Just back from the CP 10/1-10/8

[JMAS]

My daughter and I just returned from the 10/1 CP sailing. It was fabulous overall, but I thought I’d write a little (lot!) about it.:D

 

We bought the transfer package from Princess, since we were flying in/out of Miami. We got to Miami and there was no one waiting for us. Called the local number on the transfer voucher and Princess told us that we should not have had a voucher, since they knew nothing of our arrival and said it must have been a mistake from “the LA Princess office”. Nevertheless, they sent 2 people to greet us right away, and they put us on a shuttle to FL (they paid).

 

Got to the FL Renaissance, where we were doing a 2 day pre-cruise stay (also booked through Princess @ $89/night) and we were upgraded to the concierge floor. The hotel was really nice, very clean and comfortable. We did a ½ day trip to the everglades – really fun and so incredibly beautiful! We also took the waterbus around – it is a great way to see the sights.

 

Day 1

On embarkation day, the bus picked us up from the hotel at around 1-1:30. There was no waiting at all and we were on the ship in less than 5 minutes! We had booked a Vista suite E 733, which is an aft cabin with a large covered balcony. It was gorgeous! We had a full Jacuzzi tub, and a separate shower, a wet bar, a walk-in closet, and a DVD player. Our luggage had not yet been delivered, so we went out exploring the ship. At sailaway, we had champagne and hors d’ouevres on our deck. My daughter and I had prebooked spa appts for that evening. I had the lime ginger salt scrub with sun glow (application of a fake tanner). My skin hasn’t been that soft since I was a baby! Of course, they always try to sell you more products – this time they wanted me to buy a $60 milk lotion… After that we ate at the Horizon Café – the big seafood extravaganza. Food was okay, but not great. Caught the end of the comedian Steve Morris – he was really funny!

 

Day 2

The next day was pretty nice, and I spent some time laying out by the aft pool, one of the adult only pools. It is colder than the other pools since it is in the shade most of the time. There were 2 11-12 year old boys in the pool. The bartender kept telling them to leave, but they didn’t, so he went and got a uniformed crew who made the boys leave. I also spent some time laying on a lounger on my balcony, and played some of the games in the clubs (a great way to meet people). I even met some fellow Cruise Critics at the Trivia game! Took the ship tour as well. That night was formal night. My daughter had a late spa appt (we were really trying for relaxation!) so we went to dinner around 10 pm. We had anytime dining, and lucked out in the Palm Dining room with a wonderful team of waiters, Jesus and Bhong. They never forgot what we liked to drink, and were always ahead of us! The food in the dining rooms was generally better than in the buffets. Jesus is a fantastic singer- a la Bocelli_ and sang in the International Crew Show as well as singing us a farewell song on the last night at the table. Found the Internet café and since it was free for us since we were in a suite, spent some time on the web. The connection is very slow, so if it isn’t critical, I would recommend skipping this.

 

Day 3

It was raining and icky, so all the outdoor activities had to be moved indoors. I was worried that it would be crowded since we sailed full, but the ship is designed with so many small places that it never felt crowded or full. I played some more games and shopped, napped, and checked out a DVD from the cabin menu and watched that. After dinner, we went to the Steve Morris show in the Wheelhouse Lounge. He was great!

 

Day 4

It was raining in St. Thomas. We had booked a small boat sail and snorkel on the Ike Witt (not thru Princess). He takes just 6 people and himself and you can go snorkeling just about anywhere. It was fabulous! There were 2 other couples from the CP on our trip and we were able to sail out of the storm and into good weather on St. James and St. John. The snorkeling was excellent, and we all had a great time! Just had enough time to buy some duty free liquor before getting back on board! Had another spa appt (pedicures) that evening. We were pretty tired so we had a late dinner and went to bed.

 

Day 5

The weather in St. Maarten was nice and warm, also very humid. We spent the whole day in town and shopped to our hearts content. Ran into lots of people from RCL which docked just after us, and some from the Carnival Glory. We went to the Island Party that night and had a blast! Also went to the International Crew show and it was hilarious!

 

Day 6

We spent some time laying out by the pool on the sun deck (never did find out the name of that one), reading, sleeping, drinking, well, you get the picture! Also did the galley tour. After dinner, we went to the big theater show, Caribbean Caliente. It was well done. Also had lots of pictures taken since it was formal night – some of them even turned out!

 

Day 7

It was lightning and thundering and we could not go to Princess Cays, so we had another day at sea. I watched the lightning from my balcony and it was beautiful! Spent time in the spa sanctuary – a series of rooms you can use (109/couple for the week) first you start by lying on these heated tile beds, and then you go to the citrus scented aromatherapy steam room. After that, you go to the tropical rainforest room for a tropical shower, then to the cooling mint fog room. Oh, it was bliss! Of course we had to pack and that was sad, but we cheered ourselves up with a final day of shopping on board! Bags were to be out before you went to dinner. We had been putting our photos into an envelope (the best tip I ever received!) so on the last evening, we sat down and went through all of them to choose which to purchase.

 

Leaving the ship

 

Breakfast is served early 4 am to 7 am on the last morning. They want everyone out of their rooms early. After eating breakfast, we waited in the Club Fusion for our tag color to be called. That was nice- lots of room and they were showing CNN and had newspapers for us as well as pastries and coffee and tea. Disembarking went fairly quickly, finding your bags is a challenge. If you can mark them distinctively it sure would help! My daughter’s large suitcase came out covered in mud on the top, but everything inside was okay. Once off the ship, we boarded a bus to Miami (full to capacity).

 

A five hour flight later, and we were home. Interestingly, though we had no problem with seasickness on the ship, everything continues to move here on land even 4 days later!

 

If anyone has any questions, I’ll be happy to try and answer them.

[KPLIONMA]

JMAS...we are cruising on CP on 10/29 and are looking forward to a great week of stress-releasing...sounded like you had a great cruise in spite of the rainy weather...we've never been on Princess before, always cruised Carnival and RC. Thanks for your informative review.

[ChattTenn]

JMAS,

 

Enjoyed your review very much. We will on her on 10/15 and can't wait. With many negative reviews about Caribbean Princess, we are wondering if we make a right decision to choose her since Coral and Island are our favorite ships. I guess there are people out there enjoyinng Caribbean Princess.

 

We just hope for a relaxtion cruise, good service and some nice weather.

 

Thanks again for taking time out to write this review.

[SRQfireman]

How did you like the Panama Canal? you never mentioned that... The Coral Princess is a beautiful ship...sounds like you liked it

[cruisetastic]

WE are going on the CB 11-12. What type of activities do they have? I booked a massage one morning. If you have anytime dining do you still dress up for the formal dinner? I am not sure I understand how the meal thing works out?! I want to do everything there is to do...will I have time to sleep?

[cruiseseeker]

Well cruisetastic, maybe I could answer your question??? Maybe you would prefer a pro??? Who cares, I'm answering anyway!! There are so many activities on board that if you get bored, you need to read the boards to not be bored. I'm funny!!! There are pool games, trivia, golf, bars, FOOD, bingo, karaoke, casino, muts (movies under the stars), FOOD, workout facilities, spa facilities, art auctions, Bert Stratton-Highly recommended, entertainers, shows, comedians, shopping, FOOD, internet, library, childrens activities, pools, Did I mention FOOD??? Anyway, if you can't find something to do, then you're not breathing. Oh yeah, don't forget about over-indulgence in alcoholic beverages with expensive souvenier cups. My DW has a stone massage planned as well on one of the mornings. Often times on port days, there are specials on the spa appointments.

Dressing up for dinner on formal nights IMHO really should be exercised and practiced. It's a good time to present yourself in a manner that you normally wouldn't. It's formal night, treat it like it is. There are many photo ops available. If you're out at night in formal wear under the stars, it's just a little more memorable and romantic anyway.

The meal thing is easy. Anytime dining, you choose when you want to eat. Sometimes people make reservations and they wait a short amount of time, other times people just show up and wait, or get seated immediately. No pressure, just eat when you want. Downside is that the servers may rush you to finish for the next reserved table/time. It's what you make of it. It's vacation. I definitely would recommend the steakhouse. It's an extra 20/pp, but I hear it's worth it.

I know you probably didn't want to hear from me, but just thought I would help out a little. I know others will post their info and experiences that way you can believe someone that has been there/done that on the CB. Have a good night. 30 more days!!! Miss you N.

T

[britsbest]

Just that CP is Coral Princess........CB is Caribbean Princess

[cruiseseeker]

Thanks BritsBest. Although you are very much correct, to many posters on this board, they are unaware of the fact that they are different ships. Since cruisetastic was asking for info on CB, I only thought I would help her out. If you have anything to add to help out cruisetastic, that would be great due to me not ever travelling Princess before. I hope I'm not let down due to me expecting an amount out of Princess. BritsBest, would you recommend Princess? I am very leary. I am a diehard RCCL fan. I'm not sure that they can be topped. I don't necessarily want to be flamed or ruin this thread that was started, but maybe a comparison between RCCL and Princess, or a comparison between Coral and Caribbean Princess would be helpful in a dire search for our favorite cruise line. Thanks for all your help.

[JMAS]

:eek: Sorry! I do know CB is Caribbean Princess!!!

 

I agree totally with your review of activities, Cruiseseeker! There are more things to do than you will have time for, so read the Patter, plan your day and be flexible enough to change your plans (it will happen!). We did the formal thing and had anytime dining. It is fun to get dressed up and get pictures taken, and to see everyone looking so nice. The only place you cannot eat on Anytime Dining is the Island dining room, which is reserved for the traditional dining. For dinner, you can eat at the Coral Dining Room, the Palm Dining Room, Sabatini's ($20/pp charge and advance reservations required), Sterling Steak House ($15/pp charge and advance reservations required), or if you don't do the formal thing, there is the Horizon cafe, or Cafe Caribe, or room service, or pizza, or hamburgers. For Breakfast and lunch the cafes are open, or the Coral Dining Room if you want to eat in a dining room. At 3:30 every day they also serve high tea in the Coral Dining Room...

If you want to eat in the steakhouse or Sabatini's, make the reservations as soon as you board. They are small and book up quickly.

[britsbest]

BritsBest, would you recommend Princess? I am very leary. I am a diehard RCCL fan. I'm not sure that they can be topped. I don't necessarily want to be flamed or ruin this thread that was started, but maybe a comparison between RCCL and Princess, or a comparison between Coral and Caribbean Princess would be helpful in a dire search for our favorite cruise line. Thanks for all your help.

 

 

CS as you can see I have no experience of other lines so deffinately the wrong person to ask. We preferred Golden Princess to CB but as we were virgins last year we were starstruck. Don't get me wrong there was nothing wrong with CB and Bert Stratton was the highlight of the evenings, its probably just that it was so similar. We will do Princess again coz after the 1st part of the next B2B we will be Elite and qualify for......... well free internet!! (Laundry service too?). We will have to wait till the year after fo benefit from express check in !

[cruisetastic]

Well I can't wait. I want to relax but I don't want to miss out on anything. I have a massage booked on sea day # 2!! 4 more weeks!!!