Review - Just Returned from the January 19th Caribbean Princess Sailing

[blueboro]

Thanks for the review!

 

Just as a heads up, they do have the hard-pack ice cream in Scoops - in chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry - all you have to do is ask for it :)

 

Yea, I found that but was hoping for more "exotic" flavors.

[Cupcrazy]

Thanks for the detailed review! Sounds like you had a great trip

[gardenbunny]

Thanks for the review. Very thorough and liked the way you did the comparisons. So many people tend to really trash talk something they did not like and I like the way you pointed out more of a "personal preferance" than horrible.

 

I have always cruised with Cunard. I just love the rich history of their line. But last year, on a friends advice, we tried Princess. I have to admit I had some hesitation but am very open minded. Wow - totally loved it and booked the Canada New England cruise for last Oct while on board. That cruise was also on Emerald and it was just as pleasant. So, while on board, we booked the new Royal Princess (that ship looks fabulous) for Oct 2013 to Grand Turk.

 

We decided to do another Caribbean trip so liked this cruise to PC, Aruba and Curacao. We leave Feb 16. Those ports are quite a distance. We enjoy seeing the different islands we have never visited. We really enjoyed Barbados, St Kitts and St Lucia last February on Emerald.

 

Again, having to go on a different ship, my hesitation starts to creep back in. Your review was very comforting.

 

We have never tried a specialty dining. Based upon your comments on Crown Grill, I think we may give it a try.

[blueboro]

Thanks for the review. Very thorough and liked the way you did the comparisons. So many people tend to really trash talk something they did not like and I like the way you pointed out more of a "personal preferance" than horrible.

 

I have always cruised with Cunard. I just love the rich history of their line. But last year, on a friends advice, we tried Princess. I have to admit I had some hesitation but am very open minded. Wow - totally loved it and booked the Canada New England cruise for last Oct while on board. That cruise was also on Emerald and it was just as pleasant. So, while on board, we booked the new Royal Princess (that ship looks fabulous) for Oct 2013 to Grand Turk.

 

We decided to do another Caribbean trip so liked this cruise to PC, Aruba and Curacao. We leave Feb 16. Those ports are quite a distance. We enjoy seeing the different islands we have never visited. We really enjoyed Barbados, St Kitts and St Lucia last February on Emerald.

 

Again, having to go on a different ship, my hesitation starts to creep back in. Your review was very comforting.

 

We have never tried a specialty dining. Based upon your comments on Crown Grill, I think we may give it a try.

 

Hope you have a great time. The itinerary was one of the main reasons we booked this cruise too. We found the Crown Grill to be excellent. If you go, see if you can get Steve as your waiter.

[lovevacadays]

Thank you so much for your review. I think comparison reviews are great and I love reading reviews from first time Princess cruisers.

[Woobstr112G]

OP;

Just had a chance to read your review. Thank you for taking the time to post your thoughts. I very much enjoyed reading it.....:):):)

 

Bob

[crawford]

Yea, I found that but was hoping for more "exotic" flavors.

 

Check out the dining rooms at lunch and dinner!

[BoPippy]

Sweet!!

[crawford]

We were on the same cruise and I must say, you provided and excellent fair-balanced review. Thank you!

 

We were also on the CB in January, 2012 and felt that the food was actually better this year than last. Cruised Celebrity Century in 2011 and didn't find the food as good as Princess, IMHO.

 

As far as entertainment was concerned, Tom Franek also needs special mention. He is a combination of Jerry Lee Lewis and Jim Carrey on the piano; very talented and packed them in every night.

 

Condition of the ship was very good, considering the wear and tear between the passengers and the elements. While we saw rust in some places, they were painting the hull on one port day and replacing the outdoor carpeting near one of the pools another.

 

We also did a private tour with Bully in Aruba; he is the best! Ran into Sonny, as well. Either will provide and excellent overview of the island.

[Ms Belvedere]

Just read your review and I'm so glad you had a good time on your cruise, and loved your room! You asked some questions after I posted about our cruise in room E731 back in December and I was hoping you'd have a great experience.

 

Your review wasn't long winded at all, I would have liked to read more. Thanks again for posting!

[cruisetrail]

 

CABINS

The 4 couples were in the Emerald Mini-Suites on deck 8. My wife and I were in E731…the last cabin aft on the starboard side. As others have said, this is a great cabin with extra large balcony (which was great for the 8 of us to have the Ultimate Balcony Dinner on). These were the largest and best designed cabins we have ever had. We loved the large bathroom, closet area away from the door, and full size sofa.

 

Congratulations!

You had the best affordable mini-sutes at sea.

They will remain so in the nearest future as there is nothing like this in the view.

 

While we loved the look of the ship, we did not really like the design and flow. There are so many “dead-ends” where you “can’t get there from here”. While walking, the best way was just to go the piazza via deck 7 and find what you needed from there. The elevators were also somewhat confusing as some went only to certain decks. While the CB was really beautiful, we liked the overall design flow of the Celebrity Solstice class better and the more open feeling with higher ceilings.

 

Cannot agree.

The only "confusing" thing is location of the aft restaurant that is separated from the rest of the deck by the galley.

Once you learned this, there are no more "confusions" or "dead ends" than on any other ship.

Princess ships have three elevators/stairs stations, Celebrity - only two (lack of class).

Yes, Solstice class has more spacious public rooms, but more crammed feel overall.

 

 

POOLS

Really did not spend much time at the pools but they always seemed crowded. With such a nice balcony we found we spent more time there than on deck. We did like to lie out around the aft pool, especially the “wings” that were large enough for two loungers on the deck above.

 

FYI

 

 

 

I personally slightly prefer the overall Celebrity (Solstice class) experience due to a lower number of passengers and higher space ratio. It seemed hard to find a quiet place to sit on the CB because every place seemed crowded.

 

1. Space ratio is fake.

Space Ratio Explained

 

2.

We discovered Skywalkers is a great place during the day to find a quiet seat to relax and read.

 

 

FOOD

 

Dining Rooms

Crown Grill

Sabatini’s

Ultimate Balcony Dinner

Chef’s Dinner

Horizon Court / Caribe Café

International Café Trident Grill / Pizzeria / Ice Cream BarPub Lunch in Crown Grill

 

Wow...

Congratulations!

You've had almost the whole dining experience of Princess.

Afternoon Tea is missing.

 

 

The Royal Princess may be in our future as it looks amazing

It looks disappointing to us because we prefer open spaces and pools and classic features where Princess excels (used to).

The new Royal design looks like "sabotage".

 

 

Thank you for the review.

You haven't had the whole Princess but what you've had is a lot.

Good review.

[caribill]

 

Cannot agree.

The only "confusing" thing is location of the aft restaurant that is separated from the rest of the deck by the galley.

Once you learned this, there are no more "confusions" or "dead ends" than on any other ship.

 

 

 

Yes and no.

 

If you are headed to the aft restaurant you are 100% correct.

 

But I have seen many people in the aft elevators who are heading to deck 6 of the atrium or deck 6 of the Princess Theater and take the aft elevator down to deck 6 and do not realize where they are.

 

Of course, Princess adds to this confusion. Look at this picture of a sign next to one of the aft elevators on the Star Princess on deck 14.

 

 

 

 

This sign is clearly intended to tell where this elevator goes to. It does not list deck 5 as it does not go there. It also warns that the elevator to its right does not go to certain decks.

 

But it does list on deck 6 the casino, a bar, the Princess Theater and a boutique, none of which will a confused passenger find after taking this elevator to deck 6.

 

It also lists the spa, sanctuary and wedding chapel, none of which will passengers find when they step out of this aft elevator onto deck 15 or deck 16.

 

No wonder passengers get lost on the ship.

[ONT-CA]

An most interesting and conclusive review. But we have to say that we know of several people, currently upon the high seas who would give their eye teeth for that blue matting on their decks, they having nothing but steel plate to walk upon. It's all relevant

[A1A]

Thanks for your review, we are looking forward to our upcoming cruise on the Caribbean Princess. I have read scattered reports about the ship starting to show her age, you indicated that she was very well maintained, glad to hear that! We have sailed the Eclipse (much newer ship) as well and do enjoy both cruise lines just to mix it up a bit. Thanks again!

Ken

[blueboro]

posted by cruisetrail..."Princess ships have three elevators/stairs stations, Celebrity - only two (lack of class). Yes, Solstice class has more spacious public rooms, but more crammed feel overall.

 

 

I agree about the elevators...X Solstice class has no aft elevator and the location of the E-mini's is so convenient to the CB aft elevators. I think the number of passengers you posted when comparing X Solstice class was incorrect however.

 

- Solstice class is 2850-3046 but your numbers for CB were actually for the Grand (I believe) and we all know the CB has an extra deck of cabins which makes the capacity 3,100-3,622....several hundred more on a smaller ship.

 

- When discussing pools, you also failed to include the Solarium pool on Celebrity which is a great adults-only venue.

 

- Solstice class ships are almost 100 ft longer than CB so I personally felt less crowded on X...especially the buffet area.

 

With that said, we really loved our CB experience and would cruise her again tomorrow. There are things we liked better on Princess and things we liked better on X. But both are great cruises and have more similarities than differences IMO.

[blueboro]

Just read your review and I'm so glad you had a good time on your cruise, and loved your room! You asked some questions after I posted about our cruise in room E731 back in December and I was hoping you'd have a great experience.

 

Your review wasn't long winded at all, I would have liked to read more. Thanks again for posting!

 

I appreciate all of your information before we cruised. I loved your photos and they really got our group more excited about the cruise. Now I am still trying to get out of the post cruise blues.

[cruisetrail]

posted by cruisetrail..."Princess ships have three elevators/stairs stations, Celebrity - only two (lack of class). Yes, Solstice class has more spacious public rooms, but more crammed feel overall.

 

 

I agree about the elevators...X Solstice class has no aft elevator and the location of the E-mini's is so convenient to the CB aft elevators. I think the number of passengers you posted when comparing X Solstice class was incorrect however.

 

- Solstice class is 2850-3046 but your numbers for CB were actually for the Grand (I believe) and we all know the CB has an extra deck of cabins which makes the capacity 3,100-3,622....several hundred more on a smaller ship. - incorrect

 

- When discussing pools, you also failed to include the Solarium pool on Celebrity which is a great adults-only venue. - incorrect

 

- Solstice class ships are almost 100 ft longer than CB ... - incorrect*

 

With that said, we really loved our CB experience and would cruise her again tomorrow...

 

Solstice class is 2850-3046 but your numbers for CB were actually for the Grand (I believe) and we all know the CB has an extra deck of cabins which makes the capacity 3,100-3,622....several hundred more on a smaller ship

Princess Grand Class ships capacity is 2600 (Grand, etc.) - 3080 (Ruby , etc - due to added deck). Numbers used for comparisons are always for double occupancy (regular load).

So it does not have "several hundreds more" and it's not "smaller" in many aspects.

 

When discussing pools, you also failed to include the Solarium pool on Celebrity which is a great adults-only venue.

 

No. It's included.

 

 

 

Solstice class ships are almost 100 ft longer than CB so ...

 

No.

Celebrity ships are longer* due to slanted stern and the "duck tail".

In fact, upper deck/pool deck on Princess is longer.

 

 

 

I am glad you enjoyed your cruise!

[palaemon]

Thanks for the in depth review. We're leaving March 2nd on the CP. We're pretty new to cruising, so I have a question about food/drinks.

 

I know the coffee bar is not included in the price, but what about the IC food? Pizza, salads, sandwiches, desserts?

 

I guess I really don't know what's included and what's not.

[blueboro]

Cruisetrail...sorry if my post offended you:)

 

Passengers:

Solstice 2850-3046 / CB 3100-3622

A difference of 250-576 pax..Sorry but where I come from that is considered "several hundred"

 

 

Length Solstice 1033ft / CB 950ft. Most of the extra length on X is in the lower decks where public rooms are. Yep, pool decks may be about the same.

 

My review is my opinion and I can assure you there were a minimum of 250 more pax on the CB than on the Solstice or Eclipse. That is fine and I knew that when I booked the cruise. Where I noticed it most was in the lido area and when getting on/off of the ship.

 

My comments are not meant as a challenge...just my personal observations and comparisons. Yours may differ.

[blueboro]

Thanks for the in depth review. We're leaving March 2nd on the CP. We're pretty new to cruising, so I have a question about food/drinks.

 

I know the coffee bar is not included in the price, but what about the IC food? Pizza, salads, sandwiches, desserts?

 

I guess I really don't know what's included and what's not.

 

All of the food in the International Cafe is included...and very tasty.

[cruisetrail]

Cruisetrail...sorry if my post offended you:)

 

Passengers:

Solstice 2850-3046 / CB 3100-3622

A difference of 250-576 pax..Sorry but where I come from that is considered "several hundred"

 

 

Length Solstice 1033ft / CB 950ft. Most of the extra length on X is in the lower decks where public rooms are. Yep, pool decks may be about the same.

 

My review is my opinion and I can assure you there were a minimum of 250 more pax on the CB than on the Solstice or Eclipse. That is fine and I knew that when I booked the cruise. Where I noticed it most was in the lido area and when getting on/off of the ship.

 

My comments are not meant as a challenge...just my personal observations and comparisons. Yours may differ.

 

No problem.

 

3080 (CB) - 2850 (Solstice) = 230 - yes, hundreds....

 

Pool decks on Princess are twice as large as on Celebrity.

 

No offence at all.:)

Neither my first name nor my last name is Princess.

Just facts.

 

No we switch to opinions.

You see that Pat's opinion is quite the opposite.

 

I would say that I did not have problems (crowds) on a Solstice class ship and I did not have problems on Princess (Super Grand - 3080 pax).

Architecturally Celebrity buffet has more spacious feel.

However, both buffets were full at peak times - as expected.

I prefer Princess buffet and the only reason is better food.

[pxn748]

Thanks for the thorough and impartial review. We are doing the same cruise on her on March 30th. We have only sailed HAL before and don't know what to expect. This helps a lot.

Philip

[LHARTWICK]

I've read somewhere on these boards that the Caribbean Princess has been experiencing propulsion problems lately. We sail on her in April. Did you experience any of that on your cruise or hear any talk about it? A little concerning considering what Triumph just went through. Not about to cancel or stop cruising though!!!