7-Day Western Caribbean on Caribbean Princess Review - Part One (Day 1 & 2)(OK, part of Day 2)

[Guardsy]

If you are going to read through this, first, get a beverage.  Or two.

 

Recently off the Caribbean Princess.  Had a Window Suite, Deck 6, midship.  GREAT suite and GREAT location.  This is our second cruise in a row being midships (literally just off the piazza) on deck 5 or 6.  So close to everything, stable even in rough waters and the pool/pool bars/buffet/etc are all a simple nearby elevator away.

 

Weather for the whole week was beautiful.  Definite pool days.  Schedules to stop in Cozumel, Roatan, Belize City and Costa Maya.  Could not stop in Roatan or Costa Maya due to high winds.  At Belize City we were able to water taxi into the port, but our scheduled snorkel trip was cancelled the day prior due to the high winds/heavy seas.  So, on a seven day trip to four ports we had never visited before, we got two ports and -0- days in the water at all.  Yes, zero water days.

 

Princess was very quick to refund back the port fees for the missed ports and also our shore excursion fees.  Plus, they gave all onboard an extra $75 ($150 per cabin for us) due to the disappointment for missing two ports.  Note, the sun shined even more on our missed-port-days and our beverage packaged worked just fine!

 

This was our first suite, and we took advantage of Princess' new suite holders lounge before going into the Port at Ft. Lauderdale.  Good experience.  Quick trip to the ship and right onto the ship.  Entered on Deck 6, turned around and there was the doorway that allowed access into the Fiesta Suites.  Easy peasy.  Loved the welcome onboard glass of champagne, fresh flowers and mini-bar set-up.  Oh, wait.  We didn't get any of those.  This was a disappointment as it was our first suite and I wanted my wife to be impressed.  However, none of that was in place.  Met our cabin steward and got the run-down.  Mentioned the mini-bar and the flowers.  He returned in less than five minutes with a lovely display of flowers.  Gave him my dress shirts to all be ironed (no cleaning, just needed the wrinkles out). No worries!  No cleaning makes it lickity-split fast!   Headed to lunch in the MDR then up into the sun and pool. Wife booked a hair appointment.  Dinner at Sabbitini's (just ok, nothing special at all).  Took in the show, a couple of nightcaps and back to the cabin.  No mini-bar yet.  By now have mentioned it twice to our cabin steward, once to the suite special assistant, the suite supervisor when he visited our cabin to see how things were. At least 4-5 touches on the mini-bar on the first day.

 

Day two was at sea.  Had suite breakfast at Sabbitini's.  Was ok.  Uncrowded to the point that staff hovered. Back to the cabin and a good morning from our steward.  Enjoyed our day around the pools and getting the feel of the ship.  Had 3-4 more interactions with staff regarding our mini-bar, but still no luck.  Mid-afternoon I called to check on our clothes that were being ironed.  It was our first formal night and I wanted to be sure I had one of my 2 tuxedo shirts to wear.  Was told "no problem" on the phone, they "will be to you very soon!".  Also asked about our mini-bar.  Crickets.  Now, the mini bar is not a big deal to me as we both had the beverage package, but now it was about the principal of the thing and parts of the suite experience that was not there and others that would not have been there if we had not said anything.  At 3 PM a mini-bar set-up was delivered to our cabin, but nothing that we actually drank.  Oh, well, it was delivered.  At 4 PM a knock at the door brought a second mini-bar set-up, similar to the first.  I asked the young lady who delivered it if we could switch out the liquors and mixers, but was informed that we would have to call guest services to do that.  Ha, after 9 tries, this was the best I could get.  That said, she left all 16 bottles of booze, beers and mixers.  At 5 PM I finally went to the clothing shop and purchased a VERY nice Tommy Bahama dark blue shirt to wear with my tux as no shirts had arrived.  Had to be ready for the special "Suite Holders Cocktail Party" at 6 PM.  Jumped in the shower and came out to a completely flooded bathroom!  Could this get any crazier???  Tried to laugh it off, dressed into my "almost tux" and headed to the party.  Once there we were greeted warmly by staff.  My wife was particularly taken by one distinguished looking officer and she shook his hand and said "You must be the Captain!".  He wasn't. but was a very congenial person and asked how our cruise had gone so far?  I shook his hand and asked him to give me a few minutes with a cocktail or two before he asked me that question.  He chuckled softly and asked, in his Scottish lilt 'An issue?"  I replied that I was just happy to be onboard and apologized for my lack of full formal attire as my laundry had not made it back to our cabin, but that I was so happy the ship carried Tommy Bahama.  He noted that he was glad as well, even though that wasn't an area he was responsible for.  Then I mentioned that the flooded bathroom didn't even faze me much and his jaw dropped a bit and he said he would make not of it as that also wasn't his part of his ship duties.  Then he asked if there was anything else and I mentioned "Well, if you could get our mini-bar to appear, that would be awesome!"  Now he REALLY cringed and said "That IS my part of the ship.  I am the Director of Food & Beverage for the whole ship!"  He inquired more and I mentioned the NINE people/calls/face-to-face conversations I had had with staff and where it had gotten us.  "Roy" started making notes like crazy at this point.  He also had two of the suite concierge staff come over to take notes as well.  Then all hell broke loose...........Continued in the next post......

[Steelers36]

As mentioned in next post, just add more posts to this thread about your cruise trip experience and review.

[phabric]

Interested to know what happened

[JimmyVWine]

11 hours ago, Guardsy said:

At 3 PM a mini-bar set-up was delivered to our cabin, but nothing that we actually drank.  Oh, well, it was delivered.  At 4 PM a knock at the door brought a second mini-bar set-up, similar to the first.

 

11 hours ago, Guardsy said:

Had to be ready for the special "Suite Holders Cocktail Party" at 6 PM....Then he asked if there was anything else and I mentioned "Well, if you could get our mini-bar to appear, that would be awesome!"

 

So if I have this right, at 3:00 you got a mini-bar set-up, and then at 4:00 you got a second one, to which you were not entitled because in an effort to fulfill your request, they made a mistake and delivered two to your cabin.  And then at 6:00 you told an Officer that you did not have a mini-bar setup and you wanted him to see if he could attend to this.  And on top of all of this, nothing in the mini-bar setup appeals to you, and you have a beverage package.  I honestly don't know what to make of htis story.  If you are trying to evoke sympathy from the reader, you are failing miserably. 

[Guardsy]

3 hours ago, JimmyVWine said:

 

 

So if I have this right, at 3:00 you got a mini-bar set-up, and then at 4:00 you got a second one, to which you were not entitled because in an effort to fulfill your request, they made a mistake and delivered two to your cabin.  And then at 6:00 you told an Officer that you did not have a mini-bar setup and you wanted him to see if he could attend to this.  And on top of all of this, nothing in the mini-bar setup appeals to you, and you have a beverage package.  I honestly don't know what to make of htis story.  If you are trying to evoke sympathy from the reader, you are failing miserably. 

Wow, golly JimmyVWine, you got me.  Yes, that must be it.  I was hoping to get sympathy.  Actually I was hoping to point out all of the errors made in a short period of time.  I guess you needed to be there to hear the word-for-word conversation, the chuckles and all the rest to really get it.  Thankfully, the two officers in white and the other 5 ships staff got it.

[JimmyVWine]

7 minutes ago, Guardsy said:

Wow, golly JimmyVWine, you got me.  Yes, that must be it.  I was hoping to get sympathy.  Actually I was hoping to point out all of the errors made in a short period of time.  I guess you needed to be there to hear the word-for-word conversation, the chuckles and all the rest to really get it.  Thankfully, the two officers in white and the other 5 ships staff got it.

So what did I get wrong, exactly?  These are your words, which you purposefully put into quotes so as to capture exactly what was said.  If this is what you actually said, then I didn't need to be there to hear the conversation, did I?

 

"Well, if you could get our mini-bar to appear, that would be awesome!"

[JimmyVWine]

8 minutes ago, Guardsy said:

Only speculating here, but you are they guy who is actually the debbie-downer on cruises, am I right?  The one folks ask NOT to sit with a dinner?  The one who if I ask you what time it is you spend an hour trying to explain how to build a watch?

Don't know you from AdamVWine, but reading a number of your posts, you just seem like the person who is always looking for that other meaning to things.  Love to pick things apart and be a bit argumentative.  Too much time on your hands?  Newspaper always soaked in the morning and that just starts your day off?  

 

I'd rather just go along on my day, looking into the next cruise trip, creaming of another cocktail on deck.  Bye-Bye, Jimmy.

In other words....you can't and won't answer my question as to why you asked an officer to get you another mini-bar set-up after you already had two delivered to your suite.  OK.  Enjoy your cocktail out on the deck.

[bronzey214]

2 hours ago, JimmyVWine said:

In other words....you can't and won't answer my question as to why you asked an officer to get you another mini-bar set-up after you already had two delivered to your suite.  OK.  Enjoy your cocktail out on the deck.

If you look at the other thread here, he gets a third mini-bar setup, a second floral arrangement, the shirt he had to buy comp'd and additional OBC.

I would be praising Princess's customer service left and right in my review but you can't please everyone apparently.

 

[bronzey214]

And the upgrade to the suite was free anyway!

WOW

[wrongwaywatson]

 

Curious why you posted Part 1 and then did a separate thread for Part 2?  Why not post Part 2 in the comments?

[Rick&Jeannie]

3 hours ago, Guardsy said:

Only speculating here, but you are they guy who is actually the debbie-downer on cruises, am I right?  The one folks ask NOT to sit with a dinner?  The one who if I ask you what time it is you spend an hour trying to explain how to build a watch?

Don't know you from AdamVWine, but reading a number of your posts, you just seem like the person who is always looking for that other meaning to things.  Love to pick things apart and be a bit argumentative.  Too much time on your hands?  Newspaper always soaked in the morning and that just starts your day off?  

 

I'd rather just go along on my day, looking into the next cruise trip, creaming of another cocktail on deck.  Bye-Bye, Jimmy.

This was a bit harsh, in my opinion.  @JimmyVWine has a very respectable reputation here on CC.  He simply re-stated the fact that you *appear* to have received duplicate benefits and some very personalized attention from multiple officers and management.  I myself was about to comment something to that effect before I saw that he had already done so.  I'm certainly not trying to minimize the issues that you faced...you should not have had to deal with those types of issues.

[memoak]

The mini bar always shows U

with a combination of liquors, beer and soft drinks. You can then call and make whatever changes you want. This is not something new and not a big deal 

[FrankieJayIII]

boys boys, why are we trolling and arguing about something said in jest. 

 

Book a cruise or something.