Island Princess condition and layout questions

[gottagocit]

The Island was our first Princess ship cruise some 12 years ago and since that time we’ve sailed on 10 others. We’re considering sailing on here again year year but have a couple questions. 

I remember there was no international cafe but there was a small coffee bar somewhere in the piazza but I don’t see it on the deck plan. Is there still a coffee bar and do they have any snacks like you find in the larger international cafes on other Princess ships? Is there some other place grab a free snack outside of meal times?

 

Whats her condition like these days?  Looks like the last refurb was 2017 so how’s she holding up?

 

I recall the upstairs lounge, forget the name, was removed several years ago. Any other modifications of note?

 

thanks,

Chris 

[pppatpc2]

We were on the Island in August and heard a lot of how run down the ship was, but that was not our experience.  I thought it could certainly use updating but thought it looked fine. Anything it lacked in modern decor was more then made up for by the staff.  Maybe the best service we have ever had.

 

You can get pizza, hamburgers, hot dogs, tacos, etc. out by the pool outside of mealtimes.  There are two coffee bars, one at the Good Spirits and the other in the buffet next to the desserts.  Otherwise, no matter where you are, you can order snacks/sandwiches/coffee from the medallion app to be served wherever you are. We on deck watching the glaciers in Greenland and ordered two Irish coffees from our app and about 7 minutes later, the nice man just walked right up to us, also ordered Guacamole to have in Explorer’s, sandwich in Crooners.  It is heaven.

 

I also liked the indoor pool area on the Island.

[loerie]

Will be on it next year .happy to hear the good report!

[NownZen]

We were on the Island earlier this year and were very happy. The only negative was that the "upgrade" a few years ago took away the aft wake view that I always enjoyed. We spent a lot of time in the buffet which is at the front of the ship so there was a nice forward view particularly in docking.  Food was good, the room was comfortable and the crew were great.

[gottagocit]

Thanks for the reports on her condition and what’s changed. #goodinfo

[skynight]

"I recall the upstairs lounge, forget the name, was removed several years ago. Any other modifications of note?"

You may be thinking about the Universe Lounge on decks 6/7 aft. This was removed. They also moved the fitness center from deck 14 aft with nice views to inside no views aft on deck 6 where the Universe Lounge was. You may also be thinking about the Horizon Ct. which has forward views on both the Island and Coral Princess. If you are thinking about Skywalker's the Island and Coral never had this lounge. 

[gottagocit]

3 hours ago, skynight said:

"I recall the upstairs lounge, forget the name, was removed several years ago. Any other modifications of note?"

You may be thinking about the Universe Lounge on decks 6/7 aft. This was removed. They also moved the fitness center from deck 14 aft with nice views to inside no views aft on deck 6 where the Universe Lounge was. You may also be thinking about the Horizon Ct. which has forward views on both the Island and Coral Princess. If you are thinking about Skywalker's the Island and Coral never had this lounge. 

Yes I, pretty sure it was the universal lounge that I was thinking of. It didn’t set well with so many at the time and missed to this day. We sailed on her in 2010 and liked the lounge. 
Speaking of Skywalkers, I feel the same way about it being removed on the Grand. But as I recall it was a structural issue. 
I also have fond memories of sitting quietly in Skywalkers on the Emerald for many hours writing my first novel. 

Thanks,

Chris 

Edited October 30, 2022 by gottagocit

[Thrak]

On 10/29/2022 at 10:10 AM, gottagocit said:

I remember there was no international cafe but there was a small coffee bar somewhere in the piazza but I don’t see it on the deck plan. Is there still a coffee bar and do they have any snacks like you find in the larger international cafes on other Princess ships?

 

La Patisserie used to be the place you are thinking of. I believe they replaced it with Good Spirits.

[gottagocit]

1 minute ago, Thrak said:

 

La Patisserie used to be the place you are thinking of. I believe they replaced it with Good Spirits.

Yep. That was the name of the little coffee bar area. Does the “Good Spirits” have the coffee bar setup?

[Expo67]

On 10/30/2022 at 7:18 PM, gottagocit said:

Yep. That was the name of the little coffee bar area. Does the “Good Spirits” have the coffee bar setup?

Yes they do.

[Expo67]

Very subjective but after 60 days onboard this summer I will side on the disappointed side for several reasons.

 

1) Removal of the Aft showroom and addition of 200+ more passengers created a major overcrowding of the other public areas (Explorers Lounge, Wheelhouse Bar, Crooners, and Theatre) for activities and especially when the outside weather was inclement.

 

2) Cabins need to a major refurb as the furniture was badly worn.

 

3) Removal of the International Cafe area was a major loss. 
 

4) The reduction in size of the Casino due to additional cabins added at the back of the original Casino was quite disappointing.

 

5) outdated wifi was also a huge issue as some days it seemed like being back in the days of dial up. 

 

The staff as usual made up for a pleasurable 60 days onboard but the changes certainly made for a less than superb cruise. Having at least a 3/4 sized promenade was a plus compared to the non existent promenades on all the new Royal Class Princess ships. IMO the Coral Princess is still the best ship in the Princess Fleet. 

 

 

[LACruiser88]

Here's a photo I took a few days ago of the rear of the ship.  You can clearly see where they added the extra cabins.

 

 

[caribill]

4 hours ago, Expo67 said:

Very subjective but after 60 days onboard this summer I will side on the disappointed side for several reasons.

 

3) Removal of the International Cafe area was a major loss. 

They never had an IC.

 

However it is a negative that they did not add one.

 

 

4 hours ago, Expo67 said:

5) outdated wifi was also a huge issue as some days it seemed like being back in the days of dial up.

 

That is a complaint about the Internet on most of the Princess ships. MedallionNet is not proving to be "the fastest WIFI at sea" for most people.

[seachelt]

We were also on the Island earlier this year. We had a premium balcony cabin, on Caribe deck, which was spacious and well furnished. Crooners was our choice bar, seating usually available. Good Spirits at Sea had sandwiches at times. We were well satisfied with the ship and the accommodations, and we will be aboard again in August. 

Seachelt

[Expo67]

14 hours ago, caribill said:

They never had an IC.

 

However it is a negative that they did not add one.

 

 

 

That is a complaint about the Internet on most of the Princess ships. MedallionNet is not proving to be "the fastest WIFI at sea" for most people.

My bad as the area on the Coral & Island was called the La Patisserie. The Coral still has it and while in no way it compares to the Princess ships it still it is still hands down better than what they did by making Good Spirits the replacement as well as the Casino Bar having the capability to make coffee. 
 

Agreed on the wifi issues. 👍 The IT guru on the Island said they were working on setting up a new satellite provider as the current one being used is horrible. The other issue stated will be more difficult to address as it entails the bandwidth requirements of the Medallion App stressing the system. 🤔

[lesnpatty]

We did the e  the Oktoberfest-Northern lights 24 day back to back this fall.  It was one of the best cruises we have ever had.  Yes the ship is older, but very well maintained and the staff is great,   We loved the size of the ship and the layout, The medallion app worked great and the the food was very good everywhere we went.   We were also very impressed with the Captain and how he communicated to everyone.  We had to miss one port for weather and he diverted away from a big storm.  He also was great in informing passengers when the Northern lights were visible from the ship.

[hpeabody]

7 hours ago, Expo67 said:

My bad as the area on the Coral & Island was called the La Patisserie. The Coral still has it.  has IT ... Do you mean has La Patisserie?

 

Coral has an International Cafe built into a corner of the casino.  It has No La Patisserie any more.  That area has become Good Spirits At Sea on Coral too.  But thank goodness they scrapped the plan to do the same to Coral that they did to Island.

Edited November 7, 2022 by hpeabody

[gottagocit]

7 hours ago, lesnpatty said:

We did the e  the Oktoberfest-Northern lights 24 day back to back this fall.  It was one of the best cruises we have ever had.  Yes the ship is older, but very well maintained and the staff is great,   We loved the size of the ship and the layout, The medallion app worked great and the the food was very good everywhere we went.   We were also very impressed with the Captain and how he communicated to everyone.  We had to miss one port for weather and he diverted away from a big storm.  He also was great in informing passengers when the Northern lights were visible from the ship.

Nice.  It’s off subject but I’ll ask anyway. How was the Aurora viewing on your voyage?  We’ve considered taking that one at some point but weren’t sure the ships outside lighting would support viewing.

thanks

[lesnpatty]

16 hours ago, gottagocit said:

Nice.  It’s off subject but I’ll ask anyway. How was the Aurora viewing on your voyage?  We’ve considered taking that one at some point but weren’t sure the ships outside lighting would support viewing.

thanks

 The Captain was really cool and turned off some of the lights on the top deck a couple of nights when he alerted us about the lights.  These shots were taken on the ship with my cell phone in night mode. 

[Expo67]

16 hours ago, lesnpatty said:

 The Captain was really cool and turned off some of the lights on the top deck a couple of nights when he alerted us about the lights.  These shots were taken on the ship with my cell phone in night mode. 

Nice shots. 👏 Will have to look into doing that itinerary at the right time to see the lights.