Review: 13 Days on the Caribbean Princess, Fort Lauderdale to Quebec

[MissP22]

14 hours ago, villauk said:

 

We actually preferred the new World Marketplace. There was so much more room being able to use Steamers and Planks - no ‘cattle market’ feeling at all.

That was one feature they added that was a big improvement.

I suppose the new layout might spread to the other ships someday since it did provide for easier movement.

[Mapu]

When were were on the Caribbean Princess in March there was an area on the opposite side of the ship from the IC that made and saved pizza. Does that still exist?

[CineGraphic]

15 minutes ago, Mapu said:

When were were on the Caribbean Princess in March there was an area on the opposite side of the ship from the IC that made and saved pizza. Does that still exist?

Across the the International Cafe? That's where Vines is.

The pizza place, "Slice" is on the Lido deck. I think people would have a fit if Princess took away fresh pizza from their ships.

[Mapu]

24 minutes ago, Mapu said:

When were were on the Caribbean Princess in March there was an area on the opposite side of the ship from the IC that made and served individual pizza. Does that still exist?

There was a Pizza 🍕 oven and tables near Vines on that side of the ship. People brought salads from the IC to have while they were waiting.

[voljeep]

3 minutes ago, Mapu said:

There was a Pizza 🍕 oven and tables near Vines on that side of the ship. People brought salads from the IC to have while they were waiting.

I sure don't remember that area in May ... and we were in Vines at least 3 nights of our 4 night cruise

 

Maybe it was removed during the wet/dry dock ?

[CineGraphic]

3 minutes ago, Mapu said:

There was a Pizza 🍕 oven and tables near Vines on that side of the ship. People brought salads from the IC to have while they were waiting.

There's a small glassed in kitchen in vines, and next to it is the Vines Store, which sold candy, liquor, and stuff like toothpaste and laundry soap.

[voljeep]

2 minutes ago, CineGraphic said:

There's a small glassed in kitchen in vines, and next to it is the Vines Store, which sold candy, liquor, and stuff like toothpaste and laundry soap.

I remember that 'kitchen' preparing the tapas for Vines ... didn't see pizza ...

[Mapu]

2 minutes ago, voljeep said:

I sure don't remember that area in May ... and we were in Vines at least 3 nights of our 4 night cruise

 

Maybe it was removed during the wet/dry dock ?

We were on the ship right after the dry dock . Sounds like they replaced it sometime afterwards.

[CineGraphic]

Just now, voljeep said:

I remember that 'kitchen' preparing the tapas for Vines ... didn't see pizza ...

I only saw tapas and sushi being prepared as well.

[Mapu]

5 minutes ago, voljeep said:

I sure don't remember that area in May ... and we were in Vines at least 3 nights of our 4 night cruise

 

Maybe it was removed during the wet/dry dock ?

Actually that was the cruise we were on not March. We actually commented that it would have been nice to have it converted to Alfredo’s. It was an area tucked away.

[Ombud]

If looking for favorite excursions,  I'll post 2. Historic  Charleston Harbor Cruise ($30) at Charlestonharbortours.com and Quebec Hop On Hop Off. I didn't do either with the ship. I also found Red Hook Ferry to NYC amazingly simple to use! ($5.50) You can (I did with a ankle brace albeit slower than usual, no inclines) walk from the pier to Quincy Market in Boston. It's not far

 

Like CineGraphic, I did not have a long tender wait .... actually walked right off! But then I was off shortly after breakfast. (9ish?) Heard it was miserable later on

Edited August 19, 2019 by Ombud

[Mapu]

1 minute ago, Ombud said:

If looking for favorite excursions,  I'll post 2. Historic  Charleston Harbor Cruise ($30) at Charlestonharbortours.com and Quebec Hop On Hop Off. I didn't do either with the ship. I also found Red Hook Ferry to NYC amazingly simple to use! ($5.50)

Thank you. Our itinerary (Quebec to NY) does  not stop in Charleston. I did learn about the Red Hook ferry reading the posts from your cruise. We will be staying in Manhattan for a few days after the cruise and plan to take the ferry to Wall Street and then Uber to our hotel.

Do we need to be concerned about the wait time to tender to Bar Harbor? We are catching a 10am trolley tour. There’s a great deal of discussion as to how early we need to meet to guarantee being on shore at 9:30.

Thanks for the HOHO tip in Quebec City. We will be there pre-cruise and will definitely use that to get oriented to the city.

Still deciding what if anything to do in Sydney. Is there enough to do if you don’t take a tour? Trying to balance our activities.

 

[Mapu]

1 hour ago, Mapu said:

Actually that was the cruise we were on not March. We actually commented that it would have been nice to have it converted to Alfredo’s. It was an area tucked away.

Looking at the current deck plan the area I was referring to is now a shop.

[Ombud]

3 minutes ago, Mapu said:

Do we need to be concerned about the wait time to tender to Bar Harbor? We are catching a 10am trolley tour. There’s a great deal of discussion as to how early we need to meet to guarantee being on shore at 9:30.

......

Still deciding what if anything to do in Sydney. Is there enough to do if you don’t take a tour? Trying to balance our activities.

1. NO wait for 1st tenders 

2. There's really only 3 old bldgs in Sydney & paid individually for those (4CAD). Not much to do there. 

 

apologies for hijacking a thread -- backing off now but here's some Sydney views:

[CineGraphic]

11 minutes ago, Ombud said:

apologies for hijacking a thread

Hijack away..... our "live" thread was a group effort too. 🙂

[Mapu]

14 minutes ago, CineGraphic said:

Hijack away..... our "live" thread was a group effort too. 🙂

I followed along your "live" thread and learned a lot. We have plans  for Saguenay, Charlestown, Bar Harbor and will be meeting friends in Boston. We are planning on Halifax on our own as well as Sydney unless anyone has a "must do" suggestion to Sydney (we have ruled out going to the fort).

Thanks for any suggestions.

[CruisingJs]

43 minutes ago, Mapu said:

Thank you. Our itinerary (Quebec to NY) does  not stop in Charleston. I did learn about the Red Hook ferry reading the posts from your cruise. We will be staying in Manhattan for a few days after the cruise and plan to take the ferry to Wall Street and then Uber to our hotel.

Do we need to be concerned about the wait time to tender to Bar Harbor? We are catching a 10am trolley tour. There’s a great deal of discussion as to how early we need to meet to guarantee being on shore at 9:30.

Thanks for the HOHO tip in Quebec City. We will be there pre-cruise and will definitely use that to get oriented to the city.

Still deciding what if anything to do in Sydney. Is there enough to do if you don’t take a tour? Trying to balance our activities.

 

In Sydney we did a tour with Blue Thistle Tours that did part of the Cabot Trail.  We enjoyed it a lot...beautiful scenery!

[Mapu]

21 minutes ago, CruisingJs said:

In Sydney we did a tour with Blue Thistle Tours that did part of the Cabot Trail.  We enjoyed it a lot...beautiful scenery!

Thanks Janice. We have "scenic"  tours for both Saguenay and Charlottestown. I have contacted Blue Thistle none the less. Given the fact that we are due to arrive at 7AM and knowing that we will not be rushing off the ship (unless on tour)  but probably meandering off around 10AM with a 3:30 all aboard, still deciding. 

[Camelia-]

thank you so much for that link!! Clearly it was a different experience for everyone and a good reminder to read as many reviews as possible to get a more balanced idea of a ship. Course of most interest (to me) is the reason behind most complaints and I can see that some are more understandable than others. Course -there is no accounting for individual tastes or know what expectations people bring with them when they board.

 

At least no one has said that they left the ship bored to tears..lol!!!

[CCFC]

I loved every stop, the ship and everyone we met. I would gladly do it again. One of the highlights was the US Navy fly-by off the coast of Virginia, the fighter was so fast I couldn't take a picture of it, twice! The vibrations are still there despite the dry dock, this is deck 18 mind you. The Palm restaurant was a bit jittery too.

 

 

[villauk]

37 minutes ago, CCFC said:

I loved every stop, the ship and everyone we met. I would gladly do it again. One of the highlights was the US Navy fly-by off the coast of Virginia, the fighter was so fast I couldn't take a picture of it, twice! The vibrations are still there despite the dry dock, this is deck 18 mind you. The Palm restaurant was a bit jittery too.

 

 

 

 

Our kids loved that too 😃.

 

We took a taxi to Boone Hall in Charleston and had a wonderful time there; in hindsight, we wish we’d allowed more time as we still had things we missed seeing.

 

In Sydney, we had a great trip with others off the roll call with Blackwood Tours.

 

Boston was a Princess excursion for us (used OBC) to Lexington, Concord and Quincy Market. The guide was fabulous and we learnt so much. I loved Lexington and thought it must be a great place to live.

 

Bar Harbor is one of our favourites. Rhode Island was a nightmare for the tenders unless you went very early. Our teens helped the two Princess staff hand out water and towels to the queue waiting to get back on the ship, too. It was very hot and the queue went right back on to the main road. Many of the older pax were struggling, hence our kids taking the initiative and going to help (the Princess staff were nowhere near reaching the middle of the line, never mind the end). Many were grateful and expressed their thanks to the boys.

 

NYC - took advice from others on the roll call and pre-purchased our ferry tickets off the app. We walked all day around Manhattan, after visiting the 9/11 Memorial and grabbing the tube to Times Square.

Edited August 19, 2019 by villauk

[Colo Cruiser]

1 hour ago, CCFC said:

I loved every stop, the ship and everyone we met. I would gladly do it again. One of the highlights was the US Navy fly-by off the coast of Virginia, the fighter was so fast I couldn't take a picture of it, twice! The vibrations are still there despite the dry dock, this is deck 18 mind you. The Palm restaurant was a bit jittery too.

 

 

FWIW.........this is the same on the Star.

We also experienced on the CB long before the propulsion issues.

IMO.......

It has a lot to do with the old style shopping cart handle "Skywalker's" and not so much with any engine issues or dry dock fixes.

 

On the Grand "Skwalkers" was removed due to a combination of the type of steel used/ the weight of the entire structure, and the constant shaking that caused cracks.

The ships that came after, Star/Golden/CB used different materials to reduce weight.

[Suncitycruiser1925]

I am sorry to hear that Alfredo's Pizzeria Restaurant is no longer on Caribbean Princess.  We always enjoyed going there for a meal or two.  I hope they are not taking it off other ships.  I liked the small venue, good food, being waited on and quiet location.  Pizza, eggplant parm appetizer and minestrone soup were very good there.  And tiramisu was very good there also.  And it was an included dining option.

Edited August 20, 2019 by Suncitycruiser1925
Typo

[AZ Stan (FKA Stan in Chicago)]

On 8/18/2019 at 4:57 PM, Camelia- said:

Enjoyed reading this review very much! Interesting to see your comment about some people being miserable....was this just generally a negative attitude overall or about specific instances? I remember reading that there was a problem with the tendering in one of the ports..I imagine that there must have been a lot of unhappy people then!!

Camelia,

We were also on this cruise, and we felt there was very little to criticize.  Food was excellent, as was the service for the most part (a couple of waiters in Anytime dining were less than stellar), but overall, most were top notch.

About the tenders...one morning, we were scheduled on a Princess tour, and there was a long wait for tenders.  We were told that the ship had to be re-positioned due to either winds or currents, can't remember which.  When we actually got into the tender, and it was about to leave the tender dock, it sideswiped the tender dock, and then ended up ramming into the next dock forward. Then, about 10 minutes later, a ship's officer came down, and said there was a "technical" problem with that tender, and we had to move to another tender.  Our tour ended up being an hour late.  Inconvenient? Yes, but not a big deal in the grand scheme of things.

A cruise is what you make of it.  Keep a positive attitude, and overlook the little things that don't go as well as you would like.  Remember that the crew who are working for you, for the most part are working 11 hours a day, 7 days a week, so be nice to them, and remember to say "thank you".

Stan

[Camelia-]

1 minute ago, AZ Stan (FKA Stan in Chicago) said:

Camelia,

We were also on this cruise, and we felt there was very little to criticize.  Food was excellent, as was the service for the most part (a couple of waiters in Anytime dining were less than stellar), but overall, most were top notch.

About the tenders...one morning, we were scheduled on a Princess tour, and there was a long wait for tenders.  We were told that the ship had to be re-positioned due to either winds or currents, can't remember which.  When we actually got into the tender, and it was about to leave the tender dock, it sideswiped the tender dock, and then ended up ramming into the next dock forward. Then, about 10 minutes later, a ship's officer came down, and said there was a "technical" problem with that tender, and we had to move to another tender.  Our tour ended up being an hour late.  Inconvenient? Yes, but not a big deal in the grand scheme of things.

A cruise is what you make of it.  Keep a positive attitude, and overlook the little things that don't go as well as you would like.  Remember that the crew who are working for you, for the most part are working 11 hours a day, 7 days a week, so be nice to them, and remember to say "thank you".

Stan

 

Wow..that was quite a tender experience!! I do so agree...attitude is everything and can make or break a vacation..there will always be things that are out of our control and at the end of the day..the only thing we CAN control is our own reaction.  I do try to keep in mind that the crew members..like us..are very eager to make sure that things go well..we're all on the same side!! I think alot of issues arise when we can only see part of the picture and communication breaks down..that's not to say that we SHOULD know the whole picture of course..but in some instances it might help to keep impatience and complaints to a minimum.