Does the Island Princess feel small?

[palmsandpines]

I know this boat is older and not as big as many cruise ships, but does it feel cramped and small? Does it feel like too many people in too small of space? Over crowded dining rooms, theaters, pools, etc?

[Essiesmom]

Not at all.  Fewer passengers make the Coral class some of the best ships.  EM

[nini]

We were on the Coral and did not care for it. We love the Regal, Golden, etc. IMHO,

much better design, more open, more variety. The Horizon Court on the Regal is superb, 

while on the Coral, we felt crammed in, poor visibility out the front and sides and mediocre food.

However, please know that many love the Coral. Not so much for the Island.

[Potstech]

Due to a modification some years ago the Island has way more passengers than the Coral. We liked them both but now only the Coral.

[cr8tiv1]

oops...wrong thread.

Edited August 17, 2019 by cr8tiv1

[need2cruisesoon]

Edited August 17, 2019 by need2cruisesoon

[Colo Cruiser]

4 hours ago, Essiesmom said:

Not at all.  Fewer passengers make the Coral class some of the best ships.  EM

Not anymore.......we have sailed the Island many times. Both before and after the changes.

It now has 300 + more passengers, 1 less large 2 story show lounge, 1/3 less promenade deck,  and no increase in dining venues compared to the Coral Princess. All these changes to a ship that was not designed for these changes.

IMO yes there are issues with extra passengers. 

Some don't have an issue with it. We did. 

[Steelers36]

5 hours ago, palmsandpines said:

I know this boat is older and not as big as many cruise ships, but does it feel cramped and small? Does it feel like too many people in too small of space? Over crowded dining rooms, theaters, pools, etc?

Not in my opinion.  Great buffet area forward with lots of light and windows, plus premium coffee area (like IC choices).

Edited August 18, 2019 by steelers36

[Steelers36]

11 minutes ago, Colo Cruiser said:

It now has 300 + more passengers

According to the Cruise Atlas, 214 more passengers if both full.

[partybarbie]

IMHO, the Explorer's Lounge was the only place on the Island that I thought felt crowded.  That can be on any ship though.  Who would have guessed that those after dinner game shows would be so popular.  It must be all the amazing and expensive prizes they hand out. 😉 

[Wishing on a star]

We have been on the CORAL...

1.  NO, instead of being crowded, the dining seems less crowded.  Way more tables squeezed into square footage on many other ships.   We had the best dining/food/service ever on the CORAL.   (before the lame new menu and service changes)

2.  My thing with the CORAL was the lack of enough of a main public area.  The lobby area is way too tight and small, and should have been designed or refitted to be more like an Atrium.   

3.  Many love the CORAL,  because. most of it does feel less crowded, promenade deck, Forward buffet area with views, etc.   And those are good things!

4.  For me, very tight public area venues, and the fact that this is an older ship...   (older now than when we sailed !). are the drawbacks.

Edited August 18, 2019 by Wishing on a star

[Coral]

The Coral Princess has a great space ratio.

 

In many situations, the older ships feel less crowded. It is the newer ships that they are putting more and more people on (poor space ratio) to maximize profits.

 

Though the Royal and Regal Princess have a better space ratio than the Caribbean, Crown, Ruby and Emerald Princess.

[Paula_MacFan]

17 hours ago, steelers36 said:

According to the Cruise Atlas, 214 more passengers if both full.

According to Princess' website under 'Onboard our ships' it lists the Island as 2,200 passengers and the Coral as 2,000.  So my math agrees more closely with yours at around 200 more passengers 🙂

Edited August 18, 2019 by Paula_MacFan

[Ken the cruiser]

22 hours ago, partybarbie said:

IMHO, the Explorer's Lounge was the only place on the Island that I thought felt crowded.  That can be on any ship though.  Who would have guessed that those after dinner game shows would be so popular.  It must be all the amazing and expensive prizes they hand out. 😉 

We love those game shows!!!

[Hlitner]

Oh my!  I think we have been cruising too long.  2200 passengers!  91,000 tons!  900 crew!  Nearly 1000 feet long!  Small?  Oh my.

Go figure.

 

Hank

P.S. We just came off a 32000 ton, 650 foot, 450 passenger vessel that we thought was too large!  

 

[spookyfudge]

On 8/17/2019 at 4:01 PM, palmsandpines said:

I know this boat is older and not as big as many cruise ships, but does it feel cramped and small? Does it feel like too many people in too small of space? Over crowded dining rooms, theaters, pools, etc?

Yes

[happy cruzer]

On 8/17/2019 at 8:45 PM, steelers36 said:

Not in my opinion.  Great buffet area forward with lots of light and windows, plus premium coffee area (like IC choices).

How does one compensate for no International Cafe?  Love the food options and the hours.  That is the major thing that seems negative to me.  Thanks.

[Coral]

2 hours ago, happy cruzer said:

How does one compensate for no International Cafe?  Love the food options and the hours.  That is the major thing that seems negative to me.  Thanks.

It is difficult to imagine to some that cruises existed before International Cafe came out. And people still booked them and had fun.

[DrivesLikeMario]

I've only been on the Island twice and neither time did it feel small or crowded.  I absolutely love the size of the ship and what's neat is you get to know the other passengers better because you see them more often.  The thing that I don't like about this class of ship is that the gym and the buffet are opposite of the Grand Class ships.  Even though I've been on both the Coral (2x) and the Island, I still get mixed up and have the hardest time re-orienting myself to their deck plans.

[KeepCalmBearOn]

 

On 8/17/2019 at 1:01 PM, palmsandpines said:

I know this boat is older and not as big as many cruise ships, but does it feel cramped and small? Does it feel like too many people in too small of space? Over crowded dining rooms, theaters, pools, etc?

 

On 8/19/2019 at 9:58 AM, spookyfudge said:

Yes

 

No :)

 

7 hours ago, happy cruzer said:

How does one compensate for no International Cafe?

 

With La Patisserie?

[jennybenny]

Have been on Coral (first), then Island after the butchering (this April).  I really enjoyed the Island Princess. It never felt small or crowded.  Loved the covered pool.  Crooners was great too.  We would sail the Island again.   Yes, the back looks ugly, but you can't see that when on the ship.  I'm told those additional cabins have vibration sounds, but we didn't stay there, so we don't have first hand experience with that.  We were forward on Baja and loved it.  Did miss the International Café, but never went hungry. 

Edited September 4, 2019 by jennybenny

[Colo Cruiser]

9 hours ago, happy cruzer said:

How does one compensate for no International Cafe?  Love the food options and the hours.  That is the major thing that seems negative to me.  Thanks.

Other than going to the buffet you can't.

At La Patisserie (deck 5 atrium) there is like 1 small tray of sad looking pastry and 1 small tray of sad looking sandwich triangles with the crust cut off.

[happy cruzer]

8 hours ago, Colo Cruiser said:

Other than going to the buffet you can't.

At La Patisserie (deck 5 atrium) there is like 1 small tray of sad looking pastry and 1 small tray of sad looking sandwich triangles with the crust cut off.

Thanks, that's the info I was curious about -  if they add the same food choices somewhere.  Sounds like its the normal choices in the buffet.  Thanks everyone for the details.

[geoherb]

I sailed on back-to-back Alaskan cruises on the Island this summer. I previously sailed it to the Panama Canal before the refurbishment. I did miss the Universe Lounge. That's where they had trivias on our Panama Canal cruise--plenty of room. Now they had it in Explorers' or the Wheelhouse. Both were too crowded at times. But overall, I had a great time this summer and am glad I went. I'd sail on the Island again, especially if I knew that Natalie Costa was going to be the CD on my cruise.

[frugaltravel]

Island felt VERY crowded when I sailed on it after the butchering. Never again. Have been on the Coral and it was fine.