LadyPandora407

Has anybody tried to buy coffee there how can you be sure the quality of the Blue Mountain coffee?

Just remember there are 2 qualities of coffee, Blue Mountain and High Mountain. Blue Mountain is the top quality and the most expensive. High Mountain is a blend and is more readily found.

It looks like we will be on the same cruise. I think if we follow all of the prevention steps the ship has in place and are diligent about hand washing, etc. we'll be fine. I'm not about to let the possibility of getting sick ruin a cruise that I've been looking forward to for so long. If it happens, it happens and we'll deal with it then.

We are on the Caribbean Princess in a couple weeks as well. We just plan on taking disinfecting wipes and wiping down the surfaces and phone in the room, as well as using hand sanitizers. I am sure we will be fine. :)

Entertainment can change... entertainers do rotate often so it's hard to say. As others have said, you should have a better idea when you receive the email although just a few are mentioned in it.

Thank you very much, I guess I just never realized we received those emails so close to sailing. I will look for it as it should be coming out in 3 weeks then.

Well done Caribbean Princess!

 

Sail Date: January 2015

 

Destination: Western Caribbean

 

Embarkation: Fort Lauderdale (Port Everglades)

 

Everything we expected, Caribbean Princess delivered. Embarkation was smooth and friendly. We found all public areas to be fine and clean. Did a couple of items need attention? Of course but nothing was grossly neglected. We found the ship to be clean and tidy. There was maintenance being conducted in many areas of the ship. The condition of our interior cabin C721 was fine. Everything in the cabin was clean and we had no shower liner issues. In fact it appeared to be new. Could the grout need a bleaching? Yes, but there was no mold whatsoever, anywhere. Our steward was prompt and unobtrusive. Mind that we are not demanding people and allowed him to do his job uninterrupted. And a fine job he did. The fitness center was adequate and also well maintained.

 

Entertainment: Overall it was abundant throughout the ship, however only being a five day cruise the main theater shows were not much to write about. The Sun Down Duo in the Wheelhouse Lounge were very good and we enjoyed them each night before dinner. Food: we all should know this is very subjective and for us we found the main dining room selections to be good and most everything we ordered was fine and tasty. Horizon Court and Café Caribe were also fine, good selections, foods that were supposed to be hot were hot and colds were cold. International Café also delivered good foods. We enjoyed the selections of coffee items. The coffee card was a very good purchase.

 

Service: Overall was very good. Did we occasionally run across some staff that were aloof? Yes, but by no means was this the majority. Our waiters/waitresses everywhere were just fine but then again we were not looking for the staff to become our best friends. We leave them alone and let them do their jobs and nine times out of ten they were on top of it.

 

Shore Excursions: N/A. We did our own thing. Value: We got what we paid for.

 

Overall: This being our first Princess experience we found the product to be everything it is advertised to be for the value we expected. We enjoyed the Princess product very much and made deposits for future cruises which we didn't do on our last Holland America cruise. Just sayin'. Less 

 

Published 02/15/15

 

Port and Shore Excursions

 

Costa Maya

 

A lovely, quaint and friendly fishing port. Take a taxi all the way you can go (to the fishing pier) and walk along the fanciful walkway along the beach with all it's restaurants, bars and shops.

 

Cozumel

 

Rented a car and drove the island. Coconuts should not be missed. Get there before Noon for a cliff-side table. Guacamole is outstanding and the beers cold!

Great review! :)

Does anyone know who the entertainment will be on the Caribbean Princess for the Mar 30th sailing?

CARIBBEAN PRINCESS - Thoughts & Observations

December 4, 2014

4-day Cruise - Ft. Lauderdale; at sea; Grand Cayman; at sea; Ft. Lauderdale

 

Pictures Link:

 

 

I just disembarked today and overall this was a very enjoyable cruise at a great value. I would do it again in a heartbeat. It was relaxing and the weather was fantastic. There was only one port which was Grand Cayman. We took the Turtle Farm/Hell/Tortuga Rum tour and it was worthwhile and well organized. The Turtle Farm was the highlight without question. If you like turtles, go for it!

 

I'm Elite status with Princess but I cruise on all the lines. My last cruise was the maiden crossing of QUANTUM OF THE SEAS which was pretty incredible. Of course I didn't expect CARIBBEAN PRINCESS to live up to that, but I was disappointed in certain aspects of the Princess experience that seem to have deteriorated over the years. Specifically the condition of CARIBBEAN PRINCESS which is overdue for a dry dock and some TLC; the cuisine which was really bland for the most part; and the increasing commercialization of the Princess product which honestly was more in-your-face compared to my last Carnival cruise. I'm all for cruise lines making money and the need to generate onboard revenue in light of cheap cruise fares, but there has to be a balance. Too much pressure to generate onboard revenue cheapens the overall experience.

 

Again overall I really enjoyed myself and it was money well spent. Here are some highlights about the ship and experience.

 

 

What I loved:

 

- Embarkation & Disembarkation. Piece of cake and absolutely painless. Well organized and no waiting. We opted for Express Walk-off and were off the ship and catching a taxi by 7:40am.

 

- Super fast luggage delivery. Our luggage arrived at the cabin at the same time we did! Impressive especially considering that we headed directly to the cabin upon boarding.

 

- Princess@Sea App. I really enjoyed using this relatively new feature on my iPhone. You can view all the daily activities and also check your shipboard account. Technically it's not an App, but it works like one. I included a few screen shots of it in my pictures link.

 

- Staff and crew. Overall fantastic and a credit to the ship and Princess Cruises. Lots of smiles and engagement.

 

- Elite Benefits. This was my first cruise as Elite status and I enjoyed the upgraded status and most of the benefits. The one benefit I was most looking forward to didn't quite work out. I'll explain more in the "what I didn't love" section to follow.

 

- Tendering. Super smooth operation and no waiting. Nicely organized Princess!

 

- Shore Excursion. As stated above a well put together tour and nicely organized. There was plenty of time afterwards to enjoy some shopping or lunch. I felt it was worth what I paid for it.

 

- Weather. Could not have been better. Sunny, breezy, not too hot or humid but warm enough daily to swim and work on that tan.

 

- Deck Space. I was reminded of a main reason why I enjoy the Grand Class so much. There is an abundance of great deck space and a variety of pools. Plenty of space to spread out and no problems finding deck chairs.

 

- Layout. The overall layout of the Grand Class just works. Spaces flow nicely into one another and overall there is little crowding. The three stair towers and amount of elevators handle the passenger load with ease.

 

- Balcony. The was my first time in a Caribe Deck balcony cabin. I head the balconies were larger but I had no idea just how much! I loved, loved, loved the balcony and it was one of the best I've ever had. First of all it was huge and second it was partially exposed to the sun and partially covered providing a private area. The best of both worlds. I highly recommend a Caribe Deck balcony cabin!

 

- Cabin Location, design & quietness. We were in C310. The location was fantastic being very close to the forward stairtower but far enough away there was no noise. Although the cabin lacks a sitting area like most ships offer, I love the closet and bathroom arrangement. It's basically a walk-in closet when you exit the bathroom which also provides a great private changing area out of view from the rest of the cabin. This is a perfect arrangement if traveling with a friend. Something simple but one I appreciate is a real fitted sheet. I tend to move around when I sleep and I hate when a flat sheet is used over the mattress as often times I end up pulling it apart by morning.

 

- Crown Grill. This was the highlight of our dining experience onboard. Great quality, service, and presentation. Highly recommended and worth the $25 cover charge.

 

- Air Conditioning. It works well on CARIBBEAN PRINCESS. I can't say the same about all ships. The thermostat in the cabin could get the room as warm or as cold as you could possible want.

 

- Aft Terrace Pool. An aft pool is hard to come by on most modern newbuilds. The Grand Class has one of the best aft pools and surrounding deck afloat and it was my favorite area of the ship to spend an afternoon. Quiet, adults only, and a view to die for! What more could you ask for?

 

- Bow View. Another great feature of the Grand Class is a full wrap-around Promenade Deck and the ability to walk all the way forward to the bow of the ship. Leaning over and watching the ship plow through the ocean is absolutely mesmerizing. There are very few ships where this is possible so be sure to take advantage!

 

- Steel Drummer. So many cruise lines seem to be getting away from live bands especially a steel drum player/singer by the pool. I'm happy to say this is not the case on CARIBBEAN PRINCESS. I really enjoyed the Steel Drummer both out on deck and in the atrium.

 

 

 

What I didn't love:

 

- Ship's Condition. A drydock is hopefully scheduled soon as the ship is showing its age with plenty of wear and tear. Things like dirty and frayed fabrics, old style plastic deck chairs that are dirty and falling apart, carpets that are worn and faded, and pool tiles that are stained and cracked. I expect better from Princess in this regard.

 

- Cabin Condition. Along the same lines as my last comment. Stained, worn, and faded carpet. Old mattresses with big sags. Really dented ceilings and a chair so dirty and worn I didn't want to sit in it. Not a great presentation and again this is not what I expect from Princess.

 

- Cuisine. In a word, unmemorable. Nothing really stood out as being great and memorable except for the dinner we paid for in Crown Grill. Honestly I remember the cuisine being better on Princess. Nothing was bad mind you, but nothing was really great either.

 

- Too Commercial. I touched on this in my opening comments. I felt the push for onboard revenue was excessive. The revenue producing announcements throughout the day, the flyers in the cabin, the shop tables around the atrium, the art auctions, the "bazaar" in the dining room, etc. etc. I know all mass-market ships have a need for onboard revenue, but it was just a bit over the top and somewhat cheapened the experience. I didn't experience this level of revenue pushing on a recent Carnival cruise and that is where I would expect it most.

 

- Elite Mini-bar. My dreams were smashed when I discovered my Elite mini-bar setup did not include rum and there was no way to exchange anything for it. I'm a rum drinker so the free mini-bar was wasted on me except for sodas. Why not have rum on a Caribbean cruise? The two go hand in hand don't they?

 

- Buffet. This was the only area of the ship which was crowded. There wasn't a problem finding seats it was the actual food service area. It was like a free for all and not well organized. Honestly it was too small to handle the amount of people. I don't remember it being so small and crowded on other Princess cruises but perhaps I have just forgotten? This is one area that is really superior on the newest ships like QUANTUM OF THE SEAS and ROYAL PRINCESS.

 

- Production Show. We only went to one, Caribbean Caliente. The show itself was fine, but honestly it was rehashed from a show I remember on Princess some 20 years ago! I had to laugh a bit about that one. The show seems rather dated especially when compared to some of the competition. None the less it was enjoyable if only for nostalgic sake!

If I'm not mistaken didn't she just have a dry dock in 2014?:confused: Also for those of you that are worried, how many times have your views of a place differed from someone elses? We have never had a bad experience on a Princess ship, we have been on the Crown twice, the Emerald once and now we will be sailing the Caribbean Princess. I am not worried. No matter what I know that Princess is a much better cruise experience than Carnival and I take everyone's reviews with a grain of salt. We all have our own way of seeing things. Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, and your experience it what you make of it.

I checked all over the web and even on travel advisor and everyone said they have not been restricted from buying or drinking alcohol during Easter or Lent. :confused:

We will be stopping in Ocho Rios in May on the Victory. We will have our parents with us (in their 70s). They are pretty spry, but my father is undergoing chemo and my mom can't take too much sun. We were thinking of a mellow port/beach day (Turtle Beach most likely). I know the Margaritaville in Grand Turk has a huge pool. The pictures I have seen of the one in Ocho Rios, the pool looks very small and I don't see the lounge chairs like in GT. Is this one more of just a place to eat by the beach rather than somewhere we can find some loungers in the shade and relax in the pool all day like GT? TIA! :D

We will be there in April. I looked at the Margaretville website and it looks like there are quite a few shady spots. The pool here looks bigger than the one at Grand Cayman.

Hi everyone, my wife and I recently went on a cruise and unfortunately did not have time to stop at the Harley store in Montego Bay while we were there due to our excursion running a little late. I need a poker chip from their store if anyone stops by. They will be near the counter and will simply be a novelty item (no actual trade in value). The chip will say Jamaica on it and possibly Montego Bay. The chips are about $2 each. I only need one and don't care what color it is. Will send you money via PayPal if you can get me a chip and mail it to me once you're back in the states. I live in central Texas. The chips are available online but I'm not quite willing to pay $30 for shipping from Jamaica. If someone will pick a chip up for me and throw it in an envelope I'll pay you $10.00. Thanks.

Another option is EBAY, they have a lot of the Chips for sale on there. If you keep checking you may find one for Jamaica turn up sooner or later....... Shipping will be cheaper than $30 that is for sure

Thank you for taking the time to post these! I really enjoyed looking through them and seeing what was offered on the ship. We will be sailing in March 2015

The Aft Mini Suites on Emerald Deck are also fully covered :)

Hi everyone, my wife and I recently went on a cruise and unfortunately did not have time to stop at the Harley store in Montego Bay while we were there due to our excursion running a little late. I need a poker chip from their store if anyone stops by. They will be near the counter and will simply be a novelty item (no actual trade in value). The chip will say Jamaica on it and possibly Montego Bay. The chips are about $2 each. I only need one and don't care what color it is. Will send you money via PayPal if you can get me a chip and mail it to me once you're back in the states. I live in central Texas. The chips are available online but I'm not quite willing to pay $30 for shipping from Jamaica. If someone will pick a chip up for me and throw it in an envelope I'll pay you $10.00. Thanks.

Are they in Ocho Rios? We are going there in April and would be willing to pick one up if the store is near the cruise port, I checked there is one in Ocho Rios, not near the cruise port though. The chips list at $4 each on their site. If they were closer to the port we would go but we are not travelling any further than Margaritaville which is right at the port. Sorry.....

Has anyone tied the Eat, Drink, Dance Excursion. It's the one that Chef Guy Fieri and his family did. It sounds ok but like to know if some have done this.

 

Ocho Rios, Jamaica

I did not see this on the Princess website, is this a private tour? Out of all the islands we have been to this one is the one we are the most leery of. We are not doing any tours when we go. We are just going to Margarittaville to spend the day and shop in the cruise center.

Can anybody tell me how much a pound of Jamaica Blue Mountain in Falmouth coffee costs these days?

According to the Blue Mountain Coffee website it runs about $42 a pound plus shipping for the Mavis Bank 100% Blue Mountain Coffee

http://www.bluemountaincoffee.com/

Watch it be like the other cruise lines where you have to pay for your excursions up front when you reserve them as opposed to on the ship. And if you cancel, there is a penalty.

 

This actually sounds like a negative change.

It is a negative change! How do you get your money back and when if the tour is cancelled? I for one will no longer pre-book excursions if I have to prepay them as well. I like paying after I take them.

The Captain made an announcement that the Caribbean Princess will be arriving in Fort Lauderdale at 1AM in order to commence some minor repairs. Currently, there have been no other announcements.

 

I do not know what those repairs are related to, but there have been a couple of elevators out the whole week. I met someone who said that they were on one of the elevators for this week's cruise, I think it was our 1st day on board, and they got stuck for about 10 minutes. That elevator has been out the entire week.

 

If I get more information, I will post it, since we are on the ship for this upcoming week, too.

Geez we are on her in 2015 I sure hope they get her straightened out by then! :rolleyes:

I hope this is the right place to post this question. I would appreciate advice from any of you experinced cruisers!!!

We are currently booked on the Grand in mini suite E728 for a 15 day cruise to Hawaii. First time in a mini suite and first time on the Grand. I had read that E728 and E729 were very popular cabins. I have also heard the only "downfall" to E728 is some night time noise from the Vista Lounge.

We're being offered E727. Also being offered 2 minis on the Dolphin Deck... 631 and 632.

Sure hope to get some advice ASAP so we can inform the TA.

Thank you!!!!!

We were in E727 on the Emerald and loved it. I would take that one

We were on a Baltic cruise when some in a couple of cabins from us left their balcony door open with left over things from breakfast sitting on a table inside of their cabin. Seagulls considered it an open invitation. It took a very long time for the crew to get them all out (a few had escaped into the hallway) ... and the seagulls made a total mess of the cabin. :eek:

LuLu

The Seagulls make their selves at home in all the open air restaurants in Hawaii. When my husband and I was in Honolulu the Seagulls would come right in and try and steal your food right off your plate. Glad we don't have that here in PA....:rolleyes:

Princess does not carry my liquor brand of choice so I have no other option if I want to enjoy my brand of choice...

My husband has the same problem, Princess use to carry Appleton's Rum on it's ships until they merged with Carnival, now they only carry some of the lower priced rums. They also have become somewhat heavy handed making the drinks since the merger. I honestly wish they would go back to the way they were before they merged with Carnival. The liquor was better and so were the drinks. ;)

They don't always find it! We walked on board with 2 bottles that we purchased at Kmart in Hawaii. The bottles went through security and nothing was said.

 

@OP: Rum runners are used by people who smuggle their hard liquor on board. There's plenty of threads on CC with people who have been successful in getting their booze on board without being caught.

 

They also had a check point in SF port and we walked right past the table and to check in. If you bring on board more than 2 bottles of wine, Princess will charge you a corkage fee per bottle.

 

rum runners: http://www.rumrunnerflasks.com/

Is it possible there are different rules for State Side ports like Hawaii than say Caribbean Cruises? I know all of our cruises have been Eastern and Western Caribbean and they have taken all bottles purchased on shore as soon as we reboarded and held them until the night before disembarkation.

I'm thinking you are talking about the secret door that leads to a deck over the bridge? If so, you go up to the Lido deck, which is the same deck as the pool. Go all the way forward, either side. You will see a door that leads out to another door. It can sometimes be hard to open because of the wind. Then up a few steps and you are on a deck on top of the bridge. This is a great place to be during sailaway. Although, they eventually lock these doors when in open waters. It's way to windy on open sea and can be very dangerous. But, they are open right at sailaway for awhile. Hope this helps.

Just an FYI if it is to windy they lock the door

We have booked a Cruise on the Crown Princess NOV 2nd on the Lido Deck Rooms L257 and L253. Does anyone know anything about these 2 cabins? Are they quiet? :rolleyes:

We have booked a Cruise on the Crown Princess NOV 2nd on the Lido Deck Rooms L257 and L253. Does anyone know anything about these 2 cabins? Are they quiet? :confused: