Caribbean Princess, what to expect

[memoak]

47 minutes ago, gilboman said:

Breakfast buffet is 5am-1130am, lunch is 1130am-3pm.  3-5 is snacks, 5-10pm is dinner buffet. And you have international cafe that's 24/7

 

I never had to wait for MDR yet, usually goto dinner around 730-8pm since I visit buffer around 530pm lol and then stop by dinner buffet after MDR or goto international cafe after show . And there's always slices and salty dog with no waits other than like around 3-5pm on a port day when people come back and lunch buffet is fine 

I was referring to the statement that the poster basically said the nibbles took the place of dinner. No way I can see that working. The MDR at 7:30 with an app main and maybe dessert takes care of me till breakfast

[BamaVol]

Last night was our first night on board the Sapphire Princess, sister ship to CB. It appears to be close to full (not many children so assume 2 per cabin). We had 6 pm dinner reservations and waited less than a minute to be seated. I have not seen crowds anywhere except the theater for Jeff Corwin.  Of course, it’s not exactly pool weather, but there’s a surplus of seating on deck, including the buffet at 11:30. Contrast that to CB in March where pool seating was toweled by 7:00. We never waited more than 10 minutes in the reservation line at dinner then either.

 

There are always workarounds.  I’m not sure skipping a dining venue for dinner is a good one.  I did notice today that they were moving very smoothly in the coffee line at IC by having servers take orders from those waiting in line.  It does appear well staffed everywhere I look.  I hope the same can be said for CB.

[cr8tiv1]

1 minute ago, BamaVol said:

Last night was our first night on board the Sapphire Princess, sister ship to CB. It appears to be close to full (not many children so assume 2 per cabin). We had 6 pm dinner reservations and waited less than a minute to be seated. I have not seen crowds anywhere except the theater for Jeff Corwin.  Of course, it’s not exactly pool weather, but there’s a surplus of seating on deck, including the buffet at 11:30. Contrast that to CB in March where pool seating was toweled by 7:00. We never waited more than 10 minutes in the reservation line at dinner then either.

 

There are always workarounds.  I’m not sure skipping a dining venue for dinner is a good one.  I did notice today that they were moving very smoothly in the coffee line at IC by having servers take orders from those waiting in line.  It does appear well staffed everywhere I look.  I hope the same can be said for CB.

 

Sapphire really isn't an identical sister ship to the CB.

 

Sapphire:  2670 passengers

...sister ships:  Diamond (and more similar to the Grand Princess)

Caribbean:  3140 passengers (1 extra deck)

...sister ships:  Ruby, Crown, Emerald.

 

Same size Princess Theater trying to accommodate 500 extra passengers.  

[cr8tiv1]

1 hour ago, Kitty Ellas Mom said:

Re: tendering, I was wondering about that.  We only have one tender port, but it is my first ever port, and I have a 10 am excursion.  This is Newport, RI.  I am thinking to be out there waiting to tender an hour or more before the excursion time.  Is an hour enough?  I am able bodied and can handle whatever the tender situation is.

 

The CB is too big to port.  All tenders take you into the middle of the town.  Lots and lots of youtube videos on this.  Is your excursion one by the ship or on your own?  If on your own, do you have Elite Status?  

 

We skipped Newport on my voyage because the Captain deemed it too dangerous to tender.  I did tender in Bar Harbor.  I am elite and it still took me a little less than an hour from checking in to getting off the tender with a 20 minute ride.  We had priority boarding.  Took our group before all the others.  Someone had told me they had waited in the dining room for a little over 90 minutes. I gave myself plenty of time to get to my independent tour.  Left the cabin at 9 AM for an 11 AM tour.

 

If you are on a ship's excursion, they will gather you in a location and you will have priority boarding on either one of the outgoing tenders or one just for your group.

[BamaVol]

12 minutes ago, cr8tiv1 said:

 

Sapphire really isn't an identical sister ship to the CB.

 

Sapphire:  2670 passengers

...sister ships:  Diamond (and more similar to the Grand Princess)

Caribbean:  3140 passengers (1 extra deck)

...sister ships:  Ruby, Crown, Emerald.

 

Same size Princess Theater trying to accommodate 500 extra passengers.  

I noticed differences but didn’t realize they were that significant. I confess I never attended any shows on CB. Just sat there waiting for excursions. I agree that CB could use a bigger theater. 

[cr8tiv1]

2 minutes ago, BamaVol said:

I noticed differences but didn’t realize they were that significant. I confess I never attended any shows on CB. Just sat there waiting for excursions. I agree that CB could use a bigger theater. 

 

All ships need a bigger theater. When they built the Royal Class ships, they took away public venues (like Club Fusion, Explorers Lounge, Wheelhouse, Promenaded Deck, etc) AND did not increase the size of the Princess Theater.  What were they thinking?  (rhetorical question/aka Sheldon Cooper).

[Kitty Ellas Mom]

16 minutes ago, cr8tiv1 said:

 

The CB is too big to port.  All tenders take you into the middle of the town.  Lots and lots of youtube videos on this.  Is your excursion one by the ship or on your own?  If on your own, do you have Elite Status?  

 

We skipped Newport on my voyage because the Captain deemed it too dangerous to tender.  I did tender in Bar Harbor.  I am elite and it still took me a little less than an hour from checking in to getting off the tender with a 20 minute ride.  We had priority boarding.  Took our group before all the others.  Someone had told me they had waited in the dining room for a little over 90 minutes. I gave myself plenty of time to get to my independent tour.  Left the cabin at 9 AM for an 11 AM tour.

 

If you are on a ship's excursion, they will gather you in a location and you will have priority boarding on either one of the outgoing tenders or one just for your group.

I'm on a Princess excursion. It's my first cruise  so I have the least status. 

[memoak]

4 minutes ago, Kitty Ellas Mom said:

I'm on a Princess excursion. It's my first cruise  so I have the least status. 

If you are on a Princess excursion then you will probably meet as a group somewhere on ship and be taken to the tender area as a group

[Kitty Ellas Mom]

Based on what I'm reading about tenders I think I should allow more than an hour, unless they have my excursion group meet together. I read some bad reviews of my excursion where the tendering was a mess. But, that seemed to be an isolated incident. Most reviews didn't mention the tenders at all.

[Rick&Jeannie]

2 hours ago, Kitty Ellas Mom said:

Re: tendering, I was wondering about that.  We only have one tender port, but it is my first ever port, and I have a 10 am excursion.  This is Newport, RI.  I am thinking to be out there waiting to tender an hour or more before the excursion time.  Is an hour enough?  I am able bodied and can handle whatever the tender situation is.

No...you do not need to go anywhere early as in the production shows. They will have you all meet together (probably in the theater) and then guide you to the tender as a group. This is one real advantage of doing a ship excursion. 

[SargassoPirate]

3 hours ago, memoak said:

Sorry but nibbles at 5:30 is not going to get me through till 1am. 

What happens at 1 am?

 

My 5:30 nibbles get me through until breakfast the next day.

[Paula_MacFan]

1 hour ago, Kitty Ellas Mom said:

I'm on a Princess excursion. It's my first cruise  so I have the least status. 

You will be part of the excursion group for tendering on the Princess excursion.  There's no need to worry about the process when you book a ship-sponsored excursion, which is one of the benefits of doing so at a tender port.  Your tickets will be delivered to your stateroom and will explain where and when you'll meet your group. Then you'll tender together and there shouldn't be any extra waiting.  

 

If for some reason your ship isn't able to stop at this port due to bad weather or choppy seas,  then your excursion will be automatically refunded since it's booked through Princess.  Another benefit of booking ship-sponsored excursions at tender ports.  

 

I have tendered at Newport and it really wasn't a huge hassle 🙂  That New England cruise is one of my favorites in the fall.  

 

 

[Kitty Ellas Mom]

Thanks, that puts my mind at ease.  I am hoping for a nice, fun first day instead of a lot of hassle.  That is why I booked through Princess.  I am well enough traveled that I could probably find my way to the 2 attractions on my own, but I decided to be shepherded the first time.

[Paula_MacFan]

41 minutes ago, Kitty Ellas Mom said:

Thanks, that puts my mind at ease.  I am hoping for a nice, fun first day instead of a lot of hassle.  That is why I booked through Princess.  I am well enough traveled that I could probably find my way to the 2 attractions on my own, but I decided to be shepherded the first time.

We've done our share of Princess excursions in the past, as well as lots of exploring on our own.  For some situations doing ship-sponsored tours is great and worth the money.  Some people claim that independent tours are always cheaper/better/whatever, but I say do your homework and if it works for you, then go and have fun! 🙂  

[IndyKid]

13 hours ago, puggymom said:

I’m on board currently. 
 

Entertainment is outstanding but get to theatre early. The shows are all wonderful but standing room only. The bands and other musicians are terrific. Cruise director and team are doing a great job. 

Hi PuggyMom, my wife and I are sailing on her in early December. How early should we plan to get to the theatre? What kind of shows are they offering?

[cr8tiv1]

43 minutes ago, IndyKid said:

Hi PuggyMom, my wife and I are sailing on her in early December. How early should we plan to get to the theatre? What kind of shows are they offering?

 

Depending on the length of your cruise.  For a 7 day cruise, there will be 2 (and sometimes 3) production shows and some kind of entertainment every night in both theaters.  Comedians, vocalist, magicians, etc.

 

If it is a full ship, not everyone can be accommodated by the 2 performances each evening.  45 - 30 minutes if you have a desired location.  I usually go around 32 minutes before the second show.  I read, recently, that the CB did a "matinee" show on a sea day.  Have yet to experience that.  

[voljeep]

Are Clinique makeup products available for purchase onboard the CB? - got a lot of OBC depending on specialty dining we are able to book

[memoak]

On 9/7/2023 at 4:36 PM, SargassoPirate said:

What happens at 1 am?

 

My 5:30 nibbles get me through until breakfast the next day.

Around 1am we start thinking about leaving the casino and heading to cabin for a nightcap and sleep

[kapsgp]

9 hours ago, voljeep said:

Are Clinique makeup products available for purchase onboard the CB? - got a lot of OBC depending on specialty dining we are able to book

In May they had Clinique available,  but not a great selection. Plenty of moisturizer and such but makeup, lipstick,  and eye liner colors were limited.

[eltigre]

gilboman, Do you know which night was the first formal night? With only 1 sea day I was wondering.

[cr8tiv1]

8 minutes ago, eltigre said:

gilboman, Do you know which night was the first formal night? With only 1 sea day I was wondering.

 

It will never be the last night before disembarkation.  When is the sea day?  Often they will designate a shorter port day for your other formal night (or dress to impress night).  How many days is your cruise?

[eltigre]

On the 10 day New England and thought our first would probably be the Porland port day. It is 4pm all aboard, no tender and not the Bay of Fundy excursion day which also is a 4pm port. The second one will be the Sea Day after Charlottetown before Quebec.

Edited September 10, 2023 by eltigre

[kathy49]

With tender ports on this cruise or upcoming CP I would be more concerned about Hurricane Lee which is now heading north and while not expected to hit land will impact the seas at some of the ports. As for the CP worst thing that I see said is she is old and due for an update. Most are happy and she seems to run full each voyage so people experience lines.

[voljeep]

9 minutes ago, kathy49 said:

With tender ports on this cruise or upcoming CP I would be more concerned about Hurricane Lee which is now heading north and while not expected to hit land will impact the seas at some of the ports. As for the CP worst thing that I see said is she is old and due for an update. Most are happy and she seems to run full each voyage so people experience lines.

hopefully the "CB" will be better staffed now than it was Thanksgiving 2022 ... what staff there was did exceptionally well given the circumstances.

[cfkm1]

We were on Caribbean Princess recently. It is a great ship despite being an old ship. We still enjoyed our Caribbean Princess cruise with all the entertaining events and fun activities going on the ship.