Caribbean Princess Review: 9/17 to 9/24

[PrincessMelody]

Princess Caribbean Princess

 

Eastern Caribbean Cruise - September17th to September 24th 2005

 

Scott and Melody-We are mid 30’s, and have cruised before with HAL

 

 

 

Day 1 Ft. Lauderdale: Smart Casual

 

Day 2 Princess Cay: Formal

 

Day 3 Sea Day: Smart Casual

 

Day 4 Cozumel: Smart Casual

 

Day 5 Grand Cayman: Smart Casual

 

Day 6 Ocho Rios: Formal

 

Day 7 At sea: Casual

 

 

 

Ports missed: St. Thomas:( and St. Maarten

 

 

 

Embarkation: In a word…BAD. We stood in line, outside, in the hot sun for well over an hour. Unacceptable.

 

 

 

Cabin: We had a mini-suite on the dolphin deck, D715, port side. The cabin was wonderful. It was clean, good sized, and well appointed. I liked having the sitting area with large sofa, and separate TV. There were plenty of open shelves, but the only drawers were the two in each nightstand. I needed more drawer space than that. The bed was a bit hard, but comfortable. We didn’t have the new mattress or Egyptian cotton sheets or Duvet that were mentioned. We did get a welcome glass of champagne though. Our cabin steward Sonny was efficient, and nearly invisible. The balcony was nice too, with 2 cushioned reclining chairs, a table, plus 2 regular chairs, and a smaller table. The balcony was fully uncovered, which was fine with me! Our friends had a mini on the Caribe deck, and their balcony was about 3-4 feet deeper than ours, but the cabin was smaller. Instead of a large sofa, table, and chair…they had a single chair and a small table.

 

 

 

Ship: The ship was gorgeous!! Décor was lovely and elegant. It was pristinely clean as well. The pools were great, especially the adults-only aft pool, and the spa pool. There were always lounge chairs available. The lounge areas were nice too. Skywalkers is really is must-see. The views from up there are breathtaking!! The shops are nice, although I would like to see a better variety of items. The casino is very nice, with a good array of slots and table games. This is the first ship I’ve seen nickel slots on. The dining rooms were lovely. A little nice dinner music, such as a string trio or something similar, would be a nice touch…and add to the ambience.

 

 

 

Food: Overall, I would give it 8.5 out of 10. The fresh fruits and desserts were outstanding. The beef was quite good too. We really enjoyed the seafood night in the Caribe, where they had Alaskan King crab legs, lobster, shrimp, etc. Very good. The lobster tails in the dining room on the 2nd formal night were wonderful!! So sweet and succulent!! Breakfast in the Horizon was just Ok, but nothing special. A little more variety would be nice. The coffee was vile. Tasted like it was brewed through a dirty sweat sock. The only drinks available all the time were coffee, iced tea, and water. No lemonade or juices at all!! We tried the pizza, and just didn’t like it. It was underdone, both times we tried it. The burgers and fries were really good though. We were also very happy with the food in the dining room. The coffee there was much better too. We missed having the baked Alaska parade…I guess Princess doesn’t do this? Their signature dessert “Love Boat Dream” was absolutely decadent. Dark swiss chocolate, and totally yummy. It is always on the menu. We did the Sterling one night, and the food was good, but the service was unbearably slow. We were there for 2 hours before we had dinner in front of us. We didn’t try Sabatini’s this time.

 

 

 

Service: All the staff were helpful and accommodating. The only complaint is with some of the bar staff, especially in the casino. DH bought a Coke card, ($27.65 + 15% gratuity), and would get snubbed constantly by bartenders. The guy in the casino would just ignore him. Not very nice at all. Just because you are having a soda and not a mixed drink, doesn’t mean you deserve to be ignored. He started going out to the Lido bar, where they were nicer, plus they would put his Coke in a GIANT cup!! We got lots of smiles and hellos by staff throughout the ship, and that was nice. The best service on the entire ship was by our dining room server Hannes, and his assistant Christian. They were fantastic! We had him the third night in the anytime dining in the Coral, and made a standing reservation for that table for the remainder of the cruise. Every night Hannes would present the menu, explain the dishes, make recommendations, and invite questions or special requests. He was friendly, efficient, and really made our dinner experience wonderful!! I have braces and can’t eat the crusty bread on the table, and Hannes would bring me soft croissants every night. His smile was ever present. We filled out comment cards for him, and let the Maitre’d know that Hannes should be training others!! He’s just that good.

 

 

 

Room service: We had coffee, fruit, and pastries delivered every day, and the order was on time and correct, each day. It would be nice to have more than just continental breakfast available in room, as some days I just didn’t feel like venturing out of the cabin. Plus it was a challenge at times to find a seat in the horizon during breakfast.

 

 

 

Entertainment: Didn’t go to any shows…too crowded, so we didn’t bother. We aren’t really show people anyway. We did see Bert in the Explorers Lounge, and he was great. We watched Grease on the MUTS one afternoon, and it was cool!! We also did Rocky Horror one night at midnight. We wondered why they don’t dim the lights at night…it was so bright out there!!

 

We went to the culinary demo and galley tour. It was hilarious!! The maitre’d and head chef are up on stage preparing popular dishes like Caesar salad, and tiramisu…while cracking jokes and stuff. Then we took a tour of the galley. It was fun. The champagne fountain in the Atrium was really cool too, and a fun time. There was a line where you could climb up to the top with the Maitre’d and pour some champagne on the fountain, and they would take your picture.

 

 

 

Miscellaneous: The pocket diagram of the ship was very handy, as was the dining guide, which listed all the dining rooms and meal times. We did the onboard booking for our next Princess cruise. You get a reduced deposit of $100 pp, and shipboard credits of $25-100 pp. Personal choice dining was great, and we would definitely do it again. The ship was sailing full, but the only time it felt crowded (other than embarkation and disembarkation) was during breakfast in the Horizon, and the show lounge. Beach towels are given to you by the cabin steward, rather than readily available by the pools. If you need more than one, they will bring more. (a little reluctantly at times) I found that I needed an extension cord, and one was provided lickety-split. At the end of the cruise, we found our Captain’s Circle membership kit, with gold cards and pins in our mailbox. Very nice. Princess seems to be one of the few lines that actually rewards it repeaters with REAL perks, like free internet, free laundry, etc.

 

 

 

Overall: We really enjoyed ourselves, and had a great time. We thought the CP was a beautiful ship. We met some really nice people, and one couple in particular that we will stay in touch with. This was our first cruise with Princess, but it won’t be our last!

[jerseygirl3]

Thanks for the review. I pretty much agree with all your observations, except a couple. At the seafood buffet, those weren't Alaskan King Crab Legs, they were snow crab legs. I had been warned ahead of time, so I wasn't too disappointed. Not a big deal; my friends and my husband loved them nonetheless, but I always get a headache when I eat snow crab legs.

 

You are lucky you are good dining room service. I've done PC dining on Princess twice before (on the Grand Princess and Golden Princess) and it was wonderful; much as how you described it. This time we had the bad fortune to wind up with not so good waiters, and on the last night, a downright rude, condescending waiter.

 

Those things being said, we still did another booking on Princess. Although I wasn't "wowed" by this ship, I would be willing to give them another try.

[ChattTenn]

Trinity1,

 

Thanks for the review and enjoyed it every much. We will be on the Caribbean Princess 10/15 and can't wait. We loved Coral and Island Princess ships and have a little concern about Caribbean Princess capabity. Hope the food and service will make up for the crowd and space.

 

Will definity put down a deposit for future cruise on Princess when we get on board.

[PrincessMelody]

Thanks for taking the time to read my review. I could have sworn the sign on the buffet said Alaskan King crab legs...but I could be wrong. It wasn't bad for a buffet though.;) You are so right about the dining room...a HUGE part of the experience is the service. The right people can make a so-so meal fantastic.

[JackieB]

trinity1,

 

Nice job on this review. I got a good feel for how you reacted to things.

 

What ports did you stop at?

 

Thanks,

Jack

[PrincessMelody]

ChattTenn, Thanks for reading my review!! I am looking at either a Panama Canal on the Coral, or a Hawaii cruise on the Island for our next cruise, and you have been on them both!! How cool. Do you have reviews for those ships posted?

[PrincessMelody]

Hi Jack,

 

We stopped at Cozumel, Ocho Rios, and Grand Cayman. Had pretty nice weather the whole time.:) I really missed St. Thomas though!:(

[coo359a2]

Very good review. We were on the same sailing and really enjoyed the ship. The baked Alaska parade is held in the traditional dining room on the last night. It was very good. We also had a excellent waiter and asst waiter. Even the matre d (sp) was outstanding. A table mate wanted to know if we were going to have key lime pie one night on the menu. He said no but that he would have the cook do up a lemon meringue pie for the table. It was delicious. Another night he was asked if we could have an ice cream cake to celebrate a birthday. They made us a beautifully iced ice cream cake complete with roses and happy birthday on it. We couldn't have asked for more from the dining staff. On your next Princess cruise try the fresh brewed coffe and pastries they have all day long at the Lobby Bar. Could be called something else on other ships. It was located on the fifth deck right next to the tour desk. My DH made numerous trips filling up his travel mug.

[PrincessMelody]

Thanks for the info!! I will look for the good coffee at the lobby bar on the next one. Glad to hear you enjoyed the ship too, and had a great dining room team. It really does make all the difference!!

[sunnyv]

Our friends had a mini on the Caribe deck, and their balcony was about 3-4 feet deeper than ours, but the cabin was smaller. Instead of a large sofa, table, and chair…they had a single chair and a small table.

 

Your friends must have had a regular balcony cabin as there aren't any mini-suites on the Caribe deck. :confused:

[PrincessMelody]

AH!! You are right Sunny!! My hubby corrected me on that one too!! It was a category BA...oops!!:o

[Host Caroline]

Great review... They do the Baked Alaska Parade in Traditional Dining but not in the PC dining room FYI.. We asked our waiter the last night. We only ate in the dining room twice but found service to be very good. Loved the seafood buffet and Sterling's although we didn't have to wait two hours!

Not a "show" person but I thought the comedian Jim Burkhart(?).. who did the Ozzy Osbourne imitation on the first night was hilarious, actually went ot see him again and he was better the first night.

The chairs and table on regular balconies are a welcome change from the usual "standard balcony" chairs.. cushions and the table is actually a size you can eat on! Finally.

Diamond Princess has a true Internet Cafe aka Coffee bar with lattes etc. and I wish the Carib P had that as well. We have two future cruises reserved, one for the Alaska group in '07 and another in reserve in case they change the program. Just gained Elite Status finally although the free internet at Platinum is a big plus for keeping in touch at home....

[PrincessMelody]

Thanks Caroline...we really enjoyed the ship, and can't wait to try Princess again. :)

[juliethecruiser]

I was on the same sailing and Trinity, I concur with most of your post.

 

I was a little disappointed with the change to the Western route (since my last 2 cruises were to the West and was looking for a change), but I knew booking this cruise that this was a possibility due to hurricane season. However, we made the most of the week and had wonderful weather to boot.

 

I've been on the Grand, the Golden and now the Caribbean Princess. As Trinity mentioned, it was certainly crowded during the embarkment process and the buffet that lunch, I did notice the additional 500 people on board, but it didn't put a damper on my vacation. My husband and I made a decision, based on this last cruise, that we would like to try Princess' smaller ships next time. I've already booked a NB trip to Alaska on the Coral for May '06. I've heard some good things about the Island and the Coral and am looking forward to sailing on the Coral to Alaska.

 

Here are my pros and cons of this trip:

 

Pros: Cafe Caribe (definetly loved the idea of breaking up the Horizon buffet and offering something different), Movies under the Stars (I watch one movie and part of a football game), gym (I thought that the gym was better equipped than on the Grand or Golden) and of course the adults only pools (even though there was only a handful of kids onboard, it was a little more peaceful than the main pools).

 

Cons: Extra passenger deck (adding 500 people and no extra community space is pushing it a little) and Club Fusion (I thought the layout was horrible and just more of another night club instead of a showroom).

 

Overall, we had a great time, thought that the ship was beautiful, service was very good and still love Princess.

 

Julia

[PrincessMelody]

Julia, We were disappointed too about the change to western, as our last eastern was changed to western as well. But like you said...not much can be done in the height of hurricane season.

 

Like you, we are also considering a smaller ship next time, perhaps the Island, Coral, or Sun.

 

I forgot to mention the gym (probably because I only looked at it...never actually USED it:eek: ) But hubby said it was large and very nice, with newer equipment. He went at different times every day, and never found it extremely crowded.

[CanTex]

Thanks for the review. I pretty much agree with all your observations, except a couple. At the seafood buffet, those weren't Alaskan King Crab Legs, they were snow crab legs. I had been warned ahead of time, so I wasn't too disappointed. Not a big deal; my friends and my husband loved them nonetheless, but I always get a headache when I eat snow crab legs.

 

If it was really snow crab, those came from some incredibly large snow crabs then... I usually never bother with snow crab legs otherwise. I am also certain that I saw a sign that ID'd them as Alaskan King Crab during the hot seafood buffet last Thursday. Are you sure we're all talking about the same nights?

[PrincessMelody]

That's the night I was talking about Cantex...Seafood night in the Caribe. And I am 99% sure the sign said "Alaskan King Crab Legs"...and like you said, I don't ever recall seeing Snow crab legs that big.:rolleyes:

[ChattTenn]

ChattTenn, Thanks for reading my review!! I am looking at either a Panama Canal on the Coral, or a Hawaii cruise on the Island for our next cruise, and you have been on them both!! How cool. Do you have reviews for those ships posted?

 

Hi Trinity1,

 

Sorry we did not write any review (but enjoy to read from others though). We were on the Island in April, 04 and Coral in February, 05 to the Panama Canal. We enjoyed this itinerary very much for the amount of sea days and ports. Panama Canal is an awesome sight and Costa Rica is a very beautiful country.

 

We are thinking about the Island to Hawaii in the near future.

 

Thanks again for good review :cool:.

[cruzluvr2]

ChattTenn - we are a group of 10 to be embark on the CB as you are disembarking, take care of her for us. Lord willing, and I do mean LORD WILLING -- the other family has a family member with a serious illness. We live just 50 miles north of Chattanooga. Hopefully things will turn out that we can all go. Four of us will fly from Knoxville and the other six plan to fly from Nashville (got a great deal of Nashville).

 

I cruised on the CB last November and had a great time. I also cruised on the Island in May of this year and had a great time also. We chose the CB for this cruising because we have 9, 10, 13, 16 year olds going. I think they will love the CB.

[jerseygirl3]

Yes, I believe we are talking about the same nights. We went to Cafe Caribe on formal night, when they serve the hot seafood buffet. We didn't go the first night of the cruise, which I believe is a cold seafood buffet.

 

Anyway, I had looked into this before we cruised. I was told that they are not Alaskan King Crab legs. Alaskan King crab legs are huge; usually about a 1 1/2 footers. They go for about $20/lb. I can guarantee Princess would not be serving those. I tried the crab legs, they were okay (my husband and friends loved them), but I pretty much avoided them. It was nice, though, that they were split open already and the remaining shell was very soft. The sign may have advertised them as Alaskan, but I had been told ahead of time they were snow crab legs, and they definitely were snow crab legs. .

[PrincessMelody]

So Alaskan King crab legs are at least a foot and a half long?? WHOA!!:eek: I knew they were pretty big, but WOW!

[lynwar]

Thank you for your review. We sailed on the CB Princess a year ago your same week and ran into Hurricane Jeanne on the way back. We had fellow cruisers from last year on your cruise this year--and got to West instead of East--AGAIN! I'm glad they have a sense of humor!

We enjoyed the ship very much last year and I'm glad she is still getting good reviews. Earlier, we were thinking of sailing her again, but opted for the Star Princess which we will be aboard Oct.23-30. We are crossing our fingers that the hurricanes will be gone. Different ship, but still the Western!!! Lynne (I really liked the Maitre d in the Palm Dining Room last year!).

[PrincessMelody]

Hi Lynne!

 

Thanks for taking the time to read my review! We absolutely loved the CB!! I wouldn't hesitate to do it again. It's funny you mentioned about the itinerary change...when we got the notice that we were not going to St. Thomas or St. Maarten, we just looked at each other and laughed, and said "not again!" You're right though...you have to have a sense of humor about this stuff. We again noticed people lined up at the desk complaining and asking for some kind of compensation for the change in itinerary. All I can say is you've got to be flexible when you sail in the height of hurricane season!!

 

Cheers, Melody

[ChattTenn]

ChattTenn - we are a group of 10 to be embark on the CB as you are disembarking, take care of her for us. Lord willing, and I do mean LORD WILLING -- the other family has a family member with a serious illness. We live just 50 miles north of Chattanooga. Hopefully things will turn out that we can all go. Four of us will fly from Knoxville and the other six plan to fly from Nashville (got a great deal of Nashville).

 

I cruised on the CB last November and had a great time. I also cruised on the Island in May of this year and had a great time also. We chose the CB for this cruising because we have 9, 10, 13, 16 year olds going. I think they will love the CB.

Hi Cruzluvr2,

 

We will try our best to take GOOD CARE of Caribbean Princess. Hope you all can get to go.

 

We will fly to Ft. Lauderdale from Atlanta.

 

Take Care. God Bless.

[jerseygirl3]

Trinity, the good ones are. My brother splurges and buys a bunch of them one day every summer and invites us all over (he's a dentist with a very thriving practice, so he can afford it!). The first time I ever had them, I mentioned that these didn't look anything like what I've had on seafood buffets before. That's when he mentioned to me that Alaskan King Crab legs are very expensive (my local supermarket had them "on sale" yesterday for $19.99/lb. and what is served on seafood buffets is always snow crab legs. The Alaskan are very, very hard to crack, very, very long (sometimes more than 1 1/2 feet long), more "points" sticking out, and the best thing you've ever tasted. Maine obster doesn't even come close. Gosh, dipping those in melted butter, savoring the taste...nothing better!