Island Princess Cruise Reviews - Reviews

Great cruise.  Would have rated excellent if the food in the dining room had been better.  Since Princess engaged Curtis Stone as their top chef, the menu selection and the preparation has not been up to the past.  We enjoy the dining room and prefer not to eat in the Horizon Court for dinner; however, sometimes, we were forced to do so.  The service in the dining room was outstanding.

We were disappointed that this itinerary did not include Panama City as a port of call.

My wife and I just completed a 15 day Panama Canal cruise, so here are my impressions:

The ship's crew worked extremely hard to keep all areas spotless. I was amazed how clean everything was during the entire trip. There was hardly a wait for anything, including dinner, shows, disembarking, etc. There's a lot of high tech features on the ship such as the beautiful theater which had a huge LED video screen and a drop-down stage area. Their sound and lighting system was best I've seen anywhere. The on-board wi-fi that allows you to see upcoming events as well as your invoice, all up-to-the-minute was very well done.  The cruise director and his staff I give high marks to.  They were allows pleasant and offer a wealth of info every morning on the "Wake Show" on the TV in each room. The entertainment on-board was top-notch.  I would have liked to see some interesting meetings/seminars such as life-time learning talks.  Trivia seemed to be the most prevalent afternoon activity as well as an almost daily art auction. The two main pool areas (one indoor, one outdoor), were well populated by guests.  They offered a Pizza, ice cream and hamburger grill that were nice options for a quick meal that ran all day long till around 9 or 10pm. The outdoor pool area had a super large LED video screen with amazing sound. Cabin room size was adequate, but showers are a little tight if you're over 200 lbs (fortunately, not my problem).  I'd rate the food about average.  Nothing exceptional in the main dining room or buffet area, just a lot of it. However, we enjoyed the Bayou Restaurant which had a top-of-the-line steak selection. We had a table of 8 at the Bayou and everyone raved about their meal. Sabitini's Restaurant was a different story. There the same eight diners gave it mixed reviews.  These specialty restaurants charge $25/person and is not a bad price to pay giving us an alternative to the regular dining room menu that started getting a bit boring.  My wife (63 years old) and I (65) met up with some very nice fellow travelers on the ship that were in our age group, but there were a large number of older people, many using wheelchairs, walkers and oxygen, that kind of made me feel like this ship was more geared for an older crowd (a lot older than me).  Next time, I think I'd rather look for a ship where the average age was a bit lower.  All-in-all a fun time with good memories.

The crossing of the Panama Canal was really a must to see once in a lifetime...a marvel of ingenuity!

However, the stop in Aruba was too short...back on the ship by 12.30 PM and then we had a very long day in ports that did not offer much: Like in Nicaragua...could have done without!

The dining was enjoyable and the desserts great!

Entertainment could have been more varied with not so much "one person" shows  All in all, a very attractive ship, great service and staff everywhere, would do it again!

was great to work with prior to our cruise. We loved seeing the Panama Canal & Aruba. Not so impressed with the ports/piers we stopped at. Every port was a different pier than what we were supposed to stop at except Aruba. Princess cruise staff while on ship were great, not so good when we went ashore at Jamaica, Costa Rica & we didn't get to go ashore in Panama unless we had an excursion booked because we were once again diverted to an alternate pier. We did however get off the ship at the pier to shop in a tent with local vendors, about 15 stalls. We did 2 excursions, one in Columbia, the other in Jamaica. Columbia we did a hop-on hop-off bus tour. Not sure what to expect but did get off at a beach & were immediately approached by locals trying to give us a massage or to rent their tent & chairs on the beach. We were not interested in any of this but they followed us the whole time we were there. After 30 to 45 minutes of this we left. Got on bus & off again for a guided walking tour. The guide was great & spoke very good English. Dunn's river falls in Jamaica was very very busy & we did not like the so-called beach after the falls. It was all rocks with chairs, no sand.  Could not even swim because the rocks were so bad & water was too shallow.  Once again we docked at a bad pier so no shopping in area, it was a cargo port. I give this a 3 star rating because of the conditions of the piers we docked at. 

We had a great experience from beginning to end. We thought that the food, activities and entertainment onboard ship were excellent! We also had fun on the shore excursions.

First Princess cruise. The ship and crew did a fine job. The entertainment was consistently good, especially one comedian. But the theater was too small and filled up early. The food was delicious and varied. We prefer self-serve soft-serve ice cream but the lines weren't terrible at the counter. The portions for entrees were very generous and the desserts were actually sweet which was delightful compared to so many cruises where the desserts look good but taste bland. 

Aruba--stick to the beaches, inland is dry and boring

Cartegena--the fort is impressive, the old town quaint and interesting

Panama--the canal is amazing, fort-not so much

Costa Rica--beautiful forests and canals, watched a sloth climb in slow-motion

Jamaica--beautiful, crazy lines for the tram/bobsled, climbing Dunn's River Falls was our favorite excursion activity.

Some of the stops were very short but we got to do what we wanted. Getting people to excursions has been better executed on other cruises. Be advised that the passengers were older with very few families, children, or teens. Kind of missed the younger folks but enjoyed the "experienced" group.

We had a wonderful time! Thank you Island Princess.

This cruise was very enjoyable.  It had nice ports and a lot of things to do while on ship  I thoroughly enjoyed this cruise, the staff and the guests.

To all:

Thank you for wonderful time.  Food was excellent.  Service was impeccable.

It was a big pleasure to travel on your ship.  The states viisited provided an example of living conditions outside US.

Gennady Metlitsky

The Panama Canal was the highlight of the cruise.  It is truly a marvel of engineering.  The new channel being built for larger ships is also amazing.  School books and other stories about the canal do not do it justice.

In Jamaca, we recommend making your excursion plans in advance, either through the ship or BJ's travel agency.  There were  six ships in port with us and people booking excursions on the dock were not able to not able to do all the things they wanted, and the price at the dock were higher.

We definitely recommend this cruise for all ages.

Please see the comments below.  We had a mixed experience with Princess.  This was our first Princess experience, and will probably be our last.  The outstanding feature on the Island Princess was the Sanctuary, which we used quite a bit.

The canal itself is the main attraction and it is an amazing story and engineering feat. grand Cayman had some of the liveliest reefs I have seen anywhere. The ship was new and fresh in nearly everything. I do wish there was a bit more time allowed in ports, but due to travel times, this was not possible. There is enough time for excursions, but not for walking around the ports. However, walking too far off the beaten track in Colon is not recommended anyway.

For our last several cruises we have requested "Anytime Dining" & we have been very satisfied.  This time  for the first 2 nights, there were long lines & at least an hour wait.  We switched to a set time with the same people & this turned out to be very satisfactory.  We enjoyed dining with interesting & congenial people.  The wait staff greeted us as good friends.  Also, choosing a second seating meant that we would go to the first theatre production.  When we came out, there were very,very long lines to get into the second performance.  Since the shows are excellent, we were glad to get right in for the first seating.  

We have signed up for a future cruise, as we always do.  We look forward to it--whenever it is!

It was very refreshing to wake up each morning knowing that we were in for another relaxing day.  The mornings could be spent on our balcony reading and enjoying the sun or take part in the many excursions that were offered.  There was always something to do on board which made the days fly by.  The entertainment was outstanding.  We would definitely recommend Princes Cruises.  

It was a great experience, especially going through the canal zone and the excursion into the canal zone.   The ports were also great, protected well and tours were interesting.   I only regret we did not go to Costa Rica because of the weather.   I am glad we didn't risk the wind to go there, but was really looking forward to it.   

The Island Princess, staff, entertainment, food, everything was wonderful. Had a great time. Aruba was very nice. We were impressed by Cartagena, Columbia. It was much more modern that we realized. The Panama Canal (Partial transit) was great - with a historian speaking about it as we went. The only minor issues were that since the Island Princess has to be small enough to fix through the Panama Canal locks, the largest theater was a bit small to hold half the guests at one time, and there was a wait for the 'any time' dining. But we planned ahead, got in line early, so we were able to eat and see the shows when we wanted. The showers are tiny.   The Stateroom was great, bed was very comfortable. It was nice having a mini refrigerator in our room.  We did not go on an excurion in Costa Rica, but walked around the wonderful Tourist/craft center in the cruise ship port area. They do have nice stuff at good prices.

Staff great, ship very nice, loved movies at main pool. 

Food in restaurants should be better, buffet was always Good. Seating at anytime dining was problematic, long lines and not enough seats for earlier dining, trying to get reservation for dinner hit or miss. 

Scheduling of evening events confusing, first show was always packed & often couldn't get seat. Whole scheduling of dinner and shows needs to be looked at to make less crowded and simpler, no one wants to stand in line on cruise. 

Happy hour every afternoon wonderful for prices and people watching. 

Excursions a little chaotic, even though not Princess product they probably need to vet them better especially in Panama.

Overall good, again staff ALL wonderful but some work needed to make a 5 star experience!

It was a beautiful cruise, with a couple of exceptions. The free style dining did not work so free style- I guess more people opted for that choice. The first few nights of  the cruise the line/wait to be seated was unreasonably long. Although I must say the staff  (Moises) handled the situation in a very  pleasant manner.

The Waiters were warm and professional, in particular Karina  in the anytime dining room-Lovely young lady. Sayrel  Xnesa, waiter, in the reserved seating dining room was also exceptional. Our room steward, Marlon was also exceptional.

Thanks for a beautiful cruise!!!

This 10  day Island Princess cruise was fantastic!, Excellent Food and Service.

Great entertainment. Very relaxing. Took our cruise Jan 24, only one child on board. We like children but not so much we don't have our grand children cruising with us.

One of the best if not best cruise we have taken to date. We have been about 15 to date. Happy Cruising!

only have been on one other cruise and I was disappointed in this cruise. The staff was excellent but that is about all I could say was positive through out.

the wait staff was excellent,ROLANDO GARCIA,MICHEAL BAILE,TOOK CARE

OF US AT THE DINNING ROOM EVERY DAY.

NIKKI WAS OUR ROOM SERVICE GUY,HE WAS EXCELLANT TOO......

THE ONLY DISAPPOINTMENT FOR US WAS YOUR CASINO,WE COULD

NOT WIN ,WE PLAYED EVERY NITE ON YOUR DOLLAR MACHINES. NOT

FRIENDLY OR HELPFUL PEOPLE THERE.

MUCH BETTER ON OUR HOLLAND AMERICA TRIP.