First Princess Cruise Island Princess in Nov 08 - Cruise Line Fans: Cruise Forum, Reviews and Chat From Real Cruisers

jrowland · 04-04-2008, 10:12 PM

Hi,
Will be taking our first Princess Cruise Nov 6 -16, 2008 on the Island Princess out of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.

Jeffro

cruisin' chick · 04-05-2008, 12:42 AM

We were on the Island Princess in late 2005/early 2006 to Hawaii. If you have any questions, I'll try to answer them.

jrowland · 04-05-2008, 02:14 PM

Thanks for the reply.

This being our first cruise with Princess, wanted to get your thoughts about Princess Cruises vs the other Cruise Companies that you have cruised with.

Any thoughts, suggestions, observations you would like to pass on regarding the Island Princess, we would appreciate hearing about them.

Jeff/Penny/Raymond

cruisin' chick · 04-05-2008, 07:47 PM

The only other cruiseline we've been on was Carnival, so only can compare these two lines.

Princess is pretty similar in that there's the 24-hr casual buffet, self-service laundromats (my hubby is into bringing only so much clothing, so we usually do laundry at some point). The decor is tamed down compare to Princess. I've heard less PA announcements (I'm not into bingo or art auctions so I can do without knowing that it's the "almost final" chance to...." Some CDs will keep the announcements down more than others). I've seen an increase in pool games on Princess, but so far no "hairy back" contests. They had a men vs women series of contests over a few days, but we were only on deck once while they were going on.

My girl enjoyed the kids' program on both. There's a few differences there in how they operate.

Our one basic complaint about the IP's design was that the grand atrium usually seemed very smoky to us. The cigar lounge and Crooner's Bar (which has smoking/no smoking sides) were right on the center of the Promenade deck, causing this problem. On the Sapphire, the cigar lounge was on a lower deck and way forward, so you would only smell it if you took that hallway to the Princess theatre.

Do you have any questions?

cruisin' chick · 04-22-2008, 04:13 AM

Here's one little secret about Princess (don't know why it's such a secret). If you like ice cream, there's an ice cream bar in the Horizon Court (the buffet) in the mid afternoon...usually around 3:30 to 4:30. Sometimes homemade ice cream with toppings.

There are two entrances to the HC on the Island Princess. So the key is to check one entrance around that time. If you don't see ice cream, check out the other side. If neither side is set up, just ask when the ice cream will be put out and which side.

There is also ice cream served in the dining rooms at lunch and dinner. Several different flavors.

Also there's a sundae place by the pool but you have to pay for it there. The ones listed above are for free.

alecash · 04-28-2008, 04:16 PM

we are also going our 1st cruise that date as well we are going from the uk

jrowland · 04-29-2008, 12:27 PM

Hi,
This will actually be our 8th cruise but first one over 7 days.

I'll be going with my younger brother and my fiance. Look out for 2 redheads (Me and my brother) and my fiance (Blonde).

Jeff