**Live on the CB** Mutiny?

[TwinCruiserMom]

OP - Thank you for the information from your cruise. I would like to do a New England cruise some day and I appreciate the review.

 

I did not feel that you were insulting elderly people and I can understand that there are certain kinds of people who are NEVER happy with service, food etc. This has nothing to do with age and everything to do with having good manners and a pleasant outlook on life.

 

I have met many very much older people who have such a zest for living and they are a joy to be around. I feel I learn something every time I am with someone with this kind of nature. However, there are many older people who are bitter, nasty and they feel as if the whole world owes them something. I make it a point to steer clear of them as much as possible. Unfortunately, if you are on a cruise ship with a large number of nasty natured people, it is bound to be an unpleasant experience.

 

Hope your next cruise has a little more pleasant group of passengers onboard :)

[CruiseBumm]

I don't consider my self and older person. Let's just say fiffty has passed me by. When I travel do not complaine, much. I take what life gives and appriciate it. I have been in many countries and enjoy what they have to offer. If the dinner is served cold I just politly request it to be warmed or have seconds on the salad.

I do not understand, why people pay good money to travel and just complaine about the little things.

 

Oh well, that's life. You get out of traveling what you put into it.:D

 

Robert

[mollyanne]

IMHO - I think you will find many older cruisers on a fall cruise to New England. Just as you will find tons of kids on an Easter vacation cruise. I don't think this is indicative of Princess on an overall demographic - different times of year will get you different types of cruisers.

 

We are about to sail on the CB for the 3rd time and the 4th is booked for May - can't wait!:)

[NeurosurgeryNP]

Sorry you feel that way. We have sailed on the CB twice this year and a third time coming up in Late October. We can't wait. No Complaints here - only very positives on our last two cruises on the CB.

 

Any day on a crusie ship is better than a day not on a cruise ship.

 

What does Mutiny have to do with the post? Because people were upset about coming in a day early because of the tropical storm?

[elisa456]

It is very interesting to read the different opinions and experiences from the same cruise/ship. My family and I were on the CB on 8/24 and we had a great time. It was my first time with Princess and I was very impressed with the ship. I thought the food was great and the service was too. My mom was on a gluten free diet and the dining room went out of their way to accomodate her. We did experience minor issues here and there - the wait for a table the first night was too long and I do remember the tendering in bar harbor took a long time. But in the end it was a great experience and a lot of fun. I can't wait to cruise again.

[BermudaPrincess]

I think if you look back at the reviews of the Caribbean Princess for the past 6 months it is amazing that people either have loved their trip or have hated it. That tells me that the ship management is not on top of things. We sailed Princess for the first time in August on the ship and there were many things we liked and many we found to be problematic. We did hesitate about sailing out of NYC - this is the third time that we have sailed out of NYC and while it is great to drive there and not fly that means that 60% to 80% of the people on board will be from the metro NYC area with that very 'special' NYC attitude - no matter what their age.

 

The biggest problem is that the dining room management is not addressing the issue of insufficient seating for Tradtional Dining to meet the demand. After much consideration, WE WILL NOT SAIL PRINCESS again if we can not get Traditional Dining. Anytime Dining is fine in concept - espescially for those that do not like structure, but I take a cruise so I don't have to wait in line for a restaurant.

 

Mechanical issues - the CB has mulitple issues - the generator issue and the general A/C issue. The A/C issue may be related to the generator issue, but part of it is design - Europeans do not cool the way Americans do and they are the ones who build the ships.

 

Overcrowding - the CB has 2 extra decks of passengers, but the same facilities as her older half sisters. There are choke points on the Lido and Prominade decks that can not handle the load - hense more unhappy people - and nothing is worse than an unhappy New Yorker (as in City - not upstate).

 

Horizon Court Design - The combination of what I can random access stations plus the over crowding puts the buffet over the edge. I generally avoided the buffets at peak times to avoid the stress.

 

The crew was wonderful, the entainment was good to excellent, the food - once you got to it - was very good - but the ship's public areas are too small for the extra 2 decks of passengers that Princess added when they built this ship.

 

Would I sail Princess again - yes - but not on CB without traditional dining.

[4cats4me]

We have been on the Emerald which is the same size as the CB and have not had any problems with food service or diversity or quality. It seems to be a curse that exists on the CB only - maybe instead of drydock they should scuttle the ship.

 

Ron

 

We were on the Emerald a while back, and for us, it was the first time

on a ship of this size with the 500 extra passengers. although we did

love the Emerald in a lot of respects, I feel that the OP hit the nail on

the head with some of the problems of these larger-sized ships, i.e.,

we too found it problematic that they would close the Horizon Court on

most nights [9 out of 10] and only keep the Caribe Cafe open, which

created a situation of long lines and fewer food choices. However,

the food on the Emerald was excellent. In fact, it was the best

buffet food on a Princess ship so far. But we like to go to Horizon

Court and make a salad in the evening, and they didn't have the salad

fixins in abundance at the Caribe Cafe. They plated some lettuce

and put a little Caesar dressing on some and that seemed to be par for

the course every night.

 

I also agree with the OP about the more mature crowd. We were on

a cruise with a very "mature" crowd, and the behaviour was quite infantile

throughout the cruise. It reminded me of my mom and dad, who bicker

constantly. It was a shipload of my mom and dad:D [sorry mom and

dad]:o

[resstation]

Anytime Dining is fine in concept - espescially for those that do not like structure, but I take a cruise so I don't have to wait in line for a restaurant.

 

 

Really? I'm sure there have to be cheaper ways to find a restaurant without a line. ;)

[magsis]

Thanks for the review. I will be on the CB next month. I am very relieved I set up traditional dining. I'm also not really a buffet fan so I'm not really concerned about that. I do usually try the pizza and burgers at some point during the journey. Several previous posters on this itinerary have stated the AC is fine but I believe they have all been on the Caribe deck. Maybe some decks are fine and some are not. I don't know.

 

I guess I'll find out next month. Hope the rest of your trip was better.

[edzachary]

Well, as I burn up my final Internet minutes here on the CB let me clarify a few things. First of all, I'm not disparaging older folks...just the behavior of many seniors I have seen on this trip. Truth be told, we'd rather sail with the older crowd and have in the past just fine. But there's just something about this cruise with this crowd that is especially...bitter (and that does NOT include us).

 

Look, the whole upshot of my review was that I got info here about the CB months before I left and much of what I heard I can confirm.

 

Did it ruin my cruise? No.

 

Will I cruise Princess again? Maybe...but I'm less inclined to book them first, as I was in the past. I will look elsewhere because I wonder if I can't do better for my money. Cruises are expensive and entirely optional. It is a sacrifice for us to do this. I'd like as good an experience as I can get.

 

I apologize again if I offended anyone. That was not my intent, and, I think, if you go back and read the post, that is not what I said anyway.

 

Signing off from the good ship, Caribbean Princess.

[Vacation Nut]

I certainly understood what you were trying to say, and appreciated your honest review. I was on CB for the last Caribbean cruise of the summer season and had a marvellous time, but we ARE going to swing back to Royal Caribbean for the next one. Princess just didn't quite seem to be as attentive to details as in the past. I will remark that we had NO problems with air conditioning, in fact I had to make it warmer in our cabin (balcony on Aloha deck). We ate dinner with lots of different people and most were really pleasant. However, I like the opportunity to meet different people each day and so that is why Anytime dining works for us. i will have a hard time with RCI's fixed dining times. Have a safe trip home.

[lnew1gd1]

Thank you for an honest review. We will be on the CP next Sunday for this same itin in reverse. We sailed on this same ship during her inaugural year in 2004 and had a fabulous time. Food was very good and the service was excellent. Sorry to hear it has declined so much.

 

Now, I am a New York City native but have been in a small town in Pa. for many, many more years and I truly believe that New York and the Northeast, as in every area of the country, have some people who think they are better than others and are very rude and some that are fabulous people. Age and location does not matter.

 

On our first sailing on the CP we had two very elderly gents (using that term loosely) actually get into a fist fight in the theater over saving seats!

We are also what some consider senior citizens (late 50s and early sixties) but we are young at heart and love cruising and meeting new people. Just hope that no one punches us in the nose on this cruise for some silly reason! LOL

 

Sorry to hear about the death on board but for the poster that said the captain does not announce deaths...sorry that statement is not true. On our last cruise in April on RCCL, we had a medical emergency. The captain announced the person's condition every day after she was air lifted off the ship. We had also been on another cruise line that had a medical emergency that resulted in death and it was announced to all that the person passed away.

 

We did not enjoy the anytime dining on the CP back in 2004 so we did choose standard dining for this cruise. Late seating was confirmed (as per reservation, hope it holds true when we board) and I am thrilled that we won't have to deal with lines, different wait staff and different tables every night.

 

Hope you can enjoy the rest of your cruise and I am sorry that you have to miss Newport. ........just a reason for a do-over!:D

 

Again, thanks for sharing your thoughts, opinions and experiences on the CP.

[The Big Booper]

Thanks for the review. I will be on the CB next month. I am very relieved I set up traditional dining. I'm also not really a buffet fan so I'm not really concerned about that. I do usually try the pizza and burgers at some point during the journey.

 

And how do you think the people who have confirmed traditional feel when they board the ship and discover they have been pushed into anytime? How do you think you would feel?

[Colo Cruiser]

And how do you think the people who have confirmed traditional feel when they board the ship and discover they have been pushed into anytime? How do you think you would feel?

 

 

Unconfirmed? :cool:

[California Native]

To the op...

we are near the same age ..and I've been sailing close to 30 years

I was the youngest for the 1st 20 years of my 135 cruises...

this is when cruising wasn't that accesible to those in our current demographic.

What I learned was patience, understanding, and the ability to smile sweetly and try to understand what the real problem was...because just maybe there is a valid issue

I wanted to get a little background on you as a person so I read your personal blog you linked....

it's your personal blog, so you can say whatever you want..free speech etc etc...but you put it out into the world...so i'm just commenting.....

If I was hiring you I would be concerned about your ability to work well with all demographics, ethnicities etc etc based on what I read here and on your blog

and to think...you were a hiring manager at one time.

I think it's important for you to realize

in 10-20 years you will be slowing down physically and mentally. You might not THINK you are old, but others around you will notice

you won't even realize it's taking place!

you won't be as aware of your surroundings, you will have trouble hearing and only catch 3/4 of what is said to you,

perhaps misunderstanding directions, not hearing others near you...perhaps you will have to be picky about what you eat because of drug interactions of your various new found health conditions and I think we all know how various meds can affect memory, personality etc etc

Now ask yourself...how would you want to be treated?

Live Aloha, believe in Karma, practice patience and how you percieve others around you will shift!

Regarding the itinerary...Canada/New England cruise has always been known for the older demographics.

Regarding Asian Groups..Vancouver and Victoria have the some of the largest Chinese populations. Large Asian Groups on this itinerary, along with the Pacific Coast Cruises out of SFO are very common.

Every cruise line that I have sailed on Celebrity, RCCL, Holland America has problems with crowd control when it comes to the larger ships...

I avoid them like the plague...it is amazing how efficient the small Pacific Princess and Holland America's Prinsendam function on a sold out itinerary.

Leaving Princess won't solve this aspect of your cruise issue.

Bon Voyage

[c-legs]

A very useful post--thanks for all the information about the pros and (mostly) cons of this ship and this itinerary; it came a little too late for me since I'll be on a New England cruise on the CB next month. Actually, I'm still looking forward to it, but it's good to know some of the problems so I can be prepared for them--my main concerns are the air conditioning, the bed, and the noise (my cabin is under the lido deck); I'll see how it goes soon enough.

 

A couple comments on the demographics. I do not think the OP was being disapparaging of older people (I'm in my mid-50s), but reporting on her experience. For those who noted that it's not Princess's fault or there's nothing Princess could do about it, that's true (stop rushing to Princess's defense, no one said it was the cruise line's fault), but there is something we passengers can do--pick an itinerary or ship that is more likely to have a demographic mix with which we are comfortable. My understanding is that longer cruises and more expensive cruise lines are more likely to have older passengers and short cruises on certain lines are likely to have young and single passengers and cruises during certain periods are likely to have children or partying college kids (spring break). Some cruise lines and some itineraries have an international mix of passengers. There is nothing wrong with trying to pick a cruise that is more likely to have a passenger mix that you enjoy spending your vacation with; what mix that is will differ from person to person (some people like spending time with people like themselves, others enjoy new experiences or appreciate a variety of people.

 

Personally, I wonder if the general crankiness of the passengers is due to their age, their being New Yorkers, or the ship problems itself which sound like they can put a lot of people in a bad mood. I'm from upstate New York originally and have noticed that some New Yorkers (city, not state) can be pushing and demanding. It's a general stereotype, like the stereotypes based on age, so obviously it won't apply to everyone and might be unfair, but that's been my general impression. (And I love New York City (in small doses).)

Thank you, FlagFan: very well said !!:cool: :D

[nytax]

a helluva town

 

if you can make it here, you can make it anywhere.

 

i feel that a poor couple with 7 kids might have gone overboard with the spending ( splurging on a balcony cabin). perhaps more frugal spending would have made for a happier camper er cruiser

[5Cats]

Thought I would put my 2 cents in!

 

First cruise was Sapphire - loved it - granted, we had a balcony room, on our honeymoon, ship just came out in june of that year, Alaska itinerary. met people of all age groups, the majority of passengers were retired - I'd say 60+.

 

Star - last 5 day cruise Princess did i think in November 2006 - flight late so we missed the ship in Ft Lauderdale, met the next morning in Nassau (4 day cruise!). ship was fine, people were about the same age groups, but maybe more around our age (mid to late 30's) since it was a Caribbean cruise.

 

Crown - NE/Canada 9/07 - DH and I personally thought the ship a bit too big, and there was definite wear showing (mini golf, upper decks). food was good, people were great, majority of passengers were of the retired age group, met a super funny guy in the casino from NJ and I called him New Jersey and he called me Nebraska. He was very nice! DH and I said we probably wouldn't book the Crown again, but what do I do????

 

10/19/2008 - NE/Canada - on the Caribbean Princess!! It was too good a price to pass up- I swear! So I'll have to wait and see.

 

One story about a rude passenger on Sapphire - she was probably in her 40's, so just a few yrs older than me. There was a line for the pizza and I overheard the crewmember say it would be a few more minutes for xx pizza. Well, i wanted Margherita pizza, which i could see, so I move up to ask for it. This "lady" said "i wish people understood what a line meant" and i looked at her and apologized and explained that i thought everyone was waiting for the xx pizza. she told me if i waited in line, i would have figured it out. so i get my pizza and go over to my husband and tell him about this person, and i admit, i called her a b**ch to my husband. Well, she was sitting near and said, i can hear you! I told her that i didn't think i was going to change my mind and left the area. Fortunately, it was the day before we dismebarked, but my, was she crabby!!!

 

I think going forward, we will stick to the Sapphire/Diamond size ships or may even try another line. We are definitely not into the party/drinking ships, so we may avoid Carnival - all the younger people. I would like to try Royal Caribbean, but time will tell!

 

The comments about "older" passengers?? I personally love cruising with the older folks - that would be anyone older than DH and I - but I love the 60's plus group. They have great stories and are very fun and funny! My dad is 75 and he has gotten alot less patient as he's gotten older, but it amuses me and I try to accommodate him if i can. Most of the passengers will still be up longer than my DH - he poops out at 10 or 11pm each night!

 

We are going to be on the BAJA deck - anyone know about the AC on that deck?? I was planning on bringing a small fan on board in case the room is warm (inside room - again, $$$). I'm leaving the fan and using the space to pack souveneirs on the way back. We also tend to eat later in the evening and have Anytime dining (scary), will it be that bad? Probably will eat around 8 - 9pm. I can always send my DH down for a beeper while i get ready!

 

Sorry for the long post - can't wait to meet my fellow passengers on the CB. Not so excited about the lines at the buffet, but I can deal with that! I love MUTS too - in the hottub - it will be chilly!!

 

Kim

[cynbar]

And how do you think the people who have confirmed traditional feel when they board the ship and discover they have been pushed into anytime? How do you think you would feel?

 

We've heard of that happening before on these boards. The usual advice is to make sure you board with a copy of your personalizer that confirms traditional---- if you take that to the maitre d', you have an excellent chance of being moved into tradtional.

[obmij65]

...Fiction

[spongerob]

The biggest problem is that the dining room management is not addressing the issue of insufficient seating for Tradtional Dining to meet the demand. After much consideration, WE WILL NOT SAIL PRINCESS again if we can not get Traditional Dining. Anytime Dining is fine in concept - espescially for those that do not like structure, but I take a cruise so I don't have to wait in line for a restaurant. When the ship first came out, the Palm (aft) dining room was to be for traditional dining. It was also larger than the similarly-located dining rooms on the Grand Class. The other two dining rooms turned out to be not large enough for the passenger load and there were long waits. One reason, I think, is that CB was primarily intended to appeal to families and they tend to want to eat earlier. So, traditional was shifted from the Palm dining room to one of the other two to increase capacity in anytime. It is surprising that many people don't even know that there is a second anytime dining room located aft.

 

Mechanical issues - the CB has mulitple issues - the generator issue and the general A/C issue. The A/C issue may be related to the generator issue, but part of it is design - Europeans do not cool the way Americans do and they are the ones who build the ships. We had similar problems on Coral Princess last spring. It's not so much that there is a lack of cooling than there is a lack of air flow.

 

Overcrowding - the CB has 2 extra decks of passengers, but the same facilities as her older half sisters. There are choke points on the Lido and Prominade decks that can not handle the load - hense more unhappy people - and nothing is worse than an unhappy New Yorker (as in City - not upstate). It's just one extra deck but otherwise your observations are accurate. Those same choke points exist on the Grand Class and it gets really bad when the photos are on display. (I have suggested moving the photo gallery to the place where the art gallery, the emptiest place on the ship, is located.) The real problem is that the number of passengers increased by about 20%, but the crew levels remained constant. I definitely noticed that service on CB seemed to be less attentive, i.e. rushed or entirely unavailable) due to this limitation. Again, I believe that this was a Princess experiment to try to reduce operating costs. I was told by a Hotel Manager we have come to know over the years that the only additions to the crew on CB compared to Grand Princess is that there are two more galley assistants.

 

Horizon Court Design - The combination of what I can random access stations plus the over crowding puts the buffet over the edge. I generally avoided the buffets at peak times to avoid the stress. I like the islands, but sometimes the way things are organized is bizarre. Why put all the breads in one place and sandwich things in one place, then put the butter and condiments somewhere else? A little process engineering would help.

 

The crew was wonderful, the entainment was good to excellent, the food - once you got to it - was very good - but the ship's public areas are too small for the extra 2 decks of passengers that Princess added when they built this ship. See above - not enough crew.

 

Would I sail Princess again - yes - but not on CB without traditional dining.

 

I was ritually grilled, roasted, and generally eviscerated when I wrote my review of CB's inaugural cruise. I swore we would not go back until changes were made. We're booked on CB next month, and already I am a bit disappointed that the "Crown" upgrades were postponed. We'll see what happens this time.

 

I found the OP's comments to be genuine. We took a Canada/New England cruise on Royal Princess many years ago. When we disembarked en masse in Montreal and were going through US Customs and Immigration inspection, we were among the last in line. The officer stopped us when he saw that we had been on the cruise and asked if we were the youngest people on board. We weren't...there was one couple younger than us.

[cacy6893076]

I am sorry that the OP is not having a great cruise. I have been on the CB and did not feel it was crowded. I also never had trouble getting into the dining room for a meal.

 

However, my one complaint about the review is the reference to the older people on the ship. WHAT, pray tell, do you expect Princess to do about that? Should they limit the number of people in certain age groups?

 

It reminds me of people who include reviews of the weather. If it rains on my next cruise I will never book with Princess again.

 

LOL actually, princess does have a limit on the # of passengers within an age group, it rarely comes into play however and is only for those chronologically (note emphasis) under the age of 18:rolleyes:

[Colo Cruiser]

I too would like to know where the Mutiny angle fits in. :confused:

[cacy6893076]

I too would like to know where the Mutiny angle fits in. :confused:

 

Should it maybe have been "Mutiny on the Tour Bus?" That would be my best guess........;)

[CruiseBumm]

To the op...

 

we are near the same age ..and I've been sailing close to 30 years

 

I was the youngest for the 1st 20 years of my 135 cruises...

 

this is when cruising wasn't that accesible to those in our current demographic.

 

What I learned was patience, understanding, and the ability to smile sweetly and try to understand what the real problem was...because just maybe there is a valid issue

 

I wanted to get a little background on you as a person so I read your personal blog you linked....

 

it's your personal blog, so you can say whatever you want..free speech etc etc...but you put it out into the world...so i'm just commenting.....

 

If I was hiring you I would be concerned about your ability to work well with all demographics, ethnicities etc etc based on what I read here and on your blog

 

and to think...you were a hiring manager at one time.

 

I think it's important for you to realize

 

in 10-20 years you will be slowing down physically and mentally. You might not THINK you are old, but others around you will notice

 

you won't even realize it's taking place!

 

you won't be as aware of your surroundings, you will have trouble hearing and only catch 3/4 of what is said to you,

perhaps misunderstanding directions, not hearing others near you...perhaps you will have to be picky about what you eat because of drug interactions of your various new found health conditions and I think we all know how various meds can affect memory, personality etc etc

 

Now ask yourself...how would you want to be treated?

 

Live Aloha, believe in Karma, practice patience and how you percieve others around you will shift!

 

Regarding the itinerary...Canada/New England cruise has always been known for the older demographics.

Regarding Asian Groups..Vancouver and Victoria have the some of the largest Chinese populations. Large Asian Groups on this itinerary, along with the Pacific Coast Cruises out of SFO are very common.

 

Every cruise line that I have sailed on Celebrity, RCCL, Holland America has problems with crowd control when it comes to the larger ships...

 

I avoid them like the plague...it is amazing how efficient the small Pacific Princess and Holland America's Prinsendam function on a sold out itinerary.

 

Leaving Princess won't solve this aspect of your cruise issue.

 

Bon Voyage

 

 

 

I concurr. If one wants to complain they usually find their reason. ;)

 

Life is too short to sweat the small stuff. Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy.

 

Robert