Jump to content
Cruise Critic Community

New REVIEW Caribbean Princess

fakeanne

By fakeanne,
in Princess Cruises

Recommended Posts

fakeanne

fakeanne

Posted
Posted

Hello! I have had way too much fun messing around on these message boards. I just got home from a week on the Caribbean Princess, so I thought I'd post a final review for anyone who cares to read. This was my husband and I's first cruise ever, so keep that in mind as you read.

 

 

Princess Air/Transfer: We booked princess air from Columbus, Ohio to the ship-complete with transfer vouchers etc. I was dissappointed when I received my flight schedule because we left at 6:45 a.m., flew North to Detroit and then south to Miami. Miami????? I thought we were supposed to fly into Ft. Lauderdale. Anyway, I called my travel agent immediately and he assured me that Princess would be there to pick us up and transfer us to the ship. We got to the airport early and were able to upgrade to first class on the way down, which was awesome. Princess was there waiting on us and helped us with our luggage to an airconditioned bus transfer lobby where we waited about an hour for another group of passengers to arrive (didn't like that). Then, we all hopped onto a greyhound bus (air conditioning didn't work, seats were very small and cramped) and headed to Port Everglades. The line getting into the port was a million miles long because the HAL Zuiderdam and one other fairly large ship were embarking passengers too. Then, our bus driver, didn't know which pier Princess was at, so we drove around there for a while. This was all very frustrating when you are very anxious to get on the cruise ship.

 

Embarkation: Princess crew met the bus and took our luggage. We got in line to go through a security screening, and get our cruise cards which are your room keys, I.D., money and everything in one while you are cruising. The line moved really quick. We were on board in less than a half an hour. The whole process was very efficient. We came through the gangway and beeped in our cruise cards and entered what looked like a beautiful, and huge hotel lobby. Where to go? There were all kinds of staff there to help you find your stateroom and point you in the right direction. The person selling the "coke stickers" for the week was right there as you entered. The "soda card/coke stickers" comes with a free water bottle thingy. We found our stateroom, were greeted by Gaetano (our room steward from Italy) and as soon as we got into our room, the TV was on giving instructions for the "muster" drill that would be at 4:00. There was lots of info about the ship lying around the room that helped answer all our questions. I started reading through all of that, while my husband listened intently to the instructions about the muster drill. Good thing, becasue I wouldn't have known what to do. Then, we started exploring the ship. Oh yeah, we had to ask our room steward for a map to the ship we could carry around. He kindly showed us pocket maps that were located in the blue binder on our desk. There are maps everywhere. If you take time to look at them and read the elevator signs, it's not that hard to find your way around. Mind the elevator signs because not all of the elevators go to all of the floors. The Palm Dining room and Skywalker's Night Club have one specific elevator.

 

THE Muster Drill: LOL! Even the crew demonstrating was laughing as he was required to model how to jump overboard if necessary. This whole process is obviously very necessary, but was rather funny. Everyone has a special station that you have (required) to go to when the alarm signal sounds. Ours was the Wheelhouse Bar. We booked it down there, so we actually got to sit down. It took about 30 minutes. They showed us how to put our life vests on, how to jump overboard if necessary and how to yell "Man Overboard" if a man goes over board. LOL.

 

The Boat: BIG! Very Big! Beautiful! Clean! Considering the number of people on board, stayed very clean throughout the week. The only cleanliness issues were around the pool during the day. There were alot of waiters, but they seemed more concerned with serving drinks (thus, making tips and money for the boat) than picking up used cups and dishes. So, sometimes there were dirty plates and cups lying around the pool area. However, the pool decks were cleaned very thoroughly every night and looked fresh each morning. There were alot of people on board, but it didn't really seem crowded. There is plenty of room for everyone. The public area passageways are very spacious. Lots of room to walk. No bottlenecks. The dining rooms are all different. They each have their own style. The buffet areas are usually pretty busy. There are plenty of pool chairs for everyone...you just might not get one right next to the pool. People didn't really reserve chairs too much. I just asked the people sitting around if anyone had been there in a while and if not I took that chair. The rules are that you are not allowed to reserve pool lounge chairs. There are bars everywhere. They really make their money off of alcoholic beverages. They are good too. However, I would not recommend this ship for a recovering alcoholic. There was a lot of drinking going on. But, there was a Friends of Bill W. and Dorothy meeting every morning. The Adult only pool areas were really nice and for the most part, kids stayed out. They are great late at night when everyone is seeing shows etc. Very quiet and romantic. The casino is cool. Don't spend too much money.

 

Entertainment: Excellant! After all the comments Simon Cowell makes about cruiseship entertainers, I didn't expect much in this department. Honestly, I can't believe I let Simon Cowell affect my opinions like that. Needless to say, Simon was wrong! There was a great deal of excellent entertainment on this ship and most acts were interactive with the audience. The main shows in the Princess Theater were very good. But, I thought the comedians and side shows like that were the most fun. Do not miss Bert Stratton at the piano in the Crooner's Lounge. This man has a beautiful voice and is absolutely hilarious. He does an interactive comedy/piano sing along. You've just got to see it to unbderstand it. Plus, the Crooner's bar makes great martinis and will even shake with a dance. Also, the International Crew Show was lots of fun. There was always more than enough to do in the evenings. MUTS was really cool, but let me caution you, make reservations for the week on the first day, or you could get shut out. They also show some movies really late at night that aren't listed in the Princess Patter. I went up there at about 12:30 one night and "The Grudge" was on. They played National Treasure, Meet the Fockers, The Phantom of the Opera, and several others.There is lots to do during the day as well. Of course they have the classes at sea. But, they also have demonstrations like fruit carving, galley tours, juggling etc. Then, there is the fun stuff like pool volleyball and water olympics. Or, you can find a quiet place to sit and read in the atrium. There is a place for everything and everone. Oh yeah, there is a cigar and cognac bar- The Churchill Lounge, if that's your thing. I stayed away from there PEEEEEEeeeeww! The chairs in the Princess Theater are small if you are a person of size. The showers are small, but manageable for just about anyone because they have a shower curtain, not a closing door. I found the toilets more bothersome size wize than the showers. Very small. Feels like you are sitting on the rim. Make sure you get off before you flush or "something" could get sucked down. Beds are not bad. An egg crate might help a little. Hey, you are not at home.

 

Ports/Shore Excursion: I really enjoyed the Eastern Caribbean itenerary, but of course would have loved to stay twice as long at each port. We snorkeled at all three stops and I enjoyed it at all three places. St. Thomas-took a ferry to St. John's Trunk Bay-most beautiful beach I've ever seen. St. Maarten-snorkeling at Shipwreck Cove-off the boat, then free rum punch (lots of it) on your way back. Highly recommend! Princess Cays-rent your own equipment and you have to find just the right spot. When you step off the tender go left, way left. Get in the water near the "Crazy Grill" and gazebo like pier. Swim around the peir and there is some good snorkeling. Everywhere else was not good. St. Thomas and St. Maarten were beautiful, but Princess Cays was a bit dissappointing in my opinion. St. Thomas and St. Maarten were sweltering hot and very humid. We took the skyride to Paradise Point at St. Thomas. This was a good short shopping trip with some great views, but if you are ready to do some serious shopping, this is not the place to go. This was a very hot ride up-no AC in the tram.

We went to down town Phillipsburg shopping in St. MAarten and were not impressed. The locals were extremely pushy. The deals didn't seam that great to us. We were excited about the Belgian Chocolate shop and it took us forever to find, but when we did we were really disappointed. The whole place was the size of our stateroom and the chocolate was extremely espensive. It cost $3.00 for one piece and it was no better than Russel Stovers. Her excuse was that they use all fresh all natural ingredients....whatever.

Princess Cays was dissappointing to me after seeing the other two islands. The beach was littered up with rocks, driftwood, shells, etc. and the sand was very difficult to walk in. The swimming areas were scary because there were so many rocks in the water. Good snorkeling was hard to find, but it did exist as described above. What was nice about Princess Cays was the barbecue the ship brings to the beach and all the little souvenir shops. There were also alot of ladies doing hair braiding there. DONT ask them how much it is or you will really pay. Make them an offer instead. People who asked how much were told $2.00 per braid. That could cost a person over a hundred dollars easily to get their head done. I asked the girl if she would do my whole head for $40 and she agreed. I have probably 80 braids. I think that if I had been on the Western itenerary and had gone to Princess Cays first, then I wouldn't have been so dissappointed.

 

The Food: I'm sure everyone wants to know about this. I think the food was very good to excellent. I am just a middle class girl who works as a teacher and so I have never had this much food, this quality, and this variety. I thought the food was great. However, if you are rich and used to the absolute finest, I don't know what you'd think. The buffets were amazing. Breakfast had a standard fare everyday. It in and of itself was good, but then they'd always add a few unique items to try. I didn't like breakfast in the dining room. I just don't prefer breakfast served course by course. The standard items on the buffet included bacon, sausage links, some sort of hashbrown or fried potaotes, hot oatmeal, breakfreast fried rice (very good-try it), scrambled eggs, scrambled eggs with something in them (asparagus, shrimp, mushrooms), omelet station (freshmade to order), french toast, cottage cheese, selection of cheeses, croissants, bagels, bread for toasting, english muffins, two or three different types of muffins and sweet breads, rolls, cream cheese, cold cut breakfast meats, cereal, lots of fresh fruit, juices. I am sure I missed a bunch of stuff. I personally didn't think the coffee was bad at all, but then again I am no coffee connosieur. The buffets for lunch and dinner were very exquisite with great variety and a them each evening. They put table cloths on the with wine glasses in the evening-even in the buffet. And, you'll find the lobster on the buffet two nights at least. The crab was fabulous. They serve sushi for lunch (there's other stuff too) at least two times. It was good. The pizza place was decent and so was the hamburger place. The dining rooms were great fun in the evenings. It was nice to be served so well and people do dress up. I didn't see any jeans in the dining room. Formal night was very formal if you went to the dining room.. Alot of people opt out of that and go to the buffet. I think they serve lobster in the buffet on formal night. Don't miss the Sterling Steakhouse if you love steak. It is definetly worth it. I have never seen my husband eat a steak without some sort of steak sauce and he at the entire 22 oz. porterhouse just as served. Plus, I enjoyed the creme brulee so much that they wrapped another one up for me to take back to my room for later.

 

Disembarkation: Smooth as butter, as long as you read the pamphlet they give you and follow the instructions. The customs line was a little long, but everything else was smooth. Princess monitors your flight times and assigns a disembarkation time accordingly. We had a flight at 11:05 and had no problem at all. It's so hard to say goodbye, but there is no place like home!

 

 

Ta Ta for now. If you have any questions, I will answer to the best of my ability.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
fakeanne

fakeanne

Posted
  • Author
Posted
Would you say you are hooked on cruising. Just curious, how soon you think you would want to cruise again?

 

Carol

 

Well, I really enjoyed this and if we had a little more of an income, I might consider myself hooked. I would definetly say that the next time we consider a good sized vacation, a cruise will definetly be an option we look into. I'd like to explore different ships and companies to do some comparison shopping.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
ilovhywd

ilovhywd

Posted
Posted

Thanks for the great report. You had many good observations, and I made a lot of mental notes for our cruise next week. You did really great for a first-time cruiser!

 

I wanted to mention that there are really two types of cruises. You did the Caribbean which has some beautiful tropical islands. You can relax on the beach, go snorkeling, and be sort of laid back.

 

At some time in the future, you might want to try an itinerary that has more interesting ports, such as cities and towns with more historical, architectural, and artistic highlights. This type of cruise involves more intensive sightseeing and can really be a learning experience. You don't get to rest until you get sea days!

 

Happy Cruising!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
stag

stag

Posted
Posted

Thanks for the excellent report.

 

We have been to Grand and Golden but not to Caribbean Princess. Our friends who had been to Golden with us just came back from CB. They found CB is a lot more crowded than the older Grand class. This is because extra passenger deck, which could hold 600 passengers, was added without adding more public space. Our friends often could not find space at the Horizon, Theatre, lounges, PC dining, deck chairs, etc. Even if they go to the Theatre 35 minutes before the show, they could not find 2 ajacent seats. We would like to hear comments from passengers who have cruised older Grands and newer Grand classes.

 

In Caribbean islands, "duty free" shops are everywhere. Yet the local government levies many different taxes on business and merchandize. According to my research, St. Maarten has the least tax, 3% "Turn Over Tax" on business. In theory, the cost of goods should be the lowest in St. Maarten. However, there are many factors that influence the price, such as shipping, rent, wage, volume, return of investment, and greed. As a rule of thumb, don't take the first asking price. We have found many good shopping experience in St. Maarten.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
atlcple2

atlcple2

Posted
Posted

Thanks so much for your wonderful review!! This will be our 4th cruise and we can't wait to try Princess...from what I have heard so far, we will be dedicated Princess cruisers from here on out! We were actually already talking about booking our next cruise onboard the CP in September to tak the kids with us and get the onboard credits plus the lower deposit rate.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
gabsmom215

gabsmom215

Posted
Posted

Thanks for your great review. Taking our first cruise ever in 4/06 on the Caribbean Princess. Did you take any of the ship's excursions when you were in either St. Martin or St. Thomas, or did you go on your own?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
gopher's girl

gopher's girl

Posted
Posted

To quote the OP "The beach was littered up with rocks, driftwood, shells, etc. and the sand was very difficult to walk in."

 

I think it is an island that is supposed to have an islandy fell. Driftwood, rocks, and shells come with the territory. It's natural :)

 

I love soft smooth sand as much as the next person, but let's not be too hard on our little island that has just undergone a post-hurricane facelift.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing
  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Cruise Critic News & Features
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...