Do not sail on the Island Princess

[mahasamatman]

On 6/9/2024 at 5:55 PM, dockman said:

somehow i doubt that they are going to be real happy to have to pay a fine to leave on top of all the other problems and good luck getting princess to reimburse a fine...

 

It's actually the other way around. Individuals are not fined - cruise lines are. The cruise line then goes ahead and bills the passenger. But if you depart for cause, it's covered by travel insurance.

[Rick&Jeannie]

I'm scratching my head trying to figure out how we went from a rant against the Island Princess to a full blown discussion of PVSA?

[TRLD]

3 hours ago, Mike07 said:

 

 

So how does Alaska work with ships leaving Seattle and stopping in Vancouver?

Those a close loop cruises, which only have to stop at a foreign port, not like a cruise between 2 US cities that need a far distant foreign port.

[TRLD]

38 minutes ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

I'm scratching my head trying to figure out how we went from a rant against the Island Princess to a full blown discussion of PVSA?

Because the OP said that they were thinking about getting off at the next port. Since it appears that The crew fixed the 3 separate incidents does not seem to be much else to discuss.

Edited June 13 by TRLD

[KKB]

On 6/10/2024 at 10:44 PM, skandsea99 said:

How frustrating an experience to put it mildly.  

 

We booked less than two weeks ago for the  Princess June 25 cruise and all we have on the itinerary is embarkation and debarkation as Manhattan or Brooklyn.

 

When did you get notified  where to board?  I just read an Island Princess  thread from the end of May this year near the end of the voyage  passengers were being told a different debarkation point than Brooklyn and some were changing plans late in the trip  to leave from there.  Then the Captain announced it was Brooklyn.

 

This cruise uses up credits from a cancelled cruise (and more cruise $ on top plus a lot of $ in NYC  and to get there).  We figured we would give Princess one more shot after our last unsatisfactory experience onboard and bad communication beforehand online and by phone.

 

Hmmm....

Sailed the Island for 12 days in October & loved it!

Did miss IC but we managed.

The sprinklers did leak (a stream of water from the head for about 30 sec) one night in some cabins. Luckily we were in a mini-suite, so just hit the carpet, just tossed a towel down.

It hit our friends bed..poor stewards had to come change numerous cabins' bedding. A lot of extra work for them. 

Things can happen anywhere. Inconveniences can occur. 

But we have had a great time on every trip we have ever had (even my MSC cruises...tho not interested in them again).

Remember the Carnival cruise that lost power & stranded at sea for a few days? Heck, we would have had a good time anyway..and a heck of a story to tell, lol!

Edited June 13 by KKB

[sunviking90]

2 hours ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

I'm scratching my head trying to figure out how we went from a rant against the Island Princess to a full blown discussion of PVSA?

I’m not. Are you new here? 😉 Pretty much how things go.

[Rick&Jeannie]

6 minutes ago, sunviking90 said:

I’m not. Are you new here? 😉 Pretty much how things go.

LOL...no, I'm not new. 😀 That was intended as a joke.

[sunviking90]

2 hours ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

LOL...no, I'm not new. 😀 That was intended as a joke.

Got it. Hence the wink..

[memoak]

3 hours ago, sunviking90 said:

I’m not. Are you new here? 😉 Pretty much how things go.

I am waiting for it to turn into a smoking thread or chair hog thread

[TRLD]

59 minutes ago, memoak said:

I am waiting for it to turn into a smoking thread or chair hog thread

how about chair hogs, who violate pvsa, while smoking and complaining about the ship they are on.

Edited June 13 by TRLD

[ecs66]

On 6/10/2024 at 3:29 PM, 555 said:

I really think the only people that like the ship are those that never sailed on it before they messed it up.

We sailed on Island in 2006, and again around 2018.  It's my favorite ship even now, but you're right in that they messed it up when all those cabins were added.  I like the overall feel of the ship, kind of old-timey and comfy.  Not impressed with the sterile glitz of some other ships.

[Rick&Jeannie]

I've been following this one pretty closely...we'll be on the Island an 11 days. (Second sailing on the Island...)

[sailaway2joy]

So sorry to stir up a hornets nest.  I thought a foreign port was just that and would cover the issue of leaving the cruise early.  My bad.  Rest assured Rick and Jennie, we had a fabulous time on the Island this week.. Food was better than on recent cruises but any meal I don’t cook is good for me!    Yes the ship is showing her age but I feel it was in better shape than the Caribbean Princess we were on last year.   Everyone was super friendly and helpful.   Enjoy your trip.

[Z0nker]

On 6/9/2024 at 4:58 PM, Ellipooh said:

Can OP leave the ship in Norfolk??

If they’ve already visited a “distant, foreign port” they can debark. If not, they’ll usually have to pay a hefty fine before debarkation. 

Edited June 15 by Z0nker

[cheese please]

This by far the funniest topic string on CC. I thought the great Princess Butter debacle was the best but I think this beats it. Thank you for making my day. From that foreign country Canada. Just to keep it all in perspective any topic on tipping is appreciated love those too, my tips are bigger then yours ;-).  We sail on the Island July 2nd can't wait.  

Edited June 16 by cheese please

[skandsea99]

2 hours ago, cheese please said:

This by far the funniest topic string on CC. I thought the great Princess Butter debacle was the best but I think this beats it. Thank you for making my day. From that foreign country Canada. Just to keep it all in perspective any topic on tipping is appreciated love those too, my tips are bigger then yours ;-).  We sail on the Island July 2nd can't wait.  

That's interesting since the itinerary is in St John, NB on July 2, on the way back to NYC for the June 25 to July 5 cruise.

Edited June 17 by skandsea99

[geoherb]

I'm one of the ones in a flooded cabin on the June 4-14 cruise. They did upgrade me from an inside to a balcony when they moved me. My first cabin steward told me that the passengers from five cabins had to move. 

 

In addition to the flood, there were two extended periods when I did not have water in my cabin. One was unexpected. I called guest services and was told they expected the water to come back on in 60 to 75 minutes. It ended up being two and a half hours. The other was a planned outage to try to fix some of the plumbing problems. It lasted about four hours. We also had a planned outage of the air conditioning system that lasted four hours. These events affected a large number of cabins. I heard that the water outage was from the Caribe Deck to the Lido Deck.

 

I agree with the OP that the customer service on the Island is below par. I sent an email suggesting ways that my situation could have been handled better.

[cheese please]

2 hours ago, skandsea99 said:

That's interesting since the itinerary is in St John, NB on July 2, on the way back to NYC for the June 25 to July 5 cruise.

You are right that is the day we fly to NYC. Cruise is July 5th. Woops.

[Treasure Hunter]

I am the original poster. We were in a large aft suite ( added in the retrofit) and did not want to move. The bulk of the problems occurred aft from deck 7 thru 14. There was no hot water ( except one morning briefly) for half of a 10 day cruise and no toilet one day and no a/c one day.  I showered in cold water twice by standing outside the shower. Hysterical  to watch. Once I was sent to the spa but they had no hot water and once our Steward’s supervisor took me to a Dolphin deck mini suite to shower. All guest services people were lovely and tried their best to make the situation better but they agreed that the dry dock should have been moved up. The cowardly Hotel Director refused to meet with us. Everyone one affected received $25 pp OBC. The last day of the cruise we received $600 future cruise credit. I still had a great time, but I wouldn’t go on the Island again. The whole guts of the ship is rotten. 

[Stuart Suss]

I am in the 4th day of the June 14th Island Princess voyage. Food is average. Entertainment is average. Customer service is inconsistent. However, there have been no broken pipes or flooding or water shutoff or any similar issues. 

 

I am disappointed. I was looking forward to kayak service between the staterooms and the dining rooms based upon the posts in this thread. 

[Treasure Hunter]

This is not counting people whose sprinklers went off. And the first day that the hot water came back it was scalding and couldn’t be regulated ( very dangerous). Hopefully the current cruise is going well. 

[Treasure Hunter]

Hahaha. Go to the casino ( I know it’s small and dark with old machines ) but I hit a grand jackpot which was one of the reasons I enjoyed the cruise. Nick, Cynthia and the other young asst cruise directors do a great trivia.

[MsTabbyKats]

12 minutes ago, Treasure Hunter said:

Hahaha. Go to the casino ( I know it’s small and dark with old machines ) but I hit a grand jackpot which was one of the reasons I enjoyed the cruise. Nick, Cynthia and the other young asst cruise directors do a great trivia.

I love the old games....can you name a few they had?  Da Vinci Diamonds, Lucky Lemmings,,,,others that did not require a large minimum bet?  So looking forward to "my old friends" next week!

[MsTabbyKats]

On 6/13/2024 at 9:57 PM, Rick&Jeannie said:

I've been following this one pretty closely...we'll be on the Island an 11 days. (Second sailing on the Island...)

6/25?  Us too!  The cruise is sold out, so it the pipes burst, they'll be no place to relocate us...

[Treasure Hunter]

I did well on Lucky Larry Fisherman and they had four machines ( packed every night) that had the four games ( Buffalo, Miss Kitty, Panda, etc.) that I hit the Grand on the bonus wheel.