Just off Caribbean Princess - Fjords of Norway & North Cape...ask any questions

[Ssislandgirl]

Newbie Cruiser Alert!

 

We are on Emerald Princess in August 2016 on this exact itinerary and I would love to hear of people's experiences in doing each port with no excursions. It will be so costly for all four of us to do too many, so would love to hear which stops are doable by oneself and which stops are not. We love nature and walking, so are not afraid of a bit of a hike.

 

We are a family of four - the children will be 16 and 13. :)

 

Hi there,

My husband and I are avid DIY'ers and I wrote very detailed reports about our experiences in port without organized tours. Lots of pics!

Here are the links

 

 

Stavanger

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2232099

 

Olden

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2233136

 

 

Flam

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2236140

 

 

Andalsnes

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2237893

 

 

Trondheim

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2239089

 

 

North Cape

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2241112

 

 

Tromso

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2242143

 

 

Lofoten Islands

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2244503

 

 

Alesund

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2245467

 

 

Bergen

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2247451

 

 

Hope this helps with your planning

Regards

Petra

[kjg46]

Great Question.....So the last two ships we have been on were the Royal Princess and the Regal Princess. So here goes:

 

Look and Appearance:

The Caribbean Princess is 14 years old if I am correct, but it is still in great shape. Everything worked perfect in our room, and everywhere we went on the ship. Are there some small rust stains on the balcony, etc....sure there are...I mean, 14 years of salt water will do that to a ship....but nothing really bad at all.

 

The Crew:

They were absolutely fabulous....probably one of the better crews we have sailed with in our 20 cruise history. Always smiling, always willing to help, and always willing to strike up a conversation with you.

 

The Food:

The food was OUTSTANDING. This was a 15 day cruise, so during that time we ate in the Main Dining Room (excellent each time), Lido (very good...especially during the seafood lunch which was incredible), Prego Pizza (really good), Sabatini's (meh), and The crown Grill (excellent...we ate there 4 times). THe pastries and other sandwiches in the International Cafe were also really good, and there were several times where we were in between excursions and didn't have time to eat in the town we were in, so we would run onto the ship, grab a quick sandwich from IC, and then jump right back off to our next excursion

 

The Common Areas:

Compared to the Regal and Royal Princess, the Piazza area is a bit smaller, and since this was a Fjord of Norway cruise, the population of passengers was much older than we had seen on previous cruises. This meant that the Piazza seating around the International Cafe was ALWAYS FULL...sometimes we could find seating in Vines, but that was a challenge. Also, because the climate in Norway was quite cold, none of the outdoor seating was used on Lido which made for crowded lunch times during sea days. What we would do on those days was to secure a table first, then each one of us would go individually to get our lunch or dinner.

 

The Itinerary:

Honestly, I believe now, that anyone who is able should at least cruise the Fjords of Norway once in their lifetime. I am not sure that there is a more majestic place on all of the planet, and my wife and I have been to many, many places. The only fjord of the must see fjords we didn't sail through was Graingerfjord which we will do at another time. However the added bonus of going to the North Cape (Honningsvag), and the Lofoten Islands (Gravdal) made this journey extra special.

 

We are currently at 32,000 somewhere over Greenland, so I will check back every so often and answer more questions. I will also post a photo or two tomorrow.

 

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:

My DW and I were on the 14 Day Baltic cruise just prior to your trip. In general I agree with your comments regarding the ship condition. We were in an aft premium balcony. The condition was good for a 11-12 year old ship. The shower curtain was had mold and smelled. We asked our Room Steward if it could be replaced. That evening we had a brand new curtain. Yes, the cabin could use some upgrades but nothing that would diminish our enjoyment of the cruise.

 

Because of family commitments, it was 2 years since our last cruise on the Crown. In that time I could see the difference in service. It looks like Princess cut their ship staff. This is very apparent in the MDR. The waiters are covering too many tables. When I had mentioned this to our waiter, all he could (would) say was thank you. Same goes for Horizon Court. When we were going through the boarding process, we received a handout which said that if your room is not ready, have lunch in one of the open restaurants. In our 12+ cruises we have never been handed such a notice. For our cabin on this cruise, it was ready when we boarded shortly after 12 noon. Again, why the notice if you have proper staffing? The ship has a good crew but it sure looks like they are overworked.

 

The Cruise Director, Neil Roberts, Missing-in-Action. I only saw him on the Morning Show and a 2 min. comment at the end of the evening shows. Not sure what I expected, however, he was not a "ball of fire".

[caribill]

Off to Norwegian Fjords on Saturday on Caribbean Princess. When I booked this cruise, smoking was allowed on balconies, so I thought my brother could puff away happily without any problems. Now I have a problem as my brother is quite a bit older than me and not super-mobile, due to arthritis, (SIL has same problem). Their cabin in on Riviera deck, forward. How far will BB (big brother) have to go for the closest smoking area? I would be very grateful if someone can let me know - thanks.

 

Smoking has not been allowed on Princess balconies since Jan. 15, 2012 (announced June 15, 2011).

 

There is no way this cruise could have been booked when smoking was allowed on balconies as the cruise was not even announced until the spring of 2014.

[caribill]

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:

When we were going through the boarding process, we received a handout which said that if your room is not ready, have lunch in one of the open restaurants. In our 12+ cruises we have never been handed such a notice. For our cabin on this cruise, it was ready when we boarded shortly after 12 noon. Again, why the notice if you have proper staffing? The ship has a good crew but it sure looks like they are overworked.

 

 

Normally the cabins are ready by noon.

 

We also received this notice the last two times we boarded.

 

The first time was around 12:15 and the cabin was ready.

 

The second time was around 11:30 AM and the cabin was not ready (but we could drop off our carryons).

 

I think the notice is because they are trying to allow boarding earlier (as in 11:30) and the cabins will not all be ready by that time.

[sinned19]

I have heard that the ship is scheduled for dry dock and she desperately needs it.I would not cruise on this ship again until she has been to dry dock and refurbished and repaired.

 

Where did you hear this? I would like to understand more info on this before I book for summer 2016.

 

We are thinking about a British Isles cruise next July, I was wondering the same thing. Just spoke to Princess, they stated she was just in dry-dock in May, person did not know what was done.

[emmak8]

Thanks for posting the DIY info.

[Chalford girl]

Oops, I must have been given some wrong information - possibly different cruise line? I checked a few before booking. Would still be grateful for the info. if anyone can help.

Thanks

[JEMS]

Chalford girl-

We are not smokers but on Caribbean Princess the smoking area is called Churchill Lounge which is a cigar bar down on Fiesta Deck 6 in forward area. Your BB will need to take the forward elevators to access it easiest.

Enjoy your cruise.

Ed & Jean

[Chalford girl]

Many thanks for your reply. Unfortunately I did not see it until we got home, due to time difference - I did not bother checking the site while away, I don't pay for internet access on principle!

We had a great cruise and BB utilised the smoking areas as infrequently as possible, we are trying to persuade him to give up! All the best, Lin.:)

[emmak8]

Glad you posted .

[Coopersmile]

Hi there,

My husband and I are avid DIY'ers and I wrote very detailed reports about our experiences in port without organized tours. Lots of pics!

Here are the links

 

 

Stavanger

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2232099

 

Olden

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2233136

 

 

Flam

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2236140

 

 

Andalsnes

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2237893

 

 

Trondheim

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2239089

 

 

North Cape

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2241112

 

 

Tromso

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2242143

 

 

Lofoten Islands

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2244503

 

 

Alesund

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2245467

 

 

Bergen

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2247451

 

 

Hope this helps with your planning

Regards

Petra

 

Thank you so much Petra, I will have a read of your travels now. X

[LaraTiara]

Bassmaster150

 

Thanks for your review and update.

Looking into a 7-Day because we are not yet retired. Do you mind if I ask - would you still recommend this part of the world, if you had only 3/4 port days in Norway? Or would you stick closer (aka Alaska)? Thanks very much.

[linderbelle]

Does this cruise do the Gerirangerfjord?