We sailed on the 10 day Oktoberfest itinerary on Island Princess, and did not expect to enjoy it as much as we did.
The ship is much smaller than on our more recent cruises, but the only downside was less choice of entertainment.
We got to know the bar staff, as we tended to frequent the same venues rather than trying different ones each night, so that made the whole experience much more personal.
The crew went above and beyond to keep the public areas clean, and also to ensure good hand hygiene in the buffet, although there are always those who feel that this does not apply to them! The food in all venues we tried was lovely, although the highlight was Sabatini’s – the only speciality restaurant we tried (twice!).
Everything was so well presented, and, again, the waiting staff were lovely.
We had a balcony cabin, which was kept spotless by our wonderful steward.
However, I missed having a sofa! Being on deck 11 by the forward lifts was the perfect position to easily access the public areas.
And there was no noise from the lift area either.
We had Princess trips booked for each port – crazy expensive, but worth it for the most part.
Just disappointed that even a coffee was not included in the full day trips, and you had to cut short a museum trip (In Flanders Field in Ypres) if you wanted a hot drink or something to eat some 3 hours after departing the ship.
Overall, a super cruise – we would definitely go on this ship again.
