Just Back Today from CB-Eastern

[sunluva7]

Just arrived home tonight from FLL after a fabulous week on the CB and wanted to just post a short note, as it is late. The 6 of us had a wonderful time. The ship is gorgeous, service was great, including both stateroom and dining room. There was a bit of a mix-up in our standing reservation on the second night, but it didn't take long to fix it. Our waiter, Carlos from Portugal, was outstanding. MUTS was fun. David had some luck in the casino, and we enjoyed the art auctions. The highlight of our week was when our 13-year-old won second place in the Teen Princess Idol contest. We thoroughly enjoyed our balcony on Caribe deck. The weather was hot and sunny. Our St. Thomas tour with Sunny Liston was great and well worth the $20/pp. Our horseback ride at Bayside Stables in St. Martin was a fabulous way to see the beach. We rented a car and drove around the island and this worked out really well for us. Princess Cays, as always, made for a beautiful beach day and we had a blast snorkeling.

 

I hope to post a review when I'm unpacked, but in the meantime I'll answer any questions if I can.

 

Christine and Rob, it was great to meet you, and I was glad to see you again on Sunday for a drink at Outriggers. Ann and Harry, it was nice to meet you at embarkation. I still can't get over how we ended up all together in line. Sorry we didn't get to meet the rest of our roll call board, but hope everyone had a great time. :)

[montgomeryfamily]

Sounds like you had a great cruise! Congrats to your 13 year old! I enjoyed your overview and I look forward to reading your cruise review when you post that.

[moonmom]

Glad to hear you had a great time!....loved your teaser mini-review....

 

I don't ave any specific questions yet...i just love reading anything i can on CB....coming up in Jan. for me!

 

Unpacking isn't fun , is it;) ...

 

Jane

[mdmomof7]

We had a WONDERFUL time! Sorry we didn't meet up w/ you Sunluva. I did see Lillikat's and dh's formal photo and pointed it out to my dh. :) We did meet up with some other CCers - DBCruiser - Hi Dan and Darla! We had a great time together listening to Bert Stratton a few nights and comparing shopping notes on the islands. Funny story there about how we realized we were both CCers! ;) One night we saw the lovely Corinne Marie while watching Bert. Hi Corinne Marie! We also met an "anonymous" CCer - hi Debbie! Debbie and I enjoyed our Godfrey's tour, shopping on board and comparing notes on shopping in St. Thomas and St. Maarten. BTW ladies, the shopping was fantastic, especially in St. Maarten. I honestly had no interest in shopping until I met many other ladies aboard ship that told me what to look for and where. Had a great time! Dh loved the cruise which he had resisted for 3 or 4 years! We are already planning our next one. Princess was wonderful -- the staff terrific, the ship beautiful. I rate it first class even in comparison w/ land based first class hotels. Just superb.

 

When I can, I should post a separate review so as not to take up Sunluva's post. Sorry for jumping in here, Sunluva. But I just had to say what a great time we had and I ditto your take on Caribbean Princess. Fabulous!

[Soxfan4ever]

Sorry that we never met, as I forgot about roll call party. In any event, this might be a good thread to post comments / suggestions on the cruise. My wife and I had different tours, so maybe this will help others. We did the Ultimate Balcony Dining, so I will also add that to the comments a little later.

[Julia & David]

sunluva7,

 

What horsebacking riding tour did you take? Glad you had a wonderful time. We were on the July 23-30 sailing and had a fabulous time.

[mick1234]

would love to hear more about the ship. was muts crowded? was it hard to get reservations? when you get to cays which way do you go to get the best snorkeling? thanks

[sunluva7]

As promised, here it is. Not sure if I covered everything, but I really need to get back to the unpacking and mounds of dirty laundry. I'll be happy to answer any questions if I can, and I'm sure others on the cruise can help fill in the blanks.

 

Friday - Pre-Cruise

 

After a year of eager anticipation, we arrived in Fort Lauderdale on Friday - 6 of us - husband and myself, 13 and 18-year-old daughters, 22-year-old daughter and her boyfriend. We flew Spirit out of Providence, had a smooth flight, and sailed through security very quickly. We stayed at the Sheraton FLL Airport hotel, reserved through Priceline for the one night and arrived there by hotel shuttle from the airport. They gave us two corner rooms, high enough up so that we could even spot the Caribbean Princess in the distance. The hotel car drove us to a nearby shopping area for lunch and to pick up wine and soda. The concierge also arranged a ride to the Port for us the next morning. The staff was friendly and we were very happy with the hotel.

 

Saturday - FLL

 

We arrived at Port Everglades at about 10:45 a.m. There was only a short line at this time, and a half hour later the line grew very long. I was glad to be near the front. We stood in the shade which cut down on the heat of the day and so did not mind standing. Amazingly, standing right behind us in line were Lillikat, a couple from our roll-call board whom I recognized right away from their photos. They in turn recognized another family, who were behind them in line. We were able to chat and pass the time and were in the door before noon. After filling out the health form, we proceeded to the area for our deck, filled out the paperwork, got our ID cards, and off we went to our cabins, a very efficient and painless process.

 

We had two balcony cabins and one inside on Caribe deck. The showers were not as cramped as I thought they would be and in fact with a little creative maneuvering were perfectly sufficient. The balcony was double the size of those above and below us, which was nice when the girls wanted to escape their inside cabin and join us outside. Our cabin stewards were friendly and helpful and did a wonderful job, and our cabin was decorated with balloons for our anniversary. We had lunch in Horizon Court. Like any buffet, there were great and not-so-great food items, but found plenty of good food to choose from.

 

As recommended by others, we reserved our MUTS movies and a standing reservation for PC dining from our cabin when boarding. Sterlings and Sabatinis had to be reserved through Sabatinis in person after 1:00 p.m. TIP: Confirm your movie the day it's scheduled, because Patters had our movie listed on a day other than the day I was told over the phone.

 

Our family chose to meet at the Palm dining room with a standing reservation at 6:00 p.m. each day for dinner. TIP: If you call on the first day to make a standing reservation and you decide you want the same waiter and table, be sure to call the second day and reserve the table. We neglected to do this and did not get the same waiter or table the second night. Our waiter, Carlos, was absolutely outstanding. The fact that my husband and he shared the same last name was an icebreaker, too. We've never had better service, and even when the dining room was at its busiest, especially on the second formal night when these guys spend the extra time shelling lobster tails at your table, his smile and friendliness never wavered. He brought us a cake for our anniversary, too.

 

Sunday - Sea Day

 

We awoke this morning to more balloons on our door for David's birthday. Our steward said happy birthday, and this was totally by mention through the cruise personalizer, as we did not mention to him in person that we were celebrating a birthday. David and I are early birds, so most mornings we were at the gym on the treadmills at 6:00 a.m. No shortage of equipment here. We found plenty of food we liked at Horizon Court for breakfast, and the coffee was perfectly fine, so I'm glad I left the coffee pot home! We grabbed a chair by the MUTS pool in the morning, in the shade, and spent a couple of hours there. I think the movie this morning was "Big". David had enough of the pool after about an hour and went to the casino. We spent some time at the auction in the afternoon, which was fun, but I enjoyed the auction on Carnival better, because they had more affordable pieces.

 

Tonight was formal night. TIP: Give yourself plenty of time for photos before dinner, as the lines for the photographer get pretty long - or wait until after dinner for photos. Tonight, I experienced the only item on the entire week's menus that was a dissappointment - the beef tenderloin was dry and overdone. On the recommendation of the waiter (the only night we did not have our favorite waiter, Carlos), I ordered it medium-well, but it came out well done. Of course, I could have sent it back, but there was so much other food on my plate, it was not a big issue. Also, feel free to order 2 entrees if you cannot make up your mind. David's Cornish Hen was perfect.

 

Caught the 10:00 show on MUTS - "Hitch", a very nice experience. They serve popcorn, but you can also bring food from the Horizon Court or pizza.

 

Monday - Sea Day

 

The best pools for peace and quiet, away from it all the distractions, are the aft pool and the pool forward near the spa, both adult only. This morning I had my choice of chairs at the spa pool, where there was plenty of ocean breeze. Morning is the best time to find a chair at any pool, as they get very crowded in the afternoon on sea days.

 

We won a piece of art at the auction today!

 

Heads up - dining menu change! Monday and Tuesdays menus were switched. Monday turned out to be Caribbean night, and Tuesday was Italian night. We had chosen Tuesday as our alternative dining choosing to miss the Caribbean menu. So we were a little sad we missed Italian night. We quickly got over it, though, as the pork loin I had was outstanding.

 

The big show tonight, Caribbean Caliente, was canceled due to a technical problem. They substituted Alexander, the hypnotist. I love this show. David volunteered for his show 3 years ago on the Grand, so it brought back memories. It's a riot what people will do while under hypnotic suggestion.

 

The highlight of our cruise came Monday night, when our youngest daughter entered the Princess Teen Idol contest and won second place. Not too brag, but unlike the other contestants, she sang from memory and not with the karaoke lyrics on the screen. We were just so proud of her!

 

Tuesday - St. Thomas

 

Oldest daughter and her boyfriend did the Princess Sail & Snorkel Buck Island excursion and had a blast. The rest of us did a tour with Sunny Liston, which I reserved ahead of time. He met us at the pier with a sign showing our name at 10:00 a.m., dropped us off for some shopping, took us for a tour of the island and to Mountain Top. The views were spectacular. The world famous daiquiri was over-rated and over-priced and gave me a bad headache. After the tour, which, by the way, is a 'roller-coaster' ride through steep and narrow winding roads, he dropped us at Sapphire Beach, where we snorkeled and swam. He picked us up at 3:30 and took us back to the ship. Sunny was fun, pleasant and friendly. He gave us a fantastic tour and it was well worth the $20/pp.

 

Tonight was our alternative dining. Daughter and her boyfriend loved Sabatinis, highly recommend it, and noted that there is so much food, so don't expect to try it all. My husband and I chose to eat at Sterlings. The food was excellent, steaks superb, but service was slow. Also, we were not impressed with the restaurant décor.

 

Unfortunately, we crashed after dinner and missed the Tropical Deck Party.

 

Wednesday - St. Martin

 

We arranged for a car rental through "Arthur", recommended on these boards. However, Arthur nor his rental station was nowhere to be found, so we chose Best Deal rentals, which also comes highly recommended. For $70, we got a Mitsubishi Space Wagon, a great car for the 6 of us. Unlike the steep, winding hills on St. Thomas, the roads were easy to navigate. We drove to Bayside Stables where three of us went on a horseback ride. This was the second highlight of our trip (after the teen Princess Idol event, of course). What a magnificent way to see the beach. They took us for a ride through the nature reserve at LeGalione Beach and down the beach itself. It was breathtaking! After our ride, we went to Orient Beach, which was beautiful and a bit more crowded than Sapphire on St. Thomas yesterday. I can imagine what the crowds must be like during high season! We went for a quick swim, bought ice cream, then headed back to Phillipsburg for a little shopping and a bite to eat. By this time, we had enough of the heat and headed back to the ship early to mid-afternoon.

 

Dinner tonight was outstanding, as usual. David had the lamb and I had the prawns. Carlos must have known I did not like a lot of garlic and steered me away from the pasta pesto dish and brought me a small plate on the side, which actually was quite good and not too spicy. That gives you an idea of how thoughtful he was, and he always brought our youngest daughter extra shrimp in her appetizer and left us with extra plates of entrees so we could all sample everything.

 

The girls went to the game room to play Uno after dinner. Interestingly, they reported back that all the Uno cards were missing from every game. I think it's really sad to think that people would steal them - if that indeed was the case. Tonight we used our coupon for two free candids and picked up a couple of photos from the gallery. The photographers have been visible, but not intrusive, which is the way we like it.

 

Tonight we saw the infamous Bert Stratton in Concert in the Explorers Lounge which is a bigger venue than his usual performances. He is a terrific entertainer and as others have said, looks a bit like Jim Carey.

 

Thursday - Sea Day

 

After the 6:00 a.m. work-out and breakfast, it was another day of relaxation by the aft pool. I got a chair overlooking the back of the boat. The pool is in the shade back here, and is a great spot to be out of the blazing sun. Everyone went off and did their own thing today. David was back at the auction and won yet another piece of art, by the same artist as the previous one, so they will go well together on the wall.

 

Tonight was the second formal night. We skipped the photos and went straight to the dining room. Tonight's menu featured lobster tails which were superb. The desserts, I neglected to mention, are pretty great, so be sure to save a bit of room. No matter how full we were we managed to cram in a soufflé, ice cream, parfait, mousse or that fabulous Love Boat Dream.

 

We saw Piano Man tonight and were not all that impressed. It was entertaining, but the choreography and vocals were just okay, nothing spectacular.

 

Friday, Princess Cays

 

We had so much heat and sun already this week, so we were undecided about how much time we all wanted to spend here. We went over about mid-morning and snorkeled and we were so glad we did. The snorkeling was good and the water beautiful. We were able to get a spot in the shade of a palm tree. TIP: Be on the first or second tender to get your choice of shaded chairs as they go fast. It was a perfect beach day. After returning to the ship, sadly it was time to pack up, as the luggage needed to be out in the hall after dinner for pick-up.

 

We had our final meal in the dining room this evening. We said our goodbyes to Carlos and nominated him for Princess employee of the month. I hope he gets it - he deserves the recognition. After dinner we made our last purchases of photos and took a walk up on Sun deck by the spa. Nothing beats the sight of a bright moon shining over the ocean.

 

Saturday, Disembarkation - FLL

 

We woke up very early before sun-up and saw the lights of FLL in the distance, and felt just a bit sad having to leave all this behind. We went for breakfast, finished collecting our belongings from the cabins, and headed to the Explorers Lounge where we found comfortable seats to await disembarkation. TIP: Get up and out of your cabin early to grab a comfortable chair to await embarkation in one of the ship's lounges. It really makes the wait much more pleasant. We found embarkation to be a very smooth process. Announcements are made according to the color tag on your luggage. Exiting the ship was quick and painless, and we found our luggage with little problem. The bright colored duct tape on our luggage helped a lot.

 

Hertz Rental - Never Again! The only sour point of this cruise came - not with Princess- but with Hertz. Because we had a late flight, we decided on a car rental for the day. Being told that the Hertz shuttle will pick up at Port Everglades and only drop off at the local site downtown (they no longer drop off at the airport location), I called Hertz the week before, as instructed, to request the Ford Excursion we needed for all of us and our luggage. They said no problem - that an Excursion would be waiting for us when we arrived. Well, we arrived at the site and there was no such vehicle waiting for us. In fact, a lot of people arriving at the rental office had no luck getting their reserved cars. They were stuffing families of four with lots of luggage into tiny cars. Some were sent away altogether. To make a long story short, we waited nearly 2 hours for a car. They did give us a big break off the price of the car - I'll give them that much credit. So we had a lot less time than planned, and decided not to drive to the Miami aquarium and just hang out in FLL for shopping. We dropped off the kids at one of the museums for an hour while my husband and I went for a walk down Las Olas Blvd. and stopped in one of the cafes for an iced coffee.

 

The Hertz adventure aside, we had a wonderful cruise. We were very fortunate to have fabulous weather the entire week. It was a great way to reconnect with the family and spend quality time together. We even booked a future cruise, yet to be determined, and can't wait to start planning our next cruise.

[BEACHLOVER101]

What movies were playing at night on MUTS?

[sunluva7]

sunluva7,

 

What horsebacking riding tour did you take? Glad you had a wonderful time. We were on the July 23-30 sailing and had a fabulous time.

We reserved ahead through Bayside Stables. They are located at LeGalione Beach on the French side near the Butterfly farm. It was a beautiful ride through the nature preserve and along the beach. They called me after my original booking that they made a mistake and were booked up for the 11:00 ride, but made a special ride for us at 9:30 a.m. If you like horseback riding, it's a great experience. They also offer a 2-hour ride where you can ride your horse into the water.

[sunluva7]

Sorry that we never met, as I forgot about roll call party. In any event, this might be a good thread to post comments / suggestions on the cruise. My wife and I had different tours, so maybe this will help others. We did the Ultimate Balcony Dining, so I will also add that to the comments a little later.

With all the stuff to do on board, I totally understand missing roll-call. Which is why we didn't make it to the after-muster get-together. As it was, there were only two of us at the Sunday get-together, so leads me to believe everyone was having a terrific time.

 

We would love to hear your comments about the Ultimate Balcony Dining and everyone's other tours. I look forward to reading about everyone's experiences. :)

[Kellie in Texas]

We had a WONDERFUL time! Sorry we didn't meet up w/ you Sunluva. . . We also met an "anonymous" CCer - hi Debbie! Debbie and I enjoyed our Godfrey's tour, shopping on board and comparing notes on shopping in St. Thomas and St. Maarten. . .

 

Mdmomof7 -- Can I ask how your tour with Godfrey went? We're booked with him for late October. Haven't seen much about him lately on these boards, so I wanted to hear from some recent tours with him. Thanks for the info. Kellie in Texas

 

Sunluva - Enjoyed your review; sounds like the aft pool will be one of my favorite lounging spots.

[MaryPoppinz]

Our waiter, Carlos from Portugal, was outstanding.

 

Are you thinking of the Headwaiter, rather than the table waiter? If we're talking about the same guy, and you actually had him as a table waiter, you were very lucky! He's been our headwaiter on two ships, and he's wonderful.

[Roboat]

Thanks for taking the time to write this helpful and informative review. I'm so glad you guys had a good time. Sounds like you have a great attitude, too, and you don't let the little things get you down.

 

We are eagerly awaiting our first Princess cruise, on October 8, same itinerary as yours. Your review fans the flames. :D

 

Congrats to your daughter on her singing! :)

[sunluva7]

For Mick1234:

 

For the best snorkeling, go to the far left facing the beach. You will see a small dock with rocks and coral, where there is great snorkeling. There is a rental building there if you need snorkel gear or fish food. The section on the right side facing the beach has the cabanas for rent.

 

For Beachlover101:

 

Playing on MUTS at night and requiring reservations were Hitch, Fever Pitch and Meet the Fockers. Late movies were Wedding Date and Rocky Horror Picture show, neither of which you needed a reservation. Some of the daytime movies showing were In Good Company, Big, Ice Age, Finding Nemo, Grease, E.T., Spiderman, Shrek, Harry Potter, Princess Bride, Splash, Shrek and Wizard of Oz.

 

For MaryPoppinz:

 

I was speaking of our table waiter, Carlos Neves, a very kind small man with glasses and a tremendous amount of energy. He said he has been on the ship for only four months, so perhaps it was the same guy.

 

SoxFan, Mdmomof7 and any others on our cruise:

 

Sorry we missed you and, yes, please add your comments about your experience. :)

 

Roboat:

 

Thanks for your kind words. You're absolutely right - positive attitude is everything! :)

[sunluva7]

I keep thinking of things I didn't mention in my review:

 

Chair hogs: Yes, there were many but it didn't bother me because I could always find a chair somewhere when I needed one. The best thing to do if you're looking for that perfect spot which a towel has been occupying for what seems like an eternity, though, is to keep your cool and find a deck attendant to remove the items from the chair. It says right in the Patters not to leave stuff unattended on a chair for over 30 minutes or they will be removed, but I never witnessed any deck attendants enforcing this rule.

 

Pool Towels: Be sure to bring the pool towels from your cabin. Perhaps I missed something, but strangely enough I could not find a supply at any of the pools.

 

Adult only pools: Yes, there was an occasional kid occupying them but they never stuck around long, probably because the glaring adults scared them away! ;)

 

Jacuzzis: A funny story - Four of us are sitting in the Jacuzzi by the MUTS screen during a movie, and this kid comes and hops in with us and sits for, oh, maybe a minute or two as he's staring at the movie screen, then hops out again. The four of us looked at each other and thought the same thing - did this kid just pee in the whirlpool? :confused: Okay - time to get out! :eek: Let's hope it was the just the heat of the jacuzzi that sent him on his way out.

 

Lotus Spa soaps, shampoo, conditioner and lotion: I found these products to be wonderful, and the room steward keeps them stocked everyday in the bathroom. Next time, I won't waste precious space in my luggage with my own.

 

Pizza: Loved it!

 

Smoking on the balconies: The occasional cigar, but really not a problem this trip.

[bethcollins]

We were also on this cruise and had a great time. We, too, were in line early to board and also at Hitch at 10:00pm. Must be all that great cc advice! the one thing that sticks in my mind that I haven't seen mentioned is that some of our fellow cruisers were the BIGGEST bunch of whiners and complainers I have EVER experienced on any of my 19 cruises. The absolute worst was a family of six (three young adult boys and one teen girl) that we ran into everywhere. We felt like running when we saw them approaching the area of the beach we were on in Princess Cays. It ended up being humerous listening to the mother whose complaints included--"those people stole all the chairs" while pointing to us. we got there at 9am, they arrived at 11--"they are soooo stupid to park the ship so far from the beach" we were dying laughing!--"These boys are just like their father. Too effing lazy to do anything without being told" said to her daughter as the men in the family searched for chairs!--"The beach is too rocky. They should have taken the rocks out"--"They ran out of food" Um... okay, we had no idea where that came from as we saw plenty of food available--"they told us that the beach mats were free. They lie about everything"--LOL I could go on and on. Try to picture this as they were only at the beach for an hour!!

 

The one negative from my 16 yr olds point of view was the new "youth security". I thought it sounded like a great idea when I first read about this, but it wasn't what we pictured. The youth security people followed any group of teens around everywhere they went. Literally, if the kids went to the buffet, security was next to them--if they went to the theater, security waited right outside the door to resume following them as they left--if they were in the hot tub, security stood by and watched.. Yes, I agree that security should be a presence to nip any trouble in the bud, but I don't agree with trailing the kids around like common criminals. The end result may be something Princess did not foresee. The teens ended up congregating in staterooms since many had separate rooms from the parents. Personally, I am a lot more worried about what the kids could get up to in the privacy of their own cabins then I am about whether or not they all had food on their plates when they eat in the buffet (any kid who wasn't actually shoveling food in his mouth was made to leave). By the end of the cruise, you could tell which cabins had teens as you could hear the screaming and carrying on in the hallways. Perhaps there is a happy medium?

 

All in all a good cruise. Any questions I'll be happy to answer.

 

Beth

[sunluva7]

Beth -

 

It sounds like the family of whiners who stayed on the beach for only an hour, stayed an hour too long. ;) That was a very amusing story. Yes, we heard people complaining about things beyond their control. (What's wrong with the ship, why is it moving like that?) Duh, maybe because we're at sea? :rolleyes:) You have the right attitude - just laugh!

 

That's interesting about the teen security. Our girls basically hung out on their own together, so we didn't really pay attention to the level of security hovering over the kids - a definite turn off for them, I'm sure. I wonder if it's because of the large number of older passengers who complain about badly behaved kids running wild. Were your kids involved in the teen center at all? My 13-year-old signed up, but only did the Teen Idol competition. One of the teen counselors said that for this cruise there were a lot of kids signed up, but very few actually attending the activities.

[tiffygirl]

Sunluva7 thanks for the great review.

 

We also have the Sheraton Airport booked through priceline for an upcoming cruise in oct. How much the transportation to the pier? Also, did the hotel charge for taking to the shopping center for lunch?

 

Thanks again.

[sunluva7]

Sunluva7 thanks for the great review.

 

We also have the Sheraton Airport booked through priceline for an upcoming cruise in oct. How much the transportation to the pier? Also, did the hotel charge for taking to the shopping center for lunch?

 

Thanks again.

No, the transportation to the shopping center was the hotel courtesy van and they did not charge us (except for the tip, of course). He dropped us off and we told him what time to pick us up. The van to the pier was an outside service arranged by the hotel for us, and they did charge $7/pp. If there are only a couple of you, just walk out the door and get a taxi - it may be cheaper.

[myangel]

Enjoyed your review! How late is the Pizza open until?

[bethcollins]

Both my boys, ages 16 and 12, would occasionally pop into the organized activities, but spent most of the time just hanging out with their new friends. My 12 yr old said the male counselor for that age group was "mean" and "yelled a lot" but having much experience with boys that age, I took it with a grain of salt!

 

Not sure if anyone else was at Orient Beach near the Pirate while we were in St. Maarten, but if you weren't you missed more amusing complaining. A woman who we had seen frequently at the purser's desk complaining was tearing the man at the Pirate a new one because she got knocked over by a wave and needed to wash her hair RIGHT THEN and the crappy showers there had no hairdryer!! Every time she got up her poor husband had to sweep the sand from her chair and shake out her towel because she hated the feel of sand. Gosh, and I somehow accidentally kicked a little sand at her when I walked by on my way to the ocean. oops! LOL

[mdmomof7]

Embarkation -

 

We arrived ~ 11:40AM via taxi from Bahia Mar hotel. (Great hotel, friendly, clean, convenient, oceanfront. Would definitely recommend it and stay here again. Got a great price on Priceline so that made it all the better.) Taxi fare to Port Everglades was $8.00 for 2 w/ tip. Shuttle for same would have been $12.00 for 2 no tip.

 

 

The hardworking porters took the baggage and we queued for embarkation. We waited in the line outside and it was hot but shaded by the roof. The wait wasn’t too long and we met some new friends and enjoyed the exciting anticipation of our first cruise. We saw them again a few times during the week and it was fun to compare notes. We were on the ship by 12:35PM.

 

 

For that first day's shipboard lunch there were tons of people in Horizon Court for buffet lunch. I was quite worried as I hadn’t really imagined it would be so crowded. I didn’t want to think about dealing with such close quarters the whole week. I kept my anxiety in check, after all the cruise was MY idea! Lol!! All was fine. Once the cruise began everyone ate whenever they chose and it wasn’t nearly as crowded.

 

 

We sailed full – 3200 people, about 600 or so children between the ages of 3-17. As for the teen security, I do think it would be annoying for well behaved children to be treated this way, but, unfortunately, they did serve a purpose. What they really needed was to have young “adult” security as there were some annoying 18-20 year olds that I saw everywhere! Ugh! DJ Bill told us that they have 3600 this week and 1100 of those are children between the ages of 3-17. We didn't have our children in the programs but we heard from a few parents that their children thought they were cliquey and found it difficult to meet new friends. Or, that they were simply bored, this was mostly the older children, about middle school age.

 

 

Cabin - We were in Emerald Deck E627, obstructed ocean view. There are pictures on this website of this cabin. We found it very convenient as it was one floor above the main public levels. We easily walked up and down the steps to levels 5-7 for activities.

 

 

 

Ports – We found them both enjoyable. The shopping was terrific, especially in St. Maarten. We didn’t do any tours or beaches in St. Maarten and instead shopped the entire time, very easy to do! Next time, we’ll get out earlier and head to the French beaches. But since we had just done a terrific beach the day before, we were agreeable to miss one the next day. Dh surprised me and got me a beautiful pendant in St. Thomas. He bought a watch and got a very good price on his too. We normally don’t indulge for ourselves in that way, so they were extra special treats.

 

 

Anytime dining – We very much enjoyed this arrangement and would do it again. We met many lovely people and struck up friendships with all ages. It was very fun and we enjoyed meeting new people each night.

 

 

We had reservations for Sterling’s but cancelled them because the dining room food was quite tasty and there was no ambience at Sterlings. Dh commented it looked like Denny’s. That’s odd since Sabatini’s is prettier and looked more romantic and secluded. I wonder why Sterling’s isn’t as well?

 

 

Entertainment:

I would have liked to have had the entire week's schedule up front so I could plan which things to see when. This was especially true of MUTS. I didn't find their offerings spectacular. They could have had a better late night show than Rocky Horror Picture Show.

 

We didn’t see any production shows, just a bit of the International Crew Show in the Princess Theater. We enjoyed that but it was SRO and when the feet got tired, we departed. We tended to eat later, between 7-8PM, taking about 2 hours for most dinners, and not finish in time for the shows. Maybe next time. We listened to the terrific Bert Stratton two nights and the others we danced at Club Fusion or Skywalkers instead.

 

 

We very much enjoyed the first art auction but had to depart early for a spa appointment. One buyer bought a $33k painting and then another one for $55,000. One of those was a Matiros and they had several others of his as well.

 

 

We checked out the casino and bingo one night for about 5 minutes each. They just aren’t our thing at all. I have no idea what drives their appeal.:rolleyes:

 

 

Afternoon tea was very pleasant and a nice break from the sunny activities and shipboard goings on.

 

 

Photographers – We bought several pictures, they all were very well done. When we arrived home and showed the kids they remarked that we looked so relaxed and younger! Does that mean I can add the cruise category into my personal care budget in lieu of cosmetics? ;)

 

 

Pools: Liked the Terrace Pool best. This is the aft pool and is adults only. It was very enjoyable to lounge above the wake and take in the ocean view. We also enjoyed the spa pool. There were some annoying young adults in there a few times, but nothing too bad, just immature pool antics.

 

 

We didn’t care for the Calypso or Neptune pools. They were full sun, noisy, crowded and we avoided them. We did catch Hitch during the morning on Thursday. A comment I made on the cruise feedback questionnaire was to pause the MUTS when the announcements were made. While trying to watch the movie we found the Princess Patters recap announcement particularly unnecessary and if they had only paused the movie, we wouldn’t have been bothered. As it was, we missed a key sequence of the film. Oh well, not a big deal, just a comment.

 

We enjoyed the champagne waterfall on the last night. We missed the galley tour and a few other once only events because they were offered at 10AM and we preferred to sleep in and have a leisurely breakfast rather than hit the deck running. On the Princess cruise questionnaire I did mention the need for more midday activity scheduling for things such as the galley tour. Having several things first thing in the AM only was not the best for us. Dh didn’t mind it was more me because I didn’t want to miss anything. We did hear that the galley tour was terrific, so maybe next time.

 

 

I do think I now have an itinerary preference. I prefer not to do back to back port days and not to have the last day be a port day. Dh said if we did the same itinerary again, he’d skip Princess Cays (though lovely and well maintained) and instead opt for a quieter ship and relaxing by the shady Terrace pool. We heard from the snorkelers that Princess Cays was best of the three port beaches.

 

 

 

Princess was first class. The service was magical, always available, but never did I see what it took to make it seem effortless. They are true professionals. We were able to relax and have fun and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. We definitely want to cruise again!

 

 

 

Sunluva-

 

We saw Sunny Liston on our tour w/ Godfrey. They seemed to know each other well and even discussed logistics at the mountain top lookout. We were probably there at the same time! Yes, the banana daiquiri was untasty and overpriced. And, we were likely at Sapphire Beach together too!

 

 

 

Kellie in Texas -

 

We emailed Godfrey for the first time the Friday morning of our departure for FLL. We told him we would look for him in St. Thomas and if he had room great. If not we’d understand what late notice we gave. We did find him and explained to him what we had done. He said if he had room we’d be able to go. He did and we had a wonderful tour. He was very informative, energetic, dignified and personable. I especially liked the hint he gave for Sapphire Beach saying it was less crowded and a 5 star, the highest rating like Megans Beach. On Godfrey’s tour he stopped at Megans Beach, Coki Beach and then at Sapphire. Coki seemed crowded and you had to go through a less picturesque part of St. Thomas to reach it. Sapphire Beach was lovely and we had a relaxing afternoon enjoying the water and beautiful views. I highly recommend this beach. It is basically a resort and you are able to take advantage of its amenities.

 

Any other questions, please ask away. :)

[marly]

Glad to hear you all had such a great time on your cruise! My hubby and I will be returning to the CB for the fourth time this Sept. and I can't wait.

 

Do they still offer computer classes? I need Continuing Education credits and I can't think of a better way to get them! Unfortunately I have to get the training pre-approved, so I need whatever info I can get on the type of class and how many hours it is.

 

Thanks

Marly

[sunluva7]

Mdmomof7:

 

Great review - thanks for filling in some of the blanks. :)

 

What should I start bidding at if I want the Bahia Mar? I heard of a few other people who stayed at this hotel and loved it. We could see the hotel from our post-cruise lunch at The Oasis in FLL. I agree with your take on Sterlings - I think you made a wise decision. Although the food was good, the ambience was not. I would think for $15 a head, they could improve the decor. I am also with you when it comes to casinos. Although my husband likes to play and actually came out ahead of the game on this cruise, I am not a gambler and can think of things I'd rather spend money on (like those great martinis and the "chocolate banana").

 

Myangel:

 

Pizza is available until 10:00 p.m., I think.

 

Marly: Yes, they still offer computer classes. We did see a Scholarship at Sea brochure in our cabin but sorry to say we didn't look at it closely as we were not taking any classes. The Princess website may have more information.