New To PCL - Dining Help Please

[Ep010835]

Was ready to book 14 days on the Carribean Princess in November to the South Carribean then began reading the many reviews of the mediocre dining available on this ship. This has made me rethink the whole thing.

 

The dining reviews of the Royal Princess seem to be incrementally better.

 

I’d really appreciate some direction from any of you more seasoned cruisers.

 

Thank you!

[Cruise Raider]

Was ready to book 14 days on the Carribean Princess in November to the South Carribean then began reading the many reviews of the mediocre dining available on this ship. This has made me rethink the whole thing.

 

The dining reviews of the Royal Princess seem to be incrementally better.

 

I’d really appreciate some direction from any of you more seasoned cruisers.

 

Thank you!

 

Food is so subjective that it is hard for anyone to really answer this without adding their bias. I have only been on two cruises (out of over 50) where I thought the food was horrible .... believe it or not, I still didn't starve. ;)

I've also been on several cruises where I thought the food was consistently very good and still heard people complaining it was the worst.

I would never can the whole cruise idea over food, much less, over someone else's opinion of the food. There is always something to be found that I believe you will like, even if it is going to a specialty restaurant. Whatever you decide, hope you enjoy it.

[JF - retired RRT]

A lot depends on the head chef, if the boss leaves, the food quality may increase or decrease...depending on the new boss.

Reviews for the Royal's buffet are very good overall. On the other hand, after 23 cruises on Princess ships, every meal I've ordered has been OK to WOW. Never had a bad meal in the MDR. YMMV, of course.

Read the daily menu, if you don't see anything that appeals, have a hamburger, hot dog, pizza (I don't like their pizza, but I don't much like pizza, so don't listen to me), room service, Crown Grill, Sabatinis, International Café...you'll find something that works.

[fishywood]

Do you plan on selecting Traditional Dining instead of Anytime?

Is your preference to take breakfast and lunch (when open) in the MDR rather than buffet or other casual venues?

 

If so then your dining experience on Caribbean Princess will be more or less the same as any other Princess ship. And with no other Princess cruises to compare it to you won't really know the difference anyway.

 

But the "seasoned" Princess cruiser who chooses Royal Princess (your other option mentioned) specifically for the vastly expanded buffet, plus the no-charge casual dining at Alfredo's, probably will avoid Caribbean Princess altogether. The change of the buffet on Caribbean to the "World Fresh Marketplace" format has been universally panned. As has the new upcharge venues recently added (Planks, Steamers, Coffee and Cones, Salty Dog Grill) which are rightly or not perceived as having a trickle-down effect reducing the quality of the included dining.

 

There are other issues with Caribbean that past Princess cruises will notice. Mainly that Caribbean has the worst passenger to public space ratio in the fleet. It was the most crowded and noisy Princess cruise I have taken (yes, more than the Royal-class and Island Princess with its 200+ extra berths added). But again, your first Princess cruise could easily hook you even on Caribbean Princess. But all things considered I would do a B2B on Royal even with the "wasted" return day to Port Everglades in the middle.

[satxdiver]

Food is subjective such that what I like you may not. The new ships Royal etc have a much differently designed HC than the earlier ships including the CB. I do like the new design but not enough to pick those ships over the itinerary to ports I want to visit. However the CB has recently been in dry dock where the HC was reconfigured evidently to many negative comments . I have been on the CB many times but not since the last dry dock but will be boarding her once again this fall so I will see if the comments are true. It has been my experience that pax who are unhappy post negative comments and pax who were happy do not post. Take the negative comments with a grain of salt. We are on the 14 day CB cruise in November.

[moki'smommy]

We were on the Caribbean Princess in April. The dining experience was the best we'd had on any ship, any line in probably the last 15 years. I'd cruise her again with no hesitation.

 

In fairness, I've never been on the Royal Princess.

[donswife]

What else on a cruise ship is important to you besides the food (and there have been several recent positive reviews of the Caribbean Princess food recently)? If you enjoy indoor space, you may like the larger piazza on the Royal. If you are a walker, the promenade deck on the Caribbean is far superior. And so on.

[meatloafsfan]

We enjoyed the food so much on our 10 day Caribbean Princess cruise last year that we booked 38 days this winter.

 

Here's my food review from that cruise:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2577475

 

We don't really eat in the buffet (as you may note from the review); the MDR and international café were great. Room service was also very nice.

[happy cruzer]

You might list some types of food/dining you enjoy so that people can help. Do you eat mainly beef? Do you like seafood? Do you like lighter food? Do you ever eat in buffets at home?

 

 

Each person is different. Simple breakfast with no sweets. We enjoy buffets because we are looking for just a couple of good things like a salad or veg with small portion of protein, not everything has to please. We like the International Cafe for this as well. Dinner with wine in the MDR. So even when there are reports of "bad" food, we probably would be very happy.

[suekel]

I cruised the Royal in January and the CB in June. I found the food in the Main Dining Rooms to be comparable. The Buffet on the Royal is much better but I choose to only do it for breakfast and an afternoon snack by the pool. Food by the pool is also very similar but was disappointed that I could no longer get a brat on the CB but the street tacos were good. The food in the International Cafe and the Specialty restaurants were also comparable. I didn't try Planks (BBQ is better at home) and we also didn't try Steamers as my husband doesn't like seafood. I probably would have love it, I've never met a fish I didn't like. Except Catfish.

[Ep010835]

Many, many thanks to all who have responded to help me make a decision.

 

From what I'm reading, the common thread seems to be the dining options are comparable, with minor differences, from the Royal/Regal Princess to the Caribbean Princess EXCEPT for the buffet. The buffet on the latter seems to be getting low marks from pretty well everyone. Have I got this about right?

 

This is a shame as we particularly enjoy a well planned and executed buffet. We are anytime diners so a good buffet always tends to supplement and compliment the other shipboard dining options.

 

Setting the buffet aside for the moment (I think I get that part) along with the fact that we will select the anytime option, will be giving up any meal quality by focusing on the other "non-buffet" options?

 

I realize that I'm groping a bit here but never having been on the Caribbean Princess (why is it called CB?) I'm trying to get my arms around all of this before committing.

[skynight]

Dining:

Have been on both ships. Both have +'s and -'s in the food category. Overall DR food is about the same. Larger buffet on the Royal, but we found plenty of casual choices for lunch and dinner on the Caribbean. The Royal has the no charge waiter served Alfredo's pizza. The Caribbean has expanded menu items at the Salty Dog grill and Slices pizza by the main pool. The Caribbean also has Planks and Steamers for dinner, $12 surcharge.

 

Itinerary:

My selection criteria would be the itinerary, not the food, and would choose the Caribbean which sails a true 14 day cruise that circles the Caribbean. Any 14 day on the Royal will actually be two 7 day cruises b2b. The ship will return to Ft. Lauderdale after 7 days, a kind of dead day. You will be required to go through immigration, even if you plan to stay on board, no exceptions. Production shows will repeat, and some other entertainers and activities may be the same. Nothing will repeat on the 14 day Caribbean Princess cruise.

[OrinocoFlow]

The ship will return to Ft. Lauderdale after 7 days, a kind of dead day. You will be required to go through immigration, even if you plan to stay on board, no exceptions. Production shows will repeat, and some other entertainers and activities may be the same. Nothing will repeat on the 14 day Caribbean Princess cruise.

 

 

Can you elaborate? We are looking at just such a cruise. Do we have to pack and leave? How much time is lost? We were planning to make this a lounge day but wasting half of it packing and unpacking is a non starter.

 

And it just hit me: is the menu repeated?

 

 

 

 

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[BarbinMich]

Can you elaborate? We are looking at just such a cruise. Do we have to pack and leave? How much time is lost? We were planning to make this a lounge day but wasting half of it packing and unpacking is a non starter.

 

And it just hit me: is the menu repeated?

 

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No, you don't have to pack and leave on the turnaround day. We've done several of these B2B 7-day cruises on Princess. If you want to get off in Ft. Lauderdale, it's easy enough. We did that both times, mainly to go to the nearby Walgreen's. I don't remember the exact details, but it's after the departing pax have left (that's usually done by 8 a.m., I believe). Or you can stay aboard and lounge away, having the pools mostly to yourself for a few hours at least because the new pax don't start boarding until around noon.

[skynight]

Can you elaborate? We are looking at just such a cruise. Do we have to pack and leave? How much time is lost? We were planning to make this a lounge day but wasting half of it packing and unpacking is a non starter.

 

And it just hit me: is the menu repeated?

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

If you are in the same cabin for both voyages you do not have to pack. Treat it as any other day. If you are changing cabins you have to partially pack and be out of your cabin by 8:00am so your cabin steward can arrange to move your belongings to your new cabin.

 

Menu generally does repeat, but there may be different selections. It is up to the Exec. Chef.

 

On turn around day you have two options:

A-Disembark the ship anytime after disembarkation has begun, up until last call which is around 9:30/10:00am. Bring your passport, intransit card and cruise card(s) with you. You will have to go through immigration. Do whatever you want to in Ft. Lauderdale. Re-board anytime after general boarding has begun, around 11:30am. You will have to go through security.

 

B-You may also choose to stay on the ship. In this case you MUST report to the location, usually the theater, noted in the instructions delivered to your cabin. If even one person fails to report the entire group, usually 100's, sits and waits until that person is located. Bring your passport and cruise card(s). A staff member will guide you off the ship into the terminal where immigration will look at your passport. You will then be allowed to re-board. Sometimes immigration comes on the ship. This process takes about an hour give or take.

 

You will not have to go to the muster drill on the second leg.

 

There will be detailed directions in your cabin. Read and follow them exactly.

[LeeW]

We were on Caribbean Princess in April and food in dining room was fine. Except that Princess is cutting back on beef options. No more always available beef except some kind of burger (used to have steak medallions). The pot roast is what you would get from Costco. The ribs on one night were hit or miss, mostly miss. One night no beef at all, except the burger. But this is true for any Princess ship now.

 

They have redesigned the grill near the pool and now offer a fee specialty burger. But the original great burgers, brats, chicken and fries are still there. They take your order and give you a pager, but still a great place to eat. And you can now get loaded french fries.

 

Regal/Royal have a buffet area that is far better than any ship out there, so no comparison. Lots of dedicated areas for different types of food.

[Itchy&Scratchy]

hippo:

we've been on Regal and Caribbean Princesses (see signature for details).

Regal has a much bigger and better buffet (by far), but we found MDR food to be the same quality. Adult menu, that is.

 

Caribbean Princess had a regular buffet. If we went on a Caribbean Princess first, we would have thought it was great, but since we went on Regal first, we were disappointed because we didn't expect Caribbean Princess's buffet to be much smaller and to have fewer choices.

 

The food on the children's MDR menu on Caribbean was simply inedible in 2016. Our kid is not picky, but even he couldn't eat it. I didn't believe him when he said it was bad and tried it for him, and truly - it was awful.

We never ordered from a kid's menu on Regal, so I can't compare.

 

In 2016 Caribbean Princess was a bit more worn and tired than Regal, but it went to ABC islands which 150% made up for any age related difference.

[RDC1]

Many, many thanks to all who have responded to help me make a decision.

 

From what I'm reading, the common thread seems to be the dining options are comparable, with minor differences, from the Royal/Regal Princess to the Caribbean Princess EXCEPT for the buffet. The buffet on the latter seems to be getting low marks from pretty well everyone. Have I got this about right?

 

This is a shame as we particularly enjoy a well planned and executed buffet. We are anytime diners so a good buffet always tends to supplement and compliment the other shipboard dining options.

 

Setting the buffet aside for the moment (I think I get that part) along with the fact that we will select the anytime option, will be giving up any meal quality by focusing on the other "non-buffet" options?

 

I realize that I'm groping a bit here but never having been on the Caribbean Princess (why is it called CB?) I'm trying to get my arms around all of this before committing.

 

The Royal has a more expansive layout, that is more efficient. Though I have found food quality to be similar. Just less lining up on Royal.

[IECalCruiser]

...I realize that I'm groping a bit here but never having been on the Caribbean Princess (why is it called CB?) I'm trying to get my arms around all of this before committing.

Each Princess ship has two letters in their URL and the Caribbean’s is CB. The Coral’s is CO and the Crown’s is KP. The Caribbean is the longest ship’s name and probably why many use the two letter designation for her but not other ships.

 

 

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Edited August 5, 2018 by IECalCruiser

[IECalCruiser]

In case you are wondering, CP is for the Sea Princess.

 

 

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[tawlaw1526]

I was on the CB for 10 days in May and everything about the cruise was wonderful....food, entertainment, ship...etc. We created a lifetime memory and we were never hungry while on the ship. I highly recommend the new Planks BBQ restaurant on the ship. It was extremely delicious. Enjoy your cruise.