June 5 Caribbean Princess Review

[LarryF]

It took me two days to write all this! I apologize for the length, but I hope it is of some help....

 

My wife (Amy) and I sailed on the June 5, 2004 Caribbean Princess. We celebrated our 27th wedding anniversary. This was our 11th cruise over those years. In the last five years in a row we have sailed RCCL Grandeur of the Seas, Grand Princess, NCL Sun, HAL Zuiderdam and the Caribbean Princess.

 

A little about us; we are both in our early 50’s. I manage and sell for a business in the meetings and hospitality industry. Amy teaches four year olds at a nursery school. We consider ourselves seasoned cruisers. I jokingly refer to me as the Clark Griswold of cruisers! I booked this cruise last January based mainly on price and past experience aboard the Grand Princess. We booked a BB guarantee and were upgraded to a BA on the Lido Deck (310).

 

In 10 previous cruises we have never had a bad cruise, and I love cruising just about as much as anything in my life. Our 11th cruise on the Caribbean Princess was no exception as we had a fantastic time and would rate this cruise equal or better to any cruise we have ever sailed!

 

Before I start the review, I have to talk about our cruise critic group. For the past three months over 80 of us talked almost daily on our roll card board and we all had a blast talking to each other on-line. It really helped make the time go by fast and we all helped each other by asking lots of questions and finding the answers for one another. Kurt from Athens developed a website for us which he updated almost everyday with a list of everyone in our group and great information about the ship. Chuck and Sue were nice enough to make name tags for everyone when we met on the ship. We had people from California, Massachusetts, Ohio, Georgia, Florida, Texas, Oklahoma, New York, Pennsylvania, Iowa, North Carolina, Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas and the United Kingdom in our group! We all met for the first time after the muster drill and it was such a thrill to put faces to all the names! What a great way to start the cruise off with such nice people! It was fun running into each other all week. And I am so jealous of Rich and Kirsty from the UK who stayed onboard for another week of cruising!

 

Over the past five years I have written a review of our cruises and use a grading system of A-F on different aspects of the cruise. It is rare that I give out a grade of anything less than an A- as most of the grades range from A- to A++. The grading explanation is as follows:

 

A++ - It just can’t get any better

A+ - It was outstanding, spectacular, and almost perfect

A – It was excellent, very good, and wonderful

A-(minus) - It wasn’t great but was worth the price.

B or below – Needs some serious attention

 

So here goes….

 

Embarkation A+++ (off the chart)

 

I have never given out a grade this high for any other cruise. We arrived at the port at 10:40am and had about 100 people ahead of us waiting for the doors to open. The doors opened at 11:20am and we were in our cabin at 11:35am! It took less than 5 minutes to be processed at the check in desk and only 10 minutes to go through security, have our picture taken, have our picture taken again for security and find our way to our cabin. I don’t know that it could ever get any faster than that.

 

I should also mention we stayed at the Embassy Suites on 17th street. Michael from our cruise critic group was gracious enough to help me with a good rate at the hotel. The hotel is nice and I didn’t know it when we checked in, but it is located only about 1 mile from the port. It also has a free breakfast buffet available in the morning. They offer a free shuttle to the port and allow you to park for the week for only $7 a day which is a $5 savings from parking at the port. Unfortunately, upon checking out the next morning I was informed that you have to make a reservation for the shuttle and the next available shuttle was not until 2:30pm! I decided to go ahead and drive to and park at the port. Had I known how close the port was I could have dropped Amy and the bags off and gone back to the hotel and parked. It was only 10 – 15 minute walk to the port. So for those staying at the Embassy or any other hotel with a shuttle, remember to make a reservation for the shuttle.

 

The Ship A++

 

My biggest joy when cruising is the ship itself. I could just as much enjoy a cruise that was only at sea as one that stops at several ports. So with that in mind, the Caribbean Princess was tied with the Grand Princess as our favorite cruise ship I was a little disappointed that the aft pool area is slightly smaller than the Grand’s, but the reason it is smaller is because of the addition of the Caribe Café, and the Caribe Café is a great addition! I will speak more about the Caribe Café later in this review. There were plenty of restrooms on the ship if you look carefully and they were ultra clean. I did not come across any odors other than our own stateroom after I demolished every serving at Sabatini’s!! LOL! More on that later! The ship is laid out really well and it is very easy to find your way around this beautiful humongous ship. There are more lounges, bars, restaurants, swimming pools and hot tubs than you will ever have time to visit in the week.

 

The ship is laid out very well. All the rooms are on decks 8 through 15. All of the ships administrative areas, dining rooms, lounges, bars, showrooms, casino, and shops are located on decks 5 through 7. All the pools, buffets, grills, spa, gym, paddle ball court, kids area, teens area, putting greens, golf simulator and Sky Walkers lounge are on decks 15 through 19. There are elevators forward, mid ship and aft that goes to every deck. Other than at peak times, there is very little wait time for the elevators. There are stairs in each of these areas as well. You would be wise to use the stairs often to counter the tons of food you will ingest all week long!

 

I am not one to get very caught up in color schemes or artwork on the ship. Sharon described it well in her earlier review and I agree with her description.

 

 

Cabin A

 

We were in cabin L310 on the Lido deck. My grade of “A†should be taken with a grain of salt as last year we had a mini suite on the Zuiderdam and that spoiled me rotten! Our balcony cabin on the Caribbean Princess was very nice with more than enough storage room. Upon our arrival to the room the first day we met our cabin steward Roberto. I took the advice of some cruise critic posters and gave Roberto a $25 International phone card. He was very appreciative. I told him we wanted robes for our cabin, three bath towels and three beach towels daily. These items were in our room within 30 minutes! Though we rarely saw Roberto, our room was always immaculate and he gave us three towels every day. Roberto left chocolates on our pillow every night and even though we didn’t eat them every day, he always left more for us each night.

 

We kept the room cold every night. There are extra blankets in the shelf above the hangers as well as extra pillows. For previous posts complaining about the pillows, I loved the pillows. As the pillows are firm, those of you that like very soft down type pillows might want to bring your own. The balcony was very nice. The even number cabins are on the Port side. We had a great view of St. Thomas from our balcony, but in St. Maarten we had a view of Carnival Triumph’s dining room! I thought seriously about mooning them, but decided not to ruin their meal!! The balconies are very private so if you want to get an all over tan, it’s just you and the ocean. Or in St. Maarten, it’s you and everyone looking at you from the Carnival Triumph’s dining room!

 

Food A

 

Overall the food was very good and sometimes excellent! We ate breakfast every day in the Horizon Court or the Caribe Café. Amy mostly ate lunch from the Horizon Court or Café Caribe while I mostly ate Pizza and Cheeseburgers and Fries from the grill by the Neptune Pool. Other than Monday and Friday nights we ate all our dinners in the Palm Dining Room located aft on Deck 6. On Monday we ate at Sabatini’s and on Friday we ate at Sterling Steakhouse.

 

Horizon Court and Café Caribe A+

 

I had read other past posts that said there was not enough variety in the Horizon Court. I tried to be fairly healthy at breakfast usually eating raison brand cereal, cantaloupe, grapefruit, one slice of lox (salmon) and coffee. I know I will leave several things out but here are the items on the buffet that I can remember: 6-8 different brands of cereal, granola, papaya, bananas, smoked salmon, smoked white fish, bagels, croissants, at least a dozen other breads, rolls and muffins, bacon, ham, sausage, potatoes, scrambled eggs, fried eggs, eggs benedict, eggs and omelet’s made to order, oatmeal, crème of wheat, yogurt, French toast, etc., etc. What more would anyone want?! This similar variety was also served simultaneously in the Caribe Café. I hate to give out this hint, but most people ate in the Horizon Court while the Caribe Café was far less crowded. Even if you go through the Horizon buffet line, you will find a better seat selection in the Café Caribe. They are right next to each other. We usually ate breakfast outside by the aft pool. This was also not crowded and had great views! The aft pool is right outside of the back of Caribe Café. The only days there were lines of any consequence were at lunch on embarkation day and breakfast on debarkation day. It is this way on every cruise I’ve been on, so don’t let this spoil your day! Don’t worry, be happy! Remember, the Café Caribe is not as crowded!

 

There was a lunch buffet also in the Horizon Court and Caribe Café. The variety of food changed every day with meat, fish, chicken, cold cuts, salad bar and every imaginable vegetable.

 

While we ate dinner mostly in the Palm Dining Room, we walked through the Caribe Café every night to check it out. The food looked outstanding and I plan to eat there more often hopefully on a future cruise. On Saturday they had a phenomenal seafood buffet in the Horizon Court and I could not resist eating a plateful of lobster claws and king crab before heading down to the dining room for dinner. That seafood was some of the best I have ever had! As many have posted, the coffee in the Horizon and Café Caribe was very inconsistent and was either way to strong or too weak. It was much better in the dining rooms as well as the java bar in the lobby. In fact the Java bar made great lattes!

 

Also, here’s one more hint I hate to give out. Everyday at 3:30 pm they have free homemade ice cream in the Horizon Court. This is not advertised and I only think people who read the cruise critic religiously know about this little secret. There are two sides to the Horizon Court. One side is still serving lunch at 3:30 and the other side looks like it is closed and not serving, but they are serving ice cream! I never saw more than 4 or 5 people getting ice cream. They have different flavors every day that include chocolate, vanilla, tuti fruiti, walnut, maple, pistachio, white chocolate chip, raspberry, coffee just to name a few! They also have great ice cream in the dining room each evening for dessert. I am an incurable icecreamaholic and was in heaven all week. I’ve been in detox for two days now and can’t stop shaking and screaming I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!!

 

Outside Grills A++

 

The Pizza and cheeseburger and fries were outstanding! They had a great variety of pizza toppings and they were all wonderful. Try the Mexican Pizza, but be sure you have a cold margarita to wash it down (it’s covered with jalapeños and real hot)!

 

Palm Dining Room A

 

People have mentioned that it is hard to find the Palm Dining room, but it is very simple. This dining room is located aft ship on level 6 and the only two ways to get there are by the aft elevators or the aft stairs.

 

Upon boarding the ship, we made a standing reservation for 7pm at the Palm due to postings about having to wait for PC dining. We also made reservations at Sabatini’s for Monday evening and the Sterling Steakhouse for Friday evening. Upon arriving at the Palm the first night we told the Maitre d’ that we would prefer to sit with other people if possible. He took us immediately to a table that had two other couples seated. We hit it off with them immediately and reserved the table for each evening thereafter. We enjoyed dinner with them each night as well as time spent with them at shows and shopping in the ports! It was great meeting you Elliot, Sheryl, Bob and Marilyn. I hope we can get together with you down in South Florida soon! Thanks for sending the photos through email Sheryl, we’ll send you ours when we have them developed and put on a disk.

 

I would have just scored the food an A as generally the food was good but not outstanding, but Thursday’s Captain Gala Dinner was spectacular. I had the Lobster tails and the Beef Wellington and wish I had more room to order a second round! The lobster was so moist and succulent; my mouth is watering just thinking about it! The Beef Wellington was so tender you could you didn’t need a knife at all!

 

Other outstanding dishes during the week were the porcini mushroom soup and the Prime Rib on Saturday night; the Lobster Bisque on Sunday night, the smoked wild salmon and rack of lamb on Wednesday night and of course the lobster and beef Wellington on Thursday night. Most of us ate off the “always available†menu on Tuesday’s Caribbean Night which in retrospect was probably a mistake. I usually like to be adventurous and try new foods and wish I had tried some of the Caribbean dishes. I had the Sirloin steak and while it was tasty, it was also very tough.

 

The dining room had a very nice ambience to it and the service was excellent except for the fact our assistant waiter just could never figure out who wanted decaf and regular coffee. We actually enjoyed watching him struggle with it each evening! If you are looking for singing and dancing from the waiters you need to book traditional seating as soon as possible! Thankfully the waiters are not subjected or required to put on this type of monkey show in the personal choice dining rooms! Just my humble opinion!

 

Sabatini’s A++

 

Delicious, massive quantities, excellent, outstanding and superb are just a few adjectives that come to mind! We had eaten at Sabatini’s on the Grand four years ago and I was so afraid that my expectations would not be realized at this Sabatini’s on the CP. I was not disappointed! Our waiter’s name was Ken I think, as his Italian accent was very strong. Ken was wonderful! He was very attentive always smiling and humming an Italian tune. He reminded me of Roberto Benigni from the movie “Life is Beautiful.â€

 

The way the restaurant works is that you order your drinks and main entrée and then your waiter proceeds to bring you a feast course by course. I don’t know if I remember them all, but here goes: garlic bread, shrimp and artichokes, dry aged beef, prosciutto, roasted peppers, cannelloni, gnocchi, spaghetti with clams, Cioppino (seafood) soup or minestrone soup, pizza as well as other dishes I cannot remember. Then your meal is served! I had the seafood medley which was a lobster tail, langostinos, shrimp and sea bass. Amy had the Chilean sea bass. It was all excellent. I was also told by others that the lobster tail meal and the veal chop were outstanding! Do not pass up the Cioppino (Seafood soup) as I all but licked the plate! Of course I ended it all with the Love Boat Dream chocolate dessert!

 

Warning! It is a tremendous amount of food and I would advise people to take caution to either eat very small portions or even pass up on some of them. One of our table mates got sick later in the evening and let’s just say you wouldn’t have wanted to be in my cabin in the wee hours of the next morning. You know those odors than some people on this board have posted about? Well, I think I may have found the source! I couldn’t even blame the dog! LOL!

 

Sterling Steak House A++

 

I had heard some mixed reviews about Sterling and was a little nervous since I talked our tablemates into joining us. What a pleasant surprise! We had a magnificent meal and wonderful service. I had been warned by Michael of our cruise critic group to not get the bone-in Rib Eye. He said it was terrible and another passenger complained to the Maitre d’ about it that same night. With that in mind most of us ordered the Fillet or the Prime Rib and they were both excellent! I actually cut my fillet with my fork it was so tender and it was cooked to perfection! The prime rib looked magnificent and Bob said it was one of the best he ever had. Elliot ordered the New York strip and said it was very good as well.

 

I wish I could remember our waitresses name as she was wonderful. She had a great since of humor and gave us excellent service. We all shared two bottles of wine, had a great meal and ended the dinner with great desserts. It was a wonderful lasting memory of our final evening on the ship!

 

I should also mention something else about all the Dining Restaurants. Dining in the dining rooms, Sabatini’s and Sterling should be viewed as an event in itself. Expect dinner to last at least an hour and half to two hours. Let yourself enjoy your dinner instead of worrying that you might miss the show. There is so much to do on the ship there will be something to do no matter what time you finish dinner. If you get a meal you don’t like, let your waiter know as he/she will bend over backwards getting you a meal that is to your satisfaction. If you cannot decide on which meal or appetizer you want, get a sampling of each! If you are more interested in making it to a particular show or event, then eat at the Café Caribe Buffet and you can set your own pace.

 

Entertainment A

 

The entertainment in general was very good. As Amy and I are not big drinkers or party animals, most of our time at night was going to the shows offered in the Princess theatre and Explorers Lounge. Below is a listing of entertainment that we experienced:

 

 

 

Sarge A+

 

Sarge was great. He had me in tears at one point; he is very funny. He is very large and is Jewish African American! That alone makes for great material. He performed in the Princess Theatre the first night and in the Explorers lounge on Sunday night and Friday night. His humor can get a little risqué and may not be appropriate for young children.

 

Princess Idol B

 

Princess Idol is a Karaoke contest held in Club Fusion most evenings. It culminates on the last evening by crowning the Princess Idol. We watched it the first evening. Hopefully the quality improved as the week went on! It’s a fun sort of thing to watch, but we found other things each evening that we preferred.

 

Crooners Lounge A

 

The crooners lounge is on deck 7 and was a fun place to have a drink after one of the shows. Adam James was a great entertainer on the Piano. He would have everyone singing there favorite tunes and making a lot of noise. It was a fun place to be.

 

Casino A

 

I’m not a big gamble but like to play blackjack every now and then. I did lose my allotted $100 for the week, but enjoyed the casino none the less. The bar waiters were very attentive and gave fast service. The dealers were nice and showed no sign of confusion as had been mentioned on previous reviews. The casino was not crowded most of the time. It is the largest casino I have ever seen on a ship. It was pretty smoky for those that have a problem with smoke. There are several alternative ways to get to where you want to go without having to pass through the casino.

 

Let’s Rock and Caribbean Caliente C

 

This is the worse grade I have ever given any entertainment on a cruise ship. I love to go to the shows on cruise ships. I am a Broadway musical junkie. So part of my disappointment was the style of entertainment of Rock and Latin music, although I do enjoy both music genres. The music was not live and was canned music and IMHO the singing and dancing were just not that good! I must emphasize that this is just my opinion and I am sure that many people enjoyed these shows. Fortunately, there is so much to do on the cruise that there are many more options to going to just these shows. I ended up walking out of each show and went one night to the casino and then saw part of Sarge’s act in the Explorers lounge and on the other night I went to “The Marriage Game Show†in the Explorers lounge. It was a riot!

 

 

The Marriage Game Show A+

 

Obviously the success of this show is based on the contestants. As mentioned above, when I walked out on the Caribbean Caliente show, I made my way to the Marriage Game show. They also had a second Marriage Game show that I took Amy to later that evening. Both were hilarious and had some wonderful contestants. It can get a little risqué, but not really too bad. One woman was asked what kind of animal her husband looked like when he got out of the shower and she shouted he looked like a pot belly pig! Another woman was asked what romantic thing her husband would whisper to her in the wee hours of the morning when he was feeling frisky and she responded, “You want to ride the wild pony!†It was so funny!

 

Scott Wyler A++

 

Scott is billed as having over 250 punch lines. He performed in the Explorers lounge Tuesday and also Friday along with Sarge. I didn’t count all his punch lines, but I think he did at least 250. He delivered this comedy in a deadpan sort of way and he was hysterical. Don’t miss him!

 

Makito A+

 

I am not sure if I got their name correct. Monday’s entertainment in the Princess Theatre was a married couple that called themselves Makito. I lost Monday night’s Princess Patters so I can’t remember their names. The man was a fabulous guitar player and the woman was a great entertainer. She had a fabulous voice and was also hilarious. They were wonderful and I highly recommend seeing their show!

 

Tropical Deck Party A++

 

For all of those of you who are not familiar with Graham Seymore, you are in for a treat! Graham is the Cruise Director and we sailed with him on the Grand 4 years ago as well. He is a riot! He gives an information show each morning as only he can do. He has a sharp wit and is very funny. He is also a very talented entertainer as was seen at the Tropical Deck Party Wednesday night. The Deck party was held aft ship. They build a platform over the aft ship pool. They first had Deep Blue entertain everyone to get the party started. Deep Blue is great. They play every day at the Neptune Pool and play great reggae and other great tunes! Then they had a hula hoop contest and afterwards the show was all Graham Seymore! He was accompanied by Sarah and the Princess Orchestra (they are great and play in the Explorers lounge before the comedy acts). Graham is an excellent singer and had everyone rocking to all his melodies! This is another event that you should not miss!

 

Movie Under the Stars A+++

 

What a great concept! If I am lucky enough to cruise this ship again, I will make a point of going to Movie Under the Stars several times! We went on Tuesday night to the 10:30pm showing of “Calendar Girlsâ€. As most of you have read, they cover the lounge chairs with a Movie Under the Stars covering and place a blanket on all the lounge chairs. They serve you popcorn and free cokes. They also sell candy. I can’t describe how nice it is to be outside in this type of atmosphere. I have to be honest; I fell asleep about ten minutes into the movie and slept until Amy woke me up when the movie ended! It was soooo relaxing! My advice for a perfect evening would be to make a 7:30 reservation for the movie. Before the movie go to Café Caribe and pile some food on your plates and take it out to your lounge chair for the movie. Most chairs have a table by it you could put your plate on. After the movie go back and get dessert then end the evening with a nice warm Jacuzzi!

 

Ports A++

 

St. Thomas and St. Maarten are our two favorite islands in the Caribbean. They are beautiful Islands. Since this was our fourth trip to these islands we did not sign up for any tour excursions. We did at the last minute decide to take a private tour in St. Thomas with Godfrey’s tours. We learned about his tour through our cruise critic group. Several of our group made reservations through the internet. When we got off the ship a little before 9am we decided to check to see if Godfrey had some room for us and lucky for us he did have room. We spent the tour with some of our cruise critic buddies, Michael, Maryann, Reba, Michael Jr. and Michelle. The tour began with three hours shopping in town. Prior to the cruise I had researched digital cameras in depth and was happy that I found what I was looking for at the Royal Caribbean Camera shop. I bought an Olympus 765 that listed for $499 in the states and I paid only $350! I also saved $35 in taxes!

 

At noon we all got back on the bus and they took us to several great vistas with awesome sights of the Caribbean and Magens Bay. The last stop was at the World Famous Mountaintop. The views are beautiful from this spot. They have a structure that houses shops, restrooms, and a bar. I would advise against buying anything as the shops as they are over priced. I would also advise bringing your own water to quench your thirst as the lines at the bar are very, very long and they only have two bartenders.

 

After the Mountaintop stop you have a choice of spending two hours at Magens Bay Beach, Saphire Beach or Coqui Beach. They highly recommend Saphire Beach as the nicest beach and clearest waters. You can also by pass the beach and go back to town or to the ship. We had afternoon spa reservations, so we didn’t get to spend time on the beach, but heard it was really nice!

 

In St. Maarten we ended up just shopping in town in the morning. We had a nice time, but in retrospect I wish we had taken a taxi to Orient Beach and spend a few hours on the beach. I felt I let my fellow cruise critic friends down. I promised them I was going to run naked on the Orient Beach! I know this was something special they had waited so long to see. All I can say is, let’s all book on the Caribbean Princess again and I won’t let you down next time! I did go out on my balcony naked; does that count! LOL!

 

 

Princess Cays A

 

There is a process for tendering to the island. When you are ready to go, you go to the Princess Theatre to get your tender ticket and wait in the theatre until your color is called. You cannot pick up someone’s ticket for them. There was a man bitterly complaining because he was an elite member and didn’t understand why he could not go directly to the tender. You know, people need to chill out sometimes. Less than three minutes after getting our ticket, our color was called and we were led by a staff member to the tender. I don’t think anyone waited very long for the tender all day long. We were once on a ship that did not have this process and it seems that everyone on the ship went down to the gangway at the same time. It was actually scary and I thought someone might get hurt. It was hot and everyone was pushing trying to get out. Princess’s process is excellent and it provides a fast efficient safe means for everyone to get the tender. I can just hear the elite member still complaining…some people need to get off their ego trip and get a life!

 

The Spa A+

 

I usually don’t go to the spa because they try to sell you products and generally don’t give as good a massage as I can get back home. They are usually very snooty and snobbish as well. When I read that Princess was operating their own spa on the Caribbean instead of outsourcing it to Steiners, I decided to give it a try. The massage was great! One of the best I’ve had. It was easy to communicate with everyone in the spa and I felt more comfortable than I had on previous cruises. They have a thermal room that you can access any time on your treatment day. The recliners were very relaxing. It looks like they would be uncomfortable as they are made of some type of tile. When you touch the tile it is hard and feels cold, but when you lay down a towel and lie down, it is warm and very relaxing.

 

Amy had a solar manicure that she enjoyed very much. Her nails looked very nice. As both our treatments were on a port day, we paid much less than on a sea day!

 

The Gym A+

 

This year I was going to make a point of going to the gym every morning and getting in a good work out. NOT! I went the first day and really enjoyed my time on the treadmill. There is a TV on most treadmills and other cardio machines. You can plug your headsets into them and enjoy either music or TV shows while you exercise. As many others have mentioned, the showers in the locker room are wonderful. Lot’s of room and a powerful water spray make for a great shower. Unfortunately, I didn’t make it down to the gym again and I gained 8 pounds by the end of he cruise!! But it was worth it!!

 

Pools A++

 

There are 6 pools on the ship! They are: the current pool outside the spa, the Calypso Pool where they hold the pool games, the Neptune Pool by the Pizza and Burger grills, the aft pool at the very end of the ship, the kids pool near the back of the ship and one other pool next to the kids pool (not sure what they call it). To my best recollection there are 7 or 8 Jacuzzis. Our favorite was the aft pool. There is lots of shade and it’s very laid back and quiet. I hate to give away this hind, but if you get there early enough you can get a couple of lounge chairs on the two decks above the aft pool right against the railing at the back of the ship and feel like you are the only person on the ship! We enjoyed it there everyday reading our books and sipping on the Caribbean drink of the day! We would get our lunch from the buffet or get a pizza or cheeseburger and bring it back to our lounge chairs and enjoy lunch there every day as well.

 

They had pool games at the Calypso pool each sea day. They were really funny to watch! At the Neptune Pool which is right by the pizza and burger grills, Deep Blue sang and played music daily. They were excellent and everyone seemed to really enjoy them.

 

The current pool also was a really nice place to spend the day. This is also a very quiet relaxing area. The current pool is really neat and it’s fun swimming against the current.

 

One of my favorite places was the Jacuzzi by the two decks up from the aft pool. The water was cool instead of warm and made for a great place to get refreshed from being in the sun. I love to meet people, so I went there everyday and met some great people from all over the country. There is a small pool between that Jacuzzi and the children’s pool. It sunken down into the deck and about 4 feet deep and it is nice and warm!

 

While the lounge chairs by the pools are taken fairly quickly, there is no shortage of lounge chairs anywhere on the ship. For us shade lovers, there are also an abundance of chairs to be found in the shade!

 

Cruise Staff A+

 

As stated earlier, Graham Seymore is one of the best cruise directors we have ever had. The rest of the cruise staff was both talented and helpful. They were always smiling and really seemed to enjoy what they do. The assistant CD was James and he was so good he was promoted to be CD of the Golden Princess and actually left the Caribbean Princess in St. Thomas to travel to the Golden! The front desk personnel were very good and took care of any needs I had for them. We put down a deposit for a future cruise and Cindy (Future Cruise Advisor) was very good about informing us about the program and about some of next year’s cruises.

 

Amy went took line dancing classes every sea day. She dragged me down the first day. I was able to the first step they taught, but could put step 2 together real well, so I decided head back to the pool to relax, but the line dance instructor would have no part of that. She ran after me and dragged me back to the dance floor and wouldn’t let me leave!! You can only imagine my gracefulness as they added 5 more steps to the dance! Needless to say, I avoided line dancing the rest of the week!

 

Disembarkation A+++

 

I never thought that disembarkation could match the quickness and efficiency of embarkation, but it did. Our color was called at 8:30 and we were in our car by 8:45. We drove back to Orlando and arrived at our house by Noon! The earliest I can ever remember arriving home from a cruise was around 3pm! Princess has the corner of the market when it comes to getting people on and off the ship!

 

Summary

 

I feel like I have left a ton of stuff out, but the old fingers are getting tired and I am sure I have bored some of you to tears!

 

We had a great time on this cruise. As we have been on 10 previous cruises, there is a tendency to compare, but I try my best not to do that. Each cruise we have sailed has been great and each has been unique. To me my best cruise is the one I just sailed on!

 

I would definitely cruise on this ship again and plan to do so in the future. If you are active, love the sun, just want to get away from reality for a week and have fun; if you can allow yourself to relax and enjoy every minute of the cruise experience; if you can leave all your hang-ups, stresses and baggage (not the suit case kind) at home…you will have the time of your life on this cruise!

 

Lastly, I love to cruise so much because for 7 days I get to spend almost every moment with my wife of 27 years now! We both work full time jobs, I travel 50% of the time and there just never seems to be enough time to just relax and enjoy each other’s company. I hope we’re still cruising 27 years from now!

 

I will be happy to answer any questions on the board. You can also email me with questions at lfeinb9640@aol.com as well.

 

Happy cruising everyone!

 

Larry and Amy

 

on Caribbean Princess June 5, 2004

 

Larry

[prophotogal]

Great Review! A+

Thank You so Much!!! A+++

Didn't care how long the review was. A++

 

Caribbean Princess HERE I COME! (9/4/04)

 

Caribbean Princess here I come again (For MY BIRTHDAY)!(10/30/04)

 

Dawn Princess Southern Caribbean Jan. 2002

Dawn Princess Alaska Sept. 2003

Rhapsody of the Seas Western Caribbean Jan. 2004

Live Well, Love Much, Laugh Often!

Peace, Love and Mickey Mouse!

 

~ Heather ~ ºoº

[comettgirl]

Larry, You did a fantastic job. Well worth the wait. Thanks so much for the review. I can hardly wait to cruise on the Caribbean Princess!

 

Therese

[sunnyv]

What a great, detailed review

 

Larry, many of us CC posters have wondered if "Everything Cool" is open or not on St Maarten. Did you notice it or anyone you talked to mention it? Supposedly it is closed or closing soon for new construction.

 

Vicki

 

12/26/04 Caribbean Princess to Eastern Caribbean

Princess Star 8/03 Alaska

Princess Coral 3/03 Panama

Disney's Wonder 12/01 Bahama's

RCC Majesty of the Seas 11/99 Southern Caribbean

[LarryF]

I was told it is already closed, so we did not look for it.

 

on Caribbean Princess June 5, 2004

 

Larry

[Therapst]

Great Review Larry...thank you so much.

 

A+++

 

Randy & Mary

 

click <a href="mailto:Therapst@aol.com">here</a href> to send us an e-mail.

 

Future Cruises:

 

07/2004 - Caribbean Princess

12/2004 - Millennium

09/2005 - Royal Hounds on Caribbean Princess

[zurmolly]

Wow..that was great! I am so excited now!

[jemingway]

Wow, what a great review. Thanks for the hard work. I will put your assessment to the test when we go on July 3.

 

JV The 4 stages of cruising: planning, anticipation, experience and reflection.

[CKandJK]

Larry:

 

Thanks for the awsome review! We are sailing on her 9/25/04, now it cant get here soon enough.

 

Thanks for the special "hints" that you were reluctant to give out. Hopefully not to many people read this and take the space before I can get to it

 

A+++++++ review!

 

Candi

[GOBOLTS]

Best review I've ever read! Thanks Larry

 

John

 

Millenium 11/03

Caribbean Princess 

[East Coaster]

Great review! Loved the details.

We are going on the CP in November and can't wait. One question for you, are the menu's similar in the Horizon Court and Cafe Caribe for breakfast and lunch?

 

Barb

[mary07054]

i have been checking the boards every day waiting for your review. it was great. i am even more excited.

[LarryF]

Barb,

 

The Horizon had a more extensive breakfast selection than Cafe Caribe, but most everything I wanted was at the Cafe Caribe. Like I said in the review, you might want to go through the Horizon Court buffet, but you'll find a better seat in the Cafe Caribe or aft pool area.

 

The Horizon and Caribe were different each day for lunch. Caribe tended to lean more to ethnic foods like sushi and oriental dishes while the Horizon had more traditional salads and meals. The sushi was really good at the at the Caribe Cafe.

 

on Caribbean Princess June 5, 2004

 

Larry

[LarryF]

Mary, I was glad I was able to finally post the review for you! Thank you everyone for your kind words. I'm glad you enjoyed the review.

 

on Caribbean Princess June 5, 2004

 

Larry

[mandiecandie5]

Larry did you use the express line for check in or the other ones? Great review

 

Days till Caribbean Princess 12/4/04

[LarryF]

When you walk in to the check in area it its broken down by decks. When we walked in there was no one in line for the lido deck, so I made a bee line for that desk before anyone else got there. I didn't even notice the express line! I have heard from others that sometimes the lines are longer at the express lanes and it's faster to go through the normal deck lines. Also, having express check in privileges does not allow anyone faster access to get in the the check in room. They have to wait in line outside like every one else.

 

on Caribbean Princess June 5, 2004

 

Larry

[FelinerX3]

Great review - thanks! Less than two weeks to go!

[debs4ou]

Larry

 

Your review is awesome. I am so proud to be a part of our cruisecritic group. you guys are great with the reviews. I still reading the boards. Thanks guys for helping our cruise so special. debs and mark

[khfadpi]

Larry, a great review. We had a wonderful time, and I was hoping that all of the "veteran" cruisers liked it as much as we did. We had no complaints either. This was a great 1st cruise for us, and we will stay with Princess from now on. Oh, by the way, Terry is kicking himself for not buying that digital camera he saw in St. Maarten. I knew he would. It is around $1000 here and the man was going to let him have it for $750. Oh well a good excuse for another cruise!?!

I think we need to get our group together for a

"same time next year" cruise.

 

Kim

Caribbean Princess - June 5, 2004

 

[BBMom]

Larry,

Thanks for the great review. We will be sailing on the Caribbean Princess June 26th and you have answered so many of my questions. I was wondering if the dining room was open for lunch on embarkation day.

 

Thanks,

Susan

[Mike Henigan]

Kim,

 

Im curious, what camera where you talking about?

 

We are about to get a Canon Digital Rebel and I'd be curious if we could find it cheaper down there then here in the US.

 

Thanks,

 

Mike

 

Carnival Triumph - July 2002

Caribbean Princess - August 2004

Mariner of The Seas - March 2005

Disney Magic - Dcember 2005

[LarryF]

Susan,

 

I do not believe any of the dining rooms are open for lunch on embarkation day. My Princess Patters only lists the Horizon Court as open from 1pm to 4pm on Saturday. Actually I am pretty sure it was the Horizon and Cafe Caribe that was open.

 

on Caribbean Princess June 5, 2004

 

Larry

[LarryF]

Mike, I bought an Olympus 765. But I did get a quote of $850 for a Canon Digital Rebel at the Royal Caribbean store in St. Thomas. I believe that is about $100 or more savings than you can get in the U.S.

 

on Caribbean Princess June 5, 2004

 

Larry

[livetotravel]

Larry,

 

Thanks so much for the great review. You furnished a wealth of information for my sailing in January, 2005!

[champ76]

Thanks for the terrific review. We are cruising in August and can't wait! We appreciate all the helpful tips in your review!