The Caribbean Princess... soon will be making another run! A live blog

[amanda384]

Good morning everyone! I am here at the Hilton Fort Lauderdale Marina getting ready to head out to Port Everglades for a 7 day western caribbean cruise.  Our first cruise was on the CB in the same exact stateroom (L309) so that is kind of cool. It is our first cruise (and first trip) alone since we adopted our two kiddos from foster care in 2015. God bless grandparents!

 

I will be happy to try to answer questions. For some reason I got free Medallion Net for 4 devices, compliments of Princess. I'm Ruby so I don't know why...

 

We have late traditional dining and a res at the Crown Grill for Thursday.  In the meanwhile, enjoy some pictures of the view from my balcony and of our room. It is a convenient if pricey hotel with a comfortable bed. And don't mind the messy suitcase. Chronic overpacker here. There is also one of my delirious husband as we waited at baggage claim at FLL at 1:30 AM this morning.

[Tak8]

Enjoy your cruise.  I've always enjoyed the Caribbean Princess.  I'll be curious to hear how fast you think your Internet is on board.

[Jeter02]

I've had medallion on several sailings, since it intially came out on the Regal. Was just recently on the CB 2 weeks ago. The medallion net is the best internet you'll ever experience. It's equivalent to being on land if not better. 

[Colo Cruiser]

Bon Voyage!!!!!

[voljeep]

19 minutes ago, amanda384 said:

Good morning everyone! I am here at the Hilton Fort Lauderdale Marina getting ready to head out to Port Everglades for a 7 day western caribbean cruise.

you got in after 2 a.m. and are now packing to leave ??

 

we stayed at the Hilton Marina for 2 nights in May ... yes, a little pricey ... but can't imagine us staying there just to sleep for a couple of hours, shower, then leave ...

 

but yeah, really nice room for us - 9th floor - directly looking at the cruise ship(s) , draw bridge, and water taxi stop

 

be careful you are not 'overserved' in Crooners

[amanda384]

1 minute ago, voljeep said:

you got in after 2 a.m. and are now packing to leave ??

 

we stayed at the Hilton Marina for 2 nights in May ... yes, a little pricey ... but can't imagine us staying there just to sleep for a couple of hours, shower, then leave ...

 

 Normally I wouldn't but I had a ton of Hilton Honors points and wanted to be close to the terminal! 🙂

[amanda384]

And just like that, we are on board! First stop, coffee at the international cafe and then lunch in the MDR. Medallion boarding is a breeze. We arrived at about 10:40 and were on the ship having coffee at 11:05.  No lines!

[amanda384]

Okay, my husband is unpacking and I am reclining on the bed. Medallion net is outstanding for me so far, although he has had some service issues.

 

We had lunch at the MDR. It was fairly crowded for an embarkation day. On the Regal and Royal I found that they really try to push people toward the buffet upon boarding, whereas here they gave us a card with all available dining options when we checked in.

 

Menu and food pics posted!

[Jeter02]

3 hours ago, Tak8 said:

 

I'm obsessed with all their souffles.

Edited July 20, 2019 by Jeter02

[senior lady]

looking forward to your review.  We will be on her in November for 10 days.  I've always stayed clear of her because of her age, but after all the refurbishing and the great reviews have decided to try her out.

Edited July 20, 2019 by senior lady

[Colo Cruiser]

I have been lucky with the DR embarkation lunch as they have always had the salmon!

I love it! 😁

Don't care for the trout.   

[Tak8]

I second that.  Princess' souffles are great.  One on the lunch menu is a awesome way to start a cruise.

[geoherb]

That's a new embarkation day lunch menu to me. It's really pared down, and my favorite item isn't on it--the ravioli. 

 

Bon voyage!

[amanda384]

The souffle was amazing. I really love Princess souffles even though I know some people are less than impressed. I wasn't wild about the aioli sauce on the shrimp, but the chateaubriand was delicious!

[Jeter02]

13 minutes ago, amanda384 said:

The souffle was amazing. I really love Princess souffles even though I know some people are less than impressed. I wasn't wild about the aioli sauce on the shrimp, but the chateaubriand was delicious!

Your disembarkation lunch menu was a much nicer selection in the one I got a few weeks ago. I'm assuming you're on the Western Caribbean itinerary and not the Eastern. I know they usually alternate their menus based off the  weekly itinerary.

[pompeii]

Amanda, can you let us know what the traditional dining times are?  For my sailing on August 19, the options are 5:00 and 7:15.  We chose the late seating, and I'm curious what time that will actually turn out to be on the ship.  Thanks!

[amanda384]

5 minutes ago, pompeii said:

Amanda, can you let us know what the traditional dining times are?  For my sailing on August 19, the options are 5:00 and 7:15.  We chose the late seating, and I'm curious what time that will actually turn out to be on the ship.  Thanks!

 

The patter says 5:15 and 7:30. We are also doing late traditional.

[geta911]

Hi Amanda ..... I'm trying to decide whether or not to purchase an internet package. If the connection is "great" rather than iffy I think I would buy it so I'm very interested in your on-board experience with the internet.  Thanks & enjoy!

[kywildcatfanone]

Enjoying this.  We were on her a couple of weeks ago, and had a really nice time.  Not a fan of the new buffet style, but it worked fine to find something to eat.

[Jeter02]

They have The Medallion Neth Which it is phenomenal high speed, it actually works faster than it does on land and you never lose the connection. @kywildcatfanone(sorry for the incorrect tag) @geta911

Edited July 20, 2019 by Jeter02

[geta911]

Just now, Jeter02 said:

They have The Medallion Neth Which it is phenomenal high speed, it actually works faster than it does on land and you never lose the connection.

Does the Medallion Net allow a user to surf the net? I thought it was a ship specific thing and didn't offer WWW service.

[Jeter02]

 

1 minute ago, geta911 said:

Does the Medallion Net allow a user to surf the net? I thought it was a ship specific thing and didn't offer WWW service.

Once you sign up for The Medallion net it is a  full running internet for surfing the net checking emails messaging people at home whatever it maybe you can even stream movies if your heart desires.

[Jeter02]

You may be thinking the intranet which is now know as ocean concierge where you type in for example (Caribbean.princess.com) when your login to their Wi-Fi. On there you can pull up the activities for the day and your stateroom account along with other information and you can even purchase future Cruise deposits through it. On there you cannot surf the net if you don't have The Medallion net

2 minutes ago, geta911 said:

Does the Medallion Net allow a user to surf the net? I thought it was a ship specific thing and didn't offer WWW service.

 

[geta911]

1 minute ago, Jeter02 said:

 

Once you sign up for The Medallion net it is a  full running internet for surfing the net checking emails messaging people at home whatever it maybe you can even stream movies if your heart desires.

Good news! Many thanks Jeter02.

[voljeep]

7 minutes ago, geta911 said:

Good news! Many thanks Jeter02.

Note that not all ships have MedallionNet at this time like the "CB" does ( make sure you don't use 'CP' as the abbreviation ... unless you want to be ... )

 

and it has been posted that the Medallion Net works better in some locations that Princess visits ... the Caribbean itineraries versus Alaska ... where the Royal Princess is currently located