Rare Globaler Posted July 6 #1 Share Posted July 6 We are considering a cruise on the Island Princess and looking at the ship it’s pretty small. It was also built in 2003. Any comments about the age, condition of the bars, restaurants etc. The casino is also tiny in fact it doesn’t even have a full size craps table. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Paula_MacFan Posted July 6 #2 Share Posted July 6 If you search the board you'll find many current discussions regarding the Island. We sailed the Island in Europe last fall for 12 nights and had a great time. We wouldn't hesitate to sail her again on the right itinerary -- that ship tends to do unique itineraries so sometimes it's the only option. We've been on 3 Princess ships in the last few months, everything from Island to Gem class to Royal class, and probably had the best experience on Island for many reasons. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Globaler Posted July 6 Author #3 Share Posted July 6 3 minutes ago, Paula_MacFan said: If you search the board you'll find many current discussions regarding the Island. We sailed the Island in Europe last fall for 12 nights and had a great time. We wouldn't hesitate to sail her again on the right itinerary -- that ship tends to do unique itineraries so sometimes it's the only option. We've been on 3 Princess ships in the last few months, everything from Island to Gem class to Royal class, and probably had the best experience on Island for many reasons. If you don’t mind me asking - What were those reasons? We have also sailed on the Enchanted, Regal and the Sun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WisCruiser2 Posted July 6 #4 Share Posted July 6 @Globaler, follow along on the entertaining Live from the Land of Princess thread above by a woman currently onboard - she usually cruises on NCL and this is her first Princess sailing. 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Paula_MacFan Posted July 6 #5 Share Posted July 6 4 minutes ago, Globaler said: If you don’t mind me asking - What were those reasons? We have also sailed on the Enchanted, Regal and the Sun. I've posted my thoughts several times on other threads but in a nutshell the cruise was port intensive, we had a great mini suite, food was good, best entertainment we've had recently compared to other ships, and the ship was in better condition than other ships we'd recently sailed. I'm sure you're going to get all the usual snarky comments about the Island being 'butchered' to add cabins, etc, but we found her to feel less crowded than our other recent cruises and the entertainment venues were more plentiful and better utilized. We don't gamble on cruises so I can't opine on the casino, sorry. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arizonaperson Posted July 6 #6 Share Posted July 6 @Globaler this may help you? It is Live. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Rick&Jeannie Posted July 6 #7 Share Posted July 6 We just got off the Island and I have to say...this was one of the best cruises we have ever had. (About 25 total) We've been on the Island once before and to be honest, was getting a bit concerned about a lot of the very negative postings seen here on CC. We saw absolutely nothing that I would consider to be negative at all. On embarkation day it appears that somebody had spilled a drink on carpet outside the spa area and they had one of those low floor fans out to dry it up. Certainly nothing like a busted pipe or anything serious like that. This particular cruise gave us (I feel) the absolute best cabin steward and wait staff team we have ever had. 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Globaler Posted July 6 Author #8 Share Posted July 6 19 minutes ago, Rick&Jeannie said: We just got off the Island and I have to say...this was one of the best cruises we have ever had. (About 25 total) We've been on the Island once before and to be honest, was getting a bit concerned about a lot of the very negative postings seen here on CC. We saw absolutely nothing that I would consider to be negative at all. On embarkation day it appears that somebody had spilled a drink on carpet outside the spa area and they had one of those low floor fans out to dry it up. Certainly nothing like a busted pipe or anything serious like that. This particular cruise gave us (I feel) the absolute best cabin steward and wait staff team we have ever had. Thanks for the reply Rick. Did you happen to partake in the casino? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LACruiser88 Posted July 6 #9 Share Posted July 6 (edited) If you use the Fitness Center, it was moved to deck 6 and it feels like a dungeon with no windows. As a daily Fitness Center user, I find this very depressing. With that being said, we are booked on the Island for a 54-day voyage in March of 2026. We book for the itinerary, not the ship. We'll take any Princess ship, anytime! Edited July 6 by LACruiser88 6 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Globaler Posted July 6 Author #10 Share Posted July 6 29 minutes ago, LACruiser88 said: If you use the Fitness Center, it was moved to deck 6 and it feels like a dungeon with no windows. As a daily Fitness Center user, I find this very depressing. With that being said, we are booked on the Island for a 54-day voyage in March of 2026. We book for the itinerary, not the ship. We'll take any Princess ship, anytime! LOL that’s the cruise we are looking at. My wife won’t be happy about the dungeon but then again I’m not particularly wild about the casino I’ve seen either! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Rick&Jeannie Posted July 6 #11 Share Posted July 6 1 hour ago, Globaler said: Thanks for the reply Rick. Did you happen to partake in the casino? LOL! If by that you mean that we made our contributions to the casino...yes! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
90scruzer Posted July 6 #12 Share Posted July 6 3 hours ago, Paula_MacFan said: If you search the board you'll find many current discussions regarding the Island. We sailed the Island in Europe last fall for 12 nights and had a great time. We wouldn't hesitate to sail her again on the right itinerary -- that ship tends to do unique itineraries so sometimes it's the only option. We've been on 3 Princess ships in the last few months, everything from Island to Gem class to Royal class, and probably had the best experience on Island for many reasons. 100% agree. in fact, we are sailing her next year to Greenland. We look for an itinerary that I can schedule work around rather than newest ships. But different strokes for different folks. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Globaler Posted July 6 Author #13 Share Posted July 6 5 minutes ago, Rick&Jeannie said: LOL! If by that you mean that we made our contributions to the casino...yes! Well I was a little concerned by the size of the casino and the crap table is like a mini table. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Globaler Posted July 6 Author #14 Share Posted July 6 6 minutes ago, 90scruzer said: 100% agree. in fact, we are sailing her next year to Greenland. We look for an itinerary that I can schedule work around rather than newest ships. But different strokes for different folks. It would be our first time on an older ship and we also look for itineraries! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Rick&Jeannie Posted July 6 #15 Share Posted July 6 1 minute ago, Globaler said: Well I was a little concerned by the size of the casino and the crap table is like a mini table. Yes...the casino on the Island is rather small. We only do slots but as I recall, most times that we were in the casino there were people at more than one table. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
90scruzer Posted July 6 #16 Share Posted July 6 43 minutes ago, Globaler said: It would be our first time on an older ship and we also look for itineraries! My wife & I have never sailed brand new ships. Though not 'old', eg. we will sail on Discovery this year (built 2022, so only 2 years "young"). 42 minutes ago, Rick&Jeannie said: Yes...the casino on the Island is rather small. We only do slots but as I recall, most times that we were in the casino there were people at more than one table. Yes, as i recall, you are right -- small enough that i can hold my breath as i fast walk through. But hopefully big enough that all the guests that want can enjoy. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mississippian Posted July 7 #17 Share Posted July 7 1 hour ago, 90scruzer said: My wife & I have never sailed brand new ships. Though not 'old', eg. we will sail on Discovery this year (built 2022, so only 2 years "young"). Yes, as i recall, you are right -- small enough that i can hold my breath as i fast walk through. But hopefully big enough that all the guests that want can enjoy. My first Princess cruise was on the Golden, which isn't that much bigger than the Island, and I loved it. But I've avoided the Island just because of the bad reviews, particularly concerning the casino. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walkingsoon Posted July 7 #18 Share Posted July 7 I prefer the Island to two thirds of the Princess fleet (those that are newer, bigger and without a promenade deck). The casino feels small, but the staff were great and I enjoyed it. My opinion. Others feel differently, some quite angrily so. Walkingsoon 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare tml1230 Posted July 7 #19 Share Posted July 7 we sailed the Island on a Transatlantic from Rome to Fort Lauderdale last November. We hooked it to our annual Paris trip Because of the ugly reviews I researched, I was nervous but I "considered the source " on some of those reviews..... I really dont care about "the shower curtain rubs against my hind end" or "they dont give us blue princess bags anymore". My only two beefs were the poor fitness center and lack of international cafe. Neither one a deal breaker. The ship was in very good shape, and, we were totally satisfied . We enjoyed the cruise very much! Enough so we booked the same cruise this year. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare CruisingWalter Posted July 7 #20 Share Posted July 7 16 hours ago, Globaler said: We are considering a cruise on the Island Princess and looking at the ship it’s pretty small. It was also built in 2003. Any comments about the age, condition of the bars, restaurants etc. The casino is also tiny in fact it doesn’t even have a full size craps table. A lovely ship! We did a Panama Canal cruise with her. Easy to navigate being such a small ship, lovely pools and well appointed throughout. Bring large binder clips to hold down the shower curtain in your shower. She doesn't have all the bells and whistles of the newest ships, but she does have a lovely crew and more personalized attention because there are fewer passengers. I would not hesitate to book this ship or her sister Coral Princess. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MsTabbyKats Posted July 7 #21 Share Posted July 7 We just got off the Island Princess also...1st time on Princess....about 25 other cruises (NCL, CCL, MSC, MSC YC) I was totally blown away. Based on the reviews, I was in shock. A few random thoughts: I like the way they do omelets....you order, you get a receipt, one of the waiters in the buffet picks it up for you! No waiting in lines.. The medallion/app are wonderful. In MSC YC you get a medallion too...but these do so much more. I loved that you could locate someone (my husband tends to wander off!) The food was excellent. This was the first cruise where I enjoyed MDR food (although I didn't enjoy eating with strangers so after 3 nites we went to the buffet instead). They actually used spices and the food had flavor. Entertainment...excellent Service was wonderful....servers brought drinks very quickly Pizza....it's not MSC, but very good We used the app to have food delivered once. Came quickly. We got a specialty cake once...the regular desserts were better. That crazy specialty ice cream....they gave me a scoop with sprinkles and sauce in a cup, and it was good. Casino...slots; didn't lose more than expected Cabin...OV. Nice layout. Cabin had a very large window. TV...large hi def tv...with a huge selection of movies and shows All in all...it was a 10 out of 10 cruise. I definitely prefer this to NCL or CCL or MSC (regular) 5 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare JGmf Posted July 7 #22 Share Posted July 7 @MsTabbyKats Thanks a ton for sharing your experiences. I'm sailing on this ship in late August and have read the same warning/negative reviews about this older, smaller ship that you have read. So glad you had a great cruise and especially glad that I can ratchet down my worries. (As a former NCL loyalist, I made the switch to Princess last year and enjoy it more for a wide variety of reasons). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CeleBrat Posted July 7 #23 Share Posted July 7 3 minutes ago, JGmf said: @MsTabbyKats Thanks a ton for sharing your experiences. I'm sailing on this ship in late August and have read the same warning/negative reviews about this older, smaller ship that you have read. So glad you had a great cruise and especially glad that I can ratchet down my worries. (As a former NCL loyalist, I made the switch to Princess last year and enjoy it more for a wide variety of reasons). I'm sailing her in late August too. The 10-day Med voyage leaving on 8/25? CeleBrat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Rick&Jeannie Posted July 7 #24 Share Posted July 7 1 hour ago, MsTabbyKats said: We just got off the Island Princess also...1st time on Princess....about 25 other cruises (NCL, CCL, MSC, MSC YC) I was totally blown away. Based on the reviews, I was in shock. A few random thoughts: I like the way they do omelets....you order, you get a receipt, one of the waiters in the buffet picks it up for you! No waiting in lines.. The medallion/app are wonderful. In MSC YC you get a medallion too...but these do so much more. I loved that you could locate someone (my husband tends to wander off!) The food was excellent. This was the first cruise where I enjoyed MDR food (although I didn't enjoy eating with strangers so after 3 nites we went to the buffet instead). They actually used spices and the food had flavor. Entertainment...excellent Service was wonderful....servers brought drinks very quickly Pizza....it's not MSC, but very good We used the app to have food delivered once. Came quickly. We got a specialty cake once...the regular desserts were better. That crazy specialty ice cream....they gave me a scoop with sprinkles and sauce in a cup, and it was good. Casino...slots; didn't lose more than expected Cabin...OV. Nice layout. Cabin had a very large window. TV...large hi def tv...with a huge selection of movies and shows All in all...it was a 10 out of 10 cruise. I definitely prefer this to NCL or CCL or MSC (regular) Pretty much agree with everything you have shared. (We were on the same cruise...) By any chance did you catch the "Alfredo's lunch pop-up" in Sabatini's on one of the sea days? We think that pizza is MUCH better than what you see in the buffet or on Lido...and most seasoned Princess cruisers seem to agree! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare JGmf Posted July 7 #25 Share Posted July 7 Yep. 10-day Med departing "Rome" on 8/25...the voyage prior to dry dock. Hope they don't run out of the perishable food... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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