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Ups & Downs of this much anticipated cruise

Kusadasi

The cruise was a fairly typical cruise until the final night of the cruise. I was standing on my room's balcony observing the departure from the port of Le Havre, France. Now remember that every cruise line you have ever sailed on repeatedly lectures you on not throwing anything overboard. I was standing there enjoying the departure when I was deluged with an unknown liquid from the deck above. I would estimate the amount to be 1-2 gallons. The liquid was on my face, shirt, pants and everything under the clothing. I looked up and saw a room steward from 1 deck up and he said sorry. I immediately called the front desk and told them that I had just had a liquid poured on me by one of their staff members. What flashed to my mind was is this a caustic cleaning solution or something from the toilet. I was wondering if my skin was going to start burning. As an afterthought I should have immediately jumped into the shower and thoroughly rinsed off, but I did not. Within 10 minutes a supervisor was at my door with the steward who dumped the liquid. I took both of them to see the amount of liquid that was on the railing and patio. The steward seemed to be genuinely concerned and apologized, but that was little comfort to my concern about the liquid. They both assured me the liquid was water, but I did not think they would tell me if it was some caustic chemical. The supervisor said if I would remove my shirt they would launder my shirt to remedy the situation. I told the supervisor that laundering the shirt hardly seemed adequate for what had happened and that I wanted to speak to head of housekeeping. A few hours later an individual phoned my room and identified themselves as head of housekeeping. This person also offered to launder my shirt and they felt that would remedy everything. I told them I did not feel that adequately addressed the situation and he told me he would get back to me. He did not get back to me and I departed the ship the next morning on October 30, 2023. Although the ship said they would send a final bill via email shortly after leaving the ship they did not. I wanted to see if they adjusted my bill as a result of the incident and they did not. 

The embarkation and debarkation were both very good and the passengers were handled very efficiently. My compliments to the ship for this and it is a definite improvement from previous cruises.

We had a table for 4 in the Bordeaux dining room on a nightly basis. There was not one night of the 12 nights that the waiter got our orders right. It was just a general lack of attention to the guests. 

The Princess line in general seems to be declining in services to the passengers. I hope this trend changes.

Ship's crew throwing liquids overboard.

Chose this cruise as for 12 nights there were 8 ports of call so not many sea days. Sadly a massive storm started on the day of embarkation and messed up the whole trip. Delayed departure and then two ports were cancelled which couldn't be helped. Weather was atrocious throughout. Ship was packed and there was no "quiet space". All public areas were too small and you were continually on top of everyone else. The Horizon Cafe was like a mess canteen, usually packed and very noisy. 

We had a balcony cabin near the front which was nice despite the outdated bathroom. It was noisy only when the ship docked so you were woken up most mornings around 6a.m. We had two different stewards, the second one was exceptional. Crew otherwise were nothing out the ordinary except the shore excursions staff who were particularly 
unhelpful. The medallion was a good idea for buying goods and getting on and off the ship but the app to go with it was pretty useless, could never get into it. Had bar drinks put on our account by someone so it's not foolproof. We don't drink so knew it wasn't ours. Prices were astounding, talk about expensive. 19.95 dollars pp for the bus from the ship. Never used it once and used local transport, buses and trams for a fraction of the cost and to get a feel for the local way of life. Bar drinks on the menu were so expensive and then an 18% fee added on top. Glad we don't drink. 

Didn't use the theatre as nothing new, same thing on cruises year in year out. Embarkation and disembarkation was very
quick. Food was good with an excellent selection other than the sweet course in the cafe which was cake, cake and more cake and either a jelly or hot pudding, little choice.

2nd only cruise with Princess but doubt we'll used them again as prefer other cruise lines.

Crowded and noisy

We have 17 overall cruises, this was our 11th with princess.  after the last on on the ruby, i was so let down i swore never again but!! The ports of call on this one said, one more time!!  huge mistake.   remember in days of old the soap was real, chocolates on the pillows and princess shopping bags for going ashore:)  now it liquid everything, towels that actually smelled like paint and those $1.50 bags are prizes at their cheezy games.  entertainment made the gong show seem like talent.  now the food, which is why we cruise.  carnaval has actually not only killed an iconic brand but brought it down to below their standards and thats putting it mildly!  i retired from the food business from the protein supply end.  when you buy the cheapest beef possible, you have it pinned!  that is where the processor injects big needles numerous times to break the fibers and make it "tender!"  their dining room steaks and prime rib was like eating a cubed steak.  on the horizen buffet one day was chicken legs and hot dogs!  next day, meat loaf produced by the lowest bidder and tasted like bologna!  the extra money steak house was fabulous!  the quality their dining room was known for.  realizing they had to cut back to survive covid is understandable but the ships are full and todays profits will go away once frequent cruisers realize not only princess diane is dead but, so is what you expected from princes cruises  never again.  RIP PRINCESS

11th and last cruise with the Princess Golden Corral

We have been on over 80 cruises and about 30 with Princess.  We booked this because of the itinerary and that it had a glass dome over the pool.  The pool area was not heated and we sat on the chaise lounges with our coats on. I will only comment on the things that Princess had control over.

The Good:  Embarkation was probably one of the best we have encountered.  Disembarkation was also the best we have ever had.  The medallion and internet worked very well.

The Bad: We are black elites and they seem to be taking our perks away.  We used to be able to swap our minibar set up  for coffee cards .  They would not do it this time.  We used to get free internet and now we do not. What is the point of being elite? 

  We had same table for 4 in the Bordeaux every night at  800.  The dining service was the worst we ever had.  They could not get the orders right.   In the Buffet the service was also bad.  No one ever asked us if we wanted coffee or tea etc.  They only had one station to get beverages and that was at the end of buffet.  Other ships have several.  The food was typical buffet style food. We had breakfast several times in the dining room and each time it was bad.  The wheelhouse bar people never got the drinks right.  If I order a Manhattan I got an Old Fashion.  They would not give wife a cup of coffee, but would give her Baileys and coffee.

.The ship is old and worn.  We had a balcony cabin and it was one that was added when they added cabins to the ship in the rear.  Our toilet had stains in it and twice we had to call for service for the toilet.  Our friends had a cabin a few cabins down from us.  He is on the balcony as we were leaving a port taking pictures and the cabin steward the deck above threw a bucket of water over the railing soaking my friend head to toe.  He complained and their answer was " we can wash your shirt.

Excursions:

Two of the excursions were very bad.  We will never booked another one from Princess.  One excursion was a tour of the Flemish countryside with a stop at Damme town and a castle and chocolate factory.  Tour called for us to board the bus at 800am on the pier which we did.  Sunrise is not until 845am.  Pretty hard to see the countryside in the dark.  We visited The town for 45 minutes .  We were planning on visiting local shops and try their pastries, but that could not happen because the shops did not open until 10am.  The other tour was the cheese farm and a stop at a town.  The tour guide was rude and would not tell us where the meeting point was until she was finished with her walking tour of town thereby taking 45 minutes away of our time in town to explore. The cheese farm was a 15 minute video and then we saw two cows in a barn.  did not see cheese being made, but they had a small shop to buy cheese.  I will not ever take a Princess excursion again.

Princess does not listen to its passengers complaints.  They turn a deaf ear to them.  They are in a cut costs mode and you can see this everywhere and every department on the ship.  there is no point is being a loyal Princess patron anymore.  If anyone is thinking or Princess I would thoroughly research before you book.

worst cruise we have taken on princess

We recently completed a 14-day Search for the Northern Lights cruise to Norway.  Although we had quite a few days with rough seas, the Island Princess handled the seas well.  Our cabin was spacious and the balcony was larger than on many ships. Some of the cabin furnishings clearly need to be replaced.  Our mini-suite couch and chair looked very worn. The bed also had clear indentations of where people slept.  Our steward, Martin, took very good care of us. He serviced the room twice every day.  We loved having a kettle and coffee/tea supplies in the room. We found that the ship felt quite crowded.  It was always difficult to find a place to sit in Horizon Court.  There were never any seats available in the Plaza area.  In order to watch the evening shows, you had to arrive ½ hour before showtime to get a good seat. We especially enjoyed the live music on this ship.  We loved listening and dancing to Anna and The So Cool Quartet. The Asian Soul band was also great with a very talented singer.  The Cruise Director, Andi Sanders, was very friendly and very visible around the ship, as well as a talented entertainer and singer.  Deb Fraioli was an excellent Destination Expert.  Her talks were very balanced and comprehensive. We loved the cooking show on the last sea day.  We were very disappointed that there weren’t good enrichment lectures to tell us about life in Norway, explain about the Northern Lights, etc. Food was okay although the menu selections seemed somewhat limited.  I could never find any regular (not flavored) green tea at the buffet and the peppermint tea was often not available.  Some of the activities planned for the day did not really work in the cold climate.  People don’t want to sit out in freezing temperatures to watch the Movies under the Stars and the blankets were nowhere to be found.  We were told by staff and it was mentioned in the Patter that announcements about the sighting of Northern Lights would be made on the Bridge cam channel on the television.  We slept with our TV on this channel most nights and announcements were only made on 1 night.  We spent several evenings on our balcony looking for the Lights rather than participating in shipboard activities.  Fortunately, we had several good sightings.  The ship seemed to have good morale among the staff.  Most everyone we met, was friendly and helpful. Norway was spectacular and we very much enjoyed our time on Island Princess.

Searching for Northern Lights cruise

Can't say enough good things about this cruise.  It started with an easy embarkation.  The lines moved swiftly through security.  Dropped my bags off in my cabin and headed for lunch.  The buffet was good overall.  We did have  a few occasions when finding a table was difficult.  The food and service were very good.  Selection was vast as always with a great omelet station. Food in the MDR was good.  The selections were a little odd but served hot each night.  I asked for the same table each evening.  After I adjusted my dining time to 7 pm, my request was approved.  I loved having the opportunity to know my wait staff.  It reminded me of the old time traditional dining which I miss.  Our Junior Waiter, Sohail and waiter, Nabin, were splendid.  Once they learned out preferences we never had to ask again.  They went out of their way to make our dining experience enjoyable.  My cabin was a nice balcony but it was too cold to sit out but the views each day were gorgeous.   For me, the overall entertainment was a little lacking.  However, many times I chose to go up on deck and watch for the lights instead of going to the show so much of that was my own choice.  We missed the first port in Stavanger due to weather which was a bummer but Trondheim was added.  It was a pretty town.  The lights were spectacular.  We were fortunate to see them on multiple nights.  The Island had all new loungers and outside tables and chairs.  Overall the condition was quite nice even though she is an older ship.  Still miss the IC and hate the dungeon gym.  Wi-Fi is spotty whenever the ship is in port.  However, on sea days it worked very well.  The medallion worked fine once we boarded.  Overall, a terrific cruise.

Seeing the Northern Lights

Our journey on the Island Princess was very enjoyable.  Although we were disappointed in the declining quality of food, we found the service, friendliness of the staff, food presentation, & entertainment to be excellent. The itinerary was excellent as well. 

    We did an independent tour with Tours of Guernsey which was outstanding. Our guide was very knowledgable, friendly, & professional. We visited the German Underground Hospital, a WWII museum & the Little Chapel. The Little Chapel was closed when we arrived but our guide was kind enough to check when it would reopen so we were able to return to see it.  Those on the Princess tour who arrived when it was locked did not get that opportunity.  Unfortunately we learned that Princess no longer plans to include Guernsey on its itinerary.  We believe that this is a mistake since the island was both interesting, beautiful and its people exceptionally friendly.  We hope Princess reconsiders their decision & keeps Guernsey on its itinerary since we'd love to return their again.

     In Portland, UK, we booked the Jurassic Coast Adventure with Dorset Tours.  This is a relatively new company which goes out of its way to provide an excellent tour of the beautiful coast, Weymouth, & Portland. Spencer was an excellent guide who was friendly, informative, & professional.  Don't hesitate to book a tour with Dorset Tours.

Island Princess Port Reviews

We have done UK cruises before on Princess (and have also cruised Ireland on Princess and Holland America) and this time we tried to take in some new ports and took excursions to places we hadn't seen.  I was especially interested in Portland, UK where we saw the "Rude Man" and beautiful Athelhampton House and Newcastle where we visited Hadrian's Wall and a Roman fort (really interesting).  I was also looking forward to the Shetland Islands since we were not able to visit it on a previous cruise due to weather and enjoyed a brief visit for fish and chips in Lerwick and the long drive to the furthest tip of the main island.  On this cruise we couldn't go in to Orkney due to wind.  It was very warm and a bit humid on our entire trip, starting with a few days in London. It only rained part of one day on the cruise, during our stop in Holyhead, Wales, so the morning part of the excursion when we rode a train was dreary but things brightened up by the time we went to Llangollen, Wales for lunch on our own, followed by a visit to Chirk Castle. 

We had also been on the Island Princess before and were very comfortable with our good bed in our balcony room and a good steward (Jos) and good service and food in the dining rooms. We also liked the buffet but if we ate there we decided to take extra precautions to avoid getting ill, such as washing our hands a second time after having to handle the serving utensils (there are sinks for washing). After getting a bad virus (didn't test positive for Covid) on our previous cruise out of San Francisco to Alaska in June, 2023 we opted to wear masks on our flights and also everywhere indoors and we did stay well.

England, Wales, Scotland under sunny skies

Ocean view cabin Fiesta deck next to gym at back, above the propeller which meant no sleep from 4am every morning as loud noise and vibration. Full sailing so unable to move Cabins.

Mattress uncomfortable as dipped to the side.

Many passengers with Covid or as I and 50% had a hacking cough which could be heard everywhere and I still have it.

Too many passengers for size of ship. Explorers and Wheelhouse lounges and Theatre were not large enough venues.

No International Café a real miss and took ages to be served at Good Spirits.

Cut backs everywhere and Main dining room portions really Small. Asparagus Risotto main dinner took 4 spoonfuls to eat and had waited 90 minutes to be served. This was Day 1 of the cruise. Demanded tables only for 2 after that.

Staff Production shows excellent as were all the hardworking staff on board.

Guest Entertainers apart from Steve Larkins were terrible.

Am booked on Ruby for January and that will probably be the last Princess cruise I do.

Avoid Island Princess

We were excited about the itinerary, since it included Shetland and Orkney.  Also, we got to see friends in Newcastle, and Wales.  The ship was lovely, despite depressing prior reviews.  Painting, carpeting upgrades, new balcony chairs and pool chairs were being added.  There were serious lines at the restaurants.  It was difficult to pre-book consistent dining without the app.  The MaitreD did his level best to cope with the crowds.  They thinned as time went on.  The food both in the dining room and buffet was excellent and fresh.  Our waiters, and the staff at the buffet were excellent.

We took ship's tours in many ports.  Guides were great, the buses new, and tours excellent.  We were so happy to do afternoon tours...no rush off the ship.  We chose the public X99 bus to Edinburgh, then taxi to the Palace at Holyrood.  The tickets were well worth it for an excellent self tour using minicomputers and headphones.

The minisuite on deck 10 forward was spacious and comfortable with a great balcony.  Our steward, Freddie was superb.

The bed really needed replacement.  There were several cabins in our section with the tables in front of the doors, indicating isolation.  There were also coughers on our bus tours, really endangering all.  We wore masks everywhere, and escaped unharmed.

Entertainment was good.  Encore and the soprano who returned for an additional show was outstanding.  The band at the shows was good; it is sad that they have to add orchestrations on tape.

Fine cruise on the Island Princess

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