CARIBBEAN PRINCESS - Thoughts & Observations

[eroller]

Hi Eroller, please forgive me for piggy backing on your thread. I too sailed on the December 4, 2014 Caribbean Princess.

 

Now the fun begins - the ship docked at a different pier (#2) on the northern part of Port Everglades. Small shuttle buses were supplied by Princess Cruise for transferring back to the original Pier#21 where the garage is.

 

We thought it was worth it and would cruise with Princess again.

 

 

No problem. I really find it interesting reading the perspective of others from the same cruise! In this case you were a first time Princess cruiser so that is interesting as well.

 

Regarding the pier, the only thing I saw about the change of locations was a small blip in the disembarkation newsletter they delivered. It also mentioned a shuttle. It would have been easy to miss and I'm sure there were many people surprised when they disembarked at a different pier.

 

I agree it was money well spent. For the price most of us paid it was a real bargain. I would do it again in a heartbeat, but do wish Princess would give CB a little TLC. ;)

Edited December 9, 2014 by eroller

[lynwar]

Our cruise was good. We don't expect the moon and kind of stick to ourselves. Our favorite spots were the aft pool area, Horizon Court, Crooners and the Casino (;) )

 

I think you'll have a good time. We all age, and are like good wine... lol.

 

Bert Stratton will be leaving the Caribbean Princess on Dec. 22 and return in February.

His signature song with cruisers is "Sweet Caroline"--sing a long. :)

 

Have a wonderful cruise. Yes, that carpet and aroma situation would have been very trying on me and I think we would have paid the difference for another cabin. Hubby certainly wouldn't have liked that damp feeling.

 

Once again, it was great revisiting the ship after 10 years and I would go on her again.

 

Lynne

[RMM34667]

 

I would advise against cabin C706 if you prefer a more quiet location. The room opens right in front of the elevator bank so if the door is open anyone standing waiting for an elevator can see directly into the room. It was also very noisy for that same reason. The balcony walls, glass, and railing were filthy and we had to slam the door especially hard or it wouldn't shut. We were also upset that we could not receive any wifi service at all. On a positive note, the bed was very comfortable - no dips, the air worked great, and our room steward, Perde, was excellent.

 

 

I was in cabin C706 just about a month ago. We didn't have noise problems but that door! I constantly had to slam it to get it closed.

[Loucat]

Thanks for your report.

 

We sailed on CB in August and like you I was so concerned about reports of issues with aging. I did not find many problems and believe me, I looked.

Of course the ship is not new and there are small signs of wear but nothing I found of major importance.

Have a great cruise and I would be onboard tomorrow if I could!

[pcsunlover]

I was in cabin C706 just about a month ago. We didn't have noise problems but that door! I constantly had to slam it to get it closed.

 

Yes, we had to slam the door really hard to get it to actually stay closed.

 

Maybe it was just the people on our particular cruise who were extremely noisy entering the hallway right in front of the cabin after exiting the elevators. We were constantly hearing loud (sometimes lengthy) conversations right outside our door. It's never happened to us before, but in the past we've always been a cabin or two away from the entry into the hallway. All I know is I would never book that cabin again. C708 maybe, but not C706 on this ship.

[deise17311]

It just went through dry dock last year...we were in right after and didn't seem like they did much....

 

 

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[Mackenzie1]

I wonder what Princess would say if any of us offered to buy new mattresses and pillows for the cabins we've reserved, particularly for longer cruises. They can't cost that much, particularly if Princess gave us a discount, and it would go a long way toward enjoying our cruise. We can also remember the cabin number that has the new mattress, and look to reserve it in the future. If that suggestion is too outrageous, has any one come up with a way to make old, saggy Princess mattresses more comfortable? I've been on a cruise with a bad mattress, and nothing is more miserable.(I've already asked for an egg crate topper for both of my Caribbean Princess cruises next year.)

Edited December 10, 2014 by Mackenzie1

[rdsqrl]

I wonder what Princess would say if any of us offered to buy new mattresses and pillows for the cabins we've reserved, particularly for longer cruises. They can't cost that much, particularly if Princess gave us a discount, and it would go a long way toward enjoying the cruise. We can also remember the cabin number that has the new mattress, and look to reserve it in the future. I've been on a cruise with a bad mattress, and nothing is more miserable.

They could have an "adopt-a-bed" campaign, like with highway beautification. You could pick a cabin and pledge money for a new mattress. They'd put a plaque with your name on it on the bedframe and forever after, cabin X's bedding would be your responsibility.

[Mackenzie1]

Thanks, rdsqrl. That's the idea--adopt a bed, if only for 16 days. After that, it's an orphan. Unfortunately, that would be rewarding Princess for its lack of care for the comfort of its passengers, but then again, we all pay a lot of money for these cruises, and we want them to be pleasurable.

[eroller]

Thanks, rdsqrl. That's the idea--adopt a bed, if only for 16 days. After that, it's an orphan. Unfortunately, that would be rewarding Princess for its lack of care for the comfort of its passengers, but then again, we all pay a lot of money for these cruises, and we want them to be pleasurable.

 

 

Cute idea but really shouldn't Princess provide mattresses that offer a decent nights sleep?

[Cop Chef]

I wonder what Princess would say if any of us offered to buy new mattresses and pillows for the cabins we've reserved, particularly for longer cruises. They can't cost that much, particularly if Princess gave us a discount, and it would go a long way toward enjoying our cruise. We can also remember the cabin number that has the new mattress, and look to reserve it in the future. If that suggestion is too outrageous, has any one come up with a way to make old, saggy Princess mattresses more comfortable? I've been on a cruise with a bad mattress, and nothing is more miserable.(I've already asked for an egg crate topper for both of my Caribbean Princess cruises next year.)

We had an Inside Cabin B244, Our mattress wasn't saggy just plain hard as concrete, but, no biggie, we asked Marlon our Attendant to double up on the egg crates and also requested a pillow top cover and a therapeutic (memory foam) pillow which made it soooooooo comfy. For saggy mattresses, I don't know about, maybe have them flip it over?

[Cop Chef]

No problem. I really find it interesting reading the perspective of others from the same cruise! In this case you were a first time Princess cruiser so that is interesting as well.

 

Regarding the pier, the only thing I saw about the change of locations was a small blip in the disembarkation newsletter they delivered. It also mentioned a shuttle. It would have been easy to miss and I'm sure there were many people surprised when they disembarked at a different pier.

 

I agree it was money well spent. For the price most of us paid it was a real bargain. I would do it again in a heartbeat, but do wish Princess would give CB a little TLC. ;)

 

Thank you Eroller for sharing your views - you started a great thread

[RMM34667]

Yes, we had to slam the door really hard to get it to actually stay closed.

 

Maybe it was just the people on our particular cruise who were extremely noisy entering the hallway right in front of the cabin after exiting the elevators. We were constantly hearing loud (sometimes lengthy) conversations right outside our door. It's never happened to us before, but in the past we've always been a cabin or two away from the entry into the hallway. All I know is I would never book that cabin again. C708 maybe, but not C706 on this ship.

 

I just booked C707 & 705 for a January 5 day. Mom LOVED the balcony, wish I could have moved more midship (she did alot of walking) but they were not included in the VIP casino offer. I couldn't really justify the price difference ($50 pp aft vs $429pp mid-aft)!

 

I hope the internet is better on the other side of the ship!

[CruiserN1]

We had an Inside Cabin B244, Our mattress wasn't saggy just plain hard as concrete, but, no biggie, we asked Marlon our Attendant to double up on the egg crates and also requested a pillow top cover and a therapeutic (memory foam) pillow which made it soooooooo comfy. For saggy mattresses, I don't know about, maybe have them flip it over?

 

Is it possible to request the egg crates and foam pillow in advance? I have a bad neck and sleeping on a poor mattress and mushy pillow aggravates it.

[Woobstr112G]

Thanks for posting your thoughts and the pictures.....:):):)

 

Bob

[Mackenzie1]

We had an Inside Cabin B244, Our mattress wasn't saggy just plain hard as concrete, but, no biggie, we asked Marlon our Attendant to double up on the egg crates and also requested a pillow top cover and a therapeutic (memory foam) pillow which made it soooooooo comfy. For saggy mattresses, I don't know about, maybe have them flip it over?

 

Thank you, Cop Chef. I read where someone asked that the mattress be turned over, and the bottom of the mattress was too yucky to use because of all the dust that had accumulated on it. Two other suggestions I've read are to bring an air mattress or your own memory foam topper to put it over the mattress.

Edited December 11, 2014 by Mackenzie1

[Hobbsey]

Most Mattresses are built one sided these days.

[BosoxI]

Our only downfall was that someone managed to "flood" three cabins with "something" they flushed in their toilet that "didn't belong there" on our second day. Two cabins beside us and one diagonally. We had water in about 4-5 feet into our cabin and the adjacent wall was damp with one large sopping wet spot. They tried to wet vac it but it stayed damp the entire rest of the cruise. Of course I found out when I stepped in the water in bare feet - yuck! We had to call twice - once for the extra wet spots and once for the awful smell that started in the hallway from the adjacent cabins. it was bad - they had to remove all furniture in those cabins and ran the blowers to dry them 24/7. They were apologetic both times but I think they should have offered to move us. Instead, they gave us slippers so our feet wouldn't get wet. The first night the cruise director said the ship held around 3000 but only 2200-2300 were sailing so there should have been a room somewhere. Oh well, we still had a nice time but it did "dampen the situation".

 

You were far too sweet. Our cabin on the Grand was flooded and I stepped into raw sewage barefoot one morning at 6:30. To say I raised Cain would be an understatement and the staff on the Grand did not handle our plight well at all. After hours of waiting in our bathrobes in the passageway they finally moved us to a new cabin, as there was no way I was staying in the old one. Long story short, they gave us a credit of $180 while on board, which I considered insufficient considering the health issue and the loss of a day in Ireland. So I went to corporate upon our return and they came up with another $600 or so, which I think was fair compensation. A year or so later while again on the Grand, we nervously heard lots of gurgling from the toilet, fortunately with no eruption. We, too, had been told someone had tossed a washcloth down the john. Can anyone in his right mind be that stupid? I think the plumbing on the Grand class is very suspect.

 

Tell me, please, what cabin were you in?

[Cop Chef]

Is it possible to request the egg crates and foam pillow in advance? I have a bad neck and sleeping on a poor mattress and mushy pillow aggravates it.

 

We spoke with a Princess representative over the telephone about a month prior to boarding and she said we needed to speak with our stateroom attendant as soon as we boarded. As soon as we got on board we didn't go to the buffet first like most people would do, we went straight to our cabin and spoke to our attendant about our needs (the egg crate and the memory pillow). We also palmed him a Twenty and told him if he took good care of us it would be returned. We left went to eat and went we came back to the cabin ~VIOLA~ the concrete monster was transformed and he gave us 2 memory foam pillows, doubled on the egg crate, and pillow top cover. He gave us some more items during the cruise and we took care of him at the end. Hope this helps and have fun.

[Julia’s Journey’s]

I wonder what Princess would say if any of us offered to buy new mattresses and pillows for the cabins we've reserved, particularly for longer cruises. They can't cost that much, particularly if Princess gave us a discount, and it would go a long way toward enjoying our cruise. We can also remember the cabin number that has the new mattress, and look to reserve it in the future. If that suggestion is too outrageous, has any one come up with a way to make old, saggy Princess mattresses more comfortable? I've been on a cruise with a bad mattress, and nothing is more miserable.(I've already asked for an egg crate topper for both of my Caribbean Princess cruises next year.)

 

I was on the CB for the 11/24 cruise and after the first night asked for a mattress topper, it made a difference but not a huge one - even the cabin steward laughed and said that Princess is known for there bad mattresses.

I have CB booked for 3 cruises next year (2x7day and 1x 16 day) and hope I do not have to wake up with backache every day :eek::eek:

 

Besides that I had a relaxing cruise and didn't find the ship in bad shape, I think I noticed the age after being on the OOS and Royal Princess though.

[eroller]

Thanks for posting your thoughts and the pictures.....:):):)

 

Bob

 

 

 

 

You're welcome Bob! Glad you enjoyed it.

[nfox211]

Caribbean Princess - cabin D-719.

[nfox211]

Eroller,

I think we were sitting directly in front of you on the bus tour on Grand Cayman!:)

[eroller]

Eroller,

I think we were sitting directly in front of you on the bus tour on Grand Cayman!:)

 

 

Small world! I hope you enjoyed the tour as much as we did.

[Colo Cruiser]

we went straight to our cabin and spoke to our attendant about our needs (the egg crate and the memory pillow). We also palmed him a Twenty and told him if he took good care of us it would be returned. We left went to eat and went we came back to the cabin ~VIOLA~ the concrete monster was transformed and he gave us 2 memory foam pillows, doubled on the egg crate, and pillow top cover. He gave us some more items during the cruise and we took care of him at the end. Hope this helps and have fun.

 

 

We have never felt the need to bribe Stewart. He/she has always been more then happy to adjust the sleeping arrangements or whatever else we have needed any way to make us more comfortable.