Caribbean Princess 8/12 review

[tinman1717]

This is quite possibly (dare I say) the best review I have read on CC!

both entertaining and informative...I LOVE IT!:D

[kcslim]

Julia, thank you so much! I am another member of the 9/9 rollcall, and have been reading their posts about your review. They are absolutely CORRECT! Great review, I love your writing style.. and adore the humor.

 

As all have said before me, come visit our Roll Call!! We'd love to have you see our craziness.. and HECK!! Come sail with us 9/9. :D

 

Karen

[Beverlyf]

Julia...had to stop by and see what all the talk was about....I am also on the 9/9 CB sailing. Great job on the review...loved your dinner on the balcony.

[lakegirl16]

Hi, Julia:

 

Enjoyed the Princess Cays installment of your review. Too bad you didn't see the bungalows, I would have liked your take on them. Debating whether to try and get one or not in January.

 

I'd love some Vegas restaurant recommendations...we're meeting my son (who lives in LA) there over Thanksgiving. DS and DH are going to the LV Invitational BB Tournament and I will be shopping and possibly a spa visit. I'd love a couple of more casual recommendations and then a couple of nicer ones. Anywhere with great food or even great atmosphere and good food. Thanks!

 

Have a great holiday weekend!

[SoSueMe]

I am loving this review! We reserved a 'clamshell' for Princess Cays. Hmmm, rethinking that one a little.

 

I am now sneaking over to the Roll Call for the CB 10/7 sailing, to [cough] mention [cough] this review, so be prepared for more visits here! :D

[julia]

Hi everyone:

 

 

By now it’s late Saturday afternoon, and we are back from Princess Cays. After relaxing and recharging a bit, we know that we have to tackle the task of repacking and getting organized for a very early wake up tomorrow. We have found that it is best to do this now, and not wait until after dinner tonight when we are apt to be out late on the ship. We have chosen to do the self disembark, and have picked up the appropriate color tags for ship’s services.

 

As we drag the suitcases out from under the bed, there is a need for coordination here, so that we aren’t tripping over one another as we go from drawers and closet. Filling up the larger suitcases are easy… but packing your carry on and remembering TSA regs takes some thought. Also, we still have a dinner this evening, and a travel day tomorrow to plan.

 

As I’m collecting my belongings from the desk drawers, I feel like such a “bag lady”…. I have five different baggies of cosmetics, jewelry, toiletries, airline bottles, etc! I like taveling with Ziploc bags simply because I can see everything in them right away. One thing I am NOT seeing however, is the small bag of “cat sitting thank you” bracelets that I purchased in St. Thomas. I continue searching for them over the next hour as I'm packing, but to no avail. They seemed to have joined the size 13 New Balances. I am hoping that perhaps I’ll discover them once I get home and can fully unpack. I had also purchased some mango chutneys and hot sauces for the sitters, but nothing says “I love you” quite like fake jewelry.

 

Once we get fairly organized and get our packed luggage out of the way to the closet area, I give our new old friends Donna and Ken a call to invite them for wine on our balcony. (They have an upcoming cruise planned on the Crown, and will have a Caribe balcony). We make plans for 6:ish or so. We shower up and dress for dinner and then start in on our own happy hour.

 

Donna, Ken and their great son Troy arrive and we had a lovely time just visiting on the balcony. It was a nice evening outside, with a bit more of an ocean chop than on previous days. We hung out for a while, sipping wine and talking about our day on the Rumbaba. Once again, I marvel at the ease at which their 13 year old son not only hangs with adults, but also joins in the conversation. Better than some 20 year old I know! He’s an interesting and informed cruiser, and we so enjoyed his company.

 

Before too long, we decide to head out to dinner. On our way into the Palm dining room, Donna spots another Cruise Critic, Bob (Pixelator) and his daughter Emily. They join us for our “Last Supper” which was quite fun. Emily is a cute, bright high school student with a great head on her shoulders, and Bob is quite the photographer. Please check his photos in an earlier post… they are terrfic!!

 

Following dinner, we all decide to head up to Club Fusion and check out the finals of “Princess Idol”. We get a great table in the center, and really had fun watching the five finalists. There were three judges critiquing the singers, and they were pretty funny. The “talent” wasn’t the best I’ve seen on a ship, but the winner had a great set of pipes and was deserving of first place.

 

It’s getting late by now, and I’m starting to really feel as though I have a cold coming on… that “puny” feeling seems to be getting larger. I'm hoping some meds will knock this thing down before I have to get on a flight tomorrow.

 

So unfortunately... it’s time to call it an evening, say goodbye to new friends, and head back to our egg-crate heaven for one last evening of gentle rocking onboard the Caribbean Princess. DH decides to enjoy a last drink on the balcony, while I try a meclazine and tall glass of water for my woozy head. It's off to dreamsville for now, and I fall asleep thinking about my sweet furry boy waiting for me at home.

 

Thanks for tagging along....

 

 

Disembarking, trip home and some final observations coming up.....

[julia]

Answering questions:

 

 

Mommy40: Yes, most of the shade on Proincess Cay can be found to the left of the island as you are approaching. There are lots of palm trees and shaded areas with picnic tables.

 

 

Lakegirl: Most of the better "casual" restaurants here in LV are more towards the outlying residential areas and away from the strip, so it depends on if you'd like to drive a bit. If you head west on either Tropicana or Flamingo for about 10-15 minutes, you'll come across many local pubs and restaurants, and nearly all will have gaming. One of the oldest places in LV is an Italian restaurant on Trop called Capos. We also like the Foothill Lodge on Trop, and Sapporo on Flamingo near the 215.

 

Our favorite for fine dining on the Strip is outdoors at Paris called Mon Ami Gabi... the food is excellent, and the view across to the fountains of Bellagio is really nice.

[julia]

JUST BOOKED ALASKA!!!

 

 

Woo hooo.... just thought I'd share my excitement with someone other than the cat. For some reason, he's just not that thrilled!

 

Going on the Coral with our best friends from Seattle in September '08!

 

(Sorry for the interruption to my own thread... will continue with that shortly!)

 

 

:) :) :) :)

[quincytoo]

I live in Victoria BC and you will love Vancouver (and I am sure that Vancouverans will just LOVE you!!!!) Let me know the dates and I will make sure that the welcome matt is there!

 

If you can try to get there a few days before to explore the wonderful region!! Whistler is a mere 2 hour drive and the drive is incredibly beautiful! I lived there for 15 years and never did I tire of the view!

 

Victoria, in fact all of, Vancouver Island is worth driving over on the BC ferry. Many wonderful B&B's but also nice hotels, and GREAT restaurants. Heck we even have a castle or three to tour! High Tea in Victoris sounds boring but isn't and YUM!!! Deelish

 

 

That time of year, crossing over on the BC ferries, you are likely to see a pod or two of Killer Whales (one time I only saw two whales but the fact it was a mother and her BABY playing alongside us more then made up for it!! ) also dolphins, seals and eagles are likely to be around too!!! One BC ferry we saw them all!!! It made me feel very thankful that I was able to see this and just a little remourseful cause that trip I had been complaining that I was taking the ferry ..YET AGAIN...and should have just flown over and rented a car...

[julia]

Thanks Quincy! We have been to both Vancouver and Victoria on several occasions, and you are right... both are beautiful and very scenic!

 

 

 

Continuing on with the rest of the story....

 

Sunday morning at oh-dark-hundred hours:

 

 

We awake very early to see that we are slowly gliding into Port Everglades. It’s dark and gloomy out, and rain drops are covering the balcony. All self-schleppers must report to the Island dining room on Deck Five between 7:15 and 7:45, so we shower, dress and complete our sorting and packing from the previous afternoon. Where did all this stuff come from?? Is this all ours, or did someone else join us in the middle of this cruise?! Organizing now is key, with our cruise cards, luggage tags, passports and airline tickets all needing to be upfront and center.

 

We finally vacate our little Caribe deck cabin shortly after 7:00, and make our way down to Deck Five. My luggage isn’t particularly heavy (we drank the heavy), but it’s not easy rolling two pieces by myself. I sooo need to buy good luggage. I have a crappy weekender whose wheels have an attitude, and just acquired this big straw “beach bag” that was a wedding favor last weekend but is now acting as my purse. It keeps slipping off my shoulder and is annoying the hell out of me (but I’m pretty sick this morning, and so everything is annoying me).

 

Arriving at the dining room, we are instructed to go “as far to the left as possible”, joining hundreds of earlier arrivals who are already there. More people are streaming in behind, as we try to get through the tables and chairs with our bags… not an easy task. Once suitably crammed, we now wait. And wait. And wait. Until the whole dining area is just one big sea of weary, luggage-laden people. After about another half hour, the warden finally issues a parole, and we are free to go. The queue to the door gets bad however, and is long and slow with everyone cutting in from all sides of the dining room. It takes another 15-20 minutes to make it to the gangplank, and some fresh air. Have your cruise card ready, because you must “punch out” to leave the ship.

 

We head through customs easily, and then bypass the thousands of pieces of orphaned luggage waiting for their non-schlepping owners. A cab to the airport takes about ten minutes, and we arrive a whopping three hours ahead of our noon time flight. Bummer. Sitting in the waiting area of a very boring airport (where are the slot machines?!) for the next several hours, along with sitting on a plane for more hours than I could count, wasn’t too fun. Oh, the joys of travel days!

 

Our flights home were fortunately on time and uneventful (something I never take for granted), and we are picked up at the airport by our neighbor. Within the hour, I am hugging my cat to death, downing some cold meds and dropping into bed… from which I don’t emerge for nearly three full days, (except to drink lots of water and hug the cat). However, the malaise was short lived, and I soon surfaced to sit down here, drink some wine, and share our time on the Caribbean Princess with you all.

 

Final observations coming up…. I’ve so enjoyed our time together, and I’d be happy to answer any questions!

 

 

 

 

[Pixelator]

hi Julia and Chuck!

Congrats on your booking the Coral to Alaska! Before we debarked (sounds like a nasty veterinary procedure) I signed Em and I up for a future cruise. Don't know if we can wait til her graduation in 09 though! Thanks for your wonderful review - it has lengthened our 7 day cruise another week or more! The guy who came to assess my broken condo a/c today is going on a cruise with his family in Oct and turns out they will be on the CB!! I gave him lots of tips, the link to cruisecritic and my website photos and cruisingthecaribbeanprincess and our leftover Scoops ice cream card, with four punches left - good for four ice creams or two sundaes! I miss the Strawberry Landslide and Em misses the Death by Chocolate! Of course for the cost of replacing my a/c i could go on two more cruises! sigh. Em is back to high school marching band and fall crew. I came home to a phone message asking me to interview for a community college photo instructor position - interview went very well and I expect to hear results next week! So our CB cruise has been a good luck charm (well, except for the a/c!) Ok, I know -- no review from Pixelator yet - well, i'll get on it soon, i promise. There simply was to be NO COMPETITION with your wonderful fun ongoing review, Julia! So I'll do my best shortly. We are also happy to be back with our cats Sylvester (Sly) and Augustus (Gus) but for some reason they refuse to bring me a Bahama Mama when I show them my cruise card.... They do enjoy knocking those pesky Princess shampoo and lotion bottles off the shelf, tho! Have a great holiday weekend, all!

 

Bob Laubach

and DD Emily

Manassas, VA

[KLLund]

Oh come on Julia .. You have to get me through Wednesday .. Make up stuff .. lie .. we don't care ... But I need More !!!

 

And come see us on the 9/9 roll call board .. so we can tell you how terrific you are !!!

 

From one of the Scarlett Harlots !!

[FoghornLeghorn]

Julia THANK YOU!

My FIRST cruise is Sept 9 on the Caribbean Princess... I CAN'T WAIT!

 

Reading your review as been so helpful and entertaining.

 

I signed up today to be a member of Cruise Critic and hopefully I can write a good review when I get back.

 

XOXOXOX

Foggy

[julia]

Oh come on Julia .. You have to get me through Wednesday .. Make up stuff .. lie .. we don't care ... But I need More !!!

 

And come see us on the 9/9 roll call board .. so we can tell you how terrific you are !!!

 

From one of the Scarlett Harlots !!

 

 

 

Hahahahaaaa... too funny Kathy!

 

I mentioned earlier that I just might start making up stuff! Like, how our cabin had a wine cellar in it and we were really impressed at first..... until we saw that it was stocked with "Two Buck Chuck". How very tacky of Princess. We'll never sail them again.

 

I'll get ya through Wednesday... promise! Hang in there!

[julia]

Julia THANK YOU!

My FIRST cruise is Sept 9 on the Caribbean Princess... I CAN'T WAIT!

 

Reading your review as been so helpful and entertaining.

 

I signed up today to be a member of Cruise Critic and hopefully I can write a good review when I get back.

 

XOXOXOX

Foggy

 

Thanks so much Foggy! You must go join the others on the 9/9 cruise over on the roll call board... it looks to be a GREAT group!

[kcslim]

Julia THANK YOU!

My FIRST cruise is Sept 9 on the Caribbean Princess... I CAN'T WAIT!

 

Reading your review as been so helpful and entertaining.

 

I signed up today to be a member of Cruise Critic and hopefully I can write a good review when I get back.

 

XOXOXOX

Foggy

 

Hi Foggy.. my name is Karen. We, too, are on the 9/9 sailing.. come on over to our roll call and introduce yourself! We have a huge group, and we will definitely welcome more!

 

Here is the link: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=445596&page=335

 

Karen

[H20 Lover]

Foggy come on by!

 

Julia, hey now gf, I love my 2 buck Chuck. ;)

[happy cruzer]

Thanks for the uplifting review, Julia. Was starting to be get bummed by the nic picky ones.

 

We too love Mon Ami Gabi, it's a great spot!

 

Yep the wine glasses are dinky detestable things. We always ask the waiter to use the water glasses for our wine. It's pretty neat when we get the same waiter twice and they remember to use the water glasses for us. When we do traditional dining, the assistant waiter sometimes finds us some real wine glasses to use.

 

Your cruise sounds like a wonderful escape. Sorry about the cold. DH gets one every time we travel.

[julia]

 

Julia, hey now gf, I love my 2 buck Chuck. ;)

 

Yep Yvonne, so do we! I'd take it onboard with me, but the corkage fee is 7x's the price of the wine! ;)

[H20 Lover]

Yep Yvonne, so do we! I'd take it onboard with me, but the corkage fee is 7x's the price of the wine! ;)

 

True, true... :)

[SoCalCruiserGal]

Julia,

 

Not one for reading reviews, but the gang that I will be traveling with on 9-09 spoke so highly of your review, I had to read.

 

Thanks for all of your information! Excited to go. Less than one week. WOO HOO!

 

Question for you, you mentioned Meclizine. I've been looking for it, but can only find Bonine. If you are finding the real stuff, where are you finding it at?

 

Thank you!

 

Happy Sailing!

 

Stacey

[vmom]

Meclizine is the generic name for Bonine. I bought a bottle of Meclizine cheap at Costo pharmancy. Most drug stores will carry it.

[kcslim]

Vmom.. my doctor "prescribed" mecklazine for me. It was the pharmacist that told me I could get the very same thing over the counter for $3 instead of my $20 co-pay. It is bonine. Bonine is the generic. (Unless of course they've changed things since 2003.. been buying bonine ever since).

 

Karen

[gracie65]

Julia: I have thourghly enjoyed your review. Maybe you should be a romance novel writter with some comics included. We are heading out on the CB in feb. 08. it will be our first Princess Cruise.

My only question is: Did you ever find the 13 braclets?:confused:

[Layla]

thank you, thank you for such a great review! You are a talented writer and I felt like I was right there with you on your cruise! We're sailing September 22 for the Panama Canal. I'm going to bookmark your review and read it a few more times before we go!:)