International Cafe

[EDVM96]

42 minutes ago, Therese S. said:

I always thought the Coral and Island Princess were sister ships.

Yes.

 

The Island once looked just like the Coral:

 

Until 2015, when Princess added the 131 staterooms. 😞

 

16 minutes ago, martinitime1 said:

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).

That is correct. IC was added to the Coral any time before 2011.

 

[suzyed]

4 hours ago, Porky55 said:

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 🌹

Yes, we sail on October 17!  We were on the Coral in South America when covid broke out...yes, for 32 days....19 of which we couldn't dock in any country.  We enjoyed the ship...very classy.  
I would prefer major maintenance over anything cosmetic.
So looking forward to sailing on her again!

[suzyed]

On 4/19/2024 at 8:04 PM, memoak said:

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 

We have seen salads...pasta salad, fruit salad and soup.

[memoak]

Just now, suzyed said:

We have seen salads...pasta salad, fruit salad and soup.

Which ship ?  I have been on the Crown, Ruby and Emerald in the last year and not one alas has been around 

[suzyed]

Just now, memoak said:

Which ship ?  I have been on the Crown, Ruby and Emerald in the last year and not one alas has been around 

We have been on the Sky, Regal, Enchanted.  

[memoak]

Just now, suzyed said:

We have been on the Sky, Regal, Enchanted.  

So maybe the Royal class has more space 

[Teechur]

7 hours 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

On the Island last September with no IC, I asked for almond croissants in the main dining room for breakfast. They told me that it would take some time, and then the chef made some fresh for me. They were amazing and actually hot, right out of the oven. 🥰

[startedwithamouse]

5 hours ago, suzyed said:

We have seen salads...pasta salad, fruit salad and soup.

Soup is there and fruit salad in the morning and whole fruits throughout the day. No pasta salads in the past couple of years..

[EDVM96]

1 hour ago, startedwithamouse said:

Soup is there and fruit salad in the morning and whole fruits throughout the day. No pasta salads in the past couple of years..

Yes, that's also my recognition.

[skynight]

13 hours 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? 

The Coral & Island were built as sister ships. When built each one had a casino on deck 6. At the entrance was a raised step up area with a bar and some slots. At some point in the late 2000's this area was converted on the Coral to a small International Cafe. There was no International Cafe conversion on the Island Princess.

[kenzie]

On 4/20/2024 at 1:04 AM, memoak said:

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 

That’s disappointing - haven’t sailed Princess since 2019 and used to enjoy the Greek salad

 

[suzyed]

6 hours ago, EDVM96 said:

Yes, that's also my recognition.

I believe it had ouzo. 

[Therese S.]

11 hours ago, skynight said:

The Coral & Island were built as sister ships. When built each one had a casino on deck 6. At the entrance was a raised step up area with a bar and some slots. At some point in the late 2000's this area was converted on the Coral to a small International Cafe. There was no International Cafe conversion on the Island Princess.

Thanks for the history on how/when Coral ended up with an IC but the Island did not.  I will really miss it on our 54 day Tahiti.New Zealand.Australia cruise in 2026

[TRLD]

On 4/19/2024 at 3:22 PM, jeromep said:

Island Princess has La Patisserie, basically a tiny version of International Cafe.  It's better than nothing.

Island does not have La Patisserie.  The old Sun and Star had those.  On the Island the morning coffee is at the Good Spirits Bar on 5.  Suspect Diamond does the same but unlike the Island  I have not been on it lately.

[TRLD]

On 4/19/2024 at 3:22 PM, Paula_MacFan said:

 

I get it -- some people go on several cruises a year and for us it's usually two. Also I can't say they NEVER have salads at IC -- we don't sit there 24/7 -- but I didn't see any on our January cruise and remember commenting to hubby about it. They used to have a shrimp salad that I haven't seem in a really long time. 

 

You can report back with your findings next month 🙂

 

Prior to the shutdown they used to have a 3 or 4 different salads in the IC starting at lunch.  They would change day to day on a rotation, the shrimp salad was one of them. At that time they would dish out from a large bowl onto a plate.  During the restart they went to some salads, but as individual servings.  Then near the end of 2022/ early 2023 then did away with salads in the IC, shifting to more sandwich types.

 

It is a comment we put in every one of our cruise surveys.  Bring back salads to the IC.

[cr8tiv1]

I recently saw a beet sandwich.  Does that count?  I do miss the watermelon/feta cheese dish.

[suzyed]

1 hour ago, TRLD said:

Island does not have La Patisserie.  The old Sun and Star had those.  On the Island the morning coffee is at the Good Spirits Bar on 5.  Suspect Diamond does the same but unlike the Island  I have not been on it lately.

The one and only time we were on the Island Panama Canal they did have La Patisserie which wasn't much and they would put out trays of sandwiches and pastries.

[EDVM96]

A vintage photo from 2013: Lunch options from the IC on the Emerald.

 

 

The greek salad and the shrimp salad.

 

Edited April 22 by EDVM96

[TRLD]

31 minutes ago, suzyed said:

The one and only time we were on the Island Panama Canal they did have La Patisserie which wasn't much and they would put out trays of sandwiches and pastries.

Was on the Island last October for the Northern lights cruise. No IC no La Patisserie.  My understanding is that the La Patisserie was removed quite a while ago, probably when they converted the space on deck 5 to a bar..  The coral might have had one when it was first built since the old Sun, Star, Coral and Island were built about the same time.

[karatemom2]

1 hour ago, EDVM96 said:

A vintage photo from 2013: Lunch options from the IC on the Emerald.

 

 

The greek salad and the shrimp salad.

 

Oh, the Greek salad! I loved that. It’s very disappointing they have stopped serving the salads/side dishes. 

[TRLD]

On 4/20/2024 at 7:30 PM, memoak said:

Which ship ?  I have been on the Crown, Ruby and Emerald in the last year and not one alas has been around 

We have been on Emerald, Ruby, Discovery, Majestic, Royal in the past 12 months not a salad to be found.  Menus in IC seem consistent on both Grand and Royal class ships.

 

 

[DallasGuy75219]

4 hours ago, TRLD said:

Island does not have La Patisserie.  The old Sun and Star had those.  On the Island the morning coffee is at the Good Spirits Bar on 5.  Suspect Diamond does the same but unlike the Island  I have not been on it lately.

 

2 hours ago, suzyed said:

The one and only time we were on the Island Panama Canal they did have La Patisserie which wasn't much and they would put out trays of sandwiches and pastries.

 

2 hours ago, TRLD said:

Was on the Island last October for the Northern lights cruise. No IC no La Patisserie.  My understanding is that the La Patisserie was removed quite a while ago, probably when they converted the space on deck 5 to a bar..  The coral might have had one when it was first built since the old Sun, Star, Coral and Island were built about the same time.

It doesn't help that Princess' website still shows La Patisserie as a foodservice option on Island.