Caribbean Princess August 18, 2018 Quick Review

[CJinFLA00]

We're a mid 50's couple celebrating our 30 anniversary on this cruise. We also renewed our vows which was a great experience. Highly recommended. We traveled with MIL & FIL, Sister & BIL. We arrived at the port about 12:45. We were in the regular line which was no line, checked in and were on the ship by 1:15. Straight to the room which was ready. Princess does a great job at embark but this was only our second time.

 

Room - D323 mini suite. Great room! Love this location. Mid level, mid ship and very quiet. We did not have Medallion but the other 2 couples that were on deck 15 did have the Medallion. The room was very roomy with 2 large screen TV's (40" I guess) and a nice sitting area. We hosted a cheese and wine party here with plenty of room.We love all the on demand movies that Princess offers. Makes up for the very few live channels. I heard that water pressure was an issue but we had no problem. Temp im the room was fine (I had to make it warmer since it was on the cool side). My sis & BIL were in room L312 and said the noise there was unreal. The hallway was also very hot every time we went there. You may want to re-think booking that room.

 

Food - Always a touchy subject since we all have different opinions.

Breakfast - we only used the buffet this trip and we thought it was very good. The choices are many. If you cannot find something you like, you are way to picky. Very good options and good food. We tried things we had not had before. Loved the fresh sunny side up eggs.

 

Lunch - Again, ate at buffet or in port. Plenty of sandwich options and other very good options. I did not have pizza but others said it was good.

 

Dinner - We had any time dining and some staff was better than others but still service was OK. Food was good and felt there could have been more choices but we’re easy and always found something.

Crown Grill - WOW! This was awesome and well worth the $$. I had a filet that was so good. Great service and atmosphere.

Sabatini’s - This was also very good. I had a beet risotto that was a bright pink. Look funny but tasted great and I don’t really like beets. I would do these again next cruise.

Planks - A bit confusing on the menu and ordering but a LOT of food. Baked potato soup was amazing.

 

Spa - We were so impressed with the Enclave spa on the Regal, so I booked a week pass on this ship as well. I was a little disappointed. This spa was not as nice. I did have a man’s package that my wife purchased for me and that was a great experience. My first facial. Go for it guys.

Bars - There are a lot of them. We liked sitting in the plaza bar before dinner listening to music. During the day, we hung out a lot in the back of the ship on deck 15 listening to wake. Good place to chill with plenty of shade under the disco. The disco is nice with a unique location. Deck 18 all the way up in the tail. You will feel some motion up there but the lay out is very cool. I also noticed that some people would hang out during the day for a quiet place. We were there on 80’s night which was fun.

 

Shows - skipped them since we do our own thing (sorry).

 

Misc. - Deck 7 has a walking area. I like to walk and this ship does not have a walking track. The walkers go to deck 7 which will go all around the ship. At the front you have to go up to deck 8 and then back down to 7. Was very nice but you have to navigate around.

Internet - another WOW. Fastest internet ever. We had the $59 unlimited and loved it. For you techies like me, I did several speed tests and was getting 30meg down and 25meg up from my iPhone at sea. Good all over the ship.

 

Vow renewal - This turned out great and the cost was very reasonable. Let me know if you have questions on this.

 

The ship was in great shape and I would not hesitate to book this ship again. The areas were clean and staff was good. There was a little sewer smell on deck 7 on the last day which I’m sure many will complain about but it was only in one area. For an adult cruise, I will always choose princess. For a family cruise with the grandkids, Carnival is still our choice.

[NoWhiners]

Thanks for your review. We will be on CB for our next cruise and I have been reading all the recent reviews. Thanks also for including notes about the buffet, there have been a lot of critical reviews. We just need some scrambled eggs and fruit for breakfast, and a salad for lunch and it sounds like that should be easy to do.

Edited August 26, 2018 by NoWhiners
typos

[floridalover5623]

Glad to here that the food was up to your expectations. There have been to many negative posts lately about the buffet & I was beginning to wonder.

"My sis & BIL were in room L312 and said the noise there was unreal. The hallway was also very hot every time we went there. You may want to re-think booking that room."

Yea, that room is located right next to the pool & with the noise & people going in & out all day long I can see why it's a lousy choice.

If the had chosen a room down the hall past the elevators it would have been much quieter.

[Host CJSKIDS]

Thanks for the review. Sounds like you had a great cruise..

[satxdiver]

Thanks for the review. We will be boarding the CB later this year for a 14 day cruise. As a fellow IT person, it will be fun to access the ship's internet with fast speeds compared to what I get at home. I will of course check the internet response time.

 

I checked the ship layout to see where L312 was located and that probably has to be the worst cabin on the ship. Interesting that they had pax put their omelet ingredients in a glass which limits the amount requested but then an omelet will only hold a small amount of filler. Probably a good move on Princess' part. I am looking forward to the new WFM (ex-HC) layout as I love the Royal/Regal layout. Being a seafood lover, I will very likely go to Steamers and of course Sabatini's for my Italian fix.

 

On other Princess ships and on previous times on the CB, I have seen walkers on the sun deck walking around the bow area and at one time that was the designated walking/running area. With the changes I will find out if it still exists.

 

I do love going to Skywalkers for the disco late at night which can be crowded on sea days. Having it hang over the stern is not a great engineering idea which is why later ships moved it up next to the exhaust funnel. I too have been reading all the CB reports so thanks again for the report.

[OCruisers]

So happy it was such an enjoyable cruise for you!

We've also loved our cruises on Caribbean Princess! :)

[CJinFLA00]

Thanks for the review. We will be boarding the CB later this year for a 14 day cruise. As a fellow IT person, it will be fun to access the ship's internet with fast speeds compared to what I get at home. I will of course check the internet response time.

 

I checked the ship layout to see where L312 was located and that probably has to be the worst cabin on the ship. Interesting that they had pax put their omelet ingredients in a glass which limits the amount requested but then an omelet will only hold a small amount of filler. Probably a good move on Princess' part. I am looking forward to the new WFM (ex-HC) layout as I love the Royal/Regal layout. Being a seafood lover, I will very likely go to Steamers and of course Sabatini's for my Italian fix.

 

On other Princess ships and on previous times on the CB, I have seen walkers on the sun deck walking around the bow area and at one time that was the designated walking/running area. With the changes I will find out if it still exists.

 

I do love going to Skywalkers for the disco late at night which can be crowded on sea days. Having it hang over the stern is not a great engineering idea which is why later ships moved it up next to the exhaust funnel. I too have been reading all the CB reports so thanks again for the report.

 

 

 

Skywalkers! Thanks I couldn’t remember the name.

 

 

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[Colo Cruiser]

Thanks for your comments. We disembarked yesterday too. :)

[CJinFLA00]

Thanks for your comments. We disembarked yesterday too. :)

 

 

 

I miss it already!

 

 

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[Colo Cruiser]

I miss it already!

 

 

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I am hungry. :o:o:o

[donswife]

I would love to hear more about your vow renewal. We are celebrating our 25th Anniversary on our trip in October. Thank you.

[CJinFLA00]

I would love to hear more about your vow renewal. We are celebrating our 25th Anniversary on our trip in October. Thank you.

 

 

We pre-ordered online and chose the $225 basic package. We received a message on the second day and coordinated a time that worked for us. We then received another call to come down ahead of time for pictures. They took us various places on the ship for a photo shoot. A little out of my comfort zone but the pictures came out great! They also did video which we were NOT interested in. They will offer this at the end for like $699, we passed. The ceremony was quick and awesome, Captain Marco was great. The wife received a bouquet and a boutonniere for me. We received a celebration package in our room which included a bottle of champagne, towel swans on our bed in heart shape, chocolate covered strawberries, and numerous heart shaped chocolates on the bed. We also received a voucher for 2 at the specialty restaurants. The 6th day we received a call to review the pictures and videos. Jeffery from the photo studio was very helpful and created a great presentation for us. There are 3 packages to choose from (or not) and are very reasonable. I was a little worried about the cost of pictures but was surprised at the cost (we chose middle option at like $279). This was a very memorable moment for us and Princess really delivered. I would recommend this to anyone.

[riclop]

Thanks for the review.

[donswife]

Thank you very much for the info about the package. It sounds tempting...

[caribill]

Fastest internet ever. We had the $59 unlimited and loved it.

 

Did you have the Social or the Surf package?

 

If you had the Social package, did you do any surfing anyway?

[CJinFLA00]

Did you have the Social or the Surf package?

 

If you had the Social package, did you do any surfing anyway?

 

 

 

It’s the full internet package. Just like at home. I had no problem streaming Pandora, Facebook, surfing, texting all over the ship.

 

 

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[AF-1]

Most Excellent Review. Thank you. and thanks for the vow renewal info too. Looks like the Ocean Medallion program is looking up. Especially the fast internet; who doesn't like that.