LIVE - Caribbean Princess, Aug. 2, 2014

[michelle.zhang.90]

The siblings did not show up for afternoon trivia, so we played with our former competitors whose teammates did not show up either. It was a hard multiple choice trivia. We ended up with 9 points out of 20. Two teams tied with 13 apiece. The cruise director’s staff has been terrific. We particularly liked Ian, Susan, Harry, Bianca, and another American guy whose name I don’t remember.

 

 

 

We drank our bottle of champagne at the event in Skywalkers. I took the flowers from our balcony dinner to the couple from our rollcall. It turned out they are not staying for the next cruise, so I ended up giving them to a woman we saw at the champagne ring toss events who was. She was thrilled to get them. I think they should last a few more days, and some of the flowers could last all week if she picks out the faded ones.

 

 

 

Our friends who are the most traveled passengers came up for cocktails. It was great to see the one last time on this cruise. I’m certain we will run into them again, although the wife said she wasn’t planning on taking a cruise at New Year’s, which is our next possible time for us with DH’s school vacations.

 

 

 

We missed Landon Swank’s show. We had seen him in March on the Ruby Princess. Our tablemates said he was good. Everyone showed up at our table for dinner for the first time since Monday night. I tried the New York strip steak since I did not want the fish in a curry sauce. I should have ordered the always available salmon. My strip steak was overdone. At least they now serve decent potatoes with it instead of the french fries that used to come with it.

 

 

 

Our waiters surprised us with two anniversary cakes—one apiece. The baked Alaska parade was less tedious than usual. Our assistant waiter did not look very happy. He was very efficient, but a little bit reserved.

 

 

 

The CB has just arrived in Fort Lauderdale. We are carrying off our bags and still need to pack them. The Oasis of the Seas and Vision of the Seas have also arrived. I’m expecting the Carnival Liberty to be here soon.

 

 

 

Overall we had a great time. I noticed some things that need repair throughout the ship. Yesterday, in particular, it seemed hot in some interior spaces. The controls in our room worked very well. I’d lower the temperature during the day and raise it to sleep at night. I don’t like to sleep in a cold room. Everything in our bathroom worked fine. There are workers painting and varnishing, polishing, shampooing carpets, etc. all day long trying to keep the ship in good shape. Fortunately everyone we talked to was having a good time as well.

 

 

Great weeklong post! Thank you for sharing! Hope to read your next cruise live post again soon! :)

[FritzG]

Bring lots of quarters as the change machines NEVER work!:)

 

You can get rolls of quarters at the Passenger Services desk.

[flamomo]

If I recall correctly, when we were on the regal last February, the laundry took tokens not quarters. Not sure if the older ships are still quarters or if they went to tokens also.

 

On the "older ships", the machines take either quarters or casino 25 cent tokens. They can be used interchangeably.

 

BTW, someone posted that there are laundry facilities on all decks with passenger cabins ...... not so! Passengers in Lido deck cabins have to go to a lower deck to do their laundry. I have often used the ones on Caribe deck because they are located more forward than the ones on Aloha and Baja decks.

[michelle.zhang.90]

On the "older ships", the machines take either quarters or casino 25 cent tokens. They can be used interchangeably.

 

BTW, someone posted that there are laundry facilities on all decks with passenger cabins ...... not so! Passengers in Lido deck cabins have to go to a lower deck to do their laundry. I have often used the ones on Caribe deck because they are located more forward than the ones on Aloha and Baja decks.

 

 

Great to know! Thank you!

[cnd crsr]

Thank you geoherb for your live from... I have enjoyed cruising along with you. Happy belated anniversary!

[geoherb]

Thanks for following along with me on our cruise. I still had Internet minutes leftover this morning--about an hour's worth out of my 150 free minutes. I typed most of the posts in Word and copied and pasted them over onto this thread. It took an average of 3 minutes per post to do that and to read any messages posted since my last update. It's an easy way to do a live thread.

 

We made it off the ship and to the airport fine. There was a problem with our last statement. They charged us for the Ultimate Balcony Dinner and the bottle of wine we had with it. I had prepaid for it and traded in the half bottle of champagne for the wine. The woman at the passenger services desk first tried to tell me the $100 charge was posted as a credit at the beginning of the statement, but that was my shareholder credit. She then tried to say that the $33.35 charge was the coffee card, but that was posted early on DH's statement. She finally found the credit and said it would be posted later today and the bottle of wine charge taken off. I made her write that on my final statement in case it doesn’t get posted.

 

Because of the delay at passenger services, we ate our last breakfast at the International Café. It was tasty. By the time we made it to the Coral Dining Room for walk-off disembarkation, they were calling our group, which was the last. They were running about 20 minutes behind schedule.

 

I found out that the people in charge of the luggage were serious about not letting people in too early. A couple were trying to claim red tag luggage as we walked by. The guy would not let them in since they were not supposed to be off the ship yet. We were in the Customs and Immigration line for about 10 minutes. It moved quickly. A lot of passengers were carrying off their luggage. We also saw a couple who had flown down with us who are staying for the cruise this coming week. They were going to do some things in Fort Lauderdale instead of waiting for the group. I think someone said there were 500 or so passengers doing the back-to-back cruises. There were more this week than last since the cruise before ours was substantially the same itinerary.

 

The cab ride to the airport was quick. We had about a 10-minute wait in the queue for taxis. The fare was $11.70 before tip. It’s always quicker to the airport than from. Once we got inside around 8:30, they were not letting anyone with flights after 10:30 to check in at the main counter. They sent us downstairs. The funny thing is that there was no line down there, and we checked in much quicker than we would have. For this flight, DH did not get the TSA precheck, so he had to wait in line with me. The line was very long. It took about half an hour to get through it. A guy came through to let those people who got to the airport later than they should have move ahead of the line. It was a little before 9:00 and he was letting anyone with a flight before 9:55 go through. They could have made it if they had waited with us.

 

I paid the extra fee so that we did not have to check in online yesterday morning from the ship with Southwest. If I had not gotten such a good rate on airfare, I probably would have just tried signing in. On one cruise, the Internet connection was very slow, which is another reason I did it ahead of time. If I had known how well the Internet connection was going to work on the CB, I might have just checked in yesterday instead of paying the extra fee. The good news is I won more than enough in the casino to cover the charge. This is the first cruise in a long time where I’m coming back with more money than I carried on board. We spent a total of $50 for our excursion in St. Thomas for the ferry ride to Water Island, drinks and lunch, and tips. Once my credit gets posted to my onboard account, I should end up breaking even due to our credits and the refunds on taxes.

[geoherb]

I saved all the Patters in case anyone has a question about the activities. The cruise director's staff member who I called Susan previously turns out to be Sarah instead. I was close. She was a fun one, and I'm sorry I got her name wrong.

[Colo Cruiser]

Bring lots of quarters as the change machines NEVER work!:)

 

 

As stated, no need to lug quarters, the passenger services desk has plenty. ;)

[dorisis]

We will be doing a B2B in Sept on CB and I have made copious notes based on all the postings here. Things to do, places to eat and shows to see as well as finding new things on our own. Thanks to geoherb for the great postings nd to everyone else.

[counsdr]

Thank you so much for your live report! I am now looking forward to our cruise in September!

I hope you'll post some pictures!

Cheryl

[LovetheSea]

geoherb... Loved all your posts. Thank you for taking the time out of your trip to keep us posted. I have one question. Were the pools on the ship REALLY cold. We went on the Ruby in March and the pools were freezing. At least for the first few days.

[WEGL81]

Thanks for the live posting, geoherb. I really enjoyed reading your posts and now have a better idea of what to expect when we're on the CB in 2 weeks.

[cruis247g]

Thank you so very much for sharing your cruise with us. It was great fun to tag along!

[geoherb]

geoherb... Loved all your posts. Thank you for taking the time out of your trip to keep us posted. I have one question. Were the pools on the ship REALLY cold. We went on the Ruby in March and the pools were freezing. At least for the first few days.

I did not think they were too cold. We swam several times in the spa pool at once in the aft pool.

[mollyanne]

As stated, no need to lug quarters, the passenger services desk has plenty. ;)

 

Aware - that's where I ended up having to get them as I was a few short.

[treesah]

Great read, geoherb. We'll be on the Caribbean Princess in November. Glad you enjoyed your cruise and that Lady Luck was with you. Thanks again.

[geoherb]

Thanks. If I get the erroneous charge worked out, I will come out 11 cents ahead on our onboard account--not that I'd expect a refund of that amount. It was great to come home with more cash than I started with.

[rdsqrl]

I really enjoyed your Live; thanks for taking us along with you. And congratulations on your eleven-cent profit!

[jenseib]

fabulous report. It makes me excited to try this ship in Sept. Thanks for taking the time.

[geoherb]

Thanks. It has been back to reality today. There's no room steward to make the bed and replace the towels. There's no one cutting up delicious fresh fruit for my breakfast. And sadly no trivia until Tuesday night when I'll play after bridge.

[Lostincruisin]

Our tablemates said the Crown Grill was excellent. I did not talk with anyone who had dinner in Sabatini's. They must have been hurting for business--a waitress came through the dining room at lunch one day trying to drum up business for Sabatini's.

 

We only talked with people who got to eat at Sabatini's for breakfast since they were in suites and a couple who had eaten there for the most traveled passenger lunch. I think the cutoff was 300 days to make the top 40. We'll be there eventually.

 

Just my personal opinion of Sabatinis....I have been there 4 times and I ask myself "why"? The last time we were with a large group and they wanted to get together before we disembarked the following day. They suggested Sabatinis and we, of course, went along with the group. I really feel that Princess should do away with this venue. It is not really an Italian restaurant. The food and service is ok, but compared to the Crown Grill, there is NO contest. The lobster 3 ways is not very good and the Bronzino, is just ok also. It is just another way to bring passengers in the door.. the presentation is wonderful but the fish tasteless. It is never, never crowded. After having given it many chances, I will not go back. I never miss the Crown Grill on any cruise. It is a very fine dining experience and well worth the extra $25.00 p/p. I have not heard many good reviews of Sabatinis and I wonder why Princess has not gotten any feedback from Cruise Critic passengers who seem to hold a lot of weight. Again, just my personal opinion.

 

Happy sailing

 

regards

Loretta

[geoherb]

I weigh in every Monday morning and the verdict is in. Turns out I gained just 1 pound last week. I guess the fruit for dessert, lots of walking and swimming, never using the elevators, and asking for extra servings of green vegetables worked to counter the extra food, wine, and drinks I consumed.

[michelle.zhang.90]

I weigh in every Monday morning and the verdict is in. Turns out I gained just 1 pound last week. I guess the fruit for dessert, lots of walking and swimming, never using the elevators, and asking for extra servings of green vegetables worked to counter the extra food, wine, and drinks I consumed.

 

 

Lol! Good job! We'll copycat that!

[schlot]

I weigh in every Monday morning and the verdict is in. Turns out I gained just 1 pound last week. I guess the fruit for dessert, lots of walking and swimming, never using the elevators, and asking for extra servings of green vegetables worked to counter the extra food, wine, and drinks I consumed.

 

 

Wow! Now that is an accomplishment!

[counsdr]

I weigh in every Monday morning and the verdict is in. Turns out I gained just 1 pound last week. I guess the fruit for dessert, lots of walking and swimming, never using the elevators, and asking for extra servings of green vegetables worked to counter the extra food, wine, and drinks I consumed.

 

Good job!!