Island Princess

[tkwbear]

A few years ago I considered sailing the Island Princess in Alaska, but people on this board told me it was a below average ship. I took their word for it and booked something else.

 

However, there is a European itinerary that really sounds nice. I would appreciate hearing your opinions of this ship, if you have sailed it in the last year. Good and bad comments are both appreciated.

 

 

[Alcairns]

3 hours ago, tkwbear said:

A few years ago I considered sailing the Island Princess in Alaska, but people on this board told me it was a below average ship. I took their word for it and booked something else.

 

However, there is a European itinerary that really sounds nice. I would appreciate hearing your opinions of this ship, if you have sailed it in the last year. Good and bad comments are both appreciated.

 

 

We had booked a Norway cruise on Island this October. After due consideration we cancelled it as it was overly expensive bearing in mind the vessel has few dining alternatives. We usually have a suite and the suite perks too we’re very limited. In the end we booked a Canary Islands cruise on Sky for half the price. I cannot understand why this cruise on an old ship was so expensive. 

[MissP22]

5 hours ago, Alcairns said:

I cannot understand why this cruise on an old ship was so expensive. 

In part it's because there are many people who don't realize it's an older ship. It's developed problems over the years from what I've read and given the choice between other newer ships, I'd take another one any day even if the price were the same.

[PatriciaF]

We did its first post Covid inaugural cruise FLL to LA, April 27 to May 11.  We had some initial problems with the app and it appeared that the program did not work well in the buffet or dining room.  Many places aboard ship had to write down your order and it was charged later.  I missed Vines.  Our sailing was only 50 percent capacity.

 

It is a smaller, older ship.  It and its sister ship, the Coral Princess had many additional staterooms added so if sold out there may be lines and service issues.

 

Find my Live from the Island Princess post--the LA to FLL cruisers to post their experiences.  

 

Sometimes for us, itinerary outweighs the ship.

 

Pat

 

 

[NownZen]

We are on the Island Princess now and are quite happy with it. we liked it better before the disfiguration a few years back that added a lot more rooms and took away the Vista lounge.  However the fodd is very good in both the dining rooms and the buffet. We prefer the buffet because of the range of choices and the fact that we can eat on our schedule.

The one thing we do notice is that the atrium is not as nice as those on the Grand class ships. We have not been on the megaships so we have not seen those and we really do not care for the larger ships.

[NownZen]

 

6 hours ago, Alcairns said:

We had booked a Norway cruise on Island this October. After due consideration we cancelled it as it was overly expensive bearing in mind the vessel has few dining alternatives. We usually have a suite and the suite perks too we’re very limited. In the end we booked a Canary Islands cruise on Sky for half the price. I cannot understand why this cruise on an old ship was so expensive. 

The Norway cruises seem to be more expensive in general. The current cruise from FLL to Iceland to England was a very good deal. Many here are continuing on to Norway and that was reasonably priced as well.

 

[msmoger]

4 minutes ago, PatriciaF said:

 

It is a smaller, older ship.  It and its sister ship, the Coral Princess had many additional staterooms added so if sold out there may be lines and service issues.

 

 

 

 

 

The reconfiguration was only on the Island Princess.  The Coral was scheduled to also have these changes but they were never made.

[Potstech]

10 minutes ago, PatriciaF said:

We did its first post Covid inaugural cruise FLL to LA, April 27 to May 11.  We had some initial problems with the app and it appeared that the program did not work well in the buffet or dining room.  Many places aboard ship had to write down your order and it was charged later.  I missed Vines.  Our sailing was only 50 percent capacity.

 

It is a smaller, older ship.  It and its sister ship, the Coral Princess had many additional staterooms added so if sold out there may be lines and service issues.

 

Find my Live from the Island Princess post--the LA to FLL cruisers to post their experiences.  

 

Sometimes for us, itinerary outweighs the ship.

 

Pat

 

 

The Coral Princess did not get the same changes (additional staterooms) that the Island Princess did. Partly due to the outcry by Princess customers.

Edited June 1, 2022 by Potstech

[tkwbear]

25 minutes ago, NownZen said:

We are on the Island Princess now and are quite happy with it. we liked it better before the disfiguration a few years back that added a lot more rooms and took away the Vista lounge.  However the fodd is very good in both the dining rooms and the buffet. We prefer the buffet because of the range of choices and the fact that we can eat on our schedule.

The one thing we do notice is that the atrium is not as nice as those on the Grand class ships. We have not been on the megaships so we have not seen those and we really do not care for the larger ships.

I'm glad you are enjoying your cruise. I was on the Enchanted Princess in April for 2 weeks, doing the Transatlantic. The ship was very nice, but with few exceptions, the crew seemed clueless. The steakhouse was by far the worst I've experienced at sea (MSC is best followed by HAL). The front desk seemed to know little. Food in the buffet was sometimes very good, but often at the wrong temperature (room temperature eggs over easy is not good!).  The internet stopped being usable after the 3rd day and never worked properly again (full refunds were promised but a month later I have not received my check). I was extremely pleased with my room steward, who seemed to know the most about ports and procedures than anyone else on the ship.

 

Before HAL disposed of their older ships, I sailed them almost exclusively. So, "old" is not what concerns me. I am very glad you answered my post. If you have more details, I would love to see them posted here.

[MissP22]

41 minutes ago, NownZen said:

We are on the Island Princess now and are quite happy with it. we liked it better before the disfiguration a few years back that added a lot more rooms and took away the Vista lounge.  However the fodd is very good in both the dining rooms and the buffet. We prefer the buffet because of the range of choices and the fact that we can eat on our schedule.

The one thing we do notice is that the atrium is not as nice as those on the Grand class ships. We have not been on the megaships so we have not seen those and we really do not care for the larger ships.

There was a comment on the internet that the buffet was back to complete self service. Is there any truth to that? (somehow I doubt it)

[NownZen]

4 minutes ago, MissP22 said:

There was a comment on the internet that the buffet was back to complete self service. Is there any truth to that? (somehow I doubt it)

The buffet is not self service.  All bulk dishes (wrong sounding word but do not have a better one) is served to you. As long as the plate is there, they keep loading it. The green salads are assembled for you as well. There are a large number of individually packaged fruits, appetizers that you collect yourself but you do not touch the other ones as they are well spaced. The coffee and (also iced tea) dispensers can be self service or delivered if you have a lot of time to wait for them. Lots of nice deserts that they give you on a plate.  You can also get Cappuccino there.  The buffet is in the front so there is a lovely view (of rain today).  We prefer this to the dining room as there is much more choice and you can be on your schedule.

[StLouisCruisers]

Have to disagree on the food on Island Princess. Average at best. We haven’t had a single outstanding dish yet. We seem to be understaffed and waits in line for Dine My Way are long. Unfortunately our steward is not up to par either. I really hope things improve or it will be a long 34 days. 

[MissP22]

19 hours ago, StLouisCruisers said:

Have to disagree on the food on Island Princess. Average at best. We haven’t had a single outstanding dish yet. We seem to be understaffed and waits in line for Dine My Way are long. Unfortunately our steward is not up to par either. I really hope things improve or it will be a long 34 days. 

I don't usually base my opinions on just a few comments by people I don't know but I've heard many people say the same thing as you. It's just not up to the same standards as it used to be prior to the shutdown. Maybe they need more time to get their act together since the ship has only recently returned to service. 

[Steelers36]

On 6/1/2022 at 1:39 AM, tkwbear said:

A few years ago I considered sailing the Island Princess in Alaska, but people on this board told me it was a below average ship. I took their word for it and booked something else.

 

However, there is a European itinerary that really sounds nice. I would appreciate hearing your opinions of this ship, if you have sailed it in the last year. Good and bad comments are both appreciated.

 

 

I had similar trepidations concerning ISLAND back in 2017 when we booked an amazing 60-night voyage around South America, including a Canal crossing.  I have yet to see them do a similar complete voyage.  We had a fantastic time and the ship was fine for us.  It had a lot of re-furbed areas and such, crew was great (as expected).  So, I would not hesitate to be on the ship again if we were interested in the itinerary.

In fact, we have been booked on likely the same itinerary you may be considering (14-nighter out of Rome).

 

Also, Island does the World Cruises out of Florida and California, so if you want to be doing that from USA, that is the ship these days. 

 

As one of their two smallest ships, Island is going to have many of these more "interesting" voyages.

[BabySarge]

Island Princess is one of the ships that has only recently (within the last two months or so) come back into service after being in floating storage since May 2020 +/- and I am sure there are some kinks with the ship and crew that need to be worked out before everyone finds their groove again.  Is she a ship with all the new bells and whistles - no; do I miss the International Cafe and Vines which she does not have - absolutely; but she's still a nice, little ship that can go to some fantastic ports and itineraries that other, larger ships cannot.  Travel, cruising, touring, life, etc are what you make them and after the last 2.5 years I'm going to make the most of every opportunity I can get to travel, cruise, tour, etc. and food is soooooo subjective I won't even comment on it. 

 

DH and I have done a total of 88 days onboard the Island Princess since 2015 with the most recent being 58 days around South America in 2020 just before the shutdown.  Is she my "favorite" ship to sail?  No, unless you ask me that question when I am sailing on her then of course she is 🙂  Does she have her flaws - absolutely, but are they things I can ignore because I am on a cruise and getting to go to fantastic places, meet wonderful and interesting people, eat food I don't have to cook or clean up from?  You bet they are.  No two people are always going to like the same things.  Maybe our standard are lower than others but I can honestly say that we have never had a bad or subpar meal on Princess.  Now, is the beef stroganoff as good as I make or the clams with linguini as good as my sister in law Joan makes it - hell no, but I certainly have never gone hungry or not been able to find something to eat on any cruise I have ever been on.

[UpcountryTravelers]

NO!  Only the Island Princess had the additional cabins added, etc.  Coral Princess did not.

 

(oops - posted before reading all of the above...sorry)

Edited June 14, 2022 by UpcountryTravelers

[Princessfan20]

On 6/1/2022 at 9:35 AM, StLouisCruisers said:

Have to disagree on the food on Island Princess. Average at best. We haven’t had a single outstanding dish yet. We seem to be understaffed and waits in line for Dine My Way are long. Unfortunately our steward is not up to par either. I really hope things improve or it will be a long 34 days. 

 

Have to agree because we had same experience.  We just got off the Island and even though we had Club Class everything on that ship was subpar as far as we were concerned.  Covid everywhere, staff shortages, lousy entertainment, tiny casino, we could go on and on.  We really put a lot of thought in which ship to take on this TA because we usually do Royal class and have also sailed on sister ship, the Coral, but would recommend to pick another ship.

[Thrak]

On 6/1/2022 at 9:03 AM, MissP22 said:

There was a comment on the internet that the buffet was back to complete self service. Is there any truth to that? (somehow I doubt it)

 

We just disembarked Royal Princess on May 14 and the buffet was completely self service on that cruise. (The buffet was mostly empty though and I was underwhelmed by the offerings.)

[MissP22]

17 minutes ago, Thrak said:

 

We just disembarked Royal Princess on May 14 and the buffet was completely self service on that cruise. (The buffet was mostly empty though and I was underwhelmed by the offerings.)

I'm surprised about both things although I do like to serve myself.

Especially about the food. The Regal (prior to Covid) had exceptional selections and it was prepared just right in both the DR and buffet.

Things have definitely taken a turn for the worst.

[Torfamm]

On 6/1/2022 at 1:39 AM, tkwbear said:

A few years ago I considered sailing the Island Princess in Alaska, but people on this board told me it was a below average ship. I took their word for it and booked something else.

 

However, there is a European itinerary that really sounds nice. I would appreciate hearing your opinions of this ship, if you have sailed it in the last year. Good and bad comments are both appreciated.

 

 

One advantage of the small size of the  Island Princess is itineraries like the historic locks of the Panama Canal. I wouldn’t pick it for the ship experience, I hate the fitness center having no windows for example, but I wouldn’t give up a great itinerary to avoid the Island Princess. One consideration might be that European cruises are usually pretty port intensive with more time spent off the ship as opposed to something like a transatlantic.

[tkwbear]

On 6/14/2022 at 11:52 AM, Princessfan20 said:

 

Have to agree because we had same experience.  We just got off the Island and even though we had Club Class everything on that ship was subpar as far as we were concerned.  Covid everywhere, staff shortages, lousy entertainment, tiny casino, we could go on and on.  We really put a lot of thought in which ship to take on this TA because we usually do Royal class and have also sailed on sister ship, the Coral, but would recommend to pick another ship.

"Covid everywhere"? How many passengers had it?

[Alaskanb]

Our first cruise was on the Island Princess , Vancouver to Anchorage. We had a fabulous time! Since then we have been on the Coral, Majestic, and several Royal Class ships,  in October we will be on the Island again. Each ship has its own character dependent on the ship's age, its senior officers and the head chef. We take each as it comes and mostly sail for an itinerary. We expect our backs to act up, there will be cases of Covid onboard, variable entertainment, and no International Cafe but will choose what makes us happy and have a great time exploring the Med. 

[Loveh2ofl]

1 hour ago, Alaskanb said:

Our first cruise was on the Island Princess , Vancouver to Anchorage. We had a fabulous time! Since then we have been on the Coral, Majestic, and several Royal Class ships,  in October we will be on the Island again. Each ship has its own character dependent on the ship's age, its senior officers and the head chef. We take each as it comes and mostly sail for an itinerary. We expect our backs to act up, there will be cases of Covid onboard, variable entertainment, and no International Cafe but will choose what makes us happy and have a great time exploring the Med. 

We did the 5/11 LA to FL Panama Canal cruise on Island Princess - we liked the ship's character - as we also liked the CP (in the Caribbean), Star Princess (no longer there - for Alaska), and the Enchanted Princess - as you said - itinerary rules.  We wanted to see, despite negative comments on cruise critic, if we could enjoy the ship on the world cruise and decided we could!  To each their own.

[Thrak]

1 hour ago, Loveh2ofl said:

We did the 5/11 LA to FL Panama Canal cruise on Island Princess - we liked the ship's character - as we also liked the CP (in the Caribbean), Star Princess (no longer there - for Alaska), and the Enchanted Princess - as you said - itinerary rules.  We wanted to see, despite negative comments on cruise critic, if we could enjoy the ship on the world cruise and decided we could!  To each their own.

 

Can you be more specific? CP is Sea Princess and is no longer with the fleet. I'm guessing you mean either Coral Princess (CO) or Caribbean Princess (CB) but can't be sure which ship you are referencing. (You said you liked Star - we did as well - but it had an even more confusing designation - TP)

[Loveh2ofl]

9 minutes ago, Thrak said:

 

Can you be more specific? CP is Sea Princess and is no longer with the fleet. I'm guessing you mean either Coral Princess (CO) or Caribbean Princess (CB) but can't be sure which ship you are referencing. (You said you liked Star - we did as well - but it had an even more confusing designation - TP)

Caribbean Princess - circle caribbean cruise in nov 2019;  Star Princess is now the Pacific Encounter operated by P&O https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_Encounter