Currently on Caribbean Princes 12/8-12/18 Panama Canal sailing

[AtlantaCruiser72]

Currently on Caribbean Princess 12/8-12/18 sailing. First impressions are good. Ongoing maintenance is keeping her in decent shape for her age. Really like some of the new furnishings and carpets since I last sailed her 8 years ago. Aircon fairly decent throughout with the usual warm/cool zones throughout. 
 

Our cabin has the new motion sensor night lights at base of end tables. One word -Annoying. They are overly sensitive and turn on at the slightest flutter of the sheeting. Placed rolled bath towels in front of them to resolve. Also has the motion sensor light in closest. While a nice thought it is awfully bright at 3am…..  beyond that beds comfy and cabin in good repair.  Barrel chairs gone from all balcony cabins, at least on Caribe Deck it seems. 
 

food has been good, if not spectacular, but that is what I expect on Princess. Had a good table/waitstaff in coral dining room last night. Was able to request same table for duration for our party of 6 with ease at 7pm. 
 

wifi has been decent thus far, will se how goes as trip progresses. Have found using iMessage far easier than medallion chat to keep up with travel companions (we all just happen to have iPhones)

 

Service friendly, but some bar staff seem to still be learning. A few drink “misses” in our group. I’ve stuck with Goose and soda or beer/wine to this point without issue. Have not had issue with quality of included wines under Princess plus but not super picky there so.
 

Overall it feels like home here on Caribbean Princess and that’s a VERY good feeling!
 

 

Edited December 9, 2022 by AtlantaCruiser72

[larrybritt]

Great to hear it’s going well so far and hope You have a safe and awesome Time. We leave in 2 weeks and was Curious how the Wi-Fi will be as well as how Covid/flu is onboard.

[AtlantaCruiser72]

WiFi had been fast and reliable thus far, and have not found any “dead” spots signal wise (currently at lotus pool) but early days.
 

Covid cases and flu bound to happen, but myself and travel companions all quad vaxxed. Don’t hear much hacking and ship not anywhere near full so fingers crossed all will be well.  Some crew and pax wearing masks -maybe 10-15% but not mandatory by any means. 

Edited December 9, 2022 by AtlantaCruiser72

[ChutChut]

Thanks for the posts. I did the Caribbean in 2019 on a Panama Canal cruise. Had a fantastic time!

[Rick&Jeannie]

Thanks for taking the time to post!  We are doing this same cruise in Feb. so will be following your posts very closely.

[SargassoPirate]

Atlanta, are there any sturdy straws on board? Last year all I could get with my frozen mocha was a paper straw that quickly disintegrated.  I've been stockpiling straws from Starbucks for my January cruise on the CP.

[drowelf]

11 minutes ago, SargassoPirate said:

Atlanta, are there any sturdy straws on board? Last year all I could get with my frozen mocha was a paper straw that quickly disintegrated.  I've been stockpiling straws from Starbucks for my January cruise on the CP.

After a few experiences with paper straws, I invested in a couple of collapsible metal straws. They work great. The ones I got off amazon even come with a carrying tube along with a collapsible cleaning brush. Now I keep one attached to the outside pocket of the backpack for anytime its needed. It has a silicone rubber mouthpiece on one end to prevent your lips getting burned or chilled by the metal, after its sat in the drink for a while. When collapsed they fit easily into a pocket for carrying about the ship, if needed. 

[HBCcruiser]

We will be boarding as you disembark. Thank you for doing this! Any insights and opinions greatly appreciated. Enjoy your cruise! 

[AtlantaCruiser72]

@SargassoPirate maybe I consume my beverages too fast, but so far the paper straws on offer have been sturdy enough to handle even the strongest of piña colada’s, bloody Mary’s and vodka sodas. My traveling companions have had no issue either, even though they brought their own metal straws (which they have yet to use). 
 

by far better than the ones I encountered on NCL Encore last December that disintegrated upon contact. YMMV

[Kopy]

We will doing the same cruise Jan 7, if it not too much trouble could you please post the patters so we can see what we can expect on our cruise. Thank you

[Potstech]

They installed those lights on the last cruise.  We were not allowed in our cabin for about 30 minutes while they were put in. Only person supervising them while in our room was the cabin steward who kept getting distracted by other passengers. Was not happy about this at all.

Otherwise the cruise was satisfactory,

[AtlantaCruiser72]

Boarding day info and patters

[AtlantaCruiser72]

[AtlantaCruiser72]

[AtlantaCruiser72]

[AtlantaCruiser72]

In terms of WiFi speed - we are halfway between strait between Cuba and Haiti and Cartagena. WiFi speed and downloads/uploads running similar to land based. 

aprox 2000 passengers so roughly 65% of double occupancy. 
 

bar service still hit or miss but food service efficient and friendly. First 2 dinners about hour and a half each (6 people all w/ 3 courses and dessert)

[voljeep]

59 minutes ago, Potstech said:

They installed those lights on the last cruise.  We were not allowed in our cabin for about 30 minutes while they were put in. Only person supervising them while in our room was the cabin steward who kept getting distracted by other passengers. Was not happy about this at all.

Otherwise the cruise was satisfactory,

good to know - I guess we didn't have them on our Thanksgiving cruise then

[CkCkHunt]

I was wondering if you would mind posting photos of the Main Dining Room menus? We have a picky eater on our trip and are looking to plan ahead with reservations in Crown Grill and Sabatinis!

 

Thanks so much!

[SargassoPirate]

I wonder if a piece of blue masking tape over the sensor on those lights would eliminate the middle of the night disruptions?

 

Which genius whiz kid dreamed this one up?  Eliminate perks but spend money on gizmos?

[AtlantaCruiser72]

1 minute ago, SargassoPirate said:

Which genius whiz kid dreamed this one up?  Eliminate perks but spend money on gizmos?

Methinks this has to do with a lawsuit settlement and their liability insurance requiring them be added as an additional safety feature to prevent further night falls. You don’t go to this level

of expense on retrofitting a ship for no net revenue gain.  I can’t think of any other reason to do so

[bmc alabama]

Thanks for the update! We leave in 8 days!

[SargassoPirate]

1 minute ago, AtlantaCruiser72 said:

Methinks this has to do with a lawsuit settlement and their liability insurance requiring them be added as an additional safety feature to prevent further night falls. You don’t go to this level

of expense on retrofitting a ship for no net revenue gain.  I can’t think of any other reason to do so

I usually carry a small roll of duct tape and some masking tape in my travel tool kit.  I'll give the masking tape a try in January.

 

If sensor lights are because of potential liability, why don't they enforce no parking mobility devices overnight in the corridors?

[AtlantaCruiser72]

A rolled up bath towel under the lip of the night table has solved the problem.

 

the closet light is a whole other issue. No way to turn on off at all, 100% motion activated. So covering sensor would completely disable the light

[SAKay]

Hello -we are on this cruise, too. Overall, it has been great. Our room steward has been wonderful, responds to every request quickly. I always introduce myself on the first day and hand him a $20 bill. We get great service all cruise after that !  I also tip him again separately at the end of the cruise. There is turn down service at night. 
 

There has been lots to do so far on this cruise -lots of games & trivia,, if you like that kind of thing. We’ve been to ring toss, bean bag toss, 3 different golf contests, arts & crafts & steel drum class ( cost). There is a pickle ball court open each afternoon. We have grandkids with us and they are really enjoying everything. Also they had the Bravo show on the 2nd night. Wonderful !  It was also formal night. 

In the dining room we were able to ask for the same table after dinner on the first night. We were able to get the same table & same staff in the Coral dining room with Geronimo. Excellent waiter. We have the table at 5:20. They said the earlier the better when making the reservation. Check with Nicholas, the head waiter in this dining room. Very accommodating and friendly. By 6:15 every table is full. Food in the dining room has been so-so. A few good things & a few bad. I had a terrible Philly cheese steak sandwich for lunch the second day. Very little steak & a gross cheese sauce. Not like any cheese steak sandwich I’ve ever had. Also, last night’s prime rib was terrible -poor quality meat, like shoe leather. Don’t waste your time ! 
 

Wi-Fi has been OK for us. I have work to do from home. Took us a while to figure out how to turn it on & switch from one device to another - iPhone to lap top & vice versa. But working pretty well now.  We have been able to make Wi-Fi phone calls home to family members who also have iPhones. I’m not a techy so not sure how that works. My husband and daughter figure out all that stuff for me ! 
 

Starting  to see little tables in front of doors and got two of the hospital masks on our bed last night. So, I guess people are starting to get Covid. We are wearing our N95 masks all the time. Hoping to avoid it !  
 

Well, those are some of the things I wondered about before we got on the cruise. I will post more later ! 

[Kopy]

Thank you so much for posting the patters, it makes us feel like we are already on our cruise and are getting very excited already