Just BACK! Island Princess-Never a More PERFECT Cruise!

[jawhoffman]

We did late Trad. this time, 7:45 dinner. We did ATD on our 2 week Hawaii cruise & got tired of waiting in a line or waiting with a pager. On a shorter cruise, I would.

 

This time it was great to walk in every night, right to our table, our preferences & names were known by the 2nd night. We also made new friends with great couples from New Zealand & Tennessee! We had so much fun with our dinner table mates that we never went elsewhere for dinner! That was a 1st for us! :D

 

Thanks for your response! When we sail next month we'll be experiencing ATD for the first time. We'll see if it works for us...I think we'll like the flexibility.

 

So do you know if an extra show was added in the theater, so there were 3 each night? I think I read that somewhere earlier but can't find it anywhere now.

[socaljo]

Thanks for your response! When we sail next month we'll be experiencing ATD for the first time. We'll see if it works for us...I think we'll like the flexibility.

 

So do you know if an extra show was added in the theater, so there were 3 each night? I think I read that somewhere earlier but can't find it anywhere now.

The only show that had a 3rd performance was On the Bayou. We found that even if we got there close to show time, we could get seats together down closer to the front. The neat part, the theater aisles are generous. People didn't have to stand, or move their little drink tables, we could get by. And we're not small people! That was a nice surprise! :D

[MisterMet]

Great review of your Panama Canal cruise. DW and I would really like to do it one day. However, I am a Golf Pro in FL and the dates usually fall during my peak "season." Guess I'll have to live vicariously though cruisers like yourself until I retire or leave FL (little chance of that!). We do take advantage of our proximity to Port Everglades, but wish Princess would assign a ship for the Summer more often than they do. Thanks again for your review.:)

[socaljo]

Great review of your Panama Canal cruise. DW and I would really like to do it one day. However, I am a Golf Pro in FL and the dates usually fall during my peak "season." Guess I'll have to live vicariously though cruisers like yourself until I retire or leave FL (little chance of that!). We do take advantage of our proximity to Port Everglades, but wish Princess would assign a ship for the Summer more often than they do. Thanks again for your review.:)

Glad you enjoyed it! It was fun to cross it off our Bucket List!

[Doglovertoo]

JoAnne,

 

I forgot to ask on my earlier post - is the size of the bathroom really as bad as some of the other reviews say? One guy said he had to do 1/2 of his body in the shower and then turn and do the other half. My husband is a big guy so That was a bit of a concern.

[Alaskan Joe]

I want to do a ocean to ocean cruise.....:rolleyes:

[socaljo]

JoAnne,

 

I forgot to ask on my earlier post - is the size of the bathroom really as bad as some of the other reviews say? One guy said he had to do 1/2 of his body in the shower and then turn and do the other half. My husband is a big guy so That was a bit of a concern.

We had a mini-suite so the bathroom is NICE! Full bath tub with shower in it. DH is also not a small guy... He even noticed that the shower curtains were weighted with magnets now so I didn't need to use the binder clips to tame it! :D If you're in any smaller cabin, take the binder clips...

Happy Sailing!

[socaljo]

I want to do a ocean to ocean cruise.....:rolleyes:

Mostly when we travel, we want to see something new. But...this trip gets a special * by it! We'd repeat it happily! :p

[Yehootu]

Mostly when we travel, we want to see something new. But...this trip gets a special * by it! We'd repeat it happily! :p

Panama Canal was a bucket list trip for us! We did the Island, LAX- FLL. See you started off early on the Serinade. Can't believe that tub wet my appetite for cruising! I grew up fishing the Hawaiian islands on small boats. The Serenade( which was a converted car carrier ) had me worried my wife and kids would't do so well. Learned then, that any cruise is a good cruise. Like fishing, no fish oh well, at least I got out on the ocean for a few days..

Tim

[alwalaska]

We had a mini-suite so the bathroom is NICE! Full bath tub with shower in it. DH is also not a small guy... He even noticed that the shower curtains were weighted with magnets now so I didn't need to use the binder clips to tame it! :D If you're in any smaller cabin, take the binder clips...

Happy Sailing!

 

Please tell me more about the binder clips. I hate getting overly personal with cruise ship shower curtains. :o:rolleyes:;)

[socaljo]

Panama Canal was a bucket list trip for us! We did the Island, LAX- FLL. See you started off early on the Serinade. Can't believe that tub wet my appetite for cruising! I grew up fishing the Hawaiian islands on small boats. The Serenade( which was a converted car carrier ) had me worried my wife and kids would't do so well. Learned then, that any cruise is a good cruise. Like fishing, no fish oh well, at least I got out on the ocean for a few days..

Tim

Wow, Tim, I haven't thought about the Serenade in a LONG time!! Never knew she was a car carrier, that's rich! That old girl did force me to develop an expensive habit!! :p Not that I don't think the cruises are a great bargain for all we get...but that darn Lotus Spa, now that's an addiction that drains our bank account!! But I do love it!

 

You are certainly right, any sea day is better than a "land" day! :D

[Doglovertoo]

I don't know about the binder clips either - sounds interesting.

[socaljo]

Please tell me more about the binder clips. I hate getting overly personal with cruise ship shower curtains. :o:rolleyes:;)

The binder clips are those black metal ones used for a stack of papers! I use medium size ones, I used to use 4 for the full bathtub size curtain, the smaller showers probably would need 2-3. Place clips along bottom of the curtain at intervals, they just weight the curtain, which greatly help the floating curtain NOT wrap itself around your legs!

Happy Sailing!

[cruzisme]

We use clothes pins for this. They work! And if you wash an item out, the clothes pins come in handy too.

[socaljo]

We use clothes pins for this. They work! And if you wash an item out, the clothes pins come in handy too.

Great idea! I like that even better! I'll be picking up a few for the travel kit! Thanks! :D

[alwalaska]

Thank you both! Great ideas. I will definitely be bringing something for that.

[wowzz]

Having just returned from the last Panama transit of the season on the Island, I hope no one objects if I add a few comments here, rather than starting a new thread.

Firstly, we had a great cruise. Despite all the doom mongers saying that the ship was ruined after the last dry-dock, we found nothing to validate their opinion.

We had ATD, and apart from the last formal night, when we had to wait 10 minutes, we were seated immediately on arrival, either at a two - top, or a larger table, depending on our preference. Similarly, we did not find any issues with seating at the Horizon Court. We went to 5 shows in the theatre, arriving 15 minutes before curtain up, and again had no seating issues.

Without exception, all the staff were polite and efficient, and enjoyed some light banter, which made dining especially enjoyable.

We attended 2 of the three formal dinners. I would say that 95% of the men wore a tie, with everything from DJ's to kilts to sports jackets. The 2 or 3 that didn't wear ties had made no effort at all, and looked as if they had been shopping at Goodwill - personally I would not have let them in. I can understand some men might not want to wear a tie, but surely a decent clean shirt is not too much to ask?

Probably the highlight of the cruise was the Balcony Dinner we had - fortunately the weather was perfect, as was the service and food. In my opinion an absolute steal at $100.

Negatives- well, some of the seats in the bars look a little tired, and after a while the constant dark wood and brass decor gets a little depressing. But no big deal.

My biggest single bug-bear relates to MUTS. Imagine - it's around 4 in the afternoon, you've had a post lunch nap, and you decide to have a lounge in the late afternoon sun, perhaps a swim and even a crafty beer. So you go to the pool, and as you open the doors to the pool area you are assailed by an ENORMOUS wall of sound, making conversation, thinking, or even drinking impossible. All because of some movie being watched by at least 20 people! I really cannot see what Princess is trying to acomplish by showing movies at this time of day, other than driving guests back to their cabins.

And finally, and I know this will upset many of you, but we heard the following from so many, but admittedly not all North American passengers:

Waiter: Can I get you a drink sir/madam

Guest: Yes, get me a coffee, water, no ice.

Whatever happened to 'please' and 'thankyou' ?

Anyway, thank you all for your time. Please feel free to ask me any questions, which I will of course answer if I can, as long as you ask politely!!

[TracieABD]

Having just returned from the last Panama transit of the season on the Island, I hope no one objects if I add a few comments here, rather than starting a new thread.

Firstly, we had a great cruise. Despite all the doom mongers saying that the ship was ruined after the last dry-dock, we found nothing to validate their opinion.

We had ATD, and apart from the last formal night, when we had to wait 10 minutes, we were seated immediately on arrival, either at a two - top, or a larger table, depending on our preference. Similarly, we did not find any issues with seating at the Horizon Court. We went to 5 shows in the theatre, arriving 15 minutes before curtain up, and again had no seating issues.

Without exception, all the staff were polite and efficient, and enjoyed some light banter, which made dining especially enjoyable.

We attended 2 of the three formal dinners. I would say that 95% of the men wore a tie, with everything from DJ's to kilts to sports jackets. The 2 or 3 that didn't wear ties had made no effort at all, and looked as if they had been shopping at Goodwill - personally I would not have let them in. I can understand some men might not want to wear a tie, but surely a decent clean shirt is not too much to ask?

Probably the highlight of the cruise was the Balcony Dinner we had - fortunately the weather was perfect, as was the service and food. In my opinion an absolute steal at $100.

Negatives- well, some of the seats in the bars look a little tired, and after a while the constant dark wood and brass decor gets a little depressing. But no big deal.

My biggest single bug-bear relates to MUTS. Imagine - it's around 4 in the afternoon, you've had a post lunch nap, and you decide to have a lounge in the late afternoon sun, perhaps a swim and even a crafty beer. So you go to the pool, and as you open the doors to the pool area you are assailed by an ENORMOUS wall of sound, making conversation, thinking, or even drinking impossible. All because of some movie being watched by at least 20 people! I really cannot see what Princess is trying to acomplish by showing movies at this time of day, other than driving guests back to their cabins.

And finally, and I know this will upset many of you, but we heard the following from so many, but admittedly not all North American passengers:

Waiter: Can I get you a drink sir/madam

Guest: Yes, get me a coffee, water, no ice.

Whatever happened to 'please' and 'thankyou' ?

Anyway, thank you all for your time. Please feel free to ask me any questions, which I will of course answer if I can, as long as you ask politely!!

 

Thank you for your perceptions. I am not a huge fan of MUTS either.

[socaljo]

Thanks, Wowzz! Nice to hear you found the ship & staff to be as wonderful as we did! I agree on MUTS, the volume is often ridiculous during the day, makes me find a chair elsewhere!

 

Glad you chimed in with your experiences! Nice to hear ATD went smoothly too.

 

Happy Sailing!

[Gatormomma]

Mostly when we travel, we want to see something new. But...this trip gets a special * by it! We'd repeat it happily! :p

 

Really enjoyed your travelogue!!

We just booked the South America cruise in Jan 2018 on the Island. It's our 2nd trip around the Horn, but our first time on the Island...so I really enjoyed your comments about the ship.

 

We too like the aft of the ship.(C705). Did u find it inconvenient to walk so far to the Horizon? Good exercise, but we"ve never been so far from quick food!!

Also, does the Laundermat use money, or cabin key?

 

Thanks so much for your insight.

[socaljo]

Really enjoyed your travelogue!!

We just booked the South America cruise in Jan 2018 on the Island. It's our 2nd trip around the Horn, but our first time on the Island...so I really enjoyed your comments about the ship.

 

We too like the aft of the ship.(C705). Did u find it inconvenient to walk so far to the Horizon? Good exercise, but we"ve never been so far from quick food!!

Also, does the Laundermat use money, or cabin key?

 

Thanks so much for your insight.

Thank you for the kind words! We had such a great trip! Loved everything about the Island! And you're doing the Horn again! Wow! That really speaks a lot for that trip! We can hardly wait!

 

This is the furthest aft we've been (or could be :p). We were 200+ yards from anything to DO or EAT! But it really worked amazingly well for us! DH lost 5lbs and I didn't gain an ounce! :D (between you and me, we're both L/XL to begin with!) And we love to eat on a cruise! We do try to not over-do it.

 

In fact this cruise, for the first time, I ate HALF of every course in the MDR (except dessert, I was a good girl and cleaned my plate! :p) But I enjoyed it all! Our dear waiter, Ian, was always asking, "you didn't like it?" No, I LOVED it usually, but just saved the room for more! First cruise in 8 that we did not gain weight! Yippee! For the Horn we are again aft D727 on the Crown, so good hikes to fabulous food are in store! And if you are doing the Horn again, it must be a remarkable trip!

 

The laundry room uses tokens purchased with your cruise card from a machine in the laundry room. $3 to wash, $3 to dry. Easy peasy. The pack of 3-in-1 laundry sheets ($5.99 for 10) will last us for our Cape cruise in January. Such a deal! I was very pleased with how well they worked too.

 

Happy Sailing! :D

[Gatormomma]

Having just returned from the last Panama transit of the season on the Island, I hope no one objects if I add a few comments here, rather than starting a new thread.

Firstly, we had a great cruise. Despite all the doom mongers saying that the ship was ruined after the last dry-dock, we found nothing to validate their opinion.

We had ATD, and apart from the last formal night, when we had to wait 10 minutes, we were seated immediately on arrival, either at a two - top, or a larger table, depending on our preference. Similarly, we did not find any issues with seating at the Horizon Court. We went to 5 shows in the theatre, arriving 15 minutes before curtain up, and again had no seating issues.

Without exception, all the staff were polite and efficient, and enjoyed some light banter, which made dining especially enjoyable.

We attended 2 of the three formal dinners. I would say that 95% of the men wore a tie, with everything from DJ's to kilts to sports jackets. The 2 or 3 that didn't wear ties had made no effort at all, and looked as if they had been shopping at Goodwill - personally I would not have let them in. I can understand some men might not want to wear a tie, but surely a decent clean shirt is not too much to ask?

Probably the highlight of the cruise was the Balcony Dinner we had - fortunately the weather was perfect, as was the service and food. In my opinion an absolute steal at $100.

Negatives- well, some of the seats in the bars look a little tired, and after a while the constant dark wood and brass decor gets a little depressing. But no big deal.

My biggest single bug-bear relates to MUTS. Imagine - it's around 4 in the afternoon, you've had a post lunch nap, and you decide to have a lounge in the late afternoon sun, perhaps a swim and even a crafty beer. So you go to the pool, and as you open the doors to the pool area you are assailed by an ENORMOUS wall of sound, making conversation, thinking, or even drinking impossible. All because of some movie being watched by at least 20 people! I really cannot see what Princess is trying to acomplish by showing movies at this time of day, other than driving guests back to their cabins.

And finally, and I know this will upset many of you, but we heard the following from so many, but admittedly not all North American passengers:

Waiter: Can I get you a drink sir/madam

Guest: Yes, get me a coffee, water, no ice.

Whatever happened to 'please' and 'thankyou' ?

Anyway, thank you all for your time. Please feel free to ask me any questions, which I will of course answer if I can, as long as you ask politely!!

 

I really appreciate your thoughts!! I don"t want to be swayed,by "doom "mongors"....but there are sooo many of them! Never had these doubts before a big trip...not the itinerary...but the ship..our home for 60 days!

Thank you!! 😀😀

[emmak8]

Thank you for such a detailed review. Looking forward to sailing the Island in October , ocean to ocean through the canal. I'll post my own opinions of the Island when I return.

[tml1230]

I really appreciate your thoughts!! I don"t want to be swayed,by "doom "mongors"....but there are sooo many of them! Never had these doubts before a big trip...not the itinerary...but the ship..our home for 60 days!

Thank you!! 😀😀

 

my wife and i are thinking about that same 60 day cruise you booked, we haven't pulled the trigger yet but the OP has convinced us to do so….what an itinerary !

thanks again to the original poster for a really entertaining read.

 

also to gatormomma ….you have the best name ever…GO GATORS!

[socaljo]

Thank you for such a detailed review. Looking forward to sailing the Island in October , ocean to ocean through the canal. I'll post my own opinions of the Island when I return.

Glad you enjoyed it! I look forward to hearing how your trip goes in October!

Happy Sailing!