Best thing and worst thing about Caribbean princess

[Letacraig]

First time couple cruising after years of trying to convince my bride of 10 years that it was safe travel number one  and could be a relaxing week number two. It took 10 flights on American after 911 before she would quit death gripping my hand. Complete mess with anxiety. 

Finally last week she is finally in and we will be on the apr 6 sail to st. Thomas , st martin etc. for seven days on Caribbean princess.  

 

Please fill me in on the club class suite and dining  which i booked, good or bad. 

 

Anything us rookies need to do on or off board or more importantly , avoid. ?

Thank you

Edited December 25, 2018 by Letacraig

[floridalover5623]

The CB is pretty much a decent Princess cruise ship with all the shows & entertainment as the other ships offer.

 

No complaints about that part, but they've updated the Horizon buffet area which was good, but the food offered and was repetitious for lunch & dinner every day. Although the DR options were still as good as other ships their food at the buffet was their major shortfall as they tried to be more exotic with most of their creations instead of sticking to the same basics as they previously had.

This is a major item that won't attract us back again and just drive us to the other ships.

Of course, not everyone thinks their buffet food it the same & some loved it.

We also had a bad experience with air conditioning which I also heard that some others also had on other decks.

 

[paul929207]

We spent 24 days on the Caribbean Princess early this year and had a wonderful time. 

[long cruiser]

Watch out for the plumbing.

long cruiser

 

[jondfk]

Perhaps the best way to start is to say we've sailed Caribbean (CB) three times and have booked a '20 cruise on her already so, it obviously satisfies us.

 

Pro's, we like the upgraded Horizon Court (it's now called World Fresh Market).  We're not fans of buffet food, no matter how varied or good.  But on those occasions when we must, the refresh greatly opened up the ambiance and made the room a much more pleasant place.  Staying on the food front, CB also got upgrades to it's grill menu that include taco's, a bit of BBQ and a few other items that weren't found on other ships - we enjoyed the variety.

 

Club class dining is the same here as other Grand class ships.  A small portion of the deck 6 MDR is reserved for Club Class with a  dedicated staff.  Honestly though I don't think Club Class dining is much or any better than a reservation in the fixed dining room where the staff learn your preferences very quickly and act to meet them.  Club Class basically assures you attentive service, there's one extra menu offering each day (usually a pasta or dessert) but these are no reason to pay the additional fee.  One small perk of CC is that CC servers basically go to the front of the line in the kitchen - dishes come out faster.  Finally, if you prefer any time dining, but worry about waits at peak times, CC fixes that, we've rarely had any wait at all and in the worst case only 15 minutes.  

 

Improvement is always possible and I won't declare CB perfect but she is amongst my favorite Princess ships.  I like Ruby better in some respects, but wouldn't hesitate to sail CB anytime, anywhere.

 

[skynight]

7 hours ago, Letacraig said:

First time couple cruising after years of trying to convince my bride of 10 years that it was safe travel number one  and could be a relaxing week number two. It took 10 flights on American after 911 before she would quit death gripping my hand. Complete mess with anxiety. 

Finally last week she is finally in and we will be on the apr 6 sail to st. Thomas , st martin etc. for seven days on Caribbean princess.  

Please fill me in on the club class suite and dining  which i booked, good or bad. 

Anything us rookies need to do on or off board or more importantly , avoid. ?

Thank you

You should have a fabulous time. We were on The Caribbean for 24 days last winter. Our feeling was that the ship was one of the best organized ships in the fleet with nice service.

Club Class - Good, in the Coral DR, deck 6 mid ship. Open for breakfast and dinner every day and lunch on sea days. Walk in any time it's open and you will be seated. Menu is the same as the other MDR's, but there is one additional dish. Service is superior. You can plan your evening dining around the evening entertainment schedule rather than visa versa. I'm thinking you are in a Club Class mini suite and not a full suite. If you are in a full suite you will get additional benefits like breakfast @ Sabatini's.

Ports, all nice. Princess Cays is a beach day. You tender to the beach. Tender tickets will be given out in one of the DRs'. Arrive early if you wish to spend a full day on the beach. Bring water shoes. The shore area entrance to the water, has lots of coral on the bottom. A little further out it is all sand.

St. Thomas and St. Maarten also have nice beaches. On St. Maarten Great Bay beach is within walking distance from the ship. Other beaches like Orient Beach and Grand Case you have to take transportation. St. Maarten beaches are European style dress. Orient beach is clothing optional. There is also lots and lots of shopping at both ports.

Lots of on board activities and lots of live music. One slight negative is that you have to arrive at theater shows very early, at least 45 minutes before showtime. Theater shows are simulcast in Explorer's Lounge.

Zumba is held every sea day and is free.

Watch the Princess Patter for all shows and activities.

The Caribbean Princess is a Medallion ship, meaning if you want you can get all your information on a smart device.

Be sure to check out Skywalker's.

Pools. Terrace Pool, deck 14 aft, and Lap Pool, deck 16 forward, are adults. Other pools are the two main pools on deck 15 and the Pirate's Cove pool, deck 17 aft. Very few passengers use this pool. 

[compozer]

We were on her for two weeks a month ago.   Club class is nice BUT depending on the cruise, there can be waits.  The CB added  more cabins to CC so they added three more tables on the other side of the aisle - part of the fun is being close together.   On our cruise, it seemed like everyone wanted to eat around the same time so there were waits.   We went back to the bar and they came to get us when a table was available.  That was not how it was suppose to be.   Service was slower than other times - again, it was because all the tables were full.  WE use to have fun talking and joking with the staff but they were too busy this time.    And the coffee service sucked - they seemed to be in the galley more than on the floor and we had to ask for more everytime.    It took forever to get a cup so we skipped it many times.    It just was not as nice as before.   

[donh1]

This thread has been up and running for over 10 hours and I can not believe someone hasn’t said the obvious.  The best thing is boarding the ship and the worst thing is seeing all the suitcases in the hall on the last night.

[Ep010835]

4 hours ago, jondfk said:

One small perk of CC is that CC servers basically go to the front of the line in the kitchen - dishes come out faster.  

 

Now, this is interesting. In all of our time in CC, I've never been aware of this. Learn something every day. 

[Tak8]

I was on the Caribbean Princess twice with CC dining.  Excellent service and the special items have been good to really good.  I never had to wait for a table.  Enjoy.

[eagletwo]

We sail on the CB for the 4th time January 2nd.  We love the ship and the new beds. We were spoiled on our last cruise in August with a full suite and CC dining. Paul was the head waiter in CC and was wonderful as was the staff.  Yeah, same food but outstanding service.  I like that the buffet area has been opened up a bit and the make-over of the eating areas is very nice.  The buffet food to us is not as good as it was in 2016, but we will never starve. MDR food has been good, Crown Grill food is good, service hit or miss. Sabatini's service is great and the update decor is nice but the food is not to our liking.  Caribbean Princes has been in service since 2004 and a few areas could use some TLC, but she keeps getting a few upgrades and the crew keeps painting all the time. It still amazes me how much repair is done at sea and for the most part done very quickly.  Most of the staff always have a smile.

 

Just looking forward to sailing again. We don't get in a hurry or let the little things bug us, life is too short.

[floridalover5623]

5 hours ago, jondfk said:

One small perk of CC is that CC servers basically go to the front of the line in the kitchen - dishes come out faster.

Now that I've never heard about. It might cut down a lot of the waiting between courses & keep the meals to under 1 1/2 hours.

[satxdiver]

3 hours ago, donh1 said:

This thread has been up and running for over 10 hours and I can not believe someone hasn’t said the obvious.  The best thing is boarding the ship and the worst thing is seeing all the suitcases in the hall on the last night.

 

Isn't that the truth.  The next worst thing is returning to the cabin on the next to last day and seeing the brown kiss of death on the bed signifying that it is time to start packing to leave.  The only cure known to mankind is to have a cruise already booked for the near future. 

[Ep010835]

14 minutes ago, satxdiver said:

 

Isn't that the truth.  The next worst thing is returning to the cabin on the next to last day and seeing the brown kiss of death on the bed signifying that it is time to start packing to leave.  The only cure known to mankind is to have a cruise already booked for the near future. 

Roger that! Nov/Dec set so well with us, we booked another for Feb while still on board the CB. Before the luggage was in the hall!

[Ombud]

Regarding dining: not everything is on the menu. FWIW: I love stuffed baked potatoes and it's never on the menu but they bring it anyway. Baked potato filled with lightly steamed broccoli and bechamel or cheese sauce. 

[OCruisers]

We've been on Caribbean Princess many times over the years and have always enjoyed cruising on her.

Especially last year  for our 14 day cruise when Club Class Dining was first offered for the cabin we always booked anyway.  CC dining is very convenient.

This January, we'll be on Caribbian Princess again in a CC Mini Suite and looking forward to sailing on her once again.  

Really think you'll also enjoy cruising on her and CC dining.   

[FLCruise7]

10 hours ago, eagletwo said:

We sail on the CB for the 4th time January 2nd.  We love the ship and the new beds. We were spoiled on our last cruise in August with a full suite and CC dining. Paul was the head waiter in CC and was wonderful as was the staff.  Yeah, same food but outstanding service.  I like that the buffet area has been opened up a bit and the make-over of the eating areas is very nice.  The buffet food to us is not as good as it was in 2016, but we will never starve. MDR food has been good, Crown Grill food is good, service hit or miss. Sabatini's service is great and the update decor is nice but the food is not to our liking.  Caribbean Princes has been in service since 2004 and a few areas could use some TLC, but she keeps getting a few upgrades and the crew keeps painting all the time. It still amazes me how much repair is done at sea and for the most part done very quickly.  Most of the staff always have a smile.

 

Just looking forward to sailing again. We don't get in a hurry or let the little things bug us, life is too short.

 

We also had Paul in CC back in the summer - he was so personable!  And it looks like we'll be on the same sailing going out next week!  No CC for us this time.  We lucked out on our June cruise with an upsell, but none this time.

[Letacraig]

Thank you . Hoping my experience is as good as yours.

[tiller]

Was on Caribbean Princess in October and really enjoyed it, though I agree with an above poster who said the buffet could get repetitive.

 

Best: Steamers and Planks are fantastic deals for $12. The Salty Dog burger with the smoked gouda (I forget the name)). I regret not having the soft-serve till the end, because the chocolate was delicious. The variety of prizes given at trivia. 

 

Worst: Even toward the end of the 10 days, I kept getting lost. One of the weirder layouts I've been on, and I wasn't alone. 

[OCruisers]

Just adding to the post by "tiller" ... there is no charge for breakfast or lunch at Steamers and Planks. 

[ggprincess2004]

We have very little negative to say about the Caribbean Princess, and appreciate a lot about her. The new Horizon Court buffet is a significant improvement in terms of layout, etc. We are usually not buffet rats, but when we did visit there it was a pleasant experience. The expanded menus at Slice (the pizza place on Lido) and the burger place on Lido are very nice too. We missed those offerings when we were on the other Princess ships. We did not try the meals at Steamers or Planks, so cannot comment.

 

Club Class dining - at first I was pretty skeptical about the concept.  I though "big deal", why bother, but it was part of our suite perks, so we went with it of course. After a few days, I began to truly appreciate the experience. We are anytime diners, so we still had the great flexibility of showing up when we wished, but the hostess tried her best, and succeeded most of the time, to put us at about the same table, with the same pair of servers, so we had the advantage of fixed seating in that they knew our preferences really quickly. Service was better, we enjoyed the special offerings at most meals, and even when the 2 top we had was just about right next to another couple, it was just fine, because we had lovely conversations. So, we really do endorse it now. 

 

There was a complaint about the layout - the same as the rest of the super Grand Class, if you want to go the length of the ship in passenger areas, Deck 7 and up....the major venues are in the same places they are on other ships, Skywalkers is aft on top. We are used to it, and really do like it. 

 

This is not a complaint but rather a statement of fact - she is not a shiny brand new ship. But she is graceful and has everything we want when cruising, realizing that other people might have different priorities and expectations. We are delighted each and every time we can cruise on her. Bon Voyage.

[Letacraig]

Thank you for the insight. Looking forward to this adventure.

[Ep010835]

1 hour ago, ggprincess2004 said:

We have very little negative to say about the Caribbean Princess, and appreciate a lot about her. The new Horizon Court buffet is a significant improvement in terms of layout, etc. We are usually not buffet rats, but when we did visit there it was a pleasant experience. The expanded menus at Slice (the pizza place on Lido) and the burger place on Lido are very nice too. We missed those offerings when we were on the other Princess ships. We did not try the meals at Steamers or Planks, so cannot comment.

 

Club Class dining - at first I was pretty skeptical about the concept.  I though "big deal", why bother, but it was part of our suite perks, so we went with it of course. After a few days, I began to truly appreciate the experience. We are anytime diners, so we still had the great flexibility of showing up when we wished, but the hostess tried her best, and succeeded most of the time, to put us at about the same table, with the same pair of servers, so we had the advantage of fixed seating in that they knew our preferences really quickly. Service was better, we enjoyed the special offerings at most meals, and even when the 2 top we had was just about right next to another couple, it was just fine, because we had lovely conversations. So, we really do endorse it now. 

 

There was a complaint about the layout - the same as the rest of the super Grand Class, if you want to go the length of the ship in passenger areas, Deck 7 and up....the major venues are in the same places they are on other ships, Skywalkers is aft on top. We are used to it, and really do like it. 

 

This is not a complaint but rather a statement of fact - she is not a shiny brand new ship. But she is graceful and has everything we want when cruising, realizing that other people might have different priorities and expectations. We are delighted each and every time we can cruise on her. Bon Voyage.

Bravo! Brilliant comment. Couldn't have said it any better. I love the CB.

+1

[Letacraig]

Thank you to all, great stuff. 

[Simple_Travels4578]

I am typing this from the Wheelhouse Bar on the Caribbean Princess. We just left Curaçao. We have nothing negative to say, we are loving the cruise and the ship.