BeachinBeauty

Someone interested in taking a cruise with me this November wants to know:

(Assuming there is availability) how close to the actual sailing can you book? ie: 14 days, 7 days, etc.?

The date of the cruise is 11/2, so, they want to know what date they'd have to book in by before it was too late.

Thanks in advance!!!

Thanks for the form CMC! We'll get them printed up. I wanna go ahead and get everything signed and ready. My niece's father can be a little hard to deal with. So, I want his signature in stone right off the bat.

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Thanks for everyone's input!

Yeah, I've heard Mexico is kinda weird about that stuff and that's where we're going. I will get the notarized form for each kid. I want to be safe rather than watching that ship sail away without me, lol! That would be real devastation.

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We are sailing Nov. 1 on the Breeze. I'd like to know the necessary documentation and procedures required to bring minors who are not my own children onboard.

I have a ten year old sister and we have a ten year old niece. They've both been begging to join us, so we are thinking of bringing them as a birthday surprise.

My sister's last name is my maiden name. I have our father's name listed on both my birth and marriage certificates, so I have proof she's my sister. I'm just worried about my niece because she has her father's last name and not ours.

If anyone has been through this and knows what to do, let me know. We will be taking both girls (or having their parents do it) for passports if we decide to go through with this. Thanks in advance!

Just a few things, first I'm very happy that you did not have the same experience.

 

You were not as far aft though. Yes the aft section, but the first cabin. I can tell you, that it even made a huge difference to us in the MDR, whether we were sitting in the forward section or the very back. The very back definitely shook more. And that's where our cabin was. Also, it shook less on the serenity deck than in our cabin. So it also seemed to help the higher up we went. But it still shook.

 

Second, I can tell you that it shook LESS if anything when pulling into port. When we pulled in, it was shaking badly, but the glasses were not rattling, the mirror was not rattling. We were shaking and rattling once the ship was out in the open, and throughout the night. It was the worst on the first few sea days, and the last sea day. So if people think it rattles pulling into port, I'm telling you, what I am describing was not at its worst at that time. It's not the same thing.

 

People can describe a "vibration" and feeling of shaking all they want, and everyone has a different sensitivity to it. Some say it's bad, some say it's gentle. But that facts are that the doors, mirrors, glasses, cabinets, light fixtures, ceiling panels, outside balcony furniture, and doors were rattling for probably 20 out of the 24 hours in each day. So not matter what severity people will "say" it was, I can tell you that if you did not experience that, it wasn't as bad in your cabin luckily. But it was worse in mine then.

 

Also, this is not the first time I have heard it described such as this. Some people have. Different decks, different itineraries, seem to make a difference.

I agree with all you've said. The poster cruising for the first time with kids would probably not enjoy herself aft. We were the farthest aft on Conquest (6442, I think??) and it was just not an experience I'd want to relive. Especially not with kids who are already finicky about cruising. The slamming and banging sounded like the ship was getting ready to explode. As a rational adult, I was able to calm myself knowing that ships make noise and that's normal. But children won't be as easily calmed. If the kids ain't having fun, nobody's having fun. Lol!

But, being trapped on a ship for seven days with no possibility to change rooms (we had a sold out ship-- I went to guest services on the brink of tears and begged for any other room possible), is not the best way to find out you're prone to seasickness.

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This information about the vibrating has me a bit afraid as I am planning my first cruise with my children who are very nervous about crusing and of course I am on the 5th deck aft section. I have no idea if being seasick will be an issue for any of us as we've never cruised before, but I think loud vibrations like the ones described in the first post would scare them. For about the same price, I can change to the 7th deck near the atrium. Does anyone have any information about those rooms? Would you recommend a change to that location in the mid section 7th deck near the atrium? Thanks for your opinions.

I recommend making the switch.

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I want to chime in on a similar experience I had over Thanksgiving on the Conquest. People rave about aft cabins, I will forever avoid them after this nightmare.

The cabin was constantly shaking. Seas were a tad rough, not horrible, and the room wasn't just rocking side to side or front to back. It was doing all of the above. Like we were going in a circular motion.

At night, it sounded like things were slamming onto the floor above us and against the wall by our headboard. I mean, very loud slamming that caused our picture over our headboard to rattle.

We paid a great deal for a balcony cabin and did not enjoy one second of it. What was worse is our MDR was directly below our room in the aft location, so we couldn't even enjoy meal times. The only escape was hanging out midship in promenade.

I had never been seasick until that cruise. On my most recent cruise, I made sure to book midship. Didn't feel anything other than some gentle rolling every now and then. Overheard two girls in the hallway talking about how miserable they were in their aft cabin. It was so strange because, at first, I was like, "What are they talking about? This ship feels like it's gliding on ice!" Then, I remembered Conquest and people having that same reaction with me and I felt sorry for them.

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You and me, both! Nasty, deplorable conditions are not acceptable. I encountered nothing of the sort on CB. Of course, the definition of nasty and deplorable is subjective.

What I did witness were crew working constantly, round the clock, on repairs and upkeep. Honestly, the constant crew presence was annoying to me, at times. There was a man painting the stairs at the Sanctuary pool during the slap middle of the day! This was a narrow stairway and did not allow for his painting and our walking around. Definitely, at no point, did I see anybody just letting the ship go.

I don't have a maid in my home. I do not have anyone prepping meals, making beds, cleaning up trash, doing dishes... Anywhere I have all of these things and more is satisfying to me.

It is amazing to me the amount of individuals choosing to cruise these mainstream, budget-friendly family cruise lines expecting Crystal quality. You get what you pay for. If you paid less than $2000 for a week's vacation to multiple islands, inclusive of food and entertainment, you're gonna run into a stain or two.

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We were next to get off the ship when they halted the line. Actually, my son was already scanned out. We could hear the radios talk about a spontaneous riot outside the port.

 

Honestly, we thought we were cursed. We had the Mystic Mountain Bobsled tour booked. We had the same excursion booked 6 years ago, but our ship had to miss Ocho Rios due to high seas. We had been looking forward to the excision back then and thought we were cursed and weren't meant to do it this time either.

I didn't realize they had already let some off the ship before the riot happened! We were so devastated in that moment because we were excited about that resort. Thankfully it ended up panning out for us!

After we got our purchases, we walked down to the water. It was cold. So, we didn't stay down there long. It actually looked as if it might downpour again, so we headed up to go by the pool in case we needed to run inside to shelter. It never did rain again, though.

A little while of lounging later, it was time to go to the front to meet our shuttle back to the ship. We were told he would be there to pick us up at 2:15. 2:15 came and went. At 2:20, a shuttle pulled up that had the Jamaica tours logo on it. It was identical to the one we'd arrived in. So, we figured that was us. We got up and got ready to get onboard and the driver stopped us to ask where we were headed. When we told him the ship, he said at first that he wasn't there to get us. We were confused because the bus was the same as our first one with the Jamaica tours logo on it. Even the couple we'd arrived with was there waiting to get on this shuttle with us. After some debating with other drivers, the driver of the shuttle agreed to take us back to the ship.

On the way back, the driver offered to drop us in town to shop if we wanted. We weren't supposed to be back onboard until 3:30 and it was only 2:30. I told him I needed cigars, so he said the Taj Mahal was our place. It was literally directly across from the port entrance. We went inside and picked out a cigar and a box of rum cakes. The cakes were $6 cheaper on land for the variety box. Unfortunately, because we'd spent so much on the wooden trinkets we bought at the resort, I was short cash. So, we could only get the cigar before returning back to the ship.

On the way back, there was a (drunken) individual standing on a high chair blowing flames. It was pretty cool, so I took a picture with him and tipped him.

Then, we were back on board. We went to afternoon tea, which had become our daily ritual, and then attended trivia. That evening was the crab shack. We'd been looking forward to trying it for months. I'd forgotten to call in to make our reservation in the morning, so I called after trivia. The earliest we could eat was 8:30.

So, we went walking around. We finally found the shop we'd been looking for that was selling lanyards and things. Technically, this was an open area that, judging by the signs on the walls, used to be a chocolate shop. We had to run up to the ATM and get cash to add to our account, then we returned to make our purchases. We each got a lanyard for our ship card, got my father in law some shot glasses and bought the assorted rum cakes there.

Because dinner was going to be so late, we went to the show in Princess Theater first. This night, it was Al Katz, the comedian, again. He was back for a more in-depth performance than the welcome aboard show. We really enjoyed him. He was hilarious, even though it had to remain family friendly.

From the show, we went up to Caribe Cafe on Lido where the crab shack was being hosted. We were about thirty minutes early, but thought we'd try our luck at getting in. First, we went to the wrong side of Caribe. I was not aware that only one side of Caribe was reserved for the crab shack. The other side was still serving standard, buffet fare. Eventually, we figured it out.

We got seated and that was when I realized this ship was moving. I guess it was the forward, high level, and the scent of shellfish wafting through the air, but I had to put my Seabands on. After about five minutes of sitting, we received water. Another ten minutes later, our order was taken. We received a basket of deep fried shrimp and hushpuppies. The hushpuppies were terrible. We pushed them to the side. We're southerners, and hushpuppies must be done right. Although, it's not really that hard. The shrimp was "okay." Large, but nothing to write home about and very greasy.

After finishing the appetizer, we were delivered the Manhattan clam chowder somewhere in the vicinity of ten to fifteen minutes later. By this time, I was turning green. I barely touched my chowder. It did have a nice flavor, but I do not like clams. The texture is what bothers me. I cannot chew them up.

After a whopping ONE HOUR of sitting in there, swaying to and fro, our food finally arrived. We were both sick but trying to fight it. I put a shrimp into my mouth, chewed it briefly, spit it back into my napkin and told my mother in law we needed to have our food packed up and leave NOW! I like fish, but when I'm queasy I can't stand to be around it. Tasting that shrimp did me in. It was very delicious and super large, but I couldn't do it. The waiter agreed to deliver our food to the room (well, have it packaged to be delivered, anyway). We jetted out of there as fast as possible.

I want to just break into this to say, if you're going to spend money on specialty food, choose Sabbatini's or the steakhouse. The crab shack was just not worth it, to us. It was $20 per person. Service was horrible. The location was horrible in terms of being prone to sea sickness. The appetizer was just "okay." You don't get to choose any other options. You also don't get any other choices besides the Manhattan chowder. I'm not a clam lover, so while the broth was tasty, I didn't care for it too much. The steam pot was good! It really was, but my experience was ruined by getting sick and I could not enjoy it. It was like I had flushed $20 right down the drain :(. Anyway...

Getting out into the open air on Lido helped wonders to reduce my nausea. We didn't take the elevators right by Caribe because I couldn't handle being forward another second. We had to get midship or I was gonna lose it. So, we walked outside on Lido to get to the middle elevators. We got back to the room and I took some ginger capsules, which I had forgotten to do that morning, and waited on our food. It came about forty five minutes later. I still couldn't stomach to eat, even though I wasn't nauseous anymore.

I didn't even bother getting room service or any extra food that night. I just laid in bed and watched sitcoms until I fell asleep.

On the morning of April 2nd, 2015, we woke up in Ocho Rios, Jamaica. We were super excited about this day because we had purchased day passes to an all-inclusive, adult only resort through Resort For A Day. Before I start, just want to say that if there is anyway you can do this: DO IT!!! The cost is $90 per person. That includes transportation to and from your ship, admission to the oceanfront resort, towels and lounge chairs both pool and beach side, two large pools and hot tubs, swim up bar and multiple dining establishments with unlimited food and alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks all day. Moving on...

We rushed to dress and prepare to debark, when there was an announcement made over the loudspeaker. The transportation department was on strike against the government. Somehow, the transportation dept. had gotten the keys to the port gates and had locked it in protest. We were the only ship in port, so I guessed they figured they wouldn't lose much trying to make their point? So, we were all told we would have to wait for a resolution or we would not be able to get off of the ship. Heartbroken doesn't even begin to cover it!

So, we decided to go down to Coral for breakfast and wait it out. Luckily for us, the resolution didn't take long to happen. We were on the stairwell headed to the dining room when the CD came back on the speaker to announce the problem was resolved and the gates were being opened and that debark would begin around thirty minutes from that time.

We took our time with breakfast. On the print out I'd received from Resort For A Day, it said that if your ship arrives before 8:00 AM, the shuttle would meet at 9:15 AM. Well, it was still only about 8:15 AM at this time, so we had an hour to kill. At least, that's what we thought.

After breakfast, we went back up and grabbed our bags and headed to the gangway. Getting to the port gates, we were approached by an individual asking us if we had shore excursion reservations. We told them we did and handed them our confirmation paper. Frantically, the gate attendants began hunting down our shuttle, which was nowhere to be seen. Eventually, someone got ahold of the driver on the phone. He'd already left and was pulling out of the port! So, he stopped and pulled to the side of the road as we ran to meet him. We were sort of chastised for being late. It was 9 AM! The paper said 9:15!!!

Anyway, the bus was nice. Very clean and air conditioned. There were only a handful of people on board with us. As we drove the twelve minutes to Jewel Dunn's River Beach Resort, the driver told us little facts about the area.

Arriving to the resort, I was in awe. The landscape and architecture were absolutely beautiful. I felt like I was in a movie. You know the kind... soft, romantic comedy where the protagonists end up having a Caribbean getaway fall into their laps. As the taxi pulls in, the camera pans the scene, allowing you to soak up every inch of tropical paradise.

That's what the Jewel was like. We exited the bus with a couple and proceeded to the check-in counter. We paid the additional $45 per person that was due at the resort (You pay $45 per person to reserve the day passes in advance, then pay the remaining balance at the resort) and given a wristband.

It wasn't hard to find the pool. Unfortunately, it was very overcast when we arrived. We got set up at a pool chair and I Skyped my husband (free wifi). We spent about an hour talking business, then I slid into the pool to order my first swim-up bar drink, as the sun had finally made an appearance. It was only about 10 AM, but I didn't care. I was on vacation!!!

The rest of the day proceeded in a very leisurely fashion. We waded on resort-provided foam floats, ordered countless Bob Marleys, lounged in the (not always constant) sunlight to the tune of a steel drum band. It was nice. There was a momentary rainstorm that swept through. By the time we'd sought cover, it was over.

For lunch, we couldn't figure out where the buffet was, so we went to the grill and got cheeseburgers and fries. They had nacho cheese, which I indulged in for the fries. The menu at the grill also included jerk chicken and other items. Looking back, I wish I'd maybe tried some more things, but the burger was good. It was large. We took our food and ate in a secluded, lush courtyard. As we were dining, we were approached by someone who asked us if we wanted a drink. It kind of surprised us to be waited on like that. The guy returned with two rum punches and we drank while we enjoyed our burgers.

There were beautiful peacocks and some cats roaming the resort grounds. It wasn't blazing hot, but it wasn't too cold. The pool took some getting used to.

At one point, we decided to go down to the ocean. There were two women right at the bottom of the steps peddling handmade merchandise. Before I knew it, $90 of our spending money was gone. We'd only budgeted $40 for souvenirs. I'd tried to warn my mother in law about shopping in Jamaica, but she didn't absorb what I was saying. I told her that we would take our budgeted allotment out of our envelope BEFORE approaching any sales people and then go to them, tell them how much money we had to spend, and how many things we were looking to purchase. It didn't go that way. By the time my feet hit the bottom of the stairs, my mother in law had things in her hands and then asked me to count our money... in front of the sales person. So, miraculously, the things she'd picked out and the two things I said I wanted equaled the precise amount of money we had.

So, just a warning about that. I will say that I am glad to report those were the only hassling sales people we encountered that entire day, though!

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS!!! We booked this cruise for January 2016...good price and itinerary made it a good choice, but after reading all the negative reviews, I was getting very nervous. Of course, our deposit was non-refundable, so ..... I'm so gald to hear it's not a run down ocean jalopy. Older yes, but as one poster said: A day on ship is better than a day in the office any time. Thanks again for taking the time to pose this. You've eased my mind a bit. :)

Definitely no jalopy! However, my previous cruises were a step down from the CB. So, I may not really know what I'm talking about. I think it's just all a matter of attitude.

Great review were sailing in two weeks on the CB so the timing could not have been better. One quick question does the self laundry take coins or do you swipe your cruise card?

In the laundry room there is a touch screen machine where you swipe your card, make your selections, and it spits out coins for you to insert into the washers and dryers.

They certainly did have it all wrong, OP! I was on CB from 3/30-4/4 and absolutely loved it!

I know, by cruise line standards, it is an "older" ship, but it was the newest and best ship on my personal roster. Yes, there were flaws, but they didn't ruin my trip at all.

I will say that we did encounter heavy sales tactics on our cruise that kind of made me uncomfortable. Any type of pushy sales makes me uncomfortable. But, we were dining in the Horizon Court buffet on the first day and a staff member came around very insistently recommending the beverage package. We told her we would not be purchasing it and she would not stop!

Then, not even ten minutes later, a man came up trying to sell the wine tasting. When I am eating, I really desire to be left alone. So, that put me off a bit. But, not enough to destroy the vacation. The CB was my idea of paradise at sea. I've been writing a very comprehensive review of my experience, if anybody is planning to sail her in the future or again.

After dinner, we went to the show in Princess Theater. That was our nightly source of entertainment. This time, it was a magician named Alex Ramon. I'd forgotten my glasses in the stateroom, so I could not really see the illusions for myself. Therefore, this was the least enjoyable show for me. My mother in law is not a fan of magic and she wasn't fond of this performance, either. I am pretty sure I would've liked it had I been able to see. Everyone else seemed to really get into it.

Just want to add in a little snippet about seating in Princess Theater. On the magician's night, and this may have only been the case because it was a sold out spring break cruise, you'll need to be in the theater no later than 45 minutes before starting time. Because magic is generally geared towards children, the place was packed out. There were people in the floors and lining the walls... And this show was like all others with both an early and a late showing. People hog seats like no other. At least, the passengers on this ship did. There was a couple and three kids attempting to reserve an entire, very large row for people that didn't show up until right at starting time. They even had one of the children approach someone who sat down and ask them to move!

Anyway, after the show, I left my sweater on the back of my seat. Trying to get back into the theater was like full-on bull stampede. It took me about ten minutes to finally be able to weave through the hoards of people that endlessly kept filing out. It was like ants at a picnic! I did get to personally speak with the cruise director, briefly, though. While I was pinned up against a wall, he inched up to enter a staff door I was standing beside. He's a pretty funny guy!

After I was able to successfully retrieve my sweater, we returned to our stateroom. I wanted to go out to the hot tub, so I got into my swimsuit and went out solo. I picked the first empty one I found. I sank in and let the comfortable warmth penetrate my muscles. When I opened my eyes is when I realized there were empty beer cars and cocktail glasses all along the drain that runs the circumference of the top of the jacuzzi. That spoke volumes about the poor manners of the guests on this sailing. A lot of people talk crap about Carnival cruises/cruisers. Say what you will, I've never seen a mess of that magnitude in a Carnival hot tub.

I wanted to make the most of this quiet alone time, though, so I closed my eyes again and tried to ignore what I'd seen. The water line was below the drains, so it wasn't like the water was mingling with the DNA left behind on the cans and glasses. At least, that's what I told myself.

I was attempting to hold back a guttural moan of relaxation when I saw them. A group of teenagers headed my way. A horrifying sight, indeed. I braced myself for my most disliked age group. They entered into the tub and greeted me, politely. I am socially awkward. I get uncomfortable around teens because I am not old enough to be "uncool" or "irrelevant," but I am too old to really have anything to relate to them. I nervously avoided eye contact. Then, much to my surprise, the teens began speaking to me. They wanted to make conversation. So, I obliged.

I found out that they were seventeen and eighteen year olds who were on a senior trip, sponsored by their parents who were also onboard but not supervising. Thank goodness these were seemingly good kids! They informed me they'd been sent out onto the islands with no escorts. Two girls went out alone and had plans to do so the next day in Jamaica. The thought of that horrified me! It's one thing to trust your kids, and these kids seemed quite trustworthy, but you cannot trust strangers in foreign countries. We've all seen and heard the news stories. But, I digress.

After about an hour of talking to these teens, I decided to call it a night and head over to the ice cream shop/stand/counter... whatever you want to call it. Scoops is the name. I had a vanilla cone with rainbow sprinkles. I loved the availability of sprinkles!

This was Love Boat Deck Party night. I found a chair where all the action was and watched enough drunken disco dancing to satisfy me before returning to my cabin.

Left off with drinks at Club Fusion happy hour.

Bahama Breeze, this is. Get one, you must.

After drinks, I'm sure we went back to our room and got ready for dinner. If I'm not mistaken, we lounged around and watched TV until it was time.

This night, I had the caesar salad, of course. For the life of me, I cannot remember my second appetizer-- in hindsight, it was a soup with a chicken broth base, pieces of chicken and vegetables. I can't remember the menu title, but it tasted a lot like chicken and rice soup. My entree was, I believe it was short ribs. It came with whipped potatoes and roasted vegetables. The beef was tender, the vegetables, a proper texture. The only thing that would've improved the dish would've been the addition of some salt. The potatoes and meat were a tad bland.

For dessert, I got fudge brownie with ice cream. As with everything else, it had a name that I cannot remember. But, if you're a chocoholic, like myself, don't pass this one up!

Hi,

Bert was still on the ship, all right. :D He departed today after being on for 7 weeks, I believe. He goes for that long, then takes a break for a few weeks before returning. He will be on a different ship and itinerary during the summer, with the same set up before returning to the Caribbean Islands in the fall. I don't think the Caribbean Princess will be returning to Ft. Lauderdale after it goes on its transatlantic cruise.

Yes, most contracts are for 6 months, I think, but performers constantly come and go from what I've seen. Like they'll get on at an island, perform for a few nights or set time and then leave. Someone can correct me who is more knowledgeable about such things. :)

 

It was interesting timing in that I went to a Princess forum somewhere after I saw that you were going to the Piano Man, and someone wrote in and asked if Mark was still around doing it!!!

 

Take care for now. Lynne

Yes, the ship is headed for Texas as a permanent home. Emerald is coming to Ft. Lauderdale in it's place, I believe.

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Hi, again,

I just caught up with the part I missed before I posted. We went on the ship tour to the turtle farm, Hell, etc. We had another couple with us who were our hosts for the cruise in 1998 and got us forever interested in cruising, so the experience was a bit different, I guess. I don't remember Tortuga, but we did go to the Turtle Farm and walked around the "pools" of turtles and held one, and saw a big iguana in a cage. We went through a building, I think, that had some sort of food. We weren't about to eat turtle soup. :eek: Our friend, Jorge, also had his picture taken next to the standup devil in hell. The picture of him is still in our collage of pictures. And, there was the deck with the ruins behind it. And, we had stop at the 7 Mile Beach and walked around there. I don't remember a promised beach stop at the end. But, it sounds like you made the best of it. Our first try at buying a meal at a restaurant, at the Hard Rock Cafe, I think, sure opened our eyes to the prices there. We just order a drink-beer and diet coke (that came in a can. lol).

 

Who was the Piano Man? Was he different than Bert Stratton in Crooners? I don't remember him doing Elton and Billy and Barry. His signature is "Sweet Caroline"-audience participation to start...

 

I am thoroughly enjoying how you write. :)

Also, thanks for complimenting my style :) Bert was still on board, I suppose, because I heard Sweet Caroline multiple times while I was near the Piazza, throughout the trip. I will have to look back on my Patter to confirm. Do the performers move ship as often as the crew? I know the wait staff only stays on one ship for around seven months. Not sure if the same remains true for the performance staff (singers, dancers, pianists, etc.).

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Hi, again,

I just caught up with the part I missed before I posted. We went on the ship tour to the turtle farm, Hell, etc. We had another couple with us who were our hosts for the cruise in 1998 and got us forever interested in cruising, so the experience was a bit different, I guess. I don't remember Tortuga, but we did go to the Turtle Farm and walked around the "pools" of turtles and held one, and saw a big iguana in a cage. We went through a building, I think, that had some sort of food. We weren't about to eat turtle soup. :eek: Our friend, Jorge, also had his picture taken next to the standup devil in hell. The picture of him is still in our collage of pictures. And, there was the deck with the ruins behind it. And, we had stop at the 7 Mile Beach and walked around there. I don't remember a promised beach stop at the end. But, it sounds like you made the best of it. Our first try at buying a meal at a restaurant, at the Hard Rock Cafe, I think, sure opened our eyes to the prices there. We just order a drink-beer and diet coke (that came in a can. lol).

 

Who was the Piano Man? Was he different than Bert Stratton in Crooners? I don't remember him doing Elton and Billy and Barry. His signature is "Sweet Caroline"-audience participation to start...

 

I am thoroughly enjoying how you write. :)

"Piano Man" was the name of the production put on in Princess Theater one night. It was a tribute show to Billy Joel, Elton John, Barry Manilow and I feel like I'm forgetting another artist. We really liked it. Although, at times, I wondered why the cast did not have matching or coordinating costumes.

In the atrium, there was a lovely pianist. She was female and her name escapes me at the moment, but I want to say it was Katrina or something along those lines.

There was also a band that played the Piazza several times. They had a female lead singer. They were okay, but one night I was a little put off when they were covering "Mack the Knife," by Bobby Darin. The female was singing, "mack tonight," instead. Probably not a big deal to anyone else. Most people my age probably have never heard the song. It just has significance to me and a past cruise experience. If I'm nit picky about anything, it's music! That's why I almost won music Trivia ;)

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The splash pool is seldom used due to some rules of the kids' facilities. Counsellors can't take kids in it so parents must be present. No diapers allowed so the ages of the kids are often beyond splashing pool wishes.

This is true. I never saw any children in it. I thought it must be under repairs or something because the crew were repairing so many parts of the ship while we were onboard, and the times I saw the splash pool it was vacant... like an old ghost town.

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Superb review... We are sailing on CB in May, out of Southampton going to Scandinavia, and really looking forward to it. Would you be able to find out whether the area around Morgan's bar, and pools is smoking please? I've asked on other threads but haven't received a reply. I can't imagine it would be as they have a children's splash pool, but one post suggested that it was?

 

Cheers

I am copying this directly from the Patter:

"For the enjoyment of the public lounges and facilities, indoor areas onboard Caribbean Princess are non-smoking. Smoking is only permitted in designated sections of the Casino and Nightclub. For those passengers who would like to enjoy a cigar or pipe, the Churchill's cigar lounge is located on Deck 6. Smoking cigars or pipes outside of the his lounge and on open decks is not permitted. Outdoor smoking areas are clearly marked and are located on Promenade Deck 7, Starboard side Aft, near the Tradewinds Bar on Deck 16 Portside Forward, and on Deck 17, Portside Aft."

I believe Morgan's bar is deck 17 Aft. So, there will smoking near the bar. Hope that helps.

Pictures that I couldn't add to my previous post. Didn't realize there were editing restrictions on this board... I hate when that happens <insert mean face emoticon here since there is an image restriction>

Also wanted to add, since I can't edit my embark day post, we did go to 90s music trivia that night in Club Fusion. I can't believe I forgot! I lost by ONE point to a team of six. My lonely, ol' young self nearly beat out six adults. I didn't win the champagne, but I won in my mind!

Before I begin this segment, I'd like to encourage everyone to feel free to ask me any and all questions. It gets a little overwhelming trying to cover all bases here, and I know I am forgetting little details that others many be curious about. So, if there is anything in particular that I can help with, ask me and I will tell what I know.

Wednesday, April 1st, 2015. Georgetown, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands. Grand Cayman is my favorite place of all places I've ever been. This trip, we decided to go with the ship's turtle farm, Tortuga, hell excursion. I can assure you, there are much better ways to spend two hours of your morning.

We had to meet our excursion at 8:30 AM in the Princess Theater. So, we got up early, dressed, packed our bags for the day (backpack and beach bag), and headed down to breakfast in Coral. We had our usual fare and walked to Princess Theater. Upon approaching the entrance, you hand in your tickets in exchange for a sticker. Then, the sitting and waiting begins. Sit as far towards the front of the theater as possible, as this group of rows gets called first. We got onto the tender at 9 AM.

Off the tender, we skipped by the ever-annoying, cruise line photo op and found the person who would be leading our excursion. We were placed to the side and told to wait momentarily, then we were guided across the street and through the shopping mall there. The name is on the tip of my tongue, but escapes me at the moment. On the other side of the mall was our taxi van. It was very clean and nice. The driver, whose name also escapes me (it's something very common like Sandra or Debra or something), was friendly and told us all about the island as she drove us around. Good sense of humor!

First stop was Tortuga, which happened to be my favorite of the stops. Good, strong wifi. They let you sample rum and rum cake. Their rum is absolutely delicious, as are the cakes. I'd had the cake plenty of times before but never the rum. We bought a five pack of assorted rum for $20. I will say, the way it was packaged, we were under the impression the bottles were a bit larger than they are. We got four 2 ounce shots out of a bottle. My advice is to pick your favorite flavor of the samples and buy a large bottle of just that. How the purchase works is, you pay and give the cashier your ship and room number and they send your liquor to the ship. On last sea day, the steward delivers it to your room so you can actually drink it onboard. That was pretty cool. Plus, you do not have to carry around your purchase all over Grand Cayman for the rest of the excursion.

The stop at Tortuga is only fifteen minutes. Then, you get back on the van and head to Hell. The ride to Hell takes a little while. The tour guide provided us with interesting and fun tidbits about things we passed on the way. At Hell, you are given twenty (?) minutes. There is a small gift shop there. We purchased a Bell, postcard and stamp, filled out the postcard and then went out back to take a few pictures of the ruins.

Back on the van, it was only a few minutes to the turtle farm. We were given wristbands and instructed to return to the bus in thirty minutes. There really wasn't much to this place, at all. I was so excited about it, but it was a let down. It might be better to book independently and pay extra to get access to the back half of the park. The cruise excursion doesn't cover anything over than viewing the observation pools and an opportunity to hold a small turtle. We did hold the turtle. A quick stroll through the gift shop and we were the first back on the bus at a few minutes until 11:00 AM.

At the beginning of the tour, the guide told us she would drop us off at the beach at the end of the tour if we wanted. We neglected to bring this up to her because we figured that she would make an announcement as we were approaching the beach access. She didn't. Not being familiar with the island, I didn't realize it was too late until we were pulling back in to the shopping mall across from the terminal. Another couple on the bus also had this realization. So, we had to pay her an additional eight dollars to take us back down the road to Royal Palms. I gave her a $10 and she kept my $2 change. Not a big deal, but just have plenty of $1s when you travel by taxi on the islands.

We arrived to the beyond-anything-I'd-ever-seen crowded Royal Palms, paid the $2 PP admission, and picked a table to sit at the bar/restaurant area. Receiving a menu took around 10 minutes, so I knew we were in for a wait. I excused myself to the restroom. It took about five minutes to get an open stall. The crowd was insane. There was a young, college girl in line behind me making small talk. I honestly feared for her safety because she was incredibly drunk, but she had what appeared to be a "babysitter" with her. They were cruising, too, so I hope they made it back safely.

After the restroom trip, I returned to the table. My mother in law had ordered us waters. I scoured the menu and nearly passed out at the prices. They're Cayman prices, which means you're going to pay more in US dollars than what is listed. I'd viewed their menu online before going and didn't see the bit about the price difference. People, GC is a verrry expensive place. Assuming you haven't been. We decided to share a lunch because we were on a budget. I noticed a table across from us doing the very same thing. We ordered the Mahi sandwich and fries.

I knew the wait would be horrendous, so I went back to the restroom and changed into my swimsuit. Someone was in the changing room before me and I think I stood there for fifteen minutes waiting on her. Once my suit was on, I got back out to the table and the food was there. My mother in law was done eating. The sandwich was good. A little spicy, but nice flavor. French fries were delicious, but the waitress made a single appearance and removed the plate from me while I wasn't paying attention, so I didn't get to finish them.

While we were eating, we decided the beach was out of the question as there wasn't a square inch of space available. So, we waited thirty whopping minutes for our check before heading to the pool. To share a sandwich and fries and drink two small waters, after leaving a tip, we paid $30. I noticed a table beside of us that had a family of five, everybody with their own entree and a drink. Must be nice to have $200 to blow at an outdoor grill, lol!

We went to the pool. It was loud and obnoxia (I made that up!) reigned supreme. I'm not a party girl. I'm young, but I've never been into that kind of stuff. My mother in law was very preoccupied with being able to e-Mail my father in law in regards to business, so that kind of dampened the experience a bit. We were inching our way around the pool trying to connect to the wifi. The connection is horrible. Eventually, we got a nice connection sitting on a pool step. So, I cooled off and we sat in silence as she was focused on a response and I didn't feel like screaming over the DJ.

After thirty minutes, it was getting time to head back to the ship. I was incredibly sad because I felt I'd wasted a whole day at my favorite island. The turtle farm was a let down, and then RP was, as well. We wanted a place to have the beach, food and wifi. I'm pretty sure that's the only place on GC to get that? If it's not, someone please let me know! I do not really desire to go back there and I may be in GC on my next cruise.

Getting a taxi back was no big feat. Someone was waiting to throw us in their van by the time we hit the bottom of the steps leading away from the pool. Fare was $4 PP. We sat up front and the taxi driver was talkative. It took about ten minutes to get back to the taxi parking near Margaritaville. From there, we had to walk to the South terminal. It was a three minute walk, roughly.

We waited five minutes and were on a tender back to the ship. Back on CB, we climbed the full three or four (?) flights of stairs back to our cabin. We freshened up for afternoon tea in Coral (btw, this is what we did to kill a bit of time on the first sea day where I said I'd forgotten). By this time, it was nearly 3:30, which is when tea starts. We got in to a table and welcomed food. The offerings were much more pleasing than Carnival's tea offerings! Princess wins tea, hands down!

Tea is poured and cream and sugar are provided. Then, someone comes around offering desserts, another with about seven or eight types of sandwiches, someone with cookies, someone with scones and a person with cream and jam. We were starving, so we got two tea sandwiches, a tea dessert, a scone with jam and cream and two of the little butter cookies. DH and I did tea on Carnival. There were two sandwiches offered and both weren't very tasty or appealing. Then, there were desserts, which also weren't amazing. That was it.

After tea, my mind escapes me on what we did. I want to say it was trivia in Explorer's lounge and drinks at Fusion. But, I could have my days mixed up with our second port day. An interesting tidbit, BOGO drinks are also offered in the nightclub every night from 11:00 PM- 12:00 AM. These locations never changed and neither did the times. If you're not big drinkers and looking to save a few bucks, definitely plan to get drinks then.

Happy to announce I received verbal confirmation last night that if I purchase an additional kayak for hubby this year, he will cruise again! Now just waiting on the perfect deal and itinerary to book!

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Oops. I didn't even realize what I was doing was wrong. I just brought back one, though.

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