CB Review 3/16-3/23 Not a Fan

[cruzfiend]

CB is sold out for this cruise and was wondering if anybody knows if we will run into 800 kids? I think spring break for college is over and hasn't started for younger kids yet. I've sailed over Easter before so I hope I won't find this too bad if there is a lot of kids. Thanks for info in advanced! 11 days and counting:cool:

 

I know for the area I come from, that our schools have spring break that week. Don't know if that is good news or not:confused:

[Philip217]

I agree that nobody should be blasted for their opinions on this topic.

 

But comon sense must prevail in the mass market economy. Adn with this current econimic mess, there are a few guarantees listed below that you can count on without having to experioence them first:

 

If you choose to sail on a large mass market cruise ship - anytime of the year - you are nearly guaranteed to encounter problems with crowds, lines, and noise.

 

If you choose to cruise on a large mass market ship during a big family holiday, then you are nearly guaranteed to encounter even larger problems. As with all things, your mileage may vary.

 

With the economy tanking, and fuel prices escalating, no mass market business will intentionally turn down revenue to make things more comfortable for you on a family holiday. The number of children on family cruises may increase - but it will not decrease.

 

If you choose to take a family holiday cruise, there is another issue that must be considered. For the crew, this is the worst time of the year. They dread these family holiday cruises. The number of children is often overwhelming for them. They miss their families and would prefer to be back home instead of taking care of you. The tips on a family holiday cruise are the lowest of the year, while the work is the hardest of the year. The number of complaints is the highest of the year. The passenger expectations are the highest of the year. The personal abuse the crew receives is the worst of the year. The crew just wants to get this cruise over with and get you and your family off the ship. So what do you think the service is going to be like?

[PescadoAmarillo]

We loved everything about the Westerdam except the high number of rather rude passengers on that particular cruise. Wonderful staff and excellent service. Food was excellent and their Lido buffet is hands down the best there is. The ship never felt crowded and I particularly liked all the teak deck furniture, the teak deck areas (albeit in some cases simulated). Onboard CB, I didn't like all the blue astro-turf. It definitely didn't feel like I was on a "premium" cruise line but it was cooler on the feet.

 

I give the edge to Galaxy for having everything we liked about Westerdam with a couple of advantages. Nicer passenger mix, (probably due to it being a 10 day instead of 7 day cruise). Outstanding dining room cuisine and stellar service. Overall, the service was a touch more genuine than Westerdam. I got the impression that there was a nice cohesiveness amongst Galaxy's staff. They seemed to really enjoy their jobs or else they did a heck of a job pretending.

 

In summary, Westerdam and Galaxy are similar experiences with lots of nice personal touches and excellent service. CB felt very impersonal and definitely a full step below in terms of overall experience. Not a "premium" ship in terms of service.

Thanks very much! We have been on the Galaxy many times, and are seriously considering an HAL cruise. Nice to have the comparison to ships/cruise lines we know well. And, FWIW, I agree about Celebrity's crew. They do seem to be very content in their jobs.

[Clutterlady]

First, let me say thank you for your honest review!

 

Going on the CB in May, you said you had no wait time for anytime dining. Could you please tell me what times you usually dinned?

 

Thank you, and hope you reconsider a Princess cruise in the future:)

[kendon]

Philip, you are right! And I know this through lots of personal experience.

[Netta7]

Thanks all. I appreciate the review and advice I am getting from this board. I have booked an August CB sailing and am a little worried. The ship is already virtually sold out and there are no quad cabins left. We selected the CB based on dates and itinerary. We need to go in August and the opportunity for a 9 night cruise out of NY instead of a 7 night cruise sold us on the CB.

 

I am already worried about not having a deck chair, a seat at the show, a reservation at a restaurant, etc. due to the number of people. With a lot of sea days on the itinerary I am wondering if I made a mistake. Sea days are fun if the family is happy, but not if the kids are unhappy and I can't get a seat at the pool.

 

Have I made a mistake?

 

Netta7

 

Disney cruise 1999

Windjammer Legacy 2007

[PescadoAmarillo]

I'm afraid to go back to Royal Caribbean because I sense that we'd feel the same way.

What we're finding is that we like particular ships, or ship classes, within cruise lines, and I believe that is going to factor into our cruising decisions. For example, RC...the Radiance Class is perfect, the older ships seem older and I can't quite see myself on their two larger classes of ships. On Celebrity, we haven't been on any ships we don't love. And on Princess, we were not Sun Class fans, but are quite content on the Grand Class ships. We'll see how we feel about the Super Grands after our Emerald cruises next January.

 

I agree with others who say that we shouldn't discount an entire cruise line because of one ship experience. Try a different size ship, different cruise length, different time of year and we're likely to have an entirely different vacation.

[muffydawg]

I can understand and appreciate all points of view on this one. What's great about Cruise Critic is the opportunity to share opinions, observances, lessons learned and ask questions. While I am saddened to read about the OP's experience (which I've had on other cruise lines while sailing during spring break time) I also value the perspective of the crew.

 

DH and I have become keenly aware of what impacts the "delightfulness" of our cruise vacation and hence take steps to maximimze our enjoyment. We take longer cruises when possible (9 days +), ask for late seating, and do not sail during Spring Break / school breaks / holiday time. We are kind, thoughtful, polite and respectful to all the staff we encounter (not that the OP wasn't/isn't) as we find that when one gives respect and politeness, one gets it in return. If the requested bathrobe/ pillow/ egg crate isn't in our stateroom, we ask the cabin steward for the item instead of suffering in silence. Silly as it sounds, the complimentary champagne wasn't in our mini-suite at the start of a sailing and we just politely asked for it and it was brought pronto. We sun near the adults-only pool, take breakfast and lunch in the dining room and enjoy the specialty restaurants. Food is such a subjective topic....but if my meal was ever cold I would politely and quietly say something to the waiter. If I had a question about the earliest time for coffee to be brought in the morning I would ask the cabin steward.

 

The posters on Cruise Critic are great about sharing their "lessons learned" so others can benefit. I hope the OP finds the "winning combination" of ship size, cruise line, time of year, price and what-not to make his/her family vacation as enjoyable as it can be.

[westcafe]

I am also in the same April 6th cruise and i was concerned there would not be any kids. I called and I do know that there are about 150 teenagers ages 13-17.

Hey Liz maybe we will run into each other. Staying on caribe deck 708. Got an upgrade;) I don't mind kids, have 2 of my own. Are you booked for any excursions? 11 days and counting!!! Deb

[TrinaLC]

I think one can argue that Holland America, Celebrity, and Princess are all mass market lines. They position/market themselves as "premium" however. I think HAL and Celebrity more closely resemble each other with their "premium" claim but assumed Princess would be on par with them if not just slightly below. My experience suggested Princess to be FAR below the others, putting them on par more with RCCL or NCL, or, dare I say, Carnival?

 

I haven't sailed Hal or Celebrity, but found CB to be above RCCL, NCL and Carnival in terms of quality.

 

To the OP, my kids are a few years older than yours. I think you will find that your kids are indeed outgrowing the typical kids vacation clubs. Ours now go the first night to meet other kids, and then pretty much never go back. This is true accross cruise lines.

 

We sailed a few weeks before you and have a very different experience. Found the staff to be friendly and helpful. Didn't find the announcements to be particularly intrusive - but we were often on our balcony rather than in the public spaces.

 

We thought the food was very good - better than the other lines we have sailed. Especially liked the frequent availability of seafood (great smoked salmon!), and the ethnic offerings in the Carribe court. Unlike you, we thought the breakfast offerings were great - ranging from personally prepared omelettes, to smoked fish, tons of fruit, eggs benedict ... Our biggest complaint there was hard to find tables at peak times.

 

We found embarkation/debarkation a breeze. I think 2:00 was probably about the worst time you could have arrived. We got there around 11, read a book for about a an hour, and then walked right on after the wheelchairs. We walked right off the ship at our appointed hour which as I recall was 9:40.

 

There were about 600 kids when we sailed. Didn't find them to be a problem, 200 more might make a big difference. But that is the reality of cruising during spring break - tons of kids!

 

Seems to me that you diagnosed your dissatisfaction pretty well. But I would submit it is not a "princess problem" but rather a mega ship during spring break problem. And perhaps a bit of a failure to recognize Princess as being a mass line. (Of course they like to advertise like they are something more special, that is the point of promotions, but their price point is in line with RCCL/NCL.)

 

Not trying to put you on the defensive, just give my perspective and raise a couple of points. Your review was thorough and will be helpful to many as they make their cruising decisions.

[Sweet Dreams]

Many have stated that the issue is that the CB maybe was just too big for the person that started this thread......We sailed on the NCL Pearl last spring break.....a mega ship on a holiday week with lots of kids....so I do have a comparison to last weeks cruise on the CB.

 

The staff last week simply seem to be worn out or maybe dreaded the holiday weeks as someone posted and many other issues that I posted earlier. This was not the case on our previous spring break cruise and I only changed cruise lines based on our dates not being flexible and I did not want to repeat the ports but now I wish I had "bought the ship" not the itineary.

 

I do hope Princess reads these boards and takes to heart our comments....I in no way want any company to fail just simply to open their eyes and deliver good customer service and a product that has been known in the industry as one of the best.

[bdjam]

Just curious. What line are you moving to? I consider trying something else sometimes, even though I'm due for "Elite" soon, darn!

I’ve heard good things about Holland America’s Vista Class (as opposed to bad things that I’ve heard about the rest of the fleet). That would be my first choice – as there are few other options. Holland America might be a little too traditional for my taste, so it’s a toss up. I would certainly go for Princess’ small ships – I enjoyed my 10 days on Pacific Princess 2 when she was doing the Alaska run – but they are hard to reach itinerary wise. I’ve heard that Crystal cruises can be had at lower prices if the timing is right, so that would be an option as well.

But the fact is the choices with medium sized ships are limited – maybe it’s a market Princess should tap back into. They run their business well, I’m sure they could make it work if they put their minds to it.

[Smartcookie]

Thanks for the review, I tried the CB for my first Princess cruise last year and loved it, though I agree, I could really do without those annoying announcements, they really cheapen the experience and are incredibly intrusive, are you listening Princess?

[liz954]

Hey Liz maybe we will run into each other. Staying on caribe deck 708. Got an upgrade;) I don't mind kids, have 2 of my own. Are you booked for any excursions? 11 days and counting!!! Deb

 

 

Hi Deb, Just got upgraded to a family suite today. I am so excited. We were in a balcony and inside and now we are in D105. :)

We keep talking about excursions but have not booked any yet. My family likes to snorkel. Have you booked any excursions yet? If you have been before do you have any suggestions?

 

Maybe we should take this discussion to our roll call page.

 

-Liz

[Philip217]

I just checked out the history of the Caribbean Princess (even though I don't plan to sail on her).

She has been sailing at full capacity for 4 years now. Which means about 650,000 passengers have experienced this ship.

The ship is still sailing full this week.

 

I have to wonder:

 

Did all or most of these 650,000 people have a good time? That would explain the continuing full bookings for the ship.

 

Did all or most of these people have a terrible time and not bother or forget to tell their friends (and Cruisecritic) not to sail on such a terrible ship? That would also explain why the ship is sailing full this week.

 

Is it a lousy ship to sail on and the cruising public is just too dumb to realize that fact? That would also explain why the ship is sailing full this week.

 

Could it be that the ship is not very good, but more than a half million people decided to suffer through it anyway and not complain?

 

Do they offer cruises so cheap that the cruising public is willing to put up with a sub-standard experience to save money?

 

I don't get it..........................

[cjh]

Thanks all. I appreciate the review and advice I am getting from this board. I have booked an August CB sailing and am a little worried.

Have I made a mistake?

 

It was sold out when we sailed on CB I was worried about the extra deck because I have 2 kids in wheelchairs and worried that they wouldn't be able to move around as easy. To tell you the truth I didn't notice that it was any different in size then the Star. Never felt like there were as many people as there was on the ship.

[nevis92]

I just checked out the history of the Caribbean Princess (even though I don't plan to sail on her).

She has been sailing at full capacity for 4 years now. Which means about 650,000 passengers have experienced this ship.

The ship is still sailing full this week.

 

I have to wonder:

 

Did all or most of these 650,000 people have a good time? That would explain the continuing full bookings for the ship.

 

Did all or most of these people have a terrible time and not bother or forget to tell their friends (and Cruisecritic) not to sail on such a terrible ship? That would also explain why the ship is sailing full this week.

 

Is it a lousy ship to sail on and the cruising public is just too dumb to realize that fact? That would also explain why the ship is sailing full this week.

 

Could it be that the ship is not very good, but more than a half million people decided to suffer through it anyway and not complain?

 

Do they offer cruises so cheap that the cruising public is willing to put up with a sub-standard experience to save money?

 

I don't get it..........................

 

 

The U.S. is a huge cruise market with a surprisingly low percentage that have actually cruised. Therefore, there is a very high percentage of first time cruisers jumping on these ships with no prior experience to compare it to. As I said previously, had we not had a point of reference, we would be singing praises of CB. And please don't misunderstand my original post. We had an enjoyable vacation. It just wasn't great. It is the first time I've come off a cruise feeling this way.

[Former Goalie]

I just checked out the history of the Caribbean Princess (even though I don't plan to sail on her).

She has been sailing at full capacity for 4 years now. Which means about 650,000 passengers have experienced this ship.

The ship is still sailing full this week.

 

I have to wonder:

 

Did all or most of these 650,000 people have a good time? That would explain the continuing full bookings for the ship.

 

Did all or most of these people have a terrible time and not bother or forget to tell their friends (and Cruisecritic) not to sail on such a terrible ship? That would also explain why the ship is sailing full this week.

 

Is it a lousy ship to sail on and the cruising public is just too dumb to realize that fact? That would also explain why the ship is sailing full this week.

 

Could it be that the ship is not very good, but more than a half million people decided to suffer through it anyway and not complain?

 

Do they offer cruises so cheap that the cruising public is willing to put up with a sub-standard experience to save money?

 

I don't get it..........................

I'll respectfully add my .02 to some of your points.

The typical CC poster is a seasoned cruiser who has a greater knowledge base, thus tends to lend a more critical eye to his or her cruise experience. The majority of those who have posted negative comments also have stated that those negatives didn't make the cruise "bad", just less desirable than other cruise experiences.

Just because a ship continues to sail full week after week, that doesn't mean that people are booking the cruise just because the cruise line has a positive rep. In shoulder season, and any time demand is slack, any cruise company worth its salt will lower price to reel in the marginal consumer to fill berths. The revenue from an empty berth is gone forever, not to mention the additional $$ that passenger would spend onboard. Although the cruise industry seems to have a ton of new builds, the industry is still just a small percent of the overall hospitality and leisure industry. Thus, at least for the foreseeable future, there will continue to be a willing market of first time cruisers, as long as the cruise price point remains competive with land based.

 

"Do they offer cruises so cheap that the cruising public is willing to put up with a sub-standard experience to save money?"

Sometimes they do offer really cheap cruises to fill berths.

 

I will offer my opinion that the Princess "product" has suffered some slippage from my two other cruises in '02 and '04

[IWanttocruisenow]

I was on the maiden voyage of the NCL Pride of America n 2005 (7 day Hawaiian Islands cruise)

 

It was 100% full. Other than the incredible itinerary, it was the worst cruise I could have ever imagined, service, food quality, was terrible.

I chalked it off to maiden cruise= lots of problems.

 

I read all the recent negative posts, but curiosity got to me, and I wanted to go back to Hawaii, so I tried it again in January, 2008, same cruise.

 

Again, The cruise was 100% full.

Again, Total disaster. Almost exactly the same problems from 2 1/2 years before. Some were much worse.

 

Most of my fellow cruisers were first timers, and they had never heard of cruise critic. Many of them had the same issues with service, food qualty, etc, but they all said they will be back.

 

I won't.

 

I think it was PT Barnum that said, "There is a sucker born every minute"

 

Well, the clock will never stop, and the cruise ships will continue to be full.

[djhsolara]

I can understand and appreciate all points of view on this one. What's great about Cruise Critic is the opportunity to share opinions, observances, lessons learned and ask questions. While I am saddened to read about the OP's experience (which I've had on other cruise lines while sailing during spring break time) I also value the perspective of the crew.

 

DH and I have become keenly aware of what impacts the "delightfulness" of our cruise vacation and hence take steps to maximimze our enjoyment. We take longer cruises when possible (9 days +), ask for late seating, and do not sail during Spring Break / school breaks / holiday time. We are kind, thoughtful, polite and respectful to all the staff we encounter (not that the OP wasn't/isn't) as we find that when one gives respect and politeness, one gets it in return. If the requested bathrobe/ pillow/ egg crate isn't in our stateroom, we ask the cabin steward for the item instead of suffering in silence. Silly as it sounds, the complimentary champagne wasn't in our mini-suite at the start of a sailing and we just politely asked for it and it was brought pronto. We sun near the adults-only pool, take breakfast and lunch in the dining room and enjoy the specialty restaurants. Food is such a subjective topic....but if my meal was ever cold I would politely and quietly say something to the waiter. If I had a question about the earliest time for coffee to be brought in the morning I would ask the cabin steward.

 

The posters on Cruise Critic are great about sharing their "lessons learned" so others can benefit. I hope the OP finds the "winning combination" of ship size, cruise line, time of year, price and what-not to make his/her family vacation as enjoyable as it can be.

 

 

VERY WELL SAID!!!!

 

This is probably off the line of the OP, but often people forget that those that are there to help us when we are on a cruise are humans just like us. People so often forget that those of us in the service industry want to help people, so it is certainly not necessary to be nasty. The servers/stewards, etc know that you have paid nicely for the cruise and want to make your experience a great one. If we all remember that everyone on the cruise is a human being just like us and that we should all have a little patience sometimes, then we would probably all have (no pun intended) smoother sailing.

 

It is such a breath of fresh air to hear of someone who actually asks for things that are missing, etc rather than demanding it. I'm excited to go on my upcoming sailing and will be just as polite as can be to everyone on the sailing.

[nevis92]

VERY WELL SAID!!!!

 

This is probably off the line of the OP, but often people forget that those that are there to help us when we are on a cruise are humans just like us. People so often forget that those of us in the service industry want to help people, so it is certainly not necessary to be nasty. The servers/stewards, etc know that you have paid nicely for the cruise and want to make your experience a great one. If we all remember that everyone on the cruise is a human being just like us and that we should all have a little patience sometimes, then we would probably all have (no pun intended) smoother sailing.

 

It is such a breath of fresh air to hear of someone who actually asks for things that are missing, etc rather than demanding it. I'm excited to go on my upcoming sailing and will be just as polite as can be to everyone on the sailing.

 

I agree. I previously mentioned there were some rude passengers on our HAL Westerdam cruise two years ago. I watched passengers treat staff like animals. It was horrible behavior and I was embarrassed for them. The sense of entitlement of some passengers makes me sea sick. I'm sure the same "stupid" question asked repeatedly can cause the staff to snap back. How many times are they asked, "What time is the midnight buffet?" You would be surprised.

[IWanttocruisenow]

I agree. I previously mentioned there were some rude passengers on our HAL Westerdam cruise two years ago. I watched passengers treat staff like animals. It was horrible behavior and I was embarrassed for them. The sense of entitlement of some passengers makes me sea sick. I'm sure the same "stupid" question asked repeatedly can cause the staff to snap back. How many times are they asked, "What time is the midnight buffet?" You would be surprised.

 

Actually, the midnight buffet starts at 11:30 on some ships.

[Simru12]

Thanks for your honest observations. We're planning a Caribbean trip in March '09 and have narrowed it down to the CB or the Crown. Both 'Mega Monsters' as Toto put it, which concerns me as the largest I've been on is the Golden which I thought was Huge at the time.

 

We're planning to sail sometime between Presidents Day and Spring Breaks so the amount of kids / Partying college students shouldn't be that bad. I suppose even on a Mega-Ship, the attitudes of those on board has a lot to do with the pleasantness (new word?) of the cruise. A 3/4 full ship of screaming drunk frat boys might seem more overwhelming than a full ship of middle-aged vacationers. (Not to say the middle-agers can't be screaming drunks, but I digress)

 

I guess we'll wait to see if someone posts a likewise review of the Crown before I make the decision, but a vacation in the warmth on ANY ship can go a long way to help to overcome any negative situations, IMHO.

[Tatka]

I also agree with you concerning the staff being over worked. I recently sailed on HAL and forgot how nice it is to have staff that are not overworked and making mistakes because they have so many demands placed on them. Princess is working these people too hard IMO.

 

Coral, I am surprised to read this.

 

I hope I really hope things have improved on Vista class ships of HAL! In our experience HAL's (Zuiderdam) crew was the most overworked, tired and slow out of all our cruises..had to serve too many cabins, too many tables.

 

Caribbean Princess's on the other hand was one of the best (right after Celebrity's)

[IWanttocruisenow]

Thanks for your honest observations. We're planning a Caribbean trip in March '09 and have narrowed it down to the CB or the Crown. Both 'Mega Monsters' as Toto put it, which concerns me as the largest I've been on is the Golden which I thought was Huge at the time.

 

We're planning to sail sometime between Presidents Day and Spring Breaks so the amount of kids / Partying college students shouldn't be that bad. I suppose even on a Mega-Ship, the attitudes of those on board has a lot to do with the pleasantness (new word?) of the cruise. A 3/4 full ship of screaming drunk frat boys might seem more overwhelming than a full ship of middle-aged vacationers. (Not to say the middle-agers can't be screaming drunks, but I digress)

 

I guess we'll wait to see if someone posts a likewise review of the Crown before I make the decision, but a vacation in the warmth on ANY ship can go a long way to help to overcome any negative situations, IMHO.

 

The problem is spring breaks are different across the country and in Canada. I think it would be impossible to choose any week between February and May and dodge a spring break. I booked a cruise that runs out of San Juan in April, figuring there would be a low % of kids.