Caribbean Princess Review 8-15 December 2012

[Ms Belvedere]

D&L Thomas has posted a very thorough review here, I'll try not to duplicate too much information.

 

We flew from Reagan Nat’l to Ft Lauderdale on Thursday, Dec 6 and stayed two nights in the Embassy Suites on 17th St (14.00 cab ride from the airport to the hotel). Last year we stayed at the Hyatt Pier 66. Both are nice hotels with great pools, but Embassy Suites is closer to amenities such as restaurants, Publix and Total Wine.

 

We had room 921 with a small rectangular balcony that overlooked Ft Lauderdale. We could see the port and ships from the windows on the other side of the hotel. If you stay here, ask for a room overlooking the port with a half moon shaped balcony, that way you can sit and watch the ships leaving at 4:00 pm while having a drink.

 

On Friday we took the hotel shuttle to the airport, rented a car and drove to Miami for the day. A family member was working at the 2012 Art Basel International Art Show

We walked all over South Beach, Collins Ave, Lincoln Road and hit one of the top 10 U.S. “dive” bars, Mac’s Club Deuce

and also the Loews Hotel

We ended up in the touristy Little Italy and had dinner. All in all, a fun day but we missed our relative, a group of them went to Key West the day before and hit Sloppy Joes, took the smart route and stayed the night instead of driving back to Miami.

 

Embassy Suites has happy hour from 5:30-7:30 each evening with salty snacks. You can sit around the pool and have drinks/snacks and get in vacation mode, it’s very pretty in the evening, this time of year it gets dark at 5:00-ish and the pool is lighted and open if you want to swim.

 

We picked up cups and other items to take along on the cruise. Total Wine had lower prices on wine. We also picked up a styrofoam cooler (16W 14L 11H) at Publix for 6.99 and some packing tape for a couple of dollars. After taping the sides and corners for stability and protection, we used a Sharpie to draw arrows showing where the luggage tag was taped to the top and also wrote Fragile. It was filled with soft drinks and everything was secured on the inside to keep it from bouncing around, we didn’t want it to be damaged on the inside since we planned to use it in our room on the cruise. It arrived with our luggage in perfect condition and our room steward kept it filled throughout our trip. We left it in our room when we got off the ship. After using rolling coolers, hard sided coolers, and blow-up coolers, we decided we’ll use a 6.99 cooler from Publix from now on, it was ideal, no sweating, lightweight, easy to dump the water and held all the drinks we needed.

 

Embassy Suites also has a complimentary full breakfast with made-to-order omelettes and eggs, and check out is 12:00. We checked out at noon and took a cab to the port for 6.50 plus tip. Have your cruise docs and photo ID ready, security will check it before allowing you into the port drop off zone.

[Ms Belvedere]

We dropped our luggage and got in a short line to board, within 15 mins we were on the ship. Total time from hotel to Lido was 1 hour 15 mins. We wanted to try a dining room on our first day but it closed at 1:30, no worries, the Lido buffet was delicious.

 

Our Cruise Critic Meet and Greet was at the Outrigger Bar on the back of the ship, we had a few drinks and then headed out to explore the ship. There is a Clean Sweep Bar Bill Card the bartenders pass out, you get all the holes punched on the card and drop it in a box in the Lobby Bar. At the end of the cruise, if your card is selected your bar bill is paid by Princess.

Beer= 1 punch

Bucket of Beer=3 punches

Cocktails=2 punches

Glass of Wine=2 punches

Bottle of Wine=6 punches

Spirits (shots?)=2 punches

 

We made reservations for Thursday at the Crown Grill and went to the Sail Away Party. There were 8 ships in port, first to sail was the Grand Princess, there was some great ship-horn honking by our Captain and then we sailed.

 

Our room was Emerald Deck E731, a fully covered mini-suite with a long balcony, farthest room aft on the side. The room was quiet and private; we rarely heard any noise or talking from other rooms. We spent the evening wandering the ship, I went back to the cabin to unpack and DH went to Churchill’s Bar for a drink and cigar. Our luggage arrived within 2 hours of embarking the ship.

[Ms Belvedere]

Sunday-Princess Cays: We docked at 9:00 am and went ashore, quickly found seats in the shade. We stopped short of the food pavilion at seats close to the water, restrooms and near the food but not right in the middle of traffic. If you go beyond the food serving area there are brand new, NICE, loungers but there wasn’t as much shade. The cruise ship workers prepped fruit and served it by 10:00 am, lunch was ready soon after. The water was pretty cool but warmed up a little as the day went on. We brought blow up inner tubes from our local …mart, blew them up and used them in the water rather than pay 9.00 to rent floaters. We saw the same blow up rafts and inner tubes for sale in Publix in Ft Lauderdale before the trip in case anyone is interested.

 

Bring your water shoes to Princess Cays, the sand under the water was VERY rocky. Some of the rocks were as big as cinder blocks and could really do some damage if you miss-step or the waves knock you off balance.

 

We had alternative dining, but that evening the wait for seating was ½ hour to 45 minutes at 7:00 pm so we went to the Lido for German night. Everything was great from Spaetzle, Sauerkraut, and Bratwurst to Roast Suckling Pig and veal stew. We found soft pretzels in the roll section and there were at least 5 different types of mustard to use for dipping. We took a couple of pretzels back to our room for later.

 

Sunday evening was the Captains Circle party for Gold members from 5:00-5:30, they passed out a complimentary drink card at the end to be used at any bar on the ship. Not bad for only two cruises on Princess. We sat at Vines and listened to the band Sugarcane, then the four headliner singers performed for a little while. Sugarcane played later in the Wheelhouse and the dance floor was full.

 

The production show “Do You Want to Dance” was very good that evening, I believe D&L Thomas already said that they put this show on 3 times in the evening, 7:00, 8:15, and 10:15. That’s a lot of dancing and singing. We caught a seat at Crooners for Tom Franek and his piano playing, there were some mixed thoughts about him. I thought he was hilarious and very talented; DH and some others didn’t like him as much. I liked that he drew the crowd in and encouraged interaction/singing. He really did work with all ages, including the older generation when possible. I found that touching since so many times on cruises, performers seem to cater to a younger audience.

[Ms Belvedere]

Monday, Day at Sea: We turned our clocks ahead one hour the night before, as directed by the cruise ship. I had a deep tissue massage mid-morning. It was the most pain I’ve ever paid to receive. :eek:

 

We looked at our pictures in the photo galley and then we went to the Pub Lunch in the Crown Grill, it’s held from 11:30-2:00 and is free. DH had the Bangers and Mash, I had the Fish and Chips and asked for extra Mushy Peas. We had a similar meal at a restaurant in Frederick, MD about a year ago and loved it, this one was just as delicious. Stella is on draft, Bass Ale in the bottle is available, I had hard cider, there is a charge for beer and hard cider.

 

Monday eve was the first Formal Night, we decided we were eating in the dining room if it meant we had to bribe the Ice Queen Ukrainian Dining Room Guard, Angelica. Actually we had reservations at 7:30, showed up at 7:00 and were seated with 3 delightful couples who we saw throughout the ship for the rest of the cruise.

[Ms Belvedere]

Tuesday – Curacao: The ship was rocking from night to dawn, the Captain spoke over the intercom in the a.m. to tell the passengers that we’d be late getting into Curacao due to rough waters and propeller problems. Our bar waitress the night before said the ship has been late getting into Curacao on the last two cruises. We walked around the ship and found a whole section above the aft pools that we hadn’t seen the first two days. Skywalkers was quiet and we could see Curacao coming up in the distance. At 2:30 we got off the ship and explored the shopping in Fort Rif, just off the ship. We walked up 2 flights of stairs and checked out the views over the water and town, took some pictures and read some of the history of the fort itself. There are plenty of places to have a drink, shop, enjoy the sites.

 

After walking out of the fort area are lots of people offering tours and bottled water. One Cruise Critic couple told us later that they just grabbed a seat on the local bus for a dollar each and rode it around its route back to the start to see the downtown. That would have been an easy way to see everything. Next time we’re in Curacao we’ll do that then possibly take a tour of the countryside. We crossed the bridge into town and walked up and down the streets, lots of shopping. At one point we happened upon a 22 bell Carillion with a moving display of figures in the form of different Curacao occupations on the side of a bank. It chimed on the hour and there seemed to be a group waiting to take videos of it. I’ve done a little research on-line but haven’t found anything that really describes the Carillion.

 

It was 4:00 p.m. and we started back to the port and went up two flights of stairs to the Steak and Ribs with Seafood Grill Restaurant to have a drink outdoors overlooking the water and our ship. As it got dark it began to rain we cut across the piazza and out the gate to the Renaissance Hotel and asked the concierge if they offered day passes. It was too late in the day for us to get one but thought I could post it here if they did offer passes. He said no, but encouraged us to go up the stairs to the second floor, turn left, then right down the hall to see the infinity pool. The door doesn’t require key card access and we walked right out to the pool and all around the paths down to the ocean to take night time pictures of our ship. We dropped some money in the casino and headed back to the ship where we swam in the deserted aft pool. Overall, it was a very nice day in Curacao.

[Ms Belvedere]

Wednesday – Aruba: A CC member set up a tour with Sonny Binns, thank you Michael, waves to Judy! You can read about this Highly Recommended Tour in D&L Thomas’ review. We had time after the tour to go to the beach or shopping; since it was raining we went to Iguana Joes then shopping. Iguana Joes had good food, lousy service. Maybe it was due to the rain and all the cruise pax eating there but the woman who seated us was unnecessarily rude and the waiter was not great.

 

Celebrity Eclipse was in port with us, but the town was not overly crowded. We walked down to the Renaissance Hotel and saw the boat that comes into the lobby to pick up guests to take them out to their private island, there was wifi access and a lot of the cruise ship workers as well as cruise ship pax were in the lobby texting/emailing.

 

After shopping a while we headed back to the ship late in the afternoon. That evening we went to the Hawley Illusionist Show, we all enjoyed it except for “too many costume changes”. Kheeeee, I had to throw that in there for a laugh. It was a comment we heard from another passenger after the show.

[Ms Belvedere]

The rest of the cruise was relaxation, exploring the ship, lying in the sun and enjoying being at sea.

 

Thursday we went to the Crown Grill, it was the second formal night and they offered lobster tail along with whatever you order so we had surf and turf. Camelia was our waitress and she truly ran the rear of the dining room. We got a kick out of listening to her directing all the assistants and other wait staff. She was a force to be reckoned with, but always had a smile on her face. I had the filet mignon, DH had a bigger piece of red meat. I don’t eat a lot of beef so it was a treat, and I could cut it with my fork. After dinner we met with friends and went to Karaoke in the Explorer’s Lounge. There were some very good singers, I clap for all them because it takes courage to perform in front of an audience.

 

Friday I headed straight for the aft pool for some sun until 10:15. There was a Culinary Demonstration and Galley Tour in the Princess Theater, and it was great. The Head Chef and Maitre’ D prepared 4 dishes: Pasta w/ Pesto Sauce, Chicken Caesar Salad, a Scallop Dish w/ Cream Sauce, and Tiramisu. They cooked everything from scratch and the recipes could easily be duplicated at home, the camaraderie between the two made the presentation so much fun. What a pair of characters! A galley tour followed but we skipped it. The cooking demo was an hour long and it flew by.

 

On Friday the Lido Bufffet, AFT section, the Chocolate Buffet was served. Everything chocolate, enough said. The other Lido Buffet sections had butterfly, fried shrimp.

 

On Friday at 3:15, a Mexican-themed Chips/Salsa and the best food ever created, Guacamole, was served on the Lido Buffet along with Burritos and Lasagna. Yikes, walking is a must to work off those carbs.

 

Friday night was the last meal in the dining room, then packing and saying goodbye to friends.

 

Saturday we were delayed getting back into port due to an issue with the Pilot boat, disembarkation was delayed an hour. Our flight wasn’t until 1:00 p.m. but we could have made one earlier. Porters were few and far between but taxis to the airport were right on time and efficient despite 6 ships in port.

[Ms Belvedere]

After Thoughts:

Great staff and service on the ship.

Ports were nice, we’d never been to Curacao or Aruba and we had nice long days to spend in both.

Princess Cays, wear water shoes.

Only water and unsweetened tea during non-meal times on Lido

Princess Patters were delivered later in the evening, approx 10:00 p.m.

[blueboro]

Enjoyed your review. We are in E731 on the January 19th sailing.

[nimiq]

After Thoughts:

Great staff and service on the ship.

Ports were nice, we’d never been to Curacao or Aruba and we had nice long days to spend in both.

Princess Cays, wear water shoes.

Only water and unsweetened tea during non-meal times on Lido

Princess Patters were delivered later in the evening, approx 10:00 p.m.

 

Nice review

Thks

Éric

[wests5]

Thanks for the review.... love hearing about what others have done on the islands and of course hearing about the ships gets me in cruise mode. Stayed at the Renaissance in 2001 when it was the "Sonesta" while on vacation with my sister(she won the trip off a local radio contest)....it was so neat to have the ferry to the private island in the lower level of the hotel.

[Ms Belvedere]

Enjoyed your review. We are in E731 on the January 19th sailing.

 

It's a great room, I'll try to post pictures today or tomorrow. :)

[Ms Belvedere]

Thanks for the review.... love hearing about what others have done on the islands and of course hearing about the ships gets me in cruise mode. Stayed at the Renaissance in 2001 when it was the "Sonesta" while on vacation with my sister(she won the trip off a local radio contest)....it was so neat to have the ferry to the private island in the lower level of the hotel.

 

It must be fun to be picked up inside the building in a boat and taken to the private island, very unusual. You two were lucky to have stayed there!

[Ms Belvedere]

Nice review

Thks

Éric

 

Thank you!

[Lady Arwen]

Thanks for your review. We're on the Jan. 5th sailing and we're very excited. So glad to hear you enjoyed the CB.

[xznwfd]

Great review - thank you so much for posting! We will be on this cruise on January 19, so I really enjoyed hearing what you did in the ports. Can't wait!

 

Cathy

[preschool teacher]

It must be fun to be picked up inside the building in a boat and taken to the private island, very unusual. You two were lucky to have stayed there!

 

We went to the island in march. It was awesome...so pretty flamingos walking around.lots of fish to see. Good drinks and food....it was a perfect peaceful. Day........one of our best beach days.....

[Ms Belvedere]

We went to the island in march. It was awesome...so pretty flamingos walking around.lots of fish to see. Good drinks and food....it was a perfect peaceful. Day........one of our best beach days.....

 

I wish, now, that we had asked if we could ride over. Never hurts to ask!

[Ms Belvedere]

Thanks for your review. We're on the Jan. 5th sailing and we're very excited. So glad to hear you enjoyed the CB.

 

Great review - thank you so much for posting! We will be on this cruise on January 19, so I really enjoyed hearing what you did in the ports. Can't wait!

 

Cathy

 

Thank you for taking the time to read it, we loved that there were two days at sea at the end. It was the perfect way to relax after hitting the ports at the beginning and middle.

[SAC69]

Thanks for the timely review. We sail on her tomorrow!:D

[KKB]

We are on in a week!

Glad you mentioned the rocks at Princess Cays--forgot all about them. Guess I need to run out sometime this week & try to find some...in Nebraska in the winter??!!

[Ms Belvedere]

Thanks for the timely review. We sail on her tomorrow!:D

 

We are on in a week!

Glad you mentioned the rocks at Princess Cays--forgot all about them. Guess I need to run out sometime this week & try to find some...in Nebraska in the winter??!!

 

SAC, you are so lucky!

 

KKB, if you're staying in Ft L before sailing you may be able to find water shoes there. Some other options are Dick's Sporting Goods, Gander Mountain, Cabellas.

[Ms Belvedere]

Ships in port Friday, Dec 7 as we crossed the bridge.

 

 

[Ms Belvedere]

The Loews Hotel:

 

 

 

[Ms Belvedere]

Views from the Ship after Boarding Dec 8: