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Caribbean Princess Jan. 24th-Thoughts and photos

mnbruce

By mnbruce,
in Princess Cruises

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mnbruce

mnbruce

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Just some quick thoughts about my first Princess cruise. Our last couple of cruises were on Holland America so I will do a just little comparing.

 

Itinerary- It was great,with stops in St. Thomas,Antigua,Tortola,St. Lucia and Barbados. Ports the first 5 days and a last day at sea which was perfect,with the sea day giving us a day to unwind after a busy week. Personally I can take or leave St.Thomas but I really enjoyed the other ports.

 

Cabin- We skipped the balcony this cruise because it was so port intense. Room was small as expected but we were not bumping into each other. Our HAL cabins were balconys with a little more room but this cabin had more storage space. Shower was a little cramped but not a big problem. HAL's beds are much more comfortable,but the hard beds did not cause any sleeping issues. We had outside cabin with a full view but the window was quite dirty so I did not spend much time looking out of it. We had cabin P336 on the Plaza deck which was perfect for us. It was midship,at the end of the corridor so nobody ever walked by and it only took about 90 seconds to get off the ship and the same amount of time to get to the cabin when getting back on. It was a great location for us.

 

Food- Considering how many people they have to feed I was pleased overall with the food. Buffets always had something to wet our appetites,the burgers by the pool were great for a snack,the pizza was ok. The dining room food was pretty good overall with a decent selection of choices. The only alternative restaurant we tried was the Crown Grill and we we very happy with the quality of food there. Pams large Lobster Tail was very good and my New York Strip was excellent. Sides and dessert were also very good. I think we both thought Princess has the edge over HAL in the food department.

 

Staff- Pretty simple here. Excellent service and a very freindly staff,absolutely no complaints. Our experience with the staffs on HAL were also very positive so here I'll gladly say it's equal between the two lines.

 

Ship- Quite large but we knew that going in. The ship never really felt extremely crowded but on the sea day you really got a feel for how many people were on the ship. The condition of the shp was fine,but not anything really special. I like the smaller ships of HAL but would chose Princess again but on a smaller ship.

 

Entertainment- Can't say because we skipped it all,which is usually the case on HAL also.

 

So inconclusion I'd say we had a great time and would chose Princess again. Both Hal and Princess served our needs so itinerary and price would probably play a role in deciding between the two lines.

 

If you're interested,here are some of my photos from this trip. Thanks for viewing.

http://imagesbybruce.smugmug.com/Other/Princess-Southern-Caribbean/11119888_BaJy6#781875619_yKafe

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LBrandy

LBrandy

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Bruce great pictures I was on this cruise as well an we had a great time no complaints at all....I can see from your pictures we should have spent more time out an about an less time shopping an relaxing...lol..the sights are great.

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MamaPuggle

MamaPuggle

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Bruce, thanks for the great photos. I was really impressed w/ color and clarity. I'm looking to purchase a new camera for an upcoming cruise. Can you tell me what type of camera you used (brand and how many mp's if it's digital. Thanks!

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UniqueNTexas

UniqueNTexas

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I agree the Photos are beautiful. :cool: Thanks for the captions too. I'll be on the Carribean Princess next month. You've really inspired me. One question though - Did you use the ship sponored tours or do them on your own.

 

Thanks again for the wonderful review and letting me know what I can expect!!

 

Regina

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mnbruce

mnbruce

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First,Thanks so much for the nice words and comments,they are greatly appreciated. To those who live in cold and snow like I do,I hope the photos bring some mental respite from it all. Coming home and having to shovel snow brought me back to reality very quickly. To those leaving soon,have a great time! I'll try to respond to a couple of things

 

 

Great photos-can you tell us roughly what you did/where you went so we can tell where some of the pictures were taken? Where was the one with the gate/all the palm trees lined up? Were any of those beaches on Barbados?

Thank you:)

 

Grape Farmer,your post made me think that I should add some captions to the photos,so I am doing that as I am adding and deleting to my page. The palms you speak of were at the gate of a plantation named Strong Hope on Barbados. The beachs on Barbados that we visited were near Bethsheba,I've tried to caption those photos as such.

 

As far as what we did on this trip? Here it is real quick.

 

St Thomas- Pretty much nothing as we had been there before and I'm not much of a shopper. Checked out a cool St Thomas synagogue, and stopped at the Happy Shack for a couple of Bushwackers. I should have know by the name that one was enough,but it tasted so good that I had two,that was a mistake and I was quite buzzed for two hours.:)

 

Tortola- Rented a vehicle and went off on our own as we like to do. Great day walking beaches,eating and chatting with the locals. Driving on the left is fun.

 

Antigua-Hired a guide for the tour that most people tend to take there,nice day.

 

St. Lucia - Rented a car here also,left side driving here also. Beautiful island with high narrow mountain roads that have very few spots to pull off the road. No straight aways but after awhile I got up enough courage to pass on the curves praying nobody was coming from the other direction.:eek: My wife closed her eyes a few times.

 

Barbados- Spent part of the day with a photograher the lives there,then went into town.

 

 

 

 

Loved your pics. What camera do you use? Just so refreshing. We leave on the Grand in a few weeks and I can't wait as I sit here in the snow and more to come tomorrow. Just loved it.

 

Thanks! The camera is a 4 year old Canon 30D DSLR. Have a great trip.

 

 

Bruce, thanks for the great photos. I was really impressed w/ color and clarity. I'm looking to purchase a new camera for an upcoming cruise. Can you tell me what type of camera you used (brand and how many mp's if it's digital. Thanks!

 

Thanks also! As in the previous post,the camera is Canon 30D DSLR. It's only an 8.2 megapixel,don't get fixed on megapixels though because todays cameras all will take good photos. Do some research on the internet and you will find yourself a great camera.

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mnbruce

mnbruce

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Bruce great pictures I was on this cruise as well an we had a great time no complaints at all....I can see from your pictures we should have spent more time out an about an less time shopping an relaxing...lol..the sights are great.

 

LBrandy,I wanted to respond to this earlier. Did you get to the meet and greets for the cruise? I really had intended to, but the first night we were watching the Vikings game on MUTS and it did not end until after 11pm and during the second meet and greet we were at dinner in the Crown Grill.

I was disappointed because I was hoping to meet many of you. Perfect weather on the cruise wasn't it?

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LBrandy

LBrandy

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LBrandy,I wanted to respond to this earlier. Did you get to the meet and greets for the cruise? I really had intended to, but the first night we were watching the Vikings game on MUTS and it did not end until after 11pm and during the second meet and greet we were at dinner in the Crown Grill.

I was disappointed because I was hoping to meet many of you. Perfect weather on the cruise wasn't it?

Bruce ,I did go to both meet an greets the first there where I think 8 an the second one there was 4 so you didnt miss much,I was hoping more would have made it,we just went for a little just to say we did..an the weather was great,we couldnt have ordered it up any better. an I do remember walking past the MUTS an hearing alot of cheering (not much into football but I have the wings an pizza ready for super bowl)

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can'twaittogoagain

can'twaittogoagain

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:) You photos are absolutely amazing in quality and content. My husband heard me oh-ing and ahh-ing from the other room and came in to see them, too.

 

Together we decided: Why take our camera when we can sit back, relax, and enjoy pics such as these? We've been to those same ports.... Just kidding.

 

Thanks for the review and great pics.

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