Cruise Reviews - The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

[IndyKid]

I'll start this by saying I'm not an experienced cruiser by any means, the wife and I have only been on 2 RCCL cruises to date.

 

We were looking at doing a Caribbean cruise this winter, and we did the western section on the Allure Of The Seas in 2016 so we thought we would try the eastern section this time. We wanted a smaller ship than the Allure (too big, too crowded) and fewer kids. Our TA recommended Princess, and we picked the December 10th sailing on the Caribbean Princess - we figure that will be not as busy, and the little ones will be in school. 

 

So this morning I decided to go look at some of the recent reviews for this ship and it appears that depending on who you believe it's either one of the best out there or it is closer to a garbage scow. I know that it's an older ship but it went through major maintenance and upgrades a few years ago.

 

So who do you believe? I'm pretty laid back, I don't expect things to be perfect as I know things can go a awry. And it's Princess, not Silver Sea or one of the other super-luxury brands that cater to the 1%. So are some people just too picky or unrealistic about their expectations? And on the other hand, are those who rate this ship 5 stars too blind or loyal to Princess to note the shortcomings?

 

Signed,

Tuco

 

 

 

 

 

[Pickels]

We've been on 16 cruises since 2003, and have cruised with RCL, NCL, Princess and Celebrity.  A [cruise] vacation is what you make it.  Some people have outrageous expectations and others go with the flow.  On some of our past cruises there have been some "hiccups", things went wrong, things were broken, things were cancelled but, in all honesty, we always had a great vacation. Some people will always complain about anything and everything. If you read all the reviews of a particular cruise, some will say it was great, others, on the same cruise, will say it was the worse. Who are you going to believe? Have cruised on the Regal Princess and next March on the Enchanted Princess; what we like about Princess is they have The Sanctuary, which we always reserve for the entire cruise.  Can't offer any insight on the Caribbean Princess because we never cruised on that ship.  My take on "Reviews",--- I've read reviews on Trip Advisor for vacation places, I don't go to the Excellent reviews nor the Poor reviews; I check the reviews right in the middle:  AVERAGE.  That gives you the "right in the middle" opinion. 

Traveler rating

• Excellent2,220
• Very Good356
• Average201
• Poor147
• Terrible191

 

[PMGS247]

58 minutes ago, IndyKid said:

I'll start this by saying I'm not an experienced cruiser by any means, the wife and I have only been on 2 RCCL cruises to date.

 

We were looking at doing a Caribbean cruise this winter, and we did the western section on the Allure Of The Seas in 2016 so we thought we would try the eastern section this time. We wanted a smaller ship than the Allure (too big, too crowded) and fewer kids. Our TA recommended Princess, and we picked the December 10th sailing on the Caribbean Princess - we figure that will be not as busy, and the little ones will be in school. 

 

So this morning I decided to go look at some of the recent reviews for this ship and it appears that depending on who you believe it's either one of the best out there or it is closer to a garbage scow. I know that it's an older ship but it went through major maintenance and upgrades a few years ago.

 

So who do you believe? I'm pretty laid back, I don't expect things to be perfect as I know things can go a awry. And it's Princess, not Silver Sea or one of the other super-luxury brands that cater to the 1%. So are some people just too picky or unrealistic about their expectations? And on the other hand, are those who rate this ship 5 stars too blind or loyal to Princess to note the shortcomings?

 

Signed,

Tuco

 

 

 

 

 

 

Caribbean Princess seems to be a magnet for negative reviews.  Not that the issues people have had aren't real, but they're more uncommon than the reviews might lead you to believe.  I am sailing on Halloween and it will be my third time on the ship.  Love the ship, never had an issue personally.

 

What you're looking for on Princess in terms of less kids  / more laid back is spot on.  Take the sailing, things can go awry on any ship, your odds aren't really any higher on the CB than anywhere else.  You'll have a great time.

[voljeep]

you're going to get what you pay for, unless more changes come out between now and then. If you are a 'foodie' , good luck - to us anyway, the mdr and buffet is just food for substance.  to us

[Crashe]

Never been on Caribbean Princess, but primarily sail with Princess.  We love Princess because of the fellow cruisers.  More mature in respect to attitude vs age.  They are not really loud and obnoxious cruisers, but very laid back.  I will say we have seen our cruises since Covid have a more folks in mid-30’s and 20’s.  Food has always been great, service wonderful.  If your ship was recently restored, should be fine.  The smaller ships seems a lot more intimate.  We want nothing to do with “slides and rides”!   Just a few Smooth Sailings and watching the ships wake in the rear of the ship.  Pure relaxation…

[WisCruiser2]

We have sailed on Caribbean three times since 2013 (last time in 2017) It's not my favorite ship in that class, primarily because Crooner's (the piano bar), which we like to spend part of our evenings in if the piano player is good, is in a terrible spot. But that doesn't keep us from cruising on her again, as we hope to in October for 12 days, if the itinerary is what we want. I see that it was refurbished in 2019, don't know that I'll notice any changes from six years ago 😉 A lot of the complaints I read about seem to be "first-world problems..."

[tobyt]

I have a fondness for CB as it was our first Princess cruise but like others think this is more about expectations. Go in with an open mind knowing nothing is perfect, refurbished in 2019 gives me no pause with the lack of travel due to Covid limiting use. We are happy to have someone else make dinner, drive us to new places and give us a bit of entertainment PLUS the bonus of not working is just the icing. Perfect nope but neither was the rainy week in the rented beach house, road trip in traffic, all inclusive resort trip, first European trip, during a terriorist attack, family vacations, business trips, anywhere….vacations are like life not perfect, sometimes messy, sometimes overrated but I try to enjoy the trip!

[Sn0cruiser]

We sailed her last fall (Quebec to FLL then a partial Panama Canal).  We had one issue (toilet not working) that was fixed shortly after phoning it in.  Other than that we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.  Depending on the timing of the negative reviews you’ve seen, there were definitely more grumbles during our cruise because (due to staffing issues ?) an entire dining room was shut down which resulted in long lines and some people not having the reservations they thought they had.  But whatever the issue was has long since been resolved.

[voljeep]

we sailed on CB over Thanksgiving at 100+% capacity - way understaffed, and could only get into Sabatini's on the first night (we did, and was excellent), and not into Crooners at all.  mdr took 2 plus hours even at our table of two - but was almost treated as a table of 10 or so - as the waiter(s) served multiple 2 tops at the same time from the galley.

 

that stated - we're back on the CB - maybe - for a cruise at the end of October if we don't use CFAR.

[donaldsc]

When I look at reviews which I normally do not I just knock off the bottom 10 -15% of the reviews and also the top 10 - 15% and just look at the middle ones.  The bottom ones are from people who are looking for something to complain about or are never satisfied with anything and then top ones are from people who are so invested in a line or a ship that they can never find any fault w it.

 

DON

[IndyKid]

2 hours ago, Crashe said:

We love Princess because of the fellow cruisers.  More mature in respect to attitude vs age.  They are not really loud and obnoxious cruisers, but very laid back. 

This is exactly why we decided to give Princess a try. We wanted no part of the 20's crowd that seem to gravitate towards Carnival, and had our fill of the zoo on the big RCCL ships. I will plan to do an accurate, objective review of our cruise in December. 

[Crashe]

5 minutes ago, IndyKid said:

This is exactly why we decided to give Princess a try. We wanted no part of the 20's crowd that seem to gravitate towards Carnival, and had our fill of the zoo on the big RCCL ships. I will plan to do an accurate, objective review of our cruise in December. 

If you were going with us in January, we could have told fishing stories back and forth!  Have a great time!

[Paula_MacFan]

I agree with the person who said a cruise is what you make of it!  So many people will only post a review to complain, and not as many people post a glowing review.  Also I think many people fail to do their homework and select an itinerary, ship, room, or other choices that don't align with their expectations.  

 

Example -- we are longtime loyal Princess cruisers, but early this year we sailed on NCL's Pride of America around Hawaii and had a phenomenal time.  It was a trip of a lifetime and we couldn't have had a better time.  Yet, if you read reviews of POA they are more negative than positive, primarily (IMO) because people fail to research and have unrealistic expectations.  

 

We have also sailed on the Caribbean Princess twice and had a wonderful time both times.  Both were Caribbean itineraries.  I wouldn't hesitate to sail that ship again.  If you have found an itinerary that works for you, give it a try 🙂  Take the complaints with a grain of salt, plan out your time to the best of your ability, and enjoy!  

[Astro Flyer]

3 hours ago, IndyKid said:

So this morning I decided to go look at some of the recent reviews for this ship and it appears that depending on who you believe it's either one of the best out there or it is closer to a garbage scow.

Welcome to the World of Cruise Critic passenger reviews. 😉

 

In my opinion the CC reviews where stars are given & we cannot ask for clarifications are useless because too many are rants. I find reviews on this board much more helpful because it’s possible to discuss the good & the bad opinions by reviewers.

 

While there are more experienced cruisers with thousands of days sailing on Princess, my 500 days in the past 35 years on Princess in addition to sailing on Costa, RCCL, Celebrity, NCL & Carnival and soon Oceania so I do have some experiences. I’ve read reviews doing the same things on the same cruise that were much different than mine. I don’t doubt their experiences but too many bad passenger reviews are to vent…more likely they’re negative than are glowing reviews about great cruises.

 

I have not sailed on Caribbean Princess (pandemic cancelation) but I’ve read enough posts by people on this board who to me are credible & objective who like the ship. Being an older ship, I prefer Royal-class ships for the past 10 years. But that’s merely based on my preferences and others will prefer the older ships…neither are right or wrong for everyone. 

Princess continues to be my first choice for a mass market cruise line and reading reviews on other cruise lines including a premium line…Oceania…all cruise lines are struggling to provide a pre-pandemic cruise experience.

 

I’ve never had a bad cruise…just some that are better than others. ☺️ So I take reviews with a grain of salt and do not let them affect my cruise decision but only to be aware of some possible issues.

 

[eagletwo]

We have sailed on the Caribbean Princess 4 times, the last was Jan 2019 and have 8 total cruises with Princess. We like the ship. Is it perfect? No. MDR is fine. Buffet could be better, but that is just my opinion.   We would sail her again. I agree with many others, a cruise is what you make of it.  I believe most of the lines are having staff issues. Enjoy your cruise!

[aimee0715]

I've been on Caribbean Princess 3 times.  I've never had any complaints about the ship.  I will say, I'm not really a complainer.  I don't go around and look for rust spots or carpet stains or examine the upholstery to see if it needs to be replaced as I see so many on here do.  Since Covid, every ship I have been on with the exception of NCL Breakaway in January of 22 and Resilient Lady in May/June of this year (which were both less than half full on our sailings), service in dining rooms has been slow.  I think this is industry wide as the cruise industry is still struggling with staff levels. 

[Thrak]

Only sailed on CB once but had a great cruise. Tip: If you eat breakfast in the buffet go all the way to the back. That is where I found the made to order omelets and cooked-to-order eggs. I also found more available seating. I don't know if they still do it but, at lunch time, they also offered extra things back there such as a make-your-own ramen bar and burrito bar.

[startedwithamouse]

1 hour ago, Thrak said:

Only sailed on CB once but had a great cruise. Tip: If you eat breakfast in the buffet go all the way to the back. That is where I found the made to order omelets and cooked-to-order eggs. I also found more available seating. I don't know if they still do it but, at lunch time, they also offered extra things back there such as a make-your-own ramen bar and burrito bar.

Shhhhhhh!!!!!!  C'mon, that was a well kept secret!!

[startedwithamouse]

On the Caribbean earlier this month, and the MDR was very, very slow. We went at several different times throughout our voyage, and every single time service was painstakingly slow. We were told kitchen had staffing shortages. 

 

Other than that, it was a great cruise, and top notch crew. 

Edited August 25, 2023 by startedwithamouse

[voljeep]

8 minutes ago, startedwithamouse said:

Shhhhhhh!!!!!!  C'mon, that was a well kept secret!!

Like Alfredo's on other ships?? - yeah - the soon to be pay for cooked to order and crispy bacon?

[suekel]

I've been on the CB 7 times.  I used to say she was my favorite ship.  I sailed on her in June and will not go back to her until she's gone to dry dock. Serious AC issues, plumbing issues and engine issues.  

[IndyKid]

1 minute ago, suekel said:

I've been on the CB 7 times.  I used to say she was my favorite ship.  I sailed on her in June and will not go back to her until she's gone to dry dock. Serious AC issues, plumbing issues and engine issues.  

We're the plumbing and A/C issues in your room or in the common areas of the ship? Did the engine problem affect your itinerary?

[suekel]

Just now, IndyKid said:

We're the plumbing and A/C issues in your room or in the common areas of the ship? Did the engine problem affect your itinerary?

AC issues in my cabin and others who I ate dinner with.  One woman at the same table had a pipe break above the closet. We were 2 1/2 hours late getting into Roatan due to propulsion problems. We lost power on the ship leaving Cozumel causing us to drift until it was repaired.  They were unable to cook in the Crown Grill for 30 minutes but they made up for it with drinks,  salad and bread to tide us over. 

[Hlitner]

Once upon a time, Princess brought out the Grand Princess and the world was pleased.  They kept building these wonderful “Grand Class” ships but soon eliminated the all weather pool.  Most folks were still pleased but missed that all weather pool deck.  
 

 Than Princess got greedy and decided to add an additional passenger deck (with more than 500 extra passengers) without increasing the size of most public venues.  More folks, in the same public space made some of us sad.  And that is the very simple explanation that leads to

to some “issues” on the Caribbean Princess.  DW and I are among some

experienced Princess cruisers who will never again set foot on that over crowded vessel.

 

Hank

 

[IndyKid]

5 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

Once upon a time, Princess brought out the Grand Princess and the world was pleased.  They kept building these wonderful “Grand Class” ships but soon eliminated the all weather pool.  Most folks were still pleased but missed that all weather pool deck.  
 

 Than Princess got greedy and decided to add an additional passenger deck (with more than 500 extra passengers) without increasing the size of most public venues.  More folks, in the same public space made some of us sad.  And that is the very simple explanation that leads to

to some “issues” on the Caribbean Princess.  DW and I are among some

experienced Princess cruisers who will never again set foot on that over crowded vessel.

 

Hank

 

That's interesting. I'm hoping that it won't be too full in early December...