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

[zoe girl]

i read that you can purchase a couples santuary for the week. did you do this?

[babs-d]

Colo Cruiser - My husband rated the snorkeling at Sapphire Beach a 7. He said he saw the most coral and fish around the point on the right side of the beach.

 

nosealegs - Don't let the negative comments lessen your excitement. It is what you make it. If you have a problem or question about anything, bring it to the staff's attention. Whether it be your cabin steward, your waiter, or the passenger services personnel, they are there to please. You will have a blast.

 

sea_breeze - We went to Coki Beach on our very first cruise 9 years ago. We weren't impressed either. I think you would like Sapphire much better. It's kind of the best of both worlds, good snorkeling and good beach. It does have a little bar there. My husband got a beer, but no frozen drinks, which is what I like. We didn't purchase any food, we had brought a ziploc bag full of pineapple to snack on ( I told you we liked the pineapple).

 

zoe girl - Not sure about the couples sanctuary, didn't use any of the spa services. Thought about trying the couples massage, my daughter said her and her husband had it on their honeymoon on the Crown this past August and said it was great. But she said the sales pitch for products afterward put a real damper on the whole procedure.

[serene56]

i read that you can purchase a couples santuary for the week. did you do this?

 

I have a photo of this from another ship. http://www.virtualtoursusa.com/tours/coralprincess/lotusthermal.htm

its a shared space. warm tile lounge chairs. relaxing area. Depends on how much you would use it. and how often you have to wait for it.

 

I know my honey would never sit there like that with other people so for us it would be a waste of money..

[roe2ship]

Babs, thanks for your review. Can you tell me how your experience was leaving the pier in FLL to get to Miami airport? TIA

[FloridaLaura]

I am glad you had a great time, looking forward to our CB cruise on

4-29-07 We really wanted to go to St. John, but I am hesitant of the travel to and fro I think Sapphire sounds great...maybe we will make a change in our plans. this will be our first time on this cruise and these ports so I was trying to do it all. Sapphire sounds like a great day thanks for the review.

[babs-d]

Sterling Steakhouse - We have never tried the specialty restaurants in the past because we didn’t think it was necessary since we enjoy the food in the dining room so much. Upon my daughter’s urging we decided to give it a whirl. She had been to the Steakhouse on both the Crown and Caribbean Princess and raved about it. We asked the waiter which cut of meat he recommended and he suggested the rib-eye because of the “wonderful marbling which made it so juicy”. We usually order filet mignon when we order beef so we asked his opinion on that cut of meat. He said “not as juicy” and suggested the porterhouse since that has the filet surrounded by bone and the sirloin too. So my husband ordered the porterhouse and I got the rib-eye. I asked if I could still get the béarnaise that usually comes with the filet, “of course, madam”. We both ordered the shrimp cocktail (huge shrimp, but not as tender as the dining room). We also tried the Brie and Papaya quesadilla appetizer and the Spinach and Avocado Dip. These were both excellent. I might go out on a limb and say the Brie and Papaya may have been my favorite appetizer on the ship. He brought out the soups next, New England clam chowder in a bread bowl. This was definitely our favorite soup on the ship. Be warned – it’s not the same stuff they have in the buffet line, which is pretty good, too. My husband thought about ordering another bowl. I said no. Everything in the specialty restaurant seems to be “kicked up a notch”. Even the Caesar salad was a little different, a hint of lemon in it. I was a little disappointed in the bread/rolls they served, nothing special. But that was ok; I didn’t want to fill up on bread. Then came the steaks. Well, maybe we were just too full, but they weren’t that great. My ribeye was so full of marbling that it was fatty. The light is pretty dim in there so I kept having to remove bites (gross, huh?) He forgot my béarnaise and sour cream for my potato even after reminding him. The maitre d’ had to bring it. My husband said his steak was ok, he has had better. For dessert my husband had the raspberry crème brulee and I had the chocolate pecan pie. Both excellent and again the crème brulee kicked up a notch over the dining room one. So, would we try the specialty dining again? Yes, but I’d get the filet mignon. Was the service better than the dining room? Definitely, not. It was sufficient but we were happy to go back to Rommel and Jon and tell them they needed to give some lessons to the staff at the Sterling Steakhouse.

 

St. Martin next.

[serene56]

Curious to know if your husband wanted the second helping could he get it in the Specialty place??

[babs-d]

roe2ship - I was kind of nervous about our debarkation process because we had an 11:30am flight out of Miami. Turned out to be no problem. We signed up for Express Debarkation and carried our luggage off the ship at 7:30am. Cab fare was kind of pricey, tried to find other passengers that might be going to Miami too but it didn't work out. The fare before tip was $72. We were at the airport by 8:15am.

 

Florida Laura - I don't mean to talk you out of St. John. It is a gorgeous island and that would still be our first choice. The weather really is what changed our minds that day. If you do decide to venture over there, don't wait too late to come back. Last time we went, we took the 4pm ferry to Red Hook back and were unpleasantly surprised to find the workers that have come over for the day like to butt in front of you. It was kind of scary because they just wait in the wings while you are patiently in line then when the ferry pulls up, they get right in front of you. Well, not in front of us because my husband saw what was happening and didn't let it but there were quite a few other unhappy passengers that didn't make it on. Live and learn.

 

serene56 - Not 100% positive about second helpings on the beef, but you definitely can on the other items.

[bjenkins322]

Megans Bay...the most beautiful place on earth...my ashes will be scattered there... if I have anything to say about it..obviously I won't.

I think that Cathy will help me out in this regard though!

[CaribbeanCruisers]

Hello -

We're sailing the CB in a couple of weeks. We've enjoyed your review!

 

You seem to speak highly about your waiter, Rommel. What dining room is he in? Also, do you know where he is from?

 

I'm also curious, what did you like most about him?

 

Last year on the Star our waiter, Marco from Italy was AMAZING. He added SO MUCH to our cruise!

 

TIA,

Courtney

[astros1]

We were the famliy that was next to you at Sapphire Beach! Wasn't that a great day?! The beach was beautiful! Your review is right on target. We had such a great time!! Everything was perfect! I wish I knew how to post the pictures of the Iguana!

[mississauga]

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).

 

Couldn't agree with you more! That's why you enjoyed your cruise! Thanks for taking the time out to post your review.

[the_dylaness]

i read that you can purchase a couples santuary for the week. did you do this?

 

Zoe girl,

 

DH and I purchased a package on the CB that included a weeklong pass for both of us to the thermal grotto, as well as a one-time "mud room" experience where they basically put you in this room that has a shower and a separate steam room and all this mud stuff and you are supposed to slather it on each other then wash it off in the shower then put some other mud on and go sit and steam and then wash that mud off. They were rather, uh, suggestive when describing the treatment and made sure to let us know that no one would be opening the door and we were totally private, blah blah blah.

 

it was ok, except the shower is really too small for 2 people to be in comfortably without touching the yucky walls; the door leaked and by the time we were done the whole bathroom was completely flooded. the whole combo with pass and mudroom was about $180. would not recommend the mudroom experience unless you like mold! :eek:

[mortysmama]

Babs....that was an amazing review. It's probably one of the best I've read. thank you for taking the time and effort. Your attention to detail was just wonderful. We'll be on the CB in March....and even more now after reading your posts....I can't wait! We've sailed Princess 3 times before....Grand 2x and the Golden once. This ship sounds exquisite. I can't wait to experience her. I remember on one of the cruises the dinner choices were crab legs and rack of lamb. Since I love both...we decided to have the crab for an appetizer and the rack of lamb for dinner. It was a great way to have both and absolutley ENJOY both. I'm happy to hear we'll be able to do that again.

We've been to St Thomas and St Martin several times before but never went to the beaches. We'll be a party of 5 this time, dh and I, my 2 dd and 1 sil. I'm sure the kids (actually adults) will want to go to one of the beaches. I'll suggest they read your post and decide for themselves.Again, thank you so much for your wonderful review. Will you be posting any pictures? I hope so.

 

Happy cruising!

[sfsd]

Babs we were on the same cruise. I'm sold on Princess now. I have to totally agree with your review, the service was amazing and the food great, and many activities onboard.My favorite cruise so far, will be hard to match or beat this cruise.

[katier825]

Did you ever try the Cafe Caribe? Just curious, as I haven't read too much about it...

 

Thanks!

[jctravel]

We are sailing on the Caribbean Princess 1/28/07 and after reading your review, I can hardly wait. We will definitely have to ask to be seated in Rommel's section.

We were on Sapphire Princess to the Mexican Riviera this past January, your review of the ship and the staff reminds alot of our cruise.

[Robroy]

JCTravel:

Interesting you mention the Sapphire: we were on this Caribbean sailing with Babs and were on the Sapphire for the Mexican Riviera in February. We noticed many similarities as we had a great time on that trip as well.

One thing we liked MUCH better though was the weather and convenience of sailing out of Lauderdale. Service/food and overall experience was fantastic though.

Have a great trip!

 

Rob

[babs-d]

St. Martin – This was our third visit to St. Martin. The first time we went 9 years ago we had to tender in which was not fun. Now they have a beautiful facility in place that you walk right off the ship and shopping is available. There's also a taxi depot which is very convenient. Our first time in St. Martin we went to Dawn Beach. It may have just been the conditions that particular day, but Dawn Beach had a little more wave action than I like. It's still a beautiful beach with a view of St. Barts across the way. Two years ago we went to Orient Beach and thoroughly enjoyed it. Nice soft sand, no rocks at all, and gentle waves. Not a snorkeling beach but plenty to see on land (Yikes)!

 

We headed to the taxi area where they have signs posted for each destination and the fare. We got in line and had a short wait before we were loaded in a van with four other people all headed to Orient Beach That was very nice. It would be nice to have had this in St. Thomas. There we ended up in a cab with four people who were going downtown to shop, another group going to Coki Beach and our stop at Sapphire Beach. The fare for Orient Beach starts at $9pp and gets cheaper as the number of passengers increase. We ended up paying $6pp for 20 min ride.

 

We arrived at Orient Beach around 10am with beautiful weather in store. We strolled to the right and set up in front of KAKAO or something similar to that. Royal blue umbrellas with matching pads on the lounge chairs and a small table too. We paid $20 for 2 chairs and umbrella. They serve food and drink. We had two pina colada’s with rum floating on top for $12 or so (can’t be sure of exact price). This beach is not at all like Sapphire Beach in that it is much more commercialized. You can rent jet skis, go parasailing, jump in some kind of inflated pen, or you can do nothing at all like we did! We did gather enough energy to go for a stroll. The beach seems to be color coded. After the blue umbrellas, you hit a section of red, then green, with the final yellow. Yellow marks the nude beach. This doesn’t mean that you are only going to see nudes if you go to the yellow section. They stroll the entire beach. So, if you have kids or are offended by nude people maybe Orient Beach isn’t for you.

 

Like Sapphire, the beach got more and more crowded as the day went on. Apparently, this is slow season and it really wasn’t crowded at all compared to what it is in Jan & Feb. I think I’ll stick with October cruising because I liked it just the way it was. A couple set up next to us who were also from the ship. We chatted awhile then they stated they didn’t think the food on the ship was very good. What? Are we on the same ship? They thought the food on Celebrity was much better. Not me, they’re both good. They also said they weren’t happy with their traditional dining partners because they were “too old”. OK, so why not switch to anytime dining? That’s the beauty of Princess – there are options. I’m so glad I didn’t eat the food they had or dine with the old people.

 

We headed back around 3pm and easily found 2 other couples to share the ride for $6pp. Shopped a little at the area right next to the ship before boarding. We didn’t buy any but according to our adjacent cabinmate, St. Martin has the best deals on alcohol.

 

Princess Cay next.

[babs-d]

CaribbeanCruises - We liked Rommel because he was an experienced waiter. He's been with Princess for 10 years. Both him and his assistant, Jon are from the Phillipines. We never felt rushed but also never waited too long in between courses. His section is very close to the kitchen and he said the other waiters tease him about how much he had to pay to get it. His recommendations are always A+. The one time I deveated from his suggestion, I was disappointed. It was a dessert, fruit in a zabaglione sauce. He didn't want to tell me not to get it but I could tell he didn't think it was very good. I've had that sauce in a restaurant at home and loved it. First bite I took was the last bite. I didn't care for it at all and he was table side in seconds to bring me something else. Each night my husband would order two dinners. When he was close to finishing Rommel would ask him if he would like a third. One night he did get a third, lobster night. And it's not one tail per serving it's two! He and Jon are not real chatty and sometimes their accents make it a little hard to understand them. They are a great team, they will make sure you enjoy your dining experience.

[CaribbeanCruisers]

CaribbeanCruises - We liked Rommel because he was an experienced waiter. He's been with Princess for 10 years. Both him and his assistant, Jon are from the Phillipines. We never felt rushed but also never waited too long in between courses. His section is very close to the kitchen and he said the other waiters tease him about how much he had to pay to get it. His recommendations are always A+. The one time I deveated from his suggestion, I was disappointed. It was a dessert, fruit in a zabaglione sauce. He didn't want to tell me not to get it but I could tell he didn't think it was very good. I've had that sauce in a restaurant at home and loved it. First bite I took was the last bite. I didn't care for it at all and he was table side in seconds to bring me something else. Each night my husband would order two dinners. When he was close to finishing Rommel would ask him if he would like a third. One night he did get a third, lobster night. And it's not one tail per serving it's two! He and Jon are not real chatty and sometimes their accents make it a little hard to understand them. They are a great team, they will make sure you enjoy your dining experience.

 

Thank you for answering so quickly and for also taking the time to do so. Your review has been very enjoyable. We set sail 11/12! Reading your reviews helps the time pass...

Thanks again

[babs-d]

Thanks for all the positive feedback! I've never written a review of any of our cruises. I enjoyed reading the ones posted on this board so I thought I'd give it a try. It's fun, kind of lets you relive the cruise

 

Princess Cay - This was our first visit to Princess Cay. We were scheduled to stop here on a cruise two years ago but it was destroyed by a hurricane so they took us to San Juan instead. We’ve been to Celebrity’s and Norwegian’s private island so we kind of knew what to expect. Well, Princess Cay blew Norwegian’s island away. We were there in June and this one was so much better. It’s been 4 years since we visited Celebrity’s island but from what I remember it was just as nice as Princess Cay. Not sure if I had to choose between the two which would be better. I do remember Celebrity was kind of nit picky about only allowing you to snorkel with their equipment, which had to be rented and required a mandatory life jacket. Not the case on Princess Cay. It also seemed so clean and crisp. I guess because all the facilities are new due to the hurricane that destroyed everything.

 

Tendering over and back was fairly easily. Although, I’m going go be honest and let you know we cheated. We were making our way to the Princess Theater where you gather before being escorted to the tenders. As we were exiting the elevator and heading toward the theater a line of people were making their way from the theater and down the stairway. Upon my husband’s insistence (he’s always trying to buck the system), we joined the group and proceeded to the gangway. I felt really guilty but we were at the end of the line and everyone made it on without any problem.

 

The cabanas are the way to go. We started out without one thinking we’d just plunk in the water when we got hot. The plunking isn’t as easy as you think. The bottom is very rocky so it’s slow going making your way in and out. It’s kind of entertaining sitting on the beach watching people trying to balance their way in and out. Anyway, there were plenty of cabanas when we first got there but when we decided we’d like one they were gone. There are shade trees further back on the beach which we took advantage of and it was quite comfortable with a nice breeze. Problem is the cabanas block your view. It wasn’t long before a nice older couple offered up their cabana to us because they were heading back to the ship. Originally when we saw the cabanas we thought they’d be hot. But if you prop the back up with something a nice breeze blows through. We nibbled on some of the lunch they had to offer but I was saving up for the ship’s pizza since it was our last day. They served picnic food - burgers, dogs, ribs and cold side dishes. We were surprised they didn’t have fruit available. Later we saw someone walk by with a plate full of fruit, so be sure to check different stations.

 

My husband snorkeled a little and said he saw a few fish. The water is very shallow and you have to go out kind of far. He said once you’re out there the current was very strong and carried him a pretty good distance without him realizing it. We picked up a few souvenirs from the locals set up there then got in line for the tender. The line was really long but it moved pretty quickly. We enjoyed our day at Princess Cay.

 

Miscellaneous stuff next.

[SeaYa52]

Thanks again for the fantastic review. You really gave excellent tips we will use when we sail the CB

:-)

Sandy

[babs-d]

I thought I’d just post a few tips that might make someone else’s cruise as enjoyable as ours.

 

Cabin choice – We really enjoyed our balcony cabin on the Caribe Deck. We spent a lot of time out there and the bigger balcony with both sun and shade made it quite comfortable. If you can swing it, I’d recommend it. Balconies are great but don’t think you have to have one to enjoy your cruise. We’ve cruised many times in an inside cabin. One time we booked a last minute cruise to Bermuda, cabin was bottom of the boat, all the way in the front. Had a blast! Oh, on a side note to the Caribe Deck – we had a topless sunbather below us. So if this would bother you, maybe research another deck. It didn’t bother us, we just didn’t look after the initial sighting. It was a woman in her late 60’s. My husband only wished she was 40 years younger.

 

Alcohol, wine, beer, water, soda & cranberry juice – We took it all! We packed a plastic bottle of Crown and a bottle of Vodka then placed them inside a heavy duty gallon Ziploc bag, then cushioned them between the clothes in our suitcase. Surprisingly, the Vodka did leak around the lid, but no biggy because the ziplock caught it. The other items we purchased at the Publix before heading to the ship terminal. It was a little cumbersome, but we packed them in our carry on and took them right on the ship. The attendant did open my husbands bag after it was scanned. Pulled out the Heineken 6 pack then put it back in and away we went.

 

Egg Crate & Robes - If your cabin hasn’t been updated with a new mattress yet you will definitely want an egg crate. As soon as you get to your room, lay on the bed and you’ll know immediately if it’s not new. The springs will poke you in your ribs! Request one from your cabin steward as soon as possible along with robes. An egg crate makes all the difference in the world. Funny story about the robes in our situation. Apparently the robes are not in abundance because our cabin steward, Jerry said it might be the next day before he could get them. The next morning he was very apologetic about not having them yet and would try his very best to have them later that day. He seemed so sincere and had already met all our other requests (extra towel & 2 wine glasses) that my husband handed him a $5 and told him he was doing a great job. Well, that afternoon the robes appeared, but not what we expected! We expected the lightweight waffle type material robes. He gave us these big, thick, heavy cotton robes that are probably reserved for the suites passengers. We wanted to be able to wear them out on the balcony but they were so heavy we couldn’t without overheating. I think he thought he was doing us a favor, we didn’t have the heart to tell him they weren’t what we wanted. So we made do.

 

Refrigerator - We were ready to have Jerry put in a request to have the refrigerator serviced. It didn’t seem like it was cold in there at all. Then I remembered reading a post on this board about leaving the door cracked and sure enough it kicked in and started getting cold. So we alternated between cracked and shut and it worked fine. Probably not as cold as were used to at home but good enough.

 

Coffee – We like our morning coffee well in advance of our breakfast. We also wanted to enjoy it on our balcony. We didn’t want to order it the night before because we weren’t sure how long we’d sleep. We were afraid if we waited until after we woke up to place our order, it might be a long wait. So we placed the order for coffee the night before we knew we were getting up early for St. Thomas and stuck a post a note on the pot asking Jerry to leave it in our room for the rest of the cruise. Whenever we woke up my husband would slip up to the Horizon Café, fill the pot, grab 2 cups and join me on or balcony. Of course he always brought some pineapple back too.

 

Insulated thermos – My husband called this our life saver. It really did come in handy. It wasn’t real big, maybe held 24 oz or so. Each time we’d pass by the Horizon Café we’d fill it with ice. Even though your steward fills the ice bucket twice a day, it still never seems like enough and melts pretty quickly too. You’ll need extra ice for those homemade balcony drinks or to chill that bottle of wine down (don’t forget your wine opener, we did). It’s also great to have up on top deck filled with your favorite refreshment (vodka and cranberry for us) or even just plain ice water (that sun gets hot).

 

Next: Final thoughts

[FloridaLaura]

Thanks for you great review and your helpful hints, I made notes!!!! Glad you enjoyed your cruise