Live From Island Princess, 7/9-7/21, Aft Facing Balcony

[flourpot]

Good morning!

 

I'm currently sitting on one of the 4 brand new aft facing balconies on the Island sailing between Venice and Istanbul on the Grand Mediterranean itinerary. Before I left, I said I would report on the room and ship since it's drydock.

 

So far, so good. I know that there was a problem with one of the engines or something on the previous cruise (I'm typing this offline, so I can't check the specifics), but I'm happy to report that everything is fixed and we are traveling at full speed on this first of 2 sea days.

 

As far as the new balcony room, we are in B741 and are one of only 4 rear facing balconies on the whole ship (with the exception of a couple of suites). The balcony room is a tiny bit smaller (the only thing I noticed is that there is a *tiny* bit less room at the end of the bed, but it's really not very noticeable. When you first walk into the room, you need to use your cruise card to make the lights and a/c work (I put my JoAnn Fabrics teacher discount card in the slot...any flat, plastic card will work...so I could have the a/c going while out of the room cause it's hot here). When you put the card in the slot, all the lights turn on and they are VERY bright LEDs. One change is that the 2 switches by the door don't control closet area for one and the bedroom area for the other. The closest switch to the door turns on 2 small canister lights over the bed and the switch further from the door controls extremely bright lights in the closet area as well as the bedroom area. The problem I found with this was that if you want to take a shower the morning and then get dressed in the closet area, you will wake up the other person in the bedroom area if you turn on the closet area lights. Otherwise, you just have to get dressed in the dark. The closet area itself is exactly the same as other ships, along with the cabinet with the safe. There's a coat hook on the wall behind the front door, which is different.

 

The bathroom is where I saw most of the changes. There is no longer an overhead light. Instead, there are 2 lights built into the mirror. They work fine and I think they're actually better than the overhead. The shelving near the sink is more spacious (I can actually stand my electric toothbrush up in it!). The sink is awesome! It's a large rectangle. There's so much more space. I was able to wash a few clothing items in the sink without the worry of splashing water everywhere. There's also a free standing soap dish. The shower is HUGE! I haven't smacked my elbows into the side of the walls once! Instead of a square, it is a rectangle with a shelf on one end (you could put your foot up on it) and the shower at the other (it's a pull down shower head where you can adjust the height of it). There is also a soap dish shelf near the shower head like in other ships. The only thing I don't like is where the toilet paper is located. It's kind of behind the toilet, under the sink, so you have to twist around to get to it. Other than that, the bathroom is pure awesomeness.

 

OK, moving out to the bedroom area. The beds are brand new. We always ask for egg crates, but didn't need them for these beds...so much better than usual (I do realize that we are only the 3rd people to sleep in them, so that's probably why). The TV is mounted on the wall directly opposite the beds and is quite big. They have installed Samsung smart TVs and I'm sure they're for when the ship gets upgraded to the Princess@Sea and OnDemand, which hasn't happened yet. Anyway, having the TV out of the corner gives you and extra flat storage space above the mini bar fridge which is wider than before. You still have the small table next to the mini bar and the desk with chair on the opposite side if the room, along with another chair. Oh! You won't find the hair dryer on the wall near the desk. I was very confused and thought they had need eliminated. They have new hairdryers (much higher quality) in the top, left hand drawer of the desk. It is already plugged in, so just pick it up and hold down the button to use it. There are 2 US outlets and 1 European outlet on the desk and 1 US outlet and 1 European outlet in the bathroom. Our stateroom steward said that the bathroom ones were fine for charging or using with 2 pronged US cords, but 3 pronged cords needed to be used at the desk.

 

The balcony is really nice. If you look at pictures of the rear if the ship, our room is right smack in the middle of the big white wall. We are the farthest square to the right. It's actually pretty great because there are actual walls on all sides instead of the partitions between balconies. The glass fence area is higher than on the sides of the ship. There are 2 chairs and a table and the balcony itself is deeper than I expected. Not as deep as a Caribe balcony, but I can sit in the chair with it all the way back to the door and not quite touch my toes to the glass.

 

Oh, we're elite, so we get a free mini bar setup. We always switch out the alcohol for pop. The choices this time were ginger ale, Aranciata (which is like Orangina), Coke, Coke Light, Sprite, and Sprite Zero. We also get free canapes and the chocolate covered strawberries have disappeared off of the list. *sniff* So sad. Those are my favorite. They've also added ChapStick with SPF to the elite bathroom pack, along with a gel eye mask that I hadn't seen before. We're storing it in the fridge.

 

Since we're in the new cabins on the back of the ship, they created a new area for our muster station drill. We went down the crew stairs at the back if the ship to the gym on deck 6.

 

There have been questions about the vibrations in the aft balconies. During our 2 days in Venice there was little to no vibrations in our room. After sailaway, the cabin did start to vibrate some, but it's not horrible at all. Currently, we're in motion and I don't hear any glasses shaking and nothing in the bathroom is falling over. While lying in bed, you can feel the vibrations, but it really just feels like a light massage. I had no problems sleeping at all. It's really not that different than any other room on a cruise ship that I've been on before.

 

If you're on this Grand Mediterranean itinerary later, you might like to know that Princess offers shuttles into town for Venice-boat to St. Mark's Square ($29), Istanbul-bus to Grand Bazaar ($10), Mykonos-bus to town ($8), Livorno-bus Piazza Grande (€5), and Toulon-boat to downtown ($20). The port talks are also happening well before the cancelation times for the tours, so we've ended up dropping some of our tours since we sort of know where we want to go and we have plenty of time to get it done with the shuttles.

 

The cruise director is Richard Joseph. The deputy is Duke. The maitre d'hotel is Giuseppe Gelmini. Captain is Andrea Poggi.

 

I think that's all for now. If you have any questions, you can ask, although I can't guarantee that I can answer them (I don't have access to other cabins, so I can't answer those questions) because of internet access and such.

 

Bonnie

[chamima]

Thanks Bonnie!

Sounds like an awesome cabin! (And to everyone else on CC - it sounds horrible - never book this cabin ;) :p )

 

For the dressing area light problem, could you just leave the bathroom light on and the door open a little to provide light in the dressing area?

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the new shelf in the shower!!!

 

Guiseppe is an awesome Maitre D'!

 

As far as the chocolate covered strawberries - try writing them in. Can't hurt and you might get them.

 

Have a great cruise!

[Pam in CA]

Thanks for the update. Sounds like the cabins are similar to those on the Royal/Regal. If so, the card-activated light activates only the cabin lights and has nothing to do with the A/C or outlets. Those work whether there's a card in the slot or not.

[FawnRiver]

Thank you for the info, we're cruising on the Island in September and was a little concerned about the vibration issue. We have an older balcony in the aft section and I'm a little sensitive to vibrations due to an old back injury. I'm okay with regular vibrations, but the way other posters were describing it, I was worrying a bit.

 

Have a great cruise!

[mina]

Thank you so much we are in these new aft cabins, but all the way to the left, in sept. Sounds like the vibrations are typical of an aft cabin! Have a wonderful cruise!

[flourpot]

It's currently 8:50pm on Saturday night. The captain just came on the intercom and told us that the Greek coast guard contacted us and asked us to leave our current course and head toward "a ship with many passengers that is in distress". The captain said that we are about an hour and a half away from the ship and he'll update us again as we get closer.

[sunsetbeachgal]

It's currently 8:50pm on Saturday night. The captain just came on the intercom and told us that the Greek coast guard contacted us and asked us to leave our current course and head toward "a ship with many passengers that is in distress". The captain said that we are about an hour and a half away from the ship and he'll update us again as we get closer.

 

Oh my, please report back!

 

Thank you for your Live From thread. Having done a Live From two years agin from the Royal Princess Grand Med.itinerary when the ship was brand new I know how much work it is. Love that the port lectures are done far enough in advance that if you hear of a tour you like better that what you have booked or if ou decide you don't want to tour after all, you have time to cancel. Richard Joseph is a great CD!

Edited July 11, 2015 by sunsetbeachgal

[Tyskie]

Thank you for your live review. I'm sure others appreciate your report on the new aft cabins.

 

Thanks for taking us along - we'll be on the 9/19 sailing :D;)

[caribill]

Thanks for the update. Sounds like the cabins are similar to those on the Royal/Regal. If so, the card-activated light activates only the cabin lights and has nothing to do with the A/C or outlets. Those work whether there's a card in the slot or not.

 

Agree.

 

However it is a shame that they did not correct the Royal/Regal mistake of having the closet area light switch also control the lights over the beds.

 

What were those design people thinking?

[partybarbie]

Thank you for posting live. I would love to hear about the new Promenade deck balcony cabins. The deck plans are showing that they are 247 square feet. I'm wondering if the balcony is really big and if they are covered, uncovered, or partially covered.

[flourpot]

It's currently 8:50pm on Saturday night. The captain just came on the intercom and told us that the Greek coast guard contacted us and asked us to leave our current course and head toward "a ship with many passengers that is in distress". The captain said that we are about an hour and a half away from the ship and he'll update us again as we get closer.

 

Ship in distress update: We went up onto the top deck of our ship to see what was going on. We saw 2 lights in the distance and a flare in the air. When we got close to the boat, we saw that it was a large sailboat. The captain came on the intercom and said that there were at least 25-30 people that they could see on the top deck and maybe more underneath. The people on the sailboat are definitely getting wet, as it is very windy outside and the waves are large and spilling over the sides of their boat. The captain said that he was talking with the Greek coast guard in Athens and they will be here in approximately 45 minutes so our ship is supposed to keep an eye on them and make sure they're OK while we wait. We have life boats ready to go if need be, but it doesn't look like the sail boat is currently sinking. I'll post again when I get another update.

[chamima]

Ship in distress update: We went up onto the top deck of our ship to see what was going on. We saw 2 lights in the distance and a flare in the air. When we got close to the boat, we saw that it was a large sailboat. The captain came on the intercom and said that there were at least 25-30 people that they could see on the top deck and maybe more underneath. The people on the sailboat are definitely getting wet, as it is very windy outside and the waves are large and spilling over the sides of their boat. The captain said that he was talking with the Greek coast guard in Athens and they will be here in approximately 45 minutes so our ship is supposed to keep an eye on them and make sure they're OK while we wait. We have life boats ready to go if need be, but it doesn't look like the sail boat is currently sinking. I'll post again when I get another update.

 

Thanks for the update.

I've been looking all over the internet to see reports about this but so far nothing.

Hope it's a good outcome.

[conci]

Hi, Anyone from Montreal, QC or Province of Quebec on this cruise?:)

[wowzz]

You may not be aware that thousands of people are trying to reach Europe in overcrowded boats. Just be thankful that you have a cabin bigger than some of the boats with a hundred people on board

Edited July 11, 2015 by wowzz

[mdgary]

We have your cabin in December for a Panama Canal cruise. Had thought about changing cabins when I saw pictures of the aft but decided to keep that cabin. Sounds like we made the right decision going by your review. Will you be posting any cabin pictures?

[flourpot]

It is now 5:25am and we've been up all night. We now have 117 refugees in the front of our ship and off of their sailboat. At first count, the captain counted only 25 people on the top of the sailboat, so they must have been packed in underneath. We're all shocked that that many people were on that small boat. We thought that we were just standing by to help if needed, but as we watched, it was evident that the people onboard didn't know how to sail the boat.

We're now headed to a Greek island that starts with a K about 75 miles from where we currently are with a port large enough for us to drop them off. I'm not really sure where we are right now since we went off course many hours ago.

[Colo Cruiser]

Thanks for posting live. :)

[partybarbie]

This is a great video of the Island leaving Venice yesterday. I love all of the aft cabin views towards the end of the video.

[flourpot]

It is now 5:25am and we've been up all night. We now have 117 refugees in the front of our ship and off of their sailboat. At first count, the captain counted only 25 people on the top of the sailboat, so they must have been packed in underneath. We're all shocked that that many people were on that small boat. We thought that we were just standing by to help if needed, but as we watched, it was evident that the people onboard didn't know how to sail the boat.

We're now headed to a Greek island that starts with a K about 75 miles from where we currently are with a port large enough for us to drop them off. I'm not really sure where we are right now since we went off course many hours ago.

 

The cruise director just came on the intercom at 9:30am and said that we will be arriving in the small island of Katakolon, Greece at about 10:30am with the 117 Syrian refugees that we picked up overnight. Because we don't know how long we'll have to stay in Katakolon (we arrived at the scene around 8:00pm and didn't leave with the refugees until 5:30am the next morning...I thought we'd only be a few hours helping out...not hanging around for many hours before eventually bringing them onboard), we aren't going to Istanbul and we don't know where we're heading next. According to the cruise director, the refugees are being well cared for by the ship's security.

[caribill]

The cruise director just came on the intercom at 9:30am and said that we will be arriving in the small island of Katakolon, Greece at about 10:30am with the 117 Syrian refugees that we picked up overnight. Because we don't know how long we'll have to stay in Katakolon (we arrived at the scene around 8:00pm and didn't leave with the refugees until 5:30am the next morning...I thought we'd only be a few hours helping out...not hanging around for many hours before eventually bringing them onboard), we aren't going to Istanbul and we don't know where we're heading next. According to the cruise director, the refugees are being well cared for by the ship's security.

 

Sorry you are going to miss Istanbul as that no doubt is a reason many booked this itinerary.

 

Per the ship's webcam you are correct about not knowing where going next as it still says "Bound for Istanbul."

[flourpot]

It's now 11:20am and the captain just told us that our ship has received clearance to disembark the Syrian refugees to the Grecian authorities. The Greek coast guard is here. He said that the women and children (we saw a baby girl somewhere around 1 year old) will be getting priority on the first tender boats and the remaining men will follow in later boats. The refugees stayed on the very front of the ship where they were given lounge chair and mats, as well as towels and blankets, and were fed. The captain said that he would come back on the intercom after the refugees were disembarked and he would tell us where we will be headed and when we will arrive there. I don't think he knows where we're going after this is over.

Edited July 12, 2015 by flourpot

[shanghai-lil]

Thankyou so much for your live updates,we have friends on your cruise .

[mollyanne]

Thankyou so much for your live updates,we have friends on your cruise .

 

As do we! Reading with interest.

[cr8tiv1]

Guiseppe Gelmini is one of the best Maître D's on the high seas. He brought the Royal online. I am glad he is on the Island Princess. After working hard on the Royal, I am glad he is where he is. During one of our many conversations, he told me that the Coral was one of his favorite ships. Hard worker and truly dedicated.

[chamima]

Guiseppe Gelmini is one of the best Maître D's on the high seas. He brought the Royal online. I am glad he is on the Island Princess. After working hard on the Royal, I am glad he is where he is. During one of our many conversations, he told me that the Coral was one of his favorite ships. Hard worker and truly dedicated.

 

 

Agree about Guiseppe!

 

 

 

It's now 11:20am and the captain just told us that our ship has received clearance to disembark the Syrian refugees to the Grecian authorities. The Greek coast guard is here. He said that the women and children (we saw a baby girl somewhere around 1 year old) will be getting priority on the first tender boats and the remaining men will follow in later boats. The refugees stayed on the very front of the ship where they were given lounge chair and mats, as well as towels and blankets, and were fed. The captain said that he would come back on the intercom after the refugees were disembarked and he would tell us where we will be headed and when we will arrive there. I don't think he knows where we're going after this is over.

 

 

So sorry you're missing Istanbul (as I'm sure it was a main reason for booking this itinerary) but I hope everyone on board feels that they've been part of a very important life saving experience.

Edited July 12, 2015 by chamima