International Cafe

[skynight]

2 minutes ago, treesah said:

I'm addicted to the almond croissants, fresh out of the even, divine taste and smell, crunch, crunch.

`I was on board the Ruby a few months ago for 24 days. The almond croissants were available on some, but not all days. It probably has to do with the pastry chef's selections. 

[cr8tiv1]

The Island AND the Diamond do not have a dedicated space for the IC.  On the Diamond March 2023....they had a very small tray/selection of pastries on a table .... in the casino.  Really?  Really!  Not every day.  So random.

[memoak]

33 minutes ago, susancruzs said:

I'm a major IC fan as I don't care for buffets, haven't sailed on the Island for that reason.  I'm happy the Coral has the IC as I'll be on for 23 days April next year.  I get a pastry, yogurt or fruit for breakfast, then a small salad with a sandwich for lunch.  

The IC on the Coral is very small with very little seating. It is right next to the casino so expect some drifting smoke

[memoak]

Just now, Paula_MacFan said:

Yeah as I said we enjoyed salads in the past too but on our 2023 & 2024 cruises we haven't seen any. I don't disagree they were available back in 2022 😀

I haven’t seen any salads at the IC for at least 2 years. For lunch it is basically sandwiches, pizza bites and cookies. Also some desserts 

[Auntiejo]

We’ve been longtime IC fans. However there’s no question that, just as most things in today’s reality, it’s not near as good as it once was. The pre Covid IC was 🙌🙌🙌

[ldubs]

5 hours ago, jeromep said:

Hmm, still listed on the web site, as of today.  Ok, well I stand corrected.  Princess needs to do some web site maintenance.

 

As I recall, the coffee place was nested in the middle of the Patisserie area.  That would have been back in 2022, I think.  I'm sorry to hear that La Patisserie is gone.  

[Lucky TGO]

What I like the most about the international café was it doesn’t close down and it’s open all night. I am a night person as you can. See by most of my post come at two 3 o’clock in the morning. I always like being there to have a quiet cup of coffee, sometimes one or two people will be there at 2 a.m. 

The Captain of The Rowboat,

Tony

[jeromep]

7 minutes ago, Lucky TGO said:

What I like the most about the international café was it doesn’t close down and it’s open all night. I am a night person as you can. See by most of my post come at two 3 o’clock in the morning. I always like being there to have a quiet cup of coffee, sometimes one or two people will be there at 2 a.m. 

The Captain of The Rowboat,

Tony

I kind of like visiting the IC late at night.  The ship is so quiet and the service there is so quick.

[Teechur]

6 hours ago, jeromep said:

Hmm, still listed on the web site, as of today.  Ok, well I stand corrected.  Princess needs to do some web site maintenance.

Many of their cabin photos still picture barrel chairs. How long have they been gone, fleetwide?

[suzyed]

7 hours ago, susancruzs said:

Diamond was mentioned, I don't see IC listed anywhere on the deck plans.  I have to have the IC, it is a deal breaker for me.  I don't do room service either, not staying in my cabin to eat alone.

 

I know the Coral is heading for drydock this Fall, hoping no major changes are made.

Do you know when the dry dock is?

[Porky55]

3 hours ago, suzyed said:

Do you know when the dry dock is?

Coral leaves Australia for good in September this year and heads to Singapore for her dry dock (sad to see her go 🥹) then continues on to end up in Alaska and the Carribean. Crown is replacing Coral downunder 🤔

 

Rose 🌹

[Crystaltipps67]

12 hours ago, Guera53 said:

We cruised on the Caribbean Princess early 2023 and the International Cafe had amazing almond croissants

We were on Sky last month and I sought out the almond croissants after reading so many folk say how amazing they were. I was sorely disappointed. They were small, hard (even after asking for them to be heated) and had little to no almond paste inside them. Same for the strawberry croissants, which looked amazing but tasted of flat zero.

[Reina del Mar]

I enjoy the International Café on Princess, but it is overtaken by Royal Caribbean’s equivalent which offers ‘included’ tea and coffee for those on Standard Packages.

[555]

2 hours ago, Crystaltipps67 said:

We were on Sky last month and I sought out the almond croissants after reading so many folk say how amazing they were. I was sorely disappointed. They were small, hard (even after asking for them to be heated) and had little to no almond paste inside them. Same for the strawberry croissants, which looked amazing but tasted of flat zero.

It sounds as though you just got a bad batch from an inexperienced baker.

On most ships, they're pretty good although sometimes a little sweet for my taste. 

[skynight]

8 hours ago, Teechur said:

Many of their cabin photos still picture barrel chairs. How long have they been gone, fleetwide?

Years before covid. Maybe 2018/17. Somewhere around that time. 

[suzyed]

4 hours ago, Porky55 said:

Coral leaves Australia for good in September this year and heads to Singapore for her dry dock (sad to see her go 🥹) then continues on to end up in Alaska and the Carribean. Crown is replacing Coral downunder 🤔

 

Rose 🌹

Yes, I am on the Singapore sailing!  So right before we sail?  Yay!

 

[EmilyColwell]

I didn’t know that the Island didn’t have an IC, that’s a bummer, do they have something in stead of it that’s 24/7? And where do you get your specialty coffee and teas?

[reedprincess]

20 hours ago, Essiesmom said:

The Diamond does have the IC, just not gelato.  EM

Where is the International Cafe on Diamond? 

[EDVM96]

20 hours ago, Essiesmom said:

The Diamond does have the IC, just not gelato.  EM

No, it doesn't. And it never had one.

 

There is only a little tray at the Good Spirits a Sea Bar on Deck 5 where you can grab a small snack to eat. Really not comparable to the ICs on the other ships.

 

[DallasGuy75219]

18 hours ago, cr8tiv1 said:

The Island AND the Diamond do not have a dedicated space for the IC.  On the Diamond March 2023....they had a very small tray/selection of pastries on a table .... in the casino.  Really?  Really!  Not every day.  So random.

If it was in the casino, it was probably put their primarily for people gambling in the casino. Not that only gamblers could eat it, but probably not intended to be the "replacement" for IC. See below...

 

10 minutes ago, EDVM96 said:

There is only a little tray at the Good Spirits a Sea Bar on Deck 5 where you can grab a small snack to eat. Really not comparable to the ICs on the other ships.

Same on Island last year. I didn't look closely, but saw soneone replacing the food in there while I was getting a drink at Good Spirits.  It looked to be primarily pre-made sandwiches. 

[lahlah57]

19 hours ago, cr8tiv1 said:

The Island AND the Diamond do not have a dedicated space for the IC.  On the Diamond March 2023....they had a very small tray/selection of pastries on a table .... in the casino.  Really?  Really!  Not every day.  So random.

That's weird!  Picturing a table of dryed up pastries next to the $1 slot machine. 

Pull a slot win a jelly donut! 🥴

Edited April 20 by lahlah57
Added

[lahlah57]

1 hour ago, DallasGuy75219 said:

If it was in the casino, it was probably put their primarily for people gambling in the casino. Not that only gamblers could eat it, but probably not intended to be the "replacement" for IC. See below...

 

Same on Island last year. I didn't look closely, but saw soneone replacing the food in there while I was getting a drink at Good Spirits.  It looked to be primarily pre-made sandwiches. 

Nothing says breakfast like an egg sandwich with your martini. 🤢

[Porky55]

7 hours ago, suzyed said:

Yes, I am on the Singapore sailing!  So right before we sail?  Yay!

 

suzyed - that looks right, arrives Singapore from Perth on the Sep 26 then the next cruise is Oct 17 (yours?)

 

Not sure what you are expecting, but we did the 23WC on Coral and I know she had and has had a lot of mechanical problems (one that was repaired in Dubai) so assume this dry dock will be to do major maintenance to the ship - wouldn't expect anything cosmetic.
 

She is a lovely little ship, very clean, great Captain (which makes a great ship imo) you will have a fabulous cruise. 
 

Take care of her over there (USA) because I've got a feeling that we will see her back here in the next few years flying the P&O Aus banner 😉
 

cheers, Rose 🌹

Edited April 20 by Porky55

[Therese S.]

I always thought the Coral and Island Princess were sister ships.  Did the Coral always have an International Cafe and the Island did not?  Or did the Island lose its dedicated IC after the aft cabins were added? 

 

Almond Croissants are my favorite and Princess makes some of the best.  For those ships without an IC can you get the almond croissants in the buffet area?  I'm hoping during the next Island Princess dry-dock that they add the international cafe.  Is a photo gallery even needed on ships anymore?  I hate seeing all the pictures displayed knowing most will be destroyed, seems better to have digital viewing.  Maybe one could be added there

[martinitime1]

32 minutes ago, Therese S. said:

I always thought the Coral and Island Princess were sister ships.  Did the Coral always have an International Cafe and the Island did not?  Or did the Island lose its dedicated IC after the aft cabins were added? 

 

Almond Croissants are my favorite and Princess makes some of the best.  For those ships without an IC can you get the almond croissants in the buffet area?  I'm hoping during the next Island Princess dry-dock that they add the international cafe.  Is a photo gallery even needed on ships anymore?  I hate seeing all the pictures displayed knowing most will be destroyed, seems better to have digital viewing.  Maybe one could be added there

You are correct, Coral and Island are sister ships. I remember reading a while ago that neither were built with a dedicated IC. I read that the IC was added to the Coral at some point but it was never added to the Island (obviously). It basically took real estate from the casino which is why it is right next to the casino and much smaller than other ships.