CARIBBEAN PRINCESS - Thoughts & Observations

[cruiseintoheaven]

Interesting thread - I have not done a formal review of our trip on the CB back in January, so will jump in here with a few things that come to mind about our trip.

 

Background: this was only our 3rd cruise with Princess, 7th overall. Our first was on the Ruby, and we fell head over heels in love. Decided to try the Regal last November, and even rolled the dice staying in an aft balcony. We again had a great time - and the ship is stunning, though admittedly a bit more difficult to navigate. Now my husband and I have a tendency to debate this vs. that and found ourselves comparing the Regal to the Ruby. I felt the improvements (subjective I know) on the Regal made her a notch above, hubby said he preferred the layout of the Ruby better.....this was a good-natured back and forth that we continued all the way home and picked up again when we travelled on the CB last month. Being similar to the Ruby, we assumed our comparisons would be pretty fair.

 

So to cut to the chase - we had a great time on all three cruises. Though admittedly and repeatedly mentioned, food, entertainment, service are subjective, but we found no real difference and were consistently pleased.

 

What was interesting to us was that after the CB, hubby realized that in retrospect, he really enjoyed the Regal, and though we still think the Ruby looks well-kept and dazzles - we'd sail on her again without hesitation - we both thought that the CB just looked a bit tired or in need of some attention.

 

The main things that come to mind:

- bed was nowhere near as comfortable as the Regal or Ruby. Our understanding is they are switching them out, so perhaps we just had a cabin that hadn't gotten new bedding yet. Not a deal breaker.

- the deck chairs were in pretty rough shape....hard to find two together that looked inviting. This seems like something that could easily be done without dry-docking. Again not a deal breaker.

- the piazza - this is where we saw the most disparity between the Regal and even the Ruby. it felt tight in venues like Crooners and the IC. Some of the steps had carpeting, some did not. Some areas of the tiled flooring looked like they needed work. Again, not a deal breaker.

 

All in all we had a great cruise, none of these things really affected our ability to enjoy the cruise - but - some people are more visually sensitive to their surroundings (that would be us) - and these things were noticeable.

 

I do think some things must be planned as I was told Facets would be moved down a floor in March, a few other things mentioned that I don't recall - hopefully the ship will get a freshening up during that time as well.

[markf]

More comments come to mind --since this is cruise critic

Show times were mostly all standing room only--with many people standing. I never experienced this on any of my previous 25 cruises.

The best movie all week was scheduled at the same time we arrived in port---I wonder who is doing the planning here!!

Things like that is evidence that no one is giving much thought to programs.

Speaking of programs- the cruise director --Kelly, perhaps a nice person, had the least amount of talent of any CD I have experienced.

Needless to say since we are home for 48 hours and it is freezing in NY area, I wish I was on board ,

[Azspeed]

We've done 58 cruises (different lines) without a poor one, but after reading about the Caribbean Princess I'm a little nervous. I could easily ignore little issues, but we're doing a Grand Adventure of 29 days in August 2016.

So, would you do a long one on this ship? Note we're just average people with realistic expectations. Again, it's the 29 days that magnifies the issues in our eyes.

[lynwar]

Hi,

We were on her for 11 days last September and that wasn't long enough. I could have gone a lot longer. We didn't have any bad experiences on her. However, someone would have had to monitor our time more in the casino. ;)

 

I'm sure you will be leaving the ship from time to time which will break up your time a bit. We always enjoyed going back to our "home" on board. You will find comfortable spots to relax in many different spots on the ship.

 

Enjoy. She isn't perfect, but she has proven herself.

 

Lynne

[golfb4cruzing]

We are on her again in 18 days and a wake up. Last time was excellent and I expect the same in April. I am cursed with one of "those" noses and hopefully all is well. I will come back and report what the nose detected.

[Mackenzie1]

I just changed a Canadian fall foliage cruise in October from a 7-day cruise on the Regal to a 10-day cruise on the Caribbean Princess. I was on the Caribbean Princess last month for a cruise to Turks & Caicos, and liked the ship very much. While I was able to secure a good, mid-ship balcony in the angled area of the Regal, I didn't like the fact that I would have had to look up at the Skywalk with people walking over me and down at the Promenade deck with people sitting under me. I would have felt too crowded. There's something about the vibe of the Regal that is just off for me. The Caribbean Princess has a lot of open spaces, which I like. I'm glad that I made the switch.

Edited March 31, 2015 by Mackenzie1

[shredie]

We've done 58 cruises (different lines) without a poor one, but after reading about the Caribbean Princess I'm a little nervous. I could easily ignore little issues, but we're doing a Grand Adventure of 29 days in August 2016.

So, would you do a long one on this ship? Note we're just average people with realistic expectations. Again, it's the 29 days that magnifies the issues in our eyes.

 

I imagine people looking for problems will find them.

[irb33785]

for the spring cruisers that were going to report on April, May & June cruises: were there any changes. Does anyone know when drydock will occur?