Island princess vs. Emerald

After the conversion of some public space into cabins on the Island, does it seem more crowded than an Emerald size ship? Any thoughts on Island vs. Emerald for 28 day So. Pacific cruise? Thanks guys.

I have been on both the Island and the Emerald and IMO they both felt about the same in regards to crowding. Between the 2 ships I would select the Emerald. The reasons being it has an International Cafe, Anytime dining seems to be a little smoother on the Emerald, and the layout of the theater is better in regards to getting into and out of it. The Island does suffer from the elimination of the aft lounge and it is noticeable in the way things are scheduled. The Island does have a covered pool while the Emerald does not. That being said my favorite cruise so far has been on the Island and that is due to the amazing crew. A lot of people will say the will never cruise the Island, but I don't feel that way. I wouldn't hesitate to book on her again, it is just the Emerald has more of what I find important.

We like both of these ships ... but will give the "nod" to Emerald for a long South Pacific cruise.

Whichever ... Enjoy! :D

We did 7 days southbound from Alaska on Island after she was changed. Not impressed.Not impressed at all. The cruise prior to that was 17 days on Coral Princess which used to be almost identical to Island Princess. Loved Coral. Didn't care for Island at all. We're booked for 19 days on Coral Princess this November and looking forward to the voyage.. We will never book Island Princess again unless there is no other Princess ship doing an itinerary we really want to do.

We did 28 days on Emerald last October and are looking forward to sailing her again late next year. Loved the ship. Loved the crew.

We like the Emerald Princess. We did the 28 day cruise last October. Had a great time.

Emerald definitely. I have sailed on the hacked Island, never again.

I have done the 28 day LA rt Hawaii-Samoas-Tahiti twice, Crown and Emerald. Best cruise ever!

Having only done cruises on the sister ships to these two (Ruby and Coral) I would be more disappointed in the modified Island and probably more happy with the Emerald. The Emerald will have the same crowds, but, better features than the post-modified Island. My vote would be for the Emerald.

We personally will never sail Island again, unless she's the only ship - at all, of any line - doing a particular itineray we really want to do.

Having sailed her before and after the renovations - she was butchered by those renos. 150+ new cabins means the aft two story lounge now gone to make cabin space, casino shrunk by a third to make cabin space, no wraparound Promenade deck (while not a big deal to us, still annoying, especially as there's no other walking track). Filled in the aft viewing decks with cabins. The fewer public spaces with more passengers just leaves it feeling crowded and choppy. Plus, unless you do traditional dining, the waits for anytime can be crazy, as there's more people - but not more dining space.

If the choice is between Island and any other ship - any other ship wins for us...

We have sailed the Emerald many times.

We have sailed the Island many times. Both before and after the refit.

IMO..........

When you remove a large 2 story show lounge, 1/3 of the promenade deck, remove several full width aft viewing decks, add 150 plus cabins (250 plus additional passengers), add no additional dining space, and no additional entertainment venues, you will have crowding and dining issues which we did. They also never added an International Cafe which was an additional mistake.

Go Emerald!

Well thanks for the great info.... looks like Emerald for sure.

We’ve cruised on both and have the opposite opinion! We much preferred the Island over the Emerald. We were on the Island for a 10 day partial transit Panama Canal in April 2017 and were just on the Emerald the first week of September. We thought the Island had better food and activities. My MIL was in one of the newly added aft facing cabins on the Island and it was very nice. We’d choose the Island any day over the Emerald.

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Going to put a vote in for the Emerald. Have not been on the Island *yet*, we have an upcoming Panama canal cruise on the Island as it was the only cruise that worked when we were available. We have been on the Coral, loved the Coral, but all the negativity with the additional rooms and removed public space has us worried.

I like the Emerald, it has SHARE, and I really enjoy that specialty restaurant. I like the ship too, International Cafe, Vines.

We have sailed the Emerald many times.

 

 

We have sailed the Island many times. Both before and after the refit.

 

IMO..........

When you remove a large 2 story show lounge, 1/3 of the promenade deck, remove several full width aft viewing decks, add 150 plus cabins (250 plus additional passengers), add no additional dining space, and no additional entertainment venues, you will have crowding and dining issues which we did. They also never added an International Cafe which was an additional mistake.

Go Emerald!

Exactly my thoughts. Island never again.

Never again on the Island!!

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We’ve cruised on both and have the opposite opinion! We much preferred the Island over the Emerald. We were on the Island for a 10 day partial transit Panama Canal in April 2017 and were just on the Emerald the first week of September. We thought the Island had better food and activities. My MIL was in one of the newly added aft facing cabins on the Island and it was very nice. We’d choose the Island any day over the Emerald.

Dara, glad to see someone likes the Island. We recently booked an aft-facing vista suite on the Island for 25 days at a super price which will go in early 2020 through the Panama Canal and then on to Easter Island. The commentors on this thread had us worried a little bit until we read your post! Thanks!!

BTW I just looked online at the Island's promenade deck that someone said disappeared. It looks like they have put cabins in the aft, but can you still walk most of the way around the ship and then turn around and go back the other way? We like to take walks to burn calories on the promenade and were just curious if it's still there or has it truly disappeared?

Well it’s a win for the Emerld, to pick the Island because of good food makes no sense, that’s just the luck of the draw. Does this make the Island the most hated ship in the fleet, she certainly looks terrible

Dara, glad to see someone likes the Island. We recently booked an aft-facing vista suite on the Island for 25 days at a super price which will go in early 2020 through the Panama Canal and then on to Easter Island. The commentors on this thread had us worried a little bit until we read your post! Thanks!!

 

BTW I just looked online at the Island's promenade deck that someone said disappeared. It looks like they have put cabins in the aft, but can you still walk most of the way around the ship and then turn around and go back the other way? We like to take walks to burn calories on the promenade and were just curious if it's still there or has it truly disappeared?

Who said that??

If you read my response it said they removed 1/3 of the promenade deck.

Shame on us commentators for telling our real cruise experiences. :rolleyes:

Who said that??

If you read my response it said they removed 1/3 of the promenade deck.

Shame on us commentators for telling our real cruise experiences. :rolleyes:

Actually the person before you, reedprincess, said "no wraparound Promenade deck (while not a big deal to us, still annoying, especially as there's no other walking track)." As far as telling your "real cruise" experience, that's fine. After all it is your personal opinion and that's what the OP asked for. But I was just thanking Dara for providing her positive comments about the Island Princess.

As I first posted on the "race for new ships" thread:

Island Princess: 91,627 gross tons, 2214 lower berth passengers (vs. 1970 when first launched);

Emerald Princess: 113,561 gross tons, 3114 lower berth passengers

While gross tonnage does not always perfectly correlate with usable public space, simple long division does show Island Princess still with a better passenger/size ratio than the Grand-class ships even after the additional cabins.

I was on Island this past May; had been on former-twin Coral many years ago and on Emerald in April 2016. Not for a second did I feel that crowding on Island was any worse than other Princess ships in dining venues, public spaces and the open decks. The only issue is the lack of a second showroom resulting in activities cascading downward to rooms they were less than ideal for: dance classes and daytime games in Wheelhouse Bar, and lectures and guest entertainers in the far too small Explorer's lounge. In fact one day the naturalist's lecture in Explorers had a good one-third of the seating blocked off as they were simultaneously doing the art auction preview. But really if that is all there is to complain about...

Actually the person before you, reedprincess, said "no wraparound Promenade deck (while not a big deal to us, still annoying, especially as there's no other walking track)." As far as telling your "real cruise" experience, that's fine. After all it is your personal opinion and that's what the OP asked for. But I was just thanking Dara for providing her positive comments about the Island Princess.

The poster was correct. The Promenade deck is no longer "wraparound." The back 1/3 is cut off. There is an outside promenade deck, but just for about 2/3 of the ship, not 'wraparound" which implies going 100% of the way around.

Dara, glad to see someone likes the Island. We recently booked an aft-facing vista suite on the Island for 25 days at a super price which will go in early 2020 through the Panama Canal and then on to Easter Island. The commentors on this thread had us worried a little bit until we read your post! Thanks!!

 

BTW I just looked online at the Island's promenade deck that someone said disappeared. It looks like they have put cabins in the aft, but can you still walk most of the way around the ship and then turn around and go back the other way? We like to take walks to burn calories on the promenade and were just curious if it's still there or has it truly disappeared?

I read all the online stuff too and was NERVOUS about the ship! Our cruise was with my parents, my mother in law and her sister (my husband’s aunt). The aunt is nit-picky. I was super worried about going on the ship after the online research.

There are areas to walk, you might just have to go inside and back out, or up to another deck and back around.

You’re going to have a BLAST!

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I read all the online stuff too and was NERVOUS about the ship! Our cruise was with my parents, my mother in law and her sister (my husband’s aunt). The aunt is nit-picky. I was super worried about going on the ship after the online research.

 

There are areas to walk, you might just have to go inside and back out, or up to another deck and back around.

 

You’re going to have a BLAST!

Thanks again Dara for your positive attitude!! I figure we'll just walk the promenade as far as it goes and once we get to the end, we'll just turn around and go back the other way. No big deal. At least we'll be out in the fresh air burning calories! :D Do they still have goofy interactive game shows on sea days and did you enjoy the evening shows in the main theater? My guess is we'll have to show up at least 30-40 minutes early to get good seats. Is that pretty much true?

Yes, in April 2017 and on the Emerald in early September there were game shows and shows. I watched one of the production shows on the Emerald and it was so-so. It was the disco one. The dancers were great but the singers...ouch.

And it’s not hard to be a positive about a cruise! Your on vacation!

Oh yeah, we thought the buffet food and layout were better on the Island.

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Yes, in April 2017 and on the Emerald in early September there were game shows and shows. I watched one of the production shows on the Emerald and it was so-so. It was the disco one. The dancers were great but the singers...ouch.

 

And it’s not hard to be a positive about a cruise! Your on vacation!

 

Oh yeah, we thought the buffet food and layout were better on the Island.

That's the attitude! We love game shows and just having fun on a cruise. We also like cruising with different cruise lines to keep it exciting and to see what the others have to offer and so far we've yet to be disappointed.

As far as the Island Princess goes, I'm sure we'll have a great time as it looks like from their deck plan there are plenty of different places to explore. That's one thing bigger ships have over the smaller 600-1200 passenger ones we've been cruising on lately.

It also sound like a lot of folks like the Emerald. Hopefully one day they'll have an interesting itinerary that catches our eye so we can try it as well.

Plan on going 60 minutes before any show in Princess theater. We had early dining and would race straight to the theater just to get a seat. Bring your phone to read or play games. We also had trouble in the buffet at lunch time finding open tables. We just shared with anyone just to have a place to eat. I hope your experience is better, but we will never book her again.

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