Caribbean Princess Negative Comments

[MISTER 67]

On 5/29/2020 at 8:11 PM, Mo Jito said:

I’ve sailed on Caribbean Princess twice and I like the ship a lot. I don’t recall having any issues with getting seated in the dining room or bars, but it was definitely a ship where you had to get to the theater at least 45 minutes before showtime to get a seat. I think this is the case on many of the larger Princess ships. I would absolutely sail on her again - in fact I have a 2021 sailing booked on her.

Yep, I'm pretty sure that the main theaters on ships like the Caribbean Princess have about 1000 seats, over 3000 pax, that leaves 1000 that can't see a show assuming everyone wants to attend. Princess had many complaints so they started doing 3 shows a night but they were only about 30-35 minutes long which is a joke.

 

Our last cruise on Caribbean Princess was back in summer of 2018. We have sailed on her 8 times starting when she was brand new and watched the ship down through the years  suffer from lack of engine problems, maintenance and issues with cleanliness. Furniture and carpeting were in bad condition and finally on our last cruise on her the food was not much better than Golden Corral. We will never sail on her again unless there is a complete re-do of her. We were very impressed with the rejuvenation program that Celebrity instituted on their ships, Princess if they have some money should look at what Celebrity did. 

 

Edited May 31, 2020 by MISTER 67

[Coral]

7 minutes ago, Thrak said:

It's unfortunate that Caribbean Princess doesn't have Adagio like Ruby, Emerald, and Crown. It's such a relaxing place to get away from other folks and have some quiet time and sometimes one can catch some jazz there at night if the ship's musicians get together.

Though it doesn't help with the lines in Anytime dining, crowding in the atrium or in the Theatre.

[voljeep]

52 minutes ago, Thrak said:

It's unfortunate that Caribbean Princess doesn't have Adagio like Ruby, Emerald, and Crown. It's such a relaxing place to get away from other folks and have some quiet time

follow the money - it didn't go to Adagio ...

[Coral]

6 minutes ago, voljeep said:

follow the money - it didn't go to Adagio ...

Actually - -Adagio had not been thought of when they built the Caribbean Princess.

[Tedferg]

Just now, voljeep said:

follow the money - it didn't go to Adagio ...

I forget which ship we were on but we went to Adagio for a change before dinner - we were the only people in there.

 

Regarding earlier comment about Island and Coral. We have been on Ruby twice and Grand. My reference was that, though we preferred the Coral, we did not feel negatively towards Island. Hence might find Caribbean OK in spite of negative comments. This thread seem 50 / 50 for and against.

 

I think the only other option on this itinerary is Sky and we don't like the absence of Crooners. Will check other options further. All but one of our cruises have been Princess and I think HAL and Celebrity sail out of Boston - for us New York would be a high point.

[cr8tiv1]

It's very interesting to read these reviews.  Most say that they prefer the small ships (Coral, Grand, etc).  Yet Princess has invested their future in the Royal Class ships with more to be built.  I will not sail on the Princess' MEGA ships.  But that will definitely limit what is available.  I only sail on the Caribbean Princess because of the Window Suites.  I do enjoy the Princess Theater Shows and hope that the ED will look into providing enough shows so that the entire ship may enjoy these wonderful performances.  

[Neonch]

I sailed on Caribbean Princess in April of 2019 for my kids spring break.  My wife and I are late thirties and we traveled with another couple and their children.   I only mention ages and time of year as I think that could change perspective.  I thought it was just OK.  Given other options, I would not pick that ship again.  We sailed on Regal and loved it.  We have also been on numerous Royal ships. 

 

We found it very difficult to get seats for a show without showing up over a half hour earlier.  The older folks on board didn't seem to mind lining up super early.  Showing up 15 minutes early was not enough to get in on numerous shows.  I also thought the buffet was not nearly as good as what we had experienced on Regal. We also had the same opinion of the dinning room.  Kids club was awesome though.  

[Tedferg]

34 minutes ago, Neonch said:

The older folks on board didn't seem to mind lining up super early

We live in 55 and older development and amazed how old farts line up way before a show starts at our club house !

[dog]

I have sailed on Caribbean Princess twice in aft balcony cabin and midship mini suite. I like caribe & Baja decks. Never a problem. Prefer smaller ships and less crowded elevators. Re: traditional dining means less lineups.  

Edited June 1, 2020 by dog

[Thrak]

On 5/31/2020 at 11:31 AM, Tedferg said:

I forget which ship we were on but we went to Adagio for a change before dinner - we were the only people in there.

 

 

Most people don't even seem to realize the venue exists. It gets used during the day by folks reading or playing quiet games. There's a nice bit of deck with a door from Adagio (and Share as well) leading out there. I wish they would "open" Adagio earlier. They only open the bar in the evening and they don't really schedule many entertainment type things there so many just simply have no idea it even exists. We have been fortunate to catch some jazz from the ship's musicians fairly late in the evening but that's not something one can count on. If you just want a quiet place to relax in the day or a quiet drink in the evening it's a good place. They really ought to advertise it more though as I can agree the money really doesn't flow to that venue.

[eagletwo]

Sailed once on Diamond Princess, once on Crown Princess and three times on Caribbean Princess. Don't go to shows, so crowded theater is not a problem, but I see other lines have similar issues. You can't have a 3000 passenger ship and expect to seat everyone in a 900 seat theater. We love the CB and will sail on her again  Medallion Class ship is wonderful. Also, if it's in your budget, Club Class dining is wonderful. We never waited more than 5 minutes for a table  Service was better than any of the specialty restaurants. 

[MickeyandLV]

We will avoid Caribbean Princess because of how they cut up the buffet.  In the evening, they take the back of the buffet seating and make 2 specialty restaurants (BBQ and seafood).  This really cuts into the seating available for buffet.  We usually like to do the buffet when there is nothing we want to eat in the main dining room.   We have been on Caribbean Princess twice since they added the specialty restaurants in the back of the buffet.   We like Regal much more than Caribbean Princess.

[skynight]

10 hours ago, Thrak said:

 

Most people don't even seem to realize the venue exists. It gets used during the day by folks reading or playing quiet games. There's a nice bit of deck with a door from Adagio (and Share as well) leading out there. I wish they would "open" Adagio earlier. They only open the bar in the evening and they don't really schedule many entertainment type things there so many just simply have no idea it even exists. We have been fortunate to catch some jazz from the ship's musicians fairly late in the evening but that's not something one can count on. If you just want a quiet place to relax in the day or a quiet drink in the evening it's a good place. They really ought to advertise it more though as I can agree the money really doesn't flow to that venue.

Only Crown, Emerald, Ruby have this lounge. Agree, a nice location. Not on the Caribbean.

[Tedferg]

14 hours ago, Thrak said:

 

Most people don't even seem to realize the venue exists. It gets used during the day by folks reading or playing quiet games. There's a nice bit of deck with a door from Adagio (and Share as well) leading out there. I wish they would "open" Adagio earlier. They only open the bar in the evening and they don't really schedule many entertainment type things there so many just simply have no idea it even exists. We have been fortunate to catch some jazz from the ship's musicians fairly late in the evening but that's not something one can count on. If you just want a quiet place to relax in the day or a quiet drink in the evening it's a good place. They really ought to advertise it more though as I can agree the money really doesn't flow to that venue.

I think one of the Specialty restaurants was near Adagio or maybe Traditional Dining ???

[Tedferg]

44 minutes ago, Tedferg said:

I think one of the Specialty restaurants was near Adagio or maybe Traditional Dining ???

I see now it is Share restaurant.

[INeedAMaiTai]

I'm booked for next July on the Caribbean, and after reading all of these, I am pleased.  I usually prefer the smaller ships, but for 14 days I will appreciate a little extra space.  Thank you all for your input.

[voljeep]

8 minutes ago, Tedferg said:

I see now it is Share restaurant.

we ate at Share when it first came out on the Emerald … 2015, 16 or so

 

stopped by Adagio pre-meal - only ones in there until as we were leaving another couple came in … 

[Coral]

1 hour ago, INeedAMaiTai said:

I'm booked for next July on the Caribbean, and after reading all of these, I am pleased.  I usually prefer the smaller ships, but for 14 days I will appreciate a little extra space.  Thank you all for your input.

This ship probably has the worst space ratio of any ship in the Princess fleet. There is no extra space - just an extra deck of passengers.

[Thrak]

1 hour ago, INeedAMaiTai said:

I'm booked for next July on the Caribbean, and after reading all of these, I am pleased.  I usually prefer the smaller ships, but for 14 days I will appreciate a little extra space.  Thank you all for your input.

 

If you eat at the buffet go all the way through to the back. For breakfast that's where the cooked-to-order eggs can be had and where you can get omelets made. At lunch time that space has options not available in the main part of the buffet. (At night it becomes Planks and Steamers with a small fee but during breakfast and lunch it's complimentary.) There is also a small area just past there with some comfy seating where you can sit and read during the day and there's a door right there that goes out to the aft bar and pool.

[AtlantaCruiser72]

I am the poster who made the comment the OP referred to. 

 

My point was that the Caribbean, compared to the original Grand Class trio, had NO changes (as originally built) to her layout, size of facilities, etc to absorb the additional deck of passengers.  As a result she feels crowded when compared to her older siblings.  Over the years many of the changes made during her visits to drydock have attempted to correct some, but not all, of these issues.

 

When the Grand Plus vessels were built (Crown, Emerald, Ruby) there was an attempt to enlarge and relocate certain venues (Wheelhouse Bar & Crooners for example) to improve traffic flow and decrease pressure on other venues.  While it somewhat succeeded, this did not solve the issues of overcrowding in the showroom or waits for Anytime Dining.

 

The Caribbean is certainly not a "bad" ship, she just wouldn't be my first choice of Grand/Grand Plus class vessels.  That said I have ended sailing her more than any other ship in the Princess fleet for various reasons.

Edited June 2, 2020 by AtlantaCruiser72

[Tedferg]

1 hour ago, AtlantaCruiser72 said:

I am the poster who made the comment the OP referred to. 

 

My point was that the Caribbean, compared to the original Grand Class trio, had NO changes (as originally built) to her layout, size of facilities, etc to absorb the additional deck of passengers.  As a result she feels crowded when compared to her older siblings.  Over the years many of the changes made during her visits to drydock have attempted to correct some, but not all, of these issues.

 

When the Grand Plus vessels were built (Crown, Emerald, Ruby) there was an attempt to enlarge and relocate certain venues (Wheelhouse Bar & Crooners for example) to improve traffic flow and decrease pressure on other venues.  While it somewhat succeeded, this did not solve the issues of overcrowding in the showroom or waits for Anytime Dining.

 

The Caribbean is certainly not a "bad" ship, she just wouldn't be my first choice of Grand/Grand Plus class vessels.  That said I have ended sailing her more than any other ship in the Princess fleet for various reasons.

Thanks for your informative comments. We would sail on Caribbean if we chose Canada NE itinerary, Sky only does R/T New York, so no real options.

[Suncitycruiser1925]

We sailed on the Caribbean Princess in November of 2016.  We loved the ship and had a wonderful cruuse.  It was a Thanksgiving cruise, but we really never felt like it was crowded.  We sailed on the Caribbean Princess afain this past February and felt it was very crowded--it was hard to get a chair at the pool and the movies and entertainment around the pool were so loud we could not have a conversation.  The only quiet, relaxing place we found outdoors during the day was to sit on the promenade deck.  We left the pool deck several times and went to the Promenade Deck for quiet and to talk to our friends (another couple) who were on the ship.  You needed to get to the shows about 40 minutes early to get 4 seats together.  It was also difficult to find seats for the buffet.  The atrium/piazza is much smaller than the Regal, Royal and Sky, so it was harder to get seats there.   We missed Alfredo's Italian/pizza complimentary restaurant.  It was very evident to us that more passenger cabins were added and there was less public space.  My husband and I agreed that we would not choose sailing on the Caribbean Princess again.  

[Tedferg]

19 minutes ago, Suncitycruiser1925 said:

We sailed on the Caribbean Princess in November of 2016.  We loved the ship and had a wonderful cruuse.  It was a Thanksgiving cruise, but we really never felt like it was crowded.  We sailed on the Caribbean Princess afain this past February and felt it was very crowded--it was hard to get a chair at the pool and the movies and entertainment around the pool were so loud we could not have a conversation.  The only quiet, relaxing place we found outdoors during the day was to sit on the promenade deck.  We left the pool deck several times and went to the Promenade Deck for quiet and to talk to our friends (another couple) who were on the ship.  You needed to get to the shows about 40 minutes early to get 4 seats together.  It was also difficult to find seats for the buffet.  The atrium/piazza is much smaller than the Regal, Royal and Sky, so it was harder to get seats there.   We missed Alfredo's Italian/pizza complimentary restaurant.  It was very evident to us that more passenger cabins were added and there was less public space.  My husband and I agreed that we would not choose sailing on the Caribbean Princess again.  

So the difference was the addition of a deck between those cruises ?

 

I checked passengers on Princess site Caribbean 3140, Ruby 3080, Grand 2600

 

[Suncitycruiser1925]

Yes, the addition of another passenger deck with the same amount of public space and redesign of the  buffet area to add Planks and Steamers dining areas and seating for those 2 restaurants. 

[lynn2002]

I cruised on the Caribbean Princess last Christmas/New Year.  It was a fourteen night cruise around the Caribbean and our first time on Princess.  I personally will not sail on her again.  It was a lovely ship, beautifully decorated.  The wait for anytime dining were excessive.  In the first week we managed to eat in the allocated dining room only twice after long waits between forty minutes and an hour.  On one occasion we queued to get into the dining room for half an hour, when we got to the front we were giving the hand alarm and asked to take a seat whilst we continued to wait but there was nowhere to sit.  After a further half an hour the hand alarm flashed and we thought we were going to be shown to a table, but instead we were gathered on the side with others and then taken as a group up the stairs, along the ship and then down the stairs to another dining room.  If all that wasn't bad enough, the other dining room was not really ready for us and we had a long wait at the table to be served.  This went on for a week and I would give up and go to the buffet.  This also happened again on Christmas Eve, although on that occasion I refused to go to the other dining room after waiting for an hour and when I went to complain that in one week we had only managed to dine twice in the Main Dining Rooms the Maitre D very rudely told me to take it or leave it.   

 

The second week improved gradually and by the end they either started to manage the numbers dining or people had given up dining in the main dining rooms.  A lot of people were complaining and it didn't seem to matter what time we went, there were always the same problems.  

 

I am trying another Princess Cruise on the Sky Princess over this coming Christmas/New Year and hope we don't have the same problems as I had travelled with my teenage daughter and meal times (and off the ship) were the only times we spent together.  I wanted quality time together not a quick slice of pizza.

 

I would use the pools when we were in port, if we got back early, when the lido deck was pretty quiet, and did not attend any of the shows in the theatre to comment on it.