The Island Princess is an old gal, by cruise ship standards. She was commissioned into service in 2003 and has had several major renovations. She will go into dry dock in Sept ’24 for 20 days, for another major renovation. Despite her age, we love her so. She is small, again by today’s cruise ship standards, and she has a cozy elegance that many of the newer and larger ships lack.

It takes a herculean effort to keep a ship in tip top condition. There is constant painting, cleaning and repairing. Just think about what it would take to keep the outside of the ship, pristine and white, and free of rust from the sea air?

Then there’s the public spaces; the restaurants, pubs, stairways, restrooms and pool decks.
One of our favorite hotel staffers is Joy from the Philippines. She works so hard to keep all of the public spaces clean and has the biggest smile. Her name is easy to remember because she is a real joy to be around.

And then there are the wonderful room stewards, who have one of the hardest jobs on the ship. Our steward, Neil from the Philippines, was a total delight. He has a beautiful family back home and tells us about his daughters. I so enjoy talking to him and we get into some real laughing fits. We just can’t say enough about how hard he works and how grateful we are for him. We got into a great rhythm with him and appreciated so much all of the extra things that he did for us over the four months.

I’d like to pay tribute to the many women and men that work on The Island every day, to keep her a dignified, beautiful old lady.