The Island Princess is a large, well appointed ship but might be not as 'freshly decorated' as some other ships. This was its last trip of the season so it may have been showing some wear. In spite of this, it is well maintained. The itinerary and ports of call for an Alaskan cruise are pretty standard. The stateroom was a bit small but very clean and very well maintained during our voyage.

Island Princess has two dining room and the required buffet. The food in the two dining rooms was excellent; however, I can't say the same about the buffet. I was always well pleased with the food and the service in the dining rooms. I can't say the same about the buffet. I found it difficult to find food in the buffet that I appreciated. I'm not a picky eater but they even screwed up the scrambled eggs. How's that done? The coffee on the ship was horrible. It appears to be delivered and stored as a concentrate then coupled with a hot water dispenser for delivery. It always tasted stale, strong and bitter. Most people tried to adjust by mixing it half-and-half with hot water. The problem with the coffee was standard throughout the ship - even in the espresso bar.

The area set aside for smoking does not appear to have a discrete and separate ventilation system. This allowed the smoke to penetrate areas of the ship in which it was not appreciated. i heard several people complain about that. Read more