Another One Just Back from CB 2/19-26

[MrBill64]

OK, here goes my review. We are a family of 4. Wife and I are 39 and 41 along with our son who is 12 and daughter who is 8. This is our 5th cruise and first with Princess.

 

Embarkation: This was the longest line we encountered during our entire trip. We arrived at about 11:45am and did not make it to our room till 1:15pm. Not sure what Princess could have done differently, there just was a ton of people trying to get on the ship at the same time.

 

Our aft BB cabins were B749 and B751 with a connecting balcony door that we had Sonia, our cabin attendant who was fantastic, open for us. There were 2 loungers, 2 chairs, and a table for each balcony. The cabin size was adequate with plenty of closet space. And yes, the shower is on the small size but not a problem. We found the location of the cabins to be perfect for us and we couldn’t have had 2 better adjoining cabins. We loved the balconies with the view of the wake and being aft gave us easy access to the Café Caribe and Horizon Court, as well as the Palm Dining room.

 

We did the anytime dining and enjoyed this way of dining over traditional. First night we ate at the Horizon Court which had a special seafood buffet. We loved it. Cold shrimp and crab legs along with prime rib were the main items offered. The next night, also the first formal night, we made reservations for a table for 2 at 7:30pm in the Palm dining room. No problem getting this reservation at 9am that morning. We arrived and were seated immediately. Next night was Sterling Steakhouse which we reserved as soon as we boarded the ship. Until 4pm on embarkation day, you must make reservations for the alternative restaurants at Sabatini’s. This is the only place you can make reservations for both of the alternative restaurants during the first day. After this you could make reservations by calling the concierge from your cabin. This was the best meal we ate the entire trip. Come to think of it, it was probably one the best meals I have EVER had. The next 2 nights we tried the Café Caribe one night and walked into the Palm dining room and were immediately seated at 8:30pm on the other night. At 9am on the last formal night we tried to make reservations in the Palm dining room but were told none were available. We ended up walking into the Palm dining room at 6:15pm and all 4 of us were seated right away. The final night my wife and I walked to the Palm dining room at 7pm and were seated right away once again.

 

Overall impression of anytime dining was excellent. One complaint we had was what was offered on the menu a couple of nights. Nothing jumped out at us and we ended up ordering some things we thought were just so so. Even in the Café Caribe we thought the selection of items was a bit weak certain evenings. As far as the service each night in the Palm as well as all the dining venues that we ate at, it was excellent. 4 different waiters in the Palm and all were top notch. Dinners took roughly the same amount of time that you would expect in a land based restaurant, a little over an hour from start to finish.

 

Now it’s onto some general observations of the ship itself. The ship is gorgeous. Not too glitzy but not too subdued. We enjoyed its appearance both inside and outside up on deck. But even after studying the layouts of each deck, it was somewhat confusing for the first few days figuring out where everything was. This is hard to describe but I didn’t like the flow of the ship. Going from one area of the ship to another was tough at times. This was our first time on Princess so I will chalk that up to just not being used to the layout of the Grand Class ship.

 

Being that our 2 kids were on board, I can give a small review of the kid’s program. Princess lets the parents choose what sign in and sign out procedure you want. You can set it up that a parent has to sign his/her child in/out or you can leave it up to your kids to sign in/out. At least this was the policy for our kid’s ages as I am unsure of the sign in/out policy for the younger ones. During sea days the hours were 9-noon then 2-5 and finally 7-10. On port days the hours were 7-10 in the evening. The first formal night they have a kid’s dinner and on the last night they do a pizza party. Our kids only missed a couple of the sessions and that was only because we made them have dinner with us a couple nights that conflicted with the beginning of the club hours. Both our children loved the program.

 

OK, for those of you that do not like to read negatives, skip the following paragraph. Deck space on this ship is sorely limited. Plain and simple there are too many passengers for the amount of deck chairs/space. There were too many people directly around the 2 main pools for our liking. It was a chore to find an aisle to walk through just to get into the pool, as deck chairs were all over. Even the upper decks above the pools were crowded with not only people laying on deck chairs but people dressed as empty deck chairs ;) . These observations were made during our first 2 sea days and the weather was wonderful. The last sea day we did our sun worshipping on our own balcony for part of the day and just participated in inside activities the rest of the day. We never thought of it being overly crowded inside, just up on deck during the first 2 sea days.

 

As far as entertainment goes we only did a few nights in the lounges. Bert Stratton at Krooners was a lot of fun. We saw a couple comedians in the Explorers lounge and thought they were good. And we took in the married couples game located in Club Fusion, which was OK. Another thing we had a blast doing was getting our bar hopping cards and getting an adult beverage at each bar on the ship. This was a fun way to try each bar. At the end we got hats for our accomplishment along with a couple hangovers ;) . We also did the MUTS one night. We loved this experience. The sound was impressive as was the video. The movie (Chick Flick) we saw, “Shall We Dance”, was OK. Nothing I would pay to see. Even my wife said it was so so but we both enjoyed sitting under the stars watching it. In fact we liked watching the movies they showed during the day as well.

 

Here is a quick review of what we did in each port. The ports were St Thomas, St Maarten, and Princess Cays. On St Thomas we did a ½ day sail and snorkel that was average. Sailing on the Catamaran to and from Buck Island was a treat but the snorkeling once we got there was below average. Too many boats in the cove we moored at and too many people snorkeling for such a small area. The afternoon was spent shopping ashore and then sitting by the Neptune pool. On St Maarten we had Joyce Prince for the day and this was one the highlights of the trip. She gave us a full day tour of the island and I highly recommend her. If you can book her, DO IT. Do a search in the port section of CC and you will get more info about her. On Princess Cays we did what seemed like everyone else did and that was hangout on the beach. The BBQ was good, the water was a bit cool and the drink service was superb. We found a spot under one of the thatched shade things (I know there is a correct name for those, but I can’t think of it) and pulled up 4 lounge chairs, sat back and enjoyed our day. The kids rented mats to float around on which worked out fine for them.

 

Disembarkation: As smooth as could be for us. We were silver 3 and from the time they called our number to the time we were getting in a cab and heading to our hotel was about 15 minutes. We waited in line to leave the ship, and once off the ship, we had to show our passports to the US authorities. Then we found a porter, got our bags and went through customs. We handed our customs form to the officer who asked us a few questions and then the porter took us right to a cab loaded our bags and off we went.

 

One tip I can give concerning all those photos that are taken of you while on the ship by the ship’s photographer. The first day, ask for an envelope at the photo place and each day put all the photos that you might want in this envelope that they will hold for you. Then on the last day you only have to find the last photos taken and then can compare them all and decide which ones you might want to purchase. Trying to find all your photos from the week, along with 3000 other passengers doing the same thing, on the last day can be next to impossible.

 

Here is a tip concerning the Lotus Spa. There was some concern about Steiner taking over the spa and not honoring previously reserved spa treatments. My wife had pre-booked a hot stone massage online many weeks ago. She took the printout of her pre-booked reservation and they honored it at the old price without any question. And of course she enjoyed it tremendously.

 

Summing up our trip I loved our cruise and the Princess product. I did an open booking while on board and will definitely being sailing on Princess again. I probably won’t be sailing on the CB as it was just too crowded for our liking. Also, meeting our cruise critic roll call members was fun and I was glad I took the time to make the get together at Morgan’s. I wished I had more time to spend with them as they seemed like a fun bunch.

 

For anyone with questions I will do my best to answer. Anyone going on this ship should have a great time. I know we did.

 

Bill

[AmyBeth68]

Great review! Thanks for all the info!

 

The one thing that is holding me back from cruising on the CP is the number of people! I think the Grand class is about my limit for people ;). Aside from the pool areas...did you notice the crowds at all? How about at the evening entertainment venues?

 

Just curious...what other cruise lines have you been on? I was thinking of trying a Royal Caribbean but just love Princess. So, I'm always curious to get others' perspective.

[CINCY40]

My husband and I are taking our first Princess cruise next week. We love the alternative restaurant on HAL which has wonderful steaks. You said that the meal at Sterling was probably the best. Can I ask what you guys had there? We will probably be having dinner there on a non formal night.

 

Thanks,

Nancy

[zurmoly]

Great review Bill. We too thought there are just to many people. Getting a chair near the pool was a laugh. (not really) We too were at the married show and it was just ok. Looking into the Dawn 11 days from NY next year. Closer to home..Jan

[Jeffjas]

We just got back from the trip as well, watching the snow fall. Overall great cruise but agree with the comments on the deck chairs. We were one of those people on the top deck who must have found one of the last chairs on the ship, this was at 10:30 am. I have never had such problems finding a spot on either a Sun classs Princess ship or other lines. It was a pretty big negative considering we didn't find many others. On board, we booked Star next February, I don't know that I would do CP again unless they come up with some type of solution.

 

It seemed for embarkation that everyone came early. We were in that line at 11:00 am and waited, but once it started moving, not much of a problem.

 

Food and service seemed up to past Princess standards and we loved the anytime dining.

 

We had our two, 12 and 9, with us and barely saw them. By the way, whether it is Princess' limiting of numbers of children, or just the luck of the draw, this was an unbelievably well behave and polite group of children and teens. It never seemed overwhelming for a holiday period and allowed the adults to enjoy the trip.

[MrBill64]

AmyBeth68, we didn't find it to be crowded inside the ship but we did not partake in the main theater shows. The Explorer's lounge was standing room only the 2 nights we saw the comedians there, but we managed to get a couple seats with a table about 15 minutes before the start of the show. We have cruised HAL and Celebrity.

 

CINCY40, we both had the ribeye and it was fantastic. I ordered mine rare and it must have been on the grill all of 2 minutes ;) . Truly rare, red cool center. I must have cheated death again by eating my steak that way, but it was sooooo good.

 

Jan, sorry we missed you. But I must ask, were you in Krooners on Sunday night for Bert? I remember him talking to some people from MA right up by his piano and I thought that might be you and your husband. We were in the back by the bar consuming adult beverages, laughing and singing along. It was a lot of fun.

 

Jeff, isn't it so nice to get back to this wonderful weather ;) ? Our kids loved the kid's club too. Must be we just got there for embarkation at the wrong time. That line was huge.

 

Bill

[zurmoly]

No Bill that was not us but we also were at the bar! lol. Many people from MA and NY onboard last week. Bert was great. Jan

[roe2ship]

Bill, thanks for taking the time to post a review. In the children's program, were your children separate? If so, do you have to go to each group and sign them in? Do you remember the time they begin to do this?

 

That is a good idea about asking for an envelope for your photos and then looking at them all together to decide which you will purchase. Thanks

 

How would you compare HAL and Celebrity with Princess? Also, what about the children's program on both of these lines? I hear HAL is expanding their children's programs trying to target more families. TIA

[CruiseFever]

Thanks for taking the time to let us know how your cruise went!

[MrBill64]

roe2ship, as far as the kids clubs on the 3 cruise lines we have been on, I can break them down for you this way. The actual facility on the CB was the best. The times and number of things for the kids to do while at kids club, I would give Celebrity the edge. The counselors on all 3 lines were excellent and our kids enjoyed all 3 cruise lines kids clubs. HAL gets the reputation of being geared toward the older crowd, but my kids loved the kids clubs on the Statendam, the Rotterdam, and the Amsterdam. We sailed the Constellation on Celebrity.

 

On our Princess cruise our 8 year old and 12 year old were in different groups and you had to sign them up seperately. Normally Princess has one group of 8-12 year olds but for our cruise they broke this group down even more. 11-12 year olds were together and the 8-10 year olds were together. They both did the same things just in different groups.

 

Jan, my spelling is still on vacation. Crooners is obviously spelled with a "C" not with a "K", my bad :o . And yes, it did appear that a ton of people from NY and MA were on the ship.

 

Bill

[Boatlovers]

MrBill,

It was nice to read your review. Sorry we missed you.

We got to Morgans later than expected.

Embarkation: We were getting on the ship the exact same time as you...and it took an hour and a half.

Mike took a picture and someone told him to put his camera away. They said Princess doesn't want pictures taken of the long lines.

 

I'm still amazed that they're able to get over 3,000 people on and off, all in one day.

 

We must have walked around the pools for at least a half hour the first sea day and could not find a seat.

There were 10 women from Michigan we ended up next to, and they said they go out early in the morning to save seats. I tried explaining to them that I thought that was rude, and I didn't want to be that way. She said "Oh well, now you know why you had to walk around for so long, and it will happen everyday."

I asked her if she heard about cruisecritic.com. She said no. I explained how frustrated people are about it.

The next day wouldn't you know she had saved a seat for me. Without me asking.

I liked the chick flick at MUTS. :)

We also snorkeled in St. Thomas. Driving the 2 person boat was alot of fun. We didn't see that many fish, but ended up being dragged by the current into the channel near Christmas Cove.

We could not fight that current no matter how hard we swam.

It was scary. A boat came and flung us up, and in, like fish.

We have both snorkled before. Never expected that.

The snorkeling was better at Princess Cays.

The equipment was much cleaner as well.

We also walked into the Palm and were seated quickly. We both thought the food there was very good.

We both had filet mignon at Sterlings on formal night. It was excellent.

The ship was incredible. There was so much to see and do.

We were also on the Baja deck. Room 436. Our room steward was awesome.

He always seemed to know when we were there or not.

Like a quiet mouse coming in and out, never disturbing us.

We loved Bert and Santino.

Glad you all had a good time. Even though I was seasick most of the time, we made the best of it, and there were many great moments to remember.

Kristal

[cruzinchris]

Bill,

Thanks for the organized and well-written review. DH and I are considering a second voyage on the Caribbean Princess next January. Your review reminded me just how much we enjoyed this magnificent ship.

Chris

[dbmiller1956]

Dh and I are booked on the CP week of October 8 and are really looking forward to the trip. You answered every question and concern except one, while you stated that the pools were crowded, was this just the family oriented or the Adults Only pool also? Being that we are traveling without kids (all kids and grandkids are relegated to stay at home), we are looking to spend time at this pool area. Also did you or dw spend anytime in the gym or hot tub area in the gym? We have always found that to be a very nice area and with alot less people.

 

Again..thanks for the review. I am ready to get packing now. Anyone think it's too early? :)

[MrBill64]

dbmiller1956, as far as the adult pools, the one aft appeared to be crowded as well, but we did not hang out at this pool. I can only go by what I saw while eating lunch a couple times in the Cafe Caribe. There is another very small pool and hot tub that sits about 3 decks above the main aft pool where we found it to be less crowded. This is located right under the walkway to Skywalkers and right next to Morgan's bar. This is where we went after we tendered in from Princess Cays. We enjoyed lounging up there until we set sail and found it to be very quiet and relaxing. Not sure how this area was during a normal sea day, but I did walk through one time and it appeared that all the lounge chairs up there were also "occupied".

 

My DW used the lotus spa on sail away evening from Ft Lauderdale for a massage. She remarked that it wasn't very crowded at all. On our first sea day, a little after 9am, I walked around the lotus spa pool and it appeared that about half the chairs were "occupied". I ended up getting a couple lounge chairs near the Neptune pool that day so I never went back. I did overhear a man talking later that week how he really enjoyed the lotus spa pool the best due to it being the least crowded. I don't believe there is bar service at that pool but if that doesn't effect you than I would try it.

 

cruzinchris, we really enjoyed the ship and the people we met on it. I know this has been said before on these boards, but I would not hesitate a minute to rebook this ship IF it had about 600 less people.

 

Kristal, sorry about your seasickness. My wife used to get deathly ill on our first couple cruises. Then she got the "patch" and it has been smooth sailing ever since.

 

Bill

[jrod]

Hi, Bill. I just keep following you around from board to board. Guess I'm going through withdrawals.

 

For the rest of you, my wife and I were also on board with Mr. Bill on 2/19.

 

Sterling - We ate there twice, the second time we did not have reservations but it's amazing what happens when some money magically appears in Miguel's (the maitre'd) hand. Joula! Table for 2. We had filets both nights, 10 oz & 8 oz. They were the best meals we had on board. Managable portions, VERY flavorful, juicy steaks. Too good to adequately describe.

 

Sabatini's - Come hungry! All you order is your main course. They bring you everything else and when I say everything else, I mean everything on the menu. You sample every appetizer, 1 soup, 3 pasta, your main course, and dessert. We were told when we sat down that it equated to a 15 course meal. We were not prepared. Sabatini's is heavy on the seafood as well. We enjoyed Sterling better.

 

Deck chairs - Forget it at the main pools. We had descent success at the aft pool (adult) but our favorite spot was up by the spa pool (also adult only). That pool was never crowded but was drained once or twice.

 

Entertainment - That was the weak spot for us. Bert @ Crooner's was the most entertaining. Kind of a Jim Carrey with a piano. The Blackjax Trio was very good and entertaining to listen to. We had to leave when their front man, Santino, arrived. We didn't care for him and felt that he cared for himself quite a bit.

 

Personal Choice - I'd recommend it for the flexibility it provides. We never made reservations in the main dining rooms but never had to wait more than 5 or 10 minutes for a table for 2.

 

Crowding - Not an issue for us. We commented to each other several times how uncrowded we felt. Except for the main pool areas and the last night, we never were crowded and that was a pleasant surprise. I think I experienced more crowds on the Mardi Gras (27,000 tons of old time Carnival Cruise Line "Fun Ship" fun).

 

I have a review somewhere else around here. I'll be happy to find it and post it here if you want more. Overall though, you should have a good time provided you come on with the right attitude and mindset and you don't have your expectations somewhere in the stratosphere.