Island Princess Cruise Reviews - Reviews

While the service was outstanding, the food was average at best. The menu was weak for a cruise of this length. The "Horizons" was a conglomeration of what looked like "leftovers". Why in the world do you serve sub sandwiches at 3;30 instead of lunch? The whole cruise seemed to be a scaled down cruise because it was a reduced fare cruise. The fare was reduced because of the season. We took the chance on that (even bought the insurance). Princess seemed to try to make up for the reduced fare by docking at a totally worthless port in Mexico and by serving second rate food. The pushing of wine programs from the minute we came on board was shameless and very irritating. My wife and I both caught a cold and in trying to control it both for ourselves and the ship population were forced to pay $18 for a bottle of cough syrup. Our first cruise on Princess to Alaska was a treat. You are obviously heading downhill and we will be hard pressed to cruise on Princess again.

Princess Cruise Lines tires to project the image of being the best and there are some very good things, but everything is not great.  Their boarding process in SLOW and seemingly unorganized, they should take a few lessons from Holland America as to how to do it right.  The public address system on the ship (Island Princess) was extremely poor.  Unless you happened to be standing immediately adjacent to a speaker you could not hear what was said and even then the highly accented voices of the crew made understanding any of their words very difficult. The food was good and always available, although the seating process in the anytime dinning room was cumbersome (it would probably help to grease the palms of a few dinning room employees at the beginning of the cruise).  The entertainment was quite good and the theater was nice (substantially better than Holland America).  A cabin with an obscured view is NOT worth the extra expense (go with an inside room and save your money).  Shore excursions are very expensive and in my opinion not worth the money (other than you are insured of making it back to the ship on time or the ship will wait for you).   Never-the-less Princess Cruise Lines is good and I would go again if the timing and price are "right".

The show Encore at the end of the cruise was one of the best shows at

sea I have ever seen.  It is a shame the rest of the cruise couldn't have

been.  The staff acted like they were low on morale.  They never put

any effort to give you more than minimum expected. Some waiters

and bar staff gave you less than was expected. The four days at sea

on the return trip were lacking activities.    The activities that were provided

were usually to up sell something.  Plenty of Trivia but they could have used

some variety.  Amenities were lacking.  I didn't even have a slip in my room

to order room service for breakfast.  Food at the Horizon Buffet was not

good. The smoked salmon was grey yellow until the last day when it was

salmon color like it should be.  I think they were getting rid of the old food.

The dining room food at the beginning was better than at the end of the

cruise except for the lobster night.  We were actually told when we forgot

our punch wine card for the 10 bottle package we bought that if we lost

the card they would look up the record and we could order a bottle of wine

but if left in the room they would not do it.  Doing this they were informing

us it was to much trouble to give the guest service.  The had no wine

steward, the waiter poured the wine when he had time which was when he

opened the bottle. If you ordered a white wine shame on you because you

would be finished your meal before you got another pour.  I have been on

28 cruises Carnival being the worst and this coming in a close 2nd.  I was

not the only guest that said this cruise was far from the Princess standards

they were use to.

This was the perfect cruise for relaxation.  The side trips were spaced with a day in between each and the last four days were just devoted to "do anything days"

My entire experience with Princess has been wonderful.  The day through the Panama Canal was most interesting and having commentary through the day was great.  I learned so many things.  The staff is always top notch.  They remembered our names every time we saw them and were always delightful.  We enjoyed our staff at the dinner meal the most as they really do care about the passengers and engage with us so much. 

great trip! Enjoyed it all and found the canal crossing fascinating.  Detoured from Aruba to Grand Cayman due to hurricane Matthew, but no problems.  Grand Cayman was beautiful and would love to return there some day for a longer stay.

The cruise was a little too long for us although the tours were good - especially the volcano in Nicaragua and the Panama Canal. The food selection was repetitious in the traditional dining. Most of the outside entertainers were good except for one of the comedians. Princess singer and dancer's shows are repetitious. We renewed our vows while on ship and the package they offer is well worth it!    

The staff for the most part were very friendly and respectful.  We had a very positive experience with our cabin steward that makes my whole trip worth the money.  His name was Danti and he will always be a hero for us.

We took this cruise at the last minute because we are taking this ship in March through the Panama Canal and it gave us the opportunity to get used to the ship. We really enjoyed the quick trip and the layout of the ship. The crew as always was great. This would be a five star event if it were not for the departure in San Francisco. The early passengers, who were mostly retuning to the ship to continue their journey, were not aware that they needed to complete their Customs Declaration form prior to leaving the ship. They were filling out their forms at the customs desk which caused a huge delay in departing the ship for those who followed. We ended up with over a two hour delay. We look forward to our Panama cruise in March.   

The itinerary was excellent and we saw everything we'd hoped to, even some whales in the distance. The train ride at Skagway up the White Pass was very exciting, only topped by the float plane excursion from Juneau. We flew low over ice-fields, glaciers and mountains. The Island Princess was a very comfortable ship and the restaurant arrangements good. Our only slight criticism was that when disembarking for excursions it was difficult to find a representative and to see which queue to join or where to go. On board there were some interesting talks from a wildlife expert, and other entertainment.

The sights and sounds of Alaska are always worth the trip. The buffet seems to have too much salmon. The drinks in la Patisserie were never made the same way twice, and not in a good way. Ordered tea based drink, got carbonated flavor water. They need to get this fixed. Often the linens were showing wear or stained. Not up to Princess standards.

Food in dining room, not bad, Crew members not bad,   However, there's a young lady at the Gurest Relations desk that was not very friendly, ignored me even though she was the agent closest to the Elite/Suites line and kept taking guests in the regular line first.   I finally spoke up and told her that wasn't she supposed to help me since I was in the Elite line.   So, she sends the guest in front of her back in line and tells me to come forward.   Even then, she didn't apologize nor was she very friendly with me!

Princess has gone even further downhill since last year.   We had gone on one of their land tours prior to getting on board.  Their first lodge, Mt. McKinley, delivered my hardcase Samsonite with the side handle broken; I figured it would be okay since I still had the top handle. And one corner of it was cracked about 11/2 inches.  However, delivery at the next lodge, Denali, the top handle was also broken.   I reported it to the front desk and they sent maintenance to fix both.  Maintenance tried to fix both but was unable to do so and in the process broke the metal piece on the handles which hooks the handles onto the suitcase.  Maintenance delivered my suitcase and said that they were unable to fix and had duct taped both handles to that we could at least have something to hang onto for the rest of the trip.

     Apparently the duct tape did not hold because when my luggage was delivered to our room onboard the Island Princess the handles had come apart again!      My fault that I did not do my research for the bus ride from Denali to Copper River lodge.   I did not know that it would take a 9-hour bus ride on unpaved road across a very isolated area of Alaska.   Not only was it unpaved but there were several areas along the way that they paved with huge potholes in it;  that caused me to have a sore neck and lower back for days.   The young bus driver was very nice but quite inexperienced.   After stopping for a little while, we started going again.   All of us on board started to smell a very strong burning odor and we saw thick gray-white smoke pass by both sides of the bus.  The driver then asks if we could smell something burning and all of us said 'Yes!!!'.   He pulls to the side and sees all that smoke coming from the back of the bus and tries to contact someone on his satellite phone.   Took a while, he finally contacts someone and that person tells him that he probably did not release his airbrakes properly and tells him how to do so once they cooled down.   On our way again, and it begins to rain.   Driver turns on wipers and so far, so good.   However, a few miles down the road, the wiper on the driver's side had fallen off and cannot find the screw.   He decides to take off the other wiper but does not have the tool to remove it so he starts asking us for something that we may have that would work.   No one has anything so that we had to wait 'til the rain let-up somewhat before driving on. 

     Princess always states onboard and in a letter given upon boarding, that washing your hands with soap and water for 20 sec. is so important to prevent illnesses and esp. norovirus.   The bus however, did not have soap,only hand sanitizer.   Eewww!!

     We used the same bus going from Copper River lodge to Valdez, which was a 31/2 ride.   Bus stunk and was not cleaned from the ride down to Copper River!!!!

     A couple days before getting off ship, we were given paperwork to fill and return asking us for our plans after getting off.   Since we had bought transfers from Whittier to Anchorage airport and our flight was at 12;30pm (Princess agent had confirmed that any flight after the noon hour would be fine) I went to Guest Relations and told them that I wanted to be on the 815 am bus since they had informed me that it would take approx. 11/2 hours to get there.   Night before, we were issued transfers for the 9:15am bus.   So the morning of disembarking,  I asked 2 other agents who were helping with disembarkation whether I would make our flight on time.   Both said that if they assigned us that time, they knew what they were doing.   Fine!   When we boarded the bus, the driver asks for flight schedules and I made sure that he heard that our flights leave at 12:30pm.   He said that he would try to get us there as fast as possible and also said that we were cutting it so close.   Alaska Air told us that if we did not check in 1 hour before our flight, we would not be able to get on.   The bus got us to the airport by 11:20 am but we couldn't check in until we had our checked luggage with us.   The bus driver however, did not tell us where Princess had delivered it earlier.   Alaska agent said to walk quickly to the far end of the terminal and it may be in a holding room there.   Ran there, found our 2 suitcases and got to the Alaska counter exactly on time--11:30am!!!  Stressful all the way 'til the gate!!!    We don't understand why Princess even bothers asking us our plans if they completely ignore what we tell them!!!!

We booked an OV (obstructed view) room and got upgraded to a regular full ocean view room! I visited my friend's balcony cabin and our bathroom is larger than theirs! Our room is at the tail end of the ship so I think it's a remodeled room.

Pros: Close to fitness room and Explorer bar and far from the restaurants (which helps with exercises after voracious eating).

Cons: Since we are at the aft of the ship, engine and anchor noises are more noticeable. At night is no problem since we're usually dead tired. But if you want to have some quiet time during the day, you may not like the noises.

The restaurants are all excellent. We chose anytime eating since the excursion stops vary a lot. We travelled with a large group of 20 and sometimes they cannot accommodate us.

We enjoyed our Alaska cruise and the Island Princess.  We had spent 7 independent days touring Alaska by rental car so it was very relaxing to leave the details to the Island Princess.  I enjoyed the 2 sea days at the start of the cruise touring Hubbard Glacier and Glacier Bay...but then came 3 hectic days in ports. Fun but tiring and the evening activities after port days seemed diminished.

I would recommend this cruise to everyone seeking a scenic, exciting journey!  The staff was wonderful and attentive. Our waiters made great recommendations for dining selections. The steward kept our cabin clean and well stocked with linen.  Crewmembers always said, "Hello, madame ".  It didn't matter if they were busy at work or not. Fellow cruisers where friendly and happy to share their experiences.  Gteat variety of land excursions.

We enjoyed the land tour and cruise.  Alaska is beautiful.  The food was delicious and service was great.  Every one was so considerate and helpful  Service in dining room was excellent.  Our servers, Charles and Leila, number 10 went over and beyond serving us.  Arnold Soriano was waiter some nights anfd he was great too.  Ready to travel again!  

Doc Reynolds, our travel agent with WTH did an excellent job.  We are so thankful for all his help.   Thanks for a great week.

Barbara

 good stops, enjoyed the excursions

food was disappointing - we were in Alaska, I expected salmon on the menu every night. it was once and it wasn't very good

trip was mostly spent on cruising will little to see at stops.  in general we stopped at ports that were gateways to the gold fields but I didn't get any sense of what it took or the path taken.  guess this was the wrong trip fro what I was looking for.

second time that we cruise to Alaska and with Princess.  We can say we have seen the two faces of Alaska.  Two years ago in july the sun was out on the glacier with an amazing experience.  White mounds of ice crushing into the water.. This time in august the ice was almost black, with overcasted sky and

cloudy.   But we had a terrific time anyway!!

This was my favorite vacation in recent memory. I was so relaxed, and there were plenty of interesting things to do.  I enjoyed the naturalist lectures, the sled dog talk, the shows, the Sudoku and Trivia challenges, the excursions, the stretch and abs classes, and the pools.  The Island Princess is a glorious ship, with an alert, friendly, and helpful staff.  The wait staff in the dining room was superb, and the menu choices and presentations were out of this world.  Fabulous buffets too.  The included excursions in Denali and Fairbanks were perfect and gave us thorough and fascinating introductions to the state and its history.  Princess is expert at moving great numbers of people in a very organized way, without making us feel like sheep.  I felt that we were all treated with respect and courtesy at all times.