Island Princess Cruise Reviews - Reviews

Our first ever cruise and the Island set the bar!

Just not worth the price we paid, there were 6 of us all together (adults) and we all felt the same. I actually lost weight the food was just that bad Would I go to Alaska again .. yes, BUT never again on a cruise

This was our first cruise. We loved the fact the cruise experience could be what you wanted it to be. Things we enjoyed: eating in anytime dining, afternoon tea, presentations by naturalist Mark Harris, Wheelhouse bar and singing by Phoenix Rising, comedy and majic acts in theater, trivia contests, medallion net, message services and online services with ocean ready.

This was a first cruise and our travel agent recommended Princess. We loved the excursions we took and life on the ship was very relaxing.

We were basically impressed with the cruise experience and look forward to planning another. We enjoyed the ports Evenings were fun, starting with a relaxing dinner, a show and entertainment in the the Explorers Lounge.

Overall very enjoyable! I wished everything on the boat was not so costly. Most photographers did not seem professional and pictures were too pricey. You should offer some less expensive packages as options. Also bingo was too pricey. Everyone was very friendly and helpful! Thanks for a great time!!

Did the land portion from Fairbanks first. Great time and appreciated the cruise time to relax.

Very good. Really enjoyed the shows in the Princess Theatre. Excellent productions. Also enjoyed the naturalist's talks, although he is a bit full of himself. :-) If I hadn't been sick and had to visit medical and get charged a small fortune, I could have enjoyed the whole cruise a lot more.

We were pretty bored. Not a lot to do onboard on sea days. Musical entertainment poor except for Danny the guitar player/singer and the party band. All entertainment really meant for much older crowd (we’re 52 and 65). Ship is older; rumor was the that it is going to dry dock for refurbishment after this summer season.

July 3 – July 14. Your experience may have been worse or better, but this is mine. If you are going to do an Alaskan Cruise, you really should include the landtour, we saw sights you can only see from the ship and sights only from land…I feel you would miss too much if you didn’t do the landtour piece. Princess is very organized, it takes a lot to impress me, and I was impressed with the organization from start to finish. We used Princess for our flights, we saved $1000 by going through them, we also used them for all our transfers. Our luggage was always where it was supposed to be, when it was supposed to be there. Very impressive! The ship: Princess Island was ok. We were on Aloha Deck A418, right below the lido deck, but near the elevator. During the day you can hear the activity above us, but at night, it was fairly quiet. Our stateroom should have been cleaner upon arrival, however I brought my own wipes and cleaned all the surfaces which honestly needed it. I understand the quick turnaround between passengers, but there were coffee drips on surfaces. The bathroom door, and telephone, were a little gross. I recommend taking disinfectant wipes, even for just peace of mind of wiping down everything you may touch. Our room Steward was very nice and helpful, we tipped above what we prepaid. Our bed and pillows were very comfortable, we actually slept very well. If you are going to Alaska, you really need a balcony, we loved ours. We saw whales, sea otters, eagles, sea lions, seals, puffins and more! The food on ship was nothing to brag about, however with that being said, we didn’t go away hungry and we both gained a few pounds. We did not care for the hamburger station, the pizza or swirls. Which saved us many calories! We ate in the MDR twice, (FYI: NO SHORTS in the MDR) we liked the food, however the wait staff we had didn’t seem to have personalities, and it took so long, so we chose to eat most of our meals at the Horizon (buffet), outside of the Horizon were hand washing stations, I loved this! We ate at the Bayou Café once, the meal was ok, the desserts there were fabulous! We purchased the coffee card, the specialty coffees were good. The workout facility is nice. The production shows were very good! The costumes were amazing, and to think those players had to learn 3 shows is impressive. We did go to the Sanctuary even though we had a balcony. I recommend the Sanctuary on Glacier days. It’s really relaxing, we were catered to, and you can see both sides and it is not crowded. We loved the experience! I feel the staff on the ship could have been more friendly, most were none memorable, except for Anthony who managed the Sanctuary, we loved him! The Landtour: We enjoyed the lodges, with the exception of Mt. McKinley Wilderness Lodge. We were in building 19, the carpet in the hall was pure black filth and the walls were banged up. Our room was dirty, not filthy, but dirty. Be prepared to have lots of money for meals, so much more costly than I expected, however the food was really good. The train ride after disembarking from ship to the lodge was great, the Tundra Wilderness Tour into Denali National Park is well worth the upgraded cost. We saw Moose with babies, Goats/Sheep, Grizzlies, Eagles and more! Denali and Fairbanks lodges were very nice. The beds in the lodges were ok, the pillows were terrible, and we didn’t sleep very well, but it’s be expected I guess. The riverboat in Fairbanks was interesting and fun. We enjoyed the village and presentations. Packing: I’m an over packer, I like being prepared for anything, and I was. You do need to pack for 3 seasons, for sure. We needed our hoodies, sweaters, down vests, hats and gloves for walking on the decks of the ships in the morning and evenings. Some of the ports were downright hot, especially Hoonoh, walking the mile or so into town was hot. I’ve heard a lot of negative comments with regards to this port, but you see true Alaskan village, I would say not worth a whole day, unless you take an excursion.

This was a bucket list adventure, the whole package of great excursions, we did whale watching, river cruising, paning for gold, river rafting, zip lining- super fast. We met some wonderful peaople. We had great weather. No bugs to bother us.

Wonderful ship with great staff; very friendly and helpful. Most experiences were great onboard and in the ports. The exception was Sabatini’s. Our anniversary dinner on 06/21 was disappointing (slow service and disappointing food for some of the courses) as well as the lunch we had later in the cruise (speciality pizzas). The pizza from the pizza bar was better!

The Island Princess is a quiet, clean, efficient ship. Service is good, Food is iffy, and the cabins are comfortable. Eat lots of desserts.

We lucked out with nice weather for most of our days with the glacier. Park rangers board the ship and explain a lot about them

We thoroughly enjoyed our cruise. Everyone (both crew and other guests) was kind, considerate and helpful. As far as I could tell everything went very smoothly. A good time was had by all!

Relaxed and very friendly . Dress code was relaxed and food was well presented . Service was excellent .

Overall, it was a fun trip. The ship itself surprised us as it was so amazingly well kept up. Some shared lounges seem to be a bit crowded and spaces might be better thought out, but it is a small ship. Most every staff that we encountered were friendly, talkative and helpful. The ports were as expected, busy but fun. There are WAY more jewelry stores at each port and some of the owners can be a bit obnoxious, but if you walk quickly by, you can avoid them. Take time just to enjoy the scenes as you sail by the mountains. You'll find waterfalls, wildlife and beautiful sunrises and sunsets.

Wonderful ship and a great Alaskan itinerary. Loved every minute of this cruise. Will definitely do this cruise again. Loved the ports of call. Weather was excellent.

Also booked the cruise land tour Alaska was beautiful and we had the opportunity to join the 30% club, we saw Denali in all its snow covered splendor. Totally enjoyed both adventures

Added to the above, simply poor service. Uncaring, non-smiling, complacent staff who do a major disservice to the passengers. I am frustrated with the lack of responsibility and lack of fair play and good will Princess Cruise Line showed us.