Caribbean Princess Review (1-10 July) - Long

[jhaasz]

Cabin – We were in Cabin C415 (Starboard side) on the Caribe deck. Even though the air conditioning was not as horrid as the last time (port side), the temperature fluctuated dramatically – sometimes it was freezing cold, sometimes extremely warm. We noticed that parts of the ship also varied in temperature – from cold to warm and humid. It’s almost like they were rotating the air conditioning. We ran into a couple in St. Thomas that had a cabin on the Port side (across from us). They were on their way to buy a fan for their cabin – they found it extremely hot. My advice is to bring a fan – we brought a better one this time and were extremely thankful for it.

 

Our cabin steward, Wilson, was the best we had in a long time and had a great personality.

 

Dining – We did traditional early dining (Palm – Table 11) and had great service from Jackson (Head Waiter) and Peter (Asst Waiter). We only dined in the dining room four nights, due to four “specialty” reservations and coming back late from San Juan. I did notice that one dining room was “anytime dining” and one dining room was split – traditional first seating from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm and then anytime dining from 8:00 pm to 10:00 pm. My guess is that they had too many people for one dining room to hold the traditional early seating. The food in the dining room was very good - I didn't have a meal that I did not enjoy.

 

Crown Grill – I hate to say it but this is the first time our meal in the Crown Grill was terrible. The lobster cakes (appetizer) were horrible – I took one bite and left the rest. I found the French Onion soup to be tasteless. The salad was fine. We both had surf and turf (filet mignon and lobster tail) for dinner. Both of our steaks were overcooked but the lobster tail was excellent. I tried the S’mores for dessert and found it just okay (but the chocolate cake that was part of my husband’s sampler was good but rich). We spoke to other couples that dined there the same evening and they said they had the same experience. We spoke to others who dined after us and they said their meal was great. Perhaps the chef was out sick on our night?

 

Sabatini’s – Love the new menu, so much so that we dined there two nights. The mushroom tart was excellent, the salad just okay. The chef’s pasta was excellent as were our dinners (lobster dinner the one night, the sea bass for two the next). I also loved the raspberry tart for dessert – good and not too rich. I would highly recommend Sabatini's.

 

Ultimate Balcony Dinner – did not disappoint. We started with a drink apiece, they brought out canapés (about 12), appetizer (crab cakes – excellent), salad (excellent and huge –bigger than the salad at SaladWorks), dinner (filet mignon and lobster tail) – the lobster tail had to be at least six ounces, dessert (chocolate, vanilla and strawberry mouse with a chocolate cup filled with berries) and dessert selections from the chef (a plate heaping with chocolate covered strawberries and different chocolates – we had to put this one in the refrigerator). If you add up the items separately (this also included a half split of champagne and a free photograph), it comes to about $80 without the pictures, so well worth the $100 price tag (and $20 tip).

 

Horizon Buffet – In a word, not so good. Breakfast was fine but lunch and late dinner were just awful. However, the burgers and fries at the grill and the pizza were good.

 

Pool – Being on this ship before (pre-Sanctuary), I noticed that there were less chairs around the pool areas this time. There was plenty of room for more; however, they chose not to fill that space. Could it be that they want more people paying for the sanctuary? The chair hogs were out in full force – a gentleman told me that he walked at 7:00 am and all of the chairs were taken (but no one in sight). A couple of people told me that they were at the pool for three hours and never saw people sit in those chairs – what a waste. Also, I noticed that many people, upon packing up their belongings and leaving their seats, left their used towels behind. Come on – someone may want to sit in that seat and think it was taken. Another person I met told me that if there is only a towel on the chair, she waits five minutes and, if they don’t return, takes the chair. She didn’t have anyone complain to her the entire cruise. Potential solution – if you don’t hand the towel in to your cabin steward (like RCCL), charge for the towel (towel exchanges can be done on deck). This would probably solve the problem.

 

Casino – it shrunk when they built the atrium. On the last night, I had to wait two hours to get onto the 3 card poker table. They really need to rethink this, especially for cruises out of New York. Eleven tables for a ship this size is not enough (but you could always find a slot machine in the denomination you wanted).

 

Here’s one I never experienced before – my husband and I took a Ballroom Swing dance class. We sat at a table and left a picture on it, holding the table while we were up dancing. There was plenty of seating in Club Fusion (at least 50 seats); upon finishing the class, we returned to the table where we had left the picture and, guess what? There were about eight people sitting there and our picture was gone. I asked someone at the table where our picture was and they had taken our picture and put it on a chair. I’m sorry but this was just plain rude – there were plenty of seats, you could see couples up and dancing during the class, there was a photo on the table, don’t you think the table was taken? Would you do this elsewhere or is this just cruise behavior?

 

Excursions – FYI – I noticed the prices for the excursions were higher on the ship than booking online. They were charging $45/person for transportation to Horseshoe Bay. Unfortunately, we were unable to share a cab but we paid (with tip) $40 each way for a private taxi – still saving us $10. In San Juan, they charge $45/person for the Bacardi tour. We took the ferry across, a cab and reverse the way back – for a total price of $18 for the two of us. If you like, you can also hire SJ Happy Tours (request Roberto) for an air conditioned ride (and a nice bus) to Bacardi for $20/person for the entire trip. We met him while waiting for our tour and he was great – you will not be disappointed. For the cabana that we rented in Grand Turk at Margaritaville, it was $149 online and $169 on the ship (but they were sold out). Well worth the money – it was a really hot day in the sun and having the covered porch and air conditioning were nice. Also, if you have a cabana, you run a tab and pay at the end (even if you order at the pool bar). We loved it.

 

Overall impression – it was the first cruise my husband and I took alone in five years (and the longest where we were alone). We had a fantastic time – left our worries behind, relaxed, enjoyed being with each other and meeting other people. So, the main question – would I do it again? Last time, I said I would only do it if the price was right. Well, the price wasn’t right but the “no airfare” for DH was. If the price was right, I would probably sail on Princess again (leaving room for my trusty fan in the luggage).

 

Questions? Feel free to ask and thanks to those who provided advice about this ship. :)

[dawnprincess]

Hi! Thanks for the nice review! We dined at Sabatini's several years ago when it was non-stop food, endless courses, etc. It was just too much for us. Can you now just order 1 appetizer, a soup or salad, and an entree? Is Pasta another course? Just curious. I'm not that thrilled with the Crown Grille menu and have eaten there twice before recently. Thanks for any info you can provide!

[tennisobo]

This happened to us on our last cruise. We were in the Wheelhouse in the evening. We managed to snag a little table with two chairs. We went out on the floor to dance one dance and when we got back our table was taken in spite of the fact that we had left some items on the table. The new occupants wouldn't move.

 

What do CCers think is the proper etiquette for this situation? Should we accept the fact that when we get up to dance we take the chance of losing our seats? Should we politely explainn to the couple who took our seats that we were sitting there and only got up to dance? (That's what we did and didn't get our seats back)

[dforeigner]

Thank you for taking time to write a review.

[DonnaK]

Excellent review! Our last two cruises were on this ship, so I enjoyed reading your thoughts!

[srpilo]

Good work... Thanks

 

 

 

Srpilo

[lovevacadays]

This happened to us on our last cruise. We were in the Wheelhouse in the evening. We managed to snag a little table with two chairs. We went out on the floor to dance one dance and when we got back our table was taken in spite of the fact that we had left some items on the table. The new occupants wouldn't move.

 

What do CCers think is the proper etiquette for this situation? Should we accept the fact that when we get up to dance we take the chance of losing our seats? Should we politely explainn to the couple who took our seats that we were sitting there and only got up to dance? (That's what we did and didn't get our seats back)

 

Wow, that's just not nice:( I'm not sure what proper etiquette would be and am not sure what I would do. I'd probably ask where my things were and why they thought they could move them. It's unfortunately that there are a few passengers who only think of themselves while cruising. I'm glad they are in the minority as most cruisers seem to have respect for their fellow cruisers - at least that has been my experience.

[lovevacadays]

How has the Sabatini's menu changed?

[jhaasz]

DawnPrincess - You can actually order anything on the menu that you want. We actually heard a teenager tell the waiter to bring him one of everything on the menu. The waiter's response - "I can't do that - you actually have to order what you want." (Trust me, he did).

 

The first night we had one appetizer (it was very small lbut yummy), salad (we didn't really care for it - it was okay but nothing great), the pasta course (I only took a few bites), dinner (I ate it all) and dessert. Trust me, we were full after eating this. The second time we had two appetizers, the pasta course, dinner and dessert. Again, even though the appetizers were small, we were full by the time we left.

 

I agree with you - I prefer this menu over the last one - the food was just that much better.

[Jennygirl]

Very nice review. As far as securing a table, when youre up dancing....I guess youre almost forced to add a caption under your picture....WE ARE DANCING - THIS IS OUR TABLE - PLEASE DO NOT TAKE THESE SEATS - I mean really, what nerve! People are ridiculous arent they?

 

:)

[1 HappyCruiser]

Very nice review. As far as securing a table, when youre up dancing....I guess youre almost forced to add a caption under your picture....WE ARE DANCING - THIS IS OUR TABLE - PLEASE DO NOT TAKE THESE SEATS - I mean really, what nerve! People are ridiculous arent they?

 

:)

 

That's what I was going to say.:D I guess you could always ask another couple sitting close by to watch your table while you were away.

[KirkNC]

This happened to us on our last cruise. We were in the Wheelhouse in the evening. We managed to snag a little table with two chairs. We went out on the floor to dance one dance and when we got back our table was taken in spite of the fact that we had left some items on the table. The new occupants wouldn't move.

 

What do CCers think is the proper etiquette for this situation? Should we accept the fact that when we get up to dance we take the chance of losing our seats? Should we politely explainn to the couple who took our seats that we were sitting there and only got up to dance? (That's what we did and didn't get our seats back)

 

Wow, I probably would not handle that as well as you did.

 

Kirk

[janacin]

jhaasz -

 

We were getting off the Caribbean Princess just as you were getting on. (June 22 - July 1). It was interesting that you wrote that you enjoyed the food. We ate in the Palm Dining Room, second seating and found the food pretty bad. After 18 consecutive Princess cruises, this was the first time we had a problen with Princess food. Could it be that the second seating gets warmed over food from first seating? We found that the fish dishes were hard and dry, the steaks overdone and tough and substitutions were hastily prepared and underdone. Our concerns were expressed by other passengers as well so perhaps the chef read the cruise comments got his act together.

[Woobstr112G]

Op;

 

Thanks for taking the time to post your review.....:):):)

 

Bob

[tennisobo]

Sorry, jhaasz, for hijacking your thread a bit. But I wanted to thank those who responded to my query about losing seats while on the dance floor. I'm actually considering printing up a little notice to take with us next January. It would be worth it if others would heed the notice.

[jhaasz]

That's what I was going to say.:D I guess you could always ask another couple sitting close by to watch your table while you were away.

 

Not when everyone who was in the room when the class began was up dancing. :) Why didn't they steal their tables?