Aboard the Island now 9/22 - 10/4 Oktoberfest European Capitols from Southampton

[Paula_MacFan]

We've been aboard a couple days now. Our first full day was at Le Havre and we took the Princess excursion to Paris with Seine lunch cruise. It was wonderful and totally worth the time & money to go. We had superb guide & driver who both made the day special, and everyone on our tour was pleasant.

 

So far we are enjoying the ship and are finding her in good condition. The first day they swapped out our balcony furniture for new. The staff has been very courteous and gracious. 

 

Absolutely no complaints so far!  Our first time on the Island but we've sailed on Grand & Royal class in the past many times. 

[ExploringTheGlobe]

I did this cruise last year.  The itinerary was slightly different but I really enjoyed it!  Have a great time!

[Paula_MacFan]

2 minutes ago, ExploringTheGlobe said:

I did this cruise last year.  The itinerary was slightly different but I really enjoyed it!  Have a great time!

Thank you! We initially booked this cruise back in 2018 to sail in 2020. Then of course covid hit and it was pushed back to 2021, then 2022. We opted to push back another year to 2023 to get the original itinerary including Paris & Aarhus. 

 

So it's been a long time coming and we're just happy to finally be onboard 😊

[phabric]

I am on the Island Nov 9-23 - Mediterranean and Israel. 

 

Can you tell me the time for the shows in the theater?

[PacnGoNow]

1 hour ago, Paula_MacFan said:

Thank you! We initially booked this cruise back in 2018 to sail in 2020. Then of course covid hit and it was pushed back to 2021, then 2022. We opted to push back another year to 2023 to get the original itinerary including Paris & Aarhus. 

 

So it's been a long time coming and we're just happy to finally be onboard 😊

Have a great cruise!  You deserve it.  

[Paula_MacFan]

15 minutes ago, phabric said:

I am on the Island Nov 9-23 - Mediterranean and Israel. 

 

Can you tell me the time for the shows in the theater?

Night one was comedian at 7:30 & 8:15. Night two was Showtime Music Beyond Language at 7:30 & 8:15. Tonight is formal with Encore at 7:30 & 8:15.

[phabric]

3 minutes ago, Paula_MacFan said:

Night one was comedian at 7:30 & 8:15. Night two was Showtime Music Beyond Language at 7:30 & 8:15. Tonight is formal with Encore at 7:30 & 8:15.

Thank you,

[Paula_MacFan]

Currently standing in line waiting for a table on formal night. Didn't realize they did away with the beeper system. That is unfortunate.

 

I can also report I've seem tons of athletic wear, tennis shoes, khakis, and non formal wear. I was prepared for coat and tails the way people carry on here, but I can tell you unequivocally tonight it is very casual. In fact as I stand here waiting I see no coats, and several people in Under Armour branded shirts.

 

It is 6:21pm ship time.

Edited September 24, 2023 by Paula_MacFan

[phabric]

I have found with people flying and with airline luggage weight limit plus the charge for luggage, you see less very formal wear and more nice casual.

[PacnGoNow]

3 minutes ago, phabric said:

I have found with people flying and with airline luggage weight limit plus the charge for luggage, you see less very formal wear and more nice casual.

Yes, agree.  Maybe guests on this cruise didn’t have much room, since packing for a colder climate?

Although, you never know. 

[PacnGoNow]

8 minutes ago, Paula_MacFan said:

Currently standing in line waiting for a table on formal night. Didn't realize they did away with the beeper system. That is unfortunate.

 

I can also report I've seem tons of athletic wear, tennis shoes, khakis, and non formal wear. I was prepared for coat and tails the way people carry on here, but I can tell you unequivocally tonight it is very casual. In fact as I stand here waiting I see no coats, and several people in Under Armour branded shirts.

Wow.  Where are most of the guests from?  

[voljeep]

I wear black on black 'tennis shoes' on formal night - if you stare at my shoes - well, that's on you, not me - just a general 'you' comment, noone specific

[Paula_MacFan]

9 minutes ago, PacnGoNow said:

Wow.  Where are most of the guests from?  

England, Australia, & US. It's night 3 so people should be unpacked.

 

The people next to us are currently having a loud face time call with their family at home. 

 

Not a real formal atmosphere.

[Paula_MacFan]

3 minutes ago, voljeep said:

I wear black on black 'tennis shoes' on formal night - if you stare at my shoes - well, that's on you, not me - just a general 'you' comment, noone specific

LOL my husband has on the same thing.  However I'm simply commenting on the overall tone in the MDR because I keep reading on CC how it's so formal from Southampton. Not true here.

[voljeep]

2 minutes ago, Paula_MacFan said:

England, Australia, & US. It's night 3 so people should be unpacked.

 

The people next to us are currently having a loud face time call with their family at home. 

 

Not a real formal atmosphere.

any shorts, ballcaps - or hats of any kind? Fedora, John Deere?

[PacnGoNow]

5 minutes ago, Paula_MacFan said:

England, Australia, & US. It's night 3 so people should be unpacked.

 

The people next to us are currently having a loud face time call with their family at home. 

 

Not a real formal atmosphere.

Can’t get away from those FT calls! 😳

 

We had one of those, every night on the balcony, next to us, 32 nights So Pacific.  But, he called several people.  Our cocktail time before dinner.  😞  Oh…well.

 

[beg3yrs]

2 hours ago, Paula_MacFan said:

Night one was comedian at 7:30 & 8:15. Night two was Showtime Music Beyond Language at 7:30 & 8:15. Tonight is formal with Encore at 7:30 & 8:15.

Wow, only 45 minutes between the two start times? Assuming it's a 30 minute show, it's kind of hard to empty the theater and fill it up again in only 15 minutes. Are you sure the second show isn't at 9:15? IIRC when we were on the Island last year the second show was at 9:15.

Edited September 24, 2023 by beg3yrs

[Paula_MacFan]

14 minutes ago, beg3yrs said:

Wow, only 45 minutes between the two start times? Assuming it's a 30 minute show, it's kind of hard to empty the theater and fill it up again in only 15 minutes. Are you sure the second show isn't at 9:15? IIRC when we were on the Island last year the second show was at 9:15.

Yep, looks like it was 7:30 & 9:30. I posted wrong times earlier. That was the running time & not the show time. My apologies, we didn't go as we were totally jet lagged. Obviously maybe I still am 😊

 

 

Edited September 24, 2023 by Paula_MacFan

[Paula_MacFan]

Here are the patters for days 1 - 4 so if anyone is interested they can see show times etc. Princess is doing this itinerary again in October. 

 

BTW the patters have been delivered each night without us requesting them.

[Paula_MacFan]

Port shuttle information and nightly buffet themes. Both were delivered to our cabin on day one.

Edited September 25, 2023 by Paula_MacFan

[dides]

Thanks for posting your patters.  I see they promoted the pop-up Alfredo's in Sabatini's on your first sea day - do you know if it was popular now the Casual Dining changes have been launched?

 

[Paula_MacFan]

14 hours ago, dides said:

Thanks for posting your patters.  I see they promoted the pop-up Alfredo's in Sabatini's on your first sea day - do you know if it was popular now the Casual Dining changes have been launched?

 

You're welcome! We did not attend the pop up Alfredos but we talked to several people on our excursion today who did go and said it was very good & worth the money. They said they had nice salads, a choice of several different pizzas, & tiramisu for dessert. 

 

Normally we are Alfredos people but we were just busy doing other things during the time it was held. 

[Paula_MacFan]

Here is the patter for day 5. 8

[gvre]

On 9/24/2023 at 5:53 AM, ExploringTheGlobe said:

I did this cruise last year.  The itinerary was slightly different but I really enjoyed it!  Have a great time!

Yeah we did it also last year.

Great itinerary... did not like the Island Princess

[Paula_MacFan]

8 hours ago, gvre said:

Yeah we did it also last year.

Great itinerary... did not like the Island Princess

We're having a great time so far. Both my husband and I have remarked this trip has had the calmest seas/least movement of any ship/trip we've been on. Which is rather surprising given the ship size & itinerary.

 

Speaking of itinerary, as I mentioned earlier we pushed back another year to get the original schedule which includes Paris & Aarhus which weren't offered last year. We're glad we waited as we enjoyed Paris a lot and are looking forward to Aarhus tomorrow. 

 

We tend to cruise for the ports and experiences, and treat the ship as a floating hotel. We will partake in some evening live music or the occasional comedian, but we usually don't go to the MDR much if at all, don't usually go to production shows, and spend a lot of time on our balcony for sailaway or sea days. 

 

So far the weather has been lovely and on our first sea day there were even people in the outdoor pool swimming.