There is no doubt that the Island Princess is a nice ship. It has an indoor pool with a big skylight so it almost feels you're outside but protected from the sun and wind. The couple traveling with us made the trip a lot of fun as we played numerous card games. Watching a movie a night under the stars was magical especially as we munched on popcorn. The nightly shows were entertaining. The dancing was not so good as there were no men to dance with so Sandi and I danced together; neither of us are good leaders so we just did our own thing. I was not aware that the Princess Cruise Line was home to the "Love Boat", the famous television show in the 70's. Naturally, they had 1 episode a day all day playing in our state room. We had 3 formal night where the 4 of us had to get spiffy and that was fun.
The places we visited were interesting and pretty (not all but most). The excursions were very expensive so we ended up getting our own when we landed in the ports. There were lots of excursions which you are able to make deals and most of the time they were better than the ones arranged by the cruise lines.
The food was mediocre at best. There were a few nights when the food was actually very good. I must say they cooked lobster tails and shrimps perfectly. The steaks were a different story; often they were not tender. Most of the food lacked flavor. I don't know if this is because they cater to an older crowd who are probably on meds for high blood pressure, therefore on a low salt diet. The desserts were all very beautiful but tasteless. In the Provence dining room where we often dined for dinner, a server named Anna was outstanding. She was professional, speedy and had the biggest smile all the time. She was the main reason we dined there. Her boss the manager, Idalecio Silva was a riot. He made us laugh constantly. We all thought he should have been the cruise director as he was always interacting with the passengers.
The couple traveling with us don't drink alcohol so when they got an invitation to a wine tasting event, they happily accompanied us to the room and they explained that since they don't drink, they wanted us to go on their behalf. Believe it or not, they declined their request. The four of us were appalled. That would not have cost them anymore. It would have made everyone happy including the 2 new passengers who were potential repeat passengers. Another time, as we dined in the main "cafeteria buffet", one of the managers approached us and told us they just received word that Princess won some award and because of this, they were celebrating and they invited us. He further told us they would be serving Dom Perignon champagne. I said: "That's very nice,,," I later found out that the invitation included a fee. I am sure that we probably would have just gotten a "sip" of the good champagne and the rest of it not so good. In fact, they had some reception for free one afternoon in which they served champagne. Sandi and I had a glass and we both looked at each other as the champagne was horrible, almost undrinkable.
Our friends who have been on multiple cruises with Princess agreed that the food on the "Island Princess" was not up to par. They have had better food. As for me and Sandi, I think this was our first and last cruise with any Princess. We are looking forward to a cruise with Oceania Cruise Line where Jacques Pépin has a restaurant. Some people may not understand that the biggest part of traveling is the food. Without good food, you might as well stay home!
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