Which ship should we choose?

Hi everyone! My husband and I are planning an Alaskan cruise tour and have landed on doing this land/sea adventure with Princess. It will be the first time on a Princess cruise for the both of us. We are trying to determine which ship would be better....Island or Star? Both have the itenerary we want and we are open to dates, so just trying to figure out if the ship choice would help decide. Thanks in advance!

Hi everyone! My husband and I are planning an Alaskan cruise tour and have landed on doing this land/sea adventure with Princess. It will be the first time on a Princess cruise for the both of us. We are trying to determine which ship would be better....Island or Star? Both have the itenerary we want and we are open to dates, so just trying to figure out if the ship choice would help decide. Thanks in advance!

Both are great ships. I would go with the star as I prefer the layout a bit better. It also has sky walkers disco which makes for some great viewing while cruising Alaska. But it also depends on what's important to you in a cruise ship.

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Hi everyone! My husband and I are planning an Alaskan cruise tour and have landed on doing this land/sea adventure with Princess. It will be the first time on a Princess cruise for the both of us. We are trying to determine which ship would be better....Island or Star? Both have the itenerary we want and we are open to dates, so just trying to figure out if the ship choice would help decide. Thanks in advance!

The Star.

This is my opinion.......

The Island had some major changes done to her in May 2015.

150 plus cabins added/2 level Universe lounge removed/one third of the promenade deck aft was lost when cabins were added.

300 additional passengers added and not changes made to absorb them into the dining/public venues.

The loss of all but one viewing areas aft.

We experienced long lines for AT dining and standing room only shows in the Princess theater.

If you do a search here on Cruise Critic there are many threads on the Island and the changes.

We haven't been on the Island, but have done an Alaskan cruise on her sister, the Coral. We have also been to Alaska on the Star.

Personally, we preferred the Coral. We might be influenced by the great cabin location on the Coral.

Both cruises were this past July and we loved both.

We would go with the Star over the Island. Skywalkers is a great place to sit during the day to relax and enjoy the view, which you won't get on the Island. After they changed the Island, it's not a ship on our list we want to sail on, although others still like it.

Another vote for the Star. The Island had major renovations done that eliminated the second lounge (Universe Lounge), and added cabins for over 200 additional passengers. The Star has lots of public space, two show lounges, plus the Explorer's Lounge and the Wheelhouse Bar. The Star also has the International Cafe, and Skywalker's Lounge. The Island does not have these really nice amenities. We spent 90 days on the Star, we enjoyed it and you probably will also.

The Star.

 

This is my opinion.......

The Island had some major changes done to her in May 2015.

150 plus cabins added/2 level Universe lounge removed/one third of the promenade deck aft was lost when cabins were added.

300 additional passengers added and not changes made to absorb them into the dining/public venues.

The loss of all but one viewing areas aft.

 

We experienced long lines for AT dining and standing room only shows in the Princess theater.

If you do a search here on Cruise Critic there are many threads on the Island and the changes.

I agree with Keith. We have sailed on both ships but only sailed on Island after the refit. It "used" to be exactly like Coral Princess. We love Coral Princess. When we sailed on Island it officially became our least favorite Princess ship. The entire aft portion of the ship was essentially "removed" as far as most passengers are concerned. All the the things that were there are now either elsewhere or missing entirely and there is nothing back there but cabins. We kept heading aft and getting that "D'Oh!" moment when we ran out of ship. I would sail any other Princess ship before choosing Island Princess.

The "nicest" and "most delicate" thing I can say about the changes to Island Princess is that they totally suck.

Hi everyone! My husband and I are planning an Alaskan cruise tour and have landed on doing this land/sea adventure with Princess. It will be the first time on a Princess cruise for the both of us. We are trying to determine which ship would be better....Island or Star? Both have the itenerary we want and we are open to dates, so just trying to figure out if the ship choice would help decide. Thanks in advance!

You didn't mention ( we did the Alaskan land tour/cruise on celebrity), but I would strongly suggest do the land part first. It's the way we did it, and am so thankful we did the land portion first. The cruise was so relaxing. Enjoy!

Counting down the days.

My vote go to the Star Princess. When I cruised to Alaska it was on the Star and we loved it.

Tony

Have not been on the Island but we enjoyed our Alaska cruise on the Star.

Hi everyone! My husband and I are planning an Alaskan cruise tour and have landed on doing this land/sea adventure with Princess. It will be the first time on a Princess cruise for the both of us. We are trying to determine which ship would be better....Island or Star? Both have the itenerary we want and we are open to dates, so just trying to figure out if the ship choice would help decide. Thanks in advance!

Take the Star. The Island under the current CEO got butchered to add more cabins. The Star is still a great ship.