Caribbean Princess Review - 7/28

[Chesneygirl]

Wow so sorry to hear that so many of you had issues on this cruise.

We were on the July 1st Caribbean sailing and although it wasn't perfect it was still a wonderful cruise.

[OhioDogLover]

We were on the CB the week before and had a wonderful time. That being said, I agree with KarateMom, the manners of too many people have become almost intolerable. I think in large part, there are geographical differences in what is considered acceptable behavior, which, IMHO, is a shame. If it is that people think they can behave like jerks because they are on vacation, what a terrible shame that is.

We were glad to be back in the midwest, where, for the most part, people have manners.

Ohiodoglover

[kicker]

We were on the CB the week before and had a wonderful time. That being said, I agree with KarateMom, the manners of too many people have become almost intolerable. I think in large part, there are geographical differences in what is considered acceptable behavior, which, IMHO, is a shame. If it is that people think they can behave like jerks because they are on vacation, what a terrible shame that is.

We were glad to be back in the midwest, where, for the most part, people have manners.

Ohiodoglover

 

Less than 2 weeks before we board. Our friendliest cruise was last year out of Norfolk, VA. - mostly Virginia people, NC'ers, lots of southerners, and true Southern Hospitality. I'm expecting a crowded ship with lots of kids, but I'm sure we'll enjoy ourselves. Must admit though, the Sanctuary for some days sounds like a good idea!

[lakeariel]

I was also on that cruise. I had a wonderful time with great food and great services. No offense to others but being from N.J. I get insulted when traveling because everyone thinks all people from N.Y. and N.J. are rude and misbehaved ! It is degrading to feel ashamed to say you are from N.J.! Give us a break ,we are not all rude and obnoxious!

[LOU]

As the cruiselines make the ships bigger and bigger, the presence of rude people will increase. When my wife and i started cruising in the early nineties, the ships were smaller, the food was better and the people were more well behaved. The purpose of the vacation was to be treated a little different for a week or so and to act a little different. But when you cram 3,000, 4,000 or 5,000 people onto a ship, no matter how large, you're asking for trouble. Find smaller ships to cruise on and you'll find a better experience all around.

[Clutterlady]

We were on the CB the week before and had a wonderful time. That being said, I agree with KarateMom, the manners of too many people have become almost intolerable. I think in large part, there are geographical differences in what is considered acceptable behavior, which, IMHO, is a shame. If it is that people think they can behave like jerks because they are on vacation, what a terrible shame that is.

We were glad to be back in the midwest, where, for the most part, people have manners.

Ohiodoglover

 

I suppose that there are no people from Ohio that are not rude or jerks! I think it's rude to single out people from different areas. Gosh, some of the rudest people I've ever cruised with were from Florida and we all know for the most part they are from all over the country;)

[RickEk]

I was also on that cruise. I had a wonderful time with great food and great services. No offense to others but being from N.J. I get insulted when traveling because everyone thinks all people from N.Y. and N.J. are rude and misbehaved ! It is degrading to feel ashamed to say you are from N.J.! Give us a break ,we are not all rude and obnoxious!

 

I most assuredly don't think that all folks from NY or NJ are rude and misbehaved, just some of them. :p There was one family unit in particular who seemed to be quite obnoxious and reveled in their obnoxiousness on this cruise. They seemed to want to live up to the "Jersey Shore" stereotypes...

 

That being said, the most obnoxious group of people that I ever cruised with was out of San Diego on the Dawn Princess, but I attribute that to the fact that it was a 2-day "booze" cruise.

 

And again, we had a great time on this cruise, rude people notwithstanding.

[roe2ship]

We were on the CB the week before and had a wonderful time. That being said, I agree with KarateMom, the manners of too many people have become almost intolerable. I think in large part, there are geographical differences in what is considered acceptable behavior, which, IMHO, is a shame. If it is that people think they can behave like jerks because they are on vacation, what a terrible shame that is.

We were glad to be back in the midwest, where, for the most part, people have manners.

Ohiodoglover

Geographical differences? Wow that's pretty funny. IMO, I find it a shame that someone is actually glad to be back home from a cruise....I mean really....who is EVER happy to be home from a cruise?:rolleyes:

[dstroke27]

I was also on the CP sail date 7/28. My only question was the 15.79 i recieved for missing Puerto Rico. My invoice says I paid 225.00 in port taxes,and after speaking to Princess, I was told I paid 108.79???

[RickEk]

I was also on the CP sail date 7/28. My only question was the 15.79 i recieved for missing Puerto Rico. My invoice says I paid 225.00 in port taxes,and after speaking to Princess, I was told I paid 108.79???

 

Did you use a TA? Since everyone pays the same in port fees/taxes (we were each charged $108.79 for that voyage), if your invoice from the TA says something different, then they ripped you off for the difference... :(

[dstroke27]

i did use a TA and I suspect i was ripped off

[doublemm16]

I was also on that cruise. I had a wonderful time with great food and great services. No offense to others but being from N.J. I get insulted when traveling because everyone thinks all people from N.Y. and N.J. are rude and misbehaved ! It is degrading to feel ashamed to say you are from N.J.! Give us a break ,we are not all rude and obnoxious!

 

Agreed!!!:D

[SRQfireman]

I was also on the CP sail date 7/28. My only question was the 15.79 i recieved for missing Puerto Rico. My invoice says I paid 225.00 in port taxes,and after speaking to Princess, I was told I paid 108.79???

 

O.K....here's the truth. You did not get ripped off. You paid a cruise fare...you paid a $225 non-commssionable fare....formally known as port taxes and then you paid $108.79 in Gov't taxes. They gave you back part of the taxes that they didn't have to pay to San Juan for not stopping there...so everybody relax....you made out O.K. (as others mentioned...they technically didn't have to give ya anything)

p.s.....not all cruise lines break down the cruise fare and non-commissionables. They may say you pay $995 plus $108.79 for Gov't taxes.....or they may break it down and say you paid $770 in cruise fare.....$225 in non-commssionable fare and $108.79 in Gov't taxes.

[Stevesan]

Princess might have offered late booking distress fares for the cruise. There are "rude" folks everywhere. Bargain basement prices will attract more of them regardless of the embarkation port.

The only times I witnessed "security" onboard Princess were the three Spring Break cruises I sailed. Princess likely considers it too expensive to offer the same supervision during the longer summer recess.

[CruiseAdict218]

Just got off the Caribbean Princess. This was my 10th cruise, 4th on Princess. I have been on this ship twice before. I was traveling with my 3 kids 19, 18 and 15 MIL and my nephews 14, 20 and 18.

 

BOARDING - Got to the port at 11:30 ish and onboard by 12. Very disorganized driving in. They have teenagers directing traffic and they do were not using the parking lot to allow you to drop off your luggage and park. Couldn't figure out why they were not allowing you to park there. It was completely empty. The line of traffic was backed up almost to the entrance. That needs to be addressed but as soon as you got inside it was very organized and we were on the ship in no time. Got my luggage by 2:00 (earliest ever)

 

FOOD - I know this subject to opionion but you can see the economy is affecting the cruise lines as well. It was o.k. at best. Each year we see the decline. The pizza is awesome and so is the grill by the pool. They have a grilled chicken sandwich that you can't go wrong with. It's the dining room food that has suffered a bit. But, as long as I don't have to be cooking I am happy.

 

CABIN - Hot, Hot, Hot. I had a balcony cabin and my kids were across the hall in an inside. I complained daily as to how hot the cabin was. Never got cooler. I knew this going on the boat so I did bring little protable fans. Still, I don't understand why they don't address this. Also, every toilet stopped up almost every other day. I think they need to have thinner toilet paper. It is really gross as you are constantly calling maintenance. All 4 of my cabins had this problem.

ENTERTAINMENT - Again, I see the economy affecting this. We came back to Princess for this reason. They always had so much to do. The comedian was funny but other than that, there was not much. 2 years ago, they had a hypnotist, an illusionist, all kinds of fabulous entertainment. This time I felt it was the same stuff. I went and enjoyed it but they are cutting corners here to. As a matter of fact a woman on pool deck told me she had to go to passenger relations and ask them to add the sexy legs contest to the agenda. They weren't doing it and she was mad. They did add it and it was so much fun. This woman agreed that they are really cutting down on everything.

 

IMO, Carnival has or had better entertainment than Princess atleast thats my family's opinion

 

CHAIR HOGS - My MIL is an early riser. She got up every day at 7 and reserved a few chairs but she did stay there. I was usually up by 9 or so. We only reserved a few even though there were 17 in our group. One group reserved the whole front row and there was never every chair being used. There were chairs reserved that people didn't come to until about 1 or 2. By the 2nd to last sea day, they started taking the stuff off the chairs if you were not there. This caused quite a few fights. Actually there was a fight every day over chairs. One day I heard the woman hit the man with her beach bag! It got pretty vicious!

 

While there were no fights, lots of chair hogs in May, pretty redicuous, IMO.

 

WEATHER - Overall smooth and great weather. We missed San Juan due to Emily and we got a whopping $15 credit. People were not happy, thought we deserved more of a credit.

 

Seems fair, passengers in August 2010 were given refuned port taxes; due to imfamous Hurricane Earl we missed Halifax

 

SECURITY - 2 years ago they were all over. In the club, they would watch like a hawk to see if drinks were being shared by the minors. This cruise I hardly saw any at all. I think they used to use "rent a cops" but they cut that out all together. Having teens with me, I can say that they had no security. I was up late every night watching them, as they are my responsibility. Just an observation as I watch my own kids. They did cut out the extra security they used to have.

 

That's all I can think of for now. Any questions feel free to ask.

 

Thanks for posting your review, how were the other ports?

[Feelin' Nauti']

[quote name='doolange']

FOOD - I know this subject to opionion but you can see the economy is affecting the cruise lines as well. It was o.k. at best. Each year we see the decline.[B] The pizza is awesome and so is the grill by the pool. [/B]:D

[B]ENTERTAINMENT - Again, I see the economy affecting this. We came back to Princess for this reason. They always had so much to do.[/B]


WEATHER - Overall smooth and great weather. We missed San Juan due to Emily and we got a whopping $15 credit. People were not happy, thought we deserved more of a credit..[/quote]
[COLOR=Sienna][B]Entertainment ~
That's why Princess is my all time favorite line.
They have such a variety to choose from not like other lines.

You were lucky getting a credit.
We missed TWO ports and didn't get a dime on our CB cruise few yrs back.[/B][/COLOR]

[RickEk]

[QUOTE=Feelin' Nauti';30145640][COLOR=Sienna][B]
You were lucky getting a credit.
We missed TWO ports and didn't get a dime on our CB cruise few yrs back.[/B][/COLOR][/QUOTE]

Well, they [U]have[/U] to refund port fees...

[Feelin' Nauti']

[quote name='RickEk']Well, they [U]have[/U] to refund port fees...[/quote]
True....We were redirected to another port. That's how they got around it. :rolleyes: ;)
We went to Port Canaveral .... No one got off the ship.