My Short Review of CB 9/30 - 10/7

[gelton]

I don't plan a long detailed review but here are the highlights.

We flew into FLL only to find my wife's largest bag not there. What could have been a bad situation ended up being a major plus for Princess. We made our own flight arrangments and transfer, but that didn't stop the Princess agent going into baggage claim with me. The Delta agent was super as well and confirmed that Security in ATL had placed the bag on the next flight by mistake. The next flight wasn't to arrive until 4 or so, but the Lady with Princess told us not to worry and go to the ship and she will assure that the bag is delivered as soon as it arrived. And it was in our room before dinner. Big thumbs up to both Delta and Princess.:)

First of all the beauty of the Princess ship cannot be described. The public areas, the theater, the dining rooms, everything is gorgeous..except the staterooms. They are rather small compared to HAL and NCL that I have been on in the past. We had a standard balcony (didn't know at the time you needed to upgrade to a mini-suite to equal HAL and NCL standard balcony) and the overall size of the room was acceptable if on the small size. But the bathroom was a joke (in fact several Princess regulars we spoke with agreed this was one area they wish Princess would address when they build the new ships). I've seen it on these boards so I knew what to expect, but the mattresses are about the worse you could sleep on. The extra thick comforter (I think they were out of the egg grate) helped, but just be prepared. I did like the closet set up, much better than HAL or NCL's setup.

Food quality was okay but nothing to brag on like HAL. On par with NCL. The seafood on the first night looked great, but the crab legs and lobster claws were wet and salty (the shrimp was great though) and other items seem to be cheap buffet quality (Fire Mountain, Ryans, etc.) and I was told the main dining that night not much better. The meals the rest of the week improved, but nothing to really brag over. Of course I never went hungry and other than the crab legs and lobster claws the first night never really disliked anything.

Princess seems to always have activities going on for everyone. For my wife and I we were on a grieving trip since she lost her son so we watched but wasn't really there to particpate. But those that did looked as thought they really were having fun. Some folks I think tried to do everything and they probably really are having a burn out now the cruise is over. Just remember it is more fun to be involved but doing to much can be a chore.

This was a Eastern Caribbean cruise which means St. Thomas and St. Martin/St. Maarten. Biggest attraction seems to be shopping. The beaches and the islands are beautiful and I would have preferred more time touring. But for the wife and what seemed to be most it was all about the shopping and getting as much "free" jewelry as possible (I say free, but the salespeople are slick so keep on your toes).

Princess Cays..hmm how to be nice? Let's just say this isn't HAL's Half Moon Cay. Half Moon Cay is a huge beautiful sandy beach perfect for swimming or laying by the beach with the pleasant smells of fresh cooked hamburgers and hotdogs for a beach picnic. Princess Cays is best left to snorkling (which was excellent). The actually swimming beach is reather small and even that area one needs to watch the ledges and sharp objects. I never smelled the cooking of the hamburger and hotdogs and honestly they tasted as though they were prepared elsewhere and kept on warmers to serve. I know see why a lot of the regulars chose to stay on board.

I can't imagine any bad trip and with the circumstances in our life back home we were pressed to enjoy ourselves. And we did have a great time and overall it was a good cruise on a beautiful ship. My wife and I would like to try most all the ship lines at some time, but we would return to Princess if the trip and price met our needs. But if the same trip and similar price was offered by HAL we would be inclined to choose HAL (and unlike most comments about the age of HAL's cruisers, we are in our 40's).

[lv2cruise2]

Thank you for your comparison between the other ships. We have only sailed on Princess and hope to sail on the others you mentioned next year after this sailing on CB. I enjoyed reading your post!

[Rob & Beckys mom]

I'm glad you had a good time, we sailed this ship on Sept.23 & i couldn't agree with you more about the food. Much better on the smaller ships in my opinion.

 

Sorry for your loss, I hope your son was smileing down on you. Sadly, life goes on. Maybe not in the same way, but the sun still shines.;)

 

Jan

[gelton]

Sorry for your loss, I hope your son was smileing down on you. Sadly, life goes on. Maybe not in the same way, but the sun still shines.;)

 

Jan

 

Thanks for the kind words. There have been times when I felt as though Brett (he was my step son) was with us. He went with us on our and his first cruise September 2003 so this was like an anniversery cruise. But I think my wife could feel his presence as well and that's what keeps her going.

Thank You for the concern.