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Caribbean Princess Review 11/23/08 Sailing

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By jpg1747,
in Princess Cruises

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jpg1747

jpg1747

Posted
Posted

I am a senior, solo cruiser. However, my sister was on the same cruise. We had separate cabins, did our own thing, but met for dinner every evening. We traveled together and stayed in San Juan pre-cruise together. This was my 10th Princess cruise; and 16th overall.

We stayed at the Sheraton Old San Juan. We shared a double room that was spacious enough for the two of us to be comfortable. The staff was very helpful and the room amenities were very nice. We arrived on Saturday afternoon and toured OSJ on our own. We had lunch in OSJ and dined at the hotel. The next morning we were picked up by Juan of AAA Island Tours for a trip to El Yunque. I would highly recommend him for a tour. We were dropped off at the pier at 1:00 for boarding.

I flew on Jet Blue – Washington, DC-New York-San Juan. The flights down were uneventful. The return flight had a delay at New York due to weather in Florida.

I was in a fully obstructed OV cabin – E228. It was situated between two lifeboats so I had a pretty good view from my window. Cabin steward was Bobby. He was always available, friendly and extremely competent. I only had a couple of requests and he took care of them immediately. I frequently adjusted the temperature in the cabin to suit my needs, but not because of any A/C problems on the ship.

I asked for and received late seating traditional dining. We were in the Island Dining Room at Table 212, a table for 8. Our waiter was Sveta and our assistant waiter was Ana. Both ladies did an exceptional job. Because it was Thanksgiving, the second formal night was switched from Friday to Thursday and a turkey dinner was added to the menu for the night. I think most of us had the lobster anyway since the turkey dinner was offered again on Saturday night.

I also ate breakfast and lunch in the dining room every day. I was always seated with others, as I requested, and always had good service.

I went to afternoon tea twice. I also had the pizza, free ice cream, and fresh fruit for afternoon snacks (not all at the same time though). Other than lunch the first day (we missed eating in the dining room by 10 minutes), and the seafood buffet the first night (which was an appetizer portion before dinner) I didn’t eat any meals in either the Horizon Court or Café Caribe. However, what little I did have there was very good and the selections seems to be varied and plentiful.

The Lobby Bar with Aggie quickly became my favorite place for a cocktail. After my first visit, Aggie always greeted me by name.

I made a few donations in the casino during the week, but I got lucky the last night and won it all back playing roulette, plus a few extra dollars. I don’t smoke, but I did not find the smoking in the casino to be a problem or a hindrance to my time there.

I saw three shows: the Welcome Aboard show, Do You Wanna Dance, and Caribbean Caliente. I enjoyed them all. I skipped Piano Man this time since I had seen it last May. I also saw Hypnotist Joshua Seth, comedian Kevin Jordan, and Ventriloquist Michael Ziegfeld. All were very funny and entertaining.

I didn’t participate in any of the shipboard activities, so I have no comments in that regard. My ship time was spent reading and resting. I exercised by walking around the promenade deck and using the stairs all week. I watched a few musical concerts on MUTS, but not any movies.

At the sail away party raffle, I won a coupon for the spa, which I used towards a hot stone massage. That was the most exquisite sensation and I definitely plan to do it again. I didn’t get any kind of sales pitch, just a wonderful 75 minute treatment.

I took four shore excursions – island information and history tours in Barbados, St. Lucia, Antigua and Tortola. The first three were exactly as I expected and I was very pleased. The tour in Tortola, unfortunately, was not what I expected. Instead of the historical tour I signed up for, we got a drive around the island and a tour of the beaches. I mentioned this at the Shore Excursion desk. The staff member took notes and the next day I had a letter in my cabin advising me that the situation was being investigated. I didn’t ask for a refund, I just wanted them to know the tour didn’t go as advertised.

Because I was traveling with my sister, and she uses a walker and sometimes needs wheelchair assistance, embarkation and disembarkation were fast and painless.

Would I sail the CB again - in a heartbeat!

I have copies of the Patters scanned. If you want a set, email me at jpg1747@aol.com.

If you have any questions, let me know and I'll try to answer them.

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jpg1747

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Glad you had a great cruise! Were there a lot of children on your cruise?

 

I heard that the ship was only at 80% capacity and that there were 400 children on board. The only time I was aware of them was when I was at the adults only pool at the back of Deck 14 below the Outrigger bar. Seems the back of the childrens areas are directly above on Deck 16. I could hear them having a great time, but I never really noticed them around the ship.

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cruisinfever

cruisinfever

Posted
Posted

Thanks for the review. I will be on the CB right after dry-dock. DH and I love San Juan and are looking forward to our annual winter get-away!

 

Glad you had a good time. Thanks for sharing.

 

Janet

 

Janet,

 

Did you join our roll call for the 1/25 cruise. We are getting quite a crew for

the meet and mingle.

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Nige

Nige

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Posted

Thanks for the review. We will be on the last cruise before the dry-dock - I wonder if they will be giving away souvenirs of things they won't need after the renovation....?

 

Have already emailed for the Patters - that is a very generous offer. Thank you.

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titomalu

titomalu

Posted
Posted

I did the same for aggie on the 11/23 cruise. I also gave him a good tip for all the fine service he provided. This month he was the runner up for employee of the month. He showed me the letter from the captain and a certificate that was issued in his name.

 

I guess the made a difference cards count for something. He is the embodiment of what Princess does for its customers.... I wish Royal Caribbean had employees like him.

 

He really made a big difference for me and my wife.

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jpg1747

jpg1747

Posted
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I did the same for aggie on the 11/23 cruise. I also gave him a good tip for all the fine service he provided. This month he was the runner up for employee of the month. He showed me the letter from the captain and a certificate that was issued in his name.

 

I guess the made a difference cards count for something. He is the embodiment of what Princess does for its customers.... I wish Royal Caribbean had employees like him.

 

He really made a big difference for me and my wife.

 

I had intended to "float" around to all the different bars during week for my cocktails, but after the first night with Aggie, I never went anywhere else. He definitely has a loyal following.

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Rememberwhen

Rememberwhen

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Posted

Thank you for your lovely review. Ive sent you my request via e-mail for the patters. we are going on the CB in April and this is our first cruise. Alot of negative things have been said about the CB lately and it was making me nervous about our choice of ships.Your review really eased my mind. Thanks for sharing.:)

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  • 1 month later...
rfische1

rfische1

Posted
Posted

Awesome review. Will be sailing similar itinerary this December. I e-mailed you to request copies of Patters. After digging out of 16 inches of snow this weekend, I am more than anxious to be on a cruise ship in the Caribbean.

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  • 3 weeks later...

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