Review of Caribbean Princess, 5/14 to 5/21

[dawne577]

OVERALL

This was a great cruise, despite the often overcast skies. We can only compare it to two other cruises--both on Disney. The value was much better on Princess. But even though the service was always very good on the CP, Disney probably holds a slight edge in this category.

 

TOP 5 THINGS WE LIKED ABOUT THE CP

1. The total cruise experience. Some people say that the CP lacks the Wow factor, and that might be true. But the total package is very, very good.

2. Our aft balcony. We left our patio door open every night and the wake behind us, the sound of the ocean, the gentle sway of the ship--all were very pleasing. There was plenty of room on the balcony--a table, two chairs and a chaise lounge. It's a great place to drink your coffee, sun yourself, and a great place to sip champagne at sailaway.

3. The entertainment. Bert Stratton is great. If you like to dance, there is plenty of chances to do that. The Caribbean Princess dancers and singers put on some excellent shows. Comedian Ricky James was very funny in his critique of contemporary parenting techniques. And there are plenty of things to do on sea days--in fact, there are still things that we want to try that we simply didn't have time for.

4. MUTS. We didn't have time to schedule an evening movie, but we did watch the movies from the hot tubs and from the lounge chairs during the day.

5. Lunch at Cafe Caribe. The everyday quality of the food surprised us.

 

PRECRUISE

We flew down a day early on Friday the 13th and sat in row 13 of our flight from Detroit. We had a connection in Indianapolis and had a chance to see the Speedway from the air.

 

We got our luggage quickly at the Ft. Lauderdale terminal and used one of the free phones to call our hotel, the Amerisuites. They told us the shuttle (which is free to and from the airport and the cruise terminal) would be there in 20 minutes. We stepped out the door, turned to the right and the shuttle was already there.

 

It's a very short drive to the Amerisuites (located near the Embassy Suites on 17th). Check in was quick and easy. Everyone was very polite and very helpful. The room was large--a couch, microwave, computer work station, a sink, a cupboard with coffee cups, a refrigerator, and two dressers.

 

The water in the pool was chilly and there were quite a few leaves floating around. There is free coffee available in the lobby most of the day.

 

If you need to pick anything up, there is a Publix, a Win Dixie, Walgreens, and a Crown Liquor--all within walking distance of most of the hotels on 17th St.

 

We ate that evening at Carlos and Pepe's on 17th (just to the right of the Embassy Suites). It is rated the top Mexican restaurant in Ft. Lauderdale. The food was very good. Most of the entrees were about $10 (the margaritas were $6.50). The Tamales were very good. But the Tostados were just a super-sized Taco Bell salad.

 

EMBARKATION DAY

Amerisuites has a free breakfast. It is advertised as a continental breakfast, but they had scrambled eggs, sausage, waffles makers, orange juice and apple juice in addition to the usual continental items: pastries, cereals, bagels, fruit, yogurt, etc.

 

We caught the shuttle to the port sometime around 10 am. The port itself (compared to the Disney terminal) seemed a bit of a muddle. We were told by more experienced cruisers that there are other ports much worse than Fort Lauderdale, but we still think there is room for improvement.

 

The shuttle dropped us near a row of bins (like you see in factories) and it was a little unclear what we were supposed to do. Eventually, a port worker told us to put our luggage in front of one of the bins. No one told us exactly where to go next (and there were no signs). We have the feeling that this is not the fault of Princess but of the port itself. After a few inquiries, we lined up against the wall of the terminal and waited. If you get there early enough, you will be in the shade.

 

Once they opened the door (around 11:45 am this morning), everything moved very quickly, though it did seem to be a mad dash at times. Going down the gangway, we slid our cruise card into the security machine and they took a picture which they used later to match us to our card when we left and returned to the ship. After the usual, embarkation photo, we entered the lobby and headed for the mid elevators where we were directed to our stateroom.

 

There was plenty of storage space in our stateroom, though the shower was small (no big deal). We asked the room steward for wine glasses and for robes (the wine glasses, 4 regular and two champagne glasses, were there when we returned from lunch, but he couldn't get us robes until the next day). The room steward was also very helpful in explaining how they ran the lifeboat drill and exactly where to go.

 

Embarkation buffets are always fun. It's your first chance to check out the quality of the food and get a quick look at some of the ship. We were impressed. After eating, we looked at MUTS and tried to look at the gym, but were told by the Spa people that we couldn't see it unless we went on one of their Spa tours (we hate the hard sell of the Spas--including Disney's). We opted out. Instead we went down to get a better look at the elegant lobby and checked out the library and game room. Got the drink of the day and checked out the pizza, thus living up to the motto of "On as passengers, off as cargo."

 

4 pm was the lifeboat drill--short and to the point. By 5 we were on our aft balcony. We popped the cork to our bottle of Asti and toasted to our voyage as we moved down the intercoastal waterway and into the ocean.

 

We then caught the tale end of the sailaway party, got into the conga line and danced a little. This was fun, but not quite the intensity of Disney's.

 

After this, we went for a swim in the aft pool, but the water was very cold. We had traditional dining on this cruise, but went this night for the seafood buffet in Horizon Court. This was a little dissapointing. In retrspect, we wish we would have went to our regular dining room.

 

After dinner, we went to the sailaway show in the Princess Theater and spent a little time in the casino (very smokey) and saw a little of Princess Idol.

 

Later that night, we ordered room service. Just because we could.

 

To be continued--if you have any questions, feel free to ask.

[rts]

Hi Dawne,

 

You said that you were in an aft balcony cabin. What cabin were you in and how did you like it, compared to a regular cabin.

 

Thanks, Rick

[dawne577]

Hi Dawne,

 

You said that you were in an aft balcony cabin. What cabin were you in and how did you like it, compared to a regular cabin.

 

Thanks, Rick

 

Rick,

We were in B752. This was our first blacony and we loved it. On Disney, we had inside staterooms--nothing wrong with those, especially if you're very active. The total seclusion and darkness of an inside can be very comfy--great for sleeping. And if you are always on the go, who cares? But generally when you compare Disney prices to Princess, it's just as cheap to book a balcony on Princess as it is an inside on Disney (I'm sure there are some exceptions to that). This is part of the reason why we think Princess is a better value.

 

On the CP there is plenty of privacy on the aft balcony (not sure about those on the sides). On your way to the island, you have the sunset almost directly in view and the sunrise on the way back. Some people don't like the sway in the aft, but we found it soothing, even when the hangers would go clack-clack-clack. And some people complain about the noise of the engine (more like a change in sound) as you pull into the islands. But we found it a gentle way to wake us up just as we entered the harbor.

[Kellie in Texas]

Dawne - Thanks for that info on the Amerisuites shuttle and breakfast. We'll be staying there pre-cruise in October before our CB voyage. Looking forward to hearing the rest of your review. Kellie in Texas

[dawne577]

Dawne - Thanks for that info on the Amerisuites shuttle and breakfast. We'll be staying there pre-cruise in October before our CB voyage. Looking forward to hearing the rest of your review. Kellie in Texas

 

Kellie,

There are display boards lit up in the airport terminal near the windows. They show pictures of the local hotels. With each picture there is a 2 digit number (Amerisuites was 34??). Pick up the phone and punch the numbers. You connect directly to the front desk. They were very helpful with the shuttle, even took us to catch the Tr-Rail one day after our cruise (we took it into Miami to visit our DD who lives there). Other people said the shuttle driver took them over to the water taxi stand under the 17th Street bridge (though you can easily walk to that). We tipped the driver a dollar a bag, which I think is the normal rate. So have a little bit of cash in your pocket.

[stevel45]

Could you explain why you were a little dissapointed with the seafood

buffet on the first night?

I was kind of looking forward to this.

[beckers]

I believe the seafood buffet may be just cold? I just got in line for the crab legs, and shrimp with hot sauce right after the sailaway, went back to my balcony and ate this as an appetizer then went to Personal Choice Dinner:D

I thought it was great. But if you were expecting it to be hot I don't know what else they had but you might want to consider it as an appetizer before dinner in the main dining room.

 

 

Actually you could take the seafood out to the sailaway party. It was still going on when we left and right out the door from it.

[dawne577]

It is just a cold buffet which I realized when eating it that evening - I would rather enjoy my seafood warm. But on the other hand I didn't have the energy to get dressed for dinner that night or want to wait for the late seating. One of our ongoing debates(DH and I) was did we want personal choice dining or not? This evening was definitely a "yes". After this, there was only one other time that we would have opted for this. I think I'm still a true believer in traditional dining.

[NWBuckeye]

Thanks for the review so far. We will be on the CP next February and will be in a similar balcony, one level up. We also hope to stay at the Amerisuites Hotel precruise. Did you happen to get that through Priceline ? Thanks again :)

[dawne577]

NWBuckeye--

 

Yes. We bid $50 for the day before. Then came back about a week later and bid $50 for two days after the cruise. I think it's considered a 2.5 star and seems to come up frequently.

 

We know a lot of people would probably disagree, but we've come to the conclusion that the only advantage to a 4 star (and often 3 star) hotels is that they have a fancy lobby. Big deal. They nickel and dime you for everything. But that's just our opinion. We're cheap.

 

By the way, our youngest son is a freshman at Ohio State, though he is actually more loyal to Notre Dame when it comes to football.

[NWBuckeye]

Amerisuites sounds perfect to me. We aren't very picky, just need a place to rest and make sure we are out of Ohio/Michigan weather a day ahead. I see you flew out of Detroit.....and not Toledo. I would rather leave from Toledo, it's still an hour drive for us, but I like the parking so much better in Toledo. Seems like we always end up in Detroit for the direct flight, though.

 

We have 2 sons in Columbus, one just graduated in Dec. and still looking for a job, the other a freshman in Optometry. Amazing how tuition keeps jumping. Hope your son likes it. What does he want to do ? I really miss Columbus and that's where we hope to retire/ or at least move to soon.

 

I see I need to change our clock. Wish me luck on that one !!!!

[dawne577]

We were up early on Sunday morning and sat on our aft balcony, drinking coffee. We brought our own coffee maker and a can of Tim Horton coffee (we don't know if it is true, but we read that coffee can be an issue with customs so we brought on a sealed can and opener).

 

For us, this was a good idea. The coffee on board, made from syrup, was not the best--though they had real cream which masked the weak taste. We also brought a small smoothie maker. This we won't do again; we only used it once. Definitely pack an outlet strip.

 

We ate breakfast at Cafe Caribe. Avoid the potatoes at breakfast--at least for the first couple of days. The variety/quality of foods at the breakfast buffets was not that exceptional (we don't remember seeing any bagels, which struck us as unusual) and now we wish that we would have checked out the breakfast in one of the dining rooms. But the Horizon Court and Cafe Caribe were just too conveniently located to our stateroom. The casual atmosphere and the fact that we could usually get a window table were also plusses. It was quick and easy.

 

ACTIVITIES

There is plenty to do if you want to be active. Sometimes, lounging near the pool, sipping on the drink of the day is perfect. But the CP offered a variety of things to do--there wasn't enough time to do it all. We chose to take dance lessons on this first day.

 

Every sea day they offered both line dancing lessons and ballroom lessons. The teacher for the line dancing lessons was adequate, but perhaps tried to show us too many dances at one time.

 

The ballroom dance this day was Swing. The instructor was the cruise director, James Lay. He was excellent. His mother is a ballroom dance instructor and he has been dancing since he was four. He had a knack for simplifying the complex and accentuating the essential points. And his sense of humor was a definite plus. These lessons are, of course, just starter lessons, enough to get you going. If you're interested in learning ballroom dancing, we do recommend these lessons. Getting involved in the activities is also good way to meet couples that share your interests.

 

Lunch, as we've already said, was a pleasant surprise. Fried shrimp--YUM!!!

 

The weather wasn't very good this day so it was a good time to walk around, exploring the ship. We spent some time playing on the putting greens (in 25 mile an hour winds), saw the gym (without the interference of the Spa People), saw the against the current pool and the Chapel (where a wedding was underway), and visited the casino. Don't ask me anything about the casino. I'm lucky if I can figure out how to put the nickel into the slot machine!!

 

This was the day of our CC meet. A rain storm hit just before it was to begin (see our picture below) and we never made it. A good idea for anyone planning a meet: Have a back-up location in case of bad weather.

 

Drink of the day: We had the sticker, bought two drinks of the day, requested the small size(read the special price only applied to this size) and was still charged $5.75 per. Granted the drink was large and I wasn't going to quibble over a couple of dollars but I didn't like it that much so ended up not buying anymore all week.

 

Went to our dinner in the traditional dining room. We were seated at a table for 4 with a couple from Florida, first formal night. Thought the food was just o.k.(our opinions change later in the week) but we never liked any of their salads. The service seemed a little off and didn't get the warm and fuzzys we have in the past from our waiters(this also changed later). To be honest we found out after we were home that we were a major contributor to the "timing" being off. Second seating started at 8:15 and all week we thought it started at 8:30. So obviously we were late everyday. Gabriel and Manuel, I know you aren't going to read this, but we're sorry!

 

How can you describe Bert Stratton? Two'fer. Bert with an E. So Good! So Good! Make sure you see him the first night at Crooners before it gets crowded. It's SRO the rest of the week. He is a talented, outstanding performer that we went and watched many more times this week.

 

The picture below was taken from Skywalkers, just as a storm blew in.

[pmc7704]

You mentioned buying a sticker for the drink of the day. Would you explain that please? What is it, how much is it, and what is it good for? I have heard of the coke card, but not a sticker for drink of the day.

[dawne577]

On the first day we bought the drink of the day in a souvenier cup(I have a plastic mug collection from my travels that will be my legacy to my five children) and got a sticker put on the back of our cards. By having this we were supposed to be able to get the drink of the day for $3.75. When I saw they charged us full price I didn't want to quibble and stand in line at guest services so I just decided not to use it any more. But I also had mix and liquor in our stateroom that I was able to make drinks with.

[whiskey]

very smart move with the timmies coffee.

[ilovhywd]

What goes on in Skywalkers during the day? Do they have activities up there or is it a quiet place to relax?

[dawne577]

This day was warm but a little overcast and windy. We slept till 9am, a sleep-in day for us, and had our usual breakfast at Cafe Caribe.

 

Went to our second day of dance classes - chacha for the ballroom segment. The line dancing class was cut short because of future cruise booking program(this again happens on our next sea day because of bingo). They left no time for switch over and I got the feeling that if what they were offering was going to take in revenue that was the priority.

 

They served Oriental for lunch today in Cafe Caribe/Horizon Court. This is the day they have the huge asssortment of sushi. When we went out to find a lounge chair even though it was still overcast not one could be found. It wasn't worth waiting around to see if someone would claim their reserved space since the sun(when it peeked out) was on our balcony in the afternoon when heading south.

 

Reserved the wine tasting($9 pp) which was in the traditional dining room. They served an assortment of 5 wines and a dessert wine. If you purchase one of the wines from the tasting at dinner you will receive $5 off the cost of the tasting but you need to have your reservation card with you at dinner and give it to your waiter. We did do this one night but because we brought our own wine on board and brought it into the dining room we really didn't have to purchase any. By the way, we bought our favorite wines in FLL and put them in a wine-packing box that I had purchased prior to leaving and checked it with all of our other luggage at the port. It arrived in perfect condition - I did mark fragile on the box but it was obvious what it was. You can buy these boxes for the 750ml bottles and larger, and they can hold up to 12 bottles.

 

Our plans for the evening were to see Kenny James again at 7:00p.m. and dancing in the Explorers Lounge before dinner. Since the back of the Explorers Lounger is a walkway from place to place on deck 7, I can see why you would have to get there early to get a seat. Once the show starts traffic stops and bottlenecks occur just because of curiousity and if the performer is good it is SRO. His show was again very funny and this was his last evening performing. If you think you want to see one of the shows make plans to do it. They aren't available to watch every night in different locations which is what I had assumed.

 

Tonight at dinner, our tablemates had made reservations at Sabatini's and this gave us a chance to get to know our waiters. I am so glad that I did. I turned over all decisions to them about food choices and every meal from this night on was excellent. They always tried to give me options but I said they should know better than anyone what choices were outstanding. It also helps that I'm willing to try anything once. They also gave us some recommendations on places to eat on the islands that they frequented.

 

After dinner we went to see Caribbean Caliente and then turned in because we needed to get an early start tomorrow morning. We never found the theater for the late show to be very full - thank goodness. From what I had read if we would have needed to be there 30 minutes before the start of the show to get seats it would have interfered with dinner.

 

Below is a picture of the wine tasting.

[sheff29]

Can you tell me what are generally the nights for "formal" or even the "capt dinner" on a 7 night cruise? We'd like to make reservations for Sabatini or Steakhouse and don't want to book it same night as formals. Did you try any of those special restaurants, and if so, what did you think? Also, we've got first seating, traditional - thinking of switching to second seating, traditional so that we'll be back from excursions with time for showers/etc. Any thoughts?

[dawne577]

ilovhywd - There was nothing organized going on in Skywalkers the afternoon; we were there and I don't ever remember seeing anything scheduled on the Patters. It definately was a relaxing, peaceful getaway. In fact, I started nodding off that afternoon as we sat there.

 

steff29 - We decided not to try any of the specialty restaurants this time. Will probably try the steakhouse next time on the Golden. As far as Sabatini's and Sterlings, our tablemates raved about the first and highly recommended the latter. Also another couple we met at the Amerisuites also loved Sabatini's. I just couldn't imagine eating more than I already was and that's what everybody was talking about - eating for three hours straight. Maybe if I made the reservation there the first day it wouldn't be so bad.

 

The formal nights were on Sunday(capt. welcome dinner) and Thursday(lobster night- yum!!!). We chose late traditional just for the very reason you talked about - also the pools, hot tub and casino weren't very crowded at all from about 5:30 on. Everyone was starting to get ready for dinner. I know that you can request the same table/time in anytime dining so that you'll have the same waiters and dinner partners but isn't that compromising the whole idea and basically turning it into personalized, traditional dining? After the first full day I realized that if I wanted to change the time for dinner that we could eat in Cafe Caribe and be more than happy with the food choices and quality.

[earljr]

A very good review - I may not agree with all things you have said but overall I am enjoying your observations. DW and I enjoyed it so much that we booked a b2b in Sept.

 

Earl

[dawne577]

Every night we were able to leave our balcony door open. Early Tuesday morning, just as it was starting to get light, we were woken up by the change in sound of the ship's engines. We grabbed our robes and went to our balcony just in time to watch the ship enter into the harbor. This was our first look at the jagged, volcanic mountains of the Caribbean Islands. A sea plane--something we've only seen on TV and in the movies--was landing as we docked at the wharf. The houses on the side of the mountain were still lit up and there there was a fog/cloud cover just beginning to lift.

 

SCUBA DIVING

It was a quick breakfast at Cafe Caribe; we needed to be at Joker's (the game room on Plaza deck) by 8am. We'd already filled out some health release forms for our first excursion: an introduction to scuba diving at Coki Beach. The certification instructor was there and after everyone arrived he took us down the gangway where we were met by one of the divers.

 

She was cheerful and talkative and made us feel comfortable (we were a little nervous, never having done anything like this before). She loaded us onto an open sided bus/taxi and we drove through Charlotte Amalie into the mountains--taking note of the many churches, the McDonald's and even a K-Mart in town, along with $2.85 gas and plenty of Rastafarian-looking locals.

 

The view near the top of the mountain--looking back at the harbor and the docked cruise ships--was spectacular! Less spectacular, were the homes of the locals as we descended down the mountain. We have been in the Bahamas and in Mexico so we are well aware of the poverty of other places in the world, but we were unprepared for the garbage and filth. (St. Martin's, by the way, was nothing like this).

 

Coki Beach is a beautiful, small beach. They sat us in folding chairs and took us through a lesson using flip charts--a nice combination of easy-going humor (to relax you) and a hint of danger (to make sure you didn't do anything stupid). This is a beginners dive and they don't expect you to know anything. Because there is no certification involved, you are limited to diving to forty feet below the surface (which we did).

 

They broke us into groups. We weren't in the first group to dive, so they gave us snorkel equipment and a couple of dog biscuits to keep us amused. The water was warm, calm and clear, but it got deep quickly. We snorkled and fed the fish crumbled up pieces of the dog biscuits--the fish are sort of like underwater seagulls, they absolutely swarm around you for free food. They were beautiful.

 

Sitting on the beach, we talked to two people who had panicked and not finished the dive. Then it was our turn.

 

They fitted us with weights and tank and took us into water about chest deep to practice safety techniques--like what to do if you lose your mouthpiece and what to do if you get water in your mask. Breathing through the mouthpiece underwater was surprisingly unnatural, and that was what made most people panic. We then moved slowly into the deeper water. The instructor pointed out numerous intersting things on the reef and even placed a large, spider like creature in everyone's hand.

 

We were in the water for at least 45 minutes and it was generally great--though there were some uncomfortable moments until you got a calm breathing pattern. We would definitely do it again.

 

We were back to the ship by 11:30 am.

 

The clouds lifting over Charlotte Amalie :

[dawne577]

Getting back to the ship by 11:30 gave us time to shower and change our clothes for our next excursion: the Kon Tiki Party Boat. Once again, lunch at Cafe Caribe was excellent.

 

KON TIKI:

The Kon Tiki is a large, two story pontoon boat. The lower level is shaded, the upper is open. The boat was docked near the Princess and we got onboard. Our tablemates from dinner were there, so we sat with them in the center of the boat on benches that ring around a hatch that is opened up later so that the boat acts as a glass bottom boat. But make no mistake about it--this is a PARTY BOAT!

 

First, a quick note about the Captain (ahem). Our suspicions that he was drunk were high. He was tall and fleshy (a good word? maybe bloated would be better), had a scraggly beard, wore a pair of shorts and a formal white shirt, untucked, with epulets. Definitely a colorful character. At the beginning of the trip he ran us into sea wall near Charlotte Amelie. But, what the heck, no harm, no foul. The rest of the crew--all locals--were excellent.

 

The trip is part sight seeing. There was a running commentary from one of the band members. He was very entertaining and informative. And St. Thomas from the sea is gorgeous.

 

The trip is part entertainment. They had a steel band on board and they were quite good. We did lots of dancing, especially a conga line and a limbo.

 

The trip is part a swim trip. We landed at a beach on one of the small islands that are near the harbor. We had plenty of time to swim--though it was cut a little short because of sudden downpour. One rather corpulent man in his early forties wore nothing but a thong (he later posed for pictures aboard the boat) and swung it above his head while he was in the water. Others did the MTV bathing suit switch.

 

The trip is ALL a drinking party. Near the back of the boat they had two very large kegs filled with rum punch. It was all you could drink and not a drop of the punch was left by the time we left the beach. They also had two bartenders who would make you rum and coke, if that was your preference. They had a bathroom and a small snack bar (this you had to pay extra for--but all the drinks were included). At the beach there was another small boat tied up selling pizza for $2 a slice and--can you believe it?--beer.

 

If sedate is your thing, the Kon Tiki is not your thing. We're glad we did it, but might try something else the next time.

 

Back on board, we had pizza and bratwurst from the Lido deck and ate by the pool, got ready for dinner, and of course ate again.

 

We spent the evening at Skywalkers dancing (not very crowded at all).

 

The Kon Tiki, parked:

[lynwar]

I've been enjoying your review. We were on the Caribbean Princess last September-gee, almost a year ago already. We were supposed to go East but ended up going West because of dropping off supplies to the Grand Cayman Islands for hurricane relief. We had James Lay, also, but not Bert Stratton! The week we were onboard, the regulars, including Capt. Romano were off. We were looking forward to seeing him again. Hubby and I went to the dance lessons with James. He certainly is energetic!

We did get to go to the Eastern Caribbean in 2001 aboard the Golden Princess so I can relate to your pictures and descriptions. Your review certainly brings back memories for me. We were up in the Caribe Cafe most of the time, even enjoyed the first formal night up there-informally. A very nice evening. We ate in the Palm Dining Room a couple of times, but at the invitation of fellow roll call friends. We don't like the formality of the dining rooms, plus, most nights, we weren't ready to eat at 6PM. We were still in the Casino! I'll keep reading your comments. We almost booked for the Caribbean Princess again this year, but opted for the Star. Every year we've been on a different ship.But, instead of the East-we'll be going West--again. But, it's the journey, not the destination I enjoy most. Lynne

[dawne577]

. But, it's the journey, not the destination I enjoy most. Lynne

 

Ditto!

[Bucky3]

Really enjoying the review. We did this cruise last June. We loved Coki beach and feeding the fish just by wading in a few feet. Part of our family went to Coral World right next to Coki Beach and they spent about 2-3 hours there and liked it a lot.