Caribbean Princess 10/8 review

[Roboat]

We also sailed on the 10/8 CB - sorry I didn't meet anyone. DW caught a cold about 30 seconds after boarding - we're blaming a granddaughter!

 

Since teflonjeff gave such an excellent and thorough review, with which I take absolutely no issue, I'll just point out my personal impressions in a few areas.

 

Overall, the Caribbean Princess exceeded my expectations.

 

This was our first Princess cruise. We have cruised twice on the HAL Zuiderdam and once on Celebrity Millenium. Personally, I didn't see any huge differences among the 3 lines from my limited experience. Minor preferences here and there, but they're all great.

 

We enjoyed out balcony cabin R622 on the Riviera deck, about 3/4 aft on the port side. My brother and his wife were in R624. Minor irritant: in opening the partition between the two balconies, the door swings out (or in, depending on which balcony) but not all the way flush. So you have this door sticking out at a 45 degree angle, eating up some balcony space. And we forgot bungee cords, so the door banged once in a while.

 

The Riviera deck (#14) is the most shaded deck, since deck #15 (Lido deck) extends about 4 feet further then most other decks. I liked it. We had a view of the balconies on decks 8 and 9 - and I made a note to avoid those decks because of the lack of privacy - but that's just my preference. I also liked being able to zip up one flight to the Caribe Cafe. Though I was mildly concerned about the possibility of noise from above, it didn't happen.

 

We had Sterling's the first night, Sabbatini's the last - and were VERY happy with both. The "seafood platter" at Sabbatini's included some excellent Chilean Sea Bass, as well as a portion of all the seafood entrees (lobster, scallops, etc.) Yes, you can get as many lobsters as you like. I love the sound of that.

 

We stayed aboard at St. Thomas and St. Martins, partly because DW was still nursing a cold, but we usually like staying aboard anyway. The port itself is not conducive to laying on the balcony and reading with a lot of construction going on. I don't know whether the starboard side may have been better.

 

I was apprehensive about sailing on a huge ship - but I was pleased that we never felt any more crowded than on the smaller ships: crowded in the Lido at peak times, and at embark/debark. My brother felt it was crowded, but he got on and off the ship in St Thomas and St Martin, and went to the Lido at peak times.

 

The Ultimate Balcony Breakfast was disappointing for us. DW was expecting a little pampering, with the waiter setting things up, tablecloth, dinner ware. But he plopped about 7-8 plates of food on the balcony table and took off. It wasn't a bad value, since the champagne sells for $25 a split anyway. The pampering is not advertised, so we got exactly what we paid for. I wouldn't do it again.

 

Room service was good and prompt. We wrote in a couple of things - like bacon - on the breakfast door hanger and it was delivered. On another day, my brother asked about ordering room service dinner off the dining room menu and was first told it was OK. They even ran a menu up to his cabin. But when he called back to order, they said no, and wondered how he got the menu. So he argued and they reluctantly capitulated. Then they sent someone up to retrieve the menu.

 

The room service menu is the most limited I have seen. And the "24-hour" items can't be ordered 'round the clock. If you want a sandwich at 10:30am - no deal. You have to wait until 11:00am.

 

The juggler comedian was laughably appalling, and not in a good way.

The hypnotist comedian was great. Amazing, and hilarious. Don't be afraid to go on stage. You won't be terribly embarrassed. Very entertaining. I'd never seen one of these before.

 

The Caliente Caribbean show was "almost very good". The performers were enthusiastic and fairly talented, but the production lacked something and didn't really capture the audience. I'd see it again, though.

 

95% of pax followed dress code in the dining room; that was nice. Many, including me, did not stay in formal attire after dining.

 

Pax were very polite. Slightly younger demographic than HAL. Young kids were few and generally well-behaved.

 

Concierge and front desk were very helpful and courteous.

 

Service in the dining rooms was always very good. We had "anytime" evening dining in the Palm and loved it. NEVER had to wait, even though we often went at 7pm.And we always got the table for 4 we asked for, with the same great waiters.

 

The $9.50 wine tasting was fun, not at all stuffy. And it gets you $5 off wine at dinner, where they offer a nice selection of wines under in the $20-35 range. We hoped to attend the $25 wine tasting (no longer includes Opus One) but it didn't happen.

 

The Culinary show (free) was entertaining. Very funny banter between the Exec Chef and the Chief Maitre D'.

 

Princess Cay has some decent snorkling around the rocks. I pre-reserved a cabana (clamshell) but it was PITA to find out how to actually locate one. After being told several different places to go, I gave up and basically traded the $20 for a couple of drinks. I went to the buffet at 1:15 and found out it closed at 1:00. I'm sure it was published, and it's my fault, but just a heads up to others.

 

I lost my card on Princess Cay but it was absolutely no problem to get it replaced.

Good job, Princess, for making this easy.

Of course, I found my old card later.

 

Food overall was good. It was only exceptionally good in the specialty restaurants.

[sherman931]

Great review...thank you for taking the time to share your experiences. Always helpful to readers of the board.

[cruzinchris]

Roboat,

Thanks for the nice review. Sorry that your DW was nursing a cold during the trip; I hope she managed to enjoy herself.

 

Your choice of nights for alternative dining options is the same as DH and mine; the Sailaway and Landfall menus tend to be somewhat mundane.

 

DH and I are so looking forward to our second cruise aboard the CB 1/28/06. This will be our 5th Princess cruise, and the first time that we've ever sailed twice on the same ship. Since our previous voyage on the ship was in January of this year, it shouldn't be too difficult to do a comparison review. DH and I have never sailed on HAL but have done multiple cruises on Carnival, Celebrity, NCL, and RCCL; all things considered, we give Princess the edge.

 

Thanks, again, for the well-written review.

Bon Voyage!

Chris

[Roboat]

Thanks Sherman.

 

Chris, wish I was going with you in January! I'd love to be back aboard.

 

Yes, my wife did enjoy the cruise in spite of her cold.

 

I'm glad you to see group Carnival among cruise lines you've enjoyed. We've never sailed them, but there is Carnival cruise out Port Canaveral, only 30 minutes away. We will be considering it for next year.

 

BTW, the Italian night menu turned out to be especially good.