2/24-3/11 Sea Princess Thougts and Observations

[jmcruiser]

Overall this was an absolutely great cruise. This was our 13th cruise and 5th on Princess (yeah, now we’re Platinum). Let me first set this disclaimer, these are my opinions, therefore they are not wrong. As always, different people see things differently. Please no flaming.

First of all embarkation, we arrived at the pier at 10:30 am. For this particular cruise with passengers coming and going, I would not arrive before 11:30. There was a separate line for Platinum and Elite. They were allowed in first and the rest proceeded. From the time the doors opened until we were in our cabin it was probably 15 minutes at most.

We brought wine, beer, schnapps, and Bailey’s in our carry on baggage, no questions asked.

 

We had a balcony cabin on the Caribe deck. We spent a lot of time on the balcony, even though it was small. After so many cruises we finally just took our time and did as we pleased when we pleased and it was fabulous.

We were in the minority as there were many more passengers from the UK. Almost all passengers were great cruise mates, of course you always have a few whiners and line cutters, but all and all most everyone was very considerate of each other.

 

We had anytime dining and here is where one of my very few complaints comes in. I prefer dining on my schedule not scheduling my time around dining. Therefore I do give up the personal service of traditional dining. That being said the maitre’d was continually seating the four of us at a round table for six. He would not seat anyone with us, but it was very difficult to converse at that size of table. I know we were not the only ones who did not like this. His mind was in the right place as he did not want to keep us waiting, but he logic didn’t cut it. We finally told him we would wait for a table for 4 so we did not have to be seated at a round table for six. All in all, the waiters we had were very good, some better than others, but all (but one) did good.

 

I thought the food in the dining room and the Horizon Court was some of the best we’ve ever had. There was a good variety. I didn’t always like everything I tried, but who does. We ate at the pizza place a few times food was good, however, I didn’t think the pizza was as good as we had last year on the Sun Princess (of course I had to eat the whole pie before I could make that determination).

 

Pet Peeve: Using the promenade deck as a sun deck. I was under the impression that promenade meant walk, like walking deck. People were pulling the lounge chairs over to the railing to sit in the sun, making it very difficult for walkers to walk around people sitting in the chairs close to the railing and others close to the wall. One afternoon a lady actually laid down her towel in the sun and laid on the deck. I live in Northern Illinois and really appreciate being able to go outside in February/March and walk in the warm sunshine. Again, just my opinion, but thought I’d pass this along. I have never seen this before on a cruise.

 

We didn’t take many ship tours as we had been to many of the places before. We did book the Silver Moon Sunset tour in Barbados because of great reviews we had read on these boards and we were not disappointed.

 

One of the biggest surprises was Tortola, it was absolutely beautiful. We don’t always know what awaits us on these islands, but it was very beautiful, people were friendly and we really enjoyed our visit. We just grabbed a cabbie and he showed us the sites and dropped us off at Cane Garden Bay where we ate at Stanley’s, good food, fun atmosphere.

 

We enjoyed St. Kitts, but the beach that our cab driver stopped at was not nearly as nice as we were lead to believe it would be (Frigate Bay). But there was a neat little bar on the beach where we had drinks and snacks and fun bartender. We felt most welcome.

We were looking forward to St. Lucia as we had been there a couple of times and really loved the island. This trip was somewhat different. First off our cab driver told us the people of St. Lucia don’t like Americans. This was new to us as we had always felt welcome in the past. He took us around the northern part of the island (we requested this as we had been to the south) and there really wasn’t much to see, so we asked him to take us to Rodney Bay. He dropped us off and we set a time for him to pick us up. He didn’t give us any direction where to go so we walked into a restaurant and the host acted like we weren’t even there. He finally started to seat us in the back, we asked for a table by the beach and he grudgingly gave it to us. Our waitress was very unfriendly as was the bar server. After lunch we walked down the beach and stopped for another beverage before picking up our cabbie to go back to the ship. I did not go through the shops on the pier, but my sister and BIL did and they felt no one went out of their way to be helpful. I am not sure what happened since last year, but we certainly did not feel welcome in St. Lucia. Hopefully we just ran into some unhappy people, everybody has a bad day now and then.

 

We also enjoyed Maracas Beach in Trinidad. It was as beautiful as the shore excursion book showed.

 

We snorkeled in Bonaire and saw many beautiful fish and even a sting ray. I’d never seen one outside of Stingray City in Grand Caymen.

 

Overall the ship was in great shape. I really liked what they did with the Casino, it was quite nice having tables and large screen tv’s for people to watch sporting events.

 

At debarkation, we had to show our color tag at the gangway to get off the ship, I don’t believe they ever asked for these before.

 

All in all this was a great cruise, I would take it again. :D

[Fuzzzy]

Pet Peeve: Using the promenade deck as a sun deck. I was under the impression that promenade meant walk, like walking deck. People were pulling the lounge chairs over to the railing to sit in the sun, making it very difficult for walkers to walk around people sitting in the chairs close to the railing and others close to the wall. One afternoon a lady actually laid down her towel in the sun and laid on the deck. I live in Northern Illinois and really appreciate being able to go outside in February/March and walk in the warm sunshine. Again, just my opinion, but thought I’d pass this along. I have never seen this before on a cruise.

 

:D

 

Nor, have I. Here is the definition from the Travel Industry Dictionary.

promenade. 1. A leisurely stroll. 2. A place designed for taking such strolls. 3. A deck on a ship.

[Coolmama_1]

Thanks for the great review!

[Dick the Cruiser]

Great review! You're right on about the promenade. Defined as walking deck not sunning, sleeping, laying........I would also add that the gym leaves a lot to be desired compared to many of the other ships I have been on. And the bars seemed to always be out of Becks Light beer. I would also add that as far as smart/casual dress it appeared to be very dressy, mainly sport coats for casual, tuxes on formal. No billy bob's in jeans here!

[Diane F]

JMCruiser: We are going on the Sea Princess April 8,doing the opposite itenerary as you. We will be going to Tortola and planned on taking a taxi tour and stopping at a beach.Can you tell me if there were large vans,as we have a group going, and about how much to expect to pay for a tour. Did you like Cane Garden Beach, and was it very crowded?We were thinking of taking an Island tour for a couple of hours and going to a beach.l heard aboutCane Garden and also Brewers or Smugglers.How long of an Island tour did you take before you stopped at beach.I guess we would have to grab a taxi to take us back to ship.We are looking forward to a great cruise and glad you enjoyed.Was the ship able to stop at Princess Cays?

[haggis]

JMCruiser, a very good review. We were on the ship in Feb and it was much as you say. I wouldnt worry too much about the St Lucians attitude. We've travelled the Caribbean for many years and found that sometimes your lucky with the cab drivers, sometimes your not. Glad you enjoyed Tortola, its been a well kept secret by us Brits for many years.

 

Diane F .. The taxis are nearly all capable of taking 12 - 16 people. They are more like the old charabancs. Open air with 4 - 5 rows of seats.

Happy cruising .. Jimmy

[jmcruiser]

JMCruiser: We are going on the Sea Princess April 8,doing the opposite itenerary as you. We will be going to Tortola and planned on taking a taxi tour and stopping at a beach.Can you tell me if there were large vans,as we have a group going, and about how much to expect to pay for a tour. Did you like Cane Garden Beach, and was it very crowded?We were thinking of taking an Island tour for a couple of hours and going to a beach.l heard aboutCane Garden and also Brewers or Smugglers.How long of an Island tour did you take before you stopped at beach.I guess we would have to grab a taxi to take us back to ship.We are looking forward to a great cruise and glad you enjoyed.Was the ship able to stop at Princess Cays?

 

Diane - yes the taxis have vans for several people. Our driver took us on a tour and to the beach and set a time for pick up (probably 3.5 - 4 hours total) for $24 per couple. This was also one of the best buys of the trip. The great thing about doing this on your own, you set your own time and if you don't really care for something, you can ask to be taken somewhere else. Our driver was Patrick and he was very personable. Have a great trip!!!!