New *Caribbean Princess Review- 5/14-5/22

[edeco]

Below is my review of a wonderful cruise aboard the Caribbean Princess May 14-May21.

 

 

 

Arrived FLL on Saturday. Collected luggage and went outside to find the taxi stand. Note; there is a taxi stand where you line up for the next available taxi. I saw some folks trying to hail a taxi at the far end of the terminal. This will not work, as they fill up at the taxi stand at the other end.

 

 

 

After a very short, about $10 cab ride, we arrived at the cruise terminal just after 2:00pm and there was line outside. However, a porter took our bags as soon as we got out of the taxi so we only had our carryon luggage.

 

 

 

The line to get inside moved fairly well and after security screening we moved to another line by deck. This line was to receive room cards, etc. Next, we proceeded to the ship and our cabin.

 

 

 

Our cabin was on Rivera deck R739. We loved this cabin and the location. The cabin location is only two doors down from the aft adult pool and one short flight up to the Horizon Court Buffet. This proved to be a very convenient location. There was some noticeable ship movement particularly early in the cruise. It was not bad, just noticeable. Did hear an occasional rolling cart from the deck above, but the noise was never bothersome. The cabin itself has lots of closet space and we were very comfortable the entire trip. Very nice balcony had a table and two chairs.

 

 

 

I found a reference book near the phone with phone numbers for making reservations, etc. I called the dining room and booked the Ultimate Balcony dinner for Sunday night. I also made MUTS reservations. The reservation movies were, Shall we Dance and The Incredibles.

 

Our cabin steward, Andre came to introduce himself. I asked about the robes we had pre-requested and he indicated they were being cleaned and we would have them tomorrow. The next morning they were delivered just as promised.

 

 

 

We then went to look at the ship and get some lunch. The ship is great! Everything looks new and clean. Although the shop is immense, there is no large open area; each area is cozy and inviting. Instead on one huge central pool, there are two side by side. They Calypso pool has the movie screen while the Neptune pool has activities, live band etc. All around and up are lounge chairs. It was not difficult to fine a chair if you went up a level with some in sun and some with shade.

 

 

 

We checked out the spa and gym. The gym is very large with many machines and a few classes. My husband does a cycle spinning class at home, and signed up for the classes on the ship. He was very pleased with the class. I used the treadmill, stepper, etc. while he was doing the spin class. Each machine has a TV screen and headphones that show the same thing as the cabin. Limited TV channels but they do show movies. As it happened, the spin class was at 3:00pm on sea days and there was usually a movie starting around then. I watched the movie while I worked out and then saw the end of the movie back in the cabin.

 

 

 

The food was wonderful the entire time. The first night we ate dinner at the Horizon Court for the seafood extravaganza. It was every bit as good as I had heard. I suppose it helps if you love seafood, piles of lobster claws, crab legs and shrimp. There was also prime rib if I remember correctly. We had PC dining all week. Only had to wait once for a table for two in the Palm dining room. The service was a bit slow the first night we ate there but it picked up after that. Food was great and the selection was very good too.

 

 

 

Balcony Dinner- I had decided before we left that this was something special I wanted to do for our 29th wedding anniversary. It was worth every penny. When I made the reservations they asked what kind of cocktail we wanted and how we wanted our steaks cooked. When the time came the table on our balcony was set with a white tablecloth, flowers, and china. We began the meal with little hors d'oeuvres and cocktails. There was a split of Champagne as well. The appetizer was crab quiche that was delicious. Then one the prettiest and tastiest salads I ever had. This was followed by the main course featuring lobster tails and filet. Followed by a triple chocolate mousse with berries. And, because it was an anniversary they also brought out a cake! Needless to say we couldn’t eat it all but did taste everything. We had a waiter the entire time, he came to check up on us to see if we needed anything but left us to ourselves to eat. I almost forgot, a photographer came to take pictures and one was included with the dinner. We also took pictures with out own camera. It was a very special dinner and I am very glad we did it. (The pictures were being held for us in the picture gallery behind the counter the next day)

 

 

 

St. Thomas- We pre-booked an island tour on-line through Godfrey. He had e-mailed us that he would meet us outside the ship at 10:00. We left the ship about 9:00am and walked over the shopping area at the pier. There were plenty of shops to browse. At 10:00 we walked back to meet Godfrey and there were so many people and so many different tours I was not sure where to wait. We sort of sat down and waited. A few minutes later a gentlemen came up and asked for us by name. I can’t imagine how he knew who we were but we were quickly escorted to the bus. The group was taken to the main shopping district and given about two hours for shopping. We were to meet back around noon for the island tour and then a beach. He indicated that our beach bags could be locked up in the bus while we shopped. After a successful few hours in jewelry stores we met back up and proceeded on the tour. The island is beautiful and we stopped several places to take pictures. We wound our way up the mountain to the highest point where we got off to sight see, take pictures and enjoy a banana daiquiri (yummy) from the bar/gift shop. We then were asked which beach we would like to be dropped of at, Dawn, Coki or Sapphire? He described each one. We decided on Coki beach, but after walking around decided to go back to the ship instead of staying until 4:00 to swim. Turned out to be a good decision as it started pouring rain shortly after we got back.

 

 

 

St. Martin- Did not book a tour just took the water taxi into town from the pier. Only $5 round trip. More jewelry stores. My husband will probably never go into another jewelry store again! There is also a beach right there that looked decent but we didn’t bring anything with us. Taxis also took people to other beaches etc.

 

 

 

Princess Cay- Beautiful white sand beach with some rocky sections. Reserved a cabana and a float. I would recommend reserving a cabana on line before your cruise as they go fast. I was waitlisted initially but did receive confirmation right before we left. Tickets for cabana and float were delivered directly to our stateroom onboard ship. A nice lunch was served on the island, also had water sports, some little shops, clean restrooms, bars, hair braiding etc. The boat tenders to and from the island was very efficient.

 

Entertainment- Bert Stratton was my favorite. He played multiple times during the week and was standing room only every time. Get there early if you want a seat. Did not go to any of the production shows. The comedian was pretty funny too.

 

 

 

MUTS- very cool, like a drive in movie without the car. Was never crowded, even the reservation only nights. Could probably just walk in. Watched the Beatles- Hard Days Night, Tina Turner concert, Shall we Dance, and Diana Krall in concert.

 

 

 

Overall everything was wonderful and had a great trip. Let me know if I can answer any questions.

 

 

 

deena

[nrose6]

Sounds like you had a wonderful trip! Just wondering, how was the view from your balcony compared to the lower level balconys? I have a cabin booked on the same deck as you and im curious to hear about he view...lol. Well, thanks again! :D

[edeco]

We had a very nice view as were high enough up. We could see directly down onto the Caribe and Dolphin balconies that stick out. I was surprised that unless we were entering or leaving a port there were few people out there. Ocassionally could smell cigar smoke, I think buying and smoking cigars is a big deal for some people. :eek:

 

As you can tell, we really enjoyed sitting out there.

 

Hope you have a great time.

[dontstopcruisin]

Hello. Im so happy that you enjoyed your vacation!!!

I am sailing on the caribbean princess on 8/13/05 (western). I am a huge fan of seafood. however, my fiance is not. I would really love to go to the seafood dinner on the first night. but i am concerned about what other type of food that they have. my fiance will eat many other things. she is not a very picky eater at all. she just will not eat seafood. Can you recall what other types of food were offered at this dinner?? any help would be greatly appreciated. thanks

[bjcanady]

No problem.............plenty of choices other than seafood.........i have a seafood allergy and we eat there every nite................

[ronjj66611]

Thank you for sharing your cruise. It sounds very grand! I just am looking at my final documents for my cruises in July, I can't wait!

 

Regarding the Balcony dining, can they substitute champagne for something else non-alcoholic? It's our 10th anniv. and we thought about doing that, but neither of us really drink so I wonder if it's worth it.

 

By chance did you notice the kids program? Reason I'm asking is my 8 yr old daughter will be with us, and I want to make sure she has a great time.

 

Thanks again,

Ron

[stansthos]

Did they have the wooden horseracing on your cruise?

[MentalVacation]

edeco -- we were on the same sailing! and we loved Bert too! (i was the girl he called out from the back of the sitting area when I took a picture and made me come up there to take it -- we were a little rowdy that night!But he was really funny and talented!!!) That little lounge area was one of our favorite places to meet and chat with our group. We didn't make it to any of the other entertainment either, aside from skywalkers and the wheelhouse.....

 

great review....makes me wish we'd done the ultimate balcony.

 

took me until halfway through the cruise to realize we didn't get our pre-requested robes. ah well. didn't miss em until then.

 

I highly recommend the banana boat in Princess Cays, by the way -- we had a BLAST.....half our boat got dumped and one of my guests broke her toe, but she says it was totally worth it. :-) (She was being carried, not doing the carrying later, I would note!)

[sunluva7]

Thanks for your enjoyable review.

 

About the balcony dinner - do they give you a coctail AND champagne?

 

Assuming you balcony dinner was on one of the two formal nights, what did you do for the second formal night? Did you opt for one of the dining rooms?

 

We plan on requesting a balcony dinner, but not sure which night. Our anniversary will be on Saturday, the day we leave FLL. Do they serve on the day of sail?

[britsbest]

Thanks for a great review. We are sailing from August 6-20 and can't wait. Anyone else on CP these weeks drop me an email? bob.barrows@btinternet.com -I'd like a cc meet?

[lisaanne0220]

did you go in the water? how was it cold?

[cruzinchris]

Hello, Deena.

Really nice review of the fabulous Caribbean Princess. We sailed on CP in January and will make an encore voyage next January. We missed the seafood extravaganza in Cafe Caribe and never got to MUTS, so we have to go back!

 

I enjoyed your description of the Ultimate Balcony Dinner, and I would like to do this for a special occasion, too. Hopefully, we will be on an Alaskan cruise for our 35th anniversary next year and can enjoy this elegant repast.

Chris

[dbmiller1956]

thanks for the review. Enjoy reading about CB, as we are scheduled to be on her October 8th. You mentioned shopping in St Martin..what kind of shops are near the port?

 

Also, love your name...same as mine!

 

Deena

[edeco]

You do talk with the food staff regarding the balcony menu. I would think they would be flexible. Yes, we did get cocktails and champagne. I would think they could substitute.

I am not sure how many nights they serve, but call as soon as you get on the ship for your options.

 

We did go to the dining room on the second formal night, it was very nice. The cafe also had a large seafood selection and beef wellington. similar to the dining room menu. We had a hard time deciding. Either would be a good choice for the food, it just depends if you want the more formal experience.

 

The water in the pools was pretty cool, but you got used to it. We used the aft adult pool which is shaded, that may be why it was cooler. Sorry I don't know anything about the kids programs as it was just hubby and I.

 

We did miss joining up with the CC group on board. It was raining on Sunday afternoon. Sorry we missed seeing others from the boards. For future cruisers check out the roll call boards.

 

You will all have a great time! Wish I was going back.

 

Deena

[BobVv]

We were are the same sailing and we too did the ultimate dinner, for our 11th anniversary.

 

Was one many of the highlights of the trip. Didn't tell the wife we were doing it.

Total surprise. Every night available, only two done a night, cocktails okay, the quality and level of detail was wonderful, We spent over 2 1/2 hours and had service of two waiters the entire time. One stationed by the door watching the balcony for our every need, the other one was in the hall and running up and down the stairs to get the hot entrees, or filling our glasses. The sang to us with a separate cake. A beautiful flower arrangement basket with roses-very classy. Had coffee -used coffee liquor we had in the room, they mixed it for us.

 

I had prepared my MP3 player and portable speakers with a large grouping of my wifes favorites songs and we played them the entire time, as we sailed out of St Thomas. It was romantic, inimate, and very relaxing.

 

I did tip the nicely and the wife was pleased:) as was I...

 

But it might not be worth it to you. Was to me.

[sealegs9]

Deena-

Great review. Brings back memories- last month at this time....

[Hello-Kitty]

Edeco~ hi neighbor!! i was on the C.P 5/14 - 5/21 i was Riviera 705!!! I loved that cabin, close to the aft pool and right above the buffet!!! LOL

[laurashelby]

Great review Deena...we have a long time to wait, but hopefully it'll fly by! When you had reserved a cabana...and got to Princess Cay...was your cabana in a certain part of the island...or do they set one up wherever you want?

thanks!

[holidayathesea]

What is this float that everyone is talking about at Princess Cays? Do you have pictures? How much does it cost? How much does it cost to rent a Cabana?

[Hello-Kitty]

i dont know how much it was to rent the cabbana they were new this year, b/c i was there last april and they didnt have them, i do know they u had to pre reserve them.

[edeco]

The cabana was $10 to rent. When you get there, you select the one you want and they put it up for you. Location is near the food, but a rocky part of the beach. Good for snorkeling, wear water shoes.

 

The floats, are just plastic floats like you would use in a pool. Nice to hang on and just float around. That was around $8.00.

 

Have fun.