First Time with Princess.. Advice?

[jediyoda9008]

Hey everyone, my wife and I just booked our first Princess cruise ever! We have done about half a dozen cruises with Carnival and loved them, but we won a free Princess cruise thru a local casino and figured we'd give it a shot. We are booked in a balcony room on a 7-day Eastern Caribbean on the Caribbean Princess next May. What recommendations does everyone have to make a Princess cruise the absolute best? Events, shows, food, etc. to definitely not miss (and maybe things that I should attempt to miss!) Any advice for a first time Princess cruiser would be greatly appreciated!

[voljeep]

the Princess demographic is totally different from the Carnival demographic.

 

what specifically did you like about Barnival?

[Pythian]

Congrats on the free cruise! Let us know where you are going (more specific) and what ship you are sailing on - then maybe we can suggest some do's and don'ts. In any case, you will have a great time, I'm sure - and, how could you not? It's a free cruise!!

[luckyinpa]

just off 5 nite canada trip..highlights

 

alfredos pizza

int'l cafe

ultimate balcony diner

clean ship and friendly crew

virtually no kids

bring life jackets to muster

soda package is a steal if you arent a drinker

'nothing' on the personalizer really never goes on sale

buffet on regal is laid out very very well.

retreat is free private pool for adults.

[KurtMo]

Schedule the "Ultimate Balcony Dinner" one night, ideally plan it for about 30-45 minutes before sunset.

 

Makes for a nice "special" night (anniversary, birthday, etc.)

 

Also do MUTS (movies under the stars) at least one night.

[skynight]

Hey everyone, my wife and I just booked our first Princess cruise ever! We have done about half a dozen cruises with Carnival and loved them, but we won a free Princess cruise thru a local casino and figured we'd give it a shot. We are booked in a balcony room on a 7-day Eastern Caribbean on the Caribbean Princess next May. What recommendations does everyone have to make a Princess cruise the absolute best? Events, shows, food, etc. to definitely not miss (and maybe things that I should attempt to miss!) Any advice for a first time Princess cruiser would be greatly appreciated![/quote

Here are a few things.

Your cruise is scheduled to be an Ocean Medallion Cruise. Check out Ocean Medallion on the Princess web site.

You are able to access your booking on the Princess web site under cruise personlizer. There you can enter your immigration information, select dining, purchase beverage packages, book tours and more.

No faster to the fun on Princess. If you want to be one of the earliest to board arrive at the pier around 10:30 to 11. Once checked in (Ocean Medallion is supposed to make check in automatic upon arrival at the pier) you will be shown upstairs and grouped by time of arrival. Boarding will begin around noon with priority boarders, then general boarding. You should be on board by 12:30. Go directly to your cabin it will be ready.

Like espresso check out the coffee card.

Free Dining

DR open each day for breakfast & dinner and lunch on sea days

Horizon Ct. buffet, open from 6am to late evening each day. Never closes.

International Cafe open 24/7

Slice Pizza & Salty Dog grill by the pool. Expanded menus. Open 11am to late evening.

Room Service 24/7

Specialty Surcharge Dining

Crown Grill $29/pp

Sabatini's $25/pp

Special dining experiences like the Chef's Table and Balcony Dining

Entertainment

Shows each evening in the theater. For production shows arrive around 30 mins early.

There may entertainers in Explorer's Lounge on various evenings.

All comics are family acceptable

Live music each evening in all the lounges and in the Piazza.

Crooner's will have a piano entertainer from around 9pm on wards.

Other

Auto gratuity is charged to your on board account each day. For a balcony cabin it is $13.50/pp/day.

A 15% grat. is added to all beverage purchases.

A premier beverage package is available for $68 & change/pp/day. Must be purchased for entire cruise. Can not be shared. It is not required that everyone in cabin purchase.

There is also a soda & more package for $8.05/pp/day.

Each adult may carry on 1 x 750ml bottle of wine without charge for use in your cabin. Additional bottles may be carried on and are charged a $15/bot corkage fee. These bottles are marked and can be used anywhere on the ship.

You can bring on as much non-alcoholic beverage as you like. No limits.

Like wine - try Vines.

That's it for now.

[ellie1145]

Congratulations on booking your first Princess cruise! Hope you love it as much as we do.

 

My favourite tip is to go to the dining room for lunch on embarkation day. It's not advertised, so few people even realise it's available. Don't be fobbed off by staff who suggest you go to the buffet, just go to the dining rooms and find out which one is open.

 

It's quiet and elegant and they usually offer a divine soufflé for dessert - do try it, we don't know any cruise line which does it better, and we've been on many different ships, and many different cruise lines.

 

Hope you have a wonderful cruise!

[easyboy]

The Caribbean Princess has Planks Barbeque and Steamers Seafood dining venue where Cafe Caribe in other ships is located. Ramen at Steamers for lunch is worth trying.

 

 

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[skynight]

Referring to a previous post. The Caribbean Princess does not have Alfredo's. It does have Slices by the main pool, with an expanded menu, not just standard pizza. It is walk up not waiter served.

There is no Retreat Pool on the Caribbean. The adult pools are the Terrace Pool and the Lap Pool.

[Klynnn3]

Recommend checking in with the Casino manager. When we won a promo cruise, DH was offered free drinks based on his play. We were surprised that the drinks were not already free for just playing in the casino like in Vegas.

 

Join the roll call for your cruise date. The CC community was great for alerting us to last minute changes in embarkation.

 

The dining room, Alfredo’s and pool grills had the best food.

 

The Game show/TV studio and MUTS were fun.

 

The Princess crowd was definitely more laid back and older than Carnival. We are in our mid to late 40’s and felt like the young guns. Since R&R is a priority on vacation for us, we loved the peace and quiet of a more seasoned crowd.

 

Enjoy! It’s free.

 

 

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[jediyoda9008]

the Princess demographic is totally different from the Carnival demographic.

 

what specifically did you like about Barnival?

 

 

I wouldn't say there was anything specific that made us really like Carnival other than the price. We are both late 20's, but not into the drinking heavily and partying; when we are on a cruise we prefer to relax and have an easy going time; so I don't think the demographic change will be a problem for sure.

[jediyoda9008]

Congrats on the free cruise! Let us know where you are going (more specific) and what ship you are sailing on - then maybe we can suggest some do's and don'ts. In any case, you will have a great time, I'm sure - and, how could you not? It's a free cruise!!

 

 

Thanks! It is on the Caribbean Princess out of Ft. Lauderdale going to Princess Cays, St. Thomas, St. Marteen, and Amber Cove. I definitely agree, any cruise is a great cruise!

[BJS]

..What recommendations does everyone have to make a Princess cruise the absolute best? Events, shows, food, etc. to definitely not miss (and maybe things that I should attempt to miss!) Any advice for a first time Princess cruiser would be greatly appreciated!

How wonderful to have won the cruise. Each person has their own idea of what makes the absolute best cruise. Best advice I can give is to read the "Patter" each night and decide what things are best for you. Do not expect things to be a certain way - good or bad- because you have read it on a message board. Try not to compare Princess to Carnival (or another cruise line) because they are all very different.

Most importantly go with a positive attitude and enjoy.

[cruise4kicks]

One of my favorite things about the Caribbean Princess is the Terrace Pool. The way Skywalkers Lounge is situated above, the Terrace is mostly in the shade. It's the only cruise ship pool (along with its sister ships) that I can enjoy without worrying I'll fry to a crisp.

[OCruisers]

We've cruised on Caribbean Princess several times and always had very enjoyable cruises.

Look forward to having a WONDERFUL cruise! :D

[8dimsum]

BINGO players use daubers: bring one or buy on-board. A hi-lighter pen helps with the Patter events. Bring or purchase Princess magnets to help post flyers/notes on the metal room walls. --Above all, enjoy yourselves!

[Coors light]

Might want to bring a few sticks of butter[emoji6]

 

 

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[rjgdjg]

Hey everyone, my wife and I just booked our first Princess cruise ever! We have done about half a dozen cruises with Carnival and loved them, but we won a free Princess cruise thru a local casino and figured we'd give it a shot. We are booked in a balcony room on a 7-day Eastern Caribbean on the Caribbean Princess next May. What recommendations does everyone have to make a Princess cruise the absolute best? Events, shows, food, etc. to definitely not miss (and maybe things that I should attempt to miss!) Any advice for a first time Princess cruiser would be greatly appreciated!

 

We've been on Princess (including the Caribbean Princess) many times and prefer it to Royal Caribbean, Celebrity or Holland America. The overall experience is great--the ships are handsome, the atrium is a lot of fun for people- and entertainment-watching and it never feels too crowded. Few suggestions--if you can, upgrading to a mini-suite is well worth it because it's the size of a hotel room (more or less) and can be very affordable. Also, the buffet for dinner is very good--they put on theme nights with extra special foods. One thing that's different about Princess' buffet is that at all meals, the staff come around serving water, coffee, etc.; you don't have to go track them down yourself. In the main dining room, the Norman Love desserts are fabulous. You'll have a great time! - Musing About Cruising

[cb at sea]

You will have a great time...no fear! Go! Enjoy!

[c-boy]

Might want to bring a few sticks of butter[emoji6]

 

 

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:D bazinga

[KevintheIrishDJ]

Buy 100 shares of Carnival stock for an tax free OBC every time you sail.

 

:D

[Pierlesscruisers]

Hey everyone, my wife and I just booked our first Princess cruise ever! We have done about half a dozen cruises with Carnival and loved them, but we won a free Princess cruise thru a local casino and figured we'd give it a shot. We are booked in a balcony room on a 7-day Eastern Caribbean on the Caribbean Princess next May. What recommendations does everyone have to make a Princess cruise the absolute best? Events, shows, food, etc. to definitely not miss (and maybe things that I should attempt to miss!) Any advice for a first time Princess cruiser would be greatly appreciated!

 

If you are a military veteran download the Veterans' OBC form from the princess.com website and fax/mail that form with a copy of your DD214 (cross out your SSN) to the phone number/address shown on the form at least 2 weeks prior to your sailing date and you'll get a refundable OBC on your cruise. For that matter, the OBC will be linked to your Captains' Circle number and it will show up automatically on each of your Princess cruises automatically.

 

Oh, I went ahead and attached a copy of the Veterans' form to this message in case you needed it. I hope you enjoy your Princess cruises as much as I do.

 

Tom

Princess Military Personnel Benefit Form.pdf

[#love2cruise]

Hey everyone, my wife and I just booked our first Princess cruise ever! We have done about half a dozen cruises with Carnival and loved them, but we won a free Princess cruise thru a local casino and figured we'd give it a shot. We are booked in a balcony room on a 7-day Eastern Caribbean on the Caribbean Princess next May. What recommendations does everyone have to make a Princess cruise the absolute best? Events, shows, food, etc. to definitely not miss (and maybe things that I should attempt to miss!) Any advice for a first time Princess cruiser would be greatly appreciated!

 

This is just IMHO. Since it is your first time with Princess Cruise Line, I would like to see you on a ship that will give you the "WOW Factor" and that would be either the Royal Princess or the Regal Princess. They are awesome! Then you can try out the rest of the Princess ships. I realize that these 2 ships are not in the Caribbean in May and that the Caribbean Princess is in the Caribbean through out the summer, so you may not have a choice due to school or work schedules. Just saying...

[Pierlesscruisers]

Hey everyone, my wife and I just booked our first Princess cruise ever! We have done about half a dozen cruises with Carnival and loved them, but we won a free Princess cruise thru a local casino and figured we'd give it a shot. We are booked in a balcony room on a 7-day Eastern Caribbean on the Caribbean Princess next May. What recommendations does everyone have to make a Princess cruise the absolute best? Events, shows, food, etc. to definitely not miss (and maybe things that I should attempt to miss!) Any advice for a first time Princess cruiser would be greatly appreciated!

 

One thing you might really enjoy, although it may be a bit pricey ($150/person) is the Ultimate Ship's Tour. That's about a 3-4 hour tour of the behind-the-scenes tour of the ship that you would normally not ever see one of which is the bridge of the ship where you usually meet the captain. It includes a number of items that you are given, one of which is a nice robe. Go here to see a good description of the tour:

 

 

https://www.princess.com/news/backgrounders_and_fact_sheets/factsheet/Ultimate-Ship-Tour.html

 

 

It's a nice thing if you're a person who likes to know about the "innerworkings" of things. If you do decide that you want to go on the tour, I would highly recommend that as soon as you get on the ship, you go to Passenger Services on Deck 6 and sign up for the tour. They only accept about 12-14 people to go on the tour and it sometimes fills up quite quickly. You can cancel later should you decide not to but it's better to be early on the list and decide not to go than the opposite.

 

 

Tom

[Times Prince]

Another hint - on disembarkation day, have breakfast in the main dining room - usually the one reached on Deck 6 via the aft elevators. Much less stressful than the crowds in the Horizon Court buffet.

 

Ask your steward for robes when you first meet him/her. No charge, but not always automatically supplied.

 

Make sure you go over the Princess Patter the night before to see what activities might interest you.

 

Have fun on Caribbean Princess.