Anyone currently on Island Princess? Good or bad news?

[luvtravel]

We’re sailing on Island Princess in July…14 nights..joining friends who will have been on the ship for the previous 2 weeks as well.  I am concerned about the state of the ship after reading reviews - it’s run down, inferior food, crowded because of reduced public space and some comments about a lot of coughing.  I am hoping to get some positive feedback from any current passengers.    We’ve managed to keep healthy these last 4 years which has included travel - most recently on Celebrity to Alaska with no problems.    Hoping this upcoming cruise will be ok.  Thanks for any input.

[snoozecrooze]

There are two travelers with blogs right now on the Island. Google "Island Princess Seydisfjordur 2023 blog" and you'll find them. They end with "blog" and "days".

 

One of them did contract COVID onboard and they discussed their experience; overall, that blogger is still happy to be onboard and have shared how accommodating the staff has been. The other blogger has not shared any noticeably bad experiences either.

[Rick&Jeannie]

Not on board right now but we sailed on her a couple of months ago and had a great cruise. Note that you can always find people who like to complain or point out things that are not quite up to par. Take these reports with a big grain of salt. If you enjoy cruising and start with a good attitude you'll probably have a great trip!

[luvtravel]

Thanks for your input everyone - overall sounds like it will be a ok!

[Teechur]

Here is a blog by someone onboard the Island Princess right now. You can go backward and read her daily thoughts about the ship. She apparently had a very nice cruise!

 

June 12 - Southhapton England | Travel Blog

[SargassoPirate]

There was a long thread on here for the 2023 World Cruise with a lot of good questions and answers about the ship.

 

After following the thread for four months or so, my takeaway was that it's an older ship with a great crew.  If you want a new, pristine ship, look elsewhere. 

[lesnpatty]

We loved the ship and crew on our 24 Day B2B in the fall of 2022.  Yes it wasn't fancy but the ship was very well taken care of and the crew was great. One of our best cruises ever. 

[travelers07]

Boarded on Monday and still figuring out the layout. Crew seems positive and helpful.

 

Question about the tv channels. Fox News and MSNBC are missing. People who were on last cruise say they were on the tv until this cruise 2 days ago. Just talked to front desk and the young man read me an email from the tv person (?) that the contract for those 2 channels has been cancelled. I have asked for a call with more info but we’ll see if I hear back. Any other ships have this issue?

 

On the positive side- StarLink is here! Not terrible fast but I have streamed the news- on my small phone screen. 😊 Don’t know what will happen as we head farther north in Norway. 
 

If you have questions, just ask. I am onboard until July 12.

[tml1230]

Thanks very much to ALL the posters above! Great information as we prepare for a fall cruise on the island princess.

Travelers07- as you are currently on board, any additional observations would be appreciated ...and safe travels!

[travelers07]

Thanks. Good so far but it may be a little crowded as the days get cooler and rainy. The entrance to lunch yesterday- a sea day- seemed pretty crowded outside the restaurant. Lots of people were on the last cruise too, which was a TA. Everyone seems pretty happy about everything. 

[UT-Volsfan]

We are also currently on the Island Princess.  Crew has been very helpful so far. I understand some have changed out this past month as their contacts ended but service has been very good.

 

Embarkation in Southampton was very quick.  Left our hotel at 10:30, checked in, and allowed to board at 10:50.

 

Some areas are more crowded than we have had since cruising restarted.  Wheelhouse bar is being used for trivia, and they had to bring in some folding chairs due to the crowd showing up. Somebody said this also happened on the previous cruise.

 

Elite laundry service we were told when boarding would take 72 hours for turnaround. There are a lot of Elites on board, so will expect this to probably get even slower. 

 

Internet speed is decreasing as we go North.  Latest speed test this afternoon was 0.8 Mbps download, 0.62 Mbps upload, and latency of 42 ms. Yesterday downlad was 2.96 Mbps, 0.99 Mbps upload with latency of 126 ms.

 

They have been doing some exterior touchup painting this afternoon while in port.

 

 

[tml1230]

2 hours ago, UT-Volsfan said:

We are also currently on the Island Princess.  Crew has been very helpful so far. I understand some have changed out this past month as their contacts ended but service has been very good.

 

Embarkation in Southampton was very quick.  Left our hotel at 10:30, checked in, and allowed to board at 10:50.

 

Some areas are more crowded than we have had since cruising restarted.  Wheelhouse bar is being used for trivia, and they had to bring in some folding chairs due to the crowd showing up. Somebody said this also happened on the previous cruise.

 

Elite laundry service we were told when boarding would take 72 hours for turnaround. There are a lot of Elites on board, so will expect this to probably get even slower. 

 

Internet speed is decreasing as we go North.  Latest speed test this afternoon was 0.8 Mbps download, 0.62 Mbps upload, and latency of 42 ms. Yesterday downlad was 2.96 Mbps, 0.99 Mbps upload with latency of 126 ms.

 

They have been doing some exterior touchup painting this afternoon while in port.

 

 

thanks UT-vols fan!....GO GATORS!

 

[milolii]

6 hours ago, travelers07 said:

Thanks. Good so far but it may be a little crowded as the days get cooler and rainy. The entrance to lunch yesterday- a sea day- seemed pretty crowded outside the restaurant. Lots of people were on the last cruise too, which was a TA. Everyone seems pretty happy about everything. 

Hi are u in a  suite?  You wrote on another thread that you miss the suite lounge. If so, I have a few questions. We Get on in July.  

 TIA 
 

 

 

 

 

[travelers07]

Yes- full suite. There is no suite lounge except for Royal Class ships. I miss getting to know people in smaller groups. 

[Steelers36]

A recent bad news report is that Fox News Channel was dropped after Starlink was added for better internet.  Apparently not related.   (PS - they also dropped MSNBC).

[UT-Volsfan]

1 hour ago, Steelers36 said:

A recent bad news report is that Fox News Channel was dropped after Starlink was added for better internet.  Apparently not related.   (PS - they also dropped MSNBC).

Appears to be true. We have BBC News, CNBC, and Sky News currently.

[Steelers36]

17 minutes ago, UT-Volsfan said:

Appears to be true. We have BBC News, CNBC, and Sky News currently.

And CNBC is mostly business, isn't it?  So, no US news.  Anyway, there is never a Canadian channel available anywhere outside Canada.  Best just to look for news online.

[milolii]

3 hours ago, travelers07 said:

Yes- full suite. There is no suite lounge except for Royal Class ships. I miss getting to know people in smaller groups. 

Ok thanks.  First time one the Island for us.   Agree the suite lounges are very nice. 
Do you go to the elite lounge for drinks?  More interested in the non alcoholic stuff.  Coffee, soft drinks.

How does the priority tender boarding work? 
No concierge: is there another person to handle requests? 

 

TIA 
 

[MissP22]

12 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

And CNBC is mostly business, isn't it?  So, no US news.  Anyway, there is never a Canadian channel available anywhere outside Canada.  Best just to look for news online.

So now, only people with an internet connection can receive the current news. 🤒

[We_like_to_cruise]

On 6/12/2023 at 7:03 PM, SargassoPirate said:

There was a long thread on here for the 2023 World Cruise with a lot of good questions and answers about the ship.

 

After following the thread for four months or so, my takeaway was that it's an older ship with a great crew.  If you want a new, pristine ship, look elsewhere. 

 

Thanks SargassoPirate.  Here is the thread referenced above:

 

 

[HMSDingy]

On 6/9/2023 at 1:18 PM, Rick&Jeannie said:

Not on board right now but we sailed on her a couple of months ago and had a great cruise. Note that you can always find people who like to complain or point out things that are not quite up to par. Take these reports with a big grain of salt. If you enjoy cruising and start with a good attitude you'll probably have a great trip!

My take exactly. I've been on marvelous cruises where I've read horrible reviews. To each their own, I guess.

[ldubs]

On 6/9/2023 at 10:18 AM, Rick&Jeannie said:

Not on board right now but we sailed on her a couple of months ago and had a great cruise. Note that you can always find people who like to complain or point out things that are not quite up to par. Take these reports with a big grain of salt. If you enjoy cruising and start with a good attitude you'll probably have a great trip!

 

We had a similar enjoyable experience on Island Princess.  Might have been the same cruise as yours.    Anyway, I think too many people spend too much time trying to find things to complain about.   

[Mercruiser]

I am on Island Princess now. I am very happy with the ship, crew, and food.

 

I am not using ship Internet. I am using cellular data on my phone. The coverage and speeds are very good for such remote places. We are approaching Tromso now. I am using Google Fi. Wife is using Airalo.

 

I don't have internet on sea days, but that doesn't bother me. I watch BBC news if I wanty news fix on sea days.

[travelers07]

Good morning from Tromso! Beautiful blue skies and we are just arriving. They tell us there is a shuttle to the Radisson downtown for $20 all day so I will do that in a bit. 
 

StarLink is amazing! Speed is not impressive in my app but I have been streaming the news with no drops. I happened to meet the head of finance last night at the Captain’s party. I asked about the missing news channels and she said they were surprised and upset about it too. She said they have told shoreside to fix it, but then she laughed so I don’t think it will change. Anyway, they are aware some passengers would like the news back.

This is my first time on Island so still getting used to the layout. Crew is all very good but have heard a couple rumblings about being understaffed. Probably just the usual stuff. Everything seems good to me! 

 

[Mercruiser]

I was chatting with a fellow while waiting to disembark in Tromso. He says they have not had hot water in his cabin. We got a note in our cabin saying all water would be shut off today for several hours for repairs, so ill speculate this is related to the hot water issue in some cabins. We have had good hot water in our aft balcony the entire trip 

Edited June 17, 2023 by Mercruiser