What's the Real Deal with Caribbean Princess

[Jeter02]

What's the current real deal with Caribbean Princess? Is the Caribbean Princess still falling apart and having loads of issues such as plumbing, ac not working, engine issues, etc. (Pretty much anything and everything with the ship)?

 

There's an itinerary I'm looking at but I'm feeling still rather hesitant as I last cruised on her in summer 2019, and I always tell myself every time I step on her, "Never again." 

[msmoger]

No

[Tak8]

I was on the Caribbean Princess in May for two weeks.  A little older, but still a great ship.  Crew was amazing as always.  I would sail on her again. 

[azbirdmom]

We had a nice cruise on her at the end of May / early June.  We did have a toilet issue but it was fixed and was fine for the rest of the cruise.  Staff and crew were fantastic.  The food was better than what we had on the Regal which at best was average.  There was rust but we observed them painting and scraping while we were in port so they were trying to keep up with that.  I was pleasantly surprised as I had been concerned prior to boarding given the reports.  I don't doubt that others had poor experiences - especially if they had to deal with sewer smells or malfunctioning toilets the entire trip.  I'm just saying that what we we had a mostly good experience on the ship.

[Jeter02]

4 minutes ago, Tak8 said:

I was on the Caribbean Princess in May for two weeks.  A little older, but still a great ship.  Crew was amazing as always.  I would sail on her again. 

The one thing I can absolutely agree with you on 1000% is the crew across the entire fleet is absolutely amazing!

[bhawks9]

We sailed on the CB in November ‘21 and had no reservations on booking a 10 day cruise for this upcoming November on her again!   As previously stated, crew was fantastic and food was good!    We had a momentary toilet issue that was resolved and never was a problem again.   She is showing her age a bit, but there is a comfort level of being on board the CB!   

[gepgelmik]

Don’t book it. I’m currently aboard and haven’t ac since boarding yesterday. Also had no cold water in the bathroom so I couldn’t shower. Nothing works.

 

The crew is great though.

[Jeter02]

1 minute ago, gepgelmik said:

Don’t book it. I’m currently aboard and haven’t ac since boarding yesterday. Also had no cold water in the bathroom so I couldn’t shower. Nothing works.

 

The crew is great though.

Oh no! I'm so sorry to hear this. I really hope the AC gets fixed for you soon and the water temperature fixed.

[capriccio]

12 hours ago, Tak8 said:

I was on the Caribbean Princess in May for two weeks.  A little older, but still a great ship.  Crew was amazing as always.  I would sail on her again. 

That was our experience in January.  We were supposed to be on a family cruise (8 passengers) last week but I cancelled it at final payment not because there was anything wrong with the ship but because the Covid vaccine wasn't approved in time to get our youngest granddaughter (almost 3) vaccinated.  I rescheduled to the same ship, same itinerary, same week next July.

[tetleytea]

Only issue I had on the Caribbean a month ago was that my plumbing went out (and then back on again) while we were not even in the cabin.  Traditional deck plan, nothing particularly stood out to me as old.  

[CineGraphic]

6 hours ago, gepgelmik said:

Don’t book it. I’m currently aboard and haven’t ac since boarding yesterday. Also had no cold water in the bathroom so I couldn’t shower. Nothing works.

 

The crew is great though.

 

Have you requested a new cabin?

[MissP22]

19 hours ago, Jeter02 said:

The one thing I can absolutely agree with you on 1000% is the crew across the entire fleet is absolutely amazing!

Yep, the crew is usually good on all Princess ships but it doesn't solve problems of older ships.

12 hours ago, gepgelmik said:

Don’t book it. I’m currently aboard and haven’t ac since boarding yesterday. Also had no cold water in the bathroom so I couldn’t shower. Nothing works.

 

The crew is great though.

Sorry to hear that. I know the feeling as it's happened to me also. You wouldn't happened to be near cabin C602 are you? It's known for bad AC problems. 

It's more common on older ships to have it not be evenly distributed. Keep complaining & they might change your cabin if they have one available.

Edited July 11, 2022 by MissP22

[MissP22]

19 hours ago, Jeter02 said:

There's an itinerary I'm looking at but I'm feeling still rather hesitant as I last cruised on her in summer 2019, and I always tell myself every time I step on her, "Never again." 

We haven been on the ship since 2018 and although had a bad experience with the AC found that the ship wasn't to bad back then. 

If it were the only ship available to sail when we really wanted to go I might give it another chance but when there are newer ships like the Enchanted and Sky sailing in the same locations, why go back to sailing an older ship that doesn't offer anything more? 

 

Itinerary doesn't enter into our decision making since it's usually in the Caribbean and we've seen everything. we go cruising for the ship experience only and the CB doesn't offer anything we want. 

[Jeter02]

5 minutes ago, MissP22 said:

We haven been on the ship since 2018 and although had a bad experience with the AC found that the ship wasn't to bad back then. 

If it were the only ship available to sail when we really wanted to go I might give it another chance but when there are newer ships like the Enchanted and Sky sailing in the same locations, why go back to sailing an older ship that doesn't offer anything more? 

 

Itinerary doesn't enter into our decision making since it's usually in the Caribbean and we've seen everything. we go cruising for the ship experience only and the CB doesn't offer anything we want. 

I usually only sell the new dealerships out of fort Lauderdale but when the Caribbean is the only thing currently available here then you start questioning do you do it or not for a repositioning just to have something to do locally and only have to pay for one flight home

[MissP22]

1 minute ago, Jeter02 said:

I usually only sell the new dealerships out of fort Lauderdale but when the Caribbean is the only thing currently available here then you start questioning do you do it or not for a repositioning just to have something to do locally and only have to pay for one flight home

I see where you're coming from.

We only sail from the fall to late spring when Princess offers other ships to the Caribbean. 

As long as there are "newer" ships to sail, the CP will be last on our list. 

If you give it another chance be sure to let us know how it went. 

[Jeter02]

23 minutes ago, MissP22 said:

I see where you're coming from.

We only sail from the fall to late spring when Princess offers other ships to the Caribbean. 

As long as there are "newer" ships to sail, the CP will be last on our list. 

If you give it another chance be sure to let us know how it went. 

Yes. I called the situation the double-edged sword. But I'm right there with you. I think I ended up coming to my senses and sticking with a firm no. But if that changes I will definitely keep you posted.

[ColoradoOne]

Has the Caribbean recently be to a drydock or any kind of upkeep?  Is the one coming up?

 

Thanks.

[Jeter02]

3 minutes ago, ColoradoOne said:

Has the Caribbean recently be to a drydock or any kind of upkeep?  Is the one coming up?

 

Thanks.

Yes they had one just recently it's been like a month or so in Oregon and dry dock I want to say during the month of April.

[geoherb]

I enjoyed my cruise on the CB in December. My little inside cabin did not have any problems with the AC or plumbing. It was my first cruise on the CB since the restart. I'm booked to go again next month to Greenland. I won't have to worry about the AC on that itinerary. I'm more worried about having to wait for a tender in some of the ports after reading about how long the lines were three years ago on this itinerary. But I'm going to try to pack patience and some good books to read while waiting.

[coo359a2]

We were on the CB in Nov and had no problems.  Friends were on in May and no problems except 2 tested positive after returning home.  Have 3 cruises booked next month on her and going with a positive mind set -  as always, keeping fingers crossed for no problems or Covid.   

[Bobbiegentry]

The CB remains our second favorite Princess ship behind the Coral (which we're unlikely to see anytime soon). 

Our next outing on her is this Oct. Looking forward to it with great anticipation. 

Don't let the naysayers ruin it for you. 

[kokopelli-az]

Well, gee, I don't know where all the problems came from but we were on this ship last month and had absolutely zero problems.   Our room was great and the whole ship as far as we could tell was gorgeous.   We booked another cruise for the Caribbean Princess while on board and then another one on the same ship (same room, too) when Princess was having their $1 deposit sale during the 4th of July.  

[DavidsNana]

My son and I sailed her Western Caribbean late Feb- early March and had no problems.  We were in a mini-suite and everything worked great.  Also, crew was wonderful and frankly, even the buffet food was good.  Of course, we only had 1400 on that sailing but that shouldn't have impacted the a/c or other workings in the cabin.  I have two cabins booked for myself and my grandson and his wife next April, Western Caribbean.  Used the $1 deposit.