Caribbean Princess 12/10 - 12/17/23 Real-Time Cruise Report

[IndyKid]

1 hour ago, BamaVol said:

I would avoid anything Princess identifies as a “strip loin”. Mrs BV ordered one and could barely cut or chew it.  It may have been a one off, but she would never order it again.

Were there still marks on it from where the jockey was hitting it?😆

[BamaVol]

1 hour ago, IndyKid said:

Were there still marks on it from where the jockey was hitting it?😆

We mistook those for grill marks. But, now that you mention it …

[MissP22]

2 hours ago, IndyKid said:

One difference I noticed with Princess is that they don't offer steak in the MDR unless you want to pay extra;

One difference on the Ruby was that they did have a steak available at no extra charge in the DR just last month. We were hesitant to order it but we did & it was one of the best I've had on a Princess ship (other than the Specialty restaurants) in a really long time.

[IndyKid]

Just a quick update, after finishing my mimosa I decided to go up to the Lido deck and head back to the stern to check out the pool and the view overlooking our wake. I managed to find an empty lounge chair at the rear railing directly under Skywalker's and layed down with my book. The lounge chair next to me was unoccupied but had a towel laying on it. There was a couple using the 2 on the other side of it. After an hour, a couple came by, noticed the towel and inquired about it. I told them to take it but the guy on the other side said something of the effect that "she said she'd be back" and acted like he was going to say more, I said "the rule is 30 minutes, I've been here more than an hour and we're not playing the towel game!" That, along with my nastiest look put an end to it. I then got up so they could both have a chair as it was time for me to leave and go back to the room and wake up Sleeping Beauty....

[IndyKid]

So this afternoon we had an alleged missing person situation, everybody was ordered to go to their muster station with their medallions to check in. I'm guessing they got a report of someone possibly going overboard? Anyway, it's a good thing it wasn't an emergency, it was a Class-A cluster, people all jam-packed in the stairwells and elevators trying to get to Deck 7, trying to cross back and forth through the casino. 

[Ellipooh]

That sounds messy

[GonzoWCS]

2 hours ago, IndyKid said:

So this afternoon we had an alleged missing person situation, everybody was ordered to go to their muster station with their medallions to check in. I'm guessing they got a report of someone possibly going overboard? Anyway, it's a good thing it wasn't an emergency, it was a Class-A cluster, people all jam-packed in the stairwells and elevators trying to get to Deck 7, trying to cross back and forth through the casino. 

Was the person found or was it a false alarm?

 

Cheers

[IndyKid]

1 hour ago, GonzoWCS said:

Was the person found or was it a false alarm?

 

Cheers

Yes

[IndyKid]

2 hours ago, GonzoWCS said:

Was the person found or was it a false alarm?

 

Cheers

The scuttlebutt now among the guests is that it was some kind of drill. If it was, they failed miserably. And a lot of people are P.O.ed...

[avonlady6390]

Your second formal night will have steak and lobster in dining room.

[IndyKid]

1 hour ago, avonlady6390 said:

Your second formal night will have steak and lobster in dining room.

That's interesting. I booked our Ultimate Balcony Dinner that night.

 

Oh well....

[GonzoWCS]

1 hour ago, IndyKid said:

Yes

Class A CF as you indicated...

 

Cheers

[MissP22]

16 hours ago, IndyKid said:

So this afternoon we had an alleged missing person situation, everybody was ordered to go to their muster station with their medallions to check in. I'm guessing they got a report of someone possibly going overboard? Anyway, it's a good thing it wasn't an emergency, it was a Class-A cluster, people all jam-packed in the stairwells and elevators trying to get to Deck 7, trying to cross back and forth through the casino. 

So much for Princess tracking everyone on the ship via the medallions. 😉

[philv]

IndyKid, One thing I love on this class of ship is the steam room off the men's locker room in the spa. It's free and a great way to bake off the pounds (or a hangover). They have dry sauna too if you prefer. I usually use the shower in the men's locker and leave the bathroom free for my wife. 😉

[IndyKid]

So after yesterday's missing person fiasco, I went up to Deck 17 to enjoy the hot tub. It was OK, but wasn't nearly as hot as I like it.

 

We then got ready and went to dinner at Crown Grill. Started with the tiger prawns (decent sized shrimp actually), then went for the black and blue French onion soup, it was fantastic. For the main course I did the filet, wife had NY strip. Both were very good. For dessert, we both had the creme brulet cheesecake for dessert, also excellent. 

 

After dinner we went to Explorer's and watched the liars show and then the trivia contest. We enjoyed both.

 

Today was our first port of call at San Juan. Visited El Junque Rain Forest, then spent some time at San Cristobal Fort. 

 

Got back to the ship, relaxed for a few hours before dinner. Right now sitting in Crooners having drinks and listening to live music. 

 

I found out a few things about Planks and Steamers that I wasn't aware of. We apparently need reservations, which to me doesn't make sense for a supposedly casual joint. They're only open for dinner (a lunch option would be nice) and they're open on alternating days. I think Princess needs to change this.

[nasa1974]

Looking forward to the rest of your daily updates. On the Caribbean in April with my youngest daughter and her family. Have cruised on the Caribbean before. Nice ship.

[CCFC]

Can you tell me what the weather and seas are like please, it looks a bit choppy on some weather maps.

[IndyKid]

Just now, CCFC said:

Can you tell me what the weather and seas are like please, it looks a bit choppy on some weather maps.

It's been very choppy all week, as I mentioned earlier we skipped our stop at Princess Cays due to the unsafe tendering conditions. This boat has been rockin' and rolling! The temperature has been fine, upper 70s to low 80s.

[IndyKid]

As is my habit during vacation, I got up and left the wife asleep while I headed down to the Piazza for a few cappuccinos with a good book. Seas still are a bit rough, although maybe I'm just feeling it more since I'm on a ship only half the size of the last one we cruised on (Allure OTS). 

 

We stayed all night last evening in Crooners, listened to Luis Melgar perform on the piano, he's very good. I tied one on with a string of Long Island ITs, surprisingly I feel fine this morning. 

 

We arrive at Grand Turk in 2 hours, we'll see what that's like...

[CCFC]

5 hours ago, IndyKid said:

It's been very choppy all week, as I mentioned earlier we skipped our stop at Princess Cays due to the unsafe tendering conditions. This boat has been rockin' and rolling! The temperature has been fine, upper 70s to low 80s.

Thank you,

 

Hopefully we will get to Princess Cays on Monday

[Senga]

@IndyKidSince you visit IC every morning, could you tell me if they have kouign amann pastries?  I became addicted to them on Enchanted Princess and am so hoping Caribbean Princess will have them.

[IndyKid]

Just now, Senga said:

@IndyKidSince you visit IC every morning, could you tell me if they have kouign amann pastries?  I became addicted to them on Enchanted Princess and am so hoping Caribbean Princess will have them.

I don't believe so, but I'll check tomorrow morning. 

[IndyKid]

It's 6 AM, went down and grabbed a cappuccino, now back in the room attempting to get Sleeping Beauty going, we dock in Amber Cove within an hour, and we meet our excursion at 7:15 on the pier. 

 

Yesterday we spent a few hours exploring Grand Turk. It was an interesting place to be sure. British Overseas Territory, but their banks are Canadian and their official currency is the US Dollar. I was taken aback by how shabby things looked - derelict and abandoned buildings, boats left lying around to rot, etc. A few nicer homes here and there but they were very much in the minority.

 

Last night was Sabatini’s. I had linguini with shrimp and clams, wife enjoyed linguini carbonara. Tonight I'm surprising the wife with the Ultimate Balcony Dinner, should be good from what I've heard.

 

@Senga, I didn't see any pastries or desserts displayed at the IC, I'll look again this evening. 

[IndyKid]

Well, so much for a day in the Dominican Republic, our stop at Amber Cove was scuttled due to weather. Right now we're back in the room, I'm sitting on our balcony watching as the coastline slowly fades away. 

 

Our captain said winds are currently 25 knots, and expected to increase to near 35 later on. I get it that safety of the ship, passengers and crew is Job 1, but it still ticks me off☠️☠️☠️. 

 

I think they need to go beyond just refunding our excursion fees, perhaps also returning our port fee as well?

[Senga]

2 hours ago, IndyKid said:

Yesterday we spent a few hours exploring Grand Turk.  I was taken aback by how shabby things looked - derelict and abandoned buildings, boats left lying around to rot, etc. A few nicer homes here and there but they were very much in the minority.

 

@Senga, I didn't see any pastries or desserts displayed at the IC, I'll look again this evening. 

How sad to hear.  It’s been many years since we were in T&C and it was so beautiful.  Thanks for checking but they definitely won’t have kougan amann in the evening.

53 minutes ago, IndyKid said:

Our captain said winds are currently 25 knots, and expected to increase to near 35 later on. I get it that safety of the ship, passengers and crew is Job 1, but it still ticks me off☠️☠️☠️. 

 

I think they need to go beyond just refunding our excursion fees, perhaps also returning our port fee as well?

We missed 3 ports in Iceland on Sky Princess due to 30 foot waves in the North Atlantic.  Very disappointing but safety is the most important thing.  We’re going to try again in June on Caribbean Princess.  We were refunded the port taxes  as well as a discount on a future cruise.