Island Princess Cruise Reviews - Reviews

Just a beautiful trip. We want to do it again as soon as possible.

The staff were excellent. Service was above what we would expect. Cant wait to cruise again on Princess

I have some comments on the land portion. No where to add it.

Awesome Beautiful trip! Beautiful state! Everyone should go experience this wildlife if possible

Doing an Alaskan cruise was a trip of a lifetime. Doing the land portion before the cruise was a great idea, too. Loved the whole experience! We were so lucky to have wonderful weather in most of the Alaskan ports.

Our room smelled like smoke, verified by several people. I'm assuming the people before us smoked. Staff played dumb. I think they just thought we were looking for an upgrade. It was pretty annoying.

We absolutely loved our Alaskan Cruise. This was my 7th cruise and the Island Princess is my favourite ship so far. Food in all areas was good, the staff friendly and efficient and the entertainment was excellent. We managed to get a suite for same price as balcony and enjoyed that (although I wouldn't pay extra for just 2 of us to upgrade).

This was my first time cruising so I did not know what to expect. it did exceed my expectations. From the time I dropped my luggage to the time I flew home, it was a fantastic experience.

This was a 20th Anniversary Cruise and we really enjoyed it. We saw a lot of wildlife from the ship, and loved the glacier viewing. Our Mini-Suite was wonderful, Princess remembered our occasion, and included many thoughtful touches for us. We were glad we had the "beverage package" and used it often, enjoyed the food as well. We had a great time and would do it again!!

The crew make or break a ship. In this case they definitely made it, all members of staff were helpful and friendly. This was my first trip to Alaska and it was incredible! It certainly won’t be my last. We had a long flight to Vancouver from Heathrow to start the trip but were met by helpful representatives from Princess along the way to make the holiday smooth and stress-free. Plenty to see and do in Vancouver, we only had one night but did get out to experience the city. The Westin Bayshore was very nice and in a great location. The food onboard was very good, lots of variation despite other reviews saying there was very little. However, the Horizon Court can get quite busy, although we never waited for a table. Embarkation in Vancouver was quick and easy. We utilised the Platinum embarkation lounge. Plenty to do on the sea days, plan a timetable the night before from the Princess Patter. Icy Strait Point was great. Whale watching and brown bear search - we saw a pod of killer whales, humpback whales bubble feeding and came within feet of three bears, a mother and cubs. The rangers had to load their guns as the bears continued advancing and it was a very tense experience, trapped on a platform by three bears, but it was incredible. Our guide, who had been in the job for 10 years, said they’d never come so close. The group that followed 10 minutes later didn’t see a thing. That’s the magic of Alaska. I’d recommend an excursion in Icy Strait, otherwise there isn’t much to see. Whale sightings are guaranteed so take an excursion! You may see the occasional whale from the ship but not as close or for as long an experience as an excursion will provide. Juneau didn’t disappoint. The weather cleared up and we were the first group in a couple of weeks to be able to fly by helicopter to the Mendenhall Glacier to go dog sledding. Great experience! In Skagway we took a trip to Haines, plenty of bald eagles and again, a bear sighting. Our guide said they hadn’t seen any bears for over a week so clearly the luck followed us on this trip! The provided lunch wasn’t great so we ate in the Horizon Court when back on the ship. There are plenty of spaces for glacier viewing onboard but we booked into The Sanctuary on Glacier Bay day. It was worth it and the crew were always busy. Great service! We had torrential rain and were drenched but we had travelled from the UK for this trip and we were determined to make the long journey worth it. The night of Glacier Bay was the 2nd formal night and the Captain’s Circle Party for Platinum/Elites was very entertaining! College Fjord, I thought, bettered Glacier Bay. The naturalists and rangers were great in Glacier Bay and were absent in College Fjord but the scenery in College Fjord amazed us. 10 glaciers in view at one time, surrounded by Beluga whales and low sitting clouds shaping the landscape. Mark Harris, the onboard naturalist was very informative and I strongly recommend you attend the naturalist talks in the Princess Theatre! Disembarkation was easy in Whittier. Caught the Denali Explorer train for our land tour. The train journey, although 11 hours long, was never boring and exceeded our expectations in terms of service. 2 nights in the Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge, 1 night in the Mt McKinley Princess Wilderness Lodge and another night in The Hotel Captain Cook, Anchorage. Both lodges were in a great location and we had a great time. The included history tour in Denali was great, we saw caribou and moose. The photography workshop was also fun. In a small group of 4, our guide, Eva, was very helpful and took us to some great spots to photograph the National Park. A couple of visits to beaver dams didn’t disappoint as one emerged and crossed the lake before us! The Chulitna Gorge tour was also worthwhile in Talkeetna (Mt Mckinley Lodge). Interesting visit to a trapper’s hut and great boat trip up the river networks of the park. Plenty of bald eagles again! The Hotel Captain Cook was great, the restaurants on site were very nice. Food was well priced and of a high standard. Both lodges are expensive to eat in although convenient. We found Vancouver bettered Anchorage. More to see and do, however we didn’t have long to stay as we caught an 8am flight to Seattle and a 2pm flight from Seattle to Heathrow. A lot of travelling but this trip was worth it! My recommendations for this cruise and ship.... There are many complaints about the size of the showers on the ship. I can’t say we experienced this as we had an aft-facing balcony. These cabins were added during the 2015 refit. They have the same layout as the Royal-class balcony cabins. I’d recommend comparing the deck plans of Coral and Island and choosing a newly added cabin for the extra space. Also, the wake view is something you can’t miss! We had drinks packages, yet still incurred charges from the bars. Check your onboard accounts regularly as we were charged for beverages included in our package. Guest services removed such charges after review. The all-inclusive photo package is great value for money. We ended up with around 150 photos and all of the stored electronically on a USB also. If on a land tour, make sure to have 2 nights or more in Denali. If you don’t then the time will fly and you’ll constantly be on the move. You want time to enjoy the experience. The ship is ageing and there are subtle signs of that but if you go around picking at the negatives then you’ll be overcome with misery. Make the most of what the ship has to offer and don’t let a little wear and tear ruin your opinion of the holiday. The ship was always very clean. Finally, I understand that we were incredibly lucky with the weather and wildlife sightings. Many people travelled and barely saw an eagle, let alone 5 bears, caribou, moose and a total of 3 orca pods and 17 humpback whales. Wildlife isn’t guaranteed and had we not seen such animals we would’ve been very disappointed. I do recommend the cruise and if you don’t go, you have no chance of seeing anything! Don’t let the risk of not seeing anything put you off as if you do happen to spot wildlife, you’ll understand why I say this trip is worth every penny.

Good experience. Second time to Alaska, this time we choose (Land + cruise), went to Denali first before cruise, very nice.

I loved almost everything about this shop. The food was good and I could always find something that I liked. The crew was fantastic and always helpful. Be patient with them on the first day! (I saw a lot of people being really rude to crew on the first day because service was taking longer due to the mass swarms of people. The crew are amazing and will help you when they can but you are one of many so please remember that and be nice to the crew!!!) The only downside was the lack of open air deck areas. There was no deck with full wraparound open access which was disappointing. I was still able to find places to go outside and watch for wildlife without too many crowds. The cabins are a decent size (I had a balcony for reference) and had ample storage space. The shower water seemed to be either cold or hot and it could be a challenge to get a warm temperature that lasted more than a minute. Laundry on the last day is a mess. Unless you need to, avoid it. We hit some swells once we got into the gulf of Alaska so be prepared with Dramamine if you are susceptible to motion sickness.

This was a nice relaxing cruise, and I thought the Island Princess was a fun ship for its size. I prefer a bigger ship because there are more activities and options for food, but they did a good job of providing fun things to do. Mark Harris (the Naturalist) raised the trip a level by himself. His presentations were the highlights for me on the ship, and he was so kind and helpful when I ran into him around the ship. The other presenters were also excellent.

If the food in the dining room had been better, this would have been a much better trip. The burgers and dogs at the grill topside, were better than the food in the dining room and that shouldn't be the case! Was really looking forward to fresh local seafood (salmon, crab legs, prawns, scallops, hallibut etc.) but was disappointed. My suggestion would be, if you can't provide fresh, well prepared, local seafood, don't put it on the menu. I would expect the quality of seafood we were served in the midwest, but not aboard a ship. Also, dishes that are supposed to be spicy, should be. i.e. jambalya Another thing that bothered us was that there were no food options available after 10PM or in the bars....with dinner being over at 6:30ish and folks drinking for a few hours listening to music, dancing, etc., a snack would have been nice....something more than a few peanuts. Suggestions: chips and salsa or queso, popcorn, assorted cheeses and crackers, soft pretzels, desserts, etc. doesn't have to be fancy, just needs to be available.

Cabin A615 Had a fabulous time! Cruised with 3 other couples which made it even better. We took full advantage of everything...from bingo to restaurants. Enjoyed the shows (some more than others), the individual singers (there was an Irish female singer that was outstanding), we all enjoyed the food. We mainly ate breakfast and lunch in the buffet and dinner in the dining room. Excursions were a blast!!!! Icy Strait Point was just okay. We went on the bear search. Yes, we saw a couple bears and their cubs but we were expecting more at that price. Whale watching in Juneau was great. Saw lots of whale and even them “bubble netting” (where about 13 of them dive down and all come up together in a circle! Zip lined in Skagway - unbelievable! Yes, the ship is a little worn - but we chose not to concentrate on that but our time together. Great time!

My husband and I truly enjoyed our trip. The speakers Captain Jack Malone and Naturalist Mark Harris were wonderful...Our room was great, loved the balcony. Beds were awesome.

The days at sea are truly amazing! The onboard naturalist gave information about what we could see. Also the food was very good, there was plenty of choice and everything tasted well.

If this cabin is typical of Princess ships, we have found a favorite cruise line (after being on 5 other cruise lines). The layout is unique and we actually had room to walk between the bed and the wall! Our waiter, Melvin, really knew his way around the menu. A couple times he recommended against a particular selection but brought an extra plate of it for us to try. Be sure to go to the show that features the Head Chef and the Hotel Matre' de. It was great fun.

For a relaxed and nature immersed experience an Alaskan Cruise is a great choice. The view was spectacular! The stateroom was beautifully renovated. The staff was attentive and present. The food at the buffet could use a little more variety.

A life changing trip. The naturalist was great, the entertainment was amazing and the cabin was my heaven on earth!!!!