Small ship made for short or no lines, three or fewer in the hot tubs, plenty of prime seating for sightseeing and a very relaxed atmosphere. Check in was a breeze and room was ready when we boarded. Staff in buffet was fabulous at being there with what ever you needed and to get drinks etc. Buffet was very clean, wide selection of foods and had plenty of fruit and a sugar-free dessert nightly. Diabetic diet was easy to maintain while getting to try new things. Room was very nice and steward was very attentive. More hangup space than was needed and made a nice alcove for dressing. Casino was small but the dealers were friendly and made it fun...just difficult to get into a table at times. Plenty of slot machines. More clocks around the ship would have been great to help get to activities on time. Missed several activities because time and looking at phone just didn't help when you are in the hot tub or wrapped up in a blanket. Negatives....Movies under the stars in thirty degree weather even with a blanket was impossible. Sitting on the room balcony was hard even with the down comforter due to the winds however during the day was doable with a blanket. Italian restaurant was OK but the shrimp was tough and overcooked. "cooked just for you by the chef" yet the next night the buffet had Italian night and there was the food from the restaurant on the buffet. Different name for the shrimp but same flavor and texture. Sit down restaurant was very nice, waiters was nice however service was s l o w and if you didn't like something you ordered getting something else slowed it down even more. Read Less

Girlfriends cruise, not cheap, booked a long time ago and greatly anticipated...for the most part we had a wonderful time. Entertainment on board was awesome. Food average, but great desserts! Service in specialty restaurants was terrible, VERY slow. Sleeping room accommodations less than great as we did not have the bed arrangements promised on our booking. Food and beverage servers very friendly. Front Desk personnel TERRIBLE...overworked and understaffed and VERY rude. Accessory services such as drink packages, spa treatments, Internet services and shore excursions are waaaay overpriced. 90% of staff are Filipino with serious language barriers. I was disappointed there were no food or ice carving demonstrations, or afternoon trivia. Movies SHOULD have been shown somewhere other than the midship outdoor screens since it was raining almost the entire time. Adult pool/spa was not enforced, as the three times I tried to use the jacuzzi there were parents with babies in it. Lotus Steam Rooms should NOT be co-ed, period!! Read Less

All was really, really, perfect !!! The personal, the restaurants, the menus was excellent. All the services was perfect. The differents excursions was so nice and the organization was excellent and really fast. My best cruise off all time. Read Less

Timing as we needed to get away for a short break without flying anywhere. Have travelled with Princess a number of times before but not recently. Found the overall experience better than expected. Space in cabin very good. Food and beverages very good as was service in most ket areas. Production numbers in theatre outstanding as good as Broadway/ London productions. On a negative point had my only steak in dinning room on last night of trip, NY Strip. It was very, very tough full of grizzle but other nights made up with quality dishes. Service in dinning room pretty good for the most part and the dialogue with the more experienced officers in dinning room very good. Their experience showed through and they a efeective representatives for Princess. While not a direct responsibility of the cruise line it would be worth your time to complain to Vancouver Port Authorities about the appalling conditions of the taxi service after the cruise. They give a very bad impression on Vancouver but the travellers from overseas seemed to be impressed with Vancouver on all other aspects. Read Less

We choose this ship because we love it’s sister ship, the Coral. This is NOT the same ship as the Coral. The huge two story Universal Lounge was removed, lots of cabins were added instead. The fitness room was moved from its larger upper deck view of the sea location to a smaller inside the ship lower down deck. It was a joke and people actually paid to use fitness studios in port to workout. The Piazza does not have a La Patisserie that serves coffees AND snacks, even though the large electronic kiosks at the elevators say this. The atrium is small and narrow. The bar at the casino has no snack area unlike the Coral. Less public spaces + more passengers = no empty chairs anywhere on the ship! This itinerary up the West Coast is very popular and that is why we booked it. But they did not have enough spaces for a decent Zumba Class (was taught in the Wheelhouse Lounge) or Dance Lessons, both of which HAD been taught in the Universal Lounge. Because there was only a few good public spaces at night (Theatre, Explorers, Wheelhouse), these areas were always very packed. The Captains Circle evening area is not private like it use to be. The Captains Party was not even held on a formal night. There were NO DAILY HIGH TEAS! The internet was down the last 24 hrs on the ship. These are all deal breakers for me. The bands this time for the most part were not that great. Drinks were too fruity/not good booze. The food was for the most part good although very salty which covers bad cooking. Curtis Stone had a few menu items added here and there but for the most part were missing daily like we are use to. Service in the dining rooms were extremely slow. Coffee tasted watered down and was undrinkable several days. The Pub Lunch food was sad and cold and small except for dessert. Specialty restaurants were good so we ate there 3 nights at $29pp. The buffet was good and seemed highly attended since the dining rooms were slow and empty. Photos were $25 each. There was not enough activities on board nor were there any guest educational speakers on the ports from what we could tell. Pastries were good. Servers and staff were extremely friendly. Cabin attendant very good. The captain and cruise staff very nice. If it were not for the amazing ports we visited, this cruise would have been a bust. We are almost the top tier of the Captains Circle (black card), but from what we can tell, the perks are not that great at this level, except for laundry service. So we may never cruise on Princess again if this ship is any indication of where Princess is going in the future with amenities and costs. That’s too bad. We have done over a dozen cruises with them in the last 10 years. Read Less

We just got off the Island Princess sailing from Los Angeles to Vancouver. Service overall, with one exception (see below) was fabulous. We were on the Royal Princess in January and are booked for Australia in December with a Cruisetour. If we had not booked Australia prior to this cruise, we would have definitely considered another cruise line. The Royal was such a completely different experience and this is not due to size. The Maitre d's in the dining room are only interested in catering to the Club Members and have no difficulty ignoring the remaining passengers. This was heard constantly throughout our cruise, on shore excursions, at the bars, in the Horizon Court.... Not nice at all!!!!! It was as if there were two classes of passengers. There was one occasion where the Maitre d' came over to the table beside ours and apologized for the place they were in as "their table" had been given away. It suddenly made us feel as if we were in a horrible place in the dining room. Coming to the dining room every night was not comfortable for many of us and this should not be the case. Of course, once we were seated, the wait staff was outstanding and all was forgotten. However, this happened, EVERY NIGHT to all of us. Service everywhere else was fabulous, from the Horizon Court to the Bars to Excusion Staff. We had a wonderful time. Bayou was great with a live jazz band playing during dinner. Read Less

We have completed a Coastal California cruise previously and had such a nice time we wanted to take the cruise again. We loved the Island Princess. It is a smaller ship but great for those cruisers who like to meet people and enjoy a smaller ship experience. Lots of wood used which made it seem warm and inviting. Entertainment was really good with a standing ovation one night for one producation. There is a Sabatinis and Blue Bayou Cafe on board. We ate at Sabatinis and had a good meal and wonderful service. There were lots of activitities including Harmonica lessons and Quilling as well as bingo. The ports were one of the reasons we chose this cruise. With Santa Barbara, San Francisco, Astoria and the beautiful Victoria BC one can't help but have a great time on shore. I recommend Butschart Gardens in Victoria. Beautiful experience if you love gardens and Muir Woods / Saulsilito in San Francisco. Read Less

It was on our bucket list to do the whole of the Panama Canal, Fort Lauderdale:- Embarkation, arrived the day before, and thankful we did, the flight from Toronto to Fort Lauderdale, which should take 5 hours inc., airport time, took 15 hours, due to malfunction of a A/C button, Embarkation was a breeze, best ever from 17 cruises with 6 different cruise lines. Arrived at 11am, checked in, on board and lunch with-in 1/2 hour. Cabin, A627, balcony, (we usually have inside, but choose the balcony to celebrate our anniversary). Very nice, large and spacious, lots of closet space and hangers. Bathroom the usual ship board bathroom, shower small, we’re 135 and 150 pounds, and we had problems, The cabin steward very nice, can’t remember his name and I’ve lost the paper with it on. We found the comforter too hot for us, he found a light blanket for us to use instead. Dining:- We had “any time dining “ as we east early at home, the MDR opened at 5.15pm every evening, we chose not to eat every evening meal in the MDR, we alternated with the buffet. We also had two B/F’s in the MDR. Lunch and the rest of the breakfast were in the buffet. The food in both areas were excellent and hot, and very tasty. I have a “blue cheese” allergy and the chef at the buffet come and talked with me to assure if there was any blue cheese in anything, it would be noted. Entertainment and Activities :- The evening theatre was excellent, by far the best we’ve seen on a cruise line. The singers and dancers out did them selves, as did the ships orchestra. Through out the ship, there were other performers who were just as good too. During the day I attended all the trivia, and as many games as I could. The cruise director and his 5 crew staff were just a riot, lots of fun. Service:- Service from all the crew, whether the desk, dining, bar, photography etc., were great, always smiling. Ports and excursions:- Ports from F. L to the Panama Canal, we have done them all before, so unless I was looking to send off emails, didn’t get off the ship, used it as another Sea Day. Panama Canal:- didn’t take any tours, relaxed on the balcony and watched the world go by, Puerto Amador, Puntarenas and San Juan Del Sur, just walked around the port. Huatulco Sur:- just walked around town. Puerto Vallarta:- Took a taxi to the “New Beach”, don’t now how new, but it is a quaint beach area, has some interesting statues along the boardwalk. Los Angeles:- Took a four hour ship tour “ Easy City Tour” not what we expected, we thought we would see some “ stars homes”. but no. It was a waste of time and money. Santa Barbara:- A very nice town, just took the shuttle up the Main Street, and saw the Mission museum, San Francisco:- I booked a Alcatraz tour on line, for the first ferry 8.45, you have to book at least a month in advance. It’s an easy 5 minute walk from the cruise port. A very interesting place, and well worth a visit. We took a “bicycle tutu”, along the boardwalk to catch the “ cable car” there was at least an hour wait, and after an hour in the cold wind, we gave up. Took a taxi back to the ship with a small detour to see some sights. Astoria:- a quaint sea side town, there’s a shuttled around town, you pick up at the dock. We visited the “Marina Museum “ Victoria:- Had a taxi tour around town, have visited Victoria before. Vancouver:- Disembarkation time. Very easy, One thing that did puzzle us we didn’t go through any customs either in Victoria or Vancouver, not even at the airport. We did see 12 police embark at Victoria, so may be they check our customs cards there, as we had to fill them out two days before hand. We didn’t travel with children and there was only a hand full on board, Would I travel with Princess again, yes, it was our first time with them, (have sailed 17 times all told) and really enjoyed the ship and line. I liked the way all the entertainment, from trivia, games and musicians and theatre were on two decks, 6 and 7, making it very easy to get from one to another. Read Less

Loved going through old locks on this smaller ship. Doesn’t matter which side of ship you select as one can’t be sure which locks you will go through. As it turned out we had the view of locks on the port side as we went through on right hand side of old locks. Tip: booking the Sanctuary which on this ship is aft gave us great views of both sides and back. For the front view we had to leave for forward of ship but this was quite crowded. We went down to our port side balcony a few times for a different perspective. Loved being in Sanctuary though as they opened for our reservation at 6am and we stayed all day. Costs extra but worth it. The PC expert gave several talks prior to and after locks. He was interesting and informative. Thought the food was very good. Like the changes in MDR which now offers a select Timon of “starters” then entrees. The Curtis Stone pot pie is excellent! The daily burger offered in MDR is changed up daily and quite good too for a change of pace and likely popular with kids. Drink prices continue to be very reasonable ranging from $8.50 - $10 on average. Ship is in pretty good shape but may be getting close to needing some refurbishment. Definitely smaller ship in comparison of Grand Class which requires some planning. For instance we generally went to Princess Theater or other venues 15-20 min before show times to get a good seat. Not an issue but for those who arrive a minute before it may be hard to find multiple seats together. The chef Gaetano and maitre d’hotel Sylvio are an awesome team. We did Chef’s table which was one of the best culinary experiences of my foodie life! Highly recommend!! Read Less

Cabin with Balcony Dolphin 235. Had been planning this trip for about a year and a half. Was a bit concerned after reading so many negative reviews about the ships adding 150 cabins in 2015 without increasing the public space. Our fears were unfounded as we found the ship to be no more crowded than any of our past cruises with Princess. The ship was in clean and in good repair. Our cabin was in good condition and the flat screen TVs that have been installed since our last cruise were a nice addition. Note- we had some service people in our room one afternoon that were installing hardware on the TV that will be allowing on-demand viewing of movies and shows. We always opt for any-time dining as we don't do Formal nights, and enjoy the buffet as much as the main dining room. Food, as always was excellent in both venues. Entertainment was what we have come to expect with Princess. I did not care for the 3 productions shows, but my partner did. The magician was great, though a bit raunchy for the crowd lol. Sonia, one of the guest female vocalist was amazing. As stated by others, you need to get to the theater a little early as it does fill up, but we never had an issue and almost always sat in the same spot. Service started off a bit "surly", but once they realized that we said please and thank you and actually engaged in conversation with crew members they warmed up. We heard so many rude and demanding older passengers, it is no wonder the wait staff starts off that way. We booked all of our excursions with Princess, and had one at each port. Very well organized! Overall Princess once again provided us with a memorable and relaxing vacation! Thank you to Chris, Duval, Nelly, Sammy, Tania, Giri, Manuel, Emil and Marius for your great service, it is crew like them that make this cruises pleasurable. Read Less