Caribbean Princess Sep 24-Oct 1

[ricker]

We enjoyed the same cruise as Aring75 whose delightful review is more comprehensive than I could produce, but I think we came away with a slightly different feeling about the CB experience. My wife and I are seniors, and took our son and his fiancee along. We had booked aft cabins on the Caribe Deck (10). To get two cabins close together, we did book a suite (OS) and the kid's was regular sized. I can't say enough about the beauty of this ship and the comfort of the cabins. The suite (our first ever) was awesome, as was the service by our Steward(ess) Elana.

 

Our pre cruise stay at the Renaissance Hotel ($78 Priceline) was a welcome respite after flying from Washington State, and very convenient to the airport (cab $13.75) and the terminal (hotel shuttle $4pp). I was happy to see the ship had arrived when I looked out the hotel window, because the hurricanes have caused some schedule revisions. Embarkation was ok. We were "Platinum" because of the suite, I guess, but the only difference was that the processing window said "Platinum" instead of "Caribe Deck" or some such. We snaked along the same line as everyone else to get to the window area. But we were in our room after an hour. (We had arrived at about 11:30 AM.) (Too early will put you in a line in the hot sun, waiting for the processing section to open.)

 

All of us were somewhat disappointed in the food. We ate in the Island dining room the first few nights, but migrated to other casual spots, usually on the Lido deck. The food seemed comparable to Luby's or similar buffet, but not as good as HAL, QM2, or even Carnival. I don't know why...and although the staff was generally adequate, it just did not seem like a "happy ship" for the most part. Our cruise was sold out with about 3300 passengers. It seemed busy everywhere, especially at elevators and shops. Just not enough puplic space for that number of people.

 

The kids went ashore at Princess Cay; we did not. They enjoyed the snorkeling and barbeque which they thought was good. Tendering didn't seem to be a problem for them.

 

At Ocho Rios, the kids did the tube float trip which they enjoyed, but when they went shopping later, they were deluged with vendors, and offers to "party", "smoke" and buy drugs, they said. We had read on these boards that this is an uncomfortable stop for that reason, so we stayed on board.

 

One the the most amazing things we have ever done was our Dolphin Swim at Cozumel. We elected to purchase tickets through Princess (before the cruise) since we knew the itineraries can change during the hurricane season. This excursion was expensive, but very rewarding. Each of the 7 in our group did such things as a "kiss", "hug", "shaking hands" "pull through the water" and the "foot push". It was about a three hour tour with 40 minutes in the water. Since we were in bathing suits, we only took minimum cash and no credit card and could not purchase the DVD and photos which were $50 and $18ea, respectively (prices subject to sudden downward change). I would have loved the DVD. (We watched them after the swim).

 

This is the only cruise that I have answered the evaluation question "Would you cruise with Princess again?" with a no. Princess probably just isn't a good fit for us, or maybe it was only because they charged extra for ice cream.

[jerseygirl3]

We were on the sailing the week before yours, and I had the same lukewarm feeling about the ship, although we've cruised Princess before and it was our favorite cruiseline up until the CP.

 

However, I'm always willing to give someone another chance, so we've booked the same ship again for next September.

 

I'm hoping they read the comment cards and take heed to some of the passenger's insight.

[LARGIN]

Do not give up on Princess.. The CB, in my opinion is way too big and understaffed for anyone to enjoy a true cruise experience.. I suggest that you try the Regal Princess or the Sun Class ships, especially the Coral and Island Princess. I am sure you will change your mind.