Caribbean Princess 4/1 -4/8

[docjbs]

This is my first attempt at a trip report so be kind. My wife and I had cruised with two of our teen-age children last year on RCCL Navigator. We enjoyed it so much that we wanted to go as a couple to experience some “adult’ activities. We chose CB due to the itinerary and recommendations from friends & our travel agent.

 

EMBARKATION

We flew into Ft. Myer’s on Friday to see my parents & drop off our 14 y.o. son. Sat we left in our Budget car at 9 am. We dropped the car at the 17th St. Budget office by 11:30 & were in line by 11:45. The doors opened promptly at noon & we were in our cabin by 12:30. Very efficient. We had mini-suite D505. What a great cabin—lots of room, great location mid-ship, & a huge (by ship standards) bathroom with a tub. Our steward was unobtrusive and kept everything ship-shape.

 

DINING

We ate in the buffet the first two nights (cold seafood 1st & grilled lobster tails/prime rib 2nd). Not 5 star but good for buffet. The rest of the time we had personal choice seating. While convenient we missed having the relationship with the wait staff that we did on RC. We also felt that the level of service was not as good – whether from the automatic tip or the lack of continuity. We sat at three different tables before we connected with our waiter/ asst. waiter and reserved that table for the rest of the cruise. The food quality varied from good to very good—slightly below our rating of RC. We ate breakfast in the DR once and felt it took much longer to get the same food they served in the buffet. We had room service twice on mornings we were leaving the ship early. Delivery was right on time & it was so nice eating out on the balcony. Lunch was either buffet or hotdogs/hamburgers at the pool.

 

ENTERTAINMENT

We saw Piano Man which was fair—definitely some weak vocal links in that one. The famous Bert Stratton was on vacation. The comedians were funny to very funny. Kimika was unusual to say the least—strange mix of comedy, singing, & instrumentals. We sampled all the bars & dance clubs—they each had their niche. We did learn that when the Patter said “ ” Dance Party it meant that the cruise staff would be on the dance floor coaxing people out. All-in-all there is someplace for every mood.

 

PORTS

Our first port was St. Thomas. We had scheduled a day sail on the Rumbaba. It was FANTASTIC! I will post a full review on the St. Thomas board under “Rumbaba Rocks”.

We had spent two prior vacations on St. Maarten so we just did a little shopping—mainly to check out the YodaGuy shop since our oldest two kids are Star Wars fans. Princess Cays was pleasant and relaxing. Two recommendations—get there early to get a hammock (turn left at the dock) and use bug repellant for the no-see-ums.

 

DISEMBARKATION

The hardest part (next to it being the last night of a wonderful week) was packing before dinner.

The next morning we had a leisurely breakfast and waited in the lounge until our color was called about 9:30. Clearing thru immigration was a breeze. Then to the warehouse-of-luggage. I strongly suggest you mark your bags somehow to help see them (we use yellow handle wraps).

Quickly thru customs then searched for the Budget van. Picked up the car by 10:00 and back across Alligator Alley to Ft. Myer’s.

 

SUMMARY

We had a great time & will certainly cruise with Princess again (we put down a deposit for a future cruise while on board). Our only real complaint is the scarcity of public rest rooms. We spent most of our pool time at the spa area adult pool. There are NO rest rooms nearby and they keep the doors to the spa area locked most of the time. It may be a good thing though since my bar bill would have been much higher if there was a rest room closer!

[shellfreak]

We were on the CB last week too. Had a blast. We loved Steve Moris the comic. Princess has traditional dining so if you book early you should be able to request it. I'm glad you had a good time. We also liked the spa pool area, probably saw you & didn't even know it. I also like the fact that we only had to drive 1 hour to get home:)

[Karen Carney]

We were on this cruise last week also. We had a fabulous time and seemed to be running all the time so we wouldn't miss anything. We love everything and I was not dissappointed at all. We put a deposit on a future cruise too. Now I am already looking for the next cruise. Did either of you go to the Meet and Greet after Muster? The ship had one for us with Champagne the morning of the first sea day. Only about 10 were there.

[docjbs]

We missed the Meet & Greet after muster (still unpacking) and did not know about the 1st sea day one. We loved the spa pool area especially since we were escaping our three teen-agers. I was surprised how relatively uncrowded that area was, even on sea days. We have already started talking about our next cruise-- perhaps the Med next year for our 25th anniverssary.

[Jennifer823]

Sounds like you had a wonderful cruise. We're going on the CB in November and I can't wait!

 

I had a question about the future cruise booking while on board. How much of a deposit do they want, and do you have to specify a cruise? What kind of incentive do you get for booking while on your cruise?

 

Thanks :)

[OnlineMom]

Sounds like you had a wonderful cruise. We're going on the CB in November and I can't wait!

 

I had a question about the future cruise booking while on board. How much of a deposit do they want, and do you have to specify a cruise? What kind of incentive do you get for booking while on your cruise?

 

We were on the CB last month and visited Future Cruise Sales before we disembarked. We put a $200 deposit down ($100 per person). We booked a specific sailing as we knew we wanted to take it during Spring Break next year. We could've just as easily made an open booking, though. The onboard credit "incentive" we were given for a BA room was $50 per person ($100 total) shipboard credit.

 

Have a wonderful cruise! This was our first and we lfell in love - with the ship and Princess!

[docjbs]

An "open" deposit can be used in up to 4 years. The on-board credit depends on the length of the future cruise-- I think it can be as high as $150 pp for a 14+ day cruise.

[racecruiser]

Hi everyone, our first cruise on CB and it was great,I beleive it was Karen we met at the port prior to boarding.We ran into her everywhere onboard.We missed the meeting after muster,was at sailaway.Will definantly cruise this ship again.