Caribbean Princess review 9-17 sailing

[NthernLgts]

This is only my second cruise (the other NCL) and everything you see here is from that perspective. Please forgive the length.

 

First off, remember you are sailing with 3100 other people on this ship. Having a good attitude about it does help. The DW and I were scheduled for the 9-17-05 Eastern Caribbean sailing. This sailing was booked full.

 

Embarkation:

 

We landed at Ft Lauderdale airport just after 1pm. With the ship sailing at 5, I was a bit concerned about this. It turned out to be just fine, but I still would have preferred an earlier flight. I was glad we purchased transfers from Princess for traveling out of Ft.Lauderdale. The people from Princess were very easy to spot at the airport baggage claim. We could have possibly done the transfers a little bit cheaper on our own, but this was one less thing to think about. After getting our luggage and looking for another party arriving at about the same time on another flight, we took the transfer to the pier and arrived about 2:20. Embarkation itself was a snap. I understand there were some delays for the folks arriving earlier. We saw none of this, and it took us approximately 20 minutes from being dropped off at the pier, to actually getting our boarding cards. This is where we had some issues. Apparently our deck (Dolphin) had a water pipe break at 4am, which flooded about a dozen cabins, including ours. These cabins (and the halls) had to have every piece of carpeting removed, along with most of the bedding. What a mess! We were informed our cabin would not be ready until 5pm. Sheesh! No luggage, and now no cabin for another 2-3 hours. This was after spending 8 hours either on airplanes or at airports. We did finally get in our room around 5. We basically found our own bags after that, and brought them to the stateroom ourselves rather than wait another hour or so for them to be delivered (the halls were still being re-carpeted). We missed the sail away party altogether. Needless to say we were a bit frustrated and tired. Having said this, Princess really had nothing to do with a pipe breaking and did what they could to rectify the situation on a ship that was sailing full. We received a letter of apology from Princess, $100 shipboard credit, white chocolate dipped strawberries, and a beautiful flower arrangement.

 

We were originally supposed to go to the Eastern Caribbean, but that changed due to the lovely miss Rita. Our first change was to do the eastern itinerary in reverse order with Princess Cays being first. By day two the Captain had decided the Western Caribbean would be a safer route. If you travel during hurricane season, do not be surprised if this happens. It was truly amazing to hear people talking about demanding their money back. What would these individuals rather do, travel through a hurricane, or just have the Captain change the weather for them? Here’s a tip for some of you whiners: If you do not want a changed itinerary, travel December through June. Don’t complain about your changed itinerary in September. You got a cheap price for a reason. Again, attitude helps.

 

The Ship:

 

First off, this ship is beautiful. It is decorated in rich wood toned elegance throughout. It also is very well kept up, which should be of little surprise being as the ship is only 18 months old. Nevertheless, appearances do mean something and this ship fares very well in that department. The atrium area is gorgeous, and is the focal point inside the ship. It is 3 levels surrounded by beautiful shops, boutiques, lounges and seating areas. The open deck areas are also quite attractive. Overall, the ship is an elegant site to behold. I personally did not feel crowded during the week on this ship. Had there been 600 kids as has been reported on some of the summer sailings, I probably would have.

 

We had an inside cabin (D517), and while it was small, it was well laid out. The closet space was better than expected. The shower was small, but worked well except for the last night, where all we could get was hot water. However, I would recommend not dropping anything while you’re in there.

 

This ship is also big. Very big, and somewhat broken up. I liked the many amenities that a large ship has to offer, but the Caribbean Princess does take some time to learn how to efficiently get around on (i.e. getting to the Palm Dining room can be a frustration in and of itself). If I can offer one bit of advise on getting around it would be to learn what bank of elevators to use when you leave your stateroom. Do this and you will be ok. Don’t and you will get frustrated, especially on this ship. The Caribbean Princess is just too big not to take time early on to learn where things are and how to get there. The old joke “you can’t get there from here” seemingly does apply to some parts of this ship.

 

The pool decks had plenty of loungers (surprise, the areas right next to the pools fill up first). There is a lot of open area for sun on the decks of this ship. I did not see a big problem with reserving deck loungers. Do not expect to find a lot of shade on the pool decks. I would say 90% of the loungers are in full sun, and only 10% or so are shaded. One treasure on this ship is the covered walkways circling the ship on the promenade deck. This is one area where you could go outside and get a decent seat, some shade, a little peace and quiet, maybe read a book, and still enjoy the ocean. The deck chairs in this area are wooden with padded cushions, and are an elegant throwback to an earlier era.

 

 

Do not fear buying duty free liquor from the onboard shop if they have what you want. In most cases, the prices are what you would pay at the ports, sometimes even a little less. Johnny Walker Blue was $125 on the ship, $130 at most port stops. Beefeater was $10 on the ship, $10-$11 at the port shops. The only exception I saw was one shop in Grand Cayman was willing to part with 3 liters of Captain Morgan for $12 (I actually had to ask twice if that was correct). In any event, Princess is very conscious of their duty free liquor pricing and works to keep it competitive. They will also match any port shop’s pricing if you can get a flyer. In most cases it wasn’t necessary. One side note, we also went over on our duty free alcohol purchases by three liters. We did declare the extra, but customs just waived the duty and sent us on our way. One side note, the cashier at the duty free shop told me the week prior someone had purchased 400 liters of liquor onboard. Some sort of bar owner I guess. The savings he got still far outweighed the duty imposed. Princess supposedly cut him a special deal on a purchase that large.

 

Movies Under The Stars was a nice touch. We saw parts of Miss Congeniality2, Tom Jones, and Monday Night Football. Seating was generally available, and I didn’t really find the noise during the day to be obnoxious. The lounge covers were out, and blankets were there when needed on the nights we were there.

 

The Princess Theater is a very nice venue with about as good of sight lines as you can expect to find on any cruise ship. We saw parts of “Piano Man”, and a cooking seminar there. This is also a good place to hang out before disembarkation. The cooking seminar was a part of the galley tour, which I highly recommend. The Executive Chef and Maitre’D can go toe to toe with any comedians on the ship.

 

 

As we did not have kids with we did not use any of the kids amenities. Because school was in session we did not see many kids on the ship at all.

 

The pool and Jacuzzi areas were generally open during the day, with the noticeable exception of the aft Jacuzzi, which was out of commission the entire trip except for the first day or two. The aft adult pool/bar area was also quite nice. The area is posted adults only, and this was generally followed on this cruise. Again, maybe because school was in session?

 

We did not use Sabatini’s or Sterling Steakhouse on this trip. Having said that, some of the complaints about Sterling’s have had had to do with the “open” informal atmosphere. We did check out Sterling’s and thought the ambiance was nice. We would have had no problem dining there.

 

The Grand Casino. It’s a big casino for a cruise ship, and is somewhat typical in design. A number of the video games and slots have the ability to change the denomination with the push of a button, so those of you that wish to play 25 cent video poker or blackjack will be able to do so on a number of the machines. We didn’t gamble a lot on the ship, but with the DW playing slots and me playing blackjack we pretty much broke even on gambling. There are even some penny slots there. I do think the ship slots are tighter than at land based casinos.

 

Churchill’s Cigar lounge was nice with a typical cigar lounge decor, but it was only open from 6pm on. Being a cigar smoker, and this being the only place on the ship to legally have one, the hours of operation were a bit disappointing.

 

Crooner’s Lounge: Also nice, basically the ship’s martini bar. They do offer a martini special of the day where you can keep the glass. It’s a bit expensive at $10/each, but the two I have are nice souvenirs. Crooner’s is also the best place to see Bert Stratton. In general, I found the drink prices on the ship were comparable to what you’d pay in most cities.

 

At 16 decks above the ocean, Skywalker’s Nightclub has the best ocean views on the ship, period. As a nightclub, it was only about ½ full on the night we went there. It has a lighted dance floor, and is fairly loud at night. If you do not like the “Electric Slide”, hip-hop, and that sort of thing, don’t bother going at night……but still check it out during the day. It’s worth it.

 

The staff:

 

In general, very good. Virtually all were polite, friendly and helpful. Even the maintenance crews generally had a smile on their face. The numerous people selling drinks at the various venues could be a bit much at times. Also, we did buy a Coke sticker. We didn’t really try to use it in the clubs during shows, but we did use it a lot on the pool decks. We did not have any problems, but up on deck we generally went up to the bars ourselves and did not ask the wait staff for Coke.

 

Our room steward, Michael, was friendly and efficient. Early on he could not seem to find us an egg-crate mattress pad even though we asked him immediately upon getting to our room. It also took a full day to get him to leave us with his contact information, which is usually in the stateroom in case we needed to reach him (perhaps washed out during the pipe breakage?). Having said that, after the first day he did a good job and we were pleased with his overall work. It really is amazing what the stewards get done during the day. By the end of the week, the DW wanted to take him home with us.

 

 

Dining:

 

Overall, the food was quite good. Yes, I could say I found a salad dressing that I didn’t care for. But overall, dining was an enjoyable experience on this ship. The food was well prepared and the wait staff did a good job. We did have the Princess Love Boat dream. Prepare for chocolate overload on that one. Being our 5th anniversary, we also had an unexpected anniversary cake delivered to us for dessert, which was quite a nice surprise.

 

The Horizon Court and Café Caribe were fine for buffet style dining. The buffet lines are a little broken up, but it really wasn’t as a big problem as I have seen reported here by some. The buffet food is about as good as you will find for the items served. The views of the ocean are great. We generally ate breakfast at the buffets and found it to be fine as well. The coffee is not the best, but it isn’t terrible either. OJ was available by the glass at the breakfast buffet. The eggs benedict is to die for. I made it a point to have a little smoked salmon for breakfast everyday. One thing I wish the ship would do is enforce the dress code a bit better. This isn’t a huge issue with me, I just wish there weren’t people in jeans and t-shirts in the main dining rooms. I can understand it in the Horizon Court or Café Caribe. We did not order room service.

 

We also switched from traditional to anytime dining in the middle of the cruise, so we had an opportunity to test the waters with both. We had heard some of the horror stories with anytime dining and found none of them to be true. We had anytime dining at 8pm for 3 nights and never waited longer than a minute or two to be seated. Same with traditional dining. In general, the wait staff was good, and very efficient.

 

Entertainment:

 

In general, the entertainment ranged from mediocre to very good. We did see parts of “Piano Man”, which was ok, but nothing special. We did not see Caribbean Caliente. The juggler/comedian Mike Price was also just ok. Tenacity usually played in the pool area. If you like Calypso music you’ll enjoy them. The Princess Idol at Club Fusion was fine for karaoke fans, but not something to hold in an area like Club Fusion. As has been stated on the CC review, Club Fusion is a very nice venue that seems to be under utilized on this ship.

 

Singer/Pianist/Entertainer Bert Stratton is the best entertainer on this ship. This man loves what he does, and it shows in his work. I personally preferred seeing him in the clubbier Crooners Lounge as opposed to the much larger Explorer’s Lounge. His appearance in the Explorers was, according to the cruise director, the result of over 500 requests to see him in a larger venue. Many people sat through the juggler/comedian act in Explorer’s and did not leave because Bert was on next. Truth be told, many likely sat through the juggler just to see Bert, which made seating more difficult for people showing up just to see Bert because very few people left following the juggler act. Getting a seat was not impossible, but was difficult if you weren’t there through the juggler. Seating in Crooners was generally more available, at least early on in his show. You could actually walk into the bar 10 minutes into his first show and still get a seat. However, by the end of the show it was standing room only every night, and there were plenty of people standing. In general, if you want a decent seat at any show, show up early like you would at home and you’ll be fine.

 

Princess Cays:

 

As stated earlier, this was day one of our trip. We found Princess Cays to be quite nice, and did not see the large amounts of seaweed on the beach that previous cruisers had mentioned. Yes there is coral just after you get into the water. You can get past it though. If you’ve spent any time on these boards and do not know there is coral at Princess Cays you’re not paying attention. There are warnings about this ad nauseum. Wear water shoes, ok? The bar-b-que was standard fare, but was generally good. One good thing, there were also plenty of water stations to get a drink at. If you want shade, get there fairly early. There are a number of vendors selling things from hair braiding to hats & T-shirts. The water is beautiful, but the snorkeling will not be what you will see in places like Cozumel or Grand Cayman. Overall, it was a fun day.

 

Cozumel:

 

We did the morning Palancar Reef snorkeling trip excursion. It was fun, and the guides were fun as well as helpful. The waters off Cozumel are quite beautiful. We did see a stingray and a couple of sea turtles. We snorkeled for about 90 minutes. There were drinks (and shots for those willing) served on the way back to the ship. Having snorkeled at Chankanaab years ago, I have to say the snorkeling was better there. Still, this was worth the trip. We also did a little bit of shopping at the tourist shops in town. We were stopped at one shop and the DW was bartering on a bracelet. The shopkeeper started at $500, and quickly went down to $150. I thought if we stayed another 20 minutes, he’d have paid us to take it but the DW wasn’t buying my logic. Go figure. Seriously, I’ve been to Cozumel a couple times now and have found the locals here to be very friendly. Cozumel really is a great place.

 

Grand Cayman:

 

We did not do any organized excursions, and I wish we would have. Those who did the Stingray City snorkel trip said it was awesome. From the description of the number of stingrays and how close you can get to them, I really wish we had gone. Instead, we did a lot of shopping around town, and exploring on foot. Grand Cayman is a beautiful place, but it is expensive. The DW bought an Amethyst necklace at one of the shops there. They say you can even buy Cuban cigars at the La Casa Del Habano here…...or so I’ve heard.

 

Ocho Rios:

 

We walked to the island shopping center and spent part of the day at Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville. There is a swim-up bar inside, and an adjacent beach area, which is free for customers. There was a $5 charge for a beach chair and there are paid patrols to keep the peddlers at bay, which there are a lot of. In general, we did not spend a lot of time in port here, but we did have fun getting “wasted away again” in Margaritaville. We did not do Dunn’s River falls. We did not find our lost shaker of salt either. There was a woman to blame however, my DW.

 

 

Overall we had a great time on the Caribbean Princess, and would sail her again. When something was wrong, Princess generally fixed it. The ship did not feel crowded, the staff was friendly and helpful. I think the Caribbean Princess can pull off 3100 passengers when they are mostly adults. I have heard stories of this ship sailing with 600 kids when school is out, and I can see where there would be problems. However, on this sailing, even with a messed up cabin and a totally changed itinerary, we still had a great time and look forward to trying her again.

[cindyscruise]

Thank you for the detailed review. I am so glad you had a great time. You are so right about hurricane season, I think some people sail then just to complain or hope to get their money back. These are the same people who eat almost all of their food in restaurants and then send it back because it was not "right" and want the meal free. Attitude is always the difference between just getting away and getting away and having a great time.

[cindyscruise]

Thank you for the detailed review. I am so glad you had a great time. You are so right about hurricane season, I think some people sail then just to complain or hope to get their money back. These are the same people who eat almost all of their food in restaurants and then send it back because it was not "right" and want the meal free. Attitude is always the difference between just getting away and getting away and having a great time.

[jerseygirl3]

Nthernlights, my husband and I were on your sailing as well, and I can completely agree with almost every single point in your post. You provided a very accurate picture of the Caribbean Princess.

 

While we were not "wowed" by this ship, we did book her again for next September. As far as the itinerary change, it made absolutely no difference to us. We're on a ship to relax and whatever port stops we make, fine, but our enjoyment is not dependant on where we go. The fact that Captain Romano found fabulous weather in spite of Hurricane Rita was great!

 

The one thing that I left out of my original review that irked me probably the most of anything all week was the refusal of the cabin steward to provide more than one beach towel each. I hate using a wet towel all day. I asked a deck attendant if I could trade it in for a dry one, and I was told no. Only one towel per passenger. That's fine; I could see where it certainly cut down on chair saving, but a passenger should be able to make a towel exchange during the day. I will be more insistent on this issue next year when we are on the Caribbean Princess. I saw where the deck attendants keep the spare towels, but the cart (covered so as not to alert people to what's inside) is so high, you have to be well over 6 feet to to reach inside.

 

I agree with you about Princess Cays; people whining about seaweed and rocks is ridiculous. It's an island! I thought it was very beautiful and the rocks were minor. If people have sensitive feet, water shoes are a good idea, but I didn't find I needed them.

 

Glad you had a great cruise. We hope our next Caribbean Princess sailing is as good, if not better!

[sgriff17]

Are you able to purchase alcohol on the ship and bring it back to your cabin? On Carnival, you are not allowed to do this until the very last day.

[NthernLgts]

Are you able to purchase alcohol on the ship and bring it back to your cabin? On Carnival, you are not allowed to do this until the very last day.

 

That is supposedly the rule on Princess also. We bought alcohol in the Caymans and Jamaica (and on the ship if they had what we wanted). In both cases, we simply let the store deliver it to the ship, which was delivered to us the last day. We didnt even try to bring any on ourselves. However, what we did before the trip was to order some from Princess and have it delivered to our stateroom. To me, the prices were close enough to what we would have paid in at home, and we did not have to bother with lugging it around. This enabled us to still have a drink in our room and shave $$ off our bar tab in the process.

[Crazsea]

Are you able to purchase alcohol on the ship and bring it back to your cabin? On Carnival, you are not allowed to do this until the very last day.

 

You can purchase bottles at the lobby bar or simply order it from room service. I sometimes place a liquor order with room service when I placed a food order. As has been mentioned by NthernLgts, you can also pre-order it.

 

NthernLgts,

 

Thanks for the review! I enjoyed the reading!!!:)

[sgriff17]

Ahhh...great to hear. So you actually can buy something and have it delivered to the room for consumption DURING the cruise. I guess if you buy it in a port though, they'll still check it for you (like Carnival) and give it to you the last day. Sounds great!

 

I guess you can pre-order it from the princess website? Is everything available that is available in their shop?

 

NRTHRNLGHTS - thanks for the review! It was great :) What's the movie under the stars? Do all ships have this?

[Crazsea]

sgriff17,

 

Go to www.princess.com.

NEXT)In the tool bar at the top of the page, click on ONBOARD.

NEXT)Then to the right, click on SEND A GIFT.

NEXT)Then click on PRINCESS CELLARS.

 

That should give you the list of what is available!:D

[JerseyShore64]

This is only my second cruise (the other NCL) and everything you see here is from that perspective. Please forgive the length.

 

First off, remember you are sailing with 3100 other people on this ship. Having a good attitude about it does help. The DW and I were scheduled for the 9-17-05 Eastern Caribbean sailing. This sailing was booked full.

 

Embarkation:

 

We landed at Ft Lauderdale airport just after 1pm. With the ship sailing at 5, I was a bit concerned about this. It turned out to be just fine, but I still would have preferred an earlier flight. I was glad we purchased transfers from Princess for traveling out of Ft.Lauderdale. The people from Princess were very easy to spot at the airport baggage claim. We could have possibly done the transfers a little bit cheaper on our own, but this was one less thing to think about. After getting our luggage and looking for another party arriving at about the same time on another flight, we took the transfer to the pier and arrived about 2:20. Embarkation itself was a snap. I understand there were some delays for the folks arriving earlier. We saw none of this, and it took us approximately 20 minutes from being dropped off at the pier, to actually getting our boarding cards. This is where we had some issues. Apparently our deck (Dolphin) had a water pipe break at 4am, which flooded about a dozen cabins, including ours. These cabins (and the halls) had to have every piece of carpeting removed, along with most of the bedding. What a mess! We were informed our cabin would not be ready until 5pm. Sheesh! No luggage, and now no cabin for another 2-3 hours. This was after spending 8 hours either on airplanes or at airports. We did finally get in our room around 5. We basically found our own bags after that, and brought them to the stateroom ourselves rather than wait another hour or so for them to be delivered (the halls were still being re-carpeted). We missed the sail away party altogether. Needless to say we were a bit frustrated and tired. Having said this, Princess really had nothing to do with a pipe breaking and did what they could to rectify the situation on a ship that was sailing full. We received a letter of apology from Princess, $100 shipboard credit, white chocolate dipped strawberries, and a beautiful flower arrangement.

 

We were originally supposed to go to the Eastern Caribbean, but that changed due to the lovely miss Rita. Our first change was to do the eastern itinerary in reverse order with Princess Cays being first. By day two the Captain had decided the Western Caribbean would be a safer route. If you travel during hurricane season, do not be surprised if this happens. It was truly amazing to hear people talking about demanding their money back. What would these individuals rather do, travel through a hurricane, or just have the Captain change the weather for them? Here’s a tip for some of you whiners: If you do not want a changed itinerary, travel December through June. Don’t complain about your changed itinerary in September. You got a cheap price for a reason. Again, attitude helps.

 

The Ship:

 

First off, this ship is beautiful. It is decorated in rich wood toned elegance throughout. It also is very well kept up, which should be of little surprise being as the ship is only 18 months old. Nevertheless, appearances do mean something and this ship fares very well in that department. The atrium area is gorgeous, and is the focal point inside the ship. It is 3 levels surrounded by beautiful shops, boutiques, lounges and seating areas. The open deck areas are also quite attractive. Overall, the ship is an elegant site to behold. I personally did not feel crowded during the week on this ship. Had there been 600 kids as has been reported on some of the summer sailings, I probably would have.

 

We had an inside cabin (D517), and while it was small, it was well laid out. The closet space was better than expected. The shower was small, but worked well except for the last night, where all we could get was hot water. However, I would recommend not dropping anything while you’re in there.

 

This ship is also big. Very big, and somewhat broken up. I liked the many amenities that a large ship has to offer, but the Caribbean Princess does take some time to learn how to efficiently get around on (i.e. getting to the Palm Dining room can be a frustration in and of itself). If I can offer one bit of advise on getting around it would be to learn what bank of elevators to use when you leave your stateroom. Do this and you will be ok. Don’t and you will get frustrated, especially on this ship. The Caribbean Princess is just too big not to take time early on to learn where things are and how to get there. The old joke “you can’t get there from here” seemingly does apply to some parts of this ship.

 

The pool decks had plenty of loungers (surprise, the areas right next to the pools fill up first). There is a lot of open area for sun on the decks of this ship. I did not see a big problem with reserving deck loungers. Do not expect to find a lot of shade on the pool decks. I would say 90% of the loungers are in full sun, and only 10% or so are shaded. One treasure on this ship is the covered walkways circling the ship on the promenade deck. This is one area where you could go outside and get a decent seat, some shade, a little peace and quiet, maybe read a book, and still enjoy the ocean. The deck chairs in this area are wooden with padded cushions, and are an elegant throwback to an earlier era.

 

 

Do not fear buying duty free liquor from the onboard shop if they have what you want. In most cases, the prices are what you would pay at the ports, sometimes even a little less. Johnny Walker Blue was $125 on the ship, $130 at most port stops. Beefeater was $10 on the ship, $10-$11 at the port shops. The only exception I saw was one shop in Grand Cayman was willing to part with 3 liters of Captain Morgan for $12 (I actually had to ask twice if that was correct). In any event, Princess is very conscious of their duty free liquor pricing and works to keep it competitive. They will also match any port shop’s pricing if you can get a flyer. In most cases it wasn’t necessary. One side note, we also went over on our duty free alcohol purchases by three liters. We did declare the extra, but customs just waived the duty and sent us on our way. One side note, the cashier at the duty free shop told me the week prior someone had purchased 400 liters of liquor onboard. Some sort of bar owner I guess. The savings he got still far outweighed the duty imposed. Princess supposedly cut him a special deal on a purchase that large.

 

Movies Under The Stars was a nice touch. We saw parts of Miss Congeniality2, Tom Jones, and Monday Night Football. Seating was generally available, and I didn’t really find the noise during the day to be obnoxious. The lounge covers were out, and blankets were there when needed on the nights we were there.

 

The Princess Theater is a very nice venue with about as good of sight lines as you can expect to find on any cruise ship. We saw parts of “Piano Man”, and a cooking seminar there. This is also a good place to hang out before disembarkation. The cooking seminar was a part of the galley tour, which I highly recommend. The Executive Chef and Maitre’D can go toe to toe with any comedians on the ship.

 

 

As we did not have kids with we did not use any of the kids amenities. Because school was in session we did not see many kids on the ship at all.

 

The pool and Jacuzzi areas were generally open during the day, with the noticeable exception of the aft Jacuzzi, which was out of commission the entire trip except for the first day or two. The aft adult pool/bar area was also quite nice. The area is posted adults only, and this was generally followed on this cruise. Again, maybe because school was in session?

 

We did not use Sabatini’s or Sterling Steakhouse on this trip. Having said that, some of the complaints about Sterling’s have had had to do with the “open” informal atmosphere. We did check out Sterling’s and thought the ambiance was nice. We would have had no problem dining there.

 

The Grand Casino. It’s a big casino for a cruise ship, and is somewhat typical in design. A number of the video games and slots have the ability to change the denomination with the push of a button, so those of you that wish to play 25 cent video poker or blackjack will be able to do so on a number of the machines. We didn’t gamble a lot on the ship, but with the DW playing slots and me playing blackjack we pretty much broke even on gambling. There are even some penny slots there. I do think the ship slots are tighter than at land based casinos.

 

Churchill’s Cigar lounge was nice with a typical cigar lounge decor, but it was only open from 6pm on. Being a cigar smoker, and this being the only place on the ship to legally have one, the hours of operation were a bit disappointing.

 

Crooner’s Lounge: Also nice, basically the ship’s martini bar. They do offer a martini special of the day where you can keep the glass. It’s a bit expensive at $10/each, but the two I have are nice souvenirs. Crooner’s is also the best place to see Bert Stratton. In general, I found the drink prices on the ship were comparable to what you’d pay in most cities.

 

At 16 decks above the ocean, Skywalker’s Nightclub has the best ocean views on the ship, period. As a nightclub, it was only about ½ full on the night we went there. It has a lighted dance floor, and is fairly loud at night. If you do not like the “Electric Slide”, hip-hop, and that sort of thing, don’t bother going at night……but still check it out during the day. It’s worth it.

 

The staff:

 

In general, very good. Virtually all were polite, friendly and helpful. Even the maintenance crews generally had a smile on their face. The numerous people selling drinks at the various venues could be a bit much at times. Also, we did buy a Coke sticker. We didn’t really try to use it in the clubs during shows, but we did use it a lot on the pool decks. We did not have any problems, but up on deck we generally went up to the bars ourselves and did not ask the wait staff for Coke.

 

Our room steward, Michael, was friendly and efficient. Early on he could not seem to find us an egg-crate mattress pad even though we asked him immediately upon getting to our room. It also took a full day to get him to leave us with his contact information, which is usually in the stateroom in case we needed to reach him (perhaps washed out during the pipe breakage?). Having said that, after the first day he did a good job and we were pleased with his overall work. It really is amazing what the stewards get done during the day. By the end of the week, the DW wanted to take him home with us.

 

 

Dining:

 

Overall, the food was quite good. Yes, I could say I found a salad dressing that I didn’t care for. But overall, dining was an enjoyable experience on this ship. The food was well prepared and the wait staff did a good job. We did have the Princess Love Boat dream. Prepare for chocolate overload on that one. Being our 5th anniversary, we also had an unexpected anniversary cake delivered to us for dessert, which was quite a nice surprise.

 

The Horizon Court and Café Caribe were fine for buffet style dining. The buffet lines are a little broken up, but it really wasn’t as a big problem as I have seen reported here by some. The buffet food is about as good as you will find for the items served. The views of the ocean are great. We generally ate breakfast at the buffets and found it to be fine as well. The coffee is not the best, but it isn’t terrible either. OJ was available by the glass at the breakfast buffet. The eggs benedict is to die for. I made it a point to have a little smoked salmon for breakfast everyday. One thing I wish the ship would do is enforce the dress code a bit better. This isn’t a huge issue with me, I just wish there weren’t people in jeans and t-shirts in the main dining rooms. I can understand it in the Horizon Court or Café Caribe. We did not order room service.

 

We also switched from traditional to anytime dining in the middle of the cruise, so we had an opportunity to test the waters with both. We had heard some of the horror stories with anytime dining and found none of them to be true. We had anytime dining at 8pm for 3 nights and never waited longer than a minute or two to be seated. Same with traditional dining. In general, the wait staff was good, and very efficient.

 

Entertainment:

 

In general, the entertainment ranged from mediocre to very good. We did see parts of “Piano Man”, which was ok, but nothing special. We did not see Caribbean Caliente. The juggler/comedian Mike Price was also just ok. Tenacity usually played in the pool area. If you like Calypso music you’ll enjoy them. The Princess Idol at Club Fusion was fine for karaoke fans, but not something to hold in an area like Club Fusion. As has been stated on the CC review, Club Fusion is a very nice venue that seems to be under utilized on this ship.

 

Singer/Pianist/Entertainer Bert Stratton is the best entertainer on this ship. This man loves what he does, and it shows in his work. I personally preferred seeing him in the clubbier Crooners Lounge as opposed to the much larger Explorer’s Lounge. His appearance in the Explorers was, according to the cruise director, the result of over 500 requests to see him in a larger venue. Many people sat through the juggler/comedian act in Explorer’s and did not leave because Bert was on next. Truth be told, many likely sat through the juggler just to see Bert, which made seating more difficult for people showing up just to see Bert because very few people left following the juggler act. Getting a seat was not impossible, but was difficult if you weren’t there through the juggler. Seating in Crooners was generally more available, at least early on in his show. You could actually walk into the bar 10 minutes into his first show and still get a seat. However, by the end of the show it was standing room only every night, and there were plenty of people standing. In general, if you want a decent seat at any show, show up early like you would at home and you’ll be fine.

 

Princess Cays:

 

As stated earlier, this was day one of our trip. We found Princess Cays to be quite nice, and did not see the large amounts of seaweed on the beach that previous cruisers had mentioned. Yes there is coral just after you get into the water. You can get past it though. If you’ve spent any time on these boards and do not know there is coral at Princess Cays you’re not paying attention. There are warnings about this ad nauseum. Wear water shoes, ok? The bar-b-que was standard fare, but was generally good. One good thing, there were also plenty of water stations to get a drink at. If you want shade, get there fairly early. There are a number of vendors selling things from hair braiding to hats & T-shirts. The water is beautiful, but the snorkeling will not be what you will see in places like Cozumel or Grand Cayman. Overall, it was a fun day.

 

Cozumel:

 

We did the morning Palancar Reef snorkeling trip excursion. It was fun, and the guides were fun as well as helpful. The waters off Cozumel are quite beautiful. We did see a stingray and a couple of sea turtles. We snorkeled for about 90 minutes. There were drinks (and shots for those willing) served on the way back to the ship. Having snorkeled at Chankanaab years ago, I have to say the snorkeling was better there. Still, this was worth the trip. We also did a little bit of shopping at the tourist shops in town. We were stopped at one shop and the DW was bartering on a bracelet. The shopkeeper started at $500, and quickly went down to $150. I thought if we stayed another 20 minutes, he’d have paid us to take it but the DW wasn’t buying my logic. Go figure. Seriously, I’ve been to Cozumel a couple times now and have found the locals here to be very friendly. Cozumel really is a great place.

 

Grand Cayman:

 

We did not do any organized excursions, and I wish we would have. Those who did the Stingray City snorkel trip said it was awesome. From the description of the number of stingrays and how close you can get to them, I really wish we had gone. Instead, we did a lot of shopping around town, and exploring on foot. Grand Cayman is a beautiful place, but it is expensive. The DW bought an Amethyst necklace at one of the shops there. They say you can even buy Cuban cigars at the La Casa Del Habano here…...or so I’ve heard.

 

Ocho Rios:

 

We walked to the island shopping center and spent part of the day at Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville. There is a swim-up bar inside, and an adjacent beach area, which is free for customers. There was a $5 charge for a beach chair and there are paid patrols to keep the peddlers at bay, which there are a lot of. In general, we did not spend a lot of time in port here, but we did have fun getting “wasted away again” in Margaritaville. We did not do Dunn’s River falls. We did not find our lost shaker of salt either. There was a woman to blame however, my DW.

 

 

Overall we had a great time on the Caribbean Princess, and would sail her again. When something was wrong, Princess generally fixed it. The ship did not feel crowded, the staff was friendly and helpful. I think the Caribbean Princess can pull off 3100 passengers when they are mostly adults. I have heard stories of this ship sailing with 600 kids when school is out, and I can see where there would be problems. However, on this sailing, even with a messed up cabin and a totally changed itinerary, we still had a great time and look forward to trying her again.

Thank you very much for your review. We are sailing her this coming Saturday 10/15 and as of late, we were hearing some rumblings that made my blood boil. I believe on any cruise, you its what you make of it. If every little thing bugs you in life, rest assured you will be bugged on a cruise ship (ANY CRUISE SHIP). I am planning on having the best time ever!

[crusinpeg]

error please disregard this reply

[crusinpeg]

I don't know whats up with these boards..tried to post a reply and somehow post didn't go through just a reply to previous....anyway I'll try again. Just wanted to say thank you for a great review. Have been on these boards for several months now planning for 10/29 sailing and still learned new tips from your review. I was getting a little nervous with all the trashing of the Caribbean Princess, but I guess you have to consider the source. Its sounds like you had the right attitude...don't sweat the small stuff...and you just got me even more excited for my upcoming voyage..thanks again and hope I can post as great a review when I return.

[cruzinchris]

NorthernLights,

Thank you for the thoughtful, detailed, and well-written review.

 

I'm afraid that I might have "freaked out" with the stateroom situation upon embarkation. On my very first cruise about 25 years ago, my luggage was "misplaced" and never delivered to my stateroom. I was not a happy camper, to be sure, but I made the best of it and never gave up on cruising. My luggage was located on the ship about two weeks following the cruise and was returned to me unharmed.

 

To this day, I can never really feel settled on the ship until my luggage has been delivered. I usually have a mild anxiety attack and require a few doses of Rescue Remedy and a glass or two of champagne or wine. Your laid-back handling of the delay in getting to your stateroom and retrieving your own bags was an inspiration to me. I hereby resolve to be more patient and less stressed in the early hours of a cruise.

 

Bon Voyage!

Chris

[imsulin2]

I was on the same cruise, and had a wonderful time! I also agree with most of your observations. I had an outside cabin on the Plaza Deck, and I was cruising solo, so the cabin worked out great for me! (Please read my review about the world's smallest shower and the attack of the 7' shower curtain!) Thanks to Captain Romano, we enjoyed wonderful weather! Like you, I was very impressed by most things about this ship, but not all things. I found it to be too large for my liking, but did put down the $100.00 deposit, which I'm planning to use on a TP cruise in 2007. Despite the "glitches", I had a blast! I'm glad you had a great time, too!

[NthernLgts]

Ahhh...great to hear. So you actually can buy something and have it delivered to the room for consumption DURING the cruise. I guess if you buy it in a port though, they'll still check it for you (like Carnival) and give it to you the last day. Sounds great!

 

I guess you can pre-order it from the princess website? Is everything available that is available in their shop?

 

NRTHRNLGHTS - thanks for the review! It was great :) What's the movie under the stars? Do all ships have this?

 

Thanks for the kind words. MUTS is basically a 300 sq. ft. outdoor movie theater/tv and sound system. I do not believe all Princess ships have this. Many do.

[NthernLgts]

I was on the same cruise, and had a wonderful time! I also agree with most of your observations. I had an outside cabin on the Plaza Deck, and I was cruising solo, so the cabin worked out great for me! (Please read my review about the world's smallest shower and the attack of the 7' shower curtain!) Thanks to Captain Romano, we enjoyed wonderful weather! Like you, I was very impressed by most things about this ship, but not all things. I found it to be too large for my liking, but did put down the $100.00 deposit, which I'm planning to use on a TP cruise in 2007. Despite the "glitches", I had a blast! I'm glad you had a great time, too!

 

We did not book another cruise on the CB, but we also put the $100 deposit down on a future trip yet to be determined. It really is a good deal with no down side. I would kind of like to take another shot at the eastern trip we were supposed to be on. As stated, I would do the CB again, but also would not hesitate booking a smaller ship.

[Host Caroline]

Hi, guys!! Great review!! Glad we got to spend some time together on the ship.. how's your mom doing, D???

Someone mentioned only one pool towel per person? We asked our steward for 2 each per day and had no problem getting them..

Will def. cruise the Carib. Princess again but are going on Explorer next Dec. 3 for some new ports (and missing Jamaica!:rolleyes: ) .. you should go with us..

[jerseygirl3]

That would be me. When I asked the cabin steward if we could each have one extra towel each day, his response was, "oh, no ma'am, that would not be impossible." When I asked a deck attendant if I could trade my wet one in for a dry one, I was basically given the same response.

[NthernLgts]

NorthernLights,

Thank you for the thoughtful, detailed, and well-written review.

 

I'm afraid that I might have "freaked out" with the stateroom situation upon embarkation. On my very first cruise about 25 years ago, my luggage was "misplaced" and never delivered to my stateroom. I was not a happy camper, to be sure, but I made the best of it and never gave up on cruising. My luggage was located on the ship about two weeks following the cruise and was returned to me unharmed.

 

To this day, I can never really feel settled on the ship until my luggage has been delivered. I usually have a mild anxiety attack and require a few doses of Rescue Remedy and a glass or two of champagne or wine. Your laid-back handling of the delay in getting to your stateroom and retrieving your own bags was an inspiration to me. I hereby resolve to be more patient and less stressed in the early hours of a cruise.

 

Bon Voyage!

Chris

I'll tell you what Chris, we really were fairly stressed having to kill a few hours waiting for carpet to be laid and bedding to be changed, with no luggage. The DW happened to see where the bags were upon one of our checks on the progress of our room and sort of took matters into her own hands. Our options were to let it irritate us the rest of the trip, or simply move along. I do have to say....Princess stepping up to the plate with the credit, strawberries, and flowers helped a lot. Not so much the stuff, but the acknowledgement that things didnt start off well and the attempt to fix it. I do think most of us are much more patient and forgiving when a foul-up or problem is acknowledged and an attempt is made to make it right.

[NthernLgts]

Hi, guys!! Great review!! Glad we got to spend some time together on the ship.. how's your mom doing, D???

 

Someone mentioned only one pool towel per person? We asked our steward for 2 each per day and had no problem getting them..

 

Will def. cruise the Carib. Princess again but are going on Explorer next Dec. 3 for some new ports (and missing Jamaica!:rolleyes: ) .. you should go with us..

Hey Caroline! We are the one's who were happy you & B took time out of your schedule for dinner. Denise's mom is fine. They are both already talking about another cruise at some point. We are looking to the next cruise, definately Caribbean again. We did the $100 cruise deposit onboard. Will drop you a line. Good to hear from you.

[Host Caroline]

Denise's mom is fine. They are both already talking about another cruise at some point. We are looking to the next cruise, definately Caribbean again. We did the $100 cruise deposit onboard. Will drop you a line. Good to hear from you.

 

I'm glad to hear mom's still doing well.. it's wonderful that she was able to enjoy the cruise and that we had such lovely (albeit rather hot) weather! We did the 100 deposit as well and are going to use for the Alaska group in '07 since those deposits are higher... in fact we have two but I don't think Royal Carib will let us use them:eek: ...naw, I'm not gonna ask! Next time we have to get OFF the ship together some time so we won't keep missing each other!!!

BTW if anyone is reading this the dinner NthernLghts is refering to was in Club/Cafe Caribe and was called the "rice table" dinner or something like that and it was delicious! Really really good.. some Indonesian dishes, lamb, curry I think.