Caribbean princess ok?

[remydiva]

In reading various posts about propulsion problems, soot coming from stacks, closed decks due to grime and soot, late getting to ports due to ? Propulsion problems? and even some cancelled cruises on her last year, I ask this question from someone who has been on her recently ( i was on her a few years ago with no problems) or is in the know..

 

IS the Caribbean Princess OK ?

 

I am looking at booking on her for a summer cruise over in Europe and since I want to add extra time on our own afterwards, would like to know as much about her present situation now.

 

I know cancellation insurance will take care of most costs should a cruise get cancelled..I am just asking.:confused:

[jefft5301]

I hope so...we're sailing on her March 23rd!!! Really don't want to make the headlines with this spring break cruise!

[Nymue]

We've been on the the CB twice and both times had a wonderful cruise, however I'm anxious to see the respones here because we too are looking at a future TA cruise on her.

 

As I said, both cruises were great, but cruise number #2 was not without a lot of problems. We were several hours late into San Juan and only had 4 hours in Bermuda. The ship was having engine problems and lost stabilizers. The pools were closed the last two days due to the lack of stablizers. For several hours some guys were have fun seeing how far they could get tossed OUT of the pool by the waves IN the pool :eek: Yeah, it was that rocky on board!

 

We were with 2 other couples and decided at the last minute we would like to have diner in the steak house on the last formal night, at that point 2 nights away, however we were too late....booked solid. When Formal Night rolled around, second to last night, when we were rocking and rolling, we past the steak house and it was EMPTY! They said everyone cancelled do to being sea-sick from the loss of stablizers. Needless to say, we had a wonderful dinner there.

 

That was at least 5 years ago and it seems the ship has continued to have problems off and on since. Any situation is what you make of it, was there anything we could do about the problems they were having with the ship, No, could the crew, No. We were still on a cruise, on a beautiful ship, with wonderful service and great people....so yes, I still call it a great cruise. But when it comes to booking a next cruise I will consider it when I look at our options.

[garet]

We just finished a cruise last week on Caribbean Princess and had one of the best cruises to date. There were wonderful, helpful staff everywhere. The only issue I had was with our beds and they resolved it quickly. The food in the Main Dining room was good and the Crown Grill was excellent.

I would book it again without hesitation.:)

[Lady Arwen]

We sailed on the CB in January and had a wonderful time. We did arrive late in Curacao, due to strong winds, but that was the only issue we experienced. The food in the MDR was very good and we always found something good to eat at the buffet. We found the staff and crew to be extremely friendly and courteous. We are Platinum level with Princess and to be honest this was one of the best cruises we've had.

 

Don't hesitate to book the CB, you'll have a terrific cruise!

[dread_pirate]

We were on the CB in the beginning of February. No soot, no grime, no decks closed. No loss of stabilizers. They reconfigured the schedule for a 2 PM arrival in Curacao and we were on time.

 

The only minor issue was that we were 3 hours late out of Aruba, but the captain made up that time and we arrived back in Ft. Lauderdale on time.

 

It was a wonderful cruise!

[BettyCruiser]

We had a great cruise on CB in December. Although we were late to Curacao and many areas on the ship were very warm, uncomfortably so for me. Are they cutting back on the air conditioning to ease power demands? I don't know.

 

If I were to make a guess as to which ship would be the next ship to have major engine issues, enough to greatly effect a cruise, my guess would be Caribbean Princess. But what do I know. I'm sure many will have successful ontime cruises on her. Personally I wouldn't book another cruise on her until she has had some major engine work.

[Pam in CA]

One thing I noticed on the Crown which I would assume is the same on the CB is that every time I returned to the ship after being in port, I was shocked to see how many balcony doors were wide open. It had to be between 20-25%. The A/C had a hard time cooling cabins and now I know why. There's a sticker on every balcony door to please keep it closed. The reason is that it affects the A/C system which draws power to your cabin to cool it down to the detriment of the other cabins nearby.

 

It's not the A/C system, it's the people ignoring the sign and keeping their balcony door open in spite of the request.

 

As for the CB's propulsion system, whenever a ship is delayed coming into port, people automatically post that there must be something wrong with the ship, totally ignoring that a ship can be delayed due to currents, wind, seas, fog, etc. Occasionally there is a mechanical problem but most of the time, people jump to the wrong conclusion but that's what others remember. Just like your car: you are far more likely to be late due to traffic or weather than a flat tire, engine breakdown, etc.

[Carolyn R]

I rode out hurricane Sandy on the CB last fall. She was in great shape!

[uglybutgoodbakery]

I've cruised 4 times on the CB, most recently last December out of San Juan. We've never had even

one bad day on her. :)

[CruiseVA]

Took the CB on Feb 9th, our 3rd time, the others were years ago. While she show's some age, she is in great shape, the Captain is proud of her, and the crew and service were excellent. I have no hesitation in taking her again.

[MDSue]

The propulsion problems were fixed last March (2012). I was on her first sailing after the problem was fixed and she worked flawlessly. We had a perfect cruise on a perfectly fine ship, no problems at all

[DrivesLikeMario]

I've been on the CB twice (once in Europe) and the Crown once. We had problems with the A/C on the Crown but never on the CB, even in the hot Caribbean.

 

There is so much that I love about the CB compared to the Crown! I know they're sister ships, but for some reason, the CB just seems so much better. It doesn't have as many odd little quirks about it like the Crown does. I wouldn't hesitate to book the CB again.

[DrivesLikeMario]

The propulsion problems were fixed last March (2012). I was on her first sailing after the problem was fixed and she worked flawlessly. We had a perfect cruise on a perfectly fine ship, no problems at all

 

Ditto that in mid-to-late May 2012.

[Tatka]

Wonderful ship!

 

Too bad my DH is refusing to sail on her for the forth time.:D Some features are better than on younger trio.

[lfk60]

We were on the CB in Nov 2012 and had no problems. Arrived in all ports on schedule. I did find many of the common areas warmer then on other ships, but our room was very comfortable. The staff was wonderful!!

[KevintheIrishDJ]

In reading various posts about propulsion problems, soot coming from stacks, closed decks due to grime and soot, late getting to ports due to ? Propulsion problems? and even some cancelled cruises on her last year, I ask this question from someone who has been on her recently ( i was on her a few years ago with no problems) or is in the know..

 

IS the Caribbean Princess OK ?

 

I am looking at booking on her for a summer cruise over in Europe and since I want to add extra time on our own afterwards, would like to know as much about her present situation now.

 

I know cancellation insurance will take care of most costs should a cruise get cancelled..I am just asking.:confused:

 

I have been on this ship several times, Dec. 2012 is the latest. The statement above is absolutely false. Where did you get it?:mad:

Pax et bonum,

Kevin

[Coral]

I've been on the CB twice (once in Europe) and the Crown once. We had problems with the A/C on the Crown but never on the CB, even in the hot Caribbean.

 

There is so much that I love about the CB compared to the Crown! I know they're sister ships, but for some reason, the CB just seems so much better. It doesn't have as many odd little quirks about it like the Crown does. I wouldn't hesitate to book the CB again.

 

Technically, they are not sister ships. Caribbean Princess is in a class of herself. Hybrid of Grand Class and Grand Plus Class (Crown and Beyond).

 

I hated the Crown Princess.

[DShock]

We were on her in December 2012...great shape. We were in a aft cabin...no soot, very clean...food great...all of it.

 

Be careful about taking what you read on these boards too seriously. Many people that chime in are whiners, complainers, and people that generally complain about anything! Princess is still delivering a great product...every cruise...no matter what ship.

[blueboro]

I have been on this ship several times, Dec. 2012 is the latest. The statement above is absolutely false. Where did you get it?:mad:

Pax et bonum,

Kevin

 

We were on the January 19th sailing and the ship was in great shape...our first Princess cruise and really enjoyed it. However the statements were not absolutely false. The ship did miss cruises last year after propulsion issues forced it to limp back to San Juan. It also has been late to Curacao many times this year they say due to winds and seas. Our cruise was only 45 minutes late arriving. Someone also did report soot on the top decks on a recent cruise when the stacks were blowing out black smoke. Never noticed that on our cruise. Bottom line is the ship looks great and service was top-notch.

[dread_pirate]

As for the CB's propulsion system, whenever a ship is delayed coming into port, people automatically post that there must be something wrong with the ship, totally ignoring that a ship can be delayed due to currents, wind, seas, fog, etc. Occasionally there is a mechanical problem but most of the time, people jump to the wrong conclusion but that's what others remember. Just like your car: you are far more likely to be late due to traffic or weather than a flat tire, engine breakdown, etc.

 

Actually, on our cruise, Captain Kent came on and announced that there was an engine issue that kept us from leaving Aruba - we were about 20 minutes out of the dock when we just stopped for 3 hours.

 

But we still loved the Caribbean Princess - I would not hesitate to sail her again.

[remydiva]

We were on the January 19th sailing and the ship was in great shape...our first Princess cruise and really enjoyed it. However the statements were not absolutely false. The ship did miss cruises last year after propulsion issues forced it to limp back to San Juan. It also has been late to Curacao many times this year they say due to winds and seas. Our cruise was only 45 minutes late arriving. Someone also did report soot on the top decks on a recent cruise when the stacks were blowing out black smoke. Never noticed that on our cruise. Bottom line is the ship looks great and service was top-notch.

 

Thank you for responding and refuting the " flame" response.

 

I too have sailed on the CB and in fact am one cruise short of Elite so no one has to convince me that Princess delivers a good product. ..I know they do.

 

However, as I stated in my OP, there have been recent reports on CC that indicated that CB has had some issues since I was on her. I am just trying to get some first hand recent reports on issues.

[Sanibel*Gal]

We are sailing on her in 8 Weeks for our 15th Princess cruise.:D It's been 6 years since our last cruise on the Caribbean Princess so we are very excited to see her again!!

[Trent212]

In reading various posts about propulsion problems, soot coming from stacks, closed decks due to grime and soot, late getting to ports due to ? Propulsion problems? and even some cancelled cruises on her last year, I ask this question from someone who has been on her recently ( i was on her a few years ago with no problems) or is in the know..

 

IS the Caribbean Princess OK ?

 

I am looking at booking on her for a summer cruise over in Europe and since I want to add extra time on our own afterwards, would like to know as much about her present situation now.

 

I know cancellation insurance will take care of most costs should a cruise get cancelled..I am just asking.:confused:

 

I just was on CB on February 9, and everything seemed fine. We arrived 45 minutes late into Curacao due to high winds (30-35kts) and seas.

 

Though, there was one day that black soot was all over the starboard-aft section of deck 17.

 

Otherwise, we seemed to be moving at 20-22kts no problem.

[didi7]

In reading various posts about propulsion problems, soot coming from stacks, closed decks due to grime and soot, late getting to ports due to ? Propulsion problems? and even some cancelled cruises on her last year, I ask this question from someone who has been on her recently ( i was on her a few years ago with no problems) or is in the know..

 

IS the Caribbean Princess OK ?

 

I am looking at booking on her for a summer cruise over in Europe and since I want to add extra time on our own afterwards, would like to know as much about her present situation now.

 

I know cancellation insurance will take care of most costs should a cruise get cancelled..I am just asking.:confused:

 

Just back from 2/9 cruise & everything about Princess Caribbean was fine. It's not my favorite ship because of design (can't walk all the way around top decks!) & not enough shade BUT everything about it was as expected and enjoyable.