Occasionally live from the Island Princess

[We_like_to_cruise]

With all of the Princess doom and gloom I have been reading in the past few months, thought I would share some positive news about our current cruise.

 

We are only a few days in of our British Isles cruise but we are having a blast.  Here are some quick thoughts:

 

Embarkation - very well organized at Southampton.  We walked right on the ship within 5 - 10 minutes.  Plenty of people to assist.  One of our pieces of luggage got to the cabin before we did!

 

Food - great food and service at MDR.  Food is subjective so YMMV.  Delicious red snapper last night.  We are pleased with quality and quantity.  Have had breakfast at buffet, it is ok.  Prefer dining room, but not always the best choice on port days.  Have reservations for Bayou Steakhouse and Sabatinis later in the week, so will post again. Our waiter Angel is very good.

 

Medallion - works perfectly fine for us.  We have successfully ordered food and drink to different locations as well as been able to locate each other on the ship.

 

Internet - no problem.  Communicate home via WhatsApp and text.  Checking emails is fine.  Have not done any streaming, not our thing on vacation!  As a matter of fact, please remove the gigantic tv from our stateroom !!

 

Island P - Yes, she is an older ship with some bumps and bruises.  BUT we are on a fabulous vacation and can overlook some minor cosmetic blemishes.  And we love the smaller ships.

 

Staff - Everyone.  Yes, Everyone has been extremely kind and courteous and professional.  They are so happy to have us onboard.  Plenty of staff everywhere.  In fact, in the short time I have been composing this message, three servers have asked if I wanted more orange juice.  (No, thank you).

 

Cabin - This is a very port intensive journey and we snagged an interior at a good price at the last minute.  Perfectly clean and fine for our needs (sleeping and changing).  Our cabin steward, Karina, is a jewel.  AC works great.  No toilet issues.  The safe was a little wonky if you used the number 2, so we switched to a different combination.  Easy fix.

 

Passengers - It was announced there are about 1600 pax, so about 70% full.  We were surprised to hear that the vast majority (900) were from the US.  Mask wearing is everywhere, even though in most places it is recommended only and not required.  Very rare to see a passenger without a mask on which surprised us.  (In a good way.  We are B2B to Iceland/Greenland and didn't want to see them from a cabin in isolation).  Masks are required in the buffet, Princess Theater and compliance is very close to 100%.

 

I will post more during the week.

 

Any questions ?

 

🙂

 

 

 

 

 

[caribill]

8 minutes ago, We_like_to_cruise said:

Any questions ?

 

Thanks for your reporting about this cruise.

 

What are the production shows on your cruise?

[Sarnia 432]

Also on this cruise, last night the show was Encore.  We didn’t go, so can’t comment.  
 

I agree with @We_like_to_cruise so far, top notch service all round.  We are having a blast!

[terry&mike]

Thank you for the post.  Good to hear! We board Island Princess on August 12 for the Iceland/Greenland sailing.  Sailing over to join you via Queen Mary 2 from NY to Southampton on August 5. Keep the lights on for us!

[PacnGoNow]

5 hours ago, We_like_to_cruise said:

With all of the Princess doom and gloom I have been reading in the past few months, thought I would share some positive news about our current cruise.

 

We are only a few days in of our British Isles cruise but we are having a blast.  Here are some quick thoughts:

 

Embarkation - very well organized at Southampton.  We walked right on the ship within 5 - 10 minutes.  Plenty of people to assist.  One of our pieces of luggage got to the cabin before we did!

 

Food - great food and service at MDR.  Food is subjective so YMMV.  Delicious red snapper last night.  We are pleased with quality and quantity.  Have had breakfast at buffet, it is ok.  Prefer dining room, but not always the best choice on port days.  Have reservations for Bayou Steakhouse and Sabatinis later in the week, so will post again. Our waiter Angel is very good.

 

Medallion - works perfectly fine for us.  We have successfully ordered food and drink to different locations as well as been able to locate each other on the ship.

 

Internet - no problem.  Communicate home via WhatsApp and text.  Checking emails is fine.  Have not done any streaming, not our thing on vacation!  As a matter of fact, please remove the gigantic tv from our stateroom !!

 

Island P - Yes, she is an older ship with some bumps and bruises.  BUT we are on a fabulous vacation and can overlook some minor cosmetic blemishes.  And we love the smaller ships.

 

Staff - Everyone.  Yes, Everyone has been extremely kind and courteous and professional.  They are so happy to have us onboard.  Plenty of staff everywhere.  In fact, in the short time I have been composing this message, three servers have asked if I wanted more orange juice.  (No, thank you).

 

Cabin - This is a very port intensive journey and we snagged an interior at a good price at the last minute.  Perfectly clean and fine for our needs (sleeping and changing).  Our cabin steward, Karina, is a jewel.  AC works great.  No toilet issues.  The safe was a little wonky if you used the number 2, so we switched to a different combination.  Easy fix.

 

Passengers - It was announced there are about 1600 pax, so about 70% full.  We were surprised to hear that the vast majority (900) were from the US.  Mask wearing is everywhere, even though in most places it is recommended only and not required.  Very rare to see a passenger without a mask on which surprised us.  (In a good way.  We are B2B to Iceland/Greenland and didn't want to see them from a cabin in isolation).  Masks are required in the buffet, Princess Theater and compliance is very close to 100%.

 

I will post more during the week.

 

Any questions ?

 

🙂

 

 

 

 

 

That’s great to hear!  Thank you.

Let us know about the ports you are visiting.  We are doing many of the same.

Enjoy!

[SargassoPirate]

5 hours ago, We_like_to_cruise said:

With all of the Princess doom and gloom I have been reading in the past few months, thought I would share some positive news about our current cruise.

 

We are only a few days in of our British Isles cruise but we are having a blast.  Here are some quick thoughts:

 

Embarkation - very well organized at Southampton.  We walked right on the ship within 5 - 10 minutes.  Plenty of people to assist.  One of our pieces of luggage got to the cabin before we did!

 

Food - great food and service at MDR.  Food is subjective so YMMV.  Delicious red snapper last night.  We are pleased with quality and quantity.  Have had breakfast at buffet, it is ok.  Prefer dining room, but not always the best choice on port days.  Have reservations for Bayou Steakhouse and Sabatinis later in the week, so will post again. Our waiter Angel is very good.

 

Medallion - works perfectly fine for us.  We have successfully ordered food and drink to different locations as well as been able to locate each other on the ship.

 

Internet - no problem.  Communicate home via WhatsApp and text.  Checking emails is fine.  Have not done any streaming, not our thing on vacation!  As a matter of fact, please remove the gigantic tv from our stateroom !!

 

Island P - Yes, she is an older ship with some bumps and bruises.  BUT we are on a fabulous vacation and can overlook some minor cosmetic blemishes.  And we love the smaller ships.

 

Staff - Everyone.  Yes, Everyone has been extremely kind and courteous and professional.  They are so happy to have us onboard.  Plenty of staff everywhere.  In fact, in the short time I have been composing this message, three servers have asked if I wanted more orange juice.  (No, thank you).

 

Cabin - This is a very port intensive journey and we snagged an interior at a good price at the last minute.  Perfectly clean and fine for our needs (sleeping and changing).  Our cabin steward, Karina, is a jewel.  AC works great.  No toilet issues.  The safe was a little wonky if you used the number 2, so we switched to a different combination.  Easy fix.

 

Passengers - It was announced there are about 1600 pax, so about 70% full.  We were surprised to hear that the vast majority (900) were from the US.  Mask wearing is everywhere, even though in most places it is recommended only and not required.  Very rare to see a passenger without a mask on which surprised us.  (In a good way.  We are B2B to Iceland/Greenland and didn't want to see them from a cabin in isolation).  Masks are required in the buffet, Princess Theater and compliance is very close to 100%.

 

I will post more during the week.

 

Any questions ?

 

🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am looking at a cruise on the Island in the future.  Would you be so kind as to take a look at an  interior cabin on Caribe for me,  C710, and see if you can tell what the big blank space between C710 and the elevators is?  Are there any scullery or storage doors forward of C710?   From the deck plans, it looks like there is a big blank space forward of C710, a narrow corridor on the other side, and behind C710 is another interior cabin.

 

Many thanks, and the Pirate will owe you a beer or a wee dram.

[pppatpc2]

Thanks for starting our day on a positive note! We are also on the Iceland/Greenland voyage and greatly looking forward to it.  Interesting about the masks.  We were on the Carribean in June and masks were only on staff.

 

Can someone report if there is live jazz in the Bayou steakhouse and if so, what nights/times?  
 

Also, Maitre D’ ? 
 

Thanks!  Enjoy you trip and we will see you soon.

[Adventures ahead]

Lovely to hear, thanks! Keep having fun!

[seachelt]

Thanks for the positive news. We will be joining you in Southampton on the 12th also. Looking forward to meeting everyone.

seachelt

[LACruiser88]

1 hour ago, pppatpc2 said:

Thanks for starting our day on a positive note! We are also on the Iceland/Greenland voyage and greatly looking forward to it.  Interesting about the masks.  We were on the Carribean in June and masks were only on staff.

 

Can someone report if there is live jazz in the Bayou steakhouse and if so, what nights/times?  
 

Also, Maitre D’ ? 
 

Thanks!  Enjoy you trip and we will see you soon.

The DRO (Maitre'd) is Daniele Rosafio until mid-Sept.

[HaveDogWillTravel]

Thank you for the report. You’ve pretty much described all of my 81 days at sea since the restart. It’s great to hear others are having great experiences on Princess.  
 

I love the Island (we’ve sailed her 4 times doing voyage of glaciers in Alaska) and have always wanted to do British Isles followed with the Iceland/Greenland cruise. DH can get a bit seasick in very rough waters so I’ve been hesitant to put him on those itineraries.  I know sea conditions can vary widely but if you don’t mind commenting from time to time on them I’d greatly appreciate it!  
 

I’ll be following along looking forward to reading about your adventures in port. 

[gkkapp]

3 hours ago, SargassoPirate said:

 

I am looking at a cruise on the Island in the future.  Would you be so kind as to take a look at an  interior cabin on Caribe for me,  C710, and see if you can tell what the big blank space between C710 and the elevators is?  Are there any scullery or storage doors forward of C710?   From the deck plans, it looks like there is a big blank space forward of C710, a narrow corridor on the other side, and behind C710 is another interior cabin.

 

Many thanks, and the Pirate will owe you a beer or a wee dram.

Funny you should mention that cabin........That was our cabin on our June 29-July 13 cruise.  The blank space is a storage area and we only heard occasional bumping and thumping.  Quiet at night.  The cabin was in good order.  Looked like the carpet was new.  The door is not on the main passage aisle but rather facing down the center.  This was nice as we never heard people passing by the cabin.  Rather a long walk to the dinning room and to get off the ship but still doable.  We liked the cabin so much that we have it booked for a cruise next year.

 

<<<Karen>>>

[SargassoPirate]

3 minutes ago, gkkapp said:

Funny you should mention that cabin........That was our cabin on our June 29-July 13 cruise.  The blank space is a storage area and we only heard occasional bumping and thumping.  Quiet at night.  The cabin was in good order.  Looked like the carpet was new.  The door is not on the main passage aisle but rather facing down the center.  This was nice as we never heard people passing by the cabin.  Rather a long walk to the dinning room and to get off the ship but still doable.  We liked the cabin so much that we have it booked for a cruise next year.

 

<<<Karen>>>

Karen,

 

Many, many thanks.  I was torn between C710 and  B727.  I'll stick with C710.  I sort of figured the door was on the little corridor and I'm always suspicious of blank areas on the deck plans.  Sounds like it will work well for me.

 

BTW, what part of Virginia are you in?  I'm working on a fall "Appalachian Backroads" Harley trip this fall.  I've already ridden the Blue Ridge Parkway from Front Royal to Maggie Valley and looking for something a little different this year.

 

Thanks again.

[gkkapp]

1 minute ago, SargassoPirate said:

Karen,

 

Many, many thanks.  I was torn between C710 and  B727.  I'll stick with C710.  I sort of figured the door was on the little corridor and I'm always suspicious of blank areas on the deck plans.  Sounds like it will work well for me.

 

BTW, what part of Virginia are you in?  I'm working on a fall "Appalachian Backroads" Harley trip this fall.  I've already ridden the Blue Ridge Parkway from Front Royal to Maggie Valley and looking for something a little different this year.

 

Thanks again.

I live just outside Roanoke.  The area around Appomattox has a lot of Civil War history and the area around Floyd has music and art type places.  Don't get that far south that often but Abingdon has some interesting stuff, too.

 

<<<Karen>>>  

[NoWhiners]

Pertaining to masks in the buffet--is this while you're going thru the line only or also while eating at the table? Just trying to set my expectations for doing 'mask calisthenics' while eating 😄

 

Thanks.

[Sarnia 432]

52 minutes ago, NoWhiners said:

mask calisthenics

A good description, but not needed, you have to have masks on around the food, once seated at a table the masks can come off.

[NoWhiners]

21 minutes ago, Sarnia 432 said:

A good description, but not needed, you have to have masks on around the food, once seated at a table the masks can come off.

 

Thanks, we won.t starve no matter what but good to know.

[We_like_to_cruise]

14 hours ago, caribill said:

 

Thanks for your reporting about this cruise.

 

What are the production shows on your cruise?

The production show was Encore a pop opera with special effects.  We love the enthusiasm and talent of the Princess singers and dancers and the fab show band, so very enjoyable.  There was a featured guest soprano who was also very good.

 

[We_like_to_cruise]

8 hours ago, PacnGoNow said:

That’s great to hear!  Thank you.

Let us know about the ports you are visiting.  We are doing many of the same.

Enjoy!

 

Our first port was St. Peter Port in the Guernsey Islands.  We have been there before and are amazed at all of the beautiful flowers everywhere and decorating all of the shops.  The day we visited was coincidentally during a week long street fair and there was music and bands along many streets.  The weather was sunny and warm and just a perfect day.  (We even got to the Castle Cornet cannon firing at noon which is a highlight to us!)

 

The next port was Cobh/Cork.  We took the train, from the station located right in the port, for the 20 minute ride into the city.  Spent the next five hours wandering the city and checking off the tourist sites.

The day started out cloudy with a little mist here and there but eventually the sun came out to another lovely day.

[We_like_to_cruise]

8 hours ago, SargassoPirate said:

 

I am looking at a cruise on the Island in the future.  Would you be so kind as to take a look at an  interior cabin on Caribe for me,  C710, and see if you can tell what the big blank space between C710 and the elevators is?  Are there any scullery or storage doors forward of C710?   From the deck plans, it looks like there is a big blank space forward of C710, a narrow corridor on the other side, and behind C710 is another interior cabin.

 

Many thanks, and the Pirate will owe you a beer or a wee dram.

Well, it looks like gkkap beat me to it !  Hmm, perhaps I could get a wee dram in the future as a referral source ???  :)

[We_like_to_cruise]

7 hours ago, pppatpc2 said:

Thanks for starting our day on a positive note! We are also on the Iceland/Greenland voyage and greatly looking forward to it.  Interesting about the masks.  We were on the Carribean in June and masks were only on staff.

 

Can someone report if there is live jazz in the Bayou steakhouse and if so, what nights/times?  
 

Also, Maitre D’ ? 
 

Thanks!  Enjoy you trip and we will see you soon.

Well, we had a drink in the Bayou Cafe - which is attached to the steakhouse - the other night and enjoyed a guitarist / vocalist.  This evening, based on your query, I went over and asked the restaurant manager your question.  He replied that although they have had jazz in that space in the past there were complaints that it was too noisy.  The restaurant is not that big.  He didn't say "never" but also didn't seem too optimistic that a jazz band was in the near future.

[We_like_to_cruise]

4 hours ago, NoWhiners said:

Pertaining to masks in the buffet--is this while you're going thru the line only or also while eating at the table? Just trying to set my expectations for doing 'mask calisthenics' while eating 😄

 

Thanks.

As noted by Sarnia 432 above.  Interestingly there are more self service options on the IP compared to our cruise on Sky a few months ago.  Notably the entire "salad bar" section is self serve. 

[We_like_to_cruise]

6 hours ago, HaveDogWillTravel said:

Thank you for the report. You’ve pretty much described all of my 81 days at sea since the restart. It’s great to hear others are having great experiences on Princess.  
 

I love the Island (we’ve sailed her 4 times doing voyage of glaciers in Alaska) and have always wanted to do British Isles followed with the Iceland/Greenland cruise. DH can get a bit seasick in very rough waters so I’ve been hesitant to put him on those itineraries.  I know sea conditions can vary widely but if you don’t mind commenting from time to time on them I’d greatly appreciate it!  
 

I’ll be following along looking forward to reading about your adventures in port. 

So far the last few days have been very smooth sailing !

[Steelers36]

3 hours ago, Sarnia 432 said:

A good description, but not needed, you have to have masks on around the food, once seated at a table the masks can come off.

It's going to be an adjustment for me, unless things relax more.  I don't even carry a mask in my pocket anymore.

[tml1230]

thanks very much for the report! please keep them coming as time and internet allow!

Tampa huh?....Go gators and Go Bucs!