CB 6/4/08 to 6/13/08 cruise - long review

[DrJJ]

General Observations:

 

This was our first Princess Cruise. We had taken two other cruises on the Norwegian Jewel and Pearl. Despite some recent negative comments on this Board regarding the CB we found on board staff enthusiastic, cheerful and attentive, including our room steward and dining room staff. The ship exceeded our expectations in amenities and quality.

 

Although previous Cruise Critic writers have criticized internet service we had no problems using it this trip. It was slow at times as would be expected at sea. A staff member was present at the posted times and was able to answer questions. There are more than 20 computers at the internet café. Unfortunately there are only four hot spots for wireless laptop users throughout the ship and no wired or wireless access in any of the cabins.

 

 

Embarkation:

 

We drove to the Red Hook Brooklyn. As we were coming from Maryland we took the Goethals Bridge to the Verrazano and the BQE. Traffic was not a problem on the BQE until the last few miles (it was a Wednesday), but there is still major construction on the BQE near the exit for Red Hook, so allow plenty of time.

We arrived about 11:45 am. Very good traffic control and unloading luggage by the stevedores. Parking was a one minute walk from the ship, with a secured lot. By New York standards, the $18 a day parking seemed reasonable.

 

Check-in was rapid. When we arrived, ship boarding had not begun. When boarding did begin, about 12:15 pm, it was somewhat chaotic, with a fairly long wait in line inside the terminal.

We had chosen a mini-suite on the Dolphin deck. We knew about the uncovered balcony thanks to Cruise Critic. The cabin was well appointed and spacious. We spent much time on the balcony throughout the cruise, watching the waves go by. Suggest that you ask the steward to provide bathrobes, as you are visible on the balcony to anyone who leans over a higher deck railing.

 

Chef's Table:

 

As per advice we received on the Cruise Critic Boards, we immediately called for reservations for the chef's table on boarding the ship. Although the chef's table is not one of the choices on the reservation line, and the line rang for almost 15 minutes, it was eventually answered. Just leave the phone ringing on speaker as you unpack – but don't hang up or delay even an hour making the call or you will not get to do this fabulous dining experience. We made our request for a reservation, and were told we would be contacted in the next few days. We received a note on Day 3 of the cruise informing us we had been chosen for the chef's table the next evening. We were invited to an orientation session earlier on the appointed day with Maitre d'Hotel Angelo Balbiani who explained the night's events and the sanitation rules required during our visit to the kitchen. Our group later met in one of the lounges and was then escorted to the galley, where we were greeted by Executive Chef Antonio Cereda, a man who clearly loved his profession and was a delight. He introduced us to the senior purser staff. The group then proceeded to an area in the kitchen where the Chef personally served us with several courses of amazing starters and champagne. We then were escorted to a reserved table in the dining room where we had an unbelievable multi-course dinner with 3 different wines and a menu that was very different from anything else served on the ship. The Chef personally prepared several of the courses at table side, and we were served by the head waiter and the Maitre d'Hotel for the entire meal. After the meal, we were presented with a menu signed by the Chef and the Maitre d'Hotel, a cookbook, and a photo of our group with the Chef, all of which was included in the price. We have dined in some of the best restaurants in NYC, L.A., London and Paris, but we must say that this was one of the best and most memorable meals we have ever had, and well worth the $75 per person additional cost – which would have been fair even if it just covered all the wines, the tour of the galley and the photograph. We were told that the chef's table is done three times during the nine day voyage with a maximum of 12 guests per seating. There were more than 30 passengers on the waiting list.

 

Anytime Dining:

 

We chose anytime dining. We did not make reservations, as indeed few were available anyway for parties of two. When we agreed to share a table at dinner we had no wait. When we asked to be seated in a table for two we had on average a 20 minute wait. After we verified that the dining room pager signal carried there, we usually waited out on the Deck 7 Promenade and enjoyed the view. However we noticed long lines and long waits with waiting guests congregating around the dining room entrance, as well as some upset passengers. Compared to NCL, it seemed that Princess had far fewer tables available for parties of two, hence the long waits. We think it would be useful for Princess to add more tables for two and to inform the passengers that their pagers carry up a deck, so that they could wait in a bar or on the Promenade Deck.

The food in the dining rooms was generally excellent with fast, cheerful service. The pizza available on the Lido Deck was made from fresh dough and was better than most pizza we have had at home. We ate breakfast and most lunches in the Horizon Court. Here the food was only average to above average, with the exception of cold seafood night on Day One, which was excellent.

 

Ship Entertainment:

 

We agree with previous posters that the Princess Theater is much too small for the size of the ship. To get a seat at any show we had to arrive at least 20 minutes in advance. By then almost all of the seats were filled. The production shows were well done and comedian Sarge was particularly funny. Musicians around the ship were generally good, especially an extremely talented violin and accordion duo that played at various times in the dining rooms and public areas.

 

Ports:

 

Bermuda: We did not take a ship-sponsored tour. The ship docks on the West End of Bermuda near the naval dockyards, probably the least scenic area of Bermuda. Luckily there is a ferry stop within 500 yards of the ship. An all day pass is available for $12 which allows use of the public ferry and bus system. Although there was a long line for the pass at the booth nearest the ship, there was no line at the booth near the ferry itself, at the other side of the pier. We took the ferry directly into Hamilton, where we looked at the sites and did some shopping. We then took a public bus to the Elbow Beach Hotel (15 minutes out of Hamilton), where we had a we ate a very nice, but ridiculously expensive lunch at the hotel's beach front restaurant. Great view of the pristine pink beach. We did no swimming as the weather was poor, but there was a public beach immediately adjacent to the Elbow Beach, and the public bus does stop there.

If you have time to kill, there is a cheap internet café ($5 for 30 minutes) at the little shopping center near the pier where the boat docks.

 

San Juan: We took one of the private tour services at the dock, and did not do a Princess excursion. This is entirely feasible in San Juan because the ship does not leave until late at night, so there is little prospect of not arriving back on time. The tour ($40/person) went to El Yunque rain forest, and involved a rather strenuous but invigorating 2 hour trail hike past several beautiful waterfalls. Since it was on a Sunday, the park was full of charming families with children swimming at the waterfall areas. Also, San Juan was the best place to buy duty free liquor, especially since rum made there and taken back to the states is not considered imported. However, it is a little tricky to find the duty free store – it was located on the second floor of the building on the adjacent pier – not the pier with the big white canopy where we docked. As each pier is a separate restricted area, we had to show our cruise cards to enter, but after that it was no problem. In the pier duty free store, there was a large selection of very reasonably priced Puerto Rican rum of every description, including some types not available in the states. They also wrapped the bottles in special bubble bags so that they could be shipped back in checked luggage.

 

St. Thomas: We took the Princess excursion to Trunk Bay on St. John for snorkeling. For those of you who love to snorkel, this is not to be missed. Trunk Bay is part of a magnificent national park, and it was rated by National Geographic as one of the best beaches in the world – deservedly so. The reef is just off the beach, and has an underwater snorkeling "trail" marked by buoys and underwater signs. The coral is gorgeous and the underwater wildlife varied and abundant. The ride from the ferry landing to the beach was filled with spectacular panoramic views. We had been to St. John before, and considered making our way there on our own. However, it would have involved a ferry plus two taxi rides in each direction – too many connections for such a short shore day. Although the ship's shore excursion was somewhat expensive, it was worth it for the convenience.

 

Grand Turk: We would have been happy to skip this stop altogether and spend another day or partial day in St. Thomas. Grand Turk is a very small (6 miles by 1.5 miles). The pier area is filled with touristy shops built three years ago specifically for the cruise ships. There is a nice beach right at the cruise port as well as a swimming pool, but frankly, if you are looking for a more tranquil swim in a pool, you would do well just to stay on the ship. Grand Turk is known primarily for its diving, and experienced divers come from all over the world to dive the reefs off its shore. We had booked the Princess Snuba tour expecting to be taken by boat out to the famous reef area (the tour description given by Princess was vague as to the location). Instead we were taken Snuba diving off the beach and saw a lot of dead reef and almost no fish. Very, very disappointing.

 

Disembarkation in NYC:

 

As we drove, we had a relatively late scheduled disembarkation time. However, we were called to leave the ship 45 minutes later than scheduled. This was not really a problem for us. We just stayed on the Lido Deck and enjoyed the views of the Statute of Liberty and Manhattan. We recommend doing this, and just going to your assigned lounge at the last minute so that you do not get cooped up there all morning.

Baggage collection was painless and we had a 60 second walk to our car.

 

All in all a great cruise.

[doublemm16]

Thanks for the great review. We are leaving next Sunday and I even more excited after reading this!

 

Mindi:D

[cali fashionista]

Thanks !always good to hear a positive review .I cant wait to go ,it seems like forever lol

[Julia’s Journey’s]

Thanks for sharing your cruise vacation with us:D

Sounds like you had a good time and hopefully we will be doing some of these Islands next year so the port info was a help.

[dforeigner]

Thanks for taking time to write a review.

[NeurosurgeryNP]

Thanks for the review! We have been on the CB twice now in the past year and we are going on her again in October for a repo cruise to San Juan. Great to hear she is still doing well!

[Casshew]

Sounds like a great cruise, thank you.

 

Did you enjoy MUTS? were there any highlights at dinner? or lowlights?