Inaugural Sailing Caribbean Princess - Any questions?

[Aquarian]

Thanks for the wonderful information. I, too, am very pleased to hear that the Horizon Court is open evenings. We used to pop in there after the late shows for a bite to eat. I guess we will we have to go to the Cafe Caribe for that now (after 11 pm). I understand that it is a buffet also but with table settings (linens, etc.) Is that correct. I am also pleased to hear about the abundance of pool chairs. That takes a lot of the stress away. Thanks again for the wonderful information.

[nick1234]

If we opt not to go to formal nights are there enough good choices on the Horizon Buffet?

 

Ali

[S.S.Oceanlover]

OK here's one nobody will ever ask but, "What time was the muster drill"? Was it before you left port or after. The sooner that's over the better.

 

Bill

 

 

 

Caribbean Princess Eastern Caribbean cruise page

[aakard]

thanks so much!!!

 

*sue* - thank you for the sweet congrats - actually, the dates in my signature are from LAST year, i just don't know how to change them...this cruise is for our 1 year anniversary

 

( :

 

Amie & Andy

Getting Married March 8

Taking our first cruise March 9

[yensid1071]

Bill, the muster drill was at 4pm, one hour before the scheduled departure time. It took under 30 min, as usual (our group met in Sabatini's). Due to a late incoming flight, we didn't leave port until around 5:40pm, when the Golden followed us. Princess used it as a "photo op" and had a couple helicopters flying around, getting still and moving pics of both ships as the sun set behind us. There was also a camera crew on board filming pax thoughts and reactions as we left Port Everglades (mom & I were interviewed!!). They were also around thru the week filming the ship's interior. Well, okay... that was a lot more than you asked for, but was kinda neat to see.

 

Caribbean Princess - 4/2004

Dawn Princess - 12/2003

Sea Princess - 12/2000

Emerald Seas - 7/1984

[sue d. miller]

Amie,LOL. Thats even better. You get a second honeymoon already. If you go into my space, you can remove whats there and add what you want in preferances. Have a great cruise.

 

Sue

7 days on Star Princess 10/24

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[sparkle56]

Caribe Cafe is not buffet. It is table service. It looks like buffet but when I wandered in there I was shooed out and told to go sit at a table and they would wait on me. This was late at night, midnight or so.

 

There is no charge to go get your own plate and load it up with appetizers to have on your deck. Lots of people were doing it. And honestly it is better than the appetizers you order and pay for (with a suite those are free but we still preferred the HC ones).

 

Jay and Ann, we loved getting together with you, too. You menu-getter, you! I am still jealous about that one! But it sure does give correct info about the menus for all those yet to sail this wonderful ship! I just sent a letter about our not so great day in Jamaica to Carolyn Barrett. She really needs to know about our disappointment.

 

Yes, if you opt not to go to formal nights you will have plenty of good options in Horizon Court.

 

And on lobster night they will bring you all you want. We were full after the two they start with. Yummy.

[Rustynail]

Wow, from absolutely no info on this ship to information overload! Thanks for all your input.

 

Sparkle, your right I was mistaken in that we are in room A401 on the Aloha deck. Thanks for pointing that out for me.

 

Do you get any goodies in the bathroom of your cabin when you arrive? On Carnival you get a basket of goodies including tooth paste, brush, moisturizer etc.

 

Do the housekeeping staff do towel animals for you? My wife has never seen them and I just thought they were cute.

 

1001 questions yet to come.............

 

Dan

 

 

CARRIBEAN PRINCESS JAN 2005

 

CARNIVAL'S LEGEND JAN 2003

CELEBRITY'S CENTURY DEC 2003

 

[minooka]

Hi Sparkle - I would love to hear which night you ate dinner in the Horizon Court. We were up there almost every evening for coffee/tea and there was no food set out. We did eat dinner in Cafe Caribe one evening and it definitely was buffet - pick up your plate and fill it. There was a gentleman at the door to seat you, tables were set with linen, glasses and silverware but you still had to get your own food. This was at dinner time, perhaps the late night Bistro is different. I did read where they had lobster in the Cafe on one of the formal nights - wish I had known ahead of time! Happy cruising...Carol

 

16 cruises and still counting...

 

 

[yensid1071]

If I recall correctly, they had lobster in the Cafe Caribe the night of the Captain's Cocktail party. They made an announcement about it when the captain made his speech. We didn't go that night, but when they served lobster in the dining room, mom and a lady at our table had 2 servings. LOL!

 

Yep, I admit it... I was able to snag a set of menus. They look great in the scrapbook!!

 

Thanks for sending a note to Carolyn!! We had a good time on the tour and with our companions on it, but wish things had worked a bit differently so we could have done all we originally set out to do.

 

Dan, we had a BC category cabin (aft Aloha, starboard) and had the standard goodies of shampoo, conditioner, lotion and soap. Our steward kept them filled, even when we snagged a few to take home. No towel animals for us, but I'm not sure about the other cruisers. From what I have heard, nobody got a chocolate on their pillow the first night, but they were there every night afterwards (someone told us the crew had to find the chocolates, which is why they missed a night).

 

Speaking of info overload.... I've tried to keep up with all the new threads about this ship since we returned, but it's *tough*!! Lots of great info from everyone that was there, but it all moves sooooooo fast!! I'm sure after the next group of cruisers return, we'll have even more info to go by!!

 

Caribbean Princess - 4/2004

Dawn Princess - 12/2003

Sea Princess - 12/2000

Emerald Seas - 7/1984

[sparkle56]

No towel animals, I think that is RCCL that does that. Chocolates on the pillow were slow in coming but after a couple of missed nights they were there. Heart shaped ones on formal nights.

 

I don't know what the confusion in the Horizon Court was; we definitely were in there at dinnertime picking up our appetizers although we did not eat a full meal there. There were options for dinner, though. And I tried to go through a buffet line in Caribe Cafe because that is what it looked like it was but they told me to go sit down and they would serve me.

 

Jay, I'll let you and Rob know when and if I hear from Carolyn. If it hadn't been for the company and the 21 kinds of rum the day would have been a real loser. For $90 we should have had more than a loooooong drive and a stop at scarysouvenir place.

 

Sorry about the overload everybody. . .we are just so excited to share stuff with you!

[BluIDblonde]

Sparkle-

 

Please tell me, what is Pancho's Backyard?

[JerseyShore64]

Thank you so much Sparkle for the reviews... I am so looking forward to our cruise in October... After hearing a few negatives, you really gave a balanced review, and now the calendar won't move fast enough!

 

Happy 40th Birthday !! Caribbean Princess 10/2/04

[opokie]

"Sparkle" - I'm glad you jumped into all of the confusion about the hours of the Horizon Court. We were only up there one time in the evening and my recollection was that there was food but I couldn't swear to it. We did walk through the Caribe Cafe about 9:00 one evening and it was definately a buffet but there were people waiting to be seated. The food didn't look all that great but I had just finished dinner and watched J. polish off a souffle, a piece of cheesecake, and a couple of those fancy little cookies. That could have had something to do with it!

 

Hope you had a good trip home. Becky and I are ready to go again.

 

Doug

[Aquarian]

Thanks everybody for all the info. Are formal nights Sunday and Thursday (as we're used to) or Monday and Wednesday as someone posted above?

[azsunshine]

Such great information! Thank you so much!

Carol and John
Caribbean Princess
[img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=800080&cdt=2004;5;22;17;0;00&timezone=GMT-0500[/img]

NORDIC PRINCE 2/1994
RYNDAM 1/97
ENCHANTMENT 1/98
VEENDAM 6/98
SEA PRINCESS 3/99
RHAPSODY 1/2000
GRAND PRINCESS 11/00
VOYAGER 11/00
LEGEND 3/02
CARIBBEAN PRINCESS 5/04

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[Cruisinforever]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Aquarian:
Thanks everybody for all the info. Are formal nights Sunday and Thursday (as we're used to) or Monday and Wednesday as someone posted above?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Wouldn't the formal nights depend on whether it's an eastern Caribbean itinerary, or the western Caribbean itinerary? I would think that it would have a lot to do with what nights are the formal ones.

JJ
Caribbean Princess 5/1/04
Star Princess 5/24/03
Sun Princess 6/12/00
Carnival Fantasy 1/18/98

[sparkle56]

On the western sailing the formal nights are Monday and Wednesday. You are right, they could be different on the eastern sailing.

Hmmmm. . .Which "J" do we know who would eat that much dessert at one sitting and still not appear to gain weight? Has the man no shame? (Answer: When it comes to dessert, no) Funny, you are ready to go back and so are we! My boss told me today that she "sent" me on the cruise to do some research about the symphony having a group cruise and when I told "J" that, he said he thinks more research is needed and soon! lol

I'm glad you remembered food in the p.m. in the HC, too, Doug. . .I should look at our info because the hours of each place are listed there. . .will do that and return to post what it says sometime in the next day.

BluIdBlonde, Pancho's Backyard is a nice little Mexican restaurant right in the square off the place where you dock/tender in Cozumel.
It is next to Los Cincos De Sole. (I bought vanilla there.) There is also one in the San Miguel downtown area but we liked the one near the pier best because you can sit outside and have a lovely view of the ship and the water. Their drinking water and ice is purified so it is safe to drink. The abovementioned "J" ordered a beer in a souvenir glass and it was at least 24, probably 36 oz of Corona for $6.50. I ordered a margarita which was the best I've ever had so I had to order a second one just to make sure. [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif[/img] Excellent food. Try the quesillas (not quesadillas, different). It was a totally relaxing couple of hours.

Kymby, you'll have a great birthday if you are on the CP!

You are welcome, Carol and John!

[roe2ship]

Sparkle, what boutiques are on this ship? Do you recall if they sold swarvoski (sp?) jewelry or any designer handbags?

Caribbean Princess 7/03/04
[img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=00bfff&cdt=2004;7;3;17;0;00&timezone=GMT-0500[/img]

[sparkle56]

Yes, they sold Swarovski jewelry and at very good prices in my opinion. They also had Swarovski display pieces, some of them new designs. Designer handbags. . .well, I looked and didn't see any. There was the usual "faux" gold and silver chain by the inch.
Limelights Boutique has pretty summery, cruise clothing, for men and women and the prices were quite good, certainly comparable to what we pay here in ND. I got a shirt for $36 and a straw hat for $12. There was a Perfume/Cosmetics boutique, and the usual Princess merchandise place. And the duty free booze store is there. In the jewelry store they had Caribbean Topaz (blue color only, not the peach color which I prefer), and precious and semi-precious stones of all kinds and also at decent prices. The on ship prices were better than in port on this itinerary; I don't think they would be on the eastern itinerary (St. Maarten has the best prices). In Cozumel and Grand Cayman, bargaining was pretty non-existent. One flourish at the calculator, a 15-25% discount, and that was it. Take it or leave it. I turned down a 14K gold (foxtail)chain. . .18" that was marked at $189 and he came down to $99. . .QVC does better than that. The one piece of jewelry I got was a gift from my DH and it was Ammolite. Mine is a small pendant with a beautiful coloration to it. . .the bigger pieces (dime size) were running about $1100 and up.

I should mention I looked for designer handbags in the ports and actually didn't see any there either but it is possible I missed them. . .it's not like we made it into every shop. I was keeping an eye out for Brighton, or even Brighton knock-offs, and didn't see any.

[opokie]

Hi Sparkle, It is so great to hear from you here. I feel as if I am back on the ship! Does your boss let you were your tiarra to work? Let us know if you need additional companions to review and set up the symphony trip, we must cover all the bases.
Hi yensid and Ann! I have missed you both every morning!
Regarding the other restaurants, The Sterling Steakhouse was awesome! Being from Kansas City we are kind of picky when it comes to steak and thought the food was out of this world and the table service was fantastic! Well worth attending in lieu of formal night or any other time, except lobster night!
Doug is really having withdrawls, I don't make soufle daily, ever! Poor thing, protein drink will have to do.
Sparkle, please tell J hello for me and tell him our daughter is talking with the Kaufmann Foundation tomorrow. Take care and if anyone has any other questions, O.P. Okie would be happy to help out Sparkle, she has done a fabulous job with her review. Hilight the Stingray City Tour with Captain Bryan!!!!! Wow, hugging and holding a stingray! What a once in a lifetime experience. Take care and we will talk soon. Becky (Mrs OPOkie)

Doug

[sparkle56]

Becky, it is so much fun talking to you and Doug again, even if it is on the boards and not in person.

Yes, we need to emphasize the Captain Bryan's trip. . .that was just the most amazing day, wasn't it? And we were looking at all those other poor people out there who did not have the one on one attention we did. I'll never, ever forget holding that stingray in my arms and losing him, and then the guide got him back for me, and I lost him again and on and on. What a patient guy and what a patient stingray!

My boss is quite the lady of flair herself so she did immediately notice that I was wearing a tiara in a number of the photos! She's the kind of lady who, when she finds out that there will be say, a Las Vegas night for the Symphony League, seriously says "Well, we'll be wearing our boas, won't we?" It was just perfectly normal in her eyes for me to have a tiara on (have a photo of me fully clothed, with the tiara, sitting in the jacuzzi).

I will keep you posted about the symphony trip (we'll see if she really means it) and we will also keep you posted about any upcoming cruise thoughts we have. John pretty much can't travel from about September of this year to May of next because of the Legis. Session but I sense another cruise is not far off. . .

And I will certainly pass on that info about your daughter talking to the Kaufmann Foundation (sorry, I missed the discussion about that at dinner, why is she doing that?)

All of these people reading this thread are really in for a great time on the Caribbean Princess, don't you think?

[opokie]

Absolutely! Everyone will have a wonderful time! Even with the first sailing "jitters" the trip was fabulous, the ship beautiful, and the people...extraordinary!

One thing I would like to add, if you ask someone a question and the answer is "one moment please"...it probably means they didn't understand and you should go ask someone else.

Have a wonderful day eveyone! Becky

Doug

[Aquarian]

Thanks for the verification on formal nights. We haven't been on the western itinerary in quite a while. We're having fun just reading these comments; imagine how much fun it will be when we get on the ship!! LOL

[yensid1071]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by sparkle56:
All of these people reading this thread are really in for a great time on the Caribbean Princess, don't you think?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>Yep!!! They'll have a great time!! [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img] She's a great ship with a great crew that will only get better!! [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]

Sparkle, if you need volunteers to help with the next bit of cruise "research", count me in!!! I know it will be hard work... investigating all there is to do on a ship... the different dining options... activities on the ship... exploring the ports... it's a dirty job, but I'll lend my efforts to help!! [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif[/img] And besides... I never did get to see your tiara, so I'd need another cruise to see you with it!! [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]

Not to change subjects or anything, but have you been looking at the bridge cams today? Seems that the Caribbean Princess is at sea, headed for Cozumel. Wassup wit dat??? They should be in Cayman today, right? They were in MoBay yesterday and the Grand is in Cayman... just seems kinda weird.... I guess we'll get more info next week when the current cruisers return. Altho Cayman was busy while we were there (6 ships in port), it's still one of my all time faves (if you go there, pick up a couple bottles of Hell Sauce. It's a scotch bonnet pepper sauce they sell at the Tortuga Rum stores and a couple of the other local shops. Very tasty stuff with a bite to it! [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img] ).

Doug and Becky, mom and I have missed our morning breakfasts with you!! Each morning just isn't the same anymore... [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_frown.gif[/img] I got a bit spoiled last week with the great food and great company!! I hope you both, as well as Sparkle & J, have a great day today!! [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]

Caribbean Princess - 4/2004
Dawn Princess - 12/2003
Sea Princess - 12/2000
Emerald Seas - 7/1984