Gay Review: Caribbean Princess

[DannyBoy78]

Hi All,

 

I thought I would just give kudos to the staff of Caribbean Princess for going the extra mile for including the GLBT guests.

 

John was in charge of the GLBT meetings for our cruise and he stayed with the group and helped us to set up frequent meetings. I feel like we met a lot of great people and hopefully made some friends that we'll continue keep in contact with for a long time.

 

John L. is taking some time off and is requesting to stay in the Caribbean for future routes. For those of you planning on sailing on CB, I hope that your straight cruise is as gay as ours was.

 

The majority of the other staff was very accommodating. We had a large turnout of gay men for dinner and we got together on a regular basis for the formal dining room. At times, I felt that our group wasn't treated as well by the Island Dining room staff but the Coral Dining were cordial and professional. We did get stares from people from time to time but nobody gave us a hard time. Even the captain of the ship was very gay friendly when we were introduced to him.

 

The food was a different story. The buffet is lacking imagination or flavor and Princess Cruises should be ashamed for putting some of that **** out there and calling it food. The formal dining room was hit or miss but most things were edible. People outside of our "circle" could be heard complaining of the food all over the ship. To be fair, other people told me they ate all their meals at the buffet and found no issue.

 

The purser desk was very helpful when we told them that one of our bags was lost by the airline. They lent me shoes and were prepared to lend me formal dinner wear. Princess also gave up a bag that had a brush, comb, toothbrush, toothpaste, etc.

 

The boat did rock around more than I remember on our two previous cruises. I was sea sick in my sleep on the first night which is a first for me. Our room was towards to front of the ship on Baja Deck 11.

 

Boarding in Puerto Rico was very smooth and the same was true for check out. There were also no problems catching cabs to/from the airport.

 

Movies under the stars is awesome, there are free waffles at the ice cream place for breakfast, sometimes there is free sushi for lunch at the buffet (the one all the way in the back of the ship), there is free ice cream around lunch time in the buffet, you can save money by sharing a cab to/from the airport esp if traveling as a couple and you can save $ by doing excursions on your own (be prepared to haggle.) The only benefit of doing excursions through the cruise is that the ship will wait for you if booked through the Princess should something hold your group up.

 

Well, I hope that helps. Feel free to shoot me any further questions you may have about this cruise or itinerary.

 

Cheers,

Danny and Dave

[jjb415]

Hi All,

 

I thought I would just give kudos to the staff of Caribbean Princess for going the extra mile for including the GLBT guests.

 

John was in charge of the GLBT meetings for our cruise and he stayed with the group and helped us to set up frequent meetings. I feel like we met a lot of great people and hopefully made some friends that we'll continue keep in contact with for a long time.

 

John L. is taking some time off and is requesting to stay in the Caribbean for future routes. For those of you planning on sailing on CB, I hope that your straight cruise is as gay as ours was.

 

The majority of the other staff was very accommodating. We had a large turnout of gay men for dinner and we got together on a regular basis for the formal dining room. At times, I felt that our group wasn't treated as well by the Island Dining room staff but the Coral Dining were cordial and professional. We did get stares from people from time to time but nobody gave us a hard time. Even the captain of the ship was very gay friendly when we were introduced to him.

 

The food was a different story. The buffet is lacking imagination or flavor and Princess Cruises should be ashamed for putting some of that **** out there and calling it food. The formal dining room was hit or miss but most things were edible. People outside of our "circle" could be heard complaining of the food all over the ship. To be fair, other people told me they ate all their meals at the buffet and found no issue.

 

The purser desk was very helpful when we told them that one of our bags was lost by the airline. They lent me shoes and were prepared to lend me formal dinner wear. Princess also gave up a bag that had a brush, comb, toothbrush, toothpaste, etc.

 

The boat did rock around more than I remember on our two previous cruises. I was sea sick in my sleep on the first night which is a first for me. Our room was towards to front of the ship on Baja Deck 11.

 

Boarding in Puerto Rico was very smooth and the same was true for check out. There were also no problems catching cabs to/from the airport.

 

Movies under the stars is awesome, there are free waffles at the ice cream place for breakfast, sometimes there is free sushi for lunch at the buffet (the one all the way in the back of the ship), there is free ice cream around lunch time in the buffet, you can save money by sharing a cab to/from the airport esp if traveling as a couple and you can save $ by doing excursions on your own (be prepared to haggle.) The only benefit of doing excursions through the cruise is that the ship will wait for you if booked through the Princess should something hold your group up.

 

Well, I hope that helps. Feel free to shoot me any further questions you may have about this cruise or itinerary.

 

Cheers,

Danny and Dave

 

Thank you so much Danny and Dave for posting your impressions of the Caribbean Princess. I love idea of a 'gay review' & couldn't resist reading this thread ! I hope you've started a trend with the gay review. :)

[DannyBoy78]

Hi Jack,

 

Thanks for your response to my post. I found it frustrating that I could not find many gay viewpoints while researching this cruise and this is what I came up with. I hope more people are encouraged to do so.

 

Danny

[cruise pup]

Thanks for the review. Here's hoping John leaves the ship in good hands while he's taking his break.

[Petron]

Thanks Danny and Dave for the great review. My partner and I will be cruising the CB on July 8 from NY, so we look forward to getting to know "her".

Do you think John L. will be on board in July?

How did you manage to get a large turnout of gay men for dinner? Where you a group or did you meet during FOD meetings?

 

Also where in the ship did they have the meetings? Did you try any of the specialty restaurants?

 

Sorry for all the questions!

 

Peter and Ron

[lovejone]

that is true... some people mentionned that some of the restaurents were closed due to the Caribbean Princess being 'fixed up'... Where they all open when you cruised?

[cruise pup]

that is true... some people mentionned that some of the restaurents were closed due to the Caribbean Princess being 'fixed up'... Where they all open when you cruised?

 

The only restaurant that wasn't running when it returned after the dry-dock was the new Crown Grille. But that is now running, so all restaurants are now open.

[rscottgunn]

My partner and I just returned from the Caribbean Princess. We were on the ship the week after Danny was on. We also had a great time. In the daily ship paper, they went beyond Firends of Dorthy and actually had GLBT meetings posted.

John from the Cruise Director's staff was also responsible for putting together our meetings. He also made arrangements for all of us to eat together two nights and some of us ate togerher a couple more times. We had both men and women at our gatherings.

The ship is pretty large and I was a little affraid of being on a ship with over 3200 passengers, but I have to say they did a great job moving people. There were hardly any lines, and getting on and off the ship was really easy.

I also agree with Danny on the food. Lacking imagination and taste in most areas. Even the Crown Grill was just an average steak house.

We took the advice of some others and did not get to the ship until 3PM on Sunday. THere was no line at all and we were in our cabin within ten minutes of arriving at the pier. Also, the ship does not leave port until 11PM so there is plenty of time to actually do things in Puerto Rico.

The only real negative event was trying to fly out of Puerto Rico. There were three ships that came in at the same time and the lines and confusion at the airport was unbelievable. If I cruise out of PR again I would just stay over an extra night to avoid the mess.

Also, if you don't take the excursions from the ship on some of the islands, be prepared to be swamped by the local drivers. They really never leave you alone.

[Bri&RichnOrl]

My partner and I are looking into a New England and Canada Itinerary in Sept. The Caribbean Princess is the ship that is slated for the cruise.

 

We are looking at other cruise companies but our leaning more toward Princess.

 

We are always looking for an inclusive environment.

 

So do you know on every cruise if there is a GLBT mixer and it is stated on the ship newsletter?

 

On the food front, is the food decent just not exquisite? Or is the food bad? :eek:

 

What type of activities did you find your selves drawn to while on board?

 

Any insight is appreciated as we are looking to book in the following week.

 

Rich

[solised]

Any people of the GLBT community sailing on Aug 15-22, 2010 Western Caribbean? I was wondering if this cruise will organize a meeting for us.

[dcikon2]

We recently returned off of the Carnival Victory that also sailed out of Puerto Rico. We witnessed problems at the San Juan airport over the holidays when we visited Puerto Rico. You must get to the airport at least 2 hours ahead of time during peak times.

 

I am curious to know which islands you visited. Our ship made stops in St. Thomas, Dominica, St. Lucia, Barbados, St. Kitts, and St. Maarten. There was a different island every day.

 

What activities did you do that you recommend?

[crosbystreet]

My partner and I will be sailing out of Brooklyn on the Caribbean Princess at the end of this month. We've been on two Atlantis charter gay cruises on Celebrity.

 

This will be our first "regular" cruise and our first with Princess.

[Canuckgrrl]

Caribbean Princess UPDATE: We had an incredible week in the S.Caribbean. All the updates to the ship were completed. The food was fantastic, even the buffet meals. The selection was varied and fresh. There were also themed meals, but these always included some regular menu items so you weren't stuck. Dined one night at the Crown Grill - did not agree with the extra charge, but it was the best steak ever! The Piazza area is quite lovely to hang out in at any time - free cookies and milk served every afternoon. Great shops and eateries. I believe there were 5 pools around the ship. Hardly any kids at all. Rarely seemed crowded onboard, except for the last day at sea. Excellent entertainment selection. The ship was an adventure itself. There was truly something for everyone. Can't say enough about the crew - very friendly and supportive.

[RMS Olympic]

I sailed the Caribbean Princess with RSVP a few years ago and thought it was too big. But...since then I have sailed the Crown..loved it, the Emerald...loved it. Guess I got use to the size and overall layout of the grand class ships.

The Emerald had LGBT gatherings scheduled everyday...and the Cruise Director made sure there was at least one crew member there to get things going.

I still find Princess to be the most LGBT friendly which keeps me rebooking Princess.

As for food...and there is another thread on this subject is a tough one. Last night on the news they talked about the price increases on food and that the US is going to see major price increases in the next 6 to 8 months. Increased demand, weather issues etc driving up prices. I can only assume the food will suffer on ships unless cruise fares go up.

Its funny...people want cheap prices but then expect "the best"......doesn't work. But I feel fortunate to be able to sail these great Princess ships.

.......and looking forward to the Grand Princess in December.

[licedlemonloafiscrack]

Just booked the Caribbean Princess from San Juan to Brooklyn -- May 1 to 8 -- for my partner and I! This will be our second cruise (1st was Freedom of the Seas for Christmas 2010 -- we had such a great time -- I was "bit" by the cruise bug BAD!). Very much looking forward to this one -- we didn't really have a clue the first time around!

[STLMatt]

My partner and I are also booked on this cruise. We did the same one last year and had a wonderful and relaxing time. Bermuda is really the high point of this cruise. What a fantastic island! This will be my 4th time on Caribbean Princess and really enjoy the ship. You have to do a special evening at Sabatini's Italian restaurant. Food and service are wonderful. This is my 7th Princess cruise and there will be more!

[princevaliantus]

I heard so much about this itinerary that I booked it along with some nice excursions...hope to see you guys on board!!

[pebsdad]

This has to be the gayest non-RSVP cruise ship on the waters. Last year, a dozen or so passengers who had never met gathered at the Friends of Dorothy gatherings and have remained friends ever since. The staff is wonderful and hosts the first get together.

[Dezertbear]

Have to agree! My partner and I have sailed on Princess three times, and each time there were published LGBT get togethers. On the CB we went to the first one and then the rest of the trip we met up with other folks from the meeting at various spots and had a great time (one of the bars in the atrium became the gay bar, it was the heart of the ship). The crew was very friendly and they even served complimentary champagne at the first get together.

 

PR to NYC is a great itinerary and you can't beat the pricing. Bermuda was definitely the highlight of the cruise. Too bad the terminal in Brooklyn is a pit and can barley handle 6000+ people moving through it in a six hour period.

 

We're next up on a coastal from Vancouver to LA on the Sapphire this September, counting the (196) days already!

[PHXCruiser85015]

Just booked the Caribbean Princess from San Juan to Brooklyn -- May 1 to 8 -- for my partner and I! This will be our second cruise (1st was Freedom of the Seas for Christmas 2010 -- we had such a great time -- I was "bit" by the cruise bug BAD!). Very much looking forward to this one -- we didn't really have a clue the first time around!

 

AWESOME!!! My partner and I are also on this particular voyage.....was wondering if there would be any other family members on board! Great to hear! This will be my 4th Princess cruise and my partner's 3rd....but our first time to the Caribbean and on the Caribbean Princess! Arriving Friday 4/29 for a couple days of adventure before boarding on Sunday.

Hope we get to meet you guys during our trip!

[princevaliantus]

AWESOME!!! My partner and I are also on this particular voyage.....was wondering if there would be any other family members on board! Great to hear! This will be my 4th Princess cruise and my partner's 3rd....but our first time to the Caribbean and on the Caribbean Princess! Arriving Friday 4/29 for a couple days of adventure before boarding on Sunday.

Hope we get to meet you guys during our trip!

 

GREAT! The more the merrier!! This will be an awesome cruise!!! You will love New York that time of the year. Hope we all get to meet! I've been counting down the days!

[SANCruiser]

Hey there! Me and 3 friends will be on Caribbean Princess May 1, San Juan to Brooklyn. Couple from New York and 2 of us from San Diego (boy and girl!). Looking forward to meeting all our peeps!!

Tommy.

[PHXCruiser85015]

Hey there! Me and 3 friends will be on Caribbean Princess May 1, San Juan to Brooklyn. Couple from New York and 2 of us from San Diego (boy and girl!). Looking forward to meeting all our peeps!!

Tommy.

 

Awesome!!!! I'm sure we'll see you on board at some point! There's five in our group --- me (Aaron), my partner (R.C.), our lesbian friend (Susan), her sister (Jennifer), and our friend from Canada (Tracey).

I can hardly wait for this trip!!! Sounds like there will be lots of "Family" on board! That is very cool!

[princevaliantus]

Awesome!!!! I'm sure we'll see you on board at some point! There's five in our group --- me (Aaron), my partner (R.C.), our lesbian friend (Susan), her sister (Jennifer), and our friend from Canada (Tracey).

I can hardly wait for this trip!!! Sounds like there will be lots of "Family" on board! That is very cool!

 

I'm right there with you!! It's been 4 months too long since my last cruise and I'm aching. This should be fun! Hopefully, I'll see everyone on board!:rolleyes:

[PHXCruiser85015]

I'm right there with you!! It's been 4 months too long since my last cruise and I'm aching. This should be fun! Hopefully, I'll see everyone on board!:rolleyes:

 

 

I'm pretty sure they'll have a FOD get-together, so we'll see ya there!

Aaron