ISLAND to S.A. (Questions for PartyBarbie, Pam, Thrak & Others)

Would happen to know if those in the aft cabins on the Aloha deck are also banned from their balconies while in the canal?

 

Did you get an email prior to the cruise letting you know or did you not find out until you were on board?

Thanks in advance

 

I believe it's only the Promenade deck. We did get an e-mail, and a telephone call from Princess. It was also in the cruise personalizer under the special notifications section.

now I'm a little confused about relative sizes of Island and Grand.

 

from the Princess web site, it seems that while Island is longer it isn't overall "bigger":

 

Let's see if I can make a sort of table:

 

Grand:

• Lower Berths 2606
  
• Length 949 feet
  
• Decks 17
  
• Crew 1150
  
• Tonnage 107,517
  

 

Island:

• Lower Berths 2214
  
• Length 964 feet
  
• Decks 11
  
• Crew 900
  
• Tonnage 92,000
  

 

 

Seems that while Island is longer, it's overall smaller, fewer people, 2 dining rooms, etc. Is there enough to do for 60 days?

 

Thanks,

Mary

 

There's plenty to do. There are two really nice swimming pools, one of which is covered. There's also the MUTS movies. There were activities going on all day long. For 19 days, we were never bored. No worries about having things to do.

now I'm a little confused about relative sizes of Island and Grand.

 

 

 

...Seems that while Island is longer, it's overall smaller, fewer people, 2 dining rooms, etc. Is there enough to do for 60 days?

I don't think anyone said the Island is as big as the Grand. She's not. But she's also not a "small" ship. She's narrower. Each of the two dining rooms is bigger than the dining rooms on the Grand plus they're mid-ship. There are fewer passengers which is a good thing. There are plenty of lounges and activities plus there are lounges and space on deck 6 between the dining room and aft. The Island and Coral have enough indoor space to accommodate passengers and distribute them around the ship. I never felt it was crowded.

All this input has been really great!

 

partybarbie, thanks for all your replies and detailed information, also thanks to PaminCA, Thrak, and everyone else.

 

Much thanks to steelers36 for starting this thread. Please come back and let us know if you book -- we may end up at a table for four at dinner one night :-)

 

Happy Holidays, all!!

 

 

Mary

I don't think anyone said the Island is as big as the Grand. She's not. But she's also not a "small" ship. She's narrower. Each of the two dining rooms is bigger than the dining rooms on the Grand plus they're mid-ship. There are fewer passengers which is a good thing. There are plenty of lounges and activities plus there are lounges and space on deck 6 between the dining room and aft. The Island and Coral have enough indoor space to accommodate passengers and distribute them around the ship. I never felt it was crowded.

 

Pam,

 

realizing I read too fast...originally read "longer" as "bigger". well, in one way it is :-)

 

I see that Island is very similar to RCCL's Radiance class, and as you say is not at all "small". While Island has fewer decks than Grand, several of those must be cabins...so not really a loss of common space.

 

I'm excited about the cruise.

 

Thanks so much,

Mary

The Radiance has much more to do on it than the Island though. While the Coral/Island are beautiful, for me, I cannot stand the way the ship is laid out with the buffet in the bow and the gym in the stern. I just cannot get used to it no matter how many times I've been on these ships. Whenever I'm on them, I feel disoriented the whole time and am anxious to get back to a Grand Class ship. So, just something to consider but obviously nothing to totally detract you from booking it.

Been through the canal in both directions on Island, both before and after the modifications and I would not hesitate to go on her again.

 

Certainly not small and excellent facilities.

 

Rather suspect it was probably because the passenger space ratio was so high that they decided to add extra cabins.

 

Only one point I would add, as a five times transiteer of the canal, is to try to get a stateroom on the side which will be the South American side when transiting the canal. Yes you will want to walk around the ship and be at the front for the locks, but it is a long day and if you are on the South American side you get better views in the canal section, Chagres River, Panama railway, support infrastructure, which means you can sit on your balcony and really enjoy that part of the transit.

Edited December 23, 2016 by Corfe Mixture
Auto speller gone mad

More great inputs that I really appreciate!

 

By luck the cabin we put on hold is on the S American side [emoji4]

steelers36 --

 

when I did a trial booking online just now, signed in, I was shown free grats and a free specialty dinner, plus the extra on-board credits (that weren't listed anywhere else). Signing in also gave a $100 per person price reduction.

 

I'm wondering if you got a code that gives you a better price, but does not include the free grats? and which would be the overall better deal.

 

 

still very intrigued by this cruise -- and it's in Rio for Mardi Gras, right?

 

 

Mary

 

Yes, we have free grats as well and yes, I had looked into the timing for Rio and Mardi Gras starts the day before ship arrives.

Yes, we have free grats as well and yes, I had looked into the timing for Rio and Mardi Gras starts the day before ship arrives.

 

More great inputs that I really appreciate!

 

By luck the cabin we put on hold is on the S American side [emoji4]

 

I'm truly happy for both of you! This is a dream cruise for sure. Even though I didn't get the email, I was able to do a "mock" booking and we also qualified for the free gratuities. Hopefully this cruise will be offered again. Sixty days is too much for us at the moment. I know you guys will have a fabulous time.:D

Only one point I would add, as a five times transiteer of the canal, is to try to get a stateroom on the side which will be the South American side when transiting the canal. Yes you will want to walk around the ship and be at the front for the locks, but it is a long day and if you are on the South American side you get better views in the canal section, Chagres River, Panama railway, support infrastructure, which means you can sit on your balcony and really enjoy that part of the transit.

 

That was an interesting statement, but the odd geography of the Panama Canal still has be confused. 'South American side' is not quite clear to me. When I look at a map of the canal, it tends to run from NW (Atlantic side) to SE (Pacific side). Are you saying that for a Pacific to Atlantic transit, I would want to be on the starboard side of the ship? Alternately, for an Atlantic to Pacific transit, would I want my balcony to be on the port side?

Just got off the Island a few days ago. While I too was initially concerned about the modifications, I loved it! Although I missed the aft of the Promenade, it wasn't an issue. There were always plenty of seats by the coffee bar in the Atrium without the International Cafe which I did not miss. It was a great cruise with wonderful staff and I would not hesitate to sail her again. By the way, the new production show Encore was fabulous!

Just in case people following this one don't notice, if you have ISLAND experience, please see these questions I posted:

 

RE: Insides Aft on Promenade

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2434443

RE: Sanctuary

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2434445

 

Thanks

That was an interesting statement, but the odd geography of the Panama Canal still has be confused. 'South American side' is not quite clear to me. When I look at a map of the canal, it tends to run from NW (Atlantic side) to SE (Pacific side). Are you saying that for a Pacific to Atlantic transit, I would want to be on the starboard side of the ship? Alternately, for an Atlantic to Pacific transit, would I want my balcony to be on the port side?

 

Sounds correct to me.

I believe it's only the Promenade deck. We did get an e-mail, and a telephone call from Princess. It was also in the cruise personalizer under the special notifications section.

 

Thank you. I am hoping the view from the aft is as good as the starboard side for the LA to Ft Lauderdale cruise.

re: the difference between ship classes ....

 

It is my understanding that the Island and the Coral were built as "panamax" ships, meaning that they were designed to be narrower to be able to fit thru the locks of the Panama Canal, back before the new wider locks were built.

 

When I did a Panama Canal cruise on the Coral back in 2004, it was easy to see that there was not very much unused space between the outside of the ship and the walls of the locks.

 

Someone else may be able to dispute that or confirm that.

re: the difference between ship classes ....

 

It is my understanding that the Island and the Coral were built as "panamax" ships, meaning that they were designed to be narrower to be able to fit thru the locks of the Panama Canal, back before the new wider locks were built.

 

When I did a Panama Canal cruise on the Coral back in 2004, it was easy to see that there was not very much unused space between the outside of the ship and the walls of the locks.

 

Someone else may be able to dispute that or confirm that.

 

You are correct. :D