Caribbean Princess Review 7/29-8/7 *WARNING - long, detailed and opinionated

[DonnaK]

Caribbean Princess Review 7/29/10 - 8/7/10

 

About us: We are a family of five: my husband (52), me (49), our daughters (18 and 16) and my mother (70-ish). This was our 2nd Princess cruise; we sailed the Canada/NE itinerary on the same ship in August 2008. Our cruise history consists of 8 additional cruises: 4 on Royal Caribbean Voyager-class ships, and one each on Carnival, Costa, Home Lines and Cunard. Another family of five traveled with us; our friends and their three children aged 20, 17 and 12. They were first-time cruisers.

We selected this cruise because of the convenience of departing from Red Hook, Brooklyn. Although Royal Caribbean is our preferred cruise line, their equivalent cruise on Explorer of the Seas was significantly more expensive (about $500 pp). Additionally, the Princess itinerary was slightly more attractive because it included a new-to-us port (Grand Turk). We are quite weary of visiting the same old ports each time we cruise and it’s increasingly hard to find refreshingly different Caribbean itineraries, especially during the summertime! With children still attending school, we unfortunately cannot sail at other times of the year when there are more options available.

Some background info: The five of us were originally planning to take this cruise last summer (July 26, 2009). Three days before that sailing date, Princess contacted us regarding a move-over offer. They wanted our 3 balcony cabins in exchange for 3 mini-suite cabins on any future sailing, plus a full reimbursement of our cruise fare ($7800) issued as refundable OBC. We accepted the offer, essentially receiving this cruise for free by agreeing to postpone it for one year.

Ironically, we received another phone call from Princess about 18 hours before our departure. They were oversold again and wanted two of our mini-suite cabins in exchange for one full-suite, plus an additional $1000 refundable OBC. We turned down this offer because it wasn’t convenient for us to separate our family into cabins that were several decks, and half the ship’s length, apart. Nor did we wish to combine family members from two cabins into one, even though the latter was larger and came with suite perks.

Embarkation: We left our house on Long Island at 10:30am, and after an easy drive on the Southern State/Belt Parkways to the BQE, we arrived at the pier at 11:15am. Surprisingly, there was serious lack of security personnel directing the arriving vehicles. It wasn’t a problem for us because at this early hour, there were only a few cars in the drop off lane. We pulled up curbside to unload our suitcases. Contrary to our previous experience with this port, there were no porters to assist us, so we wheeled two luggage carts over from where they were corralled, and loaded our suitcases onto them ourselves. Eventually, a porter appeared and took the carts from us. We tipped him $10 for handling our cart and we received our luggage within two hours of boarding. However, our friends forgot to tip (the husband thought the wife gave the porter the $10 and visa versa), and their luggage did not arrive in their cabin until almost 9pm. It’s impossible to determine if the tip made the difference, but it’s worth considering.

After parking the car in the secure lot about 100 yards away, we walked into the terminal, checked in and were on the ship all within 10 minutes. There were no lines and no waiting. What a pleasure!!!

The first we heard about any issues with embarkation was when an announcement was made that the muster drill would be postponed by 45 minutes due to delays resulting from a shortage of stevedores provided by the port to assist with loading the vessel. We were already seated at our station “F” in Club Fusion. We looked out the window and saw the heavy traffic, the chaos of people waiting to board, and the huge backlog of luggage still on the pier.

While we expected to watch sailaway before dinner and then attend the early show in the theatre, we didn’t get underway until 7:45pm. So, we watched sailaway atop the bridge (via the Lido deck forward passageway) after dinner and then caught the later show. The following day, a letter from the captain was delivered to every stateroom apologizing for the inconvenience, and providing a detailed explanation of the situation, and that steps were being taken to prevent the problem from occurring again with our disembarkation and with future sailings.

Onboard: Princess allows immediate access to our cabin to drop off our carry-ons before exploring the ship and eating lunch. While many cruisers consider this a significant advantage over the other cruiselines that restrict access to the cabin until after 1pm, we have a different point of view. As with our last Princess cruise, the cabins weren’t fully prepared to receive new guests when we arrived. All the doors were propped open to the passageways, and the stewards were all still hard at work. Although the stewards were courteous and gracious to us, we felt that our presence, even in quickly dropping off our hand-luggage, was an imposition on them, hindering their ability to complete their job in a timely fashion. So, in our opinion, we’d rather have the “inconvenience” of waiting until 1pm, after the steward has finished his job, to enter a cabin that’s completely cleaned and freshly supplied, without traces of the previous occupants.

Cabins: The ship only offers 12 mini-suites with balconies that are totally covered, and we selected three of these: E721, E723 and E725, on the 8th (Emerald) deck. We needed protection from the sun, and we prefer to be as low to the sea as possible to have a closer view of the water. We had the balcony divider doors opened so we could pass between all three cabins.

We were surprised at the smallish size of these cabins; we expected from the designation “mini-suite” that they would be comparable to a “junior suite” on Royal Caribbean, but instead they were approximately the same as RCI’s “D” category of regular balcony cabins.

We also have mixed feelings about the wall that separates the sleeping area from the closet/bathroom. While it’s nice to have the two distinct areas (especially a semi-private dressing area), it cuts into the actual living space of the cabin. On RCI (and Carnival), this wall is opened up, making their cabins feel larger and less claustrophobic. Although the closet was huge, we didn’t have so many clothes to hang up, which made some of the precious space underutilized.

There was significant build up of salt from the sea on the sliding glass doors to the balcony, and on the balcony glass itself, which was not cleaned for the entire cruise. This is an issue with balcony cabins on all the cruiselines, and it seems like it would be such an easy fix with a squeegee.

Our friends had cabin E717, which is an obstructed oceanview. The obstruction was minimal; just some cables and small barrels. They were very happy with the view. Unfortunately, their cabin reeked heavily of cigarette smoke. They brought the issue to the attention of the cabin steward and the odor gradually faded but never fully dissipated throughout the duration of the cruise. As first-timers, they were reluctant to complain further or make a huge fuss. If this had been my cabin, I would have been so bothered by the smell that it would have been an unacceptable situation that required further attention, and I wouldn’t have been satisfied until the cabin was totally deodorized. Their children were across the hall in E715.

Even though all of these cabins are under Club Fusion, there was absolutely NO issue with noise, music, or bass vibrations, in our cabins.

We have never before given the cabin steward an upfront tip (in addition to the autotips), but we made an exception this time because we had many special requests for our 5 cabins. Among other things, we moved some of our people from one cabin to another, which changed the headcount in some cabins and required different configurations of their beds. We handled this by writing all our requests on the outside of an envelope and slipping the tip inside.

 

*****next installment to follow*****

[Woobstr112G]

Thanks for your detailed review. Can't wait to read more.....:):):)

 

Bob

[deniuh]

Thanks for posting. We are sailing September 2010 and the last couple of reviews on Caribbean princess (under Member Reviews) have been terrible. Already made final payment so I can't cancel. Looking forward to your candid review.

[DonnaK]

Thanks for posting. We are sailing September 2010 and the last couple of reviews on Caribbean princess (under Member Reviews) have been terrible. Already made final payment so I can't cancel. Looking forward to your candid review.

 

Oh no....don't even consider cancelling, and don't have regrets about booking a cruise on this ship. We had a great cruise, and while there were some issues, most are a matter of taste/opinion, and none are dealbreakers. (Besides, all cruiselines and ships have issues, and none are perfect!)

[TracieABD]

Thanks for an interesting beginning to your travels. I will look forward to the next installment!:)

[deniuh]

Oh no....don't even consider cancelling, and don't have regrets about booking a cruise on this ship. We had a great cruise, and while there were some issues, most are a matter of taste/opinion, and none are dealbreakers. (Besides, all cruiselines and ships have issues, and none are perfect!)

 

Thanks for the encouragement. I am really looking forward to reading your review. People keep complaining about the temperature issue. Hopefully we won't have any issues in our cabin. Did you?

[Colo Cruiser]

Thanks for the review. :)

I hope those cabins were above Club Fusion and not below. :eek:

[cdngrl]

arghhhh apparently i am not a patient person and i want to read more now! looking forward to more of your honest review.

[robgvic]

Looking forward to more as i like the cb

[DonnaK]

Thanks for the review. :)

I hope those cabins were above Club Fusion and not below. :eek:

 

Oops...thanks for picking up on that!!! Yes, they were above Club Fusion, not below!

[DonnaK]

Thanks for the encouragement. I am really looking forward to reading your review. People keep complaining about the temperature issue. Hopefully we won't have any issues in our cabin. Did you?

 

 

the AC is the first thing I've addressed in my next installment, which I hope to post tomorrow!

[Bethwte]

Politely butting in: For what it's worth, our cabins on the 7/20 CB cruise were in the forward part of the ship on the Caribe deck, and our AC worked perfectly.

[BratDet]

I loved reading your post Donna...

 

for the person concerned about booking the CB...

 

We were on the CB 7/11 and were on it last year

 

and would not hesitate to go for a three-peat!

 

We were on Riviera Deck both times and the air conditioning worked absolutely fine!

 

 

bernadette

[Smellytoes]

Thanks for posting. We are sailing September 2010 and the last couple of reviews on Caribbean princess (under Member Reviews) have been terrible. Already made final payment so I can't cancel. Looking forward to your candid review.

 

Please don't stress over all of our less than stellar reviews. CB wasn't terrible. Just has obvious areas that could be improved upon.

[Smellytoes]

Come on Donna, I want more.lol

[Clutterlady]

Thanks for posting. We are sailing September 2010 and the last couple of reviews on Caribbean princess (under Member Reviews) have been terrible. Already made final payment so I can't cancel. Looking forward to your candid review.

 

Will be sailing on the Caribbean Princess for the third time in September. She is one of my favorite Princess ships!

 

Remember you are reading people's opinions....and I'm sure there will be people who disagree with some opinions. Enjoy, you will have a wonderful cruise:)

[DonnaK]

Beds: In advance of the cruise, we FAXed a request for egg crates and top sheets on all the beds. We were pleased to find them in already place upon boarding. The beds are very hard and the overly firm mattress really aggravated my sciatica. (Usually I sleep like a baby on a cruise because the rocking motion is so soothing.)

Cabin Doors: I purchased a package of assorted summer decorations at Party City ($3) and affixed magnet strips ($2 at Michaels) to the back of them. Each person in our group selected a decoration to write their first name on with a Sharpie and affix to their doors. It was a fun and festive way to locate our cabins in the passageway. And, they are re-usable on future cruises!

Anniversary: My husband and I celebrated our 27th wedding anniversary on July 31. That morning, we awoke to find three balloons affixed to the wall above our mailbox. At dinner, we were presented with a congratulations card from the captain, a chocolate cake and a Happy Anniversary song.

We didn’t have any problems with kids popping the celebration balloons, removing door decorations, reversing the Privacy Please tags to read Service Please, knocking on doors and calls from stairwell phones in the middle of the night, etc. If I hadn’t read about it on Cruise Critic afterwards, I wouldn’t have been aware that went on at all during our cruise.

A/C: When we first boarded the ship, it was uncomfortably hot throughout. Once the ship started sailing, the A/C system seemed to kick on as though it had been shut down all day. During the cruise, the Horizon buffet area was much too warm almost all of the time, but the rest of the public areas on the ship was always at a comfortable temperature. The thermometer on my travel alarm clock recorded average temperatures of 67 degrees in E721, 69 degrees in E723 and an uncomfortable 75 degrees in E725 (my mom’s cabin…fortunately she brought along a small portable fan because besides liking it cool, she likes the white noise for sleeping).

Ship: The Caribbean Princess is rather bland and plainly appointed. The décor is very tasteful, but it lacks visual punch or WOW factor (I’m not talking Carnival-gaudy here (yuck!); just more pizzazz elegance). Nice things that stood out to us: the stunning main atrium, the gorgeous artwork in the elevator/stair lobbies, the twinkling ceiling lights in the dining venues, and the Terrace Pool.

For the most part, the ship is in very good condition and well-maintained, however if one is looking very closely with a critical eye, one might see minor issues such as soiled carpeting in need of refreshing. It’s reasonable, and understandable, wear-and-tear.

Crowding: This ship is not large enough for the number of passengers onboard, and does not have as favorable space-to-passenger ratio compared to RCI’s ships. In particular, it was extremely difficult to find a seat in the Horizon buffet area. Upon arrival, one or two members of our group would scout for a table while the others were getting their food. The largest tables in the Horizon only seat 6-8 people comfortably, so we often divided our group between two tables. Halfway through the cruise, we realized that there are larger tables for 10-12 in the Café Caribe, which had the bonus of being less crowded especially towards the rear. There was a wider variety of food choices in Horizon, so we’d select our meal there and then walk over to the Caribe to eat.

On our previous CB cruise, if we didn’t arrive at the Princess theatre 20-30 minutes before showtime, it was standing room only. This cruise, it was much better, and we were able to find decent seats in the front section by arriving a reasonable 5-10 minutes early. It seems that the shows are repeated on subsequent evenings, thus alleviating the crowding at the first showing. Tip: the least crowded route to the theatre is to take the forward elevators down to deck 6 and use the lower entrances/exits near the cigar bar. The majority of the theatre traffic utilizes the upper doors on deck 7 by walking through the casino, and it gets very congested and bottle-necked.

Pools: The Terrace Pool is breathtakingly beautiful, comfortably shaded and pleasantly breezy, and provides a wonderfully peaceful atmosphere for adults to relax. It is my very favorite place on the ship!!! Because it received no direct sun, the water temperature was always on the cool side. Pity it wasn’t heated up a bit, as it was on our Canada/NE sailing. The jacuzzis up on the Sun Deck were very quiet, and the one closest to the aft was the perfect temperature (not scalding hot).

On the first two days, there were young children using the pool, ignoring the “adults only” and “no jumping or diving” signs. The only members of the crew who were patrolling the area were the bar servers. Since they are not appropriate people to enforce the rules, they were approached to call someone with that authority. They refused and insisted that the pool was open to everyone, and that the signs were wrong. A call to the front desk was put on hold until we gave up and hung up. Eventually, annoyed and splashed upon passengers in the pool took matters into their own hands and pointed out the rules directly to the kids/families. They promptly left and the issue did not reoccur for the rest of the cruise.

Another problem at the Terrace pool is people moving the loungers to block the walkways and staircases. This created a very hazardous situation for walking around the area, especially for the elderly people. (Many of us suggested on our Let Us Know comment card that the Terrace pool needs a deck attendant to prevent these two issues from occurring).

At the two main pool areas, it was nearly impossible to find vacant loungers unless you arrived before 9am, or you were willing to go up to the levels above the pool. (This is not always practical if you plan to swim, or are watching a child who is in the pool. Plus, it is uncimfortably hotter and more windy up on the higher open levels). Most of the chairs were reserved with towels or books on them for HOURS. Deck attendants were non-existent until about 4 or 5pm when they briefly came through to collect all the abandoned towels. (Our friends, who used this pool because they had a 12 year old, mentioned this on their Let Us Know comment card)

Unfortunately, there was no pool band. I’m afraid that’s a casualty of the economy on most cruiselines, and a sign of the times. Somehow, canned music doesn’t inspire the same festive atmosphere and is a poor substitute.

MUTS: In theory, it’s a great innovation to be able to watch movies outdoors on a large screen, like a modern day drive-in. In reality, we were usually doing something else more exciting, so going to MUTS wasn’t on our priority list. Additionally, the acoustics weren’t always ideal outdoors, so it was hard to hear and follow the dialogue.

To our delight, the best of the MUTS movies were also shown several times on the stateroom TV. We caught most of them while we were getting ready in the mornings or before dinner. Some delightful golden oldies were also aired, for example, An Affair to Remember with Cary Grant and Summertime with Katharine Hepburn. It wasn’t until Day 5 or 6 that we discovered the TV guide in our cabin, which came in handy when we had to watch a movie in segments around our other activities.

Day 1: Christina Aguilera concert, Stevie Wonder concert, U2 Vertigo concert, Tina Turner Concert. Day 2: How To Train Your Dragon, The Proposal, Up, Did You Hear About the Morgans, The Blind Side. Day 3: Alice in Wonderland, Valentines Day, Clash of the Titans, Mystique of the Baltic, Date Night. Day 4: Up, Nine, When In Rome, The Wonder of It All, The Back Up Plan. Day 5: Julie and Julia, Sherlock Holmes, The Ghost Writer, Did You Hear About the Morgans, Valentines Day. Day 6: The Back Up Plan, When In Rome, The Wonder of It All, Invictus, Tom Jones concert, Tina Turner concert. Day 7: Invictus, The Princess and the Frog, The Invention of Lying, Avatar, When In Rome. Day 8: Cirque du Soleil, Valentines Day, Date Night, Clash of the Titans, Avatar. Day 9: The Ghost Writer, The Wonder of It All, Alice in Wonderland, Did You Hear About the Morgans.

***next installment to follow soon***

[MadameButterfly]

Thanks Donna for working your butt off to post this very thorough review. We're going to sailing on the CB in the end of October on the Repo itinerary from NY to Puerto Rico, which will be our second cruise on the CB - we completely enjoyed our 7-day Western Caribbean cruise in May 2007. I know little cut-backs have been made all over the place, but it seems like you guys (as far as the review goes) enjoyed yourselves. I was a little surprised to hear you thought the CB was crowded for its available space compared to RCI. I felt like I was sardined in on RC! Guess it's just a matter of perspective and opinion. I do agree with and remember Horizon to be tough, but my husband and I don't quite have the challenge of traveling with a larger party like you guys are, but one of the things I enjoy most about the CB is the little quiet nooks on the ship that if you look you will find a quiet corner to yourself. I guess it's the same on many ships though... Thanks again! Can't wait to get on board!

[Smellytoes]

I missed all those movies.

[rannfar]

Great review so far...I can't wait for the next installment!

[Jennygirl]

Great review so far Donna!

:)

[The Big Booper]

...>>>snip<<<... I was a little surprised to hear you thought the CB was crowded for its available space compared to RCI. I felt like I was sardined in on RC! Guess it's just a matter of perspective and opinion. I do agree with and remember Horizon to be tough,...>>>SNIP<<<...

 

Donna is comparing the CB to the Explorer which is almost 20% larger but carries a similar passenger load.

[DonnaK]

Donna is comparing the CB to the Explorer which is almost 20% larger but carries a similar passenger load.

 

Thank you for clarifying! I was indeed comparing the CB to RCI's Voyager-class ships (Explorer, Adventure, and Mariner) which have a larger amount of public space available per passenger.

 

 

If anyone has any questions or thoughts for me to address in the rest of my review, please feel free to ask. I'm working on Entertainment, Activities, Dining, and Ports right now.

[mowb07]

Great review so far! Your NE/Canada review was one of the only CB reviews of that itinerary that were detailed and helpful that I could find! It really provided an excellent report on the ship and ports of call. Ii look forward to reading the rest of your "long detailed and opinionated" review - keep those opinions coming! :)

[DonnaK]

Great review so far! Your NE/Canada review was one of the only CB reviews of that itinerary that were detailed and helpful that I could find! It really provided an excellent report on the ship and ports of call. Ii look forward to reading the rest of your "long detailed and opinionated" review - keep those opinions coming! :)

 

Awww...thanks so much! It's nice to know that people actually read my reviews and find them helpful. I'm using the NE/Canada review as a template for this one and I'm trying very hard not to be repetitive and to word my impressions differently! lol