Island Princess, Alaska, mini review

[cdngrl]

i tried to keep an open mind, knowing the dislike on here regarding the island princess. its just a ship, how much of a difference could the remodeling have made?

 

i just got back yesterday from one week southbound from whittier to vancouver. i usually travel solo but this cruise there were 7 of us. my daughter, s-i-l and i are seasoned princess cruisers and given a choice --spoiler alert-- we would choose not to cruise on the island princess.

 

my first sight of a ship as we come out of the tunnel at whittier is usually wow! this time, all i noticed was the weird boxy look of the aft as she was backed into her berth.

 

my cabin was midship deck 5 and first impression was the hallway had mismatched, worn carpet and a funky sewer smell. happily, my room was clean and in good repair.

 

the ports were hubbard glacier/ glacier bay/ skagway/ juneau/ ketchikan. i've been to alaska a few times but this was my first time to hubbard glacier. what a pleasant surprise! its huge and impressive and we got pretty close, even with a lot of ice in the water. we had rain every day but the last one, though it usually cleared a bit in the afternoons.

 

the crew was excellent and as you'd expect: friendly, competent and happy. everything seemed well-run.

 

the food was mixed. the buffet was hit and miss.... mostly miss. there were weird choices (of course no examples i can think of) so a couple of times i opted for a cheeseburger or hot dog from the grill instead. there was not the usual buffet fare which i like, there seemed to be not a lot of 'normal' food. breakfast at the buffet was always good.

 

there were theme nights in the buffet --german, chinese, italian mexican... chinese had nothing familiar... even in china i could recognize things! italian had no spaghetti.... mexican had meat (beef tacos, chicken fajitas) that was spicy enough to burn my tongue and lips... they were on fire! i'm not used to princess making anything with a kick to it!

 

the anytime dining room was wonderful. everything i ordered was sooooo good! and they've brought back crab! not in the amounts from years ago; it was served in those big bowl-plates with red potatoes and corn on the cob--good corn too, not the watery tastless corn! the crab was cut in half lenthwise and we got 5 half legs.

 

the only disappointment was the lobster. it was small and served on a bed of risotto. it wasn't to my daughters taste nor was it the fancy formal dinner she was expecting. i'm glad i tried the beef wellington, it was good... oh and there was always more than enough butter on the table.

 

i missed the non-existent international cafe. more than i thought i would. it would have been very convenient to pop in for a soup or salad or bedtime snack rather than going to the buffet. my son-in-law missed the pastries. there was only donuts one morning at amuleto.

 

though i didn't try the pizza, my son-in-law tried it a few times and said that it was very good.

 

the entertainment was also what you'd expect. a comedian i missed because i was under the weather, princess' entertainer of the year 2018. i missed his first show (who gets sick on a cruise? ugh) and i thought his second a couple of nights later was just okay. he's talented but i got bored. maybe i was too tired.

 

there were 3 production shows. the first was not memorable (did i mention i wasn't firing on all cylinders)? it was more of a stand and deliver show. the second was 'on the bayou' and here is where i really missed the universe lounge. who adds more rooms and takes out public space? okay, i didn't notice the extra people but this show was excellent in part because of the staging at the universe lounge where it was designed to be performed. it was still very good in the theatre but didn't have the extra something the revolving stage adds to it. the third production show was ' the secret silk'. it debuted on the island princess this week and was wonderful! it was 50 minutes long and had great staging and effects. it also told a story and was more like theatre than a musical revue.

 

the naturalist was very good but i can't remember his name either (my head was obviously not in the game)! he was a marine biologist and quite entertaining.

 

crooners was a bust. usually there's standing room only but the piano player was disappointing. talented enough but he's not engaging at all and acts like he's giving a performance. meh.

 

with the remodeling, the gym and youth centre are now interior spaces. it felt dark even if it wasn't. my daughter said the gym was small and stinky and she prefers when its next to the spa. i'm not even sure if there were showers. (full disclosure: i usually only end up in the gym or kids area by accident)! the kids (6 and 3) enjoyed the program and were given a ton of freebies to pack home. (cowboy hats, pirate hats, stuffies, crafts, artwork...)

 

we made use of the intranet for messaging and it was helpful with 5 adults. i never carried my phone around but as i was under the weather, i volunteered for naptime with the 3 year old and it came in handy to find out where everyone was.

 

alaska was of course gorgeous. its great to be with 2000 people and overhear them talking about the wildlife and the scenery, its a perfect reminder of how beautiful it is where i live and not to take it for granted that i have mountains and the ocean and that there are bald eagles in the trees around me and bears on my street!

 

two of our group were on their very first cruise. they had nothing to compare this one to and really enjoyed the entertainment and the naturalist (as did we). they thought the food was okay in the buffet (but they're practically vegetable-ists so that doesn't count). i've cruised on the coral and the island before they remodeled and couldn't help but compare. i miss the universe lounge and the international cafe. the staff was brilliant and yet i would choose any other ship over this one. perhaps i wasn't as open minded as i hoped.

Edited June 1, 2018 by cdngrl

[ColoradoMom!!]

Before you get bombarded with questions, thank you so much for taking the time to post your review! I have been looking forward to it as you are one of the first on the SB cruise- I go at the end on June on the Coral.

 

I am so sorry you were under the weather! That is such a shame!

 

I will add my questions later, and look forward to hearing more about your cruise and ports as you fill us in - in time.

 

Thanks again!

[westcoaster]

Thanks for the review, Annemarie. Sorry to hear you weren't feeling that well! Did you end up taking the transit bus in Juneau to get to the Mendenhall Glacier?

 

I agree with you on the show "The Secret Silk". We saw it when we were on the Island earlier in May and I thought it was very good, and quite different from most of the other Princess shows I've seen many times.

 

We really enjoyed our cruise on the Island Princess. Despite the changes, I think it's still a better ship for Alaska than the Emerald or Ruby, which don't have a covered pool.

[Ellipooh]

Great not-so-mini review, thanks for posting. We tried the Island for a 3-day a while back, and like you missed the IC more than we thought we would. Won't make that mistake again!

 

 

We sail for Alaska in Sept, my first visit. I hope we see lots of bears, but maybe not on the street.

[cdngrl]

Thanks for the review, Annemarie. Sorry to hear you weren't feeling that well! Did you end up taking the transit bus in Juneau to get to the Mendenhall Glacier?

 

I agree with you on the show "The Secret Silk". We saw it when we were on the Island earlier in May and I thought it was very good, and quite different from most of the other Princess shows I've seen many times.

 

We really enjoyed our cruise on the Island Princess. Despite the changes, I think it's still a better ship for Alaska than the Emerald or Ruby, which don't have a covered pool.

nope, in juneau i took the mt roberts tram and wandered a bit. it was drizzly and i didn't stay up there long. i walked through town, the red dog was booming, and returned to the ship for a nap. look at me go!

 

i think the emerald and ruby are too big. the coral or star would be my choice for alaska.

[cdngrl]

Great not-so-mini review, thanks for posting. We tried the Island for a 3-day a while back, and like you missed the IC more than we thought we would. Won't make that mistake again!

 

 

We sail for Alaska in Sept, my first visit. I hope we see lots of bears, but maybe not on the street.

there weren't many bears out yet for us, i hope you see lots in september!

[Coral]

I think I would fill the same as you about the Island Princess. Thanks for the review.

[KBS1607]

Thank you for your review! Sorry you didn’t feel well.

 

I had a migraine my entire two week Panama Canal cruise! On Canal day I was in the room with the curtains closed. I told my husband I needed a do-over.

 

I felt boring doing another cruise on the Coral but I knew I didn’t want to try the Island. I love the International Cafe.

[blueridgemama]

The International Cafe is nice but I'm not sure not having it would make or break a cruise

[blueridgemama]

The IC is really great but I'm not sure that not having it would make or break my enjoyment of a cruise☺