Aboard the Island now 9/22 - 10/4 Oktoberfest European Capitols from Southampton

[Paula_MacFan]

Yesterday we took an all day Princess excursion called Scenic Berlin. We met in Explorers at 7am but were delayed getting off the ship until 8am due to slightly late docking. They hurried 500+ of us off the ship to meet the chartered train cars on time. No disembarkation photos set up yet due to hurry 😊

 

The train ride to Berlin was 3.25 hours despite the tour description of 2.5 hours. During that time we had a host who provided info, water bottles, iced coffee, and snacks. The trip across the countryside was pleasant.

 

Once in Berlin we exited the very busy train station according to our groups. There were several different Princess excursions offered that all take the same train. We had a competent guide & driver who led us on a city tour of the Reichtag, Berlin Wall, CheckPoint Charlie, Brandenburg Gate, and other local sights. We made several stops throughout the day.  

 

Lunch was at a traditional beer hall with German food & beer, served family style in a lively atmosphere. 

 

After lunch we had a River Spree cruise, followed by a quick shopping stop on the Kurfurstendamn. 

 

We left from a different but just as busy train station around 6pm to make the train trip back to Hamburg. We arrived to the ship around 9pm and left shortly after.  It was the longest excursion we've ever taken but felt it was worth it.

 

We sat on our balcony and enjoyed the moonlit sail down the Elbe River. The captain said the river is about 81 miles to the sea and one of the busiest shipping ports. It was a lovely evening and we called it a day around midnight. 

 

Glad the next day is a sea day to relax 😊

 

So far our evening food has been:

Day 1 - buffet

Day 2 - Lido pizza 

Day 3 - MDR

Day 4 - room service/late arrival back onboard

Day 5 - Bayou Steakhouse reservation (tonight)

Day 10 - we have Sabatini's reservations scheduled

Edited September 26, 2023 by Paula_MacFan

[ExploringTheGlobe]

14 hours ago, gvre said:

Yeah we did it also last year.

Great itinerary... did not like the Island Princess

I agree!  I never want to cruise on the Island again.

[Paula_MacFan]

6 minutes ago, ExploringTheGlobe said:

I agree!  I never want to cruise on the Island again.

The Island does unique itineraries though, so if you want to do them that's the ship. The itinerary we're on is only offered twice a year in the fall. I'm currently sitting in my mini-suite enjoying a calm day at sea, perfectly happy. 

 

Beats a day at work 😉

[Steelers36]

11 minutes ago, Paula_MacFan said:

The Island does unique itineraries though, so if you want to do them that's the ship. The itinerary we're on is only offered twice a year in the fall. I'm currently sitting in my mini-suite enjoying a calm day at sea, perfectly happy. 

 

Beats a day at work 😉

Agree.  We have no issue about sailing Island for a desirable itinerary.  Sure, I would pick another ship if I could, but it is one of the two "small" ships now and tends to do the longer voyages with more ports, etc, as well as the N.A. World Cruise.

[tml1230]

First off, thanks very much for a GREAT report!  We board in November  visiting Rome, Israel and Greece...then the TA back to FLL.

 More than 25 princess cruises, but this is first time on the Island. Thats why I am very interested in your experiences and observations. It seems folks either LOVE the Island or HATE the Island! 

Glad you enjoyed Paris. We visit Paris at least once a year. Having said that,  Any time we dock in Le Havre, we ARE  going to Paris "on your own" for the day. Even with the long bus ride its well worth it! 

Thank you again, Have a safe and memorable journey, and please keep us posted!

[Prometheus1]

Enjoying your review so far. Please let us know how the specialty dining is tonight. We board on the 4th and have reservations for both specialty restaurants. Have been on Coral but not Island.

[Blue and Green]

Thank you so much for posting this information!  We are interested in this itinerary and look forward to reading more about your trip.

[Paula_MacFan]

2 hours ago, Prometheus1 said:

Enjoying your review so far. Please let us know how the specialty dining is tonight. We board on the 4th and have reservations for both specialty restaurants. Have been on Coral but not Island.

We thoroughly enjoyed the Bayou Steakhouse tonight. We had early reservations and got right in with a nice window view table. We both had lobster cake appetizers, hubby also had sea scallops, nice basket of cheesy bread rolls with butter, and filet mignon. Hubby added lobster to his entree for surf and turf. The steaks were cooked perfectly and were delicious. 

 

We took our caramel cheesecake to go for later. 

 

The service was prompt and attentive. 

 

We are happy they switched the menu over recently to more closely match the Crown Grill on other ships. 

 

There were around 8 tables when we left around 6:30. 

 

I have some general comments about our fellow passengers but will reserve those until the end of the cruise.

 

I'll report on Sabatini's later in the cruise 😊

Edited September 26, 2023 by Paula_MacFan

[Paula_MacFan]

We attended the 2nd captain's party after dinner. Here are the stats:

First timers - 616

Gold - 416

Ruby - 282

Platinum - 537

Elite - 313

Total - 2,165

 

Most traveled 74 cruises & 1,250 days

 

Total Elite & Platinum combined 101,422 days or 278 years at sea 😮

Edited September 26, 2023 by Paula_MacFan

[Paula_MacFan]

Day 6 patter. Also a word of caution not to pre-plan too much based on the Journey View function of the app prior to your cruise. Several things that were listed as recently as last week on the app have changed now that we are on board. 

[Paula_MacFan]

Day 7 patter

[Paula_MacFan]

Today we visited Aarhus, Denmark. We didn't take a ship excursion but walked to Den Gamle By on our own, a pleasant 20 minute walk from the ship. There were reps at the dock with maps and info, but we had already purchased tickets in advance and had a general idea of where to go. We walked along the canal to the complex where we spent the whole day. It's an open air museum with buildings and homes from the 1500's to the current times. There are people there in period dress doing demonstrations, preparing foods, & giving carriage rides. We had a great day and were glad we didn't do the ship's tour here.

 

At sailaway a local marching band serenaded us for about 30 minutes. Everyone was out on their balconies clapping & cheering. That was a first for us, and really fun. 

 

 

 

 

[beg3yrs]

Thank you for all the reports. We're booked on this itinerary (Emerald 9/2025) but it's never too early to learn and plan!

[Paula_MacFan]

Today we visited Copenhagen and took the Princess tour Mighty & Magnificent Royal Fortresses. We left a little earlier than scheduled as everyone showed up early which was nice. There were around 30 on our tour which was sold out, but the bus was only about 2/3 full so we had plenty of room.  We had a good guide and driver, and the tour matched the description exactly.

 

We visited Frederiksborg, Kronborg, & Fredensborg Castles. All were fascinating and different. Lunch was a traditional Danish meal served family style at a historic inn from 1740. 

 

At the end of the day on the way back to the ship we stopped for the obligatory Little Mermaid photo. Back to ship by 5:15,  right on time. 

 

We had lovely weather today with temps in low 70s and partly cloudy. We've been very lucky with weather the whole cruise so far. 

 

We noticed maintenance painting on several balconies as we left port this morning. 

 

So far our only complaint is they ran out of our favorite beer on day 2 and won't be replenishing until we return to Southampton.  Fail Princess. We have the drink package too 😕

 

 

[Wander58]

Thank you SO much for your updates!  We also board on Oct 4, first time on the Island Princess.  I thought the passenger stats were interesting - usually there is a much higher percentage of Elites.  I hope the Northern Lights cruise has a similar percentage as it will make it easier to tender.  

[Paula_MacFan]

Here 7 is Day 8 patter

[Steelers36]

On 9/27/2023 at 2:24 PM, Paula_MacFan said:

Today we visited Aarhus, Denmark. We didn't take a ship excursion but walked to Den Gamle By on our own, a pleasant 20 minute walk from the ship. There were reps at the dock with maps and info, but we had already purchased tickets in advance and had a general idea of where to go. We walked along the canal to the complex where we spent the whole day. It's an open air museum with buildings and homes from the 1500's to the current times. There are people there in period dress doing demonstrations, preparing foods, & giving carriage rides. We had a great day and were glad we didn't do the ship's tour here.

 

At sailaway a local marching band serenaded us for about 30 minutes. Everyone was out on their balconies clapping & cheering. That was a first for us, and really fun. 

 

 

 

 

Reads like their version of Williamsburg, VA.

[Paula_MacFan]

Today is a drizzly day (our first so far -- so yay for that). We are docked at the Arendal port of Gothenburg, Sweden, so we walked across the parking lot to the huge Volvo Museum. We spent 3 hours there and enjoyed it a lot -- hubby is a car guy.  But they have lots of other things besides cars and it was a good way to spend a dreary afternoon. 

 

I was curious before the cruise just how far the walk would be. Even using Google maps sometimes it's hard to tell at an industrial port. So for anyone else who may be curious, here is a picture of our ship literally right outside the museum entrance.  Notice the building on the left with the Volvo flags out front. 

 

 

[indexcards]

did you try for your favorite beer at any other locations?   Might have been only one bar was out.

 

I'm going to be on Island at end of November and have seen some bad reviews as to her condition.

What is you opinion on this?

 

 

 

[Paula_MacFan]

3 minutes ago, indexcards said:

did you try for your favorite beer at any other locations?   Might have been only one bar was out.

 

I'm going to be on Island at end of November and have seen some bad reviews as to her condition.

What is you opinion on this?

 

 

 

LOL yes we've tried at every bar. They are out ship wide. Every bartender has told us the same thing -- the Berlin shipment didn't come through so they are out until Southampton.

 

The Island is an older ship but in good condition. Our mini suite is very comfortable, the bed is super comfy, and the furnishings we've used in the public spaces has been in good repair.

Edited September 29, 2023 by Paula_MacFan

[Paula_MacFan]

Day 9 patter

[KKB]

On 9/28/2023 at 11:41 AM, Paula_MacFan said:

 

 

So far our only complaint is they ran out of our favorite beer on day 2 and won't be replenishing until we return to Southampton.  Fail Princess. We have the drink package too 😕

 

 

May I inquire what brand?? (DH is mostly a beer guy...)

 

We are doing this same cruise (albeit reverse itinerary I believe) 2 weeks from Weds. 

I agree the ship is not as important when you do a port intensive cruise.

We are cruising with friends as well, so we always have a wonderful time just chatting & drinking!

 

Enjoying your TR!! THANKS!

Have a wonderful time!

[Micahs Grandad]

We took Island end of July for voyage up the coast of Norway to Northcape. We were told by friends we would not enjoy the layout of the ship but did it due to a super itinerary.

 

Much different than any other Princess ship and missed the Int Cafe.

 

As I recall shows were 7 and 9 pm and production shows and flyons were very good.

 

Had excellent waitstaff in dining room. Service in Horizon was poor. Apparently lots of new crew including those on first ship and many wandered around quite a bit never looking at passengers to see what they might want. The hardest workers were two supervisors who did much more helping passengers than the crew. 

 

Island had very nice library and great service from IT people.

 

Loved the itinerary but would stick with larger and newer ships in the future unless another unique itinerary.

[Paula_MacFan]

13 minutes ago, KKB said:

May I inquire what brand?? (DH is mostly a beer guy...)

 

We are doing this same cruise (albeit reverse itinerary I believe) 2 weeks from Weds. 

I agree the ship is not as important when you do a port intensive cruise.

We are cruising with friends as well, so we always have a wonderful time just chatting & drinking!

 

Enjoying your TR!! THANKS!

Have a wonderful time!

Thanks! 

 

The beer is nothing exciting -- just Michelob Ultra.  It's a small annoyance and not cruise defining. 

[Paula_MacFan]

3 minutes ago, Micahs Grandad said:

We took Island end of July for voyage up the coast of Norway to Northcape. We were told by friends we would not enjoy the layout of the ship but did it due to a super itinerary.

 

Much different than any other Princess ship and missed the Int Cafe.

 

As I recall shows were 7 and 9 pm and production shows and flyons were very good.

 

Had excellent waitstaff in dining room. Service in Horizon was poor. Apparently lots of new crew including those on first ship and many wandered around quite a bit never looking at passengers to see what they might want. The hardest workers were two supervisors who did much more helping passengers than the crew. 

 

Island had very nice library and great service from IT people.

 

Loved the itinerary but would stick with larger and newer ships in the future unless another unique itinerary.

We miss the International Cafe but it's not a deal breaker for us. We haven't attended any production shows as we've either been in port late or doing other things on the ship. We've found the service to be fine and staff pleasant.  Haven't been to the library or had any need for IT services. 

 

Our next 2 scheduled cruises are back on Grand & Royal class ships. But I wouldn't hesitate to sail on Island again if the itinerary was right.

 

I'm a firm believer that a cruise is what you make of it 😊