Our week on the Caribbean Princess

[SeaPA]

I just returned from a week on the Caribbean Princess (onboard for the week of April 24 thru May 1). Our travel party consisted of my wife, our 1 year-old son, and I. We thought the ship was beautiful and had a wonderful time. We have only limited cruising experience - a 4 night trip on Carnival Jubilee, two 3 night trips on Disney Wonder, and several trips on a little ship that used to run as the Regal Empress that now runs out of Lauderdale as the Imperial Majesty, and 1 drunken week on the Windjammer Flying Cloud. Compared to all of those ships, the CP is simply gorgeous.

 

Thoughts on the ship in general:

It is huge, but I thought laid out nicely. Plenty of elevators, so the wait time for them was minimal, even during peak-use times. The lobby area and the glass elevators were very nice. There are plenty of bars with a variety of atmospheres. Also a bunch of pools & loads of deck space; after a day or so, things had shaken out such that those who wanted a certain atmosphere had congregated into various areas (i.e. younger, party-hard crowd in one area, those looking for calm & quiet into a different area, those with kids into another). Princess has moved away from “suggested tips†with envelopes in the room to a setup where they automatically put the tip on your account unless you go to the pursers desk & have it removed. I understand & appreciate that this is to help ensure that the staff doesn’t get stiffed, but I’m not altogether sure that I like the approach. The staff was friendly, but not nearly as friendly/helpful as I’ve experienced on my other cruises.

 

General Thoughts on the Room:

Not much to say, we had a lower, inside cabin – basically the cheapest cabins on the ship. The steward was wonderful. The room was small and, of course, dark since there were no windows. In the room, you have no earthly idea if it is 3 in the morning or 3 in the afternoon. I would suggest bringing a lighted clock, especially if you’re in one of these rooms (the only clock in the room is an lcd display on the room telephone). Shower only (no bathtub). The baby had big fun pulling the Kleenex out & throwing them on the floor. I kept taking the box out & putting it up on the shelf, & Willie (the steward) kept putting it back in the holder (under the sink) when he’d make up the room. After a couple of days of this, I explained to him why I was taking it out; not sure he quite understood since we repeated this game throughout the trip.

 

General thoughts on the Food:

Since we had the baby, we chose to eat at the buffet instead of risking a dinner-wrecking meltdown (our son is a very happy, well behaved child, but no child can be expected to sit still in a highchair for as long as dinners take on a cruiseship). So the only times we ate in the dining room was breakfast on several days; the breakfasts were quite good - far better than the few days we had breakfast at the buffet. Pancakes, eggs & such just don’t keep well under a heat lamp, IMHO. For lunch we mostly ate at the outdoor places by the pool. The pizza place is very good, churning out NY style pizza (pepperoni, cheese & the pizza of the day). The grill offers burgers, hot dogs, brats, knockwurst, veggie burgers & on some days grilled chicken breast. I only tried the burgers from here; they were quite good. Wifey had a brat one day, it needed to be cooked a bit longer for her tastes. I noticed that those wanting the veggie burger (why would anyone want one of those things????) were waiting awhile (they start out frozen, while everything else is thawed). Dinners for us were primarily at the Caribe Café and/or the adjoining buffet. They had a very nice variety of foods from one night to the next. We found the food to be quite good – not “oh my god this is the best thing I’ve ever had†good, but quite good nonetheless. I am a very fussy eater and I never had any remote problem finding something that I enjoyed (there were typically 6 or 8 main course choices, lots of side dish and appetizer choices and a full salad bar). Bottom line is you’ll find something you’ll enjoy; I especially enjoyed trying the different “island-style†dishes, and the prime rib on Friday night was excellent.

We did attempt dinner at Sterlings Steakhouse one night; for us this was a big mistake (although in different circumstances I’d recommend it). There is an additional charge of $15 per person to eat here. Our problem was that the baby got fussy right after the main course arrived, so I took him outside while SWMBO ate, then she came out with him & I went back in to eat my meal. Huge, dumb mistake on our part, attempting to eat there with him. The steak was fantastic, one of the better steaks I’ve ever had. Tender, juicy & flavorful – just wish we could’ve eaten together. The salad was ok but not special, the appetizers were quite good, the baked potato was, well, a baked potato. The atmosphere was very nice – quiet & romantic, dimly lit, etc. In hindsight, if we had it to do over again we’d have tried the Italian restaurant, which is more of a bouncy, lively atmosphere that would have kept him entertained & where a mild amount of noise from him would not have been so noticeable (note to SaltyDawg – he would have quickly been ushered out of there, too, if he got fussy).

Ports of Call:

St Thomas:

We were simply stunned by the amount of shopping there – jewelry stores are everywhere. We’re not much into shopping or jewelry so we just strolled around town & then took an island tour on an open-air bus. Prices on this seem to be highly negotiable. The folks seated in front of us paid $25 per person, the folks behind us paid $15 apiece. We paid $40 for the three of us. The trip went around the island & stopped at a few scenic overlooks, then up to the highpoint of the island to the little bar/giftshop there. On the way back, we could be dropped off in town or at the cruise dock, our choice. We went back in town, walked around a bit more & had a drink. Enjoyed the stay here, the island is pretty & clean, although a bit highly developed for my tastes (I prefer lightly developed locales).

St Maarten:

The island is quite pretty. The cruise dock is on the outskirts of town on the Dutch side; we took a cab to town & strolled around there for awhile. The stores/vendors/timeshare sales folks were more aggressive than in St Thomas (but less so than, say Nassau). We then rented a jeep for the rest of the day. Again prices are very negotiable for this. The guy’s first price quote was $70 for the day; we ended up renting it for $45. Basically one main road runs around the island, so it would be hard to get lost. Worked our way around to Orient Beach, which is extremely pretty. I could easily see us staying in one of the hotels near there for a week or so. Several nice little beach bars & restaurants in the area; beautiful white sand & blue water. Personally I preferred St Maarten to St Thomas, but that’s just me. On our return to the Dutch side, we returned the car & hung out at the little beach area right by where the water taxis run. There is a little bar & grill right there with prices that were quite reasonable (we had a couple of beers, a soda & an appetizer platter for about $15). The food was quite good; I especially liked the jerk chicken wings. The baby loved the conch fritters, right up until he got a bite with some diced jalapeno pepper. He didn’t much care for the burning sensation in his mouth.

 

That’s pretty much a summary of my thoughts. I won’t waste time & space talking about Princess Cay since it’s so easy to get info on it If anyone has specific comments or questions I’ll be happy to answer as best I can. I’ve already covered “beer on the CP†in another thread.

[sue d. miller]

Great review, SeaPA. The more I hear about her, The more I am considering sailing her in 2005. Thanks for taking the time.

 

Sue

7 days on Star Princess 10/24

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[cruisebrat15]

Nice review. Do you have the Patters for the

Eastern Carb. Someone just posted the Western.

In St. Marrten do you need to take a cab into town or the beach?

[yensid1071]

Great review!! Thanks for posting it!! Hmmmmm.... now you have me interested in the jerk chicken wings.... I bet they don't serve those at the local places here or at Hooters.

 

 

 

If you can scan the Patters and email them to me, I'll be more than happy to upload an album for you and post a link here, if you'd like.

 

Caribbean Princess - 4/2004

Dawn Princess - 12/2003

Sea Princess - 12/2000

Emerald Seas - 7/1984

[spongerob]

Sounds like it was a lot of fun! I just knew I should have tried those jerk chicken wings. I had the barbeque ribs, and those were really good too. Thanks for your comments.

 

Just completed:

Caribbean Princess Apr 3/04

Golden Princess Apr 10/04

Coming up:

Tahitian Princess Oct 14/04

Caribbean Princess redux 6/25/05

[SeaPA]

I have some of the Patters but not all of them (and some of those I have might have a few bites taken out of them by the little guy. I'll scan & email them to yensid either tonite or tomorrow morning.

 

In St Maarten, the cruise dock looked to be a mile or 2 walk to Philipsburg (the Dutch side capital); most of the walk would be along the harbor & a fairly nice beach. We took a cab going into town & the water taxi back; fare for either was $3 one way.

Orient Beach is the prettiest beach on the island & you could take a taxi to it; no idea what the fare is but it's probably a 30 minute ride or so, so it probably wouldn't be cheap. I have in my head $15 or $16 but I might be confusing it with the fares to the nicer beach on St Thomas.

[Gaynors]

SeaPa -

 

We are also traveling with a baby (18 months) and will be in an inside room. Did you have a crib in the room?

 

Just wanted to know with the crib if their would be enough room to move around or if it is wall to wall furniture.

 

Thanks.

 

9/25/04 Caribbean Princess

 

12/5/04 Radiance of the Seas

 

Costa Allegra 94, Costa Victoria 96, Horizon 99, Splendor of the Seas 99, Norweigan Star 02

[yensid1071]

LOL!!! The little guy took a few bites of the Patters... guess he was looking for an extra bit of fiber, huh? LOL!! SeaPA, if you can scan them, feel free to email them to me at yensid1071e@yahoo.com. I'll upload them from there, create the album and post a link for them. If anyone has the Patters that you're missing, I'll be happy to add them to the online album as well. Thanks again for all the info!!

 

I know it won't be the same, but you've got me thinking about frying or grilling some wings and using some of the jerk sauce I got while in Jamaica last month! Part of my "job" last month was to stock up on kitchen supplies... vanilla, honey, hot sauce, various caribbean spices for cooking, etc.... t-shirts are nice, but the flavors go a lot further and bring back the memories better than any shirt or magnet (don't get me wrong, I also did get a few shirts, magnets & stuff while there ).

 

Jay

 

 

Caribbean Princess - 4/2004

Dawn Princess - 12/2003

Sea Princess - 12/2000

Emerald Seas - 7/1984

[Bucky3]

SeaPa - Thanks for all the good information. We'll be a group of 11 on the June 26th cruise. Do they have large round tables in Caribe Cafe and is there a view from there. Did you eat at various times and did you have to wait to get in? Thanks. Bucky

[SeaPA]

The crib situation was a bit of a problem; we're easy going & didn't make a big deal out of it, but some would have been quite unhappy. They did not have enough cribs when we left Ft Lauderdale & we ended up without one (despite the fact that we'd requested one at booking). Inquired with the steward & he told us he'd get us one. Got a call awhile later from guest services, apologizing & telling us that they did not have enough cribs onboard to meet demand for them. They promised that they would be getting additional cribs at the first stop, in St Thomas. So we rigged up a spot on the floor, between the beds, using a few blankets for cushioning. Brad slept there the first night; 2nd night he rolled under the bed, so I put him in bed with me the rest of the night.

They did indeed bring more cribs aboard in St Thomas. It was a full sized crib that was VERY big, really too big for the small room. So we passed on it & just let him sleep in our bed the rest of the week.

Spoke to a few others & from what it sounded like the large cribs are all they had (no portable cribs). Sounded like it made for VERY cramped quarters.

[Gaynors]

Thanks so much for the info. on the crib.

 

I will be making a call to Princess in the near future to see how this situation has been resolved or insist to them that it is resolved.

 

When we sailed on the Norweigan Star we had a small (daycare sized) crib in the room and it worked out perfect.

 

If NCL can handle cribs in their inside rooms Princess should too.

 

Thanks again.

 

9/25/04 Caribbean Princess

 

12/5/04 Radiance of the Seas

 

Costa Allegra 94, Costa Victoria 96, Horizon 99, Splendor of the Seas 99, Norweigan Star 02

[Cruselover]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by cruisebrat15:

Nice review. Do you have the Patters for the

Eastern Carb. Someone just posted the Western.

In St. Marrten do you need to take a cab into town or the beach?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

 

In St. Maarten, they have water taxis that take you from the dock to downtown for $5.

[pucarter]

Thanks for the great review. It's always nice to read one where people are easy going and don't grumble about stuff.

 

Rebeccah

 

RCCL Grandeur of the Seas 12/02

Disney Wonder 7/03

RCCL Mariner of the Seas 1/04

Caribbean Princess 6/04

HAL Zuiderdam 7/04

[sandymc47]

What movie were they showing by the pool? Is the buffett open 24-7? Did you have to dress fromally, on formal night, while eating in the buffett. We will be sailing May 15, and do not intend on taking formal wear, unless we HAVE to. Just want to relax, this time. Did you happen to notice if the pools and hot tubs were open all night? I know they were on the Grand Princess. Thanks for your help. PS,, any trivia games, and great prizes(LOL)??

 

sandymc

[suzw]

SeaPa,

We are travelling with our 19 month old in July and are very concerned about the crib situation. I done even think she would sleep in our bed if we tried. She stands up and climbs all over us. Anyway, glad to hear you had an overall pleasant experience travelling with a little one. Any other suggestions you have? Is your little guy still on a bottle? How did you handle that if the answer is yes?

Suzanne

[SeaPA]

Sandy:

Movies by the pool-2 showings, at 7:30 & 9:30; for the main event movies it is reserved seating. You have to call guest services & they deliver a ticket to your room (no charge, they do this to keep people from roaming around & distracting those who are trying to watch the movie). The movies last week were "Something's Gotta Give" (Sunday & Tuesday) and "Intolerable Cruelty" (Monday & Thursday). They also showed a couple of concert films, no reservation tickets necessary for these. One night was Tina Turner, one night was Tom Jones

Buffet is available 24-7. Attire there is quite casual; I usually wore either shorts & a hawaiian style shirt, or chinos & a golf shirt.

Not sure about the pool hours but I know they were open pretty late, at least until midnight (but the pool by the movie theatre is closed on movie nights).

Suzw,

The crib was huge & would have taken up most of the space in our room (we were in a small inner cabin). First night we set him up on the floor, using a blanket for padding. He slept ok until he rolled under the bed. I hear him crying & feel him thumping the bottom of my bed (it was kinda funny, really). Brought him up in the bed with me; he slept ok, I slept awful (feet to the ribs, crotch & face make for a long night). The bed setup was 2 twin beds & two fold-down beds. Rest of the week, he slept in one of the twins, SWMBO slept in the other, & I slept in the folddown bunk. Not very romantic, but at least we all slept well. We put a pillow on the floor to pad it for when Brad rolled off the bed, which only happened once (he's a fast learner).

Food, yes he's still on a bottle, but also eats some table food (pasta, bananas, most anything soft). For the bottles, we just brought powdered formula, some bottles, a bottle brush & a small thing of dish soap. Washed the bottles in the sink & just used the tap water to mix the formula; we've never been overly worried about boiling water before mixing the formula. If you are, you could bring the premixed formula, there is a fridge in the room.

One caution, beware of the conch fritters at the little place by the pier in St Maarten. We gave Bradley a piece of one & he was enjoying it, then let out a big scream & cried for a minute or two. After settling him down, I took a big bite of one & discovered the problem - chunks of diced jalapeno. He wasn't too crazy about his first taste of hot peppers.

Guess they taste better washed down with cold beer than warm formula.

[Jacqueline]

I'd bring my own portable crib if I felt that strongly about it. Even the balcony rooms are quite small.

 

Jacqueline

Constellation 3/20/04

HAL Westerdam 7/30/04

Tahitian Princess August 2003

Grand Princess Western Caribbean 2003

Brilliance of the Seas Baltic 2002

Ocean Princess- Alaska 2001

Celebrity Zenith- Bermuda 2001

Grand Princess Med 2000

 

[Rustynail]

Glad to hear you still had a great time even though the 'little one' posed a challenge at times.

 

Was there many kids on your sailing?

 

Rusty

 

 

CARRIBEAN PRINCESS JAN 2005

 

CARNIVAL'S LEGEND JAN 2003

CELEBRITY'S CENTURY DEC 2003

 

[zanydoc]

SeaPA, I just got finished cracking up over your comments about the conch fritters--in fact I am still giggling ! You never know what's in those things! The look on your baby's face must have been priceless! Thank you for your review. We are sailing on CP this weekend on the western itenerary...

Susannah

[S.S.Oceanlover]

SeaPA,

Thanks for taking the time to post your review. Would you mind if i posted it on my website?

 

Bill

 

 

 

Caribbean Princess Eastern Caribbean cruise page

[suzw]

SeaPa,

thanks for the info. We do not boil water for our formula either, so tap water will do. I was thinking that I could keep apple juice in the fridge too. We are really excited about the trip. My husband is pretty excited about getting to see her 24/7 for 7 days as I am home with her but he works pretty hard.

Did you bring your "regular" stroller or a small umbrella stroller? Our daughter was never one to sleep in the stroller so I am thinking we will have to bring her back to the room to nap. Did you put Bradley to bed later than usual?

thanks again for your help

Suzanne

[SeaPA]

Bill,

Yes, feel free to post my review on your page ("I'm Published, I'm Published!!!").

 

Suz,

We brought our regular stroller; there are definitely +/- with either. The regular stroller is nice because (theoretically, at least) he could sleep in it (he didn't do much of that); it's nice on shore days because it has storage for carrying more junk. But it is big & bulky; won't fit through the cabin door without folding it up; kinda big for manuevering on the crowded sidewalks ST & SM. Probably we'd bring the umbrella next time. One thing you might consider, we used a backpack as his diaperbag, easier to carry if you decide to use the umbrella stroller.

Sleep - yes, we put him to bed later, much later. First 2 nights we tried to put him to bed at his normal 8 pm & he was flat out wired. So we gave up on that & just started going out & enjoying the ship, the shows, & everything else. If he got fussy one of us would walk out; mostly we just took turns holding him until he fell asleep in our arms. He took some great naps all over the place on the ship (the cushioned lounge chairs are great for napping near the pool or on deck; he also slept in my arms in the lobby bar, the comedy show, the newleywed show, etc). It really was no problem at all, and I don't think a bother to anyone else. As I said, we simply removed him if he got cranky.