New Princess Cruisers - Some questions

[WallyNDiane]

We have 10 cruises under our belt, 2 Celebrity, 5 NCL, 2 Carnival, 1 Royal Caribbean. We just booked the 2/2/20 Princess Caribbean Princess 14 day cruise out of Ft Lauderdale. Couple questions.

 

1) Are the Specialty Restaurants on the Caribbean Princess worth the upcharge?

2) Does Princess post the specialty restaurant cost and menus on their website?

3) We have selected anytime dining. Our last cruise with Celebrity used the second level of the main dining room for the anytime dining. Does Princess do the same?

4) For those that have recently sailed with Celebrity, how does the Princess main dining room food compare to Celebrity?

5) Does Princess offer any specialty restaurant multi day packages at a discount to the daily upcharge?

 

Enough Princess questions for now. I had planned to go on a NCL 14 night cruise but switched to Princess just 3 days ago. So never having cruised with Princess before and just a bit of experience with their website, I have many questions. 

 

Just one question on the ports, this cruise stops at Trinidad (never been there). I knew nothing on Trinidad Port of Spain. I was shocked to see the safety concerns and the lack of cruise critic posts on the Trinidad board. Now I am surprised that Princess even stops there. Any Trinidad comments are welcomed. I selected this cruise because it had 3 ports I have never been to (Bonaire,St Kitts,Trinidad). Now Trinidad  has me concerned.

 

Thanks all!

[Sackat60]

Hi,

 

Here are some answers.  I'm also going to be on the Caribbean Princess, but in Nov, for the 14 day Circle Caribbean cruise.

 

1) Are the Specialty Restaurants on the Caribbean Princess worth the upcharge? -  Most people think so, but this is highly subjective.  I find the specialty restaurants to generally be a notch above the MDR's and casual dining venues. 

2) Does Princess post the specialty restaurant cost and menus on their website? -  Yes - and there are PDF's with the menus and costs.

3) We have selected anytime dining. Our last cruise with Celebrity used the second level of the main dining room for the anytime dining. Does Princess do the same? -  They generally use sections of the MDR for Anytime dining.

4) For those that have recently sailed with Celebrity, how does the Princess main dining room food compare to Celebrity?  I am a foodie and found Celebrity to be better.  That being said, most of my friends love Princess food and there are some good items, with lots of options.  The desserts are spectacular.

5) Does Princess offer any specialty restaurant multi day packages at a discount to the daily upcharge? NO

[JF - retired RRT]

2 hours ago, WallyNDiane said:

3) We have selected anytime dining. Our last cruise with Celebrity used the second level of the main dining room for the anytime dining. Does Princess do the same?

Most Princess ships have 3 MDRs.

2 seatings for all MDRs

One is Traditional dining only 

One is Anytime dining only 

One is Traditional for the 1st seating and Anytime for the 2nd seating

All MDRs are one level, no "balcony"

[lx200gps]

2 hours ago, WallyNDiane said:

We have 10 cruises under our belt, 2 Celebrity, 5 NCL, 2 Carnival, 1 Royal Caribbean. We just booked the 2/2/20 Princess Caribbean Princess 14 day cruise out of Ft Lauderdale. Couple questions.

 

1) Are the Specialty Restaurants on the Caribbean Princess worth the upcharge? We typically eat in the Speciality Restaurants about half the time on each trip. We've found the food to be a bit better than an MDR, but for us the Specialty Restaurants are FAR more quiet and sedate with better service than the frenetic MDRs with the harried and overworked waiters, loud noise, lineups. etc. For us, they are well worth the upcharge.

2) Does Princess post the specialty restaurant cost and menus on their website? We've only been on the CB once, but IIRC Sabatini's and the Crown Grill were in the $30 range give or take a bit. Prices across the fleet are generally uniform

3) We have selected anytime dining. Our last cruise with Celebrity used the second level of the main dining room for the anytime dining. Does Princess do the same?

4) For those that have recently sailed with Celebrity, how does the Princess main dining room food compare to Celebrity? We've only been on X once and ate in Blu, which was generally superior to Princess's MDR food, but that being said, the Princess MDRs are quite good, certainly ahead of NCL. FWIW, we also found the Princess Buffet to be superior to X and NCL

5) Does Princess offer any specialty restaurant multi day packages at a discount to the daily upcharge? None that we are aware of. One good "deal" on Specialty Restaurants on Princess comes from a Coupon Booklet that some travel agents (and Princess?) give out.  It gives a 2 for 1 deal in SRs ONLY on Embarkation Day. We always use the coupon, great deal

 

Enough Princess questions for now. I had planned to go on a NCL 14 night cruise but switched to Princess just 3 days ago. So never having cruised with Princess before and just a bit of experience with their website, I have many questions. 

 

Just one question on the ports, this cruise stops at Trinidad (never been there). I knew nothing on Trinidad Port of Spain. I was shocked to see the safety concerns and the lack of cruise critic posts on the Trinidad board. Now I am surprised that Princess even stops there. Any Trinidad comments are welcomed. I selected this cruise because it had 3 ports I have never been to (Bonaire,St Kitts,Trinidad). Now Trinidad  has me concerned.

 

Thanks all!

 

[skynight]

3 hours ago, WallyNDiane said:

We have 10 cruises under our belt, 2 Celebrity, 5 NCL, 2 Carnival, 1 Royal Caribbean. We just booked the 2/2/20 Princess Caribbean Princess 14 day cruise out of Ft Lauderdale. Couple questions.

 

1) Are the Specialty Restaurants on the Caribbean Princess worth the upcharge?

Princess' main DR serves nice selections. There is no need to dine in a specialty restaurant. But, we usually do at least once. If you want steak the only decent place is the Crown Grill.

2) Does Princess post the specialty restaurant cost and menus on their website?

Yes, you can see them in your cruise personlizer. Specialty restaurants have the same menu every evening. This site will help you. 

3) We have selected anytime dining. Our last cruise with Celebrity used the second level of the main dining room for the anytime dining. Does Princess do the same?

No. No second DR levels on Princess ships. Anytime dining is 5:00pm until 9:00pm in the Island DR deck 5 mid ship and from 7:15pm until 9:30pm in the Coral DR on deck 6 mid ship. If you booked a full suite or Club Class mini suite then your DR is the Coral DR. Club Class dining is Anytime dining.

4) For those that have recently sailed with Celebrity, how does the Princess main dining room food compare to Celebrity?

5) Does Princess offer any specialty restaurant multi day packages at a discount to the daily upcharge?

No. Look for a coupon book in your cabin. It is part of some T.A's benefits. There may be a 2 for 1 coupon good for boarding day.

Enough Princess questions for now. I had planned to go on a NCL 14 night cruise but switched to Princess just 3 days ago. So never having cruised with Princess before and just a bit of experience with their website, I have many questions. 

 

Just one question on the ports, this cruise stops at Trinidad (never been there). I knew nothing on Trinidad Port of Spain. I was shocked to see the safety concerns and the lack of cruise critic posts on the Trinidad board. Now I am surprised that Princess even stops there. Any Trinidad comments are welcomed. I selected this cruise because it had 3 ports I have never been to (Bonaire,St Kitts,Trinidad). Now Trinidad  has me concerned.

Trinidad. You can not really get off and just walk around the town. Nothing tourist like there. Take a tour.

Bonaire. Great port especially if you like snorkel. Nice town to walk around. Check out a golf cart rental with Bonairecruisers.com

St. Kitts. There is a mall right at the pier. Lots more to do on the island.

 

Thanks all!

See above. We did this itinerary, nice. Note regarding theater shows. All seating first come first seated. Arrive at least 30 minutes before showtime. For the show Bravo, not to be missed, 45 minutes to an hour early. Bring a book.

[Thrak]

In Trinidad we took a Princess excursion. Caroni Bird Sanctuary. The bad thing was that it was a day time deal. We saw a number of birds and such and a few of the bright red Scarlet Ibis  tucked back in the bushes. In the evening bazillions of them flock back to the area but, during the day, sightings are few and, like I said, they were tucked back in the swamp stuff. They are freaking beautiful and seeing them returning in the evening would be great. If your cruise allows that then, by all means, give it a shot. Otherwise you may want to find a different excursion. As others have said, it's not really the place to just get off the ship and wander around on your own.

[skynight]

This pdf may help with dining

https://www.princess.com/downloads/pdf/food-and-dining/dining-options.pdf

[Mike45LC]

Food is SO personal!  I find that Celebrity's food is somewhat better -- I am comparing the Edge (both Blu and Main Dining Rooms) to the Ruby's MDR.  And the food in the buffet, again Edge has the edge!  But Princess' hours for the buffet are much better.  I was very unhappy with Celebrity because every time I got back on board from a tour, I would find the buffet closed and no food available except the lousy pizza.

 

I enjoy the Crowne Grill, but I do not usually do the upgrade.  I find the MDR to be satisfactory.  

 

Enjoy!

 

[katisdale]

We were in Trinidad this past February and just got off the ship and took a taxi for a short tour through the area. We saw the Victorian homes, went to an overlook, and into the downtown area where there are lots of banks and lawyers offices. It was interesting to see the preparations being made for Carnivale. I never felt unsafe.

As far as food goes, so subjective, I greatly prefer Princess to Celebrity.

[Thrak]

22 hours ago, Mike45LC said:

I enjoy the Crowne Grill, but I do not usually do the upgrade.  I find the MDR to be satisfactory.  

 

We very rarely eat at a specialty restaurant. Usually only if it is comped. We simply can't eat a meal that large. Also,  I'm always surprised that the beef is not very flavorful at Crown Grill. On our last cruise we had free specialty dining and the staff in Crown Grill seemed extremely miffed that we not only didn't finish our dinners but refused dessert. Seriously... They seemed quite put out and insulted but we have this "weird" policy: We eat until we are full and then quit regardless of there still being food on the plate.