Changes to Caribbean Princess During Current Dry Dock

This was posted yesterday on our 3/18/2018 CB 14 Day Caribbean cruise concerning changes taking place during the current dry dock. I tried searching these boards since it seemed someone else might have posted about it, but had no success.

Can anyone else verify these changes? They seem fairly extensive for a 11 dry dock. Also, if true, what are your thoughts?

Hi Everyone!

 

I returned today from cruising the Caribbean Princess on a 14 day b2b.

 

She is currently in dry dock (as of this afternoon) in Freeport for 11 days.

 

There will be over 1800 workers giving the old gal (@13) a face lift.

 

A lot of new carpet in public areas and updating fixtures. I hope they still keep a solid blue carpet in starboards halls and a blue carpet with red lines on the port side.

 

Her underbelly getting a paint job and propeller/stablizers a once over. A new Under the Stars movie screen.

 

Biggest change will be the Horizon Court and Cafe Carib. For those who are familiar with this ship..these two food venues are being completely gutted. The Cafe Carib will be made into two ..pay..restaurants for breakfast, lunch and dinner. (I honestly hope no one pays for breakfast and lunch, so by time we cruise they..forgetaboutit!!!

 

The Horizon court buffet is being modernized. Gone will be the big side arm chairs and bulky tables and the low wall partitions. New slimmer table and chairs will be there so more of us passengers can fit at breakfast and lunch. The actual kitchen and buffet will be steamlined to make it easier to get the food.

 

Sabatini's is being extended and modernized, but not sure if part of the Wheelhouse is being used for this. Hope they don't lose the dance floor. Sabatini's will still feature Italian food.

Part of the Island Dining Room (starboard by the windows) will be for the Club Class Cruisers.

 

What is badly needed is some plumbing reno. Two years ago when I was on the Caribbean, there were water issues. This year there was even more. I was told 45 plumbers were constantly working on plumbling issues daily.(I met two very nice plumbers who had a real crappy job...no pun intended). I did request an answer about plumbing reno during dry dock..still have not gotten any answer from management.

 

Air conditioning in public places was great and my cabin was delightful every night...love a cool room. The casino an update too!

 

I did not hear anything about cabin updates or wiring for the Medallion Class, but I'm sure this will be done at this time to get ready for next March. I did read on cc that about 80+ rooms will be made connecting rooms. Princess is still pushing for families. Why?..they want more children who pick off the pool tiles and throw them into the hot tub...while the parents sit and drink?

 

The crew and staff were great..as usual. Wish they would still be with the Caribbean next year, but we all know there is a constant turnover and they all deserve a vacation home with their families.

 

Excited to see all Caribbean Princess' updates next year!!!!

Biggest change will be the Horizon Court and Cafe Carib. For those who are familiar with this ship..these two food venues are being completely gutted. The Cafe Carib will be made into two ..pay..restaurants for breakfast, lunch and dinner. (I honestly hope no one pays for breakfast and lunch, so by time we cruise they..forgetaboutit!!!?

If this is true it spells doom for dining room breakfasts and lunches. The end of the line.

Was wondering if they are going to update the TV's in the stateroom so you can watch movies like on the Royal/Regal.

This was posted yesterday on our 3/18/2018 CB 14 Day Caribbean cruise concerning changes taking place during the current dry dock. I tried searching these boards since it seemed someone else might have posted about it, but had no success.

 

Can anyone else verify these changes? They seem fairly extensive for a 11 dry dock. Also, if true, what are your thoughts?

I also agree with you that this reno is a bit aggressive for the short dry dock. Officer Neil, who gave us the run down of what is to be done, also had his reservations about it all being completed by the next cruise. He said all leftover odds and ends would be done during the first cruise back from dry dock. He also said anything not finished would not impact the passengers.

Contractors were already working when we pulled into dock Sat. morning. We docked at 6 am and cranes immediately loaded huge containers on the lido deck. Materials were unloaded and new containers were loaded (we were not allowed to go out on the starboard balconies). While eating breakfast (7:45) contractors were in and out of the Horizon Court with clipboards. My guess was the Horizon Ct and Cafe Carib were gutted before she set sail for Freeport in the afternoon. Over 1800 contractors working round the clock shifts..still sounds like a lot to do...

This is a link to the princess site...it has some info on the drydock. ok for some reason it keeps changing my post and cutting off the fact that I type...looks like more dining options going in but no info on them yet...but agree why do we need more for fee places..ugh

http://www.princess.com/ships

This is a link to the princess site...it has some info on the drydock. ok for some reason it keeps changing my post and cutting off the fact that I type...looks like more dining options going in but no info on them yet...but agree why do we need more for fee places..ugh

http://www.princess.com/ships

I'm not opposed to new dining options, even for a fee. However, if as mentioned in the previous post, they are taking away Cafe Carib from the general buffet seating options, it would seem finding a table may become much worse, especially during key times.

Also, I could not find the dry dock information on the website. Does anybody have any specific knowledge as to where it can be found?

bummer did my link not take you there? I just went to the princess site and in the search function typed up Caribbean princess drydock.

I am concerned about the seating as well, but also all the nickel and diming. I remember when they tried to charge for alfredo's and we all pitched a fit so they dropped that idea. We will be on her in August 2018 so hope all the kinks are out by then for all the new stuff they are adding. It just seems odd to take away stuff that guests are used to and included just to put in for fee...I have read on other threads that this does not make the majority happy. I get it princess is out to make a buck but when enough people are peeved about the change...ehh time will tell.

I am interested in what the coffee and cones will be. Hope it is similar to the gelato, DH loved the gelato area on Regal.

bummer did my link not take you there? I just went to the princess site and in the search function typed up Caribbean princess drydock.

Thanks, that did it. Try this link:

http://www.princess.com/ships-and-experience/ships/cb-caribbean-princess/drydock-2017/

No details yet, but there appear to be quite a few new or updated food venues. I'm looking forward to it.

Weird that yours posted...that is the link I had but when I would post it CC changed it when I hit submit...oh well.

Yeah DH is curious about that Planks BBQ. The seafood place is ehh for me. Not a big seafood person...like some fish, but (I am weird) don't like when they smell fishy! I bet the salty dog grill will be similar to the pub perhaps? The slice pizzeria I am wondering if that is the new name for Prego as the pic looks like Prego and is for sure not Alfredos. World Fresh Marketplace DH said sounds like it could be more healthy options like salads and fruits, I questioned if it could be prepacked food items? I have tons of questions about removing food or does the ship offer picnic foods...wonder if that is what they are trying...but guess we will all find out in April when those first guests step aboard and start reporting back.

Oh and The Mix...for some reason I first thought it would be like a candy store...but DH said most likely a bar with a theme like bellinis on the Regal

If Vines goes away we may need to rethink our January 2018 Panama cruise!

Was wondering if they are going to update the TV's in the stateroom so you can watch movies like on the Royal/Regal.

The TVs will be updated so that they can be used as in-room terminals for the medallion system. It is almost certain that, when they install the all new system with the upgraded TVs they will institute the on-demand movies at the same time. Not 100% certain of course but it would be foolish to do all of the upgrading to the system and not include this. Have to wait until March 18 to find out for sure I guess. :)

Deleted.

If Vines goes away we may need to rethink our January 2018 Panama cruise!

Vines is one of my favorite places on the ship. It's a great place to sit and wait for your anytime dining buzzer to go off. I don't mind waiting for the MDR - in fact, sometimes the buzzer went off before I was ready. It has a much better selection of wines by the glass than the MDR or the other bars.

I plan to spend a lot of time there on my August 2017 British Isles cruise and on my January 2018 Panama Canal cruise, and I would also be very unhappy if it disappeared.

Vines is one of my favorite places on the ship. It's a great place to sit and wait for your anytime dining buzzer to go off. I don't mind waiting for the MDR - in fact, sometimes the buzzer went off before I was ready. It has a much better selection of wines by the glass than the MDR or the other bars.

 

I plan to spend a lot of time there on my August 2017 British Isles cruise and on my January 2018 Panama Canal cruise, and I would also be very unhappy if it disappeared.

I just noticed you started the Roll Call for our Panama cruise next January 27th! We'll see you at Vines. With the AIBP we'll spend a lot of time there. :cool:

If anyone has bothered to click on the link to the CB Drydock Page:

(which I will repost even though it has been given several times because, well, I can)

http://www.princess.com/ships-and-experience/ships/cb-caribbean-princess/drydock-2017/?cid=brand_email_promo_internal_drydock_other_pf7ms033_170325_caribbeanprincess

...and subsequently has bothered to click on the boxes for each new venue to see their detailed descriptions, these facts would have been ascertained:

1. Planks BBQ and Steamers Seafood will be no charge at breakfast and lunch;

2. All the new venues discussed--including The Mix and The Salty Dog Grill-- will be on Lido deck (or above).

The Mix is described as "our top-deck bar" so it could be replacing either Blackbeard's, Tradewinds or Morgan's. Which we may not know right away as the descriptions for Mix, Salty Dog, and Slice contain the disclaimer New designs debut Fall 2017

So where on earth is anybody getting that Vines will be removed? I swear some of the gossip on this board is as out there as the worst of any high school clique.

 

The Mix is described as "our top-deck bar" so it could be replacing either Blackbeard's, Tradewinds or Morgan's.

The winner is in red.

The slice pizzeria I am wondering if that is the new name for Prego as the pic looks like Prego and is for sure not Alfredos. I agree it is the new name for Prego.

 

 

World Fresh Marketplace DH said sounds like it could be more healthy options like salads and fruits, I questioned if it could be prepacked food items? I think this could be a new name for the Horizon Court. WFM is the name of the buffet area on the Majestic.

 

 

 

 

Oh and The Mix...for some reason I first thought it would be like a candy store...but DH said most likely a bar with a theme like bellinis on the Regal

The Mix is the new name for Blackbeard's Bar.

Fishywood whoa calm down! Perhaps you should know when we all were having this conversation NONE of that stuff was listed on the site. I myself tried posting the link it wouldn't let me, so someone else did, but none the less none of the info for bbq, seafood, mix etc was listed...it was all greyed out with no info. Obviously princess has since updated their site. Not knowing this we all did what this site was for. We were apprehensive, curious and excited so we all chatted what it could be what we hoped it wasn't.

The menus for the new restraunts have been posted, too. $12 for Streamers and Planks and $5 for a specialty burger at the gastro pub ($8 if you want a beer with it).

Here is the link to Princess http://www.princess.com/ships-and-experience/ships/cb-caribbean-princess/drydock-2017/

I am curious what the breakfast bowls are at the new location for complimentary breakfast. I think it said it was at the steamers section or perhaps the bbq. I know one had egg dishes and the other said warm breakfast bowls or something like that. Cant wait for those ice cream sandwiches!!! I just recently learned of the secret kids dessert menu where I could get one but have yet to been on princess since learning of it. Now I can get them all day up in the old scoops area...SWEET! Probably wont try the new for fee dinners as I didn't see anything that really caught my eye. And I guess the salty grill is taking the place of the trident grill with only the "special" burger costing while the rest will be complimentary like the old trident grill was. curious to see how that works as the trident grill always seemed to be a busy place on sea days when we would pass by..but that is right we now have the medallion so paying should be quick for that extra burger. DH is real excited about the additions to the pizza place once prego now Slice. He saw the focaccia and Stromboli and started drooling!:D

Chili cheese dogs at the Salty Dog Grill, oh yes! I know the first place I'm heading when I board in October.

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Here is a video of the renovations, is the wake view Lounge replacing sky walkers?

Bet they are just changing the name. Seems to be what they are doing. Changing Blackbeards to The Mix. sounds like they are trying to make it more hip and modern vs the older names. Oddly enough though if you go onto deck plans and choose the "sailing after March 2017" it still shows scoops vs coffe and cones and still shows café Caribe and horizon court vs the new names they are giving them. They may be trying to update the older class ships to be a bit more in line with the new Royal class ones.

After reading about all of the new updates, I’m getting even more excited about our upcoming cruise on the CB next March. :D