Having previously sailed on Norwegian,Celebrity and Holland America ships, we are planning a trip on the Island Princess in May 2007. I haven't read much about this particular vessel, and am not sure whether that's a good or bad thing. Has anyone out there cruised on the Island Princess and if so, how was the food, service, staterooms, gym, pools, or any info you can provide?? This chat-page has been really helpful to us in the past and I appreciate any feedback before we make our final decision. We've been spoiled with Celebrity.

Diablo,

Your question is very timely. Check out the thread entitled "Weather in the Pacific" which you will find on this site. We are fortunate to have a very kind cruiser presently on board the Island Princess who is on his way back to LA from Hawaii. His name is RichC, and he has been posting reports daily since he boarded the ship about 10 days ago for his 15 dayer to and back from Hawaii. You will find answers to many of your questions on this thread. My wife and I are scheduled for this same cruise leaving LA March 12, so we have been following his voyage very closely.

We are going on the Island Princess to
Alaska May 14th. This will be our first cruise with Princess. We have been spoiled by RCCL. We have read good and bad about Island Princess, but mostly everyone seemed to have enjoyed the cruise. We are excited about going to Alaska and are counting the days!!!

We're onboard the Island Princess right now & both my wife are really enjoying the food. NO conplaints. We're been to the Horizon buffet for both breakfast & lunch every day & there's always a something new on the menu. They day we arrived they had a roast turkey for lunch & I usually don't eat the white meat because it's dry. It was juicy, tender & you could cut it with a fork without gravy. Their pork had always been done to perfection.
Last night was the Captains repeater party & they served felet mignon with shrimp- Also perfect.
The night before was lobstr tails. There were two small tails on each plate & I ordered two plates- they were done perfectly- not over cooked or kept under a heat lamp. I also shared a plate of Chateau Brione with my wife- again perfect. We're been on some Princess ships where the meats haven't been as good but this ship isn't one on them.
We haven't been to any of the speciality restaurants on this ship or any other Princess ship- I can't comment about the food except that why pay $30 extra when the regular dining room is great.

I forgot to add that the service has been very good even thought I heard that the crew is sailing slghty short handed on this trip. Something like 112 crew left on Dec 5 & only 95 replaced them. This I heard from the future cruise director. I don't know which departments are lacking but it isn't apparent in their performance.
We have a balcony stateroom & although it has plenty or room to move about, the bathroom leaves a lot to be desired. It's the smallest Princess shower I've ever had on any of their ships. (This being our 19 th Princess cruise) The shower is so small you CAN'Y bend over to pick up the soap. Yea, I know I've heard the joke before from all the commedians, but it's true. You actually have to get out of the shower to pick up the soap! I don't know how some of the larger people actually get into the shower & close the curtain. We visited a mini suite last night & they do have plenty of room in their bathroom since they also have a bath tub. They also have two TV's & a couch. I'm not sure if I'd pay the extra $400 or so for it.
They gym seems OK to me but I'm not that particular about that sort of thing.
The pools appear to be large enough for all the passengrs but on this trip not many have used them since it was so cool on the way to Hawaii & once we were there everybody was off the ship. As soon as we left Hawaii the wind picked up again & people are staying inside. No one is using the indoor Lotus pool either except to sit in the lounge chairs on sunny day. Today it's overcast & NO ONE is outside.
The prominade deck was busy this morning with the walkers.

Thanks, RichC. Really enjoyed hearing all about the Island Princess. Can't wait to sail on her. Sounds like you're hooked on Princess. Have you ever tried RCCL? We've had good experiences with them. Of course, we've never had a bad cruise.

We've been on somewhere around 9 RCCL cruises also- All very good & no complaints about them either although their prices seem to be a little on the higher side lately. We go with the best price these days & Princess seems to out do the others & as long as they keep giving a good product for the money & keep booking them.
The weather this morning on the Island had calmed down a bit with only moderate winds & a slight rocking motion. I doubt if anyone will be in the pools as the air temp isn't all that warm. My wife brought along 4 bathing suits & didn't use one of them, even in Hawaii. There was to many things to see & do to spend time on the beach....perhaps some day if we fly to Hawaii & spend 2 weeks there.

It's almost 1 PM & although the wind is still blowing it has calmed down considerably. It's still to cool to swim but there's other things to do. There's another lecture by Dr. Bob Basso on his personal encounters with Fidel Castro, Jackie Robinson and JFK. If he's on your cruise you'll enjoy his talks as he's very knowledgable on all aspects of Hawaii.

On the next cruise leaving Dec. 20 I've heard that they'll be 420 kids on board. Good luck !

Hi RichC,

I checked the Princess website and they have the Island Princess leaving December 27, 2006 from L.A. to Hawaii. Is that the one you are talking about with the 450 kids? Good grief!

The cruise director implyed that it was the very next one that leaves on Dec 20 (I think it goes back to Hawaii for another 15 days)- either way I glad we didn't book that week. A few kids I can tolerate but 430 or so is another thing.
Tonight we had king crab on the menu for diner, also baby lamb chops. One plate of crab legs was just about right. They were large jumbo legs, already split & were HOT. I don't know if there also at the buffet but I'll check later.
Another tip- watch channel 21 for the "morning show" each day at sea. They pose a question of the day & you can sumbit you answer in a box in the library. All the winners get a small prize such as a travel clock, Princess tote bag & things like that. The questions are easy & we're won three days. My wife loves the canvas bags.

diablo,
We have sailed on the Island Princess twice, once to Hawaii (2005) and once as a Coastal cruise from Los Angeles to Vancouver (stops at Ketchikan and Sitka)(2006). We are sailing on her again in March back to Hawaii. We love Princess and the Island is one of our favorite ships. The service is great. When doing the coastal cruise the maitre 'd remembered us from our Hawaii cruise and treated us like royalty. (His name is something similar to Dominic, great guy)
The food is outstanding, best we've ever had on Princess and that's saying alot.

Diablo,

One more thought about the Island Princess, which in my view applies to all Princess ships.

We are firm believers in booking a mini-suite with balcony preferably Dolphin deck aft of mid-ship, port side. The reason for that particular location is of course less rocking in high seas, and port side usually provides the better views depending on the particular cruise. An example is Fort Lauderdale where from the port side, before sail-away, you can watch all the private yaughts sailing in and out of the harbour.

The balcony is absolutely wonderful and can be uses for many purposes weather permitting. We enjoy sitting out there and watching the sea drift by. Morning coffee is a highlight.

The mini-suite provides that little extra space for company or just hanging around. The sitting area with the second TV gives you some breathing room that a regular cabin does not. The mini-suite usually comes with a bath tub/shower so you have room to breath in the biffy.

The mini-suite with balcony costs a few extra bucks but in my mind, well worth it.

I'll second Bob & Bew on the mini-suite;
for the modest extra cost, you really get a lot more. The tub and larger bathroom alone are worth it. Plus you get more closet space (really nice on longer trips), the sitting area, and second T.V.. Having continental breakfast from room service on your own large balcony is just priceless.
One thought on location (not to disagree with Bob & Bev); on Island Princess and Coral Princess we like the mini-suites on Baja deck, foreword: you have less foot traffic past your cabin, you don't have any balconies above you, you are steps from the open deck that gives you a fantastic view foreword, you are closer to the buffet, dining rooms and show lounge(but not directly above it), and the cabins are slightly larger than even the other mini-suites. The motion may be slightly more noticeable but it has never bothered us--in fact I like it.
But diablo, you are sure to have a great cruise whichever cabin you book.

Thanks to all who have replied to my questions regarding the Island Princess. You helped us make up our mind and we are taking the trip. I really appreciate the time taken by all to help us out.

We are taking our first Princess cruise on the Island Princess departing Whittier, Alaska on 5/21. It's good to hear the nice comments about the Island. We booked our cruise last month and didn't have much selection as far as cabins were concerned. We were lucky to even get a balcony cabin at all!

We have been on four RCCL cruises and two Celebrity, so Princess is new to us. We had read that Princess has the best cruisetours in Alaska. We will have a five day land tour and then the seven day cruise. This is our first Alaskan cruise. We can't wait!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Nadine

Hi Nadine,

You are in for a treat in Alaska. We did not do the cruise you are on in May, but we did a land tour by motorhome, and ended up doing a glacier tour out of Whittier by local catamaran through Prince William Sound. Absolutely spectacular!

I don't know how you plan to get to Whittier from Anchorage, and assume you will be travelling by train or bus.

There is only one way into Whittier, and that is THROUGH a huge mountain. They have built a 2 1/2 mile tunnel through this mountain wide enough to accomodate a train, bus, motorhome etc, one way at a time. They take turns going in and out, because there is only one lane. Everything is controlled by computer. I believe trains have priority. (ha)

We were in a rented motorhome, and I am claustophobic (sp?)so I was not sure I could handle the tunnel. We parked in a campground the night previous just outside the entrance to the tunnel, and I had two beer with breakfast the morning we crossed and I did just fine. The lane was just wide enough to accomodate our rental with about 12" to spare on each side. The trip back through the tunnel was no problem.

Whittier is just a small village, with little shops for the tourists. Prince William Sound and the glaciers are something else.

Bring your camera and warm clothes. The weather is unpredictable, but the views are majestic.

Enjoy!

Thank you! It all sounds so beautiful. We love the Caribbean, but wanted to experience an Alaskan cruise, too. Everything we have heard leads us to believe we won't regret it!

Nadine