No 5 star Caribbean in the summer

[lambcom]

I'm frustrated! Both of the so-called 5-star premium lines, Celebrity and HAL, are no longer offering any cruises in the Caribbean during the summer months.

 

It seems to me that there should be enough business for one line to keep one ship in this market! Okay, I know Alaska is wonderful and yes, I've probably been to darn near every port in the Caribbean at least twice, but Fort Lauderdale is easy to get to from Montreal and affordable and even if I barely get off the ship I feel like I'm getting my money's worth. But apparently both lines don't think the market is there.

 

So I'm left with going down market with the nearest thing being the 3,000 plus pax Caribbean Princess. No thanks. Like I say, I'm frustrated. Does anyone agree?

 

George+

[florisdekort]

Hi George,

 

I assume more and more cruise lines are doing the financial math on constantly having to change itineraries because of hurricanes, resulting in delayed arrivals and departures, unhappy guests, and so on. Alaska and Europa bring in more money and are hurricane safe...

 

Personally, I don't like the Carribean. Too many people on islands with nothing to do... But that is just me ;-)

 

Best Regards,

Floris

[janetz]

Have you looked into leaving from the port of NY? Do a search and I think you will be surprised at the ships sailing to the Carribean from NY. Also, Bermuda is beautiful if you have not been. :o

[frosty52]

doing a Disney Cruise? Now before you get excited, the cruise line is not as over the top about the Mouse as the parks. They depart out of Port Canaveral (east of Orlando) and do Easter and Western 7 day all summer long. Yes, there may be a lot of kids in the summer but DCL does a great job of keeping adults only areas adult only. Pop over the the Disney boards here and to disboards.com. You may be surprised. Their crew is excellent and the ship is classic. The possible deal breaker is no casinos and a more wholesome entertainment but the quality is top notch. If I remember correctly, maximum capacity is about 1800-1900.

[dennbr9]

Would recommend the Celebrity Cruises to Bermuda, have done it twice. Philadelphia is a much easier place to sail out of than New York, less hassle too.

 

Pink Sand in Bermuda, no poverty to speak of, friendly people.

[Susan-M]

If you haven't done a Med cruise - it's worth following these ships to Europe!

[ocngypz]

They make more money in Alaska and Europe.

[dkjretired]

Would recommend the Celebrity Cruises to Bermuda, have done it twice. Philadelphia is a much easier place to sail out of than New York, less hassle too.

 

Pink Sand in Bermuda, no poverty to speak of, friendly people.

 

Bermuda is a wonderful cruise, I would do it every year if I could. Also, the location for the Zenith leaving is now in New Jersey. Its about 10 minutes from Newark Airport. Very easy to get to, no need to go into New York City.

[Andy]

I'm frustrated! Both of the so-called 5-star premium lines, Celebrity and HAL, are no longer offering any cruises in the Caribbean during the summer months.

 

It seems to me that there should be enough business for one line to keep one ship in this market! Okay, I know Alaska is wonderful and yes, I've probably been to darn near every port in the Caribbean at least twice, but Fort Lauderdale is easy to get to from Montreal and affordable and even if I barely get off the ship I feel like I'm getting my money's worth. But apparently both lines don't think the market is there.

 

So I'm left with going down market with the nearest thing being the 3,000 plus pax Caribbean Princess. No thanks. Like I say, I'm frustrated. Does anyone agree?

 

George+

 

Hi George !

 

I totally agree with you. Add me to the frustrated list. I feel that Celebrity should leave 1 ship in the Caribbean year round. Century was that ship, until they decided to start sending her to Europe.

 

I know that some of you will say, that Celebrity will make more $$$ by putting Century elsewhere for the Summer. However, I am really not sure about that. I sailed on Century several times during the past Caribbean Summer seasons, and always paid top dollar, and the ship was 100% full. Is Century doing better being in in Europe ? Well, I have seen her on Happy Hour a few times last year, so I dont think the Century is commanding the highest of prices.

 

Besides, I feel that most Cruise Lines have over-deployed ships in Europe and Alaska this year. I have to wonder if there will be somewhat of a glut this Summer. I am seeing more specials and promotions than ever, so I am wondering if there is a little too much capacity in those locations.

 

There is another matter to consider. You should NEVER want a loyal customer to try other Cruise Lines, as they might not come back. We will probably be sailing on Princess this Summer, as Celebrity has nothing to offer us to the Caribbean. Although Celebrity wont lose our loyalty, they are running that risk with many other passengers. With today's STRONG competition, If I were running Celebrity, I would not be willing to take that chance. Loyalty is very hard to gain, and very easy to lose.

 

Hopefully, Celebrity will fix that situation with the 2007/2008 schedule. If not then, perhaps in late 2008, when the new Celebrity ship comes out. I think the new ship will give Celebrity many other deployment options. Time will tell.

[Susan-M]

Andy, I think you make a good argument for keeping a ship in the Caribbean ... I wondered also about an excess of ships in Europe this year.

 

I was curious though if you always cruise in the Caribbean?

[Andy]

Andy, I think you make a good argument for keeping a ship in the Caribbean ... I wondered also about an excess of ships in Europe this year.

 

I was curious though if you always cruise in the Caribbean?

 

Hi Susan !

 

I have Cruised other places in the past, but due to physical limitations with some of my immediate Family (and I prefer to Cruise with them whenever possible), I mostly am on Caribbean sailings. I also love being in Warm weather, and love the beaches.... so the Caribbean is a perfect spot for me.

 

For 2007, I am considering doing 1 of either Alaska, Hawaii or perhaps a Europe sailing. Not sure which one I will choose at this point.

[montgomeryfamily]

We were also very disappointed that Celebrity was not positioning a ship in the Caribbean this summer. We had definitely planned to book a suite on a Celebrity Caribbean cruise this August and were very disappointed when the schedule came out showing no ships positioned in the Caribbean for the entire summer. So we have booked the Caribbean Princess instead. :cool:

 

While IMHO Celebrity beats Princess hands down in service, especially for suites, Princess has good service and very nice ships. The Princess suites actually offer more amenties than Celebrity suites, including free internet, free initial minibar set-up, and free laundry/dry-cleaning. The mini-suites are similar to CC balcony cabins and in several cases, much larger. They also have very large regular balcony cabins, especially on certain decks. And the price is much less than Celebrity, which is an unexpected bonus for our cruise budget (since we had been planning to book Celebrity for this cruise).

 

We have sailed on Princess several times before, including the Grand class ships and the Caribbean Princess. Yes, George, the Caribbean Princess is large, but the ship lays out its public rooms quite well for the most part and we also know about less crowded areas and things to do. For example, Princess pools are freshwater and the Caribbean Princess has two adult only pools and several adult only hot tubs, one grouping of which (pools/hot tubs) is on a different deck than the pool deck, somewhat secluded, and so it doesn't get that much traffic. Plus that pool/hot tub is usually open all night as well. We also book at least a balcony level stateroom so we have our own private balcony.

 

The Caribbean Princess has a fabulous spa--the Lotus Spa, and the treatments are actually cheaper than Celebrity. There is also a swim-against-the-currents poos, a thermal suite and several couples treatments, including a couples rasual treatment. Among other features the Caribbean Princess has a library, a formal tea in the dining room, a wine-tasting, Scholarship at Sea classes, and a fantastic entertainer in the Piano Bar who performs most every evening--Bert Stratton. I think he is the best such entertainer in the Caribbean. He gets rave reviews on the Princess board.

 

Princess also has a security patrol to manage kids, a definite asset in the summer months. We too have a disabled family member with us and find that Princess ship accommodations, accessibility, and ship services for the disabled is excellent. There are negatives about a ship this size, but if anyone is interested in booking either Princess or specifically the Caribbean Princess and would like some more information or tips, especially with room selection, please feel free to email me at kacruiser@ev1.net.

 

We are going on the Eastern Caribbean itinerary. The Caribbean Princess sails an alternating Eastern/Western Caribbean itinerary. The Eastern Caribbean itinerary stops at St. Thomas, St. Martin, and Princess Cay, a beautiful private island owned by Princess. We like this intinerary because in addition to ports which we like (and have been to several times), the shp can dock except at Princess Cay and we prefer to do that rather than tender. Also, there are accessible excursions at these ports. The ship does have to tender at Princess Cay, but our ship will be the only one there at the time so tendering will be easier. Princess Cay has beach wheelchairs, so the entire family can enjoy the gorgeous beaches and water.

 

In fact, we are going on a Cruise Critic group cruise on the Caribbean Princess on August 19, 2006, with great group pricing, $25 pp shipboard credit, a photo voucher, and of course, the terrific Cruise Critic merchandise you get. :) We decided that since we wouldn't be able to have a Celebrity suite "pampering" cruise, we'd just make this a fun-filled cruise. :) (Although we have lots of plans for the Lotus Spa--and Princess lets you pre-reserve spa services before you even board!) So if you really want to sail the Caribbean this summer, then join us for a great cruise!!

 

We are Select members and only one cruise away from the next level of Captain's Club, so we will be cruising Celebrity again. This summer cruise would have given it to us, but, oh well, no Caribbean cruises to be had. Hopefully in 2007 Celebrity will accede to the demands and again position a ship in the Caribbean in the summer months. But until then.... :D

 

For pricing or more information about the group cruise, click on the links below or email me at kacruiser@ev1.net.

[lysolqn]

I think last summer was the first that X didn't have a ship in the Caribbean when it decided to move Century to Europe. I assumed the itinerary change was because X, having a relatively small fleet, wanted it ships where they could earn the most per diem (Europe) and the bottom line is, after all, the bottom line. But the small fleet excuse doesn't really hold water (no pun intended) with respect to HAL. I'm not in favor of the change becaue I think it leaves a gaping void in X's offerings, but then I'm not one of the corporate suits earning big bucks in Miami.

[blemaire]

Has anyone been on the Fantasty recently that can give some information about how it was? We are going in April out of Fla. to the Bahamas. I can't wait. I am so excited. This is our 3rd cruise. We are starting to cruise in April now , causse I am so afraid of hurricanes.Thanks Bev.

[Fang]

I agree that Celebrity should keep one ship in the Caribbean over the summer. Add to that I wish they would keep one ship doing seven day cruises year round.

 

My family has taken a Thanksgiving cruise for the past four years. We leave the weekend before Thanksgiving. This year they are not doing a cruise over Thanksgiving week, except the Connie, which leaves the Monday of Thanksgiving week.

 

Also, it appears to me that the only seven day cruise will not be starting until the first week of January (2007).

 

I have been on 14 Celebrity cruises, but I am starting to think that I did not leave Celebrity, they left me.

[lambcom]

Thanks for all the thoughtful replies to my OP. To Frosty, I'm sure Disney does a good job, but my experiences with the forced jollity of the Mouse company just aren't my style.

And yes Bermuda is a do-able option. In fact my first cruise with my DW in 1983 was to Bermuda on the old 500+ pax Veendam and we really enjoyed both the ship and the island. And for a cruise that is only at sea for two days, I guess we could forgo the verandas. And New Jersey is only a six hour or so drive from Montreal.

 

Host Andy, we are very much on the same wave-length and I suppose as "Montgomery Family" suggests that Caribbean Princess isn't that bad -- but still I am maxxed out with 2,000 pax, so 3,000 is just over the top. Somehow having to "bite the bullet" takes the fun out of the experience.

 

I'm still all over the place in terms of what I'm going to do. The bucks just aren't there for Europe or Alaska when you factor in the airfare. Curse you X and HAL for dropping the Caribbean for the summer!!

 

George+

[lysolqn]

I wonder if RCI pulled X from the Caribbean during the summer to maximize X's per diem in Alaska and Europe, while betting that loyal X passengers who wanted to cruise the Caribbean at that time of year would more than likely move over to Royal Caribbean ships - thus, a win-win situation for the parent company. I don't think it would be a lateral move for X passengers and I think the likihood that X passengers would automatically consider Royal Caribbean is not a given, but that might have been at least part of the thought process.

[richsea]

I have to agree about the lack of X ships in the Caribbean, not only in the summer, but fall as well. We enjoy cruising in early November, particularly from San Juan, & X has nothing to offer. Even though we live in the New York area, sailing from NY in November does not appeal to us due to the cold weather the first & last couple of days. As a result, after 13 Celebrity cruises, we are trying Princess this November fout of San Juan. If the 2 experiences are comparable, well I guess X will have lost a loyal passenger. We shall see. I also agree that Royal Caribbean is not nesessarily a good replacement. Rock climbing & wave pools don't sound like our cup of tea.

 

Here's hoping they will return to the Caribbean when the new schedules are announced in a few months.

 

Rich

[more mangos please]

Folk, look at the per/day rates they get in Alaska and Europe in the summer. Would you really want to pay those rates for off season in the Caribbean?

[montgomeryfamily]

If it was part of the thought process that Celebrity customers wanting to cruise in the Caribbean during the summer would just automatically shift over to RCI, IMHO this was a serious miscalculation on the part of the parent company. Having sailed on both several times, we found the two products to be completely different.

 

When we found that Celebrity wasn't positioning ships in the Caribbean this summer, we considered several options, including booking an RCI cruise. But after consideration and evaluation, we decided Princess was closer to what we were looking for originally with the Celebrity product.

 

The Voyager class ships are huge, with hundreds of more passengers than even the Caribbean Princess. We have been on two Voyager class ships, once with young family members and once with only adults. Both times we were surprised at how crowded it was in the public areas, with the ship design sending passengers through the promenade area. We thought that in the newer Voyager class ship might not have the problem, but apparently this is the standard design. The smaller ships are better in terms of passenger flow, but the focus is still much more on family-oriented/children activities. We have seen a lot of "children out of control" issues on RCI, with children in the adult pools/hot tubs and running the hallways at night banging on the doors, etc. So knowing we would be traveling in the summer, when there would be more children, we considered this as well. I wish RCI would adopt the Princess security patrol for kids or just take a more firm line on this like Celebrity does.

 

Also, RCI has very few perks for their suites--not anything like Celebrity, and their staterooms don't compare. Plus we feel that Celebrity service is superior to that offered by all of the mainstream cruiselines, including RCI and Princess (and HAL too). If the RCI headquarters wants Celebrity passengers to move/use the RCI product, they need to get a better handle on what factors/amenities cause people to book on Celebrity rather than RCI to begin with.

 

George, the airfare is certainly an issue which makes the Caribbean much more appealing. I also understand why you are concerned about being on a ship with 3000 passengers. But perhaps if you could explain the type of cabin you typically book and the types of activities you typically enjoy while on the ship, it would help those of us who have been on Princess and, more specifically the Caribbean Princess, to let you know whether you not you would have to "bite the bullet" if you sailed on Princess or whether, in fact, there would be activities offered you would typically enjoy and whether those would usually be very crowded.

 

For example, the Caribbean Princess offers a thalassotherapy pool in the Lotus Spa, but, unlike Celebrity, there is a fee, even for suite passengers. But because there is a fee, very few people use this or the thermal suite, which also has a fee. (There is a weekly pass you can get for both). Also, the adult pool and hot tubs which are on a different deck than the pool deck also typically have very few people, but most people don't realize those are even there.

 

Anyway, glad to help to provide info about this to help you make a decision. It looks like your primary Celebrity option is to just go back to Bermuda. We didn't want to do this, as we did want to cruise in the Caribbean, much for the same reasons as Host Andy. But, at least if you did this you could enjoy the Celebrity ship--although I agree with you about missing the veranda. I enjoy the veranda just as much in port as I do on sea days, especially eating breakfast there.

[Andy]

I have to agree about the lack of X ships in the Caribbean, not only in the summer, but fall as well. We enjoy cruising in early November, particularly from San Juan, & X has nothing to offer. Even though we live in the New York area, sailing from NY in November does not appeal to us due to the cold weather the first & last couple of days. As a result, after 13 Celebrity cruises, we are trying Princess this November fout of San Juan. If the 2 experiences are comparable, well I guess X will have lost a loyal passenger. We shall see. I also agree that Royal Caribbean is not nesessarily a good replacement. Rock climbing & wave pools don't sound like our cup of tea.

 

Here's hoping they will return to the Caribbean when the new schedules are announced in a few months.

 

Rich

 

Hi Rich !

 

I agree with all of your comments. You are exactly the type of passenger that I referred to in my earlier post. You are a loyal X Passenger, who is sailing elsewhere, due to lack of any options. That is exactly what is alarming to me. Many of us, will be doing the same thing this Summer.

 

Let's hope Celebrity adds a year round ship in the Caribbean, when the new schedules are released.

[Andy]

I wonder if RCI pulled X from the Caribbean during the summer to maximize X's per diem in Alaska and Europe, while betting that loyal X passengers who wanted to cruise the Caribbean at that time of year would more than likely move over to Royal Caribbean ships - thus, a win-win situation for the parent company. I don't think it would be a lateral move for X passengers and I think the likihood that X passengers would automatically consider Royal Caribbean is not a given, but that might have been at least part of the thought process.

 

Hi Lysolqn !

 

Somehow, I do feel that was a big part of their thought process. However, it is probably foolish thinking of them to "assume" that a Celebrity passenger would automatically book Royal Caribbean. They are 2 very different Cruise experiences.

 

While there is nothing wrong with Royal Caribbean, and they do a fine job, we will not automatically jump to Royal Caribbean as our second choice. We will likely choose Princess over Royal Caribbean this Summer. I am sure that is not what Royal Caribbean or Celebrity was counting on, when they made these decisions.

[lambcom]

Montgomery Family (aka Kathy), you asked about our cruising expectations/style to see if we are compatible with the Caribbean Princess. Here's what I can tell you: we've done about 11 cruises, all with either HAL or X, with the exception of a trans-atlantic back in 1990 on the QE2. We started with HAL then switched over to X and stayed with them until April of last year when we returned to HAL for a 40th wedding anniversary Panama Canal transit on the Veendam (Tampa to San Diego. While we loved the cruise and the ports, we were underwhelmed by HAL's performance. The cost cutting at the hands of its masters at Carnivore Corporation has taken a major toll on food and cabin service with employees barely having the time to do their jobs, never mind chatting with passengers as used to be the case. In short, they drove us back into the arms of Celebrity.

 

I'm a 61 year old Anglican (Episcopal) priest responsible for a two point parish in the suburbs of Montreal. It's a high pressure job and for me and my DW, a cruise provides the opportunity to be coddled and well fed and see some islands or cities if we so choose. We're second sitting people, liking to have a few drinks before dinner. We might have a dance or two and a nightcap, but we rarely take in the "shows". Our budget maxes out at the balcony cabin level (and that's a stretch -- made possible by more macaroni and cheese than I care to think about in the weeks before and after). We got a CC cabin on our last X cruise as an upgrade. Lovely, but I'm not sure how much I would have been prepared to pay for basically nicer toiletries and bathrobes and hors d'ouevres.

 

We read and doze a lot and usually choose to either just wander around in ports or rent a taxi and do some self-directed touring by ourselves or with another like minded couple. We've used the T-pool on the M class ships where its free and enjoy a swim now and again but cringe when the assistant cruise director comes out with microphone in hand and announces that it is 'game time." And spare me from bingo and the like. We're social, but on our own terms. After all, as someone in a "caring profession" I have to be nice to people the other 51 weeks of the year. This is the one week when I can just walk away and not have it backfire.

 

Hope this helps. I await your sage counsel.

 

George+

[masterbaker]

They are going to locate the ships where they can make the most $$$$$. We as consumers have a choice to sail where X puts the ships OR choose another cruiseline that sails where we want to go. In MY personal experience with 7 cruiselines and 16 cruises, there really isn't enough of a difference to stay loyal to one cruiseline. I just jump on a cruise that goes when and where I want to be.

[montgomeryfamily]

George+, I will try to give you some information about the Caribbean Princess tailored to what you have indicated. Hopefully this will be helpful and assist you in making a decision about whether the Caribbean Princess would work for you. I don’t think that the Caribbean Princess is a perfect fit, but I don’t think you would have to “bite the bullet” to sail on her—although you may have to nibble around the edges. :)

 

The good news is that you may be able to avoid the macaroni and cheese because you could get a nice balcony cabin on the Caribbean Princess for $250 or more LESS than the cheapest oceanview on the Zenith (unless you manage to find a Celebrity sale—that might be a possibility for you if you can wait until close to time for sailing before booking). You can save more money on Princess and avoid more children/crowds the later you cruise-- the early September sailings are cheaper than the summer ones. You are also eligible for a $25 per person referral credit since you’ve never booked on Princess.

 

The balcony cabins are also bigger than the Zenith oceanview cabins, at least in square footage for the cabin. Plus the balcony is additional room. The category BB cabins on the Caribe deck have a balcony which is half open and half covered, but is twice as large as the balcony cabins in the other categories, except perhaps aft balcony cabins. The category BB cabin balconies have two loungers, two chairs, and one table. Some also have a small footstool or side table. The table is large enough on which to have a meal. As an example of pricing, on our August 19, 2006 CC group cruise, a BB cabin is $1199, including all port taxes and gov. fees.

 

The aft balcony cabins are similarly sized. The balcony cabins on the other decks are smaller, but are completely covered. Those have two chairs and a table. The lower category balcony cabins and guarantee balcony are as much as a couple of hundred dollars cheaper.

 

The interior of the balcony cabins are all the same size, regardless of the category. So the difference is strictly balcony size. The balcony cabins are set up with a lot of storage space and one television. All of the Princess cabins come with a refrigerator for passenger use. You can purchase canned soda and bottled water or bring your own to put in the refrigerator. Each cabin may receive a fruit bowl—just ask your room steward. And you can fill out a card requesting specific types of fruits (although nothing really exotic). Also, all passengers may request a complimentary robe to use during the cruise. You don’t have to be in a certain category of stateroom or frequent cruiser for this.

 

The negatives about the balcony cabin is that there is no sitting area and the bathroom is small. The shower is very small. It doesn’t bother me, because I’m not that big, but I’ve heard others comment negatively about the size. Also the shower uses a shower curtain and there can be “stickage” issues with that. :)

 

I really enjoy eating breakfast on the balcony. Room service breakfast is free and there is not an extra charge for juice. There is a continental breakfast menu and the chocolate croissants are great! On all of the other Princess ships I’ve been on, including the Caribbean Princess, we were able to write in for hot food items or even call room service that morning for hot food items. However, it has recently been reported that the Caribbean Princess is now limiting room service to continental breakfast. I don’t know whether this is the case. There are some who are cruising soon that plan to test this out and report back to the CC board.

 

Princess allows you to bring wine, soda, and bottled water onboard without “sneaking”. Celebrity doesn’t allow wine to be brought on anymore, as I understand it. Also, Princess allows you to purchase other alcohol in the onboard duty free shops and take them to your room. I understand that this isn’t allowed anymore on Celebrity, but I’m not certain. (We don’t drink alcohol, so this is my understanding from reading the boards and from materials we have received from Celebrity for our last cruise a few months ago.) Of course, often people “sneak” the prohibited beverages onboard. Because you can bring your own wine, you could potentially save some money by having drinks, including pre-dinner drinks, in your room on your balcony. You can also order a free room service cheese plate as an appetizer.

 

Princess has a soda card for unlimited fountain sodas which is much cheaper than Celebrity. Also, there is a drink of the day and a martini of the day which are discounted. All of the bars/lounges serve pre-dinner appetizers and evening nibbles. So you can go to a bar or lounge before dinner as well. There are lots of bars/lounges on the ship. The Wheelhouse Bar has trio or small group singing in the early evening and a dance floor, providing a good location for some dancing and drinks. The Wheelhouse Bar is usually not crowded at all. The Atrium also has a bar and music, but is often crowded with people waiting for dinner. The bar on the top of the ship is not crowded until later in the evening, so during the day and early evening it is a nice quiet place, although there is no bar service until early evening. Princess Idol is held there and tends to be crowded.

 

The production shows tend to be very crowded and you have to go early to get a seat, so since you don't care for those, this shouldn't be too much of a negative. There is almost always a comedian showing several nights as an alternative show and this is usually not crowded. Bert Stratton in Crooners is terrific--but it becomes very crowded late in the evening, so it is best to go early to that.

 

Princess offers Personal Choice dining, which means you could elect to have your second seating traditional dining or you could have Anytime dining. The traditional dining is in one dining room and has the same menu as the Anytime dining, which is offered in two dining rooms. The primary difference is that the traditional dining has the Baked Alaska parade and the Italian night parade (O Solo Mia) and the Anytime dining doesn’t. There is one Anytime dining room that is always less crowded, so if you decide to go on Princess, email me and I’ll give you the details. You can also make a standing reservation for the same table/same time in the Anytime dining, so it could really be very similar to traditional dining. You can request a table for two in either dining, but there is more availability for this in the Anytime Dining.

 

There is also a 24 hour buffet, a hamburger/hotdog grill, and a pizzeria. The buffet is very crowded for breakfast and lunch, so you would be better off avoiding the buffet and dining in the dining room (which isn’t that crowded during that time) or room service. There is an informal afternoon tea and also free handscooped ice cream in the buffet in the afternoon—rarely crowded and a good choice. One peeve I have about Princess is there is a charge for ice cream except for the ice cream in the afternoon or from the dining room. The for-charge ice cream is Hagen Daas or something like that and the free ice cream is made by Princess. But the free ice cream is very good.

 

There is a wonderful dining alternative called the Café Caribe, that begins serving in the early evening. It is similar to the Celebrity informal dining. This is adjacent to the buffet and is a buffet with tablecloth covered tables with waiter service for the beverages. But the buffet is very good and is different from the regular buffet. On embarkation day, there is a cold seafood buffet that includes lobster. On both formal nights there is lobster and also the other items served in the dining room that night. The other nights have other special buffet menu items.

 

There are two restaurants for which there is a charge. One is a steak house. The other is an Italian restaurant that is basically an all evening dining experience. Now it isn’t as good as the M class fee restaurants , but it is very good. I haven’t cruised on the Zenith, so I can’t make a comparison.

 

There is also a wine tasting and a formal tea in the dining room one afternoon. There is an art gallery that has the paintings/pictures to be auctioned and some other artwork. If you like to attend the art auctions, there is complimentary champagne and raffles for art give-aways. Princess offers a Scholarship at Sea program with a number of classes, some of which are free and some have a charge. Some have only a minimal charge, such as the martini tasting and the mixed drink class, so you are paying only a small charge for “materials” and usually a free book. There is a ceramic painting class where you can choose ceramic items to finish. These are usually displayed in the library. The library is small, but very nice and usually very quite. There are comfy chairs with audio capacity in which you can insert CDs. There is also games of trivia, pictionary, taboo, and the like for adult passengers. These aren’t crowded on port days, but are on sea days.

 

There is a small adult pool on one of the decks which most people don’t know about. There is also a hot tub. There area is completely shaded and no activities take place there. It can get more crowded toward the end of the cruise and people “discover” it. The pools are freshwater and this pool/hot tub is usually open 24 hours. There is a small free adult pool in the spa area. This contains a ‘swim against the current” feature. There were some other piping/massaging/fountain type things around it, but my SIL who cruised in Dec. told me those had bee removed. So it is not really the same as the T pools on Celebrity, not even the M class ones. But there is the wave action that can be turned on. This pool is also usually not crowded. Stay away from the other pools during the day, as those are where the kids/families are and also the cruise director activities. At the Neptune Pool the Movies under the Stars for the late evening movie is rarely crowded. You lay on loungers with a blanket and watch the movie outdoors. There is free popcorn (like HAL makes with the machine) and the pizzeria is nearby and open all night.

 

The Princess spa is very nice and the treatments are not as expensive as on Celebrity. There is a thermal suite which as heated loungers and scented steam/saunas. There is a charge for this (although I understand that suite guests now may receive complimentary entrance), but you can get a week long pass for a couple for $109. The number of passes sold are limited to about 50. Because there is a charge and a limit on the passes sold, it is not used by many. My SIL said there were hardly anyone using in in December when they went. The couples Rasul can be purchased in combination with the weekly pass for a discounted rate of $180 combined for the couple (as least currently). The couples Rasul is a mud/lotion treatment that the couples do in a private room with private showers.

 

If you have a balcony room, you can also purchase a gourmet balcony breakfast for $25 (and it includes champagne). Also you can purchase a balcony dinner for $100 which includes course by course service of lobster/steak, etc. and wine, flowers, and a photograph taken by the photographer on your balcony that evening.

 

Negatives about Princess is the numerous announcements for bingo, the photographers trying to take your picture (although they do take no for an answer and don’t bother you further), and the crowded embarktion and disembarkation. You can avoid the crowded embarkation by arriving very early and getting in line and waiting near the front or arriving around 2:00 when there is hardly anyone waiting. The embarkation is very fast once the doors open and you get through security—lots of check-in booths. I can’t really offer a solution for disembarkation.

 

I don’t think you get the pampering you get on Celebrity, especially if you have a suite. But while the service on Princess is not as outstanding as Celebrity, we have always found it to be very good.

 

This is very long, but I wanted to address the points you raised and give you enough information so you would have an idea of what to expect on the Caribbean Princess. Hopefully this will help. If you need additional information, please feel free to email me at kacruiser@ev1