Island Princess Review
Panama Canal - trip of a lifetime
Rating by category
Additional details
After reading that the recent remodel had ruined the Island Princess, our perception was that was not the case. We didn't feel the ship was crowded at all. We did go into the exercise room and all the criticism of it being too small and stuffy were valid. The casino was very small, an so cramped that wheelchair users would not be able to go far. We also miss the International Cafe, a staple on other Princess ships, though we dont use it much anyway.
We noticed two things that really surprised us: 1. Captain Tim Stringer is probably the most communicative captain we have ever encountered. He was frequently (but not too often) on the public address system telling us the status of ports and other information we needed to know. It was comforting to get information and felt that if there were a true emergency he, unlike other captains, would be forthcoming and honest. 2. This was the first Princess cruise we have not had to ask to be moved to a different table in the traditional dining room. Wheelchair access is not the best on most Princess ships, but the Island Princess had no steps or lips in the Provence Dining room and we even got to a table where we would not have to ask people to move in order to get out of the room, like we have had to do on our previous 10 cruises (not just a Princess problem).
We found the food to be typical Princess fare. We had a credit for dinner at Sabatinis, a choice in which we were very disappointed. Both the service and food were not that great. It was interesting to note that my wife had the lobster prepared 3 ways and, if it were not for the credit, we would have been charged $25 for her dinner but the same dish was offered a few days later in the main dining rooms. So the lesson is why go to Sabatini's when you can get the same meal with better service in the traditional dining room.
Cabin Review
Balcony
Our room was roomy and comfortable. Accessibil8ity was great with a roll-in shower, fold down shower seat, sink that was easily accessible and pull-down bar for the closet hanger rod. There was plenty of room on both sides of the bead and the bed was not too high to transfer onto. The balcony ramp was fine even though the ramp on the outside would occasionally slip out of place. But the balcony was huge. There was not much privacy on the balcony as one of the upper rooms was able to see almost all of the balcony even though it was practically under the cabin above and partially opened. It was unfortunate that the balcony was set in so we could not see directly down and missed several things during our Panama Canal experience. This room would be great for a wheelchair user that just wanted to see nature, such as Alaska or the Caribbean. Our cabin steward was not the most efficient or the most friendly we have had. We had to ask multiple times for a simple TV schedule.
Port Reviews
Los Angeles
We booked a transfer from the airport to the port. We arrived in LA the day before and stayed at the LAX Marriott. We didnt know at the time this was the hotel Princess uses to accommodate overnight guests so in the future we may book this through Princess so we dont have to go back to the airport.
Even though they promised a wheelchair lift equipped bus we found that they didn't have one at the airport so Princess paid for a taxi for us to the port.