Those CP naysayers had it all wrong

[klenklen]

Just back from a week (4/11-4/18) on the Caribbean Princess. Had spent 6 months on CC reading mostly negativity and wanted to see for myself.

We spent two quiet nights before the cruise at the Holiday Inn Express on Route 84 and arrived at the terminal around 11:30am. Including a 5 minute sit down we were on board in about 45 minutes. Alfredo had our Rivera balcony cabin sparkling save a pillow feather on the rug. I didn't let that feather ruin my holiday and did not complain to anyone on the bridge or the front desk.

I regularly walked the length and breadth of the ship including walking the forward, mid and rear stairs from 15 down to 5 and the carpeting was just fresh and fine. What little rust I noticed on the super structure comes from having a decade old floating hotel on the high seas day in and day out. The ship was in fine working order and certainly clean and all those negative nabobs were way off base. Didn't see or smell or hear of any toilet overflows.

The crew were always attentive and friendly and you couldn't pass any of them without a cordial greeting.

I do not remember even once being approached to buy anything from pictures to coffee or soda cards nor by the Spa people.

Looking at changes I was disappointed that at the HC salad bar no longer had sunflower seeds or other nuts. Though the omelet station was much more organized by handing out slips with numbers. Unlike my last Ruby trip the pizza place did not make waffles in the morning.

All in all another wonderful week on the CP. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend her and look forward to our next Princess cruise.

[Colo Cruiser]

Just back from a week (4/11-4/18) on the Caribbean Princess. Had spent 6 months on CC reading mostly negativity and wanted to see for myself.

We spent two quiet nights before the cruise at the Holiday Inn Express on Route 84 and arrived at the terminal around 11:30am. Including a 5 minute sit down we were on board in about 45 minutes. Alfredo had our Rivera balcony cabin sparkling save a pillow feather on the rug. I didn't let that feather ruin my holiday and did not complain to anyone on the bridge or the front desk.

I regularly walked the length and breadth of the ship including walking the forward, mid and rear stairs from 15 down to 5 and the carpeting was just fresh and fine. What little rust I noticed on the super structure comes from having a decade old floating hotel on the high seas day in and day out. The ship was in fine working order and certainly clean and all those negative nabobs were way off base. Didn't see or smell or hear of any toilet overflows.

The crew were always attentive and friendly and you couldn't pass any of them without a cordial greeting.

I do not remember even once being approached to buy anything from pictures to coffee or soda cards nor by the Spa people.

Looking at changes I was disappointed that at the HC salad bar no longer had sunflower seeds or other nuts. Though the omelet station was much more organized by handing out slips with numbers. Unlike my last Ruby trip the pizza place did not make waffles in the morning.

All in all another wonderful week on the CP. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend her and look forward to our next Princess cruise.

 

Thanks for the comments.....

 

CP is Sea Princess.......CB is Caribbean Princess. ;)

[Paula_MacFan]

Thanks for taking the time to post an honest review. We'll be on the Caribbean Princess two times later this year and next, and I've been reading all the (mostly) negative comments. It's nice to hear some positive impressions. Glad you had a nice cruise!

[Kamloops50]

I have found that quite off positive reviews don't get written.

I know I've see negative reviews of cruises that I was on and had

no issues like the poster said happened.

For every bad review written there is a good review that wasn't.

[Pam in CA]

You can have two people on the same ship at the same time but they will have polar opposite experiences. A lot depends on personal preferences and expectations. One person's "Yummy!" is another's "Yucky!"; one person might be bothered by a little rust, it'll ruin some one else's cruise. For some, the glass is half full; for others, it's half empty.

 

Even when I've had really, really bad onboard experiences regardless of cruise line, I've had a good cruise.

 

As said, from the Subject, I was expecting a thread about the Sea Princess (CP). :(

Edited April 21, 2015 by Pam in CA

[schlot]

Mirrors my experience on the CB...except for the nasty feather. I'm not sure how you were able to still have such a good time! :)

 

I often think that too many on this board think Critic means you have to be Critical.

[mcgratru]

We were on the caribbean princess in July 2014. She was beautifully clean and well kept with friendly staff....would sail her again in a heartbeat....wish I was on her now:)

[mith]

I was on the same cruise. Staff was friendly and helpful. The most noticeable thing for me is that the MUTS screen has some square areas that the color is not quite right and our shower had a slow drip that made me close the bathroom door at night. Yes there were some stains on carpets and worn items but nothing that impacted our trip. We didn't find any mold smells or broken bathrooms. We had a great cruise and don't have a problem being on the Caribbean Princess even with its older ship feel.

[BratDet]

5 times.....last time last summer

 

was due to the itinerary...and had a GREAT time each cruise...

 

would not hesitate to book her again...but it is nice to be on different ships.

 

Almost booked her again, for this summer, again due to the itinerary..

 

till the direction of our travel changed...

 

Bernadette

[Pam in CA]

I often think that too many on this board think Critic means you have to be Critical.

Yup. Many don't know the definition of a "critic," which is to "make a value judgment." It doesn't mean to find everything bad that you didn't like. :)

[geoherb]

Thanks for posting your review. We enjoyed our three cruises on the Caribbean Princess. When Princess first built this ship, I thought I'd never want to sail on one that large. It seemed crazy to add an extra deck of passenger cabins without adding more public spaces. But even on our New Year's cruise, we never felt overwhelmed by crowds of people.

[smeck]

Great to hear such a glowing review two weeks out from our cruise. One mans treasure is another's garbage.

[chloe45]

Thanks for the comments.....

 

CP is Sea Princess.......CB is Caribbean Princess. ;)

 

I thought CP was the Coral Princess. What is it's 2 letter designation?

[Colo Cruiser]

I thought CP was the Coral Princess. What is it's 2 letter designation?

 

 

 

The Coral is CO.

 

If the letter designation seems weird for a particular ship that means its already being used by an older ship built before.

 

The Sea Princess (CP) was built before the Caribbean (CB) and the Coral (CO) so it gets first crack at CP. ;)

Edited April 21, 2015 by Colo Cruiser

[beg3yrs]

The Coral is CO.

 

If the letter designation seems weird for a particular ship that means its already being used by an older ship built before.

 

The Sea Princess (CP) was built before the Caribbean (CB) and the Coral (CO) so it gets first crack at CP. ;)

 

Agree, it's weird, especially since some (include myself) would think the Sea Princess would be SP. However, when you say the letters CP out loud, it makes a little more sense.

[kenzie]

I am very glad that there are some good reports coming from the Caribbean Princess. I was on the ship for a 3/4 day back to back from 27 December and did have many issues, which in fact resulted in a $400 goodwill OBC in our next cruise in March from Princess for the many problems encountered, so obviously there were issues! I can assure you that there were restrooms that were closed for maintenance for both of the cruises, toilets not cleaned with paper all over the floors -a daily observation and a huge lack of service/waiters - this is not something I wanted to report on and hopefully Princess have taken on board all the "critical comments" made by members of cruise critic-so thank you to those who have reported the issues they encountered, maybe you made Princess listen so that future guests could enjoy the level of service they deserve.

[tiggerrr]

Agree, it's weird, especially since some (include myself) would think the Sea Princess would be SP. However, when you say the letters CP out loud, it makes a little more sense.

 

Sun Princess was built first and got SP. I think it's creative that they chose CP for the Sea Princess.

 

I'm glad there are some positive reviews on CB. We're on her this fall out of New York. Looking forward to it even more now.

[zahav1]

Thank you for posting. I was on the Caribbean March 14th for 7 days and loved it. Yes, it's an older ship, but I didn't notice anything that would have turned me off. I thought their staff was the best I've experienced in a while.

[gnatz007]

Thank you for the review! We are considering taking her next February. Any pictures?

[BeachinBeauty]

They certainly did have it all wrong, OP! I was on CB from 3/30-4/4 and absolutely loved it!

 

I know, by cruise line standards, it is an "older" ship, but it was the newest and best ship on my personal roster. Yes, there were flaws, but they didn't ruin my trip at all.

 

I will say that we did encounter heavy sales tactics on our cruise that kind of made me uncomfortable. Any type of pushy sales makes me uncomfortable. But, we were dining in the Horizon Court buffet on the first day and a staff member came around very insistently recommending the beverage package. We told her we would not be purchasing it and she would not stop!

 

Then, not even ten minutes later, a man came up trying to sell the wine tasting. When I am eating, I really desire to be left alone. So, that put me off a bit. But, not enough to destroy the vacation. The CB was my idea of paradise at sea. I've been writing a very comprehensive review of my experience, if anybody is planning to sail her in the future or again.

[ChiefBoats]

We have sailed the CP and have like her. We are scheduled in November to be on her and are looking forward to it. We have never had a crew trying to sale us items we did not ask them about. I agree that on a ship that spends it life on the seas will always have some rust and areas that need repainting. That is an ongoing process. I spent 24 years in the navy and you always have areas to paint. The general upkeep on the CP is very good.

__________________________________________

Island Princess 2008 Alaska, Island Princess 2009 (B2B) Alaska, Royal Princess (Old) 2010 Alaska, Golden Princess 2011 Alaska, Coral Princess 2012 Panama Canal, Star Princess 2012 Alaska, Island Princess 2013 Alaska, Crown Princess 2013 Western Caribbean, Caribbean Princess 2013 Western Caribbean, Royal Princess 2014 Eastern Caribbean, Royal Princess 2014 New England, Emerald Princess 2014 Western Caribbean, Emerald Princess 2015 Western Caribbean

[Colo Cruiser]

We have sailed the CP and have like her. We are scheduled in November to be on her and are looking forward to it. We have never had a crew trying to sale us items we did not ask them about. I agree that on a ship that spends it life on the seas will always have some rust and areas that need repainting. That is an ongoing process. I spent 24 years in the navy and you always have areas to paint. The general upkeep on the CP is very good.

 

Glad you sailed the Sea Princess and liked her. You will have a good time on the Sea Princess in November. The Sea Princess has been around for 15 years but the Sea Princess is kept up well.

Have a great time on the Sea Princess!! :)

[klenklen]

I'm not a photographer so can't add any.

Regarding out of order bathrooms I noticed in the mens room off the photography area one day there was an out of order sign inside and the next day it was gone and fixed.

[schlot]

They certainly did have it all wrong, OP! I was on CB from 3/30-4/4 and absolutely loved it!

 

I know, by cruise line standards, it is an "older" ship, but it was the newest and best ship on my personal roster. Yes, there were flaws, but they didn't ruin my trip at all.

 

I will say that we did encounter heavy sales tactics on our cruise that kind of made me uncomfortable. Any type of pushy sales makes me uncomfortable. But, we were dining in the Horizon Court buffet on the first day and a staff member came around very insistently recommending the beverage package. We told her we would not be purchasing it and she would not stop!

 

Then, not even ten minutes later, a man came up trying to sell the wine tasting. When I am eating, I really desire to be left alone. So, that put me off a bit. But, not enough to destroy the vacation. The CB was my idea of paradise at sea. I've been writing a very comprehensive review of my experience, if anybody is planning to sail her in the future or again.

 

We had a much better experience regarding the sales pitches. We're only asked once about the wine tasting and never about the drink package.Although I did find the salesperson for the art very off putting for some reason.

[RetiredNTraveling]

We have had such a limited sailing history, that we have never repeated a ship! Yet! Our next cruise will be on a different ship yet again! ;) How does this keep happening? :confused:

 

We have cruised 4 times on 4 different ships (Sun, Star, Golden & Caribbean. The Crown is next) and I guess that we have been extremely fortunate to have never sailed on a "Garbage Scow" :eek: ! I also believe we never will as long as we sail with Princess! Like so many have stated, Beauty is in the eye of the beholder! :D

 

As for us, yes there have been some things that needed fixed but never anything that would prevent us from "Having a Great Time"! :)

Edited April 22, 2015 by RetiredNTraveling