CruzeQueen2

Sorry! Duplicated info from Fritzg. Mighty Leaf tea in IC. Hope the extra info is useful to you!

In the IC, they have Mighty Leaf tea. On land, this brand of tea tends to run a bit pricey IMHO. If you have a coffee card,  you can try them all, find a new flavor favourite! Enjoy. Otherwise, in the MDR, they tend to use Liptons unless you ask for a certain tea. I've had darjeeling, English breakfast, chamomile,  Irish breakfast , earl grey...cheers!

Be sure to try the afternoon tea served in one of the dining rooms almost everyday. Fancy sandwiches, scones and desserts are tasty!

You can get envelopes from the passenger services desk near the end of your cruise. I like to print the name of the waiter, or other staff member, and sign my own name, with thanks, with gratitude, or in appreciation.  Even if you fold the envelope into a manageable size to fit into your palm, it is easy to slip this into the hand of your waiter. I like to think that by sealing an envelope and signing my name to it, I am showing my gratitude with respect.

I'm Canadian and I believe the staff that looks after me on the ship, appreciates the extra monetary acknowledgement. I know that when you specify the names of staff in your followup feedback to Princess, the staff are recognized as well. They also have comment cards available at the front desk for you to note the staff member. Easy!

I have loved seeing you pics and reading about your experiences. Lucky you to travel with DS and DM. 😁Thank you for sharing!

is that Chef Guido in t he photo? Which ship is that on?

Thank you! Great list. Nice to see so many familiar faces. Appreciate your efforts.😊

Loving the detailed report of your journey. I also cruise with my sister,  so I have felt similar sentiments to you. Was your cruise director Matt O'Brien? If yes, you got lucky! He's one of the best in the biz. Tell him I said so! I've cruised with him on Royal in 2019. Thanks for posting 😎

Water fountain shows at night.Mini bellagio style experience! Sabatini, Alfredos, both excellent. All staff, yes, Matt O is a gem. Vines expanded bar, and seating for international cafe , all good. I'll take this beauty of a ship, anyday! Nothing negative in my mind.

I have received upsell offers with instructions to phone a specific number . You leave a message with your details, and they call you back in queue. I have generally received call backs within 24 hours. If the memo did not specify the price, then you may be getting a complimentary upgrade. Call the Princess line directly and see what you got. Or, look at your cruise personalizer to see your current assignment. Happy travels!

Yay for Matt O, the cruise director! I sailed on the Royal in May 2019. Also had a great experience with great staff. Lovely ship. I agree with many of your points. Well reported. Thank you. I would also recommend this ship and Alaska cruising, any day. 

5 hours ago, AF-1 said:

CruzeQueen2,  thanks for being on board this trip.  It was fun and weather was perfect.  No issues at all

I was thrilled to be on this trip. As a west coaster, this was my first time to FLL and these CB ports. Well worth the effort. I'd sail on this ship again in a heartbeat. I've been sailing on the west coast, Ruby, Golden Star mostly, in the last few years.Love those ships and the staff, as well. On the Caribbean P in 2014, out of Houston, I was happy to return to this big ship.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading your detailed report. Thank you for taking the time.

I had my share of glitches in February, e.g. no cruise card nor medallion ready at the port, and a disappointing shore excursion! But,I wouldn't have traded those 14 days onboard the ship for all the snow in Vancouver! I escaped winter and loved every minute.

Initially,  there was no embarkation package available for me at check in. Perhaps my cruise partner and I worked a little too hard ahead of time preparing ourselves to be Ocean Ready. Most of the other passengers I spoke to, never downloaded a thing prior to sail date and they breezed onto the ship without a blip.

Upon discovering nothing ready at check in for me, and after a bit of a wait, i.e., an hour in the terminal, a cruise card was issued and I was able to join the ship- in time for lunch in the dining room. That made up for the bumpy start. 😄 The first morsel of food was delicious and continued to be so for the next 14 days. Kudos to Chef Guido and Food and Beverage director, Roy Kelley. All food venues that I went to were exceptional in taste as well as presentation. Have you had a quinoa salad or tabbouleh served in a mini Terra cotta-like flower pot before?

In preparation to join the Royal in May on the west coast, I am going to waltz into the LA terminal  to pick up my medallion and cruise card at the pier. Can't wait! The medallion technology is fun, but not failproof....yet!

Did I tell you? I live in Canada, and they don't mail medallions out to my country. LOL!

Happy Sailing everyone!

I was on the same ship, Feb 9th to 23rd. Whole heartedly agree with your comments. Loved the ship so much, I've already booked it for next year, southern Caribbean itinerary.

Planks was a worthwhile venue as well. Barbecue specialties, great value for 12 bucks! Food in all venues was excellent; refreshingly modern in New World Market especially. Chef Guido was with us for most of the trip, but he left partway into our second week. 

I'm curious. Was he the chef who showed you around?

On 2/24/2019 at 6:32 AM, AF-1 said:

Hello Fellow Cruise Critics,  We just returned from seven days Western Caribbean on Caribbean Princess.  Our trip was 16-23 Feb.  FLL- Cayman Islands-Roatan-Belize_Cozumel. It was a great trip and we were very happy with no big issues.  Let me start this review by saying; out of perfect 10; this cruise was a 9.9 rating.  We flew down on Valentines Day 14 Feb to FLL.  So glad we went early; why you ask.  Well for one we wanted to get out of the cold weather in Cincinnati, and we figured we could spend Valentines day on the beach.  We were supposed to arrive FLL at 2:30pm on Delta.  Well our flight coming into Cincinnati had a mechanical; which made out flight out of Cincy late and we missed our connection in Atlanta. We had checked bags so we could not get them back. When we got to Atlanta, we missed our first connection; then we missed the second connection because they only had one seat avail; and I was not going to leave my wife;  we finally caught the third flight; which put us into FLL at 6:15pm.  Our bags were on the original connection, so they were at Delta baggage when we arrived.  Hopped in a taxi and went to Courtyard Marriott on FLL beach.  Nice hotel and great location.  We did get to celebrate Valentines Day with a late dinner.  Friday was lounge and beach day and we left for port Saturday around 10:30am.  Most of you know Caribbean Princess was first ship to have fully functional medallion class.  I can say after 7 days using the new medallion system; it works, and it works well.  Yes there are still a few glitches; one being; I could never order a beverage in Club Fusion.  I could in all the other bars but that one.  I could order room service with the app, and order beverages at the pool bars, etc.  Getting on and off ship is a little faster; some people say it really is not faster; but I think it is a little faster.  The main thing is the medallion unlocks the door to your cabin when you approach.  You still have to push the door handle to open door; but it is a nice system.  The track or find cruise mate works well.  I was watching a jazz band in Explorers lounge, and next thing I know my wife is tapping me on the shoulder; she said she tracked me down with the digital screen by the elevator.  There are digital screens by all the elevators on every floor.  If you want to know how to get to the spa from deck 6; you just tap on the spa and then it asks if you want directions to the spa and it will give you the quickest route.  If you buy something in the gift shops is a breeze. There is a medallion box at the check out counter.  You place your medallion on the button and it will turn green; which mean the sale went thru.  The biggest thing I noticed about the medallion system was on departure day.  Some people never took a security photo prior to arriving at the port. Even though they had filled out ocean ready app; their security photo was not taken or they took a side shot of their face; which won't work.  Anyway, once they tried to enter the ship the security officers had to retake their security photo's with an ipad.  When they placed their medallion down on machine it never turned green; it stayed blue.  There are  more than 50 medallion personnel at the port willing and able to help with any and all medallion questions or issues.  Same is true on board the ship.  They have an ocean medallion desk with tech people manning the desk to help.  On day two of cruise they teach a class with one of the medallion IT staff;  it is held in Explorers lounge.  So back to the cruise.  This  was our second cruise with Princess.  We liked our Alaska cruise so much that we booked this cruise.  Below I will list everything:

CABIN: C749 aft Penthouse Suite. - Loved the location and the room; cabin steward Olympio was excellent

Club Class Dining: Excellent; never had to wait for a table; food was great

CROWN GRILL: Excellent.  Food was great; staff was great; all in all great dinner

WORLD FRESH MARKET BUFFET: Ate here for a few breakfasts, a few lunches, and a few dinners.  Never had a bad meal.  Met head chef and he showed me around the buffet and we talked about different types of foods and breads served there. (full disclosure, I have a food service background).  Anyway is was interesting to hear about some of the regional foods they prepare.  There was a lot of asian, and mediterranean food on buffet; and there was a fajita bar everyday for lunch.  Food was good

SABITINI'S: ate breakfast here one morning by myself.  Good food and service;  

24 HR INT'L FOOD MARKET ON PIAZZA: Had a few desserts here; never had a sandwich or salad

ENTERTAINMENT: Comedy show was excellent;  magic show was just ok, production show was very good

SLICE PIZZA AND SALTY DOG: I had pizza at least a slice a day;  was trying to see if there was any change in consistency between hours of the day or each day.  Pizza was just as good every day.  Burger and fries were good; fries were cooked to order

MUTS: The movies for this week were: Black Panther, First Man, A Star is Born, plus a bunch of concerts;  we watched the Who Concert on night

SHIP AND STAFF: The ship was in great shape.  Every port day the crew was all over the ship working nonstop changing carpet and painting while we were onshore.  I never met a bad crewmember. When I sat down in buffett; there were  no less than three servers at my table asking if I needed anything; same was true in main dining room .  Our personal cabin steward was in and out of room all the time cleaning.   cabin was spotless.  

CRUISE DIRECTOR: Micca Reitano from Australia.  Funny, had a morining tv show from all over the ship.  Was everywhere and very interactive with passengers.  

***** I do not have anything bad to say about this cruise.  The only reason I did not give it a perfect 10 was the following.  We had one shore excursion cancelled because of high seas;  we had our heart set on snorkling on barrier reef in Belize; and it was cancelled;  so we ended up never leaving the ship. I know this was out of anyone's control.  Only other thing; medallion program is up and running at maybe 90%.  Two small no big deal things;  We had perfect weather and calm seas.  I posted a few pics from our trip.   If you have any questions or concerns about this review or the ship I will try and answer the best I can.  Thank you for reading along. Have a great day

I was on the same trip, and I agree with everything you said. Fantastic in every regard. 

EZ check is a different program. It simplifies checking in with your luggage at the airport.I used it at the end of my cruise and it was handled through passenger services. it worked out  so well, for me. I'm disappointed that it may not be offered any more. I flew with AA out of Fort Lauderdale in February 2019.

EZAIR is for booking flights with the cruise personalizer. I also use it and find it to be an efficient way of booking and managing my flights.

I used the EZ check program in Late Feb 2019, this year. Flew on AA from FLL TO YVR. The EZ check program worked like a charm. I'd use it again in a heartbeat! 

My experience with the wine package was great. Very worthwhile. Available on first day onboard, not ahead of time. Great new wine list. I agree that purchasing it at the first dinner would eliminate the extra taxes tied to the port. Order a glass at lunch, easy.

Just returned from 14 days on Caribbean Princess. In my group we purchased the wine packages for 7 and 12 bottles of wine. Gratuities were added on at the initial  point of purchase.  No extra gratuities were added, even when wine exceeded the $45 limit. The card you receive,  records by hand, each purchase. Bottles over $45 are allowed. You will be charged for the higher priced bottles on your folio, and credited back $45. works like a charm. Great wine selection on board. Good value. 

3 hours ago, Astro Flyer said:

The prices in post #44 do not include the 15% gratuity.

The package that you purchase will add the 15 % gratuity at the outset.  No extra gratuities will be added, even when you purchase bottles that exceed 45 dollars. In my opinion, the wine packages of 7,10 or 12 bottles, are very good value for wine lovers. Purchases must be made in the dining room, but bottles may be taken to different venues. 

wondering about when they add the 15% gratuity? when you buy the package at the outset? or as you purchase each bottle? Are you charged 15% on the cost of the package, or the posted price of the wine you purchase?