key differences in Island princess and coral princess

[metairiegal]

I've read that the Island doesn't have an International Café. But, it has the La Patisserie - is that similar to the IC?

[partybarbie]

I've read that the Island doesn't have an International Café. But, it has the La Patisserie - is that similar to the IC?

 

Unfortunately, no. La Patisserie is a small tray of pastries in the morning, and sometime little sandwiches or cookies in the afternoon. My suggestion for morning coffee and pastry would be the Amuleto Cafe, located at the very bow of the ship, in the back of the Horizon Court. There's a barista there to make the fancy coffees and a huge selection of pastries.

[reedprincess]

I've read that the Island doesn't have an International Café. But, it has the La Patisserie - is that similar to the IC?

Nope. La Patisserie is not 24/7. Does not do the wide selection of foods that IC doesn't. Small tray of pastries in morning till gone or around 11 or so, followed by some tea sandwiches type stuff for afternoon/evening and cookies, etc. Yes, does the specific coffees and teas.

The buffet also has a full specialty coffee/tea set-up, along with, of course, all the buffet foods 6am - 11pm. No 24/7 food venue on island except room service.

[hillslife]

These posts show the physical changes made to the Island Princess & what you'd still have on the great Coral Princess. Friends who've sailed the modified Island still had a good cruise but I'd still much prefer the Coral. Too many negative changes were made to add cabins for about 200 more passengers.

 

Changes such as the second showroom the Universe Lounge being replaced by cabins & the gym with views of the ocean being buried inside like some old oceanliner are a few of the negative changes. They made these negative changes but failed to make a positive change by adding an International Cafe like on the Coral. That's a few of the reasons why the Coral would be my choice over the modified Island unless the Island's price was significantly lower & had a much better itinerary.

 

Great pictures of the changes. Thanks for sharing. We just went on the Island over the holidays for the first time. Had a great cruise ...partial transit to the canal. But it was frustrating that not all the elevators went to every deck and we were always at the wrong elevator. But the ship never seemed crowded to us .

 

Upcoming cruise on the Coral so looking forward to the non-changed version. :cool:

[Coral]

And yet...Princess offers more Island full transits! Go figure $$$$

 

Cruise lines will often put these least desirable ships on popular itineraries. And their best ships on poor itineraries.

 

The Island fills up as people want the full transit.

[greenie082756]

Since we have not been on the Island and Coral there will be nothing to compare it to as far as that classification of ship.

 

I understand there is no International Cafe' and that's okay. On our last cruise I was getting morning coffee and pastries brought to the cabin and it was much more enjoyable than the crowds in the buffet area or even the long lines @ the specialty coffee station on Plaza deck. Boy, people can get grumpy while waiting for their coffee.:rolleyes:

 

We are doing a 19 day round trip to the Panama Canal on the Island next month. I am going to try to keep an open mind about the ship. I thought the Crown was over crowded and the public spaces were inadequate at times. This is what I will be comparing it to as far as a cruiser's experience. We picked this one as it was for the itinerary not necessarily the ship.

 

Like everything else in cruising, everyone's experience is different.

[partybarbie]

Since we have not been on the Island and Coral there will be nothing to compare it to as far as that classification of ship.

 

I understand there is no International Cafe' and that's okay. On our last cruise I was getting morning coffee and pastries brought to the cabin and it was much more enjoyable than the crowds in the buffet area or even the long lines @ the specialty coffee station on Plaza deck. Boy, people can get grumpy while waiting for their coffee.:rolleyes:

 

We are doing a 19 day round trip to the Panama Canal on the Island next month. I am going to try to keep an open mind about the ship. I thought the Crown was over crowded and the public spaces were inadequate at times. This is what I will be comparing it to as far as a cruiser's experience. We picked this one as it was for the itinerary not necessarily the ship.

 

Like everything else in cruising, everyone's experience is different.

 

I posted this on another thread that was comparing the Island to the Caribbean Princess. The Island is still one of my favorite ships. My last experience on her was great.

 

DH and I had no problems with the new configuration of the Island Princess. Talk about crowded! Our one cruise on the Caribbean Princess was so jammed packed with passengers, she would be my last choice for the Panama Canal.

 

Here's how to decide if the Island will work for you:

 

Do you like Crooner's? The Island has the best Crooner's in the fleet.

 

Would you like a big, new balcony cabin on the Promenade Deck with real teak decking? They have them on the Island.

 

Do you like having a covered pool area? The Island has one, but the Caribbean does not.

 

Would you like to try an authentic Bayou Cafe? You'll find that on the Island, and also a great show called "On the Bayou".

 

The Island does have a wait for anytime dining, but so do many other ships. We chose late Traditional dining, so we never had to wait. You will need to get to the shows about 30 minutes before the scheduled start time, but we had to do that on the Diamond Princess last month too.

 

Now, how to decide if the Island is not for you:

 

Do you like to gamble? The casino on the Island is very small, so this is not the ship for you.

 

Do you go to gym? The gym is in the bowels of the ship, so this is probably not the ship for you.

 

Do you party it up at the disco? The Island doesn't have a disco, but there's live music and dancing in the Wheelhouse bar, and the Explorer's lounge turns in to disco around 11:00 pm.

 

Do you need the IC? The Island doesn't have one.

 

I hope this helps with your decision. IMHO, I would go with the Island. Unless you are a big gambler or gym user, the positives outweigh the negatives.

[metairiegal]

I posted this on another thread that was comparing the Island to the Caribbean Princess. The Island is still one of my favorite ships. My last experience on her was great.

 

Thanks for the detailed info. I think the Island "might" actually be for us. We don't care about the gym, casino, or disco!

 

The IC has a little interest - I am not a coffee drinker but usually the IC snacks are delish.

 

But, also wondering if the Island has afternoon tea in the dining room? And, does it have the early afternoon offerings in the buffet (as many scones and cream as you want there!).

[partybarbie]

Thanks for the detailed info. I think the Island "might" actually be for us. We don't care about the gym, casino, or disco!

 

The IC has a little interest - I am not a coffee drinker but usually the IC snacks are delish.

 

But, also wondering if the Island has afternoon tea in the dining room? And, does it have the early afternoon offerings in the buffet (as many scones and cream as you want there!).

 

I do miss the afternoon snacks in the IC, but yes, lots of yummy scones and cream in the late afternoon buffet. They also offer the afternoon tea in the dining room.

[metairiegal]

I do miss the afternoon snacks in the IC, but yes, lots of yummy scones and cream in the late afternoon buffet. They also offer the afternoon tea in the dining room.

Thanks for the info! :)