Has anyone been on the newly refurbished Caribbean Princess?

[casofilia]

The ship is old and tired and needs a full overhaul inside.

[tartan cruiser]

Shelly97060, Glad to hear the buffet was satisfactory. Did they have theme nights like German night or Italian night? Have they discontinued the specialty peanut butter and jelly station or did you just not try them? I know there is always plenty of food available but I like to be able to get MDR quality food in the buffet. On our last cruise we could get beef wellington in the buffet the same night is was served in the MDR.(Regal) It seemed like some variety of shrimp was available every night too. Did you see shrimp on the buffet? I hope others will share their experiences too. I know food is subjective but from the early postings I've been less than impressed. Decisions, great itinerary(Caribbean Princess) great ship (Regal).

[coo359a2]

Shelly97060, Glad to hear the buffet was satisfactory. Did they have theme nights like German night or Italian night? Have they discontinued the specialty peanut butter and jelly station or did you just not try them? I know there is always plenty of food available but I like to be able to get MDR quality food in the buffet. On our last cruise we could get beef wellington in the buffet the same night is was served in the MDR.(Regal) It seemed like some variety of shrimp was available every night too. Did you see shrimp on the buffet? I hope others will share their experiences too. I know food is subjective but from the early postings I've been less than impressed. Decisions, great itinerary(Caribbean Princess) great ship (Regal).

 

We asked one of the head waiters in the new Market Place about German night, etc. He told us that with the change to Market Place they no longer had German night, etc. DH did go up one night after dinner and saw schnitzel on the buffet and he did see shrimp in the evening.. If you want biscuits and gravy or made to order omelets, these are now found in the rear area. We had breakfast and lunch in the buffet and found it to be the same as always. I never ever saw peanut butter and jelly. They now have stromboli and another dish in the Pizza area and cheese fries and chili cheese fries with the hamburgers. Enjoyed that.

[FritzG]

We asked one of the head waiters in the new Market Place about German night, etc. He told us that with the change to Market Place they no longer had German night, etc. DH did go up one night after dinner and saw schnitzel on the buffet and he did see shrimp in the evening.. If you want biscuits and gravy or made to order omelets, these are now found in the rear area. We had breakfast and lunch in the buffet and found it to be the same as always. I never ever saw peanut butter and jelly. They now have stromboli and another dish in the Pizza area and cheese fries and chili cheese fries with the hamburgers. Enjoyed that.

 

That is disappointing--we loved German night. It's the only night that we have dinner in the buffet instead of the dining room.

[Shelly97060]

Shelly97060, Glad to hear the buffet was satisfactory. Did they have theme nights like German night or Italian night? Have they discontinued the specialty peanut butter and jelly station or did you just not try them? I know there is always plenty of food available but I like to be able to get MDR quality food in the buffet. On our last cruise we could get beef wellington in the buffet the same night is was served in the MDR.(Regal) It seemed like some variety of shrimp was available every night too. Did you see shrimp on the buffet? I hope others will share their experiences too. I know food is subjective but from the early postings I've been less than impressed. Decisions, great itinerary(Caribbean Princess) great ship (Regal).

 

I never saw the PBJ station at all and we ate many meals in the buffet area.

 

As for German Night, they didn't do a full on German focused night that I recall but they did have some purple cabbage, spätzle, and a sauerbraten one night.

 

At times they had shrimp ( cold for salad and breaded), always something at the carving station - prime rib was good. I don't recall Beef Wellington at all.

 

 

The one thing I thought they could do without it the "breakfast anytime" section. I would have preferred more dinner options in that area but that's just me.

 

 

The buffet is very similar to other Grand class buffets... But it doesn't come close to Royal/ Regal buffets.

[tartan cruiser]

Thanks so much for more details regarding the buffet options. Glad to hear no PBJ for dinner. I too, am not a fan of the breakfast selections and prefer more dinner type options. I guess we've been spoiled by the Regal and Royals' buffet. The initial reports after dry dock regarding the buffet and food in general were not good. Sounds like food has improved slightly. Thanks again.

[mahi mahi]

We were on the May 25th British Isles cruise and can confirm there was indeed a PB&J station at dinner along with a breakfast at dinner station (I had read about this prior to the cruise and checked it out specifically). We ate in the MDR every night with any time dining and found that unless we went at 5:30 we would end up in a very long line. Spoke to maitre'd at embarkation and requested fixed dining but heard nothing. After a disastrous 3 hour dinner on 7th night I wrote a note expressing my disappointment with the process. Long story short, someone had supposedly slipped an envelope confirming our move to the early seating in Palm dining room ON THE 2ND DAY (I spoke to the person who insisted he had done this....our cabin is always tidy and there was NO envelope on the floor!). Our table had been held for us all that time but no one had thought to call us to ask why we were not there.

 

We found the food overall to be ok - nothing really outstanding. Crew was wonderful and itinerary was amazing....would do it again in a heartbeat!

[spyro1952]

Shelly97060, Glad to hear the buffet was satisfactory. Did they have theme nights like German night or Italian night? Have they discontinued the specialty peanut butter and jelly station or did you just not try them? I know there is always plenty of food available but I like to be able to get MDR quality food in the buffet. On our last cruise we could get beef wellington in the buffet the same night is was served in the MDR.(Regal) It seemed like some variety of shrimp was available every night too. Did you see shrimp on the buffet? I hope others will share their experiences too. I know food is subjective but from the early postings I've been less than impressed. Decisions, great itinerary(Caribbean Princess) great ship (Regal).

 

I've been on the CB since it was first launched and numerous other Princess ships (59 Princess cruises). We were on this ship immediately after dry dock going to Southampton. Since you specifically are asking about the buffet I will tell you my experience: They should have left it alone or just bought new furniture. The seating area actually has less seats because of the reconfiguration so at lunch it's very difficult to get a table for 2.

IMHO, the food is much less than desirable. On this cruise, the selections were mostly the same thing every day and if I did go there for lunch, the best thing was just getting tuna salad and making a sandwich or PB & J We did go up for dinner twice and the food was the same - not good at all. We did not notice any theme nights but one night they did have quite a nice dessert display with fancy cakes etc. I never noticed shrimp but I can get plenty of shrimp at home (FL) so it's not something I go gaga over.

I much prefer the buffets on the Royal or Regal but doing TA's is a great way for us to get back and forth from Europe. We are on this ship again for the Sept. crossing but I can tell you the buffet is one thing I am NOT looking forward to. We have lots of sea days so the MDR will be open for lunch or pizza, or Salty Dog.

[floridalover5623]

I've been on the CB since it was first launched and numerous other Princess ships (59 Princess cruises). We were on this ship immediately after dry dock going to Southampton. Since you specifically are asking about the buffet I will tell you my experience: They should have left it alone or just bought new furniture. The seating area actually has less seats because of the reconfiguration so at lunch it's very difficult to get a table for 2.

IMHO, the food is much less than desirable. On this cruise, the selections were mostly the same thing every day and if I did go there for lunch, the best thing was just getting tuna salad and making a sandwich or PB & J We did go up for dinner twice and the food was the same - not good at all. We did not notice any theme nights but one night they did have quite a nice dessert display with fancy cakes etc. I never noticed shrimp but I can get plenty of shrimp at home (FL) so it's not something I go gaga over.

I much prefer the buffets on the Royal or Regal but doing TA's is a great way for us to get back and forth from Europe. We are on this ship again for the Sept. crossing but I can tell you the buffet is one thing I am NOT looking forward to. We have lots of sea days so the MDR will be open for lunch or pizza, or Salty Dog.

It doesn't sound much different than when we were on it in Feb. except for the new stations. Unfortunately is sounds like they didn't improve the food quality. It was just OK but nothing memorable like the Royal. (especially the buffet) :cool:

[tartan cruiser]

Thanks again for all your insight everyone. Besides the food, it sounds like the seating seems to be a problem at peak times too. I guess the problem with the Caribbean Princess is the extra deck of passengers but the same public space. I know on other Princess ships you have to arrive at least 30 minutes early to get a seat in the theater. It this the same or do you have to arrive even earlier? How's the entertainment? I'm really torn on this one. We have a while to make up our minds but no sense planning excursions if we're not taking that cruise. Caribbean Princess is not doing this itinerary in 2019. Anyone have any experiences on the Island Princess?

[coo359a2]

Thanks again for all your insight everyone. Besides the food, it sounds like the seating seems to be a problem at peak times too. I guess the problem with the Caribbean Princess is the extra deck of passengers but the same public space. I know on other Princess ships you have to arrive at least 30 minutes early to get a seat in the theater. It this the same or do you have to arrive even earlier? How's the entertainment? I'm really torn on this one. We have a while to make up our minds but no sense planning excursions if we're not taking that cruise. Caribbean Princess is not doing this itinerary in 2019. Anyone have any experiences on the Island Princess?

 

We arrived about 45 minutes early for each Production Show because I like to sit in certain seats. The theater was almost full 15 minutes before the shows started. We did see all the Production shows. That is another thing that is subjective. I liked all the shows and thought Bravo was excellent. I make a point to see it on each ship that has that show. Haven't been on the Island Princess since they replaced the Universe Lounge with all the aft cabins.

[floridalover5623]

We arrived about 45 minutes early for each Production Show because I like to sit in certain seats. The theater was almost full 15 minutes before the shows started.

This is typical of any Princess ship, old or new.

The only time you don't have to arrive early is for an afternoon movie.:D

[Coffeeluvr05]

Sorry it took me a while to get to this, but here are the photos we took of the food we had at Sabatini's on the Caribbean Princess in April 2017. I only identified what the food is, but I can tell you that the chicken scallopini and the risotto were not very good. The risotto was red...didn't expect that. The pasta with the beef cheek was actually quite good...if you can get over the idea that you are eating beef cheek. I also included the breakfast photos for those of you who may be in a suite. We really enjoyed our breakfasts there. Anywhere, I created an account with imgur because I didn't want to take the time to resize all of the photos so here you are: http://**********/a/mhpZe

 

I have other food pics too from Club Class dining so I may post those next depending on how much time I have.

 

EDIT: That didn't seem to work so maybe this will...

 

<blockquote class="imgur-embed-pub" lang="en" data-id="a/mhpZe"><a href="//**********/mhpZe">Sabatini's on the Caribbean Princess April 2017</a></blockquote><script async src="//s.**********/min/embed.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[Tak8]

I was on the May 13th British Isles sailing. I thought the ship looked good. The carpet seemed new. The bed was great. I didn't try any of the new options for dinner, so I can't comment on them. I have been on 4 previous Princess cruises and the buffet seemed about normal for me. I don't use the buffet a lot. A light breakfast and a snack here and there. Some nice options. At breakfast, they had a different bread pudding each day. I'm a big bread pudding fan, so I enjoyed the variety. I didn't try the carrot version though. I really enjoyed the Club Class dining. The staff was terrific and the additional options were a nice touch.

[OCruisers]

Sorry it took me a while to get to this, but here are the photos we took of the food we had at Sabatini's on the Caribbean Princess in April 2017. I only identified what the food is, but I can tell you that the chicken scallopini and the risotto were not very good. The risotto was red...didn't expect that. The pasta with the beef cheek was actually quite good...if you can get over the idea that you are eating beef cheek. I also included the breakfast photos for those of you who may be in a suite. We really enjoyed our breakfasts there. Anywhere, I created an account with imgur because I didn't want to take the time to resize all of the photos so here you are:

 

I have other food pics too from Club Class dining so I may post those next depending on how much time I have.

 

EDIT: That didn't seem to work so maybe this will...

 

We'd love to see your CC dining pictures when you have time.

[OCruisers]

I was on the May 13th British Isles sailing. I thought the ship looked good. The carpet seemed new. The bed was great. I didn't try any of the new options for dinner, so I can't comment on them. I have been on 4 previous Princess cruises and the buffet seemed about normal for me. I don't use the buffet a lot. A light breakfast and a snack here and there. Some nice options. At breakfast, they had a different bread pudding each day. I'm a big bread pudding fan, so I enjoyed the variety. I didn't try the carrot version though. I really enjoyed the Club Class dining. The staff was terrific and the additional options were a nice touch.

 

Thanks for reporting back.

We're looking forward to CC dining on our upcoming cruise. :D

[spyro1952]

Thanks again for all your insight everyone. Besides the food, it sounds like the seating seems to be a problem at peak times too. I guess the problem with the Caribbean Princess is the extra deck of passengers but the same public space. I know on other Princess ships you have to arrive at least 30 minutes early to get a seat in the theater. It this the same or do you have to arrive even earlier? How's the entertainment? I'm really torn on this one. We have a while to make up our minds but no sense planning excursions if we're not taking that cruise. Caribbean Princess is not doing this itinerary in 2019. Anyone have any experiences on the Island Princess?

 

Like I said, I never remember the buffet being so awkward and crowded prior to this cruise and I've been on this ship many times. I can't speak to the theater or entertainment because I no longer choose to do those things. Just walking around, even on sea days, the ship never seemed crowded but like I said we don't do the usual activities from the Patter - we are readers and I also knit. We like to shop and the stores on board were never that busy.

I haven't been on the Island in a long time so I really can't say what's going on there but just do a search of these threads and I'm sure you'll see some comments. Good Luck!!

[Coffeeluvr05]

Sorry it took me a while to get to this, but here are the photos we took of the food we had at Sabatini's on the Caribbean Princess in April 2017. I only identified what the food is, but I can tell you that the chicken scallopini and the risotto were not very good. The risotto was red...didn't expect that. The pasta with the beef cheek was actually quite good...if you can get over the idea that you are eating beef cheek. I also included the breakfast photos for those of you who may be in a suite. We really enjoyed our breakfasts there. Anywhere, I created an account with imgur because I didn't want to take the time to resize all of the photos so here you are: http://**********/a/mhpZe

 

I have other food pics too from Club Class dining so I may post those next depending on how much time I have.

 

EDIT: That didn't seem to work so maybe this will...

 

<blockquote class="imgur-embed-pub" lang="en" data-id="a/mhpZe"><a href="//**********/mhpZe">Sabatini's on the Caribbean Princess April 2017</a></blockquote><script async src="//s.**********/min/embed.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

I apologize if this is a duplicate post. Here are the photos and I hope this link works...

 

https://flic.kr/s/aHskZ9bruD

[meatloafsfan]

I apologize if this is a duplicate post. Here are the photos and I hope this link works...

 

https://flic.kr/s/aHskZ9bruD

Thank you! We are sailing in a window suite on the Caribbean Princess in November. It was nice to see pictures of the breakfast at Sabatini.

 

Sent from my SM-T350 using Tapatalk

[Coffeeluvr05]

And here is a link to photos of food we had in the Crown Grill in April 2017 on the CB. Crown Grill was my favorite overall. We were beyond stuffed. Also, I noticed that there was supposed to be an upcharge for the surf and turf, but we weren't charged that and I had the filet mignon and lobster. They brought me two lobsters as you can see on the plate.

 

https://flic.kr/s/aHskYo2dQA

 

Enjoy!

[Coffeeluvr05]

Thank you! We are sailing in a window suite on the Caribbean Princess in November. It was nice to see pictures of the breakfast at Sabatini.

 

Sent from my SM-T350 using Tapatalk

 

I have photos of the window suite we stayed in as well. I can't tell you how much we enjoyed that trip!

[meatloafsfan]

I have photos of the window suite we stayed in as well. I can't tell you how much we enjoyed that trip!

Thanks. We are staying in the accessible window suite.

 

Sent from my SM-T350 using Tapatalk

[boca7]

Hopefully Princess will address the problems addressed here & on other posts. Have never read as many bad opinions on a Princess ship. Especially on the MDR food & serving of cold food. I will never accept cold food & am worried about an upcoming sailing we have on this ship.

[tartan cruiser]

Maybe it is having an effect. I just received an email for the TA on Caribbean Princess for $199 for an inside and $398 for a balcony. Been a long time since I've seen prices that low. I was tempted but spending 15 days on a ship with mechanical problems, sub-par food and fighting for a table is not my idea of an enjoyable vacation. They did sell quickly. I think 10 of those days were sea days.

Edited July 8, 2017 by tartan cruiser

[caribill]

Maybe it is having an effect. I just received an email for the TA on Caribbean Princess for $199 for an inside and $398 for a balcony. Been a long time since I've seen prices that low. I was tempted but spending 15 days on a ship with mechanical problems, sub-par food and fighting for a table is not my idea of an enjoyable vacation. They did sell quickly. I think 10 of those days were sea days.

 

That offer came from the Player's Club (gambling), not a regular Princess offer.

 

Casino offers are usually great bargains for those who can take the cruise offered.