My take on Caribbean Princess

[Cuizer2]

Interesting review. Thank you for posting it.

[PhoneGoddess]

i was wondering if anyone can me the name of a reasonable price place to stay in puerto rico for one night

 

We stayed at the Doubletree by Hilton when we were on the repo cruise in October. It had just been renovated and the room was absolutely beautiful. The price was extremely reasonable and the service was excellent. Also, it was within walking distance of many nice restaurants.

[1stCruiser]

We just returned from the Caribbean Princess November 15-22 sailing. Instead of a trip report, I wanted to make some comments on a few Cruise Critic hot topics. This was our second cruise; the first was on the Dawn Princess in 2003. We do not see ourselves as cruisers, and were pleasantly surprised at the first experience. We chose Princess mainly for the reputation (in 2003) and Anytime Dining. We chose Princess this time because of our positive experience then and Anytime Dining.

 

Thanks for the feedback and comments!

 

Haven't seen any current reviews for the "Classic" itinerary, so I would appreciate knowing what you did it the ports. Also, which nights were formal.

 

(BTW - love your user name!)

[O2B@Cagain]

Hey, Billp1: The reason I called it "My take" is that it is *my* opinion...;) I think my point is that on Cruise Critic there are several contentious issues- like the duvet, formal wear and coffee. I didn't find the coffee worth complaining about. You, I suppose, would. The gist of my post was that two people can see the same thing completely differently.

 

Carolyn: That makes sense about the gelato. I asked Italian crew and everyone said, "No, no gelato, ice cream...hand made under Italian supervision."

 

I don't want to give you all the impression that Sabatini's was terrible! The food was good. We went the last night and my personal belief is that the crew were ready to get us off and get on with the 2 day, mostly free-time, cruise to Trinidad. I thought they were going to bring one taste, then another, etc. in a slow and enjoyable evening. Instead it was a large number of cold apps on one plate, hot apps on a second plate, entree, dessert. Bada-bing-bada-boom. See ya! We were out the door in an hour. I forgot that we had the same feeling with specialty dining on the Dawn- it was okay, but not the best way for us to spend $40. Could have bought another bottle of wine with that! :p

 

I forgot about these topics:

 

Movies Under the Stars- I enjoyed it for an evening flick, but thought it was obnoxious all day long. I have read that comment here, too. So don't flame me Billp1!:D I would have really enjoyed an hour or so with all but the nav lights turned off so you really could SEE the stars. They are so beautiful off-shore!!

 

Champagne Balcony Breakfast- Our TA gave this to us and we were confused. We had a little form to check off what we wanted to drink: "Swill" coffee ;), tea, milk... and no menu. They brought huge amounts of lox (only one lox eater) and bacon (only one bacon eater) and Mr. Clicker Man with the pastries went berserk! There was a plate of at least 14 bread/pastry items. All that and one little fruit cup. Again, I would have liked to choose. But I was very appreciative, because that was one morning that the smokers must have slept in so we enjoyed our breakfast!:)

 

Patters ahead of time- I felt that part of the cruise experience is that things are presented on a day-by-day basis. Today these are available...and at the end of the day, you are presented with a whole different set of possibilities. I suspect they change events from cruise to cruise so that the Patters only serve to give you guidelines about what will occur. Part of the Escape is not planning so far in the future. I enjoyed reading my Patter at the end of the day and deciding what time we would need to have dinner in order to, say, see the comedy show.

 

We really did have a great time and felt we were totally relaxed when we got back. In fact I was hoping the steward was going to have my room all fixed up when I got home from work on Monday!:D

[TorontoTL]

Thanks for your review, I enjoyed reading it. Although I was recently on the CB in September, I am going to be doing the B2B in Jan/Feb 2010 again on the CB so it is nice to hear that things are still great on board.

[Colo Cruiser]

The Caribbean Princess never had gelato in the International Cafe. During drydock last January when they added the International Cafe, Vines, etc., they did not add gelato.

 

 

No room for the Gelato machine on the refit Grand Class ships.

[johnfas]

cruisegoer: I thought they did a pretty good job of Spanish only for announcemtents about passengers with Spanish names. You noticed all the Puerto Ricans? Contrary to popular belief, they do not all speak English. They were taken in war and I think have never forgotten it, IMHO. ;)

 

johnfas: I also thought if we told him our preferences at Sabatini's he would somehow adjust the presentation, but he didn't. My partner doesn't like fishy items and yet he piled them on the plate. I didn't want certain things but he just piled it on. We left a lot. There has got to be a huge amount of waste. I liked the dining room where I could make selections, although they push you to eat there. Did anyone have the annoying clicker guy with the pastries at breakfast? "No, thank you" didn't seem to phase him. I am not much of a meat eater, so the steak deal didn't interest me. As I said, I would be happy in the dining room every night, I think. Something for everyone, right? I guess our invitation to the wedding was lost in the mail? Hope the rain didn't "dampen" the event!:D

 

If/when we go on another cruise, it will probably be the Panama Canal, and I am thinking of jumping brands to Holland America for that. I think I could now deal with traditional dining and I hear that their educational program is excellent. If anyone has any comments on that, I would love to hear them.

 

On thing about Cruise Critic and trip reports: people's expectations and personalities are all different. It amazes me that a cruise ship can find a way to accomodate all of these. We saw an unhappy lady in Barbados who was in such a hurry to get to town she was yelling at the local security guy, called him "Bub." I was really embarrassed. I'll bet she didn't have such a good trip!:eek: And the legend of the Ugly American continues...

 

Forgot to tell you the wedding was 2 yrs. ago!! Sunny and beautiful!!!!

[O2B@Cagain]

1stCruiser: We did our own excursions. Basically, we get out beyond the cruise ship taxi operation and find an independent driver who will take us to see something we want to see. Again, going along with my one-day-at-a-time philosophy, there were two formal nights. You find out in your first Patter WHEN they occur!

[Steelers36]

I bow to the experts. Thanks for setting me straight. I guess I have not been peering art the URL's too closely.

[jnmanderson]

i was wondering if anyone can me the name of a reasonable price place to stay in puerto rico for one night

 

I've been on a cruise out of San Juan a few years ago but didn't need a hotel, now in April 2010 will be sailing out of there again and need a 1 night stay. I found this great place San Juan Park hotel and comes very highly recommended by several people that have also down the CP out of San Juan. I was told the taxi from the airport was $20 to the hotel and about $5 or $10 hotel to ship (those are per cab not per person). Plus the best part is pretty good price.

 

Check out - http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g147320-d1382890-Reviews-San_Juan_Park_Hotel-San_Juan_Puerto_Rico.html

[Doug R.]

This was my first Princess cruise but my 16th cruise overall. I would like to follow up with some points quoted below:

I agree Princess did an excellent job, it was a very nice cruise and the ship was quite beautiful. I would appreciate though that although the sailing originates out of San Juan that they do not repeat everything once in English and Once in Spanish. If I were Asian or French (Canadian) I may be annoyed that they did not repeat things in my specific language.

 

Reality check time!!! The announcements would literally take all day if they had to repeat them in every possible langauge the passengers speak. "Good heavens, its 3 am and they still haven't finished the muster drill announcement". :eek::D

[Stevesan]

Reality check time!!! The announcements would literally take all day if they had to repeat them in every possible langauge the passengers speak. "Good heavens, its 3 am and they still haven't finished the muster drill announcement". :eek::D

 

I haven't sailed Costa, but I've read comments about announcements constantly made in multiple languages. Drives people nuts! :(

[1stCruiser]

1stCruiser: We did our own excursions. Basically, we get out beyond the cruise ship taxi operation and find an independent driver who will take us to see something we want to see. Again, going along with my one-day-at-a-time philosophy, there were two formal nights. You find out in your first Patter WHEN they occur!

 

To quote you : The gist of my post was that two people can see the same thing completely differently.

 

The reason I want to know when formal nights are is to book other things (like Balcony Dinner, Specialty Restaurants) which usually have to be booked ahead of time - at the beginning of the cruise. You may not like to plan ahead of time, but a lot of people, including myself, do and that is why I ask questions on Cruise Critic!

 

Thanks anyways...

[O2B@Cagain]

1stCruiser: But I am not sure they don't change them at some whim. Ours were on Monday and Friday. Still, when you get on board, check the Patter in your room. Are we copacetic now?

[Tatka]

We were on the same trip.. The itinerary was the best Caribbean itinerary out of all. This cruise was our 10th in the Caribbean Sea and the second on CB.

 

There were a couple minor disappointment. They removed Princess links - minigolf - which we greatly enjoyed in 2006. Also we liked Palm dining room (anytime DR) much better, as it was located at the aft and had many more tables for two, I don't remember any waiting time for this dining venue.

 

They added one more production show and we thought performing staff was even better than on CB last time and on Ruby last year. CD was fun, although last time on CB we had Tim Donovan, who is the best CD out of all our cruises. Also new flatscreen TVs are much better.

 

Overall this was a great cruise. My only regret was that we didn't have 2 week vacations, as Southern Explorer itin has some great islands too.

 

As for places to stay in PR.. We originaly booked La Concha by Reinassanse(sp?) thru Hotwire, for $119, but because of some problems with our room they transferred us to the Marriott Hotel & Stellaris Casino nearby. We got full refund of our money, great suite on 16th floor with partial view of the ocean + 2 coupons for the drinks at La Concha. Not a bad deal... :D El Condado district is great, you can find many nice reastaurants and stores nearby.

 

Weather was mostly nice with the exceptions for the embarkation and first day in St Thomas, which was not a big problem, as this was our 5th time at the port. We still had fun walking around Crown bay, nice marina, and watching huge iaguanas. I like this location as much as Heavensight mall.

 

If you have any questions, please ask.

 

P.S. We had very nice cabin on Riviera deck - R255. Very convenient to buffets and pools on Lido deck. I liked it more than minisuites on Dolphin deck, which we visited during our last cruise on CB... Their balconies are completely open and if something accidentely falls from balcony above, you have no protection, I am not even talking about privacy.

[sing2sas]

You might try Priceline for a great price on a hotel. We are on the CB in February and just recently bid $90 for a resort category on PL and got the Caribe Hilton. Great hotel in a good location. I was so happy about it that we changed our air reservations to two days earlier and were able to get 3 nights at the Caribe for the same price. Enjoy!

[Colo Cruiser]

You might try Priceline for a great price on a hotel. We are on the CB in February and just recently bid $90 for a resort category on PL and got the Caribe Hilton. Great hotel in a good location. I was so happy about it that we changed our air reservations to two days earlier and were able to get 3 nights at the Caribe for the same price. Enjoy!

 

 

Its a great hotel. ;)

[Maraprince]

Nothing wrong with the ice cream served in the dining room -- simply delicious!

 

Now, the ice served on Carnival is pretty bad!

 

The baked Alaska was the biggest and best on any ship that I have been on!

 

 

 

 

MARAPRINCE

[caribill]

They removed Princess links - minigolf - which we greatly enjoyed in 2006.

 

According to the diagram on Princess.com, Princess Links was relocated and now exists on deck 17 forward, outside the Cybergolf area.

[Tatka]

According to the diagram on Princess.com, Princess Links was relocated and now exists on deck 17 forward, outside the Cybergolf area.

 

We asked this question, answer was .. we are still working on it. Not really a big deal but we got used to it on Princess and RCCL.

[O2B@Cagain]

LOL! We had decided we wanted to at least sample every place on the ship. When I got back and looked at the deck plans again, there were several things we missed- the golf simulator and putting green were two. The bar and pools on deck 17 or 18 were also overlooked.

[rdsqrl]

LOL! We had decided we wanted to at least sample every place on the ship. When I got back and looked at the deck plans again, there were several things we missed- the golf simulator and putting green were two. The bar and pools on deck 17 or 18 were also overlooked.

 

Oh, no! You violated one of the first rules of cruising: Leave no bar unvisited! You must book another cruise quickly to rectify this oversight.

Thanks for the detailed review; glad you enjoyed your cruise.

[Tatka]

LOL! We had decided we wanted to at least sample every place on the ship. When I got back and looked at the deck plans again, there were several things we missed- the golf simulator and putting green were two. The bar and pools on deck 17 or 18 were also overlooked.

 

You didn't miss much..

 

Pool on deck 17(or 18?) is a kids/teens pool + several jacuzzies. Bar? Unless you are talking about skywalkeer's bar it's a non alcoholic bar near the youth pool.

 

Now... if you missed Terrace pool, that would be sad. My favorite pool, especially when we cruise during school vacation.

[OctCruzer]

Looking at Caribbean Princess for February. Having never cruised Princess before, here is my question for those having recently been on the Carib. Princess:

 

Are any type of punch cards for beverages offered - e.g. soda, wine, specialty coffees? If so, which and how much are they? Any experiences with using them would be appreciated. Thanks.

[TorontoTL]

Princess offers both a coffee card that is punched and an unlimited soda sticker. I don't know the current prices but I'm sure someone else will.