This was my first cruise on Princess, having sailed Royal Caribbean, Celebrity and Royal Olympic in the past. I enjoyed Princess and it has become my first preference for future cruises. Embarkation was handled quickly and efficiently, even though 1 of the 4 pieces of luggage wasn't delivered until several hours after the initial delivery. My travel partner was quite limited in mobility so we had rented a wheelchair for her convenience and comfort. We had been advised that there were no accessible mini-suites onboard but that requesting a shower bench would solve that...not true! The height of the tub made stepping into it nearly impossible; and the shower bench they furnished was slightly wider than the tub...not a safe solution. Corridors are narrow for maneuvering the wheelchair, but normally someone was close by to assist us. Otherwise, I became adept at moving the trash and maintenance carts.
We elected the Personal Choice Dining and enjoyed that option immensely! The identical menu was served in the traditional dining room (Provence)and the optional choice room (Bordeaux), and the ambiance in both was the same and delightful. And the courses were served piping hot each evening! Service varied somewhat with the different servers, and by the end of the cruise, the servers had a less-friendly approach, in part, I imagine since their tips were not dependent upon serving the same people throughout the cruise. (Perhaps servers should also be advised that talking among themselves in their native language isn't as safe as they might believe, since many of us are multilingual.) As usual, the Horizon Court buffet had a nice variety of foods, the presentation was beautiful, but the food wasn't served piping hot. We found the same entrees in the buffet as in the dining rooms, which was nice...down to the roasted tenderloin,beef Wellington, scampi, lamb chops etc. The one suggestion I would make in the buffet would be to have some variety at breakfast time...omelette bar choices were limited...pancakes and French toast were dry and they never had waffles available. The Grill on Deck 15 was a pleasant change...burgers, bratwurst and chicken...; the Pizza restaurant on Deck 14 was fun for a change. The Ice Cream bar was also a nice respite. Afternoon tea was pleasant, though not up to the standards of tea in Britain...still a nice change of pace! There are two specialty restaurants with dining surcharges, but we chose not to try them.
One definite negative was the product coming out of the bars...even requests for call brands resulted in small drinks that tasted watered-down. And the wine list appeared quite limited in comparison to other lines. Room service, while the menu is somewhat limited, was prompt and a wonderful convenience for us. And having laundromats on-board was another unexpected convenience. My travel partner had occasion to visit the ship's Medical Center and we found the facility very pleasant and efficiently-operated; and a CD of the treatment provided was given to my friend so she would have the records to share with her personal physician upon return home. While the Island Princess just went into service in 2003, maintenance seems to be lacking. The valance over the door to our nice-sized balcony had rolls of lint on it; grouting in the bathroom tile was mildewing and discolored and needed re-glazing. There were paint flakes on the floor or the balcony and there was obvious rust on painted metal surfaces. I took photos of those items, but there is no way to upload them to this review. The twice-daily cabin service was excellent! Crispin, our room steward, was consistently pleasant and informative. Having fresh fruit delivered daily was a nice touch. While we had booked only 2 shore excursions, in talking about my friend's limited mobility with the Excursion staff was helpful. We ended up canceling both per their suggestion. Passenger Services staff were consistently helpful and very responsive and timely in serving all of us in line. The stores on-board did their usual promotions, including a "pre-inventory sale"...as if we didn't know the ship was sailing out again a few hours after we disembarked! Oh well...and the usual art auctions, gold-by-the-inch and wristwatch sales were as shameless as on other cruise lines.