What's wrong with the Island Princess?

[rkacruiser]

3 hours ago, Astro Flyer said:

And in 2021 the Island is scheduled to replace the Pacific Princess...over a 100 days of overcrowding will replace the small ship experience on the Pacific Princess.

 

On such a long cruise, it's possible that Island Princess will not sail with as many guests as she does on shorter itineraries.  Yet, would I consider making a booking on her?  No.

[Colo Cruiser]

2 minutes ago, rkacruiser said:

 

On such a long cruise, it's possible that Island Princess will not sail with as many guests as she does on shorter itineraries.  

No way.

 

How do you know she sails with less guests on shorter runs?

[rkacruiser]

7 minutes ago, Colo Cruiser said:

No way.

 

How do you know she sails with less guests on shorter runs?

 

What I was trying to say was this:  If Island Princess sails at, or close to, full capacity on her current itineraries--all of which are of much shorter lengths (to the best of my knowledge) than what a world type cruise would be--she may not be carrying as many guests on a very long cruise.

[Colo Cruiser]

3 minutes ago, rkacruiser said:

 

What I was trying to say was this:  If Island Princess sails at, or close to, full capacity on her current itineraries--all of which are of much shorter lengths (to the best of my knowledge) than what a world type cruise would be--she may not be carrying as many guests on a very long cruise.

IMO the the WC and segments will be sold out regardless.

They won't reduce numbers onboard. Its all about the $$$.

[Astro Flyer]

23 minutes ago, rkacruiser said:

 

On such a long cruise, it's possible that Island Princess will not sail with as many guests as she does on shorter itineraries.  Yet, would I consider making a booking on her?  No.

 

While I’d consider any ship if the itinerary & price were right, a WC is not within my budget.  After the changes to the Island it’s at the bottom of my preferred list of ships for any cruise.

 

I agree with Keith...it’s all about the $$$.  It’s likely that there are 2,200 people who will book a WC or individual segments so wouldn’t expect a less crowded ship as you speculated.

 

3 minutes ago, Colo Cruiser said:

IMO the the WC and segments will be sold out regardless.

They won't reduce numbers onboard. Its all about the $$$.

 

[rkacruiser]

Just now, Colo Cruiser said:

IMO the the WC will be sold out regardless.

They won't reduce numbers onboard. Its all about the $$$.

 

Surely, you may well be correct.  My long cruise experiences (and having friends who regularly sail HAL's world cruise and some of their other long cruises and who share their experiences with me) indicate that the guest count can vary from year to year.  Some of the long cruises are totally sold out.  Others are not.  A recent long Grand Asia cruise on the Amsterdam sailed very much under-capacity.  Guest count can vary based upon a number of factors including the itinerary and the state of the economy.

 

Your comment of "Its all about the $$$" certainly applies to the alterations done to Island Princess.  Management must have decided those alterations didn't work as planned since Coral Princess seems to have escaped those poor decisions.  HAL's Veendam and Rotterdam suffered under the same kind of poor management decisions.  The remaining S-Class ship and the other 3 R-Class have not been subjected to the same butchery that the Veendam, Rotterdam, and Island Princess experienced.  All in the name of "the bottom line".

[bigchid]

We've sailed the Island before and after her modifications, and also sailed the Coral. Coral remains our favorite. I would only choose Island again as a second choice or discounted price, but wouldn't rule her out.

 

[momK]

We will be on the Island May/June for a BTB Alaska cruise. We've never been on the Coral or Island, so we can't compare the before/after aspects. (This will be our 15th Princess cruise. We have been on the Caribbean, Crown, Diamond, Emerald, Grand, and Ruby.) We chose it because it goes to Icy Strait Point, and is the only Princess ship to do so. We don't use the casino, don't go to the shows, don't drink, etc. (Yes, we still have fun. 🙂) We spend a lot of time just enjoying the scenery and being together. We're a glass half-full couple, and have discovered that you find what you are looking for; we look for being content and take things as they come.

 

[rkacruiser]

1 hour ago, momK said:

 We chose it because it goes to Icy Strait Point

 

Take advantage of the native cultural performances and and history that is available.  My only visit there was on the Amsterdam a couple of years ago.  My initial thought was--I won't bother going ashore.--but, I did.  And I am glad I did.  My shore excursion was informative and pleasant, the citizens very welcoming, and while Mother Nature chose to provide much rain after the tour when I was wondering around on my own, it was a great day even if I returned to my stateroom drenched to the skin. 

[momK]

11 minutes ago, rkacruiser said:

 

Take advantage of the native cultural performances and and history that is available.  My only visit there was on the Amsterdam a couple of years ago.  My initial thought was--I won't bother going ashore.--but, I did.  And I am glad I did.  My shore excursion was informative and pleasant, the citizens very welcoming, and while Mother Nature chose to provide much rain after the tour when I was wondering around on my own, it was a great day even if I returned to my stateroom drenched to the skin. 

Thanks, rkacruiser. We were there on Celebrity a few years ago and fell in love. I grew up in Alaska, and Icy Strait Point/Hoonah is the real Alaska. I much prefer the smaller ports to the Big Three (Juneau, Skagway, and Ketchikan). We already have a whale watch scheduled and are trying to do the self-guide ATV excursion that we did last time---it was great!

[Wyoming2010]

I've been a little nervous about trying Island because of the reviews I have read.  We are booked on her for the Norway/Iceland itinerary in July 2020.  We sailed on the Royal Princess in 2015 for the British Isles cruise -- our first Princess cruise (we have done 18 cruises total so far) and thought that not only was that the best ship we have been on, but had the best food of any of the ships we have sailed (HAL, Carnival, NCL, Disney).  We usually stick with the buffet after long excursion days and maybe do the MDR for breakfast and dinners on sea says. 

 

What I hated when I booked was that they took the sleep sofas out of the balcony rooms, forcing us to book a mini-suite (my daughter and her bad back can't climb into the drop down beds -- and at her age it isn't a good fit).  I've never seen a balcony room on any ship that didn't provide a sofa, so they must be small. 

 

No ship or experience could ever be worse than our NCL Pride of America in 2008, so we'll go into this with the same positive attitude and hope for the best. 

 

Thanks for all the great and honest reviews.  Lots of good information! 

[philabos]

A few brief memories shortly after she was "refurbished".

Universal Lounge ripped out and replaced by cabins which resulted in passenger increase and lounge cut simultaneously.

Aft end of the promenade deck turned into ersatz balconies for the new cabins. They bolted dividers across the promenade to make these new "balconies".

Casino reduced in size to make room for more new cabins.

No food service after midnight except for room service. No international cafe.

Events delayed or cancelled because of too many passengers with too little lounge space.

A crew member claimed those responsible for hacking this ship were fired and similar treatment for sister Coral Princess was cancelled. Do not know if the first part was true, but the second part certainly is a fact.

 

[Colo Cruiser]

54 minutes ago, Wyoming2010 said:

What I hated when I booked was that they took the sleep sofas out of the balcony rooms, forcing us to book a mini-suite (my daughter and her bad back can't climb into the drop down beds -- and at her age it isn't a good fit).  I've never seen a balcony room on any ship that didn't provide a sofa, so they must be small. 

What???   Balconies never had a sleep sofa. Where did you see that?

No Princess ship has a sofa in a balcony room except for the Deluxe Balconies on the Royal/Regal/Majestic.

There is an option of a roll-away bed which is just as uncomfortable as any sofa bed.

[floridalover5623]

16 hours ago, bigchid said:

We've sailed the Island before and after her modifications, and also sailed the Coral. Coral remains our favorite. I would only choose Island again as a second choice or discounted price, but wouldn't rule her out.

 

I would only sail the Island again IF it were the only ship that went to a port that I really wanted to see. 

And the price had to be a real steal also.

[dara90210]

We were on the Island for a partial Panama Canal transit in April 2017.  I was nervous about the cruise after reading all the terrible reviews online.  However, we thought the ship was great and that was one of our very best cruises.  We loved the buffet layout and saw no issues with crowding and we were on the ship over Easter.

[Wyoming2010]

On ‎3‎/‎13‎/‎2019 at 10:16 AM, Colo Cruiser said:

What???   Balconies never had a sleep sofa. Where did you see that?

No Princess ship has a sofa in a balcony room except for the Deluxe Balconies on the Royal/Regal/Majestic.

There is an option of a roll-away bed which is just as uncomfortable as any sofa bed.

 

The one we had booked on Royal Princess in 2015 certainly did. 

[Colo Cruiser]

36 minutes ago, Wyoming2010 said:

 

The one we had booked on Royal Princess in 2015 certainly did. 

As I explained in my post.

Regular balcony rooms do not have a sofa.

[RDC1]

On 6/29/2018 at 8:01 PM, shepp said:

Many of us love(d) the Coral and Island because they were smallish ships with really good passenger/space ratios (tied for best in the fleet). Now the Island has 10% more passengers and one very major public space gone. The refurbishment put additional cabins where the aft showroom, the Universe Lounge, used to be. No more full-circuit Promenade Deck and the big viewing verandah aft on Caribe deck, one of my favorite places to hang out, is no more, replaced by still more cabins. All in pursuit of revenue.

 

The Coral's still lovely, though.

Exactly

 

It looks like that Princess has been and still is assigning the Island to routes that are unique and that people will book, in spite of the ship's issues. Most of the Panama Canal full passages, unique South America routes and in the future the World Cruise.

Edited March 14, 2019 by RDC1

[waltd]

1 hour ago, Wyoming2010 said:

 

The one we had booked on Royal Princess in 2015 certainly did. 

As Keith mentioned you probably had the Deluxe balcony cabin.    They do have a small love seat but the regular balcony cabins do not.  

[Colo Cruiser]

50 minutes ago, RDC1 said:

Exactly

 

It looks like that Princess has been and still is assigning the Island to routes that are unique and that people will book, in spite of the ship's issues. Most of the Panama Canal full passages, unique South America routes and in the future the World Cruise.

Not sure if you saw the thread but the Island will be taking over the Pacific Princess World Cruises.

[spyro1952]

On 3/12/2019 at 5:41 PM, rkacruiser said:

 

Surely, you may well be correct.  My long cruise experiences (and having friends who regularly sail HAL's world cruise and some of their other long cruises and who share their experiences with me) indicate that the guest count can vary from year to year.  Some of the long cruises are totally sold out.  Others are not.  A recent long Grand Asia cruise on the Amsterdam sailed very much under-capacity.  Guest count can vary based upon a number of factors including the itinerary and the state of the economy.

 

Your comment of "Its all about the $$$" certainly applies to the alterations done to Island Princess.  Management must have decided those alterations didn't work as planned since Coral Princess seems to have escaped those poor decisions.  HAL's Veendam and Rotterdam suffered under the same kind of poor management decisions.  The remaining S-Class ship and the other 3 R-Class have not been subjected to the same butchery that the Veendam, Rotterdam, and Island Princess experienced.  All in the name of "the bottom line".

You are comparing apples and oranges with HAL and PCL.  I cruise with PCL st least 3 times per yr for at least 15-30 day trips and the ship is almost Always sold out.  

As Keith said, “it’s all about the Benjamins baby.”

[mitchandkat]

Does the Island Princess have the International Cafe or one that is similar? I don't see it on the deck maps, but I do see a Patisserie.  My husband and I usually buy the coffee cards .. very curious!!

[Astro Flyer]

5 minutes ago, mitchandkat said:

Does the Island Princess have the International Cafe or one that is similar? I don't see it on the deck maps, but I do see a Patisserie.  My husband and I usually buy the coffee cards .. very curious!!

No IC...only a Patisserie.

[TM]

We did a B2B on the Island last year in Alaska.  I had heard many negatives.  But quite frankly we didn't really notice any problems.  We did have traditional late seating so didn't experience any crowds waiting for anytime dining.  My only problem with the traditional dining was that I believe 4 or 5 nights over the course of 2 weeks they did open seating which we hated.  Just because the ship is late in port doesn't mean everyone should have dinner plans interrupted because of a few that can;t make it.  I did miss the full wraparound promenade walking deck but not a big deal to walk through the back lobby or just do U-turns on the deck.  We also did not experience huge crowds for the later shows.  I would not hesitate to sail on the Island again.

[mitchandkat]

12 hours ago, Astro Flyer said:

No IC...only a Patisserie.

Does it have the espresso drinks for which the coffee card works the same way?