever restocking and crew needs to come aboard. It won't affect her embarkation tomorrow.

 

As for posting pictures, you have to use a source other than Cruise Critic, i.e. Flickr or something similar, to get full size images like I've been posting.

 

;)

[tomatospice]

Looks like she is going around again....it's already getting dark in Venice. We aren't going to be able to see much when she sails by the webcam :(

[Cruzin-K]

Hmmm. Attempted to book one of the aft Baja deck balconies for Feb 2017 on the Coral today and was unable to. My TA was on the phone w Princess for almost an hour and was told that the deck plans for the Coral were going to be revised so none of those new cabins could be booked. I checked a few cruises and that whole upper aft section is showing sold out. What my TA told me is that they are not sold out, just not released to book because of a possible change to the plans.

 

Maybe Princess read this thread and sees how unhappy people are with the Island's rear end. Haha.

Edited May 21, 2015 by Cruzin-K

[Bazz100]

She's cut the last loop short and is now on an easterly heading. Maybe at last on her way?

[Astro Flyer]

Imagine that. I've posted all of these images as an FYI service, and I'm not even booked on the ship. At all.

 

:D

 

I think the concern is not so much the removal of the Universe Lounge, but adding 220+ additional passengers, and how that is going to affect the remaining venues and dining. That is what may have made an appreciable difference in the enjoyment of your cruise, not just the closure of the Universe Lounge. Only time will tell.

 

;)

 

It's like I said earlier: aesthetics matter, to a point. With all of the monies invested in the refit/rebuild you would think they could have afforded the construction of a 'builders model' to visual the outcome. Sometimes those are so much better than a 3D rendering on a computer screen.

 

;)

 

Dave, all of us are very grateful for all of the time that you dedicate to objectively research cruises...even when you're not booked on a ship. Princess needs to hire employees who have the same attention to detail as you & are able to accurately analyze things. Since Princess too often fails to provide passengers with the accurate info we need, maybe they should hire you as a consultant to do it for them??? ;)

 

For me removing the Universe Lounge is a big consideration. Some sight lines from sections were not good & needed modification but not removal of the venue.

 

I feel similarly about the aesthetics & while the aft addition isn't perfect, I've seen other ships that were much worse to me.

 

After getting feedback when initially promoting the "great changes" to the Island it was quickly removed. Some of the other recent major overhauls of ships in the past couple of years had videos & lots of photos. I don't think it's a coincidence that the Island's overhaul has not been promoted...there's no need to promote changes that many of us who have sailed this class of ship feel are not good. The only positives may be for those in one of the new cabins but nothing much for the majority of passengers.

 

As has been said many times, those who are aware of the changes from CC are a small minority of passengers & even fewer of us have sailed on this class of ship to know the difference. Hopefully everyone who sails on the Island will have a great cruise even though for me the Island is not as desirable of a ship post-drydock. :(

 

Looking forward to seeing photos from either Princess or passengers to view the changes to the Island Princess. :)

Edited May 21, 2015 by Astro Flyer

[DiRonT]

Is it just me or do the dividers between the suites on Lido are shorter than normal. Looks like standard height close to the cabin but as you move toward the railing the dividers drop down to railing height. I tend to enjoy the privacy of the aft balconies, but doesn't look like there is much here.

[InTheWASide]

A couple of more images of Island Princess, these at a different angle and leading credence to the earlier observations that maybe the Lido Deck aft-facing suites (L722 and L721) do not wrap-around, whereas the side-facing Aloha Deck aft suites (A726 and A727) do, both contrary to what the deck plans show. I also brought forward the other images previously posted:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are the decks annotated...

 

(Credit all images to Marjan Stropnik)

 

Holy crap... they could have at least put aft facing rooms which would have provided for more revenue... good lord

[icat2000]

I just booked D727 on Island Princess for the 16 November 2016 Panama cruise out of LA. They calling it an obstruction. I can't see the obstruction. There is no images for it on the site for obstructed cabins.

[jasbo49]

Holy crap... they could have at least put aft facing rooms which would have provided for more revenue... good lord

 

I'm guessing the look of the stern around Baja, Caribe and Dolphin is about structural integrity. In other words, I think that's load-bearing steel, not something they could just replace with sliders and balconies. I'll have to admit I liked Bazza's post that the Island would not compete well for the "rear of the year" award. In fact, the phrase butt-ugly comes to mind.

 

Jim

Edited May 21, 2015 by jasbo49

[RickEk]

I just booked D727 on Island Princess for the 16 November 2016 Panama cruise out of LA. They calling it an obstruction. I can't see the obstruction. There is no images for it on the site for obstructed cabins.

 

It appears that the window looks out the side of the ship, with a railing outside the window. That's probably what's termed the obstruction.

[Corfe Mixture]

Not nice. Front and rear obviously designed by different people.

 

I find myself concluding that this is what you get if you allow a 'bottom pinching' Italian to take a beautiful French lady and adapt her rear to meet his personal tastes.

[Essiesmom]

Arriving in Venice

 

 

[tomatospice]

Thanks for posting pictures...I had that webcam up all day and then right before she sailed in, it said it was unavailable :(

[Colo Cruiser]

Great shots, thanks!

[jpj39]

I was hoping to catch her, but fell asleep

Nice photos can't wait to sail on her June 03

[dmwnc1959]

Arriving in Venice...

 

Really great screen grabs! Oddly enough, I woke up to get ready for work just when she was entering port but couldn't access the web cam. Thanks for posting them.

 

:D

 

 

Am I seeing some kind of optical illusion? Look at the picture again of the stern Lido deck. There is 5 suites. We have L721 booked for our upcoming Med cruise. Count the cabins left to right, the last being 721 it looks like it is half the size of 722 on the aft portion.

 

 

I don't know if you can pick it out, but someone left the porch light on for A721 and you can see it lit up pretty well. It looks to be the same size as A722 from the other pictures.

 

:D

[dmwnc1959]

Dave, all of us are very grateful for all of the time that you dedicate to objectively research cruises...even when you're not booked on a ship. Princess needs to hire employees who have the same attention to detail as you & are able to accurately analyze things. Since Princess too often fails to provide passengers with the accurate info we need, maybe they should hire you as a consultant to do it for them??? ;)

 

 

As most folks can tell by the two 'Everything' threads I have really enjoyed doing this. The visuals are almost self-explanatory, and as mentioned by you and others, it gives details where the Princess Cruises reps may not have accurate, reliable information.

 

As a side note I spent all day Tuesday of my four-day stay-cation touring 'Fallingwater', 'Kentucky Knob', and Laurel Caverns. I'll be posting links over the next few days on my Roll Call thread if you're interested in looking at the pictures.

 

:D

[Astro Flyer]

As most folks can tell by the two 'Everything' threads I have really enjoyed doing this. The visuals are almost self-explanatory, and as mentioned by you and others, it gives details where the Princess Cruises reps may not have accurate, reliable information.

 

As a side note I spent all day Tuesday of my four-day stay-cation touring 'Fallingwater', 'Kentucky Knob', and Laurel Caverns. I'll be posting links over the next few days on my Roll Call thread if you're interested in looking at the pictures.

 

:D

Sure

[Koz1]

I think the Panama Canal cruises is one of the areas where the new design will be felt. The aft catwalks were a great place to watch the locks work and were used by a LOT of people when we were on her in January this year. This great view is going to be greatly limited. The view from Dolphin deck at the lock level was truly spectacular as we could watch the locks fill and empty. K

 

We did our first cruise on the Coral in Alaska and then went on the Island the following year because of the open aft decks which were great for viewing in Glacier Bay and College Fjord. When we were booking a Panama Canal cruise for February this year we chose the Island again because of the open aft decks, which have been popular on all of our cruises on the two ships.

 

We are so disappointed to see the photos of the new aft area of the ship and will be interested in seeing what they have done to the interior with the loss of the Universe Lounge and the reduction in size of the library etc. There was so much on each day in the Universe Lounge as well as in the Princess Theater so it's hard to imagine how they'll manage without the Universe Lounge.

 

The Island and Coral were our favourite Princess ships but we will now look at different ships for any future cruises once the Coral also has the same changes next year.

[Colo Cruiser]

It appears that the window looks out the side of the ship, with a railing outside the window. That's probably what's termed the obstruction.

 

 

What a strange cabin configuration. :(

[IECalCruiser]

I just booked D727 on Island Princess for the 16 November 2016 Panama cruise out of LA. They calling it an obstruction. I can't see the obstruction. There is no images for it on the site for obstructed cabins.

It appears that the window looks out the side of the ship, with a railing outside the window. That's probably what's termed the obstruction.

What a strange cabin configuration. :(

It certainly looks like those cabins could have been made into balcony cabins. Those cabins will have light coming through the window but set back so far, it appears that the only view will be of sky or the far horizon.

[Astro Flyer]

We are so disappointed to see the photos of the new aft area of the ship and will be interested in seeing what they have done to the interior with the loss of the Universe Lounge and the reduction in size of the library etc. There was so much on each day in the Universe Lounge as well as in the Princess Theater so it's hard to imagine how they'll manage without the Universe Lounge.

 

The Island and Coral were our favourite Princess ships but we will now look at different ships for any future cruises once the Coral also has the same changes next year.

Unlike other recent major overhauls, there has been nothing but silence from Princess. The 1st photos we see may come from passengers but until then 'dmwnc1959' posted excellent side-by-side deck plan comparisons. Although based on this discussion not all of the cabins appear to be as depicted.

 

Here is a side-by-side comparison of some of the major changes...

 

 

Universe Lounge and aft Promenade Deck wrap around goes away completely, Fitness Center relocated down from Lido Deck

 

 

 

 

 

Casino downsized

 

 

 

 

 

Baja, Aloha, and Lido Decks aft are extrended/squared off and aft facing public access decks go away, Sanctuary Relocated

 

 

 

:D

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=45438894&postcount=119

 

 

I'm guessing one of the aesthetic attractions to The Sanctuary on Island Princess was, although the space wasn't great in its length, it was beautifully tiered over three decks looking aft over the stern. That, and it had it's own designated pool for Sanctuary use only.

 

I did another before/after comparison for The Sanctuary, and despite the lack of any indication of a pool, I wonder if post-refit it will at least have a dipping-pool similar to Regal Princess' Deck 17 aft?

 

It will be interesting to see what the stern of Island Princess looks like when they are finished extending all of the aft upper decks and adding all of those cabins; most likely like that of a Grand-class but without any tiered decks aft or SkyWalkers Lounge to offset the bluntness of the stern. Not that it matters, but I'm sure it won't be very attractive.

 

 

The Sanctuary

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=45447901&postcount=133

[Colo Cruiser]

No IC would be another big blunder. Really don't understand that one.

[Woobstr112G]

What a strange cabin configuration. :(

 

I was thinking the same thing.....:):):)

 

Bob

[waltd]

Were they doing a remodel of the buffet or was that already done?