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A floating retreat, bound for exciting destinations
Island Princess is your own private retreat on the sea. Whether you crave relaxation or exhilaration, you'll find the soothing Lotus Spa®, live entertainment, gourmet cuisine, casino gaming and more. And for a special treat, try the Bayou Café and Steakhouse, which features New Orleans-inspired Cajun and Creole cuisine.
About us We were first time Princess cruisers and our first Panama Canal trip. We have done several other cruise lines but most recently several on Royal Caribbean. My wife and I were “average age” for this cruise group. We purchased the Plus package (under the older rules) Overall This is a quick summary for those who don’t want to read all of the details on this long review. We enjoyed the Island Princess despite the age of the ship. The size was perfect for us. We enjoyed the main dining room and were a bit less satisfied with the buffet. The crew was great and the entertainment was good. The ports of call were good overall with a couple of exceptions. 16 days went by quickly and we would do it again if we had the chance. Pre-cruise We arrived a few days early to visit the LA area. The night before boarding, we stayed on the Queen Mary. It is walking distance to Long Beach cruise terminal and about 25 minutes from San Pedro. We had a very nice stay. We booked a king bed, harbor facing. Having free access to explore the ship was great. Seeing some of the historical figures that sailed on it made it even more special. It gets some negative reviews but for someone about to set sail on a modern cruise ship it was a great warmup. We booked a ride-share to the cruise terminal, although they picked up the wrong party and we ended up just taking a local driver. Embarkation One nice thing about the smaller ships is that you don’t have the mass of people as you do on the larger ones. There was no traffic and no wait to drop our bags They had asked us to arrive after noon due to delays in immigration for the incoming cruise and most people seemed to comply. The wait for the Green lane was about 20 minutes, mostly to go through the security checkpoint. There was no line at all at check in. Once on board, we watched the safety video and found our muster station. While we were trying to work out what to do next, they announced cabins were ready. We made our way there and our 3 bags were already waiting. The next stop was the buffet for lunch. Our first impression was it felt small. The salad bar as an example, had lettuce but only a few other vegetables. There were a lot of different options but not the wow factor on most ships we have been on. More on this later. Due to the earlier delays, we didn’t end up leaving until 5pm. By then, the sun was setting, it was already cooling off and a bit chilly on deck. Our shipmates There were just over 2100 people on board. On this particular cruise, only 4 children. The average age was 69. About 75% from the US with Canada and the UK among the rest. Needless to say, everyone was well behaved. For the three formal nights, the attire ran the gamut from causal to dress clothes, to suits, to tuxedos and gowns. The ship This is an older ship but it is well designed. It has several bars with plenty of room for the guests. The main pool area was busy on sunny days but usually an open recliner. The Lotus pool area was quiet and had more comfortable recliners. Rarely were either pool and/or hot tubs full. The main piazza was attractive. They held a few events in here but there was limited space. One thing you worry about with an older and smaller ship is stability. Despite having several days with gale force winds and rough seas, it was not a problem. They did close some of the upper decks and the pools for a time. The medallion technology is very useful. Unlocking cabin doors is handy. We also used it to locate each other on occasion. We took advantage of serviceNow a few times (although it typically took at least 30 minutes to deliver). The common areas were cool and my wife had a sweater handy for dinner and the theater. We had no issues keeping our cabin comfortable. Elevators were reliable and fast. When leaving the shows, we used the central elevators. When we first saw the casino, we thought there must be another section but there wasn’t. It had the standard table games and slots. We never saw it busy for this particular cruise. Wi-Fi worked great almost everywhere and had good speed. We had 1 device at a time and used it on our phones, tablets and computer. Swapping between devices was simple. It was easiest to have the app installed to swap. Because the internet login is tied to your Princess account, it seems harder to share devices with other people compared to RC where the app logins and internet logins are separate. Buffet Our daily routine is the buffet for breakfast and lunch. They have the main dining room open as well. Our schedule just never lines up. On sea days, we tend to finally get moving around 9 which is about the same time that MDR breakfast ends. Then by the time we are thinking about lunch, that service is over. As I mentioned above, the buffet felt small and repetitive compared to RC even on ships of similar size. However, unlike the first day, there was a larger assortment of options on display. We never went hungry and found something to eat. I guess it’s a thing on Princess but the lunch buffet almost never has hamburgers, hot dogs or fries. These were available at the Salty dog cafe. They made them to order here, which was a slow process. Pizza is also available just outside the buffet as well. Dinner did have a theme night that had more variety. One nice thing was that the buffet was open from 6 AM to 10 PM (coffee bar until 10:30 PM) most days. On Royal Caribbean, there were times that you wanted something to eat but the buffet was closed. Main dining As for the MDR, we were quite pleased. You can choose how you want to do dinner. They have the traditional style where you go at a set time every day (5 or 7) with the same waiters and table mates. You can also reserve a spot each day at the same or different time in which case, you just get seated randomly. Or you can just show up and be seated as tables become available. We chose a 5:20 seating. We requested a private table but you were always near at least one other couple. This ended up randomizing who we sat by and waiters. We encountered some guests that had requested the same table every night (a 5th option). This time typically gave us enough time to eat and catch the early (7PM) show although it was very tight. More on shows later. We thought the food was pretty good. The menus were more creative than we had on RC. Other Dining Options We ate at Crown Grill and it was better than MDR but expensive ($55+tip). Most likely because they want you to buy the Premier package, there was never any special pricing offered. Plus, with only 2 specialty restaurants to choose from, they were booked up most nights until late. With Princess, most passengers can’t book until final payment. Knowing this, we made our final payment a few weeks early and booked a couple of the options we wanted right away. We have done the Chefs table on RC and when I saw it was available, we wanted to try it. Even when booking early, it was just an available one evening. It was a wonderful experience. The effort they put into it was incredible. The food was amazing although many things we don’t typically eat like caviar. Unlike Royal (which does it every night but not nearly as well), it was only offered for a few nights. Another night we had a balcony dinner and it was a very nice experience. We booked it for just before sunset so it was very memorable. There was a lot of food and all well prepared. At only a few dollars more than eating at the specialty restaurants, we highly recommend it. We also took advantage of the casual dining included with plus but didn’t find the Gastropub to our liking but the pizza at Alfredo’s was good. The ice cream shop was great, but the specialty desserts were too much for the average person. Entertainment The entertainment overall was varied and good. We had several singers, a magician, a ventriloquist, plus the on-board crew dance crew. They were the typical cruise shows but were done well and you had a good time. Alastair (from Victoria) was a relatively new cruise director but he did a good job and seemed to be everywhere. The entertainers for the most part were targeted at the age group for this cruise. Most nights they did a 7 PM and a 9 PM show. We like to do the early shows, but these were typically filled 30 minutes in advance. With our dinner time that was just enough room to get there and get a seat. A couple evenings they did the early show at 6 PM and the late at 8 PM. I think that worked better for this age group because the people who wanted to eat later could go to the early show and the people who ate early could go to the later show. You typically like the production shows or you don’t. They were good and entertaining but not our thing. One nice thing is that they swapped the headliner entertainers at various port stops so that added to the variety (although they did need to get creative when we didn’t stop in Aruba). The various game shows and other entertainment were well done as well. Liars Club was very creative. Destination and ship talks One aspect that really made this cruise successful is the destination talks. Our destination expert, Gary, really knew his stuff. Despite our research into the various ports and the locks, his first-hand experience made things go very smoothly. They also had various topics and crew department presentations as well which were very educational. Cabin We had a balcony cabin on deck 11, also known as the Baja deck. We never had any noise from the adjacent rules or above although it was near a crew area that did get some early morning noise. We were almost exactly midship and it was convenient. The cabin had enough room for us and ample storage space. The large walk-in closet by the bathroom was more than enough space for our clothes. Plus, there were cabinets and bedside drawers for the things we needed. We had room left over. The safe was small and was fine for our valuables, but not large enough to put in iPad for example. Given the age of the ship there are no USB outlets. There are two US plugs by the desk, which are very close together and challenging to plug two chords into at the same time. Princess allows extension cords and we brought one with a USB charging port as well as to plug in our CPAPs. There are 2 European style outlets under the bed, which are hard to reach and are for the two lamps that are bedside. The balcony was large enough for the two of us to easily sit and had a small table, as well as reclining chairs and foot rests. The bed was very comfortable with good by pillows and we slept well. Other than the desk chair, there was no seating in the cabin, although we do tend to just throw stuff on a chair or couch when we have one. The bathroom was good enough with a shower curtain. Princess was still doing twice a day servicing of the cabins. Royal Caribbean only does morning OR evening and while that was good enough for us, the extra service was nice to have. The cabin steward, Jesus, we had was great and managed to do the room service while we were away. Ports of call This cruise had 6 ports of call; Puerto Vallarta (before the violence), Huatulco, and Puerto Chiapas Mexico, Puntarenas Costa Rica, Panama City, and Aruba. Originally scheduled for Nicaragua that was replaced due to safety concerns. Its replacement, Puerto Chiapas had the least things to do although they tried to make it as nice as possible with entertainers (who danced all day long) and a garden port area. Originally, we had planned to book all Princess excursions primarily due to safety concerns and logistics at the various ports. However, the price through Princess was typically more than double the same tours booked with 3rd parties. We had long port days, so it seemed that there was not too much risk booking independent. However, we booked tours that had sufficient time to return to the ship. We talked to several people on longer tours that were delayed due to traffic and got back close to all aboard time so these would be best to book with Princess. When we got to Aruba, it was windy and forecast to get worse, so we skipped it and did an additional sea day. Princess matches ship and local time to reduce confusion so we set our clocks ahead 4 times and back once. Spa The spa team was friendly, and it was typical cruise expensive (with occasional specials) but with lots of sea days, my wife did take advantage of it a couple times. Photo They had a great photo team and we managed to get some photos to take home. They were out almost every night including 3 formal nights. They also took pictures going through the first locks of the front, back and balconies (so look your best). Some people had made signs to say hi to their families, etc. You could do prints or downloads. They also did a timelapse from bridge camera going through the locks. Port or starboard? There is debate on this and after consideration, we chose port side. It worked out well for this east bound cruise. There are 2 main factors we considered. The sun and going through the locks. Despite what you might have seen on maps from geography class, Panama lines up with Florida so a lot is this cruise is going south and east and it takes 10 days to reach Panama. Starboard side rooms get more sun while at sea and in port (depends a bit on docks used). The locks run north and west so in our case, the sun was mostly aft so the upper balconies were shaded by the Lido deck until late afternoon which also protected the rain which we had while going through the canal. We had fewer sea days going north to Florida. We got some amazing sunsets over the last few days. The next concern people have is which side to view the locks. The lock assignments are variable, and you don’t really know until you get there which side you will be on. In our case, we did the left locks on the Pacific side (because most traffic was going in our direction in the morning) and right locks going down on the Atlantic side (because there was traffic going both ways in the afternoon). In Gatun lake, the ships pass “port to port” so this side was also good for ship watching. Viewing the locks from the balcony hid a lot of the locks themselves. You couldn’t see ahead or see the mules in operation and didn’t have the same sensation of raising/lowering. It was best for viewing the ships on the other side. So regardless of side you have, you need to get out on the various decks to experience it fully. They opened decks 10 and 11 forward when going through the locks and these were crowded but there were fantastic views. Debarkation The ship arrived before 7:00. At 7:50, they said we had received all clear and welcome back. There were no announcements for another 15 minutes on the progress or groups. Some people were lined up and others sitting around, and it was not clear what we were supposed to be doing. Perhaps people familiar with Princess knew their method. But once they started announcing groups, it went smoothly and being in an early group, we were off the ship by 8:15. We booked a Lyft and were at the airport by 8:40.
We were a back-to-back Panama cruises, and there were 70 of us, 100 on our return. Why fly home when you can cruise? So I got a double dose of checking out the ship. Good thing, we’ll be back on board the Island for a RT 54-day South Pacific cruise leaving LA March 13. I’ve sailed the Island on 2 previous Panama cruises. DINING: Bordeaux deck 5 main dining room. Great for b'fast, lunch, dinner. Usually get in with small wait (except 1st day or two?). What is with that reservation line? They get seated first. We're elite but the app shows us 'no available time slots.' Wait till dinner time and slots open up. I'm showing my age...It is disrespectful for passengers to go to dinner in MDR in shorts and a T-shirt. On Cmas, saw a guy leaving in a ratty t-shirt and pajama bottoms!! The dress code is smart casual but Princess doesn't police it. Formal night is a dress code free-for-all. BUFFET: Being back-to-back Panama, we noticed such a difference I suspect a new chef came onboard. The December 7 eastbound trip, the buffet was good. Salmon ceviche, fries, main course meat feature. The Dec 23 return trip not so good. Sausage stew? Seating can be tight to find an empty table at peak mealtimes. Sometimes attentive service but usually self-serve. Iced tea and lemonade used to be great (yes, both powders). Now they comes from dispenser and is too strong; I cut with water. The dessert buffet often included NO chocolate (except choc chip cookies which seemed a less tasty recipe?). Sometimes we went to the buffet to eat, cruised the selection, and left to eat elsewhere. They might have guacamole and salsa, but no chips. Rarely was mashed potatoes and gravy together. Once, the gravy was loaded with pineapple?! It’s a challenge to get passengers to use the hand-washing station. Those are the ones that cough in their hand and grab a tong. It’s not food contamination, it’s tong contamination. CREW: Always great, but the Island was extra special. Despite the hard work and long hours, they always appear genuinely cheerful and obliging to passenger demands. Will miss Adrian in Bordeaux. Princess needs to do everything they can to treat staff like family–they work hard. ELEVATORS: Exceptional! Rarely overcrowded. If one is crowded, it’s a short wait for another that will probably be empty. For the center plaza decks 5-6-7-8, use the glass elevators to zip around quickly. LIBRARY: Best ever! Well stocked with books, games, puzzles, plus many tables. Princess, please don't remove the libraries. ROOM SERVICE: I don’t want to let the secret out, but we finally tried room service for our morning coffee. Wow! No more hassle of going to buffet to get our own and find a table. Instead, we got to sip good quality coffee on the balcony. Whoa! CABIN: Love our getaway balcony cabin and spent most our time there. Oddly, rarely see neighbors?? Can't stand duvets. Especially on a Panama cruise. Had cabin steward change out to blanket... still plenty warm with just a sheet. PRINCESS THEATER Seats an inch or two lower than normal? Many seats covered with blue X, meaning broken. Poor seating for handicapped, despite the recent renovation. Only entry/exit is from the top two doors, not lower. Last refurbish, they added an afterthought elevator lift for handicap seating– it was often broken and a poor design when it was working. Princess handed out raffle tickets at one door, not the other. Naturalist talks can be standing room only but are shown on TV later. Port talks were super informative (had been lacking on other ships). Naturalist 'Gary' made himself available for questions 3-4:30 sea days. When the coughing got dominant, we quit going. I’m immune-compromised and work consciously to stay healthy. THE BAD: Ship over air-conditioned. Many wear coats...to dinner, entertainment, whatever. This is a fleet wide issue. No more crew talent show. Better than production shows. No more lounge entertainment– hope you enjoy trivia. BIGGEST GRIPE: No specialty coffee or International Café. That is usually a prime gathering place. Please Princess, put it on deck 5 @ guest services! Coffee is surreptitiously located at the Deck 5 bar, the casino bar, the back of the buffet. Before that brilliant move, I used to buy coffee. Since there was always a line for coffee and now there is none, makes me wonder how much lost sales. Another grievous loss is the adjoining International Café for a quick bite or late night snack. These 2 features, plus the entertainment, can make the plaza a gathering place. Nothing to eat on ship after 10pm... we'll starve! WIFI: Internet plan just raised price. From $200 for 16 days to $245 (Elite). Because I was B2B, they wanted me to pay both ways, up front. I complained to no avail. So they got nothing. I'll did WiFi in ports. Forgive the delay; I haven’t downloaded all my photos yet! And I’m working on getting back on board next month.
From the moment you step aboard, we want you to feel welcomed and right at home. And with attentive service from a friendly staff that knows what hospitality means, you’ll find your Princess® ship truly is your home away from home.
Experience the Ultimate Night of Sleep at Sea
With your overall wellness in mind, we’ve collaborated with a board-certified sleep expert to create the ultimate in blissful comfort. Our luxurious new beds feature a scientifically engineered mattress and bed springs, a plush two-inch pillow top, European-inspired duvets and 100% luxurious Jacquard-woven linens-to assure that at the end of your voyage, you come home feeling refreshed and renewed.
The Princess Luxury Bed is available across the fleet except for Regal Princess, where most staterooms have been updated. On Regal Princess all Full Suites and Club Class staterooms have been updated and we are continuing to convert the few remaining beds.
Photos, floor plan diagrams, amenities, and furnishings represent typical arrangements and may vary by ship and stateroom.
Indulge your appetite whenever you wish on board Princess®. Every hour, our chefs are busy baking, grilling and sautéing great-tasting fare from scratch. Princess offers unparalleled inclusive dining options throughout the ship with a wide range of culinary delights to suit any palate, from endless buffet choice to gourmet pizza, frosty treats, decadent desserts and much more.
Speciality Dining
Dining on board a Princess® cruise ship is a joyful celebration and our speciality restaurants always deliver an extraordinary experience. They are among the best at sea – or anywhere. We serve dishes made with the freshest ingredients, and our menus reflect regional flavours from around the world. You'll find our speciality restaurants are the perfect place to celebrate any occasion.
When is a cruise an opportunity to enrich? When it's a Princess cruise. This ship offers area lectures, art exhibits and classes taught by local experts.
To say the nightlife onboard is entertaining is an understatement. Illuminating the stage in captivating productions, Princess Cruises performers are some of the most talented musicians, singers and dancers at sea. Their Princess Signature Shows, lounge performers, movies and casinos are just some of the entertainment guests enjoy as they escape completely.
The many activities onboard Coral Princess are designed to stimulate, educate, entertain, inspire and sweat - not necessarily in that order. But guests can be sure the crew onboard the ship, will do their best to cover all the bases. From art auctions to the Lotus Spa, this ship is loaded with fun things to do.
Leave it to Princess to create experiences the whole family can enjoy. The destinations we visit come to life with our Festivals of the World celebrations and Discovery at Sea™ programmes like Shark Week. If you’re looking for some friendly competition there’s Wii™ family tournaments, indoor and outdoor sports, and The Voice of the Ocean, our high-seas version of the TV singing sensation where guests choose the winner.
