Overall Score

BERLITZ'S RATING
	Possible	Achieved
Ship	500	434
Accommodation	200	154
Food	400	261
Service	400	294
Entertainment	100	85
Cruise	400	314

How this score is created

Island Princess (sister ship to Coral Princess) has an instantly recognizable funnel due to two jet engine-like pods that sit high up on its structure. Four diesel engines provide the generating power. Electrical power is provided by a combination of four diesel and one gas turbine (CODAG) unit; the diesel engines are located in the engine room, while the gas turbine unit is located in the ship’s funnel housing. The ship also has three bow thrusters and three stern thrusters.

The ship’s interior layout is similar to that of the Grand Princess-class ships (but with two decks full of public rooms, lounges and bars instead of just one), and sensibly features three major stair towers for passengers (good from the safety and evacuation viewpoint), with plenty of elevators for easy access. For a large ship, the layout is quite user-friendly, and less disjointed than many ships of a similar size. Because of its slim beam, the ship is able to transit the Panama Canal, thus providing greater flexibility in deployment than the Grand Princess-class ships.

New facilities for a Princess Cruises ship include a flower shop (where you can order flowers and Godiva chocolates for cabin delivery – good for a birthday or anniversary), cigar lounge (Churchill Lounge), martini bar (Crooners). Also different is a casino with a London theme.

What is very civilized is the fact that sunbathers who use the “quiet” deck forward of the mast have their own splash pool, so they won’t have to go down two decks to get to the two main pools. Strollers will like the ship’s full wrap-around exterior promenade deck.

Surfers can find an AOL Internet Cafe conveniently located on the top level of the four-deck-high lobby. Meanwhile, it’s good to see that the dreaded “fine arts” get their own room, so that paintings to be sold during the art auctions are not spread all over the ship. Adjacent is the Wedding Chapel (a live web-cam can relay ceremonies via the internet). The ship’s captain can legally marry (American) couples, due to the ship’s registry and a special dispensation (this should, however, be verified when in the planning stage, and may depend on where you live). Princess Cruises offers three wedding packages – Pearl, Emerald, Diamond; the fee includes registration and official marriage certificate. The Wedding Chapel can host “renewal of vows” ceremonies (there is a charge for these).

Berlitz Guide © Apa Publishing 2008