Island Princess Cruise Reviews - Reviews

The ship was excellent in facilities.  The food was superb!  The service was excellent.  My favorite place was on the chaise lounge at the Lotus Pool.  There were Lots of people, but I could always "get away" and find a quite place.  And dancing - lots of dancing.  The Provence dining room was The Place to eat.  Many thanks to Jeff Parks at .

It was so nice to go with a smaller number of people on our excursions, rather than joining 50 other people in a bus....with 3-5 more busses all going to the same location.  We were given specific instructions on where to meet our guide and our group.  Sometimes it was an adventure trying to figure out exactly where to go, but we were able to connect in the correct place each time.  All the guides were very helpful and the information we received about the cultures and history of each country we visited was amazing.  Can't wait to go on another cruise/trip!

Found the crew to be very courteous and eager to be helpful. Food was even better than on the Ruby princess on our Meditteraneam cruise in 2010! The entertainment was superb especially the four headline singers! Especially loved hearing and watching Ty Nelson! She is going to be a big star one day! She has talent, beauty and a very sweet personality! 

If we can afford, would love to go on more Primcess cruises.  We are retired and on a very tight budget!

This was our first cruise on Princess. The ship appeared to be clean and well maintained and the staff -excellent. Everyone was pleasant and helpful with excellent customer service. Our only complaint was that the Princess Theatre was so small you could not get into any shows. We saw one excellent dance show by standing in the back. We alway choose anytime dining on cruises but on this ship it meant waiting in line to get in every night. We ate in speciality restaurants 4 nights because we did not want to wait in line. It seemed like we paid a great deal of money for this cruise to receive this kind of dining and entertaining experience. By the way, the food was excellent everywhere and the entertainment around the various locations on the ship was great.

Overall Princess did a good job throughout the 10 days. Some Ports could be eliminated such as Cartagena Columbia. all the others were fun and informative

Bad sanitation practices no wander they have whole ships get sick. I won't be back. Mark your fork and spoons or they will just pass them on to someone else at the table. 

Not really crazy about the Island Princess.  It's an older ship and has been upgraded but still needs some work.  Glass outside our balcony wasn't cleaned from the time we boarded until the day we disembarked.  Anytime dining is a disaster;  lines are so long waiting to get seated.  We were told that the size of the dining rooms were reduced to make room for extra cabins therefore reducing the number of guest who can be seated at one given time.  First port of call was Grand Cayman which was a 'tender' call and because of the 'swells' the tender service was halted and then restarted so it took a lot longer accommodating all of the passengers getting off in Grand Cayman.  Cartagena was the next port of call and it was quite enjoyable;  next was the Panama Canal which was awesome.  We stayed onboard and watched everything from the balcony.  Then we stopped in Colon to pick up those passengers who went on tours of the canal;  didn't get off there as we were told it wasn't that safe.  Then to Limon, Costa Rica -  very depraved area;  all of the residences had bars on the windows and doors;  beaches were cluttered with trash and tree branches;  streets were full of pot holes and trash;  very poor area;  not sure why they even stop here.  Then to Ocho Rios Jamaica which was just OK.  Food on board was just OK;  not much of a choice on the daily menu;  only a few new things each day.  Then there was the WIFI;  that was just horrible.  I'm not sure why they even offer WIFI;  it was worst than Dial-Up; the speed was so slow that you wound up spending a fortune if you use the 'pay as you go plan'.  Other plans were way over priced!

The Island Princess is a beautiful ship. The food was very good. The crew was fantastic, helpful and pleasant. The ports were interesting and very much a good representation of their countries. Would love to do it again!

While the vessel itself and the staff was above average in almost every aspect, the quality of the food (especially in the Speciality dining rooms) left a lot to be desired.  The tours were located too far from the port which resulted in much too much time going to and from the tour site. The only tour worth taking was the Panama Canal tour itself (done beautifully and well).  All the other tours were not worth the money.  We missed the first tour (swimming with the stingrays) because I immeidately got the "runs" the first night of the cruise and was isolated to my cabin for 24 hours.  It may have been a coincidence, but the ship had to be totally sanitized in mid-cruise even though a total santizing effort had been made before we boarded because the previous cruise had suffered a norobirus problem.

The llive production shows varied from very bad to very good -- even within one show!  The opening musical number was almost always "CRAP RAP" - nothing but screaming and hollering - especially the female singers who all think they are Mariah Cary reincarnate (trust me, they are NOT!).  One of the shows in particular was absolutely  WONDERFUL - the best we have ever seen in over a half a century of cruising. Then there was one show that we just walked out of after listening to just 1-2 minutes of pure CRAP RAP.

But the worst part of the cruise was the disembarkation process.  First, no one EVER told us how to get, or where to get, the luggage tags for our bags.They truly didn't know what they were doing. Then after visiting the Customer Service  Customer Service they printed us our tags.  

The next morning our tag number was included with some other groups  that were sent to a theater location to await their call.  .Apparently the air conditioning was turned off in the theater immediately after the second show held on the previous night and it was HOT in the theater.  The Princess employees officiating did not have the common sense to advise the appropriate department, so I, along with a few others, had to just about order them to have the a/c turned on.  It was done, but too little too late.  One person became ill from the heat and was led away for (hopefully) treatment. We were held in the theater from around 9:30am to around 11:30 ambefore being led away to Customs.

I go on cruises to RELAX! I have been on many cruises and this was one of my favorites. Prior to sailing customer service agents were easily accessible by phone and were helpful. Great embarkation and disembarkation with no pressure to hurry up with the bags the night before and able to make last minute changes without a problem. I am not a big fan of formal nights (I get tired of dressing up for dinner) so only two on a ten night cruise was much appreciated. This is not to say the food was not always great. It was!!! Big lobster tails! Caviar sushi on the buffet one day! My favorite dessert, Creme Brulee was offered every night. Crispy American bacon at breakfast! Excellent Fettucine Alfredo as a nightly standard. The guaranteed rate that we paid resulted in three adjacent midship exterior cabins. I will do guaranteed rates again!! The officers were English as were many of the passengers. Announcements were in English. The mandatory passenger drill was simple, not a ridiculously conducted exercise as some are. The ship lay-out was convenient. Trivia, which we love, was 2X daily or more. The shore excursion desk was so helpful and did not simply push excursions. All crew was extremely polite (unlike a number of crew and officers on the last Holland America cruise that we took which was the final of five with them.) The coffee bar card and two locations made my lattes cheap and close by. Free water! Yay! (Come on, MSC. Take a water cue from Costa.) I have NO complaints. I will brag to others about my first Princess cruise which I hope will be the first of many. 

Nice ship. Food good. Did NOT get adjoining room with friends, AS PROMISED, Rooms 624/626 (they got 625 instead, the other side of the ship) Anytime dining was a problem, difficult to get table for four without long wait. Service in dining room was excellent (once we got in). Never got to Cayman Islands, due to SLOW tenders (water was choppy). Music at the pool area was often EXTREMELY LOUD ROCK, not necessarily ideal for older guests, which were in the majority. Cruise is supposed to be relaxing! Paid for, and never got, Hop on/ hop off bus in Cartagena-driver refused our voucher from !! Expect refund.

Food was terrible. The specialty restaurants were worse There was nor-virus on the boat which they did not tell us about for 3 days. The windows on the stateroom were dirty on the first day and were not cleaned. There was no entertainment to speak of. They had the crew try to do a show. lol  Days at sea with no entertainment or anything to do but  not try to stave from the bad food or get sick form the virus.  Do no eat the seafood!

We've never taken a cruise this long before and we are not retired, as most of the passengers are. Retired folks love the lenght of cruise and walk out wanting more but if you are in working age, it is a bit too much. The ship itself is so so in decor - dated. The entertainment is boring, and a huge disappointment was location of the gym in enclosed area. Any other ships have the gym on upper deck looking to the ocean and here they sacrificed gym location for the sake of adding more rooms -- huge mistake -- I will not recommend the ship to any friends. Food was good and the staff super friendly.

The Canal transit was remarkable and an epitome of a grand engineering marvel. The experience aboard ship made it all that much more special, indelibly a part of one of the best trips of my life!

This cruise exceeded our expectations.  The captain, Tim Springer, made our cruise memorable and safe.  The ship was clean.  We had an ocean view room and it was very nice.  Our cabin attendant was very attentive and friendly.  There were plenty of activities to keep us busy.  We enjoyed Zumba, line dancing, the shows, art auction, chef's presentation and tour of the kitchen.  Our server and assistant were very attentive and friendly.  We also enjoyed the pool and walking around the promenade deck.  The only thing that annoyed us was the people that hog the chaise lounges.  One particular day there were no chairs available.  However, one chair had towels on it and no one showed up during the five hours we were there without a chair.

Had an excellent experience onboard and on shore!  Visited Aruba, Colombia, Panama Canal, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Mexico!  Enjoyed the food, service and entertainment on the ship. The shore excursions were well run and informative.  The cruise ship Island Princess was very clean and the construction was solid.  Very attentive crew and pleasant atmosphere on Princess Cruise ship.

I have added things below.  As you can tell by reading the text below we were happy with the crusise but would not recommend it to a friend.  The ship had been updated but many parts were still in need of repair.  I could not believe the size of the room.....or bathroom especially.   The comedian was right when he said you can sit on the toilet and wash your hand in the sink and your right foot in the shower.  (sorry I am comparing other ships we have been on

Entertainment, stateroom attendants, waiters and hostess could not have more perfect.  Professional in every shape and form. Food was excellent. Each stop in Aruba, Columbia, Costa Rica,   Jamaica, and Panama was unforgettable experience.   The on ship WiFi with current events and happenings was a new added feature but the satellite WiFi remain very inferior to many other non-Princess cruises.  Must be upgraded to current technology providing interface to email, Facebook, the internet with acceptable access and response time.

My husband and I had a wonderful time cruising to the Panama Canal.  The Island excursions were top notch.  The food and entertainment was exceptional.  We were very happy with the cruise staff.  Everyone was friendly and helpful.

I really enjoyed cruising with Princess.  The Island Princess was beautiful and sooo clean ( they even let us tour the galley, and it was spotless!!).  The Food was excellent with so much variety that I am sure any preference could be satisfied.  The staff/crew were always helpful and considerate!  The only thing that held me back from giving a five star rating was the entertainment; I thought there would be more "shows".  Additionally, the "destination lectures", although informative, felt more like sales pitches for the excursions.  I often felt like the whole cruise was targeted to selling something or the other;  jewelry, art, excursions, future cruises....instead of focusing on providing an unforgettable experience on the current cruise!  That being said, I will definitely cruise with Princess again!