Jump to content
Cruise Critic Community

Caribbean Princess 8/12 review

julia

By julia,
in Princess Cruises

Recommended Posts

julia

julia

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Thanks for all of the great comments everyone… glad you are enjoying my recap. LMAO over “Housewives Gone Wild!” There’s just something about rum that I really think makes people get naked! And yes, we should all sail together one day and compare our years of Cruise Critic stories. I’ve been a member here for a looong time, but don’t always post a lot. I have, however, learned a great deal from these boards and I hang out on whatever board we are currently booked on. Each board is as different as their associated cruise lines, and I really enjoy the ambience here on Princess.

 

So now…. are you ready to go to St. Thomas??

 

Sailing the Washing Machine:

 

When I first booked this cruise (which I only did to help justify a cross-country flight for a wedding!) I quickly booked several excursions directly through Princess. After doing some research on the “Ports of Call” forums, I eventually cancelled the Princess excursions in both St. Maarten and St. Thomas and made our own plans. Just wanted more time and flexability for our day trips. I knew from the boards that snorkeling off of the island of St John was highly recommended, and so I looked into day sails there. The day charter “Rumbaba” had some very good reviews, and so I e-mailed them directly to check their availability. They had that day open, and would go if they had six passengers. Before long, we were joined by Donna and Ken (Kendon) of Long Island, along with their two scuba-certified sons. Well as you know, we met at sail sway, and are by now way-old friends. It was like we all met in kindergarten and shared scissors or something! We are all looking forward to our day sail, and meet up outside the ship early on Thursday morning. We had to take a taxi van to Americas Yacht Harbor, ($11/pp) which was waaaaaay the heck across the island. Scary drive, seeing as everyone was driving on the wrong side of the road… how very British of them.

 

We arrive a bit early and try to locate the Rumbaba. No luck. Standing on the dock like lost castaways, we are eventually approached by “Captain Bobby” motoring up in his little dinghy. Ahoy and all that, he shuttles us in groups to his boat, where we meet his mate Karen, and settle in for our sail to St. John. After motoring out of the harbor, the main sail is hoisted (think Sloop John B), (anyone under 50 won’t get that one) (I should really stop putting stuff in parentheses and perhaps just stick to the story but I just can’t seem to help myself!) ANYWAY…. the sail is just beautiful and we have bright clear skies above us. It’s quite a long sail, across the Pillsbury straight, and in the middle there is a stretch of some very choppy water known as “the washing machine” for its rolling waves. We’re choppin’ through pretty hard, girls up front soaking up rays, guys sitting near the wheel, when suddenly we had a sail line break. It was quick and loud. Captain Bobby wasn’t too happy. After a short pause to assess the situation, and Ken (who knows sailing) jumping in to help out, we were able to continue on. We sailed pass some wonderful scenery, and soon reached a secluded cove off of St. John called Hawks Nest. We all snorkled-up (with our own equipment, but the Rumbaba does supply their own if you’d like) and we were in the water within minutes. IT WAS AMAAAAAAZING! I have never seen anything like this before…. crystal clear, warm water and filled with the most beautiful fish, plant life and coral. It was straight out of the Blue Lagoon, including a small, perfectly white sandy beach. We all floated and explored for about an hour, and then returned to the boat for some refreshments. Note: getting in and out of this boat is not easy, and you must be physically fit to do so. An open bar and gourmet lunch are included in this excursion. Seriously.... gourmet. We enjoyed appetizers of grilled shrimp with mango sauce and crudites. The lunches are made to order from your prior selections, and are grilled on board. Ahi, mahi-mahi, chicken or filet mignon… all were terrific and nicely presented on trays with fresh salad and fruit. We are living LARGE. The thought of returning to the CB is frankly depressing!

 

After lunch, we elect to go to another snorkling area, and so we pull up anchor and head away from our secluded little slice of heaven (I’m getting lots of slices on this trip, aren't I?!) We headed over to another area, which was deeper and frankly not as scenic as the first, but still quite good snorkling. There, however, was my DH’s “trip moment”, when he came face to face with a sea turtle who apparently was checking him out. (I think it was a girl turtle, and she had good taste). He was thrilled to get so close to one, as they apparently hang out mostly on the ocean floor. We spent another 45 minutes or so in the water, and then unfortunately, it was time to head back to St. Thomas. We had to motor back across the sound instead of sailing, which was just fine with all of us. The bar was open, the rum was flowing and we really didn’t give a rats patooty how, if, or when we got home, mon. It was a terrific day, and we were sad to see it come to an end. The Rumbaba trip is not inexpensive at $115/pp cash, (plus tip) but we all felt is was quite worth the money for all that it included. Captain Bobby is a knowledgeable sailor who knows a great deal about the surrounding areas and the folk lore there. Karen was very nice and a most hospitable hostess. The boat itself was a bit weathered, but it was comfortable, and for the most part, pretty efficient.

 

Our taxi was waiting at the dock when we arrived, and we took the long trip back across the island to the CB. After arriving back at port, I did a bit of shopping for some “cat sitting thank you thingies” in the shopping area at the new dock, and purchased several nice bracelets at one shop and some mango chutneys at another. Once on board, we showered up and went up top for sail away, which was really scenic. That evening, DH and I had a quiet dinner for two in the Palm dining room (tables for two are not very prevalent BTW, and aren’t well placed. Princess needs to take a page from Carnival on this one). I feasted on very tasty king crab legs, DH had the steak and between our sharing, it was a nice surf and turf dinner. By now, the many hours of sun and multitude of drinks have made this a team of weary campers, and so we forego any thought of nightlife on the CB and headed up to egg crate heaven for some sweet dreams of sailing, snorkling and sea turtles.

 

More to come…..

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Murphey

Murphey

Posted
Posted

Thank goodness there are other people out there that think 2 bottles of wine is a proper amount for a proper dinner......reminds me of the case of wine + 4 bottles we carried on the Regal in June. Plus the 2 our TA sent us, plus the 2 our kids sent us. 15 days into a 20 day trip (our last port day) decided we better buy a couple of more (just in case!!)

 

Talk about livin' large!!! You go girl!!!! Just wait for the rest of us!!!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
travlin housewife

travlin housewife

Posted
Posted

:D Ah,YES! The rum & the "rat's patooty"-know the feeling well! Some day too much of the stuff "ee gonna git me rum-swillin bum-bum trone ova dee side!" Somethin about rum,piratey things& reggae(I call it that reggie music)makes me crazy.Also,being a southern gal , I would flirt w/a fence post when sober,so look out when I get in the Demon rum. Love a drink on Princess called the dirty banana ,too-or maybe I just like ordering it if the bartender is cute (can you give me a dirty banana?).St. Thomas has milkshakes w/rum in them! Of course, I was raised on the 4 basic food groups of the South-sugar,salt,fat,&alcohol!:eek:

Link to comment
Share on other sites
lakegirl16

lakegirl16

Posted
Posted

Julia - Those of us anticipating our cruises are living vicariously through your review! THANKS!

 

One question, we're getting ready to book Rumbaba for our cruise in January, you say you need to be physically fit to get in and out of this boat. Can you elaborate? :)

 

Thanks!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
cbpanda

cbpanda

Posted
Posted

Don't you just LOVE Capt Bobby and Karen? We chartered Rumbaba for a 1/2 day sail in July and can't possibly say enough wonderful things about them. What a perfect day (and ours was only 4 hours long). We sailed across the "washing machine" (gotta love it) and had lunch, which was cold sandwich wraps (my son still raves about these sandwiches) and only one snorkel stop.

 

The thought of returning to the CB is frankly depressing!

 

I honestly know exactly how this feels.

 

 

One question, we're getting ready to book Rumbaba for our cruise in January, you say you need to be physically fit to get in and out of this boat.

 

lakegirl: Just my thoughts -- I had my 65 year old mother with me (who has absolutely no upper body strength and a knee replacement) and she had very little trouble climbing back in and out of the boat. She was nervous at first, but Capt Bobby said that he had an 80-something year old grandma climbing in and out the week prior and she put everyone else to shame.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Pixelator

Pixelator

Posted
Posted

hi Julia and Mike!

 

Bob and Emily here! It's so much fun reading your ongoing review! I've gotten our photos (would you believe 471?!!) online at my website:

 

 

but haven't gotten to writing a review yet! planning to work on that this weekend. what a great time last week!!! so glad we met up with you both and ken and donna! sorry we missed so many at the sailaway -- we too were there at 5 and didnt see anyone - and being first-timers, we didnt want to miss a thing topside for the sailaway. we had so much fun with you both and ken and donna, and especially saturday night at dinner and Princess Pop Star! (oops - don't want to spoil your review!!!) looking forward to your continuing review and to see your photos too!!!

 

Bob and Emily

happily tanned back in VA

Link to comment
Share on other sites
quincytoo

quincytoo

Posted
Posted
hi Julia and Mike!

 

Bob and Emily here! It's so much fun reading your ongoing review! I've gotten our photos (would you believe 471?!!) online at my website:

 

www.BobLaubach.smugmug.com

 

but haven't gotten to writing a review yet! planning to work on that this weekend. what a great time last week!!! so glad we met up with you both and ken and donna! sorry we missed so many at the sailaway -- we too were there at 5 and didnt see anyone - and being first-timers, we didnt want to miss a thing topside for the sailaway. we had so much fun with you both and ken and donna, and especially saturday night at dinner and Princess Pop Star! (oops - don't want to spoil your review!!!) looking forward to your continuing review and to see your photos too!!!

 

Bob and Emily

happily tanned back in VA

 

I think I can speak for the rest of the posters here in saying we ALL are jealous as hell that you were on the same cruise!!!!

 

This is a great thread :)

 

Oh and those pictures are INCREDIBLE!!! Love them especially the ST.Thomas ones WOW

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Pixelator

Pixelator

Posted
Posted

i'm so glad i found cruise critic.com! had fun posting and reading before and now after the cruise (and would have DURING - maybe i should have taken the time and spent the bucks to post some live) i've had a bit of post-cruise letdown - when i got home and found out i cant just show my cruise card and get a Bahama Mama - tried that and the cats just looked at me funny. And then the back to work stuff (aaagggh) but now it's great to be back on cruisecritic.com posting and reading, reliving last week over and over again!

 

i'll try to have my review up this weekend! i guess being a photographer i just had to get the photos up online first! love and miss that crystal clear water!

 

Bob Laubach

dry in VA

Link to comment
Share on other sites
crusinpeg

crusinpeg

Posted
Posted

Absolutely love your review...ever try any professional writing?

You've got Erma Bombeck beat!!

You mentioned shopping at the new pier?

Could you elaborate?

Are the stores finally coming or is it mostly trinket shipping?

Thanks

Peggy

Link to comment
Share on other sites
julia

julia

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Thanks everyone! So fun to read your replies and comments!

 

To address a few: The Rumbaba offers a half day (four hours) and a full day (six hours). Getting back in the boat requires hoisting your body weight out of the water on a small suspended ladder… not altogether difficult (as CBPanda noted) but it does require some strength.

 

Travlin’ Housewife: Your four “basic” food groups are a riot! Loved it!

Mine are: (in no particular order) Butter, Salt, chilled White Wine, and JuJubees. Seriously. Axe my DH.

 

Pixelator: So great to hear from you and your photo album of our cruise is just wonderful! Thanks so much for posting to this thread! We too enjoyed meeting you and Emily (I’m so glad that Donna spotted you guys outside the dining room!)

 

CruisinPeg: Thanks for the Erma comparison… she was such a favorite of my mom and that’s quite a compliment. The shopping at the new pier seemed fine with me, but then, I have no prior notion of how the previous pier was. Yes, mostly trinkety things, but I found lots to look at, and bought a few items. It sure was convenient, and there are plenty of shops still coming online.

 

KLLund: Sure… I’ll be happy to keep this thread going until you sail in two weeks! No problemo, mon! Heck, if I run out of things to say in my review, I’ll just start making crap up (oops, can I say that??) You’ll know, when I start talking about our “huge cabin with the incredibly spacious shower” that I’m looking for “filler” (technical newspaper term for crap) until you sail. Ooops…. can I say that?!

 

More of the review after I feed the poor starving cat, pay some probably overdue bills, water my obviously dying outdoor plants, and attempt to accomplish eight other mundane tasks that may require me to be away from Cruise Critics for several hours… don'tcha just hate it when life intrudes on cruising?? :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
chefim

chefim

Posted
Posted
OK I'm new to the boards and need to ask a dumb question...what are DH, DS, DD, etc...(I'm assuming my guesses are right but want to make sure!)

 

Husband, Son, Daughter, etc.

 

Welcome to the forum.

 

Regards,

 

Chef

Link to comment
Share on other sites
esmo

esmo

Posted
Posted

Julia

 

Your review is a riot! I've been lurking (and posting a little with questions) since I discovered CC. We are leaving on our first cruise on the Golden in December..and reading some of the threads and posts has made my a wee bit nervous...you know, expectations and then all the "reality" posts about no ice cream, towel animals (what is that?) and so-so food.

 

You really make it apparent that a vacation starts in the mind and lubricated with alcohol (in the recommended daily doses) can be the best thing ever!

 

I am excited again - and really looking forward to it.

 

Home now to the back deck and a celebratory martini (need to start training)...:)

 

Esmo..

Link to comment
Share on other sites
julia

julia

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Esmo: Welcome to the Cruise Critic boards!

 

What a great thought about “a vacation starts in the mind and is experienced by the glass!” Love it!

 

 

 

 

Continuing on with our Eastern Caribbean adventure on the CB:

 

It is now Friday already, and although the week has flown by, it is starting to feel like we’ve been away from home for a long time (whaaaaat, a week is a long time?) Our cabin has appeared to shrink, and it is still a noisy door banger at night. The foam ear plugs help to mask the noise, but not the accompanying THUNK. I am missing my gorgeous sweet furry goofy loving cat, as well as the total quietness of our new place in LV. Today is a sea day though, which I totally enjoy, and we again are treated to calm seas and warm, sunny skies. How fortunate that we sailed on this particular week! Thanks Ms. Wedding Planner (not ours... please go back to the beginning if you are confused!)

 

The whole ship is tuned into CNN by now, as this thing called “Dean” continues to build across the Atlantic. Fortunately, we are well north of it by now, yet concerned about the beautiful islands that we have visited. We have a very relaxed breakfast on the balcony, and spend a few hours there before deciding to do some laps on the Promenade Deck. Typically, DH would be spending several hours in the fitness center on a sea day, but somehow, his size 13 New Balances have taken a a vacation of their own without asking Daddy’s permission, and therefore he can’t use the gym equipment. We have searched the cabin thoroughly, (and it’s not like these things are SMALL and there’s anyplace for them to HIDE for God’s sake!), but, no luck so far. Perhaps they’ll come back on their own if he promises no more trips to hot schweaty climates. We’ll see.

 

Anyway, it’s off to the Promenade Deck and some leisurely stolls around the perimeter of the ship. You will see the same people passing you by dozens of times on this deck. It gets interesting. I typically do not notice people much, as I am too busy gawking at the ship’s body parts and counting the life boats to make sure the math all adds up and stupid stuff like that. But my DH… well, he doesn’t miss a trick when it comes to people. ‘Ole eagle eyes, that one is. Shoulda been an undercover agent instead of a developer. So, we’re walking along and he says to me quietly, “check out this lady’s socks when she passes us.” Huh?? Socks? Am I that boring that he’s checking out socks for God's sake?! Is this what 20 years together does to people?? Geeeeewhiiiiiiz! Anyway, just out of curiousity, I do as asked, and sure as hell, here was this little Asian lady walking towards us, wearing anklet tennis style socks, that had the “F” word stitched in green circles all around the cuffs! No s***!! She passes by, and we are cracking up! I want a pair.

 

The walking gets overated, and so we take some seats on the teak chairs on the Promenade and just sit and watch the ocean for a while. I jogged up to the Horizon Court and brought us back a couple of tall, sweetened iced coffees, (use the ice tea glasses folks) which taste really nice and totally add to the moment. Life is good. We are relaxing by doing nothing… how often does THAT happen? Seriously.

 

My planning brain then starts thinking ahead to the rest of our day, and realizes that tonight is the second “formal night” in the dining rooms. My mind starts processing my remaining and slightly wrinkled wardrobe (you know ladies, how you mentally try on, and then promptly discard, everything in your closet before every event you have ever attended in your entire life?!) Now mind you, I have a pretty nice cruise wardrobe with me (due to weeks of "retail therapy" pre-cruise), and mostly everything is small and stretchy and spandexy. (We also invested heavily in DH's travel wardrobe... who knew that a new blazer and coordinating ties could be so costly?!) But, by this particular Friday afternoon, the breakfasts of Horizon Court bacon and sausage are affixed to my waistline, I’m puffy and bloated from tipping a few too many cocktailly wocktaillies, my hair hates this humidity, and my butt cheeks are sunburned from snorkling yesterday (tip: "30 up" your cheeks before snorkling!) I’m a bit train-wrecked at this point, and frankly, the thought of dressing and dining formally in a few hours is a bit oppressing.

 

I slowly weigh my ensuing suggestion before asking the DH... “Hey hon, tonight is formal night in the dining room… would you want to just skip it entirely and perhaps just dine on our balcony?”

 

I'm pretty sure he spit out his iced coffee before looking at me with this look on his face like I had just handed him Superbowl tickets while wearing a see-through teddy, because he knows how much I enjoy the formal dining experience, (even though he doesn’t, he does it for me). His resounding YES YES YES was something right out of “When Harry Met Sally”, and so…. I guess we’re dining on the balcony tonight! Fine with me. We then decide to make it our own “UBD”, and he gets onboard (hahahaha) with planning the dinner details. (BTW folks….please do NOT jump into this thread about the merits or demerits of formal dining dressing, as I don’t particularly give a RIP what anyone wears to the dining room…. as long as you are a nice person, can complete a sentence without using the word “like” 17 times, and can operate a fork and knife, I’m good to go. Period. No questions asked.

 

However.... if you show up wearing a pair of anklets with the “F” word embroidered around the cuff…. all bets are off!! :) :) :)

 

 

More on our DIYUBD and our final port of Princess Cays later …

Thanks for being with us on the Caribbean Princess....

Link to comment
Share on other sites
kendon

kendon

Posted
Posted

Hi Bob! I think we should all book another cruise together (on a smaller ship)to pick up where we left off! Just when we started to get to know each other, they kick us off the ship...nerve. Even the food is secondary when the company is good. Julie, I think you could have fun anywhere. Great attitude.

 

I couldn't even come close to writing a review like Julie is doing, so I'll leave it up to her. I'm waiting for the next chapter as we all are! With her writing skills and your beautiful photography, it's the next best thing to being on the ship itself.

 

Re Rumbaba:

Rumbaba was a nice excursion. It's a real taste of the Caribbean which I think is missed on a ship as massive as the CB. Yes, it helps to be fairly fit on this sailboat. You should be steady on your feet, and a few weeks of yoga before sailing wouldn't hurt as it would come in handy while getting back on after snorkeling. How often do you get to wrap your leg around your head during the average day?

 

Of course, if there are any questions, any one of us would be happy to answer.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
julia

julia

Posted
  • Author
Posted
How often do you get to wrap your leg around your head during the average day?

 

Of course, if there are any questions, any one of us would be happy to answer.

 

Hahahahaaaa! Too funny Donna! Maybe it was just us who struggled to get back in the boat? I know that ladder looked really far from my view in the water!

 

Would love to have you all join in here and answer questions... you were the most knowlegible one of all of us on that sailing!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing
  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • Hurricane Zone 2024
      • Cruise Insurance Q&A w/ Steve Dasseos of Tripinsurancestore.com June 2024
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Cruise Critic News & Features
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...