Just Back from Caribbean Princess -- Review

[Dreamer333]

One morning in the Atrium they had a demonstration on some of the various types of Martinis. They called up a bartender and a volunteer to learn how to make the Martini. They danced, shook or stirred, with music and all, it was hilarious, then the volunteer got to keep the drink! It was too early for drinks, (or I would have volunteered) but otherwise very entertaining.

 

That sounds like fun! I've never seen that offered before... I'll have to keep my eye open for it on my next cruise!

[carbon]

I booked the caribbean Princess next spring break. My 18 year old is worried there will not be any people his age. We usually travel RCCL.

[aquatic]

We traveled with four other families and 3 eighteen year-olds. There were over 500 teens on this sailing due to spring break. The 18-21 year olds are in a separate group from the 13-17 year olds, and my daughter thought the 18-21 group was too fast a crowd for her. She joined her sister in the 13-17 group as there were many more activities. Our friends who were with us however could not, because they were boys, and Princess said they were concerned about having 18 year old boys hitting on the 13-17 year old girls, so they were rather bored much of the time, played cards, etc. There is a big difference between an 18 and a 21 year-old, and if your kid is not into the DJ Disco/drinking scene, they may be better off with the 17 year olds. Anyway on spring break I don't think there will be a lack of kids! I know we will never go again on this week, just too many people everywhere.

[familycruisin]

I have to say I agree almost verbatim with this review!! We had a fantastic time. Loved MUTS!! The shows were entertaining, the dining room food was excellent. I have to agree that with the exception of the seafood buffet, we weren't impressed with the food at the buffets. We ate most of the dinners in the dining room. We had PC dining. We never made a reservation, and we never waited. We always ate between 6:00 and 7:30. We dined with only the 4 of us some nights, and other nights we joined a larger table. Our service was always excellent and dining companions very pleasant. I would advise you to heed the advice of your wait staff regarding the best dishes on the menu, we found that they were right without exception!

 

In regards to the crowds, we never felt overwhelmed by the crowds. I think that it is wishful thinking that if you show up on the pool deck at 11:00 to 2:00 you will find a lounge chair by the pool. Most of the time if there was a chair left for a long period of time, people were asking the deck attendents to move the items, and they did. If our children abandoned their chairs for the kids activities we were always willing to free it up for someone else. We only had a couple of instances where we had kids (and "BIG" kids) being loud in the halls at night, but it didn't last long.

 

We were on the Caribe deck. If you love a big balcony this is the deck for you! They have larger balconies than any of the other decks (including Dolphin). They are half covered and half open, so you can enjoy privacy and sun! We had full size lounge chairs brought up onto the deck on the first day, and spent many a quiet hour with a book and a cold beverage!! It was a nice way to spend an afternoon after baking in the hot sun!!

 

We had friends that sailed on one of the large RC cruises the same week, and it sounds like Princess did a much better job at controlling the crowds and the kids!!

 

Hope all the future CB sailers enjoy their cruise. Our only regret is that we never made it to the future cruise purchase office!!:D

[moski]

Who was the cruise director?

[Sestrong821]

rollsf16,

 

I am happy to hear you had a great vacation and room steward. Having been on a few cruises myself I know the room steward makes a great difference to the end of your day. I am cruising on the Caribbean Princess in September along with getting married at sea the second day by the Captain.

 

I have two questions for you. First, did you ever get to see an entertainer aboard ship by the name of Bert Stratton? From what I have heard he is one of the best entertainers people have ever found. Second, did you ever feel as if the ship was crowded? I have seen a few reviews where people have mentioned they felt crowded or found it difficult to find seating in the dining area and on deck.

[hotshot99]

We did the same trip in Mid-March....We had a GREAT time too.

[rollsf16]

Sestrong821,

We had an absolutely wonderful time on the Caribbean Princess!!!

 

We stopped in each evening to listen and sing-along with Bert Stratton. He is probably the most talented entertainer on the entire boat, and based on the crowd of people that stopped in each night to sing with him...I think others will agree with me on that. Unfortunately, he was in a very small venue near the Martini Bar for most nights, but due to people asking for a bigger place, they put him in the Explorer's Lounge for one night....and it was packed in there as well! That being said, I never heard anyone complain. Do not miss seeing him!!

 

Now about crowding....it never felt "crowded" to me. For example (as I mentioned in the paragraph on Bert above) when there was a really good show/entertainer, you needed to show up a little early (15 minutes or so always worked for us) to make sure you could get a seat. To avoid this, we went to the earliest shows and then went for our dinner (PC dining option) and we never got turned away.

 

As far as finding a seat on the decks, I think there will always be a problem with finding a lounge chair near the pool if you don't get up until 11am. My DW and I never had a problem getting some great locations because we were sipping Bloody Mary's and Mimosa by 9am everyday at Sea enjoying the beautiful weather and sun in Princess' very comfy loungechairs. I believe that Caribbean Princess' layout really breaks apart the spaces into more intimate areas, which alleviates the feeling that you are surrounded by a crush of people all the time. Bottom line was that we really never felt like there was 3500 passengers on board with us. Based on our past cruise experience, it didn't feel any different than when we were on smaller boats.

 

Congrats on your wedding...you picked a wonderful ship to exchange your vows, and will have some great memories!

[sunluva7]

We traveled with four other families and 3 eighteen year-olds. There were over 500 teens on this sailing due to spring break. The 18-21 year olds are in a separate group from the 13-17 year olds, and my daughter thought the 18-21 group was too fast a crowd for her. She joined her sister in the 13-17 group as there were many more activities. Our friends who were with us however could not, because they were boys, and Princess said they were concerned about having 18 year old boys hitting on the 13-17 year old girls, so they were rather bored much of the time, played cards, etc. There is a big difference between an 18 and a 21 year-old, and if your kid is not into the DJ Disco/drinking scene, they may be better off with the 17 year olds. Anyway on spring break I don't think there will be a lack of kids! I know we will never go again on this week, just too many people everywhere.

We will be sailing on the CB in August, so I'm anticipating a lot of teens. My 18-year-old daughter, too, is not into the club scene either, so I was glad to hear that she may be able to join her sister in the 13-17 group. However, there is also a big difference between ages 13 and 18. Your daughter did not find the activities too "young" for her? My girls are 13 and 18 and have a lot of the same interests, and it would be nice for them to hang together. Though, when we were on a smaller Carnival ship 2 years ago, they did not join any organized teen "center". Their favorite thing to do was to hang by the ping-pong table, meet friends, and explore on their own. I wonder - can they safely do that on this ship?

[kpauley]

Who was the cruise director?

James Lay is the current Cruise Director. He was very visable and I thought he did a wonderful job.

 

Kathy

[cabana]

Thank you for the Sonny Liston review. Most folks talked about him but that review is excatly what I am looking for.

[familycruisin]

We will be sailing on the CB in August, so I'm anticipating a lot of teens. My 18-year-old daughter, too, is not into the club scene either, so I was glad to hear that she may be able to join her sister in the 13-17 group. However, there is also a big difference between ages 13 and 18. Your daughter did not find the activities too "young" for her? My girls are 13 and 18 and have a lot of the same interests, and it would be nice for them to hang together. Though, when we were on a smaller Carnival ship 2 years ago, they did not join any organized teen "center". Their favorite thing to do was to hang by the ping-pong table, meet friends, and explore on their own. I wonder - can they safely do that on this ship?

 

We just sailed on the CB. Our daughter is also 13 (almost 14). For our sailing they had broken down the ages for the groups as 10-13 and 13-17. The 13 year olds could choose the group they felt the most comfortable in. I am not sure about the 18 year old's status. They were pretty clear that anyone over the age of 17 was not eligible to attend the activities. Maybe she could be 17 for a week.

[roe2ship]

What band is playing by the pool these days? Are they real good? TIA

[cabana]

Soon roe2ship soon :)