Caribbean Princess 10/14 - 10/21 - Excellent!

[babs-d]

We’re back from an incredible cruise on the Caribbean Princess. We sailed 10/14 -10/21, the eastern route, stopping at St. Thomas, St. Martin and Princess Cay. This was our 10th cruise and 2nd with Princess. Our first cruise was 9 years ago for our 20th anniversary and we became hooked. We have experienced Royal Caribbean, Carnival, Celebrity, Norwegian and Princess. They have all been great vacations, some better than others, but not a single “bad” cruise. When we were on the Celebrity Galaxy the seas were so rough that much of the staff was absent in the dining room. Our assistant waiter had to fill in when our waiter was too sea sick to work. That was still a great cruise, one of the best. Just trying to emphasize that cruising is what you make of it. Some things you can’t change (the weather), some things you can (your attitude), and some things you just laugh at (fellow passengers who like to complain).

 

We left our house at 3:45am and headed to BWI airport for a 6:00am flight. Although the Caribbean Princess was leaving out of Ft. Lauderdale, we flew into Miami. We had free airfare from American Airlines due to an overbooking on a flight last year. There were no direct flights into Ft. Lauderdale so we rented a car from Thrifty ($27.00) in Miami and drove up. In less than ½ hour we were at the Publix in Ft. Lauderdale stocking up on wine, water, and soda for the trip. Had a bagel at the café next door, then took the car back to Thrifty and they shuttled us over (1/2 mile or less) to the ship. We were in line by 11:45am and had a short wait before it started moving. We were on the ship and in our room by 12:30pm.

 

We found our cabin (C709) on the Caribe deck and met our cabin steward Jerry, and let him know that we would like an egg crate and two robes. I had faxed in a request for these items but they weren’t in place. Jerry showed me the egg crate under the bed and said he would put it on at turn down. He said he might not be able to get the robes until the next day. We headed up to the Horizon Café for lunch then down to Promenade deck in front of Sabitinis to make reservations for Sterling Steakhouse. Knowing my husband is not a big fan of Italian food, we decided to reserve Tuesday night. We also reserved a table for 2 in the Palm, 8:30 each night with Rommel, who was recommended on this board. We headed back to our room to find our luggage had already arrived by 2:30pm. After unpacking, the 3am wakening time was kicking in so we laid on the bed and dozed off but kept hearing a loud clanking every few minutes. Each time I kept thinking that was the last clank. But no, it kept going. I must have managed to sleep through it for awhile because I felt somewhat revitalized when David Cole’s voice alerted us to prepare for the muster. Arose and went out on our balcony to see if I could solve the clanking noise. We quickly discovered that the clanking was the dismantling of the metal luggage crates. We were starboard side with a view of parking garage and fork lifts darting about loading supplies and luggage. We then headed down to Club Fusion for the drill. I must say that Princess musters are the best we’ve experienced. No forming of lines on deck in the hot sun squished up next to your fellow cruisers. We sat cool and comfortable in the lounge listening to the directions as the staff demonstrated.

 

Dinner that night was excellent, as was dinner every night. We had printed the menus off a posting from a website mentioned here. Each evening we’d sit on our balcony and have a drink discussing what we should have. More than a couple nights, the menus were altered a little and we found ourselves getting the new addition as it was usually even more appealing than what we had planned. For example one night they had substituted crab legs for a scallop dish. My husband enjoys scallops and is not a big fan of crab legs, he thinks they’re more trouble than they’re worth. It was a no brainer for me, I love them. He decided to try them as his second dinner (he always ordered two) and quickly changed his mind and thought about a third order of them. They were awesome. Most of the work was done as they were slit in half length wise and quite delicious. We thoroughly enjoyed every meal we had on this cruise. The dining room service was also some of the best we’ve experienced. We highly recommend Rommel and his assistant Jon. Rommel always gave us his recommendations and they were always excellent. We always left the dining room content.

 

More to come.

[Colo Cruiser]

Great review thanks. :)

[SingerEsq]

Rommel always gave us his recommendations and they were always excellent. We always left the dining room content.

 

More to come.

 

Glad you requested Rommel ... he was the best, but we did not discover him until our last night. :(

[JanMD]

Rommel- is he dinning anytime dinning room?

 

Wonderful review so far.

Jan

[JanMD]

Rommel- is he anytime dinning?

 

Wonderful review so far?

 

Jan

[babs-d]

Jan, Rommel is anytime dining in the Palm.

[babs-d]

Sea days for us are lazy days. We’d enjoy coffee on our balcony then head up to Horizon Café for breakfast. We also enjoyed breakfast in the Coral dining room one morning. I can’t say enough about the fresh fruit we experienced on this trip. The pineapple and strawberries were incredible. And never ending. I thought sure after a few days they would cease but no, they continued right through our last day. I swear, I think my husband must have consumed 20 pineapples. It was so sweet, not at all acidic. Plenty of different breakfast items to choose from and some I was surprised to see. Usually we have to go to the dining room for eggs benedict. Not on Caribbean Princess, right there at the buffet, and perfectly cooked, too. One thing I didn’t see was waffles. Not complaining, just stating! Maybe we missed them. My husband decided to ask someone if there were waffles anywhere while we were making our way to the Horizon one morning. I think the guy was part of the deck staff and he looked at my husband like he was crazy. And he is! You’re probably getting a vision of this obese man who downs 2 and 3 dinners, searches for waffles and devours endless pineapple. He is 6’2”, weighs 185 and can eat more than anybody I know and not gain a pound. Needless to say, we definitely feel as if we got our money’s worth on this trip!

 

We never had a problem finding chairs on sea days. We did go early, by 10am, which I recommend because that sun gets way too hot by afternoon. The band by the pool Vibz, is very good and can play a good mix of music. Reggae, country, rock and roll, etc. Really can’t comment on the day time activities because like I said we were lazy and didn’t do much. We would set up at the upper deck near the main pool. The water in that pool is very chilly of which I’m not a big fan. We were seated next to a couple who told us the adult pool in the front of the ship had tepid water. So periodically we would venture off to that pool so I could cool off, then come back and my husband would dunk into the main pool (he likes it cold) then we could bake for another hour or so. We took an insulated thermos we had won on our last Norwegian Cruise and kept it filled with ice water (and sometimes vodka and cranberry juice). That sun will really take it out of you so stay hydrated (not too much vodka)! Bar service was great, not bothersome but available. Be sure to try the pizza, best I’ve had on any cruiseline. We had lunch most days in the Horizon Café but did go to the Coral one day. I had some great cream of chicken soup, a greek salad and hot apple pie for dessert. Service excellent again.

 

Port days next.

[cbpanda]

OMG, it sounds like you had a fantastic time. :D I can't wait until we sail her again. Your review definitely brings back fond memories!

[zoe girl]

you're getting me so excited. we leave on the 29th. i was worried about the weather however i believe you had great weather regardless of what the internet said. i'm getting ready to pack and was planning on bring clothes for hot weather. did you ever get cold? i will pack a sweater for the dining room however i hope i don't need it.

[Mort13ers]

I know this is not the most important question but did you notice of they served Corona Light?

 

Thanks

[streaks23]

We're sailing 11/19 and I'm LOVIN your review!!!!

[huskerdan25]

We will be on the CB from 1/21-1/28 and I really appreciate your review and look forward to the rest of it. Our previous cruise was on the Sapphire last January to the Mexican Riviera and we are psyched to do the itinerary on the CB. For us, the cruise is the vacation and the more time on board the better! :)

 

Dan

[btyko]

We're sailing 11/19 and I'm LOVIN your review!!!!

 

Steaks23, we will be with you on 11/19. Come join us on the roll call board

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=291974

 

Bruce

[babs-d]

zoe girl - Definitely pack hot weather clothes. The only time I needed a sweater was the one night I forgot to take it with me to dinner. The other nights I took it and didn't wear it. I think I was sitting in front of an air conditioning vent the night I was chilly.

 

mort13ers - Sorry can't help you with the Corona light question. I did see Bud light in a fancy chrome looking bottle.

[babs-d]

St. Thomas – Our original plan was to visit St. John. We had gone to Trunk Bay two years ago and loved it so we were thinking of trying Cinnamon Bay. We were up by 6am hoping to catch the 9am ferry. After the sun rose, the day didn’t brighten much. It was quite overcast and looked as if it might not improve much. The sun is usually so hot, we don’t mind the clouds but these were dark, heavy clouds that looked as if it might storm. We sat on our balcony trying to decide if we should go or stay in St. Thomas. The sky did improve but not enough for us to make the long trek to St. John. We decided to try Sapphire Beach instead. It turned out to be an excellent decision. A beautiful beach with great snorkeling, too. Cab fare was $11 pp each way, about a 25 min ride. The weather cleared up and we would have been fine at St. John but we were happy where we were and saved a few bucks too. If you go, go early. We got there by 10am and had the beach pretty much to ourselves. By afternoon, more cruisers appeared. The Carnival Glory was docked at Havensight. It never got “crowded” but we enjoyed the deserted feel better. We rented lounge chairs for $7 each. You don’t need an umbrella because there are tropical trees that create enough shade. Beware of the iguanas! They scared the heck out of me. I was sitting there relaxing and wondering why this family of four that were set up next to us had decided to stand in the water and eat their sandwiches. My husband thought it was kind of weird too. The next thing I know, I’ve got a 2 foot iguana creeping up next to my lounge chair. Needless to say, I joined the family of four in the water. We saw two more iguanas after that. They didn’t cause any harm but I wasn’t quite as relaxed after that. We headed back to the ship around 3pm, had a late, light lunch so we could be ready for our Sterling Steakhouse night. I would highly recommend Sapphire Beach on St. Thomas. Go to the right side if you’re looking to snorkel.

 

Sterling Steakhouse next.

[Colo Cruiser]

How do you rate the beach and snorkling there? :)

[sunvalley cruisers]

Wow! Great review....keep it coming!

[serene56]

you had crab legs in the dining room? was this the first or second night onboard.. I surely dont want to miss that.

 

 

In st thomas-- did you dock at Crown Bay or havensite?

[babs-d]

Colo Cruiser - I didn't snorkel, my husband did. I'll get his 1-10 ranking and let you know. It's hard to rate the beach, they are all special in their own way. The contrasting blues that day were breathtaking. The changing sky, the turquoise water with the islands in the background was so picturesque. Entering the water was a little rocky, but not as bad as Princess Cay. So, I think I'd give it a 7. Maybe even an 8 before the rest of the people got there!

 

Serene56 - I'm pretty sure it was Wednesday night that we had the crab legs. They were really good. We docked at Crown Bay, nothing there but plenty of taxis.

[sea_breaze]

I know this is not the most important question but did you notice of they served Corona Light?

 

Thanks

 

Spoken like a true beer drinker. No Corona's but they do have Dos XX. You can even get them by the bucket. (Buy 4 get 1 free)

 

 

 

 

Great review. Thanks for taking the time.

[nosealegs]

I love reading your positive review. Just today I was reading a review on this board and it was so negative it scared me. Holes in the sheets, poor food, bad smokers on balcony. They rated the cruise a 1 out of 5 stars. We are leaving on the caribbean princess on November 5th. It is our first cruise and I hate reading horrible reviews so close to our departure date. Please keep the positive comments coming

[sea_breaze]

Babs-We too love St John but it is a little work to get over. Wondering if you could compare Sapphire Beach to Coki Beach. We were not that impressed with Coki (Kinda small and very busy) and would love to try out a different beach for snorkeling. Also did Sapphire have any restaurants/bars? Thanks in advance.

[danda]

I love reading your positive review. Just today I was reading a review on this board and it was so negative it scared me. Holes in the sheets, poor food, bad smokers on balcony. They rated the cruise a 1 out of 5 stars. We are leaving on the caribbean princess on November 5th. It is our first cruise and I hate reading horrible reviews so close to our departure date. Please keep the positive comments coming

 

 

I was on this cruise also, before I left reading the bad reviews scared me to the point of almost no excitement....We had the absolute best vacation of our lives. It is exactly what you make of it. I was going to write a long review but this review sums it up. If you have any questions please let me know. (this was our first cruise, and will no be the last one) Thank you so much for the wonderful review. I can't imagine traveling on any other ship. It was perfect. :) :) :) :) :)

[SoFloDeb]

Babs-d and Serene66, the king crab legs were on Wednesday night, along with Rack of Lamb. For awhile Princess was serving leg of lamb, but they must have received a lot of complaints because the rack is back! woo hoo! Hubby and I each the lamb and we shared an order of the crab legs. Both were cooked perfectly!

[SeaYa52]

Really enjoying your review - can't wait to read the rest. Copying these to my DH so he can start getting excited.

Many Thanks,

Sandy