Island Princess Problems

[geoherb]

Right. My experience was just one out of a handful of cabins that got flooded by a burst water pipe--up to 14 people affected out of around 1,700 passengers. 

[latebuyer]

I think 14 is still quite a lot!

[Treasure Hunter]

That was just the burst water pipe . Zone seven aft from deck 7-14 had either no hot water, no water, no toilet etc for half the cruise. We still had a great time even with the inconvenience and the staff who helped us find showers elsewhere on the ship were wonderful. That’s not the point and I know there are people who will make every excuse for a huge company that is more than satisfied to take our money and give a sub par experience but I’m not. 

[geoherb]

14 minutes ago, latebuyer said:

I think 14 is still quite a lot!

 

It was up to that number. I don't know how many people were in three of the affected cabins. It would be 14 if all three of them had four people each. It's probably more likely they had two people and the total was eight. But even at 14, that's fewer than 1 percent of the passengers. For a comparison, cruise lines have to report a norovirus outbreak to the CDC when it affects 2 percent or more of passengers.

[geoherb]

1 minute ago, Treasure Hunter said:

That was just the burst water pipe . Zone seven aft from deck 7-14 had either no hot water, no water, no toilet etc for half the cruise. We still had a great time even with the inconvenience and the staff who helped us find showers elsewhere on the ship were wonderful. That’s not the point and I know there are people who will make every excuse for a huge company that is more than satisfied to take our money and give a sub par experience but I’m not. 

 

I'm glad you still had a great time in spite of the inconvenience. 

 

[imescaping]

On 6/16/2024 at 8:45 AM, HS2BS said:

We were on the Island Princess’s repositioning May 24 - June 4, and there were too many problems to list. We had a wheelchair accessible cabin without an automatic door, and a non accessible balcony(so why charge us for a balcony). Air conditioning was a consistent problem in cabin and in most of the ship. Food - boring and mediocre quality, entire ship is very poor for accessibility movement, guest services gives lip service but forgets to note discussion.

Overall this ship should have never made it past Covid scraping - after 19 Princess cruises we now know that this line needs better management! We have Ruby booked next year(last Princess cruise for us) and are canceling our 54 day cruise March of 26 on this ship.

 

Hal

We are on Majestic Princess currently (6th Princess cruise,  2 Golden. 1 Saphire, 1 Royal, 1 Coral) the dining service is slow and pretty poor. Messing up orders, long sits between courses, sitting with empty water glasses. food is also boring and mediocre to downright terrible. Desserts, something I really look forward to on a cruise, are terrible. Desserts I have had on past princess cruises, that were creamy and delicious, are flavorless and gelatinous.  I think the new vision for executives at Princess is to be like NCL, make the food and service in the included dining so bad people will pay for the specialty dining and premium desserts. (Although, rumor has it the premium desserts aren’t much better). NCL built there ships with the thought of people using alternative dining venues and has a lot of options, Princess doesn’t have enough Specialty Dining capacity to cover the number of people unhappy with the included dining. I know everyone has their reasons for why they enjoy cruising, part of ours was the all inclusive value it provided. If we have to pay as much for food onboard as we do on land, that value is no longer there. If the entertainment is meh, the special touches are gone ( no pillow chocolate, no towel animals, no attention to detail, no desire to recover from service or operational mishaps, no live commentary on the scenic cruising days etc) Why bother with the cruise. Frankly, I’m embarrassed because I brought 10 new to princess customers with me (1 new to cruising) and it’s been one fiasco after another, glitchy APP, crowded ship, poor food, lack luster activities and entertainment, they all think the food, service and entertainment/activities were better on Carnival. Granted that was pre pandemic. 
 

We are not ones to write off a company over one bad experience, we know things happen, so will likely try another princess cruise in the future, based on itinerary and competitive pricing.  More people than ever are cruising, our sailing is very full( numbers haven’t been mentioned but I know several of the 3 and 4 guest cabins indeed have 3 or 4 guests) so I am sure we won’t be missed or make a big dent in the bottom line, but if things don’t improve, we will move on. 
 

Post pandemic we have cruised Disney and Seabourn, (I know, I know higher price and higher expectations) there were no significant changes in Disney from our cruise with them 9 years ago and our Jan 2023 cruise, The food was actually better than the previous. First  Seabourn and it was a splurge we won’t be able to make often (40th Anniversary, 60th Birthday, as well as not traveling during the pandemic) but, as should be expected at that price point, service, food etc were fabulous. 

[imescaping]

2 minutes ago, imescaping said:

We are on Majestic Princess currently (6th Princess cruise,  2 Golden. 1 Saphire, 1 Royal, 1 Coral) the dining service is slow and pretty poor. Messing up orders, long sits between courses, sitting with empty water glasses. food is also boring and mediocre to downright terrible. Desserts, something I really look forward to on a cruise, are terrible. Desserts I have had on past princess cruises, that were creamy and delicious, are flavorless and gelatinous.  I think the new vision for executives at Princess is to be like NCL, make the food and service in the included dining so bad people will pay for the specialty dining and premium desserts. (Although, rumor has it the premium desserts aren’t much better). NCL built there ships with the thought of people using alternative dining venues and has a lot of options, Princess doesn’t have enough Specialty Dining capacity to cover the number of people unhappy with the included dining. I know everyone has their reasons for why they enjoy cruising, part of ours was the all inclusive value it provided. If we have to pay as much for food onboard as we do on land, that value is no longer there. If the entertainment is meh, the special touches are gone ( no pillow chocolate, no towel animals, no attention to detail, no desire to recover from service or operational mishaps, no live commentary on the scenic cruising days etc) Why bother with the cruise. Frankly, I’m embarrassed because I brought 10 new to princess customers with me (1 new to cruising) and it’s been one fiasco after another, glitchy APP, crowded ship, poor food, lack luster activities and entertainment, they all think the food, service and entertainment/activities were better on Carnival. Granted that was pre pandemic. 
 

We are not ones to write off a company over one bad experience, we know things happen, so will likely try another princess cruise in the future, based on itinerary and competitive pricing.  More people than ever are cruising, our sailing is very full( numbers haven’t been mentioned but I know several of the 3 and 4 guest cabins indeed have 3 or 4 guests) so I am sure we won’t be missed or make a big dent in the bottom line, but if things don’t improve, we will move on. 
 

Post pandemic we have cruised Disney and Seabourn, (I know, I know higher price and higher expectations) there were no significant changes in Disney from our cruise with them 9 years ago and our Jan 2023 cruise, The food was actually better than the previous. First  Seabourn and it was a splurge we won’t be able to make often (40th Anniversary, 60th Birthday, as well as not traveling during the pandemic) but, as should be expected at that price point, service, food etc were fabulous. 

Yes I know the difference in “there” and “their” I didn’t catch it before I posted and couldn’t figure out how to edit it. 

[Treasure Hunter]

We were with friends and enjoyed going with them to trivia, bingo and the entertainment ( although their last cruise was Regent and I explained you get what you pay for. But I had a ball in the casino.

[ldubs]

On 6/17/2024 at 1:05 PM, Rick&Jeannie said:

We board the Island in 1 week...definitely very concerned about what awaits us.  We've been on her before, back in 2022 (Oktoberfest) and had a GREAT cruise...probably one of our favorites out of 25 so far.  I just don't recall anything negative as far as the condition of the ship.

 

We were on that same Oktoberfest cruise.  We enjoyed it very much, including the Island.  Sad to hear about these problems.  I hope they get things in order.  

[mskrmk]

I am on the August 25th Mediterranean sailing. The last before the dry dock. Did not know this when I booked. I am very concerned, to say the least. I can only hope for the best. 

[Treasure Hunter]

Our cruise had six out of ten days at sea. So it was all about the ship. You will be in a wonderful exciting port almost every day. You will have a great time. Do not worry. The food  was good and the staff  excellent. Except for Francisco ( Hotel Head). 

[mskrmk]

Thanks for the encouragement! Appreciate it! 🙂

[nikolz350]

azbirdmom 

Thank you for sharing information about corporate folks.

I am always trying to work out problem with low-mid level management, but sending blast SOS to top corporate will get better results. Sure they will never read your essay, but their assistants can do a lot to help you.

Bottom line, you need to be prepared to fight for your problem.

 

[muffydawg]

Hubby and I will be on an October sailing of the Island Princess; we're looking forward to a voyage on a smaller-ish Princess ship that has a great itinerary.

[Esprit]

On 7/3/2024 at 7:24 PM, mskrmk said:

I am on the August 25th Mediterranean sailing. The last before the dry dock. Did not know this when I booked. I am very concerned, to say the least. I can only hope for the best. 

My SIL will be working on the ship when it's in the Palermo dry dock. He will be upgrading the Audio/Visuals stuff. Too technical for me and he has no idea what else is being done to the ship.  

[wallyworld583]

We spent 30 days (July 5 - Aug 5) on Island.  Just our experience but we had no problems.  Third time sailing her and would not hesitate to do again if the itinerary suited us.  Love the small ship.  Do miss the IC but adjustments were made and we survived!

[BobTroll]

I have just returned from 20 days on Island Princess, sailing from Barcelona to Civitavecchia, via Gibraltar, and ports in the Western Mediterranean and the Adriatic.

 

She is over 30 years old and some of the decor looks rather dated.  But the most important aspects, the itinerary, service and the meals were first class.  Everything that mattered worked.  Opinions about the entertainment might vary, but I was happy.

 

I prefer smaller ships, so I would think twice, before booking a cruise on any of the Royal class ships.  And you wouldn't be able to tempt me aboard Sky or Sun Princess.

 

But I would happily opt for Island Princess again.

[LACruiser88]

10 hours ago, Esprit said:

My SIL will be working on the ship when it's in the Palermo dry dock. He will be upgrading the Audio/Visuals stuff. Too technical for me and he has no idea what else is being done to the ship.  

When is the Island's dry dock, Sept of 2025???  We'll be onboard in March of 2026.

[Yehootu]

37 minutes ago, LACruiser88 said:

When is the Island's dry dock, Sept of 2025???  We'll be onboard in March of 2026.

Island goes into drydock after the 10 day cruise she's on now that finishes 09/05. I got a text at 0200 this am in Hawaii from a buddy onboard right now. They're off Kotor. He was 8 beers deep and enjoying himself and the cruise. Being area where you guys are from, I hope you're not UCLA fans. Hawaii's gonna bring it to them tomm. Last time UH played UCLA, my Dad was a starting tackle.....1938😀

[LACruiser88]

6 minutes ago, Yehootu said:

Being area where you guys are from, I hope you're not UCLA fans. Hawaii's gonna bring it to them tomm. Last time UH played UCLA, my Dad was a starting tackle.....1938😀

We are not football fans, college or pro.  Now, basketball is another story!  🏀

[Yehootu]

2 hours ago, LACruiser88 said:

We are not football fans, college or pro.  Now, basketball is another story!  🏀

Clippers and GS Warriors both doing camps here and exhibition game.

[beg3yrs]

5 hours ago, Yehootu said:

Being area where you guys are from, I hope you're not UCLA fans. Hawaii's gonna bring it to them tomm. Last time UH played UCLA, my Dad was a starting tackle.....1938😀

Definitely not a UCLA fan as we're USC grads and fans. Have nothing but respect for UH though. A few years ago (2015?) we attended the UH vs USC game in Honolulu. While walking around Honolulu the morning of the game we encountered the UH team walking the same area we were. Got to have some great conversations with the staff, coaches and players. UH gave USC a real run for their money that evening. IMHO it was the beginning of the end for Lane Kiffin at USC.

[TRLD]

6 hours ago, BobTroll said:

I have just returned from 20 days on Island Princess, sailing from Barcelona to Civitavecchia, via Gibraltar, and ports in the Western Mediterranean and the Adriatic.

 

She is over 30 years old and some of the decor looks rather dated.  But the most important aspects, the itinerary, service and the meals were first class.  Everything that mattered worked.  Opinions about the entertainment might vary, but I was happy.

 

I prefer smaller ships, so I would think twice, before booking a cruise on any of the Royal class ships.  And you wouldn't be able to tempt me aboard Sky or Sun Princess.

 

But I would happily opt for Island Princess again.

 The Island Princess construction started in 2001, making her less than 23 years old, not over 30. Her inagural cruise was in July 2003.

[Yehootu]

37 minutes ago, beg3yrs said:

Definitely not a UCLA fan as we're USC grads and fans. Have nothing but respect for UH though. A few years ago (2015?) we attended the UH vs USC game in Honolulu. While walking around Honolulu the morning of the game we encountered the UH team walking the same area we were. Got to have some great conversations with the staff, coaches and players. UH gave USC a real run for their money that evening. IMHO it was the beginning of the end for Lane Kiffin at USC.

I was at that game! We try to wear out the opposing mainland teams with our Island hospitality, but the weak in the herd can keep up with the strong only so long.😀

Edited August 31 by Yehootu

[beg3yrs]

12 hours ago, Yehootu said:

I was at that game! We try to wear out the opposing mainland teams with our Island hospitality, but the weak in the herd can keep up with the strong only so long.😀

We had amazing seats with a great view for that game. In the very top row of the visitor section we could look out and see Pearl Harbor. Too bad we really couldn't see much of the game itself. Kind of looking at a nine inch TV from 20 feet away...

 

Anyway, I was born in Honolulu (it was a territory then) and spent the first two years of my life there. Too bad I don't remember much. Even took my first "cruise" on some old ocean liner heading back to San Francisco when my naval officer dad was transferred to Massachusetts. Talk about a change in the weather!