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

[MJSailors]

Hello amanda384-

   Interesting blog of the Caribbean Princess Cruise.

My DH and I have sailed on her twice. Good to hear that the ship has been maintained and that you are enjoying the cruise.

    Not a cruise question per se,but I would like to know your impression of the Ft.Lauderdale Marina Hilton. Although your stay there was brief,could you tell me your impression of the hotel,please ?

We have a pre cruise stay there in early March,next year. We will be in a tower,water view room.

I have read a number of negative reviews of the hotel,and am concerned mostly about the cleanliness of the hotel.

Thank you for any info and I hope you continue to enjoy the cruise !

[PMGS247]

1 minute ago, MJSailors said:

Hello amanda384-

   Interesting blog of the Caribbean Princess Cruise.

My DH and I have sailed on her twice. Good to hear that the ship has been maintained and that you are enjoying the cruise.

    Not a cruise question per se,but I would like to know your impression of the Ft.Lauderdale Marina Hilton. Although your stay there was brief,could you tell me your impression of the hotel,please ?

We have a pre cruise stay there in early March,next year. We will be in a tower,water view room.

I have read a number of negative reviews of the hotel,and am concerned mostly about the cleanliness of the hotel.

Thank you for any info and I hope you continue to enjoy the cruise !

This wasn't directed at me but I was just there 8 weeks ago and found it to be an excellent spot to spend the day before the cruise.  Good call having a tower water view, it is great to overlook the port and to me it was worth the extra couple of bucks.  I was so excited for our cruise I actually woke up at 5:45am and was able to watch the CB pull into port about 6:15am from the balcony.  Very cool.  My wife and I had no issues with cleanliness, everything was perfectly fine in our room.

 

I'm booked again in December to stay the night before our 4 night cruise, which feels a bit of a waste since we won't be arriving until 7pm and therefore won't be able to take advantage of all the amenities on site (of which there are plenty), but it still feels worth it just for the views and proximity.  There's just no doubt when you're there that you're about to hop on a ship.  The breakfast buffet, although pricey, is fantastic as well.

 

If by some miracle 5 months from now I remember, I will check back in with a second review regarding cleanliness.  They're 1 for 1 with me though; totally fine 8 weeks ago.

[amanda384]

31 minutes ago, MJSailors said:

Hello amanda384-

   Interesting blog of the Caribbean Princess Cruise.

My DH and I have sailed on her twice. Good to hear that the ship has been maintained and that you are enjoying the cruise.

    Not a cruise question per se,but I would like to know your impression of the Ft.Lauderdale Marina Hilton. Although your stay there was brief,could you tell me your impression of the hotel,please ?

We have a pre cruise stay there in early March,next year. We will be in a tower,water view room.

I have read a number of negative reviews of the hotel,and am concerned mostly about the cleanliness of the hotel.

Thank you for any info and I hope you continue to enjoy the cruise !

 

I thought it was beautiful. Extremely convenient to the port, spotlessly clean, friendly staff. The bed was comfortable.  I would definitely stay again if I were going to be there for more than 8 hours!

[amanda384]

Good morning from somewhere near Roatan, Honduras! I'm sipping an Americano from Coffee and Cones and watching the sea roll by from my balcony.

 

Last night was a lazy day after returning from Grand Cayman. We went to Slice for lunch and I tried the stromboli.  A+!  It was so good I forgot to take a picture of it!

 

We went to the Captain's Circle Welcome Party... meh, it was okay. The drinks were plentiful but the canapes were very lackluster and the presentation was basically a sales pitch. The Captain himself couldn't make it. Oh well, free champagne!

 

The ship was a little rocky last night which put a damper on things for me, but I took a nap and that usually helps.  We skipped the main dining room because I wasn't really feeling any of the menu options and we went to Planks. There were very few tables occupied and I wonder if Planks/Steamers are perhaps not as big of a draw as anticipated.  The food was very good though and the service was excessively attentive.

 

On our way out we walked through the World Fresh Marketplace.  I was very surprised to see that only half of the buffet is open for dinner! Is this standard practice? On the Regal and Royal the full buffet was open for dinner and it was always filled with guests. Here it was almost deserted and the whole right side of the buffet was out of service.

 

After a quick break we went down to see the Motown Music performance in the theater.  The singer was Dwight Blake and he had a phenomenal voice. He concluded the show with Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You" and I was skeptical because that is a tough song but WOW could he hit those notes!

 

Today we are in Roatan and we got a clamshell on the beach. Like I said, we are beach bums. I will check in later!

[skynight]

On our way out we walked through the World Fresh Marketplace.  I was very surprised to see that only half of the buffet is open for dinner! Is this standard practice? On the Regal and Royal the full buffet was open for dinner and it was always filled with guests. Here it was almost deserted and the whole right side of the buffet was out of service.

 

Normal, I have seen it on every Princess ship. Not enough usage to keep both sides open in the evening. I remember on the Royal the bistro section not operating in the evening.

 

 

[Jeter02]

@amanda384 any thoughts if you'll be trying steamers this week? 

[cruiserdru]

Do they offer whiskey flights on the Caribbean Princess in any of the bars?

 

That would certainly bring a smile to DH's face.

[MJSailors]

Thank you for the replies about the hotel.

Good to get some positive info.

Now,on with the cruise, Amanda384 !

[voljeep]

4 hours ago, PMGS247 said:

This wasn't directed at me but I was just there 8 weeks ago and found it to be an excellent spot to spend the day before the cruise.  Good call having a tower water view, it is great to overlook the port and to me it was worth the extra couple of bucks.  I was so excited for our cruise I actually woke up at 5:45am and was able to watch the CB pull into port about 6:15am from the balcony.  Very cool.  My wife and I had no issues with cleanliness, everything was perfectly fine in our room.

 

I'm booked again in December to stay the night before our 4 night cruise, which feels a bit of a waste since we won't be arriving until 7pm and therefore won't be able to take advantage of all the amenities on site (of which there are plenty), but it still feels worth it just for the views and proximity.  There's just no doubt when you're there that you're about to hop on a ship.  The breakfast buffet, although pricey, is fantastic as well.

 

If by some miracle 5 months from now I remember, I will check back in with a second review regarding cleanliness.  They're 1 for 1 with me though; totally fine 8 weeks ago.

2nd that - we were there on May 12th & 13th - also in a 9th floor tower , water view of cruise ships, drawbridge , and water taxi stop ... which we really enjoyed

 

got a reservation for hopefully somewhere around the same room (type) in December for one night ... but we will be there around 10:30 am for a somewhat full day, even if we can't check in immediately upon arrival

 

Florida departures forum has endless threads about the hotels on/around 17th street in FLL/PE

[amanda384]

5 hours ago, Jeter02 said:

@amanda384 any thoughts if you'll be trying steamers this week? 

 

Most likely not. My husband does not like shellfish so it would not be appreciated enough.

[amanda384]

2 hours ago, cruiserdru said:

Do they offer whiskey flights on the Caribbean Princess in any of the bars?

 

That would certainly bring a smile to DH's face.

 

Hmmm I'm not sure! Haven't seen it so far but I will keep an eye open.

[Ombud]

On another thread (July 27 roll call) there's a post that CB has lost power?? What's going on?

[amanda384]

5 minutes ago, Ombud said:

On another thread (July 27 roll call) there's a post that CB has lost power?? What's going on?

 

I just finished dinner in the Palm Dining Room. The lights went up and down a couple of times but that's it. Everything seems to be running normally here.

[CruiseVA]

The Facebook post is freaking out - thank you!

[amanda384]

We are in the theater now waiting for the 9:30 shown and everything we passed along the way is functional including the casino, the music in the piazza and the theater lights. Looks good to me.

[CruiseVA]

LOL - Perhaps we will see you disembarking as we enbark on Saturday - enjoy the rest of the cruise!

 

[Colo Cruiser]

[CruiseVA]

8 minutes ago, amanda384 said:

We are in the theater now waiting for the 9:30 shown and everything we passed along the way is functional including the casino, the music in the piazza and the theater lights. Looks good to me.

Thanks for the quick feedback! 

[Colo Cruiser]

[CruiseVA]

All it takes is one freak-out post in Facebook to light up Facebook & CruiseCritic (guilty as charged)! Prolly woulda be ok if I didn't run out of booze!

 

 

Edited July 24, 2019 by CruiseVA

[amanda384]

Good evening all, from the still afloat, air-conditioned and well-lit Caribbean Princess!

 

We had a nice day at Mahogany Bay today but I learned something very important: clamshells aren't worth it. First of all, my feet always end up sticking out in full sun and I have to wrap them in a towel or article of clothing. They also act as a sort of heat trap with no cross-ventilation whatsoever. Anyway, a good idea in theory but I will stick with umbrellas or spring for a cabana/bungalow. At least with umbrellas you sometimes get a breeze.

 

We had lunch at Slice again which was great. The breakfast buffet was wonderful. I liked everything I got except the ham steak. It had a spongy texture that I feel can easily happen with ham cooked in large quantities. I loved the quiche and the fruit was very fresh. No complaints.

 

Our stablemates were not at dinner so it was just the two of us which was nice. I had the artichoke and garlic bisque and liked it a lot, but my husband had the goat cheese souffle and I should have gotten that. They dress it up with hazelnuts now, so it is even better than last fall on the Royal.

 

The show tonight was "Born to be Wild" which I saw on our first CB cruise about 4 years ago. It is a cute show with catchy music. The theater was pretty full but not packed like for the Broadway Ballroom show.

 

Tomorrow we are doing a simple trolley tour in Belize. We have never been to Belize and most likely won't be back but I would like to be able to say I at least saw the city. Hope you all have a great night!

[Camelia-]

I must say that I miss the Peach Bellini that they used to use in between courses on Italian night I think it was!! Thanks for those lovely pictures!!

[kywildcatfanone]

Was the cat eating at your table?

[Ombud]

On 7/23/2019 at 7:09 AM, amanda384 said:

Good morning from somewhere near Roatan, Honduras! I'm sipping an Americano from Coffee and Cones and watching the sea roll by from my balcony.

Boarding in 3 days so I could find out then but what's 'Coffee & Cones.' It hasn't been on the Star, Sapphire, or Diamond (or I didn't find it). Do they have ice cream in lattes like Starbucks Reserve locations? 

[PMGS247]

Just now, Ombud said:

Boarding in 3 days so I could find out then but what's 'Coffee & Cones.' It hasn't been on the Star, Sapphire, or Diamond (or I didn't find it). Do they have ice cream in lattes like Starbucks Reserve locations? 

It's basically just the free ice cream location that also sells premium coffees & milkshakes.  Oddly enough they don't sell normal hot drip coffee, but if you want an iced latte they can do that.  I do not believe there are any drinks with ice cream in them.  The ice cream is machine soft serve....vanilla, chocolate, or swirl.