Thoughts on Island Princess for 2022?

[cruisemom42]

For years I sailed with Princess quite a bit -- I've been on a number of the Grand-class ships over the years, and before that I loved the Sun class. (Should I mention that I started out with Sitmar on the Fairwind and Fairsea in the 1970s as a kid??)

 

More and more I like to avoid the larger ships. My son and I sailed on Regal Princess and I found out I am not a fan of this class of ship. 

 

That said, I am looking at the European 2022 itineraries that may be released soon and I see a couple of interesting ones on Island Princess. I have never been on either Island or Coral. I would love to hear any opinions about Island, given that I am somewhat forgiving of a ship's age as long as she is well maintained. One thing that concerns me is the addition a few years ago of additional cabins and some comments in reviews about the ship feeling crowded.

 

Help a former Princess lover out and share what you know about Island Princess so I can decide whether to reserve one or both of the itineraries I like. 

Edited November 27, 2020 by cruisemom42

[Potstech]

Island would be the last ship I would cruise on since they modified it many years ago. Was very nice before that. Now extra passengers with no expansion of any of the facilities. It used to be the sister ship to the Coral but no longer. The modifications were so hated that they never did them to the Coral as planned.

[mreasier]

Fully agree with what Potstech said.

[memoak]

Love the Coral do not care for the Island. Also cannot stand the large ships. The Coral and the Ruby are 2 of my favorites 

 

[cruisemom42]

Thanks -- what a shame that they have her in Europe doing the itineraries I like. 

[Waynetor]

Other than the Pacific Princess, the Island and Coral  are the smallest ships the Princess fleet and I would not expect any new ships to be added to the fleet that are smaller. 

 

I am looking forward to the 125 days we have booked on the Island for 2022.  I found the atrium area lousy for any activities but fine for just sitting around or for having a pre-dinner drink. 

 

You can compare the layout of the Coral versus the layout of the Island to see if the differences are important to you,  They seems to be a big issue with some people and an non-issue with others.  

[AtlantaCruiser72]

@cruisemom42 You and I often seem to view things through a similar lens - so I'll share my opinions ......

 

As originally built the Coral and Island were almost too spacious for the # of passengers and having 3 show lounge venues was often overkill and one or another usually sat dark or poorly utilized at some point in any given evening .  The real "loss" with the addition of the extra 107 cabins on Island during the refit was the 2 story Universe Lounge in the aft and the ocean view gymnasium and the fact that her promenade deck no longer wraps full around the vessel.  For some these are absolute deal breakers, for others they make no difference (I fall in the latter camp).  I think a MUCH bigger deal has been made some with regards to the additional passenger capacity that was added than is reality for most of us.

 

Island Currently carries 2200 guests and has a higher guest/space ratio than ships like Grand, Caribbean, Crown or even Royal.  If you have never sailed her before she will seem no more or less crowded than those vessels (or their siblings) do.  She is even more spacious per guest than the Sun class were (cabins are definitely larger than on Sun in general).  

 

Can there be waits for Anytime Dining? Yes

Can there be some shows that have more demand for seating? Yes

Can it sometimes be hard to find a lounger by the pool on a Sea Day?  Yes

Can the Buffet sometimes be crowded?  Yes

 

The same can realistically be said for virtually ANY mainstream cruiseship from any cruiseline.  If you have never sailed Island/Coral before and have been perfectly happy on the Sun or any of the Grand Class you should be fine on Island.   

 

For another comparison - Island is similar in size and passenger capacity to the Royal Caribbean Radiance Class vessels and the Celebrity Millennium Class vessels - many Loyal Royals and Celebrity Cheerleaders cite those as their favorite ships in the fleets due to their passenger/space ratio.

 

It's all relative.  If the price, perks and the itinerary are the right fit for you - go and enjoy and don't worry about the Negative Nancy's around here.  I don't!!!!!!!

 

 

Edited November 28, 2020 by AtlantaCruiser72

[cruisemom42]

3 minutes ago, AtlantaCruiser72 said:

It's all relative.  If the price, perks and the itinerary are the right fit for you - go and enjoy and don't worry about the Negative Nancy's around here.  I don't!!!!!!!

 

Thank you -- definitely helpful and balanced. Some of the things you mention definitely wouldn't bother me, especially on a port-intensive itinerary in Europe.

 

For now I won't rule out Island, depending on the other major factor -- cost -- once the info is available.

[AtlantaCruiser72]

1 minute ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

Thank you -- definitely helpful and balanced. Some of the things you mention definitely wouldn't bother me, especially on a port-intensive itinerary in Europe.

 

For now I won't rule out Island, depending on the other major factor -- cost -- once the info is available.

 

For 2021 I found her per day price on average a bit higher than other Princess ships in Europe, mostly due to the unique itineraries she offers with little to no overlap/competition from other lines like Celebrity, Holland, Royal and NCL.  For what was offered found pricing to still be fair however.  Hopefully 2022 will be similar.

[G&T Cruisers]

We have sailed on the Island several times before and after the refit and it still is one of our favourite ships in the Princess fleet and we were booked to sail on her this Dec but was canceled and we rebooked again for next Dec.It's funny how almost everyone goes on about the Pacific Princess being there favourite ship yet it was our least favourite so it all goes by what you get out of it.

 

[BabySarge]

Most recently sailed on Island Princess for 58 days around SA (Jan - Mar 2020) and my only complaint remains there is no International Café on the Island and I would agree with a previous post that the Atrium area can be a bit crowded at times.  I make it a point not to book a cabin in the aft or bow section on any vessel so cannot speak to any information on that.  We like the Island well enough to have booked 111 days on her in 2022.

[Wichard]

We really like the Coral.  It did not seam crowded although it was at capacity on our last cruise.  I have not sailed on the Island so cannot comment on the differences that the additional cabins make.  

 

After the Pacific the Coral is our favorite ship.

 

Wichard

[skynight]

If the Island has the itinerary you want and if it is port intensive then go for it. On the Island I would select fixed evening dining as anytime could be a problem. For reference so you know our prospective we almost always select anytime dining on other ships. You mention the Regal. We have been on the Royal a few times. Even though there are 3,600 passengers we really didn't feel that crowded. In our thinking there were a lot of design omissions & errors when the first Royal Class ships were built. I now feel that the latest Enchantment and soon the Discovery will have corrected most, not all, of these issues. The next generation, the LNG ships, will have larger passenger loads, I think around 4,200. I would not avoid any of the older Grand Class ships, Grand, Crown, Ruby, Emerald, Sapphire, if they have an itinerary you want. I find these ships comfortable and well maintained. 

[voljeep]

7 minutes ago, skynight said:

now feel that the latest Enchantment and soon the Discovery will have corrected most, not all, of these issues

except for eliminating Crooners on Sky and Vines on Discovery - big omissions 

[cruisemom42]

5 minutes ago, skynight said:

If the Island has the itinerary you want and if it is port intensive then go for it. On the Island I would select fixed evening dining as anytime could be a problem. For reference so you know our prospective we almost always select anytime dining on other ships. You mention the Regal. We have been on the Royal a few times. Even though there are 3,600 passengers we really didn't feel that crowded. In our thinking there were a lot of design omissions & errors when the first Royal Class ships were built. I now feel that the latest Enchantment and soon the Discovery will have corrected most, not all, of these issues. The next generation, the LNG ships, will have larger passenger loads, I think around 4,200. I would not avoid any of the older Grand Class ships, Grand, Crown, Ruby, Emerald, Sapphire, if they have an itinerary you want. I find these ships comfortable and well maintained. 

 

Yes, I like the Grand class and it always feels a bit like "coming home" on those ships. 

 

What I did not like at all on Regal was the lack of outdoor seating areas that are covered and away from the pools.  I don't particularly have to have a full promenade deck, but I love to sit in a chair or lounger along the side of the ship and watch the waves go by on a sea day. Also -- perhaps I am in the minority -- hated the buffet area; I found it to be like a large maze. You go in thinking there are zillions of options but then every other row seems to feature the same thing....   And finally, I am not a big fan of the atrium set up because it is SO interior-focused. No real feeling of being on a ship at sea. More like sitting in the lobby of a large Las Vegas hotel. Just not my cup of tea.

[Kamloops50]

15 hours ago, Waynetor said:

Other than the Pacific Princess, the Island and Coral  are the smallest ships the Princess fleet and I would not expect any new ships to be added to the fleet that are smaller. 

 

I am looking forward to the 125 days we have booked on the Island for 2022.  I found the atrium area lousy for any activities but fine for just sitting around or for having a pre-dinner drink. 

 

You can compare the layout of the Coral versus the layout of the Island to see if the differences are important to you,  They seems to be a big issue with some people and an non-issue with others.  

Both have issues with their layout. On the island about one third of the promenade deck was changed into cabins . The island doesn't have an International Cafe. On the Coral the International cafe is right beside the casino. As a result it is very noisy from the bells and whistles on the slot machines.

 

[skynight]

5 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

Yes, I like the Grand class and it always feels a bit like "coming home" on those ships. 

 

What I did not like at all on Regal was the lack of outdoor seating areas that are covered and away from the pools.  I don't particularly have to have a full promenade deck, but I love to sit in a chair or lounger along the side of the ship and watch the waves go by on a sea day. Also -- perhaps I am in the minority -- hated the buffet area; I found it to be like a large maze. You go in thinking there are zillions of options but then every other row seems to feature the same thing....   And finally, I am not a big fan of the atrium set up because it is SO interior-focused. No real feeling of being on a ship at sea. More like sitting in the lobby of a large Las Vegas hotel. Just not my cup of tea.

Agree. I also consider these Royal Class design mistakes. There is an outdoor shaded seating area, the Horizon Terrace. I also didn't like the way all the entertainment and dancing was pushed into the Piazza area because of the lack of other suitable lounges. It looks like some of this has been corrected on the Enchanted and Discovery with the addition of a few additional lounges. If I remember correctly the promenades on the Island & Coral are wide with full lounge chairs. Maybe someone can confirm this.  

[rdsqrl]

8 hours ago, skynight said:

. . .  If I remember correctly the promenades on the Island & Coral are wide with full lounge chairs. Maybe someone can confirm this.  

Yes, they are wider than the Grand-class promenade decks.  And I do recall loungers out there on the Coral.