LIVE From The Caribbean Princess 7/2-7/11

[Whitnee1]

Going to provide some brief live reports from the Caribbean Princess:

 

First of all, check-in was a breeze. We arrived around 11:15AM and even though we had priority boarding, all seemed to get on the ship quickly. After dropping items in the cabin, we proceeded to the Horizon Court Buffet and easily found a table for lunch. While there was not a huge selection (from what I remember in the past) there was still plenty of items to choose from and the hamburger/hot dog grill and pizzeria were also open.

 

For dinner, we opted for anytime dining and the first night our party of 8 had dinner in the Island dining room. This is my 6th Princess cruise and I have sailed on 6 different ships and I will tell you that I hope that the remaining nights dining experience differ from the first night. All 8, previous Princess cruisers, all agreed that both the service and the quality of the food was not anywhere near what we have experienced in the past. We found our waiters to just have no personality at all and felt very rushed.

 

After dinner, we proceeded to the 8:15PM show and I will say that you should not arrive later than 8:00PM and still expect to get seating. The singers and dancers put on a brief show, which was followed by comedian Darrell Joyce, who was very good.

 

The following morning, our first sea day, anticipating that seating at the Horizon Court for breakfast would be very crowded, we opted for breakfast in the dining room which was very good. Unfortunately, from that point on, everything went down hill. I have read numerous complaints on these boards about how the public areas of the CB can be very crowded. Our first sea day, I find that to be a total understatement as ALL of the deck area resembled a summer Sunday on Coney Island. I don’t know why, but the MUTS pool is closed, which is making the other pool areas unbearably crowded. Chair hogs are alive and thriving – I don’t know why Princess has the “no chair reservation” policy because very few passengers abide by it and no staff members enforce it. Yet I saw many stacks of chairs that had not even been uncovered and put out for use.

 

I understand that the CB is relatively new to the Princess fleet, however our 4 stateroom party has already had a “hotline” to Maintenance to repair non-functioning air conditioning, non-flushing toilets, clogged shower drain, and inoperable refrigerator.

 

We are heading to dinner shortly and will keep our fingers crossed that things will change. We will make the best as a cruise is what you make of it.

 

To be continued…

[rdsqrl]

Thanks for doing a Live From . . . . [wincing] sorry about all the hitches so far. I really hope things get better. Especially, I hope you have a better dining experience: rushed and indifferent service, on top of so-so food, would definitely cast a pall over my vacation. Maybe this will be cruise to try one of the specialty restaurants?

[Donna_In_India]

Wow, I really hope things get better for you. We're on the CB for 2 weeks in Nov. :eek:

[xeroxme]

I hope your cruise get's better! DW and I had a good time on her last week. I would agree Horizon Court is a Zoo each morning. There is always lounge chairs that could be put out that are left stacked. I never could find seating for MUTS in the evening. I wanted MUTS lounge chairs and there where people holding six and eight chairs. Chair HOGS a problem for MUTS. Gave up on MUTS after a couple of nights. Comedian Darrell Joyce best act onboard right now. For whatever reason service was slow in dining rooms.

[Chesneygirl]

Wow I hope your cruise gets better.

We were on the June 23rd sailing and had an amazing time. I wish I was on the CB right now.

I am having huge cruise withdrawals.

[Smellytoes]

I hope the MUTS pool is open for you today. That must really make things crowded.

[Tatka]

First of all, I wish you great remaining days on your cruise and wonderful day in Bermuda!

 

CB is definitely not a new ship to the cruiseline, sailing since 2004! Ruby, Emerald, Crown, Diamond and Sapphire (I think) are all younger sister. :)

[Colo Cruiser]

Thanks for posting live.

[Captain Canuck]

thanks

[Colo Cruiser]

[Whitnee1]

Day 2:

 

Our second night’s dining experience was far better than the first. I had originally met with the Maitre D to get a fixed time in the anytime dining room for our party of 8. He told me that while Princess did this in the past, now they could only offer me 5:30PM or 8:15PM. We had taken the 5:30PM which was when we had the disaster of the first evening. To their credit, when I called the morning of the second day to make a new reservation for a new table, they questioned why I wanted to change. I explained to them the experience that we had the first evening. They apologized, and gave us a 6:00PM reservation at a new table. The new waiters were excellent and we were not rushed at all. Our party really could not find one negative of the whole experience. Some of the items that we had were the crab meat quiche appetizer, the chicken won ton soup, and the main course dishes were filet mignon, halibut, Cornish hens, pork roast, and shrimp Newburg

which were all excellent. We have reservations at Sabatini’s for tonight.

 

The evening show was a cabaret entitled “Do You Wanna Dance?” and was very good. We also attended the first evening’s Princess Pop Star in the Club Fusion which was also fun.

 

Thankfully, we pulled into Bermuda which we were concerned that we may have had to miss due to weather. We were right on time at 8:00AM and the weather was absolutely glorious. Half of our party obtained bus tokens to go to Horseshoe Bay Beach and the other half rented scooters for the day – all meeting up around noon at Horseshoe Bay. If I said in my earlier post that the pool areas on the ship on a sea day resembled Coney Island on a summer Sunday, Horseshoe Bay on Sunday July 4th was truly Coney Island. While it is a beautiful beach, it was so crowded that it was almost impossible to obtain a patch of sand. You almost didn’t need an umbrella because there were so many people around you – and this with only two cruise ships in port. Some of our party on the cycles did see what appear to be other smaller beaches along South Road that, if you had the time to explore and find the access for, would probably give you your own private little oasis.

 

I inquired at the Passenger Service Desk as to why the MUTS pool was closed for first 2 days. They advised that it was due to “maintenance”, however we never say anyone working on it. She did say that it would be open for the rest of the cruise, so we will see. I don’t want to sound overly negative, for this is my 6th different Princess ship, however, my honest opinion is that there are far too many people on this ship for the amount of public areas it has. It creates many little inconveniences such as: available seating at the buffet, and a constant 5 or more minute wait for elevators. It is also my opinion that one of the problems with the huge difference that we see in the general attitude of the staff, is due to the de-valuation of the US Dollar abroad. It seems that these jobs, because of that, are simply not as desirable as they used to be. Therefore, the competition for them is probably not as great. Many of the staff cannot wait for their current contracts to end and I really wonder if this is going to be an ongoing problem for Princess and other cruise lines.

 

One other thing – there was a gentlemen in a small piano lounge off the Piazza last night who was very good playing a lot of Billy Joel and Elton John tunes. Off to Astatine’s tonight, and then we will report back tomorrow with another update. Again, any cruise is what you make it, but I think that anyone who has cruised with Princess before will see the difference between this ship and the smaller ships in the fleet. It will nor ruins your experience, but you should just be aware and prepare yourself for it.

 

To be continued…

[janetz]

Hopefully you will find your cruise gets better and better. As a previous poster stated the CB has been the in fleet for awhile. You stated your party could not fiond "one negative" about your dining. Thats great, but if you are looking for negatives I am sure you will find other things to be displeased about, such as Horseshoe Bay. Arriving at noon, what did you expect?

 

Rarely can you find a negative review about the CB. Its a great ship. We have sailed the CB twice, but I think it depends on ones perpective and how much you are bothered by the 'little things"

 

Happy Sailing! :D

[reggielew]

Hi!

 

We were on the June 14th sailing of the CB and had a great time. Do you know the name of the piano player in Crooner's that played the Billy Joel and Elton John tunes? We had Eric Stone on our cruise (who was very good and also played that kind of music), but he was supposed to be leaving the ship on July 1st. I'm curious to know if he's still onboard or if there is someone new. Thanks for the information. I hope you enjoy the rest of your cruise.

 

Reggie

[Colo Cruiser]

Thanks for the updates.

 

Whos the

CD

MD

etc etc

[caribill]

Day 2:

 

 

It is also my opinion that one of the problems with the huge difference that we see in the general attitude of the staff, is due to the de-valuation of the US Dollar abroad. It seems that these jobs, because of that, are simply not as desirable as they used to be. Therefore, the competition for them is probably not as great.

 

That may have been true last fall as last October a Euro cost $1.50.

 

But now the Euro only costs $1.25, at a low for several years.

 

The exchange rate to the Philippine peso has been essentially constant over the past year, changing within a 5% range and about equal now to what it was a year ago.

[KKMKEM]

I just got off the CB. The cruise is what you make it. We were upgraded to a suite that was the loudest room I have ever had on any cruise line. I was forewarned by Toto, but we just laughed it off. Go down to 7 there were always loungers there. Lorenzo in the Island was a wonderful waiter. Oh you haven't seen crowded until you get to Grand Turk. I still loved it I was on vacation. Cruising has changed just as everything else. Attitude makes a huge difference.

[KKMKEM]

Eric Stone got off and will return to another ship in September.

[B-52]

Wow! I am a loyal Royal Carribean cruiser, Diamond Status, and have been considering this cruise for 2011. I have been reading posts here for that reason. To learn. It would be our first with Princess.

 

But now, I'm not so sure. Not saying that RCL or Princess is better, just that it sounds like a challenge for a first time cruiser, when coming from familiar surroundings.

[luv2sweat]

We are on the same cruise and I'm sorry that OP is running into problems. We have been having a fantastic time. I felt that the ship improved since we sailed on her last summer. The few annoyances that we have encountered were because of other passengers, something Princess cannot control.

 

The chair situation does seem to be worse than before. I'm wondering if it is because there are a lot of first time cruisers on this sailing who don't understand the rules. There are also a lot of non-English speaking passengers and the signs by the pool are only in English. DD tried to get chairs, spoke to an attendant and he removed items from two chairs that had been vacant for over 90 minutes. On Deck 15 there is a table to claim items left on chairs.

 

We're having a great time and don't want the trip to end. Everyone has been extremely nice and helpful.

 

For the poster who asked, the Captain is Marco Fortezze, CD Neil Roberts and MD Giorgi Pisano. All very friendly and personable gentlemen.

 

Well, back to the vacation :)

 

Wendy

[Tatka]

Wow! I am a loyal Royal Carribean cruiser, Diamond Status, and have been considering this cruise for 2011. I have been reading posts here for that reason. To learn. It would be our first with Princess.

 

But now, I'm not so sure. Not saying that RCL or Princess is better, just that it sounds like a challenge for a first time cruiser, when coming from familiar surroundings.

 

Don't worry. Book it.

 

CB was our #7 cruise and the best out of all. We did and will sail on RCCL, but Princess is our #1.

[sixbirches]

Are the $2.99 Power Hour drink specials gone?

[Feelin' Nauti']

For dinner, we opted for anytime dining and the first night our party of 8 had dinner in the Island dining room. This is my 6th Princess cruise and I have sailed on 6 different ships and I will tell you that I hope that the remaining nights dining experience differ from the first night. All 8, previous Princess cruisers, all agreed that both the service and the quality of the food was not anywhere near what we have experienced in the past. We found our waiters to just have no personality at all and felt very rushed.

 

The following morning, our first sea day, anticipating that seating at the Horizon Court for breakfast would be very crowded, we opted for breakfast in the dining room which was very good. Unfortunately, from that point on, everything went down hill. I have read numerous complaints on these boards about how the public areas of the CB can be very crowded. Our first sea day, I find that to be a total understatement as ALL of the deck area resembled a summer Sunday on Coney Island. I don’t know why, but the MUTS pool is closed, which is making the other pool areas unbearably crowded. Chair hogs are alive and thriving – I don’t know why Princess has the “no chair reservation” policy because very few passengers abide by it and no staff members enforce it. Yet I saw many stacks of chairs that had not even been uncovered and put out for use.

 

I understand that the CB is relatively new to the Princess fleet, however our 4 stateroom party has already had a “hotline” to Maintenance to repair non-functioning air conditioning, non-flushing toilets, clogged shower drain, and inoperable refrigerator.

 

…

If your a long time Princess cruiser, then you should know that the CB isn't fairly new. Built in '04. Quite used. :rolleyes:

 

As for the dining, now you have me worried. I have seen in past cruises the quality of food wither. :cool: However, on our last cruise or two it seemed to pick up slightly. Thought Princess was listening to their passengers. :rolleyes:

 

Now as for the chair hogs. Princess doesn't reinforce the the no reserving loungers. But I do! :o..:D Hey, if I haven't seen someone in a lounger for quite some time..........say an hour or two. Well then it's up for grabs. ;)

[Whitnee1]

Hopefully you will find your cruise gets better and better. As a previous poster stated the CB has been the in fleet for awhile. You stated your party could not fiond "one negative" about your dining. Thats great, but if you are looking for negatives I am sure you will find other things to be displeased about, such as Horseshoe Bay. Arriving at noon, what did you expect?

 

Rarely can you find a negative review about the CB. Its a great ship. We have sailed the CB twice, but I think it depends on ones perpective and how much you are bothered by the 'little things"

 

Happy Sailing! :D

 

Let me just address a couple issues:

 

I have spent enough time on this board to know that there are Princess cheerleaders and Princess bashers. I consider myself neither. In fact, I am a loyal Princess cruiser, having reached Platinum status.

 

For clarification, we did arrive at Horseshoe Bay at noon. In fact, we were on the first bus that departed the ship and were on the beach by 9:30AM.

 

I also do not consider the inability to obtain a lounge chair ANYWHERE on the deck on a sea day, or to have to search for a table at almost any breakfast or lunch a "little thing". These were issues that MANY other passengers are also complaining about, and in fact, yesterday for the first time I did see a deck attendant policing the lounge chairs who were being reserved with towels on them.

 

This being my 5th different Princess ship, I feel quite qualified to compare the experiences that we are seeing on this ship versus those we have sailed in the past. The intent of this live report was to provide accurate, realistic, honest, and useful expectations of what one can expect if they are choosing the same ship. It does not mean that it will make or break your cruise, but rather just some things that you need to be aware of.

 

Quite frankly, if you do not agree with what I am writing, or do not want to hear or believe the negative things, then do not read it.

[Colo Cruiser]

I know I appreciate your live posts!!

 

So please keep posting. :)

[Whitnee1]

Days 3 and 4 Update:

 

Had a wonderful dinner, as was expected, at Sabatini’s on Sunday evening. This was the second time that DW and I have experienced Sabatini’s, but a first for the other 6 members of our party. They all agreed that it was everything that we had told them it would be. Most of us opted for the lobster tail, with one having a shrimp dish, and one the Chilean sea bass.

 

We skipped the show tonight, as it was a repeat of “Do You Wanna Dance?” and caught the second night of Princess Pop Star. It never ceases to amaze me what drives some people to do what they do in front of a microphone. Must be the power of a few drinks.

 

Day 3 was another sea day and we had, unfortunately, the same experience with the availability of deck chairs as the weather was again nice. However, today, for the first time, I did see one Princess deck attendant removing towels from unoccupied chairs after he was asked to by passengers looking for chairs. The sad part about it is, most people do not spend the whole day on the deck. So, there would be plenty of chairs available for those who came out later in the morning or early afternoon, if the chair hogs did not feel the need to have to reserve a chair ALL day. I also still see some stacks of additional chairs that have not been deployed for use. A really cool thing happened this afternoon. The Captain came over the loudspeaker to warn the passengers of an approaching shower that he was going to try to maneuver around. Low and behold, he did, and the majority of the shower passed right down the port side of the ship. It did provide enough rain, though, to flush out a good portion of sun seekers and immediately availed chairs when the sun came right back out.

 

Had a real nice dinner again in the Island dining room with a couple of excellent waiters, and being French night, took advantage of the escargots and French onion soup which were both excellent as was the veal scaloppini.

 

We took in the 8:15PM show, which was Tony Cherry, who bills himself as an “impressionist” singer. He has a very good voice, but it was really quite difficult to recognize more than a couple of his impersonations. It was though a very good show, mixing in some humor in between his songs. This show did fill up quickly and again I would recommend arriving really no later than 7:50PM for the 8:15PM show, and even earlier if you have a larger party.

 

 

 

Day 4 was our arrival in San Juan at 1:00PM. Shortly after our arrival, we experienced a horrendous thunderstorm with copious lightning and heavy downpours. We did attempt to walk around some of Old San Juan, but a constant little drizzle dampened our enthusiasm. We did manage to make it to the Coach Outlet, where DW and DS’s girlfriend managed to find something to buy which they quickly told us how much they saved, but not how much they spent. They were having very good deals, with anything from 20-50% off and then they handed out an additional 20% off coupon at the door when you walked in.

 

Just returned back on board the ship, and getting ready for another alternate dining experience at the Crown Grill. The show times for tonight might not work out, as they are 7:00PM and 9:00PM and our dinner reservations are for 7:00PM.

 

DS turns 21 at midnight and is hounding me already trying to drag me to the casino and the bar for what he is trying to tell me is his first drink. On to St. Thomas tomorrow, with an independent beach day planned at Coki Beach. Hope the weather holds out, and then maybe some shopping afterwards.

 

To be continued…