Just Back From Carribean Princess Oct 15th-Oct 22nd

[ginger123snaps]

Let me start by giving you some demographics. My husband and I are both 30 year olds. We have no children. We work and live in St.Louis, MO. We have been on 3 Carnival, 2 Norwegian, 1 Royal Carribean, and now the Princess Carribean.

 

Embarkation: Fast...long line but goes quickly. We were on the ship before noon. Best way from airport to port is via taxi...inexpensive.

 

Room: We had a balcony cabin on Caribe deck 10. Would recommend this floor....the balconies on this floor are twice the size of the balconies above and below us. The balconies have a covered and uncovered portion...so nice to layout in the sun and sit in the shade as well. The deck below us only had uncovered balconies and above us they only had the covered portion....so you can imagine the size of our balcony since we had both. The room has a refrigerator, plenty of outlets, hairdryer, safe, plenty of storage space. The shower is one of the smallest I have experienced...but clean. The room decor is also quite nice. Robes can be requested. Our room steward gave us above par service....can not complain at all!

 

Ship: Beautiful vessel! Poor Layout...very confusing...I usually have the layout down by day 1...not this ship. The elderly may have difficulty on this ship because of the size....it's quite a walk from one end to the other. We saw several senior passengers...tired from walking from end to end. Clean ship! Love the MUTS! I would travel this ship again just for that.

 

Intinerary: Eastern Carribean...St. Thomas, St. Martin, Princess Cays. Please note....because of gas prices it is about $50/person/rt to travel on your own from St. Thomas to St. John.

 

Service: Wonderful. We can't complain. The crew were very polite...no problems at all....very friendly. One note on service....anytime you do personal choice dining the service will not be as good as traditional cruiseship dining...we found that true on Norwegian and Princess. You have to pick convenience or superior service (not that service was bad...all relative).

 

Food: Princess menus have alot of seafood. Buffets not as extravagant as other cruiselines (still good). Pizza was soggy (all a matter of opinion). Overall good food....you will be limited though if you do not like seafood. Only free drinks are ice tea, water...no lemonade or fruit juice. No spectacular midnight buffet....but they do have a small buffet open 24 hours. One thing I didn't like is that on Royal Carribean....at the buffet they would serve you water or ice tea.....come around the tables with a cart....on Princess...they only serve the drinks you purchase. Same is true in the dining hall...I like ice tea...I would ask for it...but they would never refill my tea unless I asked again. Never had that problem on other cruise lines. Deserts were spectacular....highly recommend the Princess Love Boat ( only available in the dining halls ).

 

Tendering:....Princess is the most organized of all cruise lines when it comes to tendering. Rather than have all 3000 passengers line up in the gangway...we were told to come to the theater and sit down....we were then taken in groups to the gangway....that way you could sit comfortably and wait....and it was quick!

 

Entertainment: It seemed that the entertainment was geared towards our age group...nice for a change. Hypnotist, Magician, Ventriloquist (spelling?), 3 comedians, Broadway style shows. We tried all of the shows and truly enjoyed them all. I would have to say it was the best entertainment we have experienced when compared to other cruiselines. The casino was okay...nothing special. They showed the following movies: Mr. and Mrs. Smith, The Wedding Date, Hitch, Finding Nemo, Herby, Madagascar, Back to the Future, Monsters-In-Law, War of the Worlds.....thats all I can remember sorry.

 

Would I recommend this ship? Absolutely! Loved it! Would do it all over again! Don't hesitate like I did after reading the reviews prior to my trip. You will enjoy! Bon Voyage! Email me if you have any questions.

[BrianandKaren]

Thanks so much for the review. I have traveled Carnival (Fantasy -- was not impressed) and traveled the Star Princess last year with my husband. We loved the Star and are looking forward to our sailing on the Caribbean Princess this coming weekend.:D

[AliceS]

How was the weather?

[nfaith99]

We, too, are on the Caribe Deck.

[CariBear]

Thanks so much for the review! My husband and I are of the same age and we sail on the Caribbean Princess in 6 weeks. We have a BC cabin on the Caribe deck are are really looking forward to our cruise....as is our 3 year old who can't stop talking about the "big ship" we will be going on soon. Glad to hear you had a wonderful time!!

[Pam in CA]

Thanks you for the great review. One comment is that I've always seen carts in the buffet serving coffee or juice for breakfast and iced tea or coffee for lunch. Perhaps you missed them? I do agree with you when it comes to traditional vs. Anytime dining service. Even if you have the same waiter every night, it's not the same.

[ginger123snaps]

We ate breakfast and lunch everyday in the Horizon...and not once during the 7 days did we ever see carts offering juice, ice tea, water. If they did come around......that is great....maybe they should have come around as often as they were with the drinks for $$$....I saw them 3-4 times a meal.

 

The weather was great....we had some sprinkles...but it was just enough to cool down. It was hot! hot! hot! humid!

 

I hear there is another storm brewing close to the us virgin islands....so not sure what that may become or bring to you.

[Coolmama_1]

Thanks for the great review! Sounds like you had a good time!

[honeymoon4ever]

Very nice review! One question...What cabin were you in? Do you have any pictures that you will share? Ok, that was two questions... lol sorry.

[Sailaway Girl]

On the CB in Sept. Did have rolling carts with coffee but never juice.

Also had Caribe Deck balcony (C202). They are the best.!!!!!!!!!!

[lv2crooz2]

Great review! I was on this sailing as well. Caribe 312. One thing I would like to add is that if you are traveling with a wheelchair, access was difficult in some places. I heard numerous poor reviews prior to sailing and went with a bit of trepidation. Not So!!!!! She is a wonderful vessel, very elegant, and the staff was very nice. I thought that our sail was a bit rougher than others I've been on but we were dealing with storm systems out in the Atlantic. We had some showers, nothing major. Extra ships in St. Maartin due to Wilma in the western Caribbean. There are two buffets so make sure you continue on through the first one if you are looking for the specialty night buffet. Two- all you can eat Lobster nights there! If any of you are sailing in the near future.......disregard all of the negative things you have heard. You will have a wonderful time on a great ship with fantastic venues for entertainment, fun crew, good food, and you'll make new friends!!! The casino is not that good but I did win 1,150.00. Left alot there. LOL:D Bon Voyage everyone....Smooth Sailing and Pleasant Memories:)

[teacha50]

Let me tell you that you made my day reading this particular thread....Leaving on CB Saturday and have read many a review (although don't take too much of the negative reviews to heart..I'm one of those who truly believes vacation is what you make of it) but your positive review has got me smiling.....Thanks again for the great review....

Sue

teacha50@yahoo.com

[ginger123snaps]

We were in room C703...towards the back of the ship right by the elevators....never heard any noise....good location....horizon/caribe buffet right above us (5 floors)....and Palm Dining room below us on deck 6. Midship is always the best location if possible.

 

Sorry, I don't have pictures to post...not that tech advanced!

[teflonjeff]

Very nice review. We were on the CB on 10/8 sailing. I also did notice that they were very slow in getting soft drinks and tea, and would only do so when asked. We had a great table wait staff at the Palm dining room - sat at the same station each night we ate there, and they refilled the kids soft drinks when needed.

 

When dining buffet, we normally were in the Horzion. There were pleanty of carts, but the only thing we saw on them was water bottles for sale.

[suzyh]

Thank you for the review. We leave in 5 nights. We too are in our 30's..mid, and traveling with my folks. Thank you , getting me excited.

[mom2bcr]

Can you tell me which night was Caribbean night in the dining rooms? Was it MOnday or Tuesday???

 

Trying to plan our STerling's ressies!!

THANKS!!

[frostola]

We are leaving this Saturday on the CB and hope to make St. Thomas//st.John this year, as we did not last year due to hurricane Jeanne. Were you glad that you went to St. John's? Did you go to Trunk Bay?

[MEOWSMURPHY]

On the 10/8 sailing Caribbean Night was Monday.

[lv2crooz2]

Teacha50, Do NOT miss Bert Stratton (a fantastic pianist!), champaigne waterfall, or the hypnotist and remember to relish each moment. If the weather is rainy, do something else. Life (and cruising) is what we make it!!! MUTS is fun but make sure you have sunglasses if you want to watch from the pool.:) Have a great time, leave your worries on the shore, they will be there when you arrive safely back at dock with a renewed spirit and a fresh outlook. Smooooth sailing:D

 

 

 

 

[ginger123snaps]

We did go to Trunk Bay on our own. After taxi fares, and the ferry it cost us $50/roundtrip/person. It also takes about 1 hour to and from. Hope that helps.

 

I can't remember which night was carribean night in the dining hall. I just remember goooooood food!