Just Off Caribbean Princess General Notes

[Supt]

Just disembarked Caribbean Princess Yesterday in Southampton (June 12TH). Will write a review over the next few days in the separate review section , just posting these comments on all of the previous poor reviews as to the general condition of the ship.

 

Found the ship to be in good condition overall and is definitely not a "dirty girl "as posted recently. We found her to be very clean, but worn in places. Our cabin C614 was fine , there was a new mattress - Carpet was clean and looked relatively new. Curtains were in good order and noted no stains etc as previously reported. Towels and bedding were all fine non of the previously reported problems. Bathroom was in good order , no signs of mould and the shower curtain though not new was clean. Whilst we noted no signs of mouldy odour there was definite smell of sewage on occasions in various areas of the ship which came and went at different times. On boarding in Southampton there was definite pong in the alleyways on Caribe deck, once inside our cabin there was no smell. Odour was noted in various areas when transiting the ship from time to time throughout the cruise. Condition of carpeting in various areas throughout the ship was ok, exceptions being the Horizon Court / Café Caribe which whilst not dirty were very well worn-faded and did not give a good impression. Chairs in buffet area throughout were worn and many actually stained. This area is desperately in need of a refurb. Leather bucket chairs in Sky walkers were well worn and many actually lost their colour. Other areas were in good order and public areas on deck seven were fine. Did not notice any problems with the elevators though there were the obvious moans of trying to get one sometimes as the ship was sailing full. Upper and external decks were clean and kept in good order. Public toilets were also in good order and clean and did not notice any of the previously reported problems on them being out of order. We were fine but during the cruise heard of various plumbing issues and on occasions blocked toilets - though think these were more related to silly people putting "wet wipes" down rather than any actual ship issues. Our balcony was fine and it was clean and patio windows kept clean. So overall with exception of above mentioned issues the ship remains overall clean well kept . Do not worry too much -Crew is fantastic and apparently morale is good as judged by the happy smiley faces. Will as previously mentioned post more details in the review section shortly.

[paul929207]

Thanks for the comments and welcome home

[Jo and Rob]

We sail on Caribbean Princess in August and can't wait. Thank you for taking the trouble to post. I look forward to reading the review.

[TigerLadyK]

Supt,

Can you tell me how the boarding in Southampton went? We are to board her in a couple of weeks, and the cruise docs state that based on our cabin deck we are supposed to board at 3pm, but our ship departs at 4pm and that is way too late. What time did you board and what time were you scheduled to board? We want to get there around noon, but are wondering if that will mean we have to wait 3 hours before boarding.

[OCruisers]

Thanks so much for your time to post!

 

We'll be looking forward to your full review! :)

[aquilegia]

Supt,

Can you tell me how the boarding in Southampton went? We are to board her in a couple of weeks, and the cruise docs state that based on our cabin deck we are supposed to board at 3pm, but our ship departs at 4pm and that is way too late. What time did you board and what time were you scheduled to board? We want to get there around noon, but are wondering if that will mean we have to wait 3 hours before boarding.

 

I'm also just off CB. The boarding times are just requests, really. I'm sure you won't have to wait 3 hours if you turn up at noon. We were due to board at noon and turned up at 11.30am but I don't recall anyone asking what our boarding time was; everyone was being directed straight to the check-in desks.

 

Agree with Supt about the ship, it was fine. I noticed the odd bit of faded carpet here and there but nothing major. Regarding the smells, there was never any odour in the cabin or along our corridor but there was a smell elsewhere on the ship a few times, always in port. Maybe they empty tanks or something when they're docked? We had a great time and I'd go on CB again tomorrow. Of course there were minor niggles. If you got food from the International Cafe it was difficult to find anywhere to sit down in the Piazza to eat it, due in part to the lack of seating but also because of people who finished their food but then continued to occupy the tables reading or playing cards. They could do with more wait staff in the Piazza as well. After reading recent comments here about sales pitches, I was pleasantly surprised to find that, contrary to previous Princess cruises, we were hardly hassled at all. On the first day, we were approached by the pool by someone selling wine packages. We just said no thank you and he didn't try to persuade us. There was a photographer going from table to table in Crown Grill and Sabatini's but again a simple no thank you did the trick. As for the gangway photographers at each port, we simply walked round them as did ninety per cent of passengers.

[Supt]

Tiger Lady K

 

Don't worry at all about Embarkation timings, as with most other ports have never seen or heard any one complying with the staggered boarding times as notified by Princess. Our deck (Caribe) called for boarding 1400-1500hrs.

 

We left the hotel at 11.15 , and were on board by 12.15 having lunch in MDR, Have a great cruise

[satxdiver]

We will be on the ship in October. Glad to hear your report.

[jennyg2610]

We will be on her for 23 days in August. Nice to hear positive comments. Look forward to your review.

[*summer*]

We were in this same cruise and it was our first time with Princess, we loved it! I agree with all the comments above and thought the ship was in pretty good shape, Crew were amazing and entertainment was brill. My only two gripes:

 

My bed was awful, I thought I could sleep anywhere but my mattress was bad. I asked for the egg box mattress topper but didn't help much. On the few days I woke up with a really crick neck and am currently sat here stinking the house out with deep heat!

 

Kids club was a bit disappointing and not on par with the rest of princess. Security was a bit hit and miss and some of the team weren't very engaging with the kids. This is where P&O definitely win hands down.

 

We had an amazing cruise and we're gutted to be home :(

[Colo Cruiser]

Thanks for the comments.

[Saresher09]

We are on the CP in August so thank you to all those who have been on it recently or are on it currently for posting your comments as it is good to hear that all had a lovely time and apart from a little wear not too many problems were encountered. Just like any hotel,floating or static there are always going to be the odd problem but as long as they are dealt with quickly and effectively then that's all that matters to us. The Princess staff we have met have always lived up to that.

[Supt]

Good Morning All

 

Have just posted the promised review as mentioned at the opening of the thread.

 

Yes comments about ship condition and crew and service very positive. Please don't jump on us for our comments re entertainment.

[Saresher09]

Can't see it yet so might update overnight or similar. Look forward to reading

[Colo Cruiser]

Good Morning All

 

Have just posted the promised review as mentioned at the opening of the thread.

 

Yes comments about ship condition and crew and service very positive. Please don't jump on us for our comments re entertainment.

 

 

 

Thanks, will head over and check it out. :)

[Pam in CA]

We are on the CP in August so thank you to all those who have been on it recently or are on it currently for posting your comments as it is good to hear that all had a lovely time and apart from a little wear not too many problems were encountered.

For clarification, I assume you're on the Caribbean Princess (CB) rather than the Sea Princess (CP). These are the 2-letter abbreviations used by Princess in each ship's URL on the Princess website.

[Saresher09]

Whoops yes meant to put CB. Thank you for

Pointing out.

[TigerLadyK]

Supt & Aquilegia-

Thank you for responding. I guess we'll show up around 11:30am too, so we can hopefully get to the buffet for lunch.

[haggis]

Hi Supt,

Have searched the reviews but cant find your one and this is one I don't want to miss,

Jimmy

[Dartmoordan]

Thanks for these comments we are on CB in July our first Princess cruise and we were a bit worried about boarding so late, I'm one of those who needs to be on the ship a while before we need to as I'm a bit scared of missing it,:eek:

[Supt]

Below was originally posted on the main board on June 13th with promise of review to follow, I did in fact post on the review section but for some reason it did not get logged and I lost it; this have written the review in Word and plan to copy and paste to the main board so I don’t lose it all again.

 

From 13.6.15

Just disembarked Caribbean Princess Yesterday in Southampton (June 12TH). Will write a review over the next few days in the separate review section, just posting these comments on all of the previous poor reviews as to the general condition of the ship.

 

Found the ship to be in good condition overall and is definitely not a "dirty girl "as posted recently. We found her to be very clean, but worn in places. Our cabin C614 was fine, there was a new mattress - Carpet was clean and looked relatively new. Curtains were in good order and noted no stains etc. as previously reported. Towels and bedding were all fine none of the previously reported problems. Bathroom was in good order, no signs of mould and the shower curtain though not new was clean.

Whilst we noted no signs of mouldy odour there was definite smell of sewage on occasions in various areas of the ship which came and went at different times. On boarding in Southampton there was definite pong in the alleyways on Caribe deck, once inside our cabin there was no smell. Odour was noted in various areas when transiting the ship from time to time throughout the cruise.

Condition of carpeting in various areas throughout the ship was ok, exceptions being the Horizon Court / Café Caribe which whilst not dirty were very well worn-faded and did not give a good impression. Chairs in buffet area throughout were worn and many actually stained. This area is desperately in need of a refurb. Leather bucket chairs in Sky walkers were well worn and many actually lost their colour. Other areas were in good order and public areas on deck seven were fine. Did not notice any problems with the elevators though there were the obvious moans of trying to get one sometimes as the ship was sailing full.

Upper and external decks were clean and kept in good order. Public toilets were also in good order and clean and did not notice any of the previously reported problems on them being out of order. We were fine but during the cruise heard of various plumbing issues and on occasions blocked toilets - though think these were more related to silly people putting "wet wipes" down rather than any actual ship issues. Our balcony was fine and it was clean and patio windows kept clean. So overall with exception of above mentioned issues the ship remains overall clean well kept. Do not worry too much -Crew is fantastic and apparently morale is good as judged by the happy smiley faces. Will as previously mentioned post more details in the review section shortly

 

 

General Review

 

Since writing the above various other reviews of the cruise have popped up and in starting would just re iterate we experienced none of the plumbing problems as noted on some of the other reviews; excepting the sewage smells already mentioned. Cabin and general service are mentioned above and we experienced no problems with either.

Crew for us were wonderful despite obvious difficulties with staff cuts they were to a man/woman brilliant.

We chose fixed dining in the Palm dining room and it was very good indeed, we did however hear from other passengers that the anytime dining was not working, with long queues.

Caribbean Princess is the first of the “super grand “ ships (Previously sailed on Grand-Golden and Star ) with the extra deck of passengers, stuffed into the same hull, however she does not benefit from the layout of the later ships i.e. larger rooms ( Wheelhouse bar etc. ) And extra space on deck seven resulting from the movement of Sabatini’s and the additional space of Adagio. (We have also sailed previously on the Crown) The result on this cruise was notable feeling of overcrowding.

The ship was sailing full – For us the mix was completely different to other Princess cruises sailed on. There were only 47 US/Canadian Passengers on board, actually we enjoy the mix and if we wanted to sail with 3200+Brits would go P&O.

For us this definitely did not help the flow in general of the cruise –The Brits all liking to congregate in the mid ship deck seven area. The atrium and area around crooners simply cannot take the flow of people. In the early evenings after dinner deck seven was practically gridlocked. What entertainment there was being centred on Explorers and Wheelhouse Bar with Club Fusion empty! The atrium area simply does not have enough space – seating.

Boarding

Boarding in Southampton was great; had been concerned a little as previous experiences of the Mayflower terminal had been poor, but earlier this year The Terminal had a makeover and was this time great. We left our hotel at 11.15am and was enjoying lunch in the MDR less than an hour later. Disembarkation at the Ocean Terminal also progressed smoothly for us.

 

Entertainment

Entertainment was - in the main desperate. This is also mentioned in other reviews. Budgets have obviously been slashed, Lousy entertainment centred mid ships made the overcrowding worse.

Junior cruise staff obviously worked hard on their assignments as arranged by the cruise director/Princess Policy but this did not excuse the cheesiness or tackiness of the offers.

In summary the entire Princess product/Experience is being dumbed down

Organisation was as arranged by the cruise director dire – Why not make more use of club fusion; admittedly Club fusion is a poor room when compared to the Vista lounge on the earlier ships , suffering from all of the structural pillars need to hold up the extra deck. But the general miss use of the room resulted in its remaining empty especially during the early evenings.

One notable evening the mid ship area was thronged with people and in Club fusion had two people Ballroom Dancing to canned music. The bar was not even open. As time passed some went to get their own drinks braving the crowds around the Explorers bar. Again they didn’t have enough wait staff the open Club Fusion.

Whilst the above difficulties and apparent lack of staff are obviously not under the control of the cruise staff, the general quality of their efforts is! The Princess Patter entertainment offered consisted 80% of sales and revenue earning events padded out by Travel lone get together – LGBT and Dr Bob Meetings , all of course Unhosted (No disrespect to any groups).

The ship left Southampton with three sea days ahead without any song and dancers (Production group on board). We had only one male vocalist and a mediocre comedian on offer in the Theatre. Even the cruise director himself was absent until Barcelona, being absent to attend Company CD Seminar. Though when he did re-join we did not really notice. This guy made Billy London look good.

When the production team joined the 30 minute shows were mainly none inspiring but we did enjoy “Piano Man” After Barcelona other entertainers did appear; obviously having transferred from other company and P&O Ships berthed at the various ports during the cruises. Again saving money for all of the group ships as opposed to having the same entertainers for the length of the cruise as experienced previously. Comedian on board later in the cruise was reported to be very good but again due to the overcrowding we could not get near to the venue.

The sail away party from Gibraltar was looked forward to. We have experienced this previously and it has always been great fun. We fully expected the same as per the hype in the Princess Patter. The main Pool area was packed and all had been given Union Flags and red white and blue balloons as previously, then the rubbish three piece band who usually played in Explorers appeared and just played their repertoire as previously heard during the entire cruise. Where was all of the singing and patriotic wag waving to Land of hope and glory as the ship pulled away? – It was absolute rubbish. The cruise director was asked what happened and relied we don’t do this anymore we want to make things more modern. The why on earth give out all of the balloons flags and bunting…..Appeared to us that he just couldn’t be bothered!

The much Princess hyped link with Discovery channel enrichment classes was laughable if it wasn’t so annoying. The star gazing experience had been scheduled for 22.00 on the open deck. It was still light!

The two Junior Ent’s staff in charge were completely out of their depth, admitting when challenged that they had just been told to do it.(Didn’t have a clue!) Went on to feel sorry when senior of the two said that he had been trying to learn his presentation all day ! .It was suggested next time they check with the bridge what time it actually got dark (twilight).

Apologies if this seems to have developed into an extended rant but this is honestly as found. We did enjoy the cruise, as said before Food and service for us couldn’t be faulted and we found the ship clean and in general ok order; we found ourselves frequently bored and the overcrowded areas gave the feeling of nowhere to go.

Again for us the whole experience has been dumbed down.

 

Please take note Princess. Would we sail Caribbean Princess again – Maybe ……..but not out of the UK.

 

Finally Ships Captain (aka the Scarlet Pimpernel) was noted by his absence throughout the cruise, think we only heard him twice on P.A. During whole cruise, He did not show up for the Three Captains circle Elite Platinum parties (then again neither did any other senior staff with exception of Hotel Manager who welcomed guests and of course the Captains Circle Host and future cruise???? Representative..

Friends told us he graced the most travelled passenger lunch (Cut off 500 days) only for a couple of minutes at the Introduction then disappeared again! Cannot comment on the Welcome on board – Champagne waterfall party as could not get through the crowds to the atrium.

[aquilegia]

Thanks, Supt. Agree entirely about the passenger mix. I too like a more cosmopolitan ambience. When we fly cruise with Princess, the passenger mix is largely American/Canadian and on the only Princess cruise we'd previously taken from Southampton there had also been a very large contingent from the US, so we were very taken aback when we got on board and seemingly found it all fellow Brits. I then realised that our last cruise had been the final one before repositioning, so many Americans were doing a B2B and returning home.

 

I don't actually care if I see the Captain or not, as long as he gets us safely from port to port on time. We don't bother with shows or sailaway parties, so we wouldn't have noticed any shortcomings there. Agree entirely about the stargazing though. And there was really no excuse, as the sunset time is given every day in the Patter and even if they hadn't bothered to look at it, you would have thought they'd have noticed it wasn't dark at 10pm the previous evening! We also found areas of the ship very crowded, probably down to the passenger mix.

 

I would happily go on CB again but it's not my favourite Princess ship. Like you, I prefer the layout of Crown etc with Sabatini's and Adagios up top.

[liverpool08]

thanks for posting a detailed honest review, it was good to read. It does sound a little disappointing, and not what to expect from Princess.

 

We are on Caribbean Princess in July and hopefully the stops will be pulled out as this will be a peak summer cruise.

 

Thanks once again.

[shredie]

Maybe I missed it, but who was the CD?

[Jo and Rob]

Worrying review. We sail on Caribbean Princess in August and are hoping for a fabulous holiday.