Is it true that Caribbean Princess sucks for Canada/New England?

[Coral]

There are other cruise lines that do this run and in fact will em' and dis'embark at Montreal which is a plus. But have you seen the asking prices? Yikes. So a few more passengers at your elbow for the asking price by Princess can be considered a relative bargain.

 

Yes I have - they are pricey! The (Princess) itinerary is great - no doubt about it. I really wish I would have seen Quebec as it looks lovely also. Some friends spent a few days in Montreal and then went to Quebec to catch the ship. We flew in late at night into Quebec and the weather was perfect and the next day there was 5 plus inches of snow and very low visability. So we just stayed at the hotel (and that is where Princess took the majority of their tours as the weather was awful). We just got on the ship and then didn't leave. I really would like to make it back to this area as it looks like a fabulous place to visit.

 

We did the 15 night Quebec to FLL and I saw some ports I have never been to and was very pleasantly impressed.

 

I had just read quite a few posts that said that one could not tell the extra 500 passengers were on these ships and in the Caribbean, that may very well be true.

[Cruising Jedi]

Did you have a particular month in mind to do this cruise? That will make a difference!! We sailed the first week in September last year and will do the same this year. The weather was still very warm, so never had a problem with crowding!! Please don't let everyone scare you off...this is a wonderful itinerary which I'm sure you will enjoy:)

 

Hey, we were thinking of October...fall colours and all that, plus I really did want to experience "cool weather cruising" for a change.

 

Cool, rainy weather has its own charm that I am fine with, and if its warm, bright, sunny October days I'm fine with that too. I only care about crowding.

 

Maybe I should see if I can get time off earlier...with more summery weather hopefully people who DO like heat will be outside and out of my hair.

 

But then that's not the weather I prefer.

 

Rock and a hard place.

 

I'm not a grouch really.

 

(And really, why would Princess select this ship for this route? 500 extra passengers on an itinerary that very might have colder weather, with no covered pool and no extra space, designed for warm weather cruising and even called the Caribbean Princess? Is it some kind of joke?)

[Pam in CA]

I agree completely with those who feel that the Grand-class ships are more designed for warm weather cruising than cold weather. But that's the way most cruise ships are designed these days, unfortunately.

 

Three years ago, we were on the Golden Princess for a Buenos Aires to Santiago cruise. Except for the first and last two days of the 12-day cruise, the weather was chilly to downright cold and somewhat rainy. People camped out in the buffet from morning 'til night so if you wanted to eat there during the day, it was very hard to find even one free chair; it was very hard to find chairs to sit anywhere inside; long waits and crowds everywhere inside. IMHO, the ship is just not designed for a colder itinerary.

 

That said, unless you plan to cruise New England in late October, the weather shouldn't be that cold and could be somewhat warm and beautiful. I lived just north of Boston for 35+ years and my daughter never had to wear a coat on Halloween; sometimes, she wore a sweater under her costume. It seemed to work out that way.

 

If you plan to take a Fall foliage cruise, it'll be chilly no matter what cruise ship/line you take. People will still be able to enjoy the outside decks that are protected from the wind. It's not going to be summer weather but if it were, then there wouldn't be the changing colors.

[Katie333]

I agree that the CB probably isn't the best choice for this cruise (and that goes for her newer half-sister ships as well). With that said, it won't be that cold in September-October so if you and your fellow passengers pack appropriately there will be no reason to stay huddled indoors 100% of the time.

 

Personally, I would still do this itinerary on the CB if it was something I was interested in.

[Coral]

I agree completely with those who feel that the Grand-class ships are more designed for warm weather cruising than cold weather. But that's the way most cruise ships are designed these days, unfortunately.

 

Three years ago, we were on the Golden Princess for a Buenos Aires to Santiago cruise. Except for the first and last two days of the 12-day cruise, the weather was chilly to downright cold and somewhat rainy. People camped out in the buffet from morning 'til night so if you wanted to eat there during the day, it was very hard to find even one free chair; it was very hard to find chairs to sit anywhere inside; long waits and crowds everywhere inside. IMHO, the ship is just not designed for a colder itinerary.

 

If you plan to take a Fall foliage cruise, it'll be chilly no matter what cruise ship/line you take. People will still be able to enjoy the outside decks that are protected from the wind. It's not going to be summer weather but if it were, then there wouldn't be the changing colors.

 

Pam - I had absolutely no problems with the original Grand class ships doing this itinerary. The problem that we encountered (even after the snow when the weather was good and the weather did get beautiful) was that there were 500 more people on the Crown compared to the Grand/Golden/Star and with the newer Grand class ships (Caribbean Princess/Crown Princess) just doesn't work unless people are out by the pool. The Caribbean Princess and later ships work ONLY WHEN people are lounging by the pools for the vast majority of the day. This is not the case on a Canada/NE trip.

 

I have been on the grand class ships in Alaska when the weather isn't the best and while it was a tad crowded inside, it was nothing like having the extra 500 people on the ship that we did for our Canada/NE trip.

 

Imagine your Golden cruise in Buenos Aires but 500 more people cramped inside.

[Pam in CA]

Pam - I had absolutely no problems with the original Grand class ships doing this itinerary. The problem that we encountered (even after the snow when the weather was good and the weather did get beautiful) was that there were 500 more people on the Crown compared to the Grand/Golden/Star and with the newer Grand class ships (Caribbean Princess/Crown Princess) just doesn't work unless people are out by the pool. The Caribbean Princess and later ships work ONLY WHEN people are lounging by the pools for the vast majority of the day. This is not the case on a Canada/NE trip.

 

I have been on the grand class ships in Alaska when the weather isn't the best and while it was a tad crowded inside, it was nothing like having the extra 500 people on the ship that we did for our Canada/NE trip.

 

Imagine your Golden cruise in Buenos Aires but 500 more people cramped inside.

After I posted my reply, I also realized that whether the ship has a covered pool area or not makes a big difference. The newer ships don't have the covered pool which provides a sitting/lounging/swimming area even when it's chilly and rainy.

 

But, as has been said, the New England cruise isn't that cold most of the time.

[DanJ]

 

(And really, why would Princess select this ship for this route? 500 extra passengers on an itinerary that very might have colder weather, with no covered pool and no extra space, designed for warm weather cruising and even called the Caribbean Princess? Is it some kind of joke?)

 

Well, they put the ship there because they can sell it to 3100+ people rather than 2600+. Everytime, I've checked the fares for the C/NE routes, they are pretty high. Fares and demand out of NYC must outstrip the European demand or they would send the CB or Crown over there and keep the Grand or Star here.

[Casey12]

After I posted my reply, I also realized that whether the ship has a covered pool area or not makes a big difference. The newer ships don't have the covered pool which provides a sitting/lounging/swimming area even when it's chilly and rainy.

 

But, as has been said, the New England cruise isn't that cold most of the time.

 

More importantly there are 500 more people inside. It is not that it is cold all the time -- it is that people are not out by the pools so they are inside. This class of ship works best when people are lounging by the pool area.

 

I agree with those who posted that these ships are not that great for this itinerary.

 

Why does Princess do this - - because all the ships with less passengers are on the West coast.

[CaribbeanIsland]

I have done this sailing on the Star Princess and on the Caribbean Princess. I don't think you can get me back on the Caribbean Princess unless it is the Caribbean and even then, not sure I would get on the ship again. It is waaaayyy toooo crowded! I really loved my trip to C/NE on the Star. No crowds at all.

[zacc]

Don't allow the posting of a handful of people to influence your decision. My wife and I have done the Canada/New England cruise three times on the Caribbean Princess and found each cruise to be fantastic and filled with its own memories. She is a beautiful ship with a great crew.

[Chance's Mom]

We were on the CB for the New England cruise last fall and loved it! No problems with room at all. We could be inside when we needed to, or outside when the weather was nice.

[CaribbeanIsland]

Don't allow the posting of a handful of people to influence your decision. My wife and I have done the Canada/New England cruise three times on the Caribbean Princess and found each cruise to be fantastic and filled with its own memories. She is a beautiful ship with a great crew.

 

Unfortunately our cruise was very crowded. It would be wrong to not inform the OP that some or many of the Canada NE trips can be very crowded. This involves problems getting tables in the Horizon Court, getting tables at the International Cafe, getting into shows with out showing up over an hour in advance. There have been many people posting problems on these cruises. I really don't want to give the OP a false sense that the ship is not crowded on these routes.

[Clutterlady]

Unfortunately our cruise was very crowded. It would be wrong to not inform the OP that some or many of the Canada NE trips can be very crowded. This involves problems getting tables in the Horizon Court, getting tables at the International Cafe, getting into shows with out showing up over an hour in advance. There have been many people posting problems on these cruises. I really don't want to give the OP a false sense that the ship is not crowded on these routes.

 

But, please keep in mind that your opinion is not gospel! When we sailed last September we had no problems with crowds what so ever!! We ate all of our meals including dinner in the Horizon Court and never, I repeat never had to hunt for a table. Yes, the theater can get crowded, but to show up an hour ahead of time.....not!! Not saying you did not experience crowding, just saying that it is not always the case:)

[boating girl]

But, please keep in mind that your opinion is not gospel! When we sailed last September we had no problems with crowds what so ever!! We ate all of our meals including dinner in the Horizon Court and never, I repeat never had to hunt for a table. Yes, the theater can get crowded, but to show up an hour ahead of time.....not!! Not saying you did not experience crowding, just saying that it is not always the case:)

 

Maybe the CB is less crowded in Sept. than Oct. due to it being early for the fall colors. I am going to be on the CB again on 9/4 so hope it's not too crowded. It's going to a good time though either way.

[kwahl1]

We did NE on Crown Princess, which is very similar to the CB. We loved it! I've been on the CB several times, and can't imagine why this ship would be a problem, unless you don't care for larger ships - we even enjoyed watching MUTS all bundled up in blankets on the colder nights when we were further north.

I too took this trip last Sept 09, the football games on MUTS with a cocktail and the blankets. Yes! Had a very good time in each city and on sea days. The following cruise in October was white out in Quebec City.

[sammiedawg]

After 1 trip on the Caribbean Princess, we avoid that class of ship. You cannot hide 500 extra passengers. It was crowded, there is no covered pool. It was irritating, I didn't hate it but was ready to leave by the end of the week. For the Caribbean, they added one full deck of passenger cabins but everything else is about the same size as the Grand sisters. The Grand class absorbs its 2600 passengers well. Cannot say the same for the CB.

Check out passenger space ratios.

We like Princess but would only sail this class of ships if there was no alternative for the same itinerary. We still love the Coral Princess and like the Grand class.

I would check Holland America.

 

We did the Caribbean Princess in the Caribbean, the weather was so so, some nice days, some cloudy days, We felt crowded from embarkation lines to when we got off the ship. The issue is the 500 extra passengers, the weather is not that big a factor. I agree it would be worse with no one at the pool. We had people at the pool and it was still crowded.

[josumello]

This past Jan we did a cruise on the CB out of San Juan, Great weather but the ship always seemed crowded even with people out at the pools. We felt the interior of the ship was poorly disigned, not very spacious, and alas, crowded. Another concern is the weather, If ou go much past the first week in Sept it is going to cool to downright cold on the water. I have lived in New England all my life and grew up in a coastal town near Boston.

Find another ship. There are many to choose from

 

Sue

[TM]

Check out Celebrity, we are sailing for 14 nights on the Summit for LESS money than Princess. Plus a smaller ship. Love Princess, we are Elite and this will be our first time on Celebrity. Just could not pass up more days, less people, and less $$. This will be our second Cananda/New England cruise. First time was on the old Crown back in 2000. Sailing in late September and yes, we will come back to Princess!!

[zacc]

Unfortunately our cruise was very crowded. It would be wrong to not inform the OP that some or many of the Canada NE trips can be very crowded. This involves problems getting tables in the Horizon Court, getting tables at the International Cafe, getting into shows with out showing up over an hour in advance. There have been many people posting problems on these cruises. I really don't want to give the OP a false sense that the ship is not crowded on these routes.

 

To imply that this ship is more crowded when it cruises the Canada/New England area then it is when it sails the Caribbean is really kind of silly dont you think. She sails full every week and lets see full is well.....full. The problems you mention can happen on any ship on any itinerary under the correct circumstances. To compensate for the possible lack of pool activities they schedule extra activities inside like additional movies. A cooler Canada/New England has less problems than a Caribbean cruise which finds itself flirting with several days of rain. I sailed quite a few different ships(I admit certainly not as many as some of you) and have yet to be on one that didn't have a line or two, a crowded buffet area which is a time sensitive zone, or a show or entertainer whose venue didn't fill up quickly. It isn't the ship....thats life!

[geoherb]

We were on the Golden Princess for our New England/Canada cruise. The ship never felt crowded except for the first night. A lot of people assigned first seating dinner had skipped it to watch sailaway from New York City and, consequently, the anytime dining rooms were crowded and we had to wait a long time for a table.

 

We found that most people went to bed early. We never had problems getting seats in the theater. The hot tubs were great as well--never crowded.

[camarodrivenrs]

I love the cold weather cruises....trust me the outrigger pool will be your best friend. I'm not sure if it is heated but it stayed relatively warm during my alaska cruise last september. Only time I've ever been on a cruise and enjoyed a pool all to myself. It was funny seeing everyone dressed up in their big winter coats and I was just relaxing in the pool....just make sure you stay in the water, cause once you come out it is cold....lucky my room was right there on the end of the riviera deck

[jagsfan]

I was worried about my upcoming late Sept Canada-NE cruise on Crown. All the talk

about the 500 extra pax and having them stuffed like sardines indoors because of cold

weather made me wonder if I'd made a big mistake.

At 3am this morning I had a light bulb go off in my head. Last Sept we cruised the

Baltic on Emerald. Cold weather, some rain.....no pool days and it was the same size

ship as Crown.....including the 500 extra people. I never noticed the crowds,never thought

about it Now I feel much better.

[boating girl]

Just enjoy your cruise...as some have posted, it is a port-intensive itinerary so you most likely won't be bothered as much by crowds if they do exist. I thought the CB was somewhat crowded when doing this itinerary in 2008 but not enough that it bothered me. We're going again in Sept.

[Jennygirl]

We were on the CB last summer (August) up to New England. I would think Sept/Oct is still pleasant even up there so I'm sure a lot of people will be poolside even if they arent in the water but just relaxing. We loved the ship but I do remember laughing at the name Caribbean princess going up to Boston & Canada! I kinda missed the steel drums ! and that's why this summer we're heading "down" to the Caribbean on her again. Loved the ship!

there was nothing about her we didnt like. ENJOY - it's still a cruise. There really are no great throngs of people muddling around like you're thinking about. People find their own space and use it. Go for it. The sights of New England will be breathtaking I'm sure. They were last year and we had no "colors" to see.

[sammiedawg]

The issue is not weather or itinerary. The issue is passenger space ratio. Do the math.