Island Princess

Island Princess entered service in 2003 as the second Coral-class ship, alongside Coral Princess. The class was explicitly designed around destination flexibility: at roughly 92,000 gross tons and just under 2,000 guests, Island Princess can transit the traditional Panama Canal locks (which the larger Grand-class and Royal-class ships cannot), use smaller port facilities in Alaska that preclude visits by the line's newest mega-ships, and generally go where larger ships cannot follow.

This destination flexibility matters more than it might appear. An Alaska sailing on a ship that can actually pull into Ketchikan's downtown dock, tender into Glacier Bay's remote anchorages, and navigate the narrower passages of the Inside Passage is a different trip than one spent on a ship that anchors offshore and tenders guests ashore. Island Princess's Alaska program takes advantage of its size in ways that directly improve the destination experience.

The onboard experience is proportional to the ship's age and size. Princess's standard amenity set applies: the main dining room operates with traditional and anytime dining, Crown Grill steakhouse and Sabatini's Italian are the specialty options, Movies Under the Stars runs on the pool deck, and the Sanctuary — Princess's adults-only reserved sun deck — is available for an additional daily fee. The entertainment programming is appropriately scaled: a main theater for production shows, a casino, a range of bars and lounges. There's no waterpark, no multi-story atrium experience — the trade for itinerary flexibility is a simpler onboard program.

The honest note: Island Princess is not the ship to choose for the Princess amenity experience or for the entertainment variety of a Royal-class or Enchanted Princess. It's the ship to choose when the destination — Alaska, the Panama Canal, an expedition itinerary — benefits from a vessel of this size, and when a quieter, more destination-focused atmosphere fits the trip.