Just back;sea princess-april 18-may02/09.

[BoPippy]

Arrival:

Flew first class from Montreal to Barbados for the first time.Great start.Arrived at 2.15 PM. on April 18 and Princess right there to pick us up and to cruise ship.Very fast and efficent.

 

Room:

Luggage was in our room in no time.Outside room with a balcony on Caribe deck smack in the middle of ship.I am 6'4' and shower was perfect size,bed with an egg crate was still a little hard,but just fine.Balcony nice size,2 chairs and a table.Being scared or heights,i felt like jumping a couple of times.Just a panic feeling,but rare.Lots of closets and the room steward...Marlon was nice and very efficient.

 

Ship:

A little worn,grouting missing around pool tiles and floor lifting in places...no biggie.They started renovation while on ship...changing Hall carpets on Caribe deck and elevators.

Only other thing was sitting and listening to so many Europeans whining and whining about tips.A pain in the butt.I guess that is all they had to talk about!!

 

Food:

Perfect,anytime dining and never had to wait more than a minute or two.Always a table for 2.

Last night Baked Alaska that does not go on in anytime dining,so Maitre"d sent us to Traditionl dining to see.Very nice of him.

 

All Staff:

The staff was the friendlies of any cruise i have been on.Everyone exceptionally happy and friendly!!!

 

Smoking:

Not much on this ship which was good,except in the Wheelhouse bar,so we stayed away.On Disembarkation we had to sit there and wait to leave ship and the smoking then was bad...the only time.

 

Entertainment:

Shows were pretty goog except for the Brittish accents.We could not understand any of the jokes at all,so stayed away from that,but most were enjoying it.

 

Casino had a couple of smoke free nights.

 

Loved the islands...12...tours were great,both with Princess and on our own!!

 

Only Bad part of trip was cruising from Mo Bay to Aruba...very high wind and 3 hours late arriving and even crew members were sick!

St.Lucia rained terrible part of day and River rafting in Jamaica it rained terrible...Only one to blame on that was the big guy in the sky!!

Thank God it was the dry season!!!

 

A perfect vacation. :):):) and became an Elite member on this trip,so we can pack lighter on next cruise now the laundry is free for us now!! Yippee!

[The Postman]

Thanks for the review. We're boarding the Sea Princess in less than a week for a trip through the Panama Canal.

 

Did you enjoy the food as much as on your other Princess cruises? Did it have a more European/British flair?

 

Any shows,etc. that are not to be missed?

 

Thanks!

[BoPippy]

Thanks for the review. We're boarding the Sea Princess in less than a week for a trip through the Panama Canal.

 

Did you enjoy the food as much as on your other Princess cruises? Did it have a more European/British flair?

 

Any shows,etc. that are not to be missed?

 

Thanks!

 

Seemed the same to us with some British flair/beans at Horizon court,bangers-sausage wraped in bacon,i think.Shows were same as usual-Production-Tribute to 50,60,70's good...magic show -ok-not great.You should enjoy it all.Just takes a couple of days to get used to things and read the Princess Patter(news letter)to see what is on each day.

Enjoy.:)

[hyperplanner]

Is anytime dining seating in a specific room , not any or the dining areas?

[BoPippy]

Is anytime dining seating in a specific room , not any or the dining areas?

 

one dining room is for early and late sitting(traditional) and one is for anytime dining from 5pm-10pm

[robanddiane]

Agree with what you say BoPippy, very friendly staff especially the staff at the Riviera Bar where we spent a lot of our time. Enjoyed Piano man & Tribute, thought they were very good shows. Loved the deck band Elements but they are leaving the ship on wednesday to go home to guyana. We did hear a few complaints but just wish people would realise how privileged they are to be doing a holiday like that and just start enjoying themselves. Diane got a bit seasick on the way to Aruba but was fine again after that. The rain in St Lucia led to a good atmosphere at the Karaoke bar in the port and we had a good dance on the grass outside. Overall one of our most enjoyable cruises. Thought the zoo, sorry the Horizon court buffet was a bit predictable each day and watched as loads of passengers refused to use the hand gel before entering the buffet.

[hyperplanner]

one dining room is for early and late sitting(traditional) and one is for anytime dining from 5pm-10pm

 

Thank you !!

[BoPippy]

Agree with what you say BoPippy, very friendly staff especially the staff at the Riviera Bar where we spent a lot of our time. Enjoyed Piano man & Tribute, thought they were very good shows. Loved the deck band Elements but they are leaving the ship on wednesday to go home to guyana. We did hear a few complaints but just wish people would realise how privileged they are to be doing a holiday like that and just start enjoying themselves. Diane got a bit seasick on the way to Aruba but was fine again after that. The rain in St Lucia led to a good atmosphere at the Karaoke bar in the port and we had a good dance on the grass outside. Overall one of our most enjoyable cruises. Thought the zoo, sorry the Horizon court buffet was a bit predictable each day and watched as loads of passengers refused to use the hand gel before entering the buffet.

Had a bit too much to drink on the carribbean night when Elements was playing,my dw videoed me-embarassing NOW!Mischka was a little under the weather until Aruba also.Saw the Karoke bar too..whooo-Hoooo.Another too many drinks was the party bus across Margarita Isle...bit of a headache that night!

It bugged us too watching people walk into Horizon court not using hand gel and a few picking up food without using the tongs!

Agree,was a great cruise.Glad u guys enjoyed it too.

I bought a t-shirt in St.Kitts---said time flies when you are drinking beer and pirate logo..hehehehe:)

[daldog]

Hello BoPippy:

We are booked for next year's trip from Barbados to Fort Lauderdale, on Sea Princess as she gets ready to reposition to Alaska.......... and I have been curious how boarding works since they already have half (or however many) of the cabins filled already when she docks in Barbados.

 

As the people who are staying on the ship have a shore day, how does boarding work for the new folks just arriving - can you board at anytime?

Thanks.

[badgerdee]

Thanks for the info. We're sailing on Sea Princess to Alaska shortly so it's very useful.

 

Quick question - do you know what the gym is like and whether spin classes are run daily (or even twice daily?!)? If there are classes, is there a booking sheet?

 

Many thanks :)

[BoPippy]

Hello BoPippy:

We are booked for next year's trip from Barbados to Fort Lauderdale, on Sea Princess as she gets ready to reposition to Alaska.......... and I have been curious how boarding works since they already have half (or however many) of the cabins filled already when she docks in Barbados.

 

As the people who are staying on the ship have a shore day, how does boarding work for the new folks just arriving - can you board at anytime?

Thanks.

 

Never really noticed as that day was Mo bay and we went river rafting.Just got off ship and came back most new people were on.There r 2 doors(ramps)so while we were gone new arrivals just walked on with any that happen to be coming back from tours,so a door to go in and one to leave..simple.You arrive by bus,do i bit of paper work,a minute or two and walk on ship,go to your room,lots of people to tell u where to go...no worries...they know about u before u realize they r even there. Nothing to even think about.Princess staff is so used to doing this and just relax and everything is done for you~~Have fun.:)

[BoPippy]

Thanks for the info. We're sailing on Sea Princess to Alaska shortly so it's very useful.

 

Quick question - do you know what the gym is like and whether spin classes are run daily (or even twice daily?!)? If there are classes, is there a booking sheet?

 

Many thanks :)

 

Just walked thru one day.At back of ship,windows over water,lots of treadmills and weight machines.spa and small pool and sauna and above that a basketball court.Do not know what spin classes r,so no information on that.

I hope you exercise a bit,my dw and i gained exactly 10 pounds each,but now home and we lost about 3-4 each.Whew!!Enjoy!:)

[badgerdee]

Wonderful, thanks for the info!

 

I just know I'll gain weight on the cruise so I'm on my pre-cruise diet at the moment :o

[sherman931]

Thanks for sharing your experiences.

[bmench]

Thank you for the review would you happen to have the princess patters? We will be going on the sea princess to Alaska and would really appreciate it if you would be kind to scan them if possible and have them uploaded I don't know if you are able to but in case you can it would really be appreciated I know by probably others also. We are so looking forward to boarding the sea princess first time for us on this ship. Thank you so much for your wonderful review!:p

 

Becky

[nocruise]

I will be sailing on the Sea Princess in mid-June. I wonder if you could tell me who the Captain is currently as well as the Maitre D'. It seems this ship is sold heavily to the British passengers, and I wonder if anyone knows if that is true of the Alaskan cruises as well?

[BoPippy]

I will be sailing on the Sea Princess in mid-June. I wonder if you could tell me who the Captain is currently as well as the Maitre D'. It seems this ship is sold heavily to the British passengers, and I wonder if anyone knows if that is true of the Alaskan cruises as well?

 

Captain Peter Russell and i forget the Maitrre D's name.A tall,heavy set Italian man,i believe.I loved the cruise,but i would say it was 95+British.I picked the ship for size and 12 islands in 14 days.Next time,i will go out of Florida.

[BoPippy]

Thank you for the review would you happen to have the princess patters? We will be going on the sea princess to Alaska and would really appreciate it if you would be kind to scan them if possible and have them uploaded I don't know if you are able to but in case you can it would really be appreciated I know by probably others also. We are so looking forward to boarding the sea princess first time for us on this ship. Thank you so much for your wonderful review!:p

 

Becky

 

Sorry,we developed our photographs and i took the scissors and cut out of each Patter each island description and writeup from the navigator to place in photo album and Sunday night all the Patters were trashed!:eek:

[robanddiane]

Sorry, we left the patters onboard before we left. Special comment about captain Peter Russell, by far and away the most sociable captain we have ever had. Always out mingling with passengers and even finding the time ti sing on the karaoke one night. We spoke to a few staff who had a vast amount of respect for him.