Tell me about Caribbean Princess

[Kitty Ellas Mom]

I was supposed to go on Royal and then Majestic, both to Alaska, and in June, but all that got canceled. 1st cruise. Now I have a chance to go with the same people on Caribbean to see Canada in fall 2023. I've started looking at Caribbean and am feeling a little underwhelmed. Things I liked like the waterfall into the pool in Enclave are missing. I take it that this is an older less fancy ship? Please tell me some pros and cons and opinions about this ship in Canada and New England in mid Sept.

Edited June 30, 2022 by Kitty Ellas Mom

[skynight]

Nice ship, nice itinerary. No Enclave, but there is a Thermal Spa. 5 pools, but in September not too much lying around the pools. Wrap around promenade, not available on the Royal. Great Lounges, Explorer's Lounge, Wheelhouse Bar, Club Fusion, Crooner's Lounge, Skywalker's Nightclub. Larger balconies than on the Royal. Standard balconies on the Royal are 9ftx4ft. Standard balconies on the Caribbean are 9ftx5ft for balcony cat cabins on decks 11 through 15. Balconies on deck 10 are 9ftx9ft half covered. Mini suite balconies are 9ft x6ft not covered except for the 12 aft mini suite cabins on deck 8 which have covered balconies. Full suites have various size balconies. There is no Alfredo's on the Caribbean. Lots of upper deck viewing areas. 

[JimmyVWine]

27 minutes ago, skynight said:

Nice ship, nice itinerary. No Enclave, but there is a Thermal Spa. 5 pools, but in September not too much lying around the pools. Wrap around promenade, not available on the Royal. Great Lounges, Explorer's Lounge, Wheelhouse Bar, Club Fusion, Crooner's Lounge, Skywalker's Nightclub. Larger balconies than on the Royal. Standard balconies on the Royal are 9ftx4ft. Standard balconies on the Caribbean are 9ftx5ft for balcony cat cabins on decks 11 through 15. Balconies on deck 10 are 9ftx9ft half covered. Mini suite balconies are 9ft x6ft not covered except for the 12 aft mini suite cabins on deck 8 which have covered balconies. Full suites have various size balconies. There is no Alfredo's on the Caribbean. Lots of upper deck viewing areas. 

Sums up my feelings as well.  To me, the only advantage the newer ships have over the older Grand Class Ships are their "newness."  To some, that is very important.  But in terms of venues, features, balcony size, full promenade, pools, etc., Caribbean beats the newer ships in a rout.  We all have our preferences.  A waterfall into a pool isn't one of mine when choosing a ship as compared to getting a balcony the size of a handball court, watching the world go by from the vantagepoint in Skywalkers and strolling the entire circumference of the promenade.  Don't get me wrong.  I enjoy the new ships as well.  But I'm certainly not in the "I'm never going back to the older ships" camp.  My favorite ships in terms of layout and features remain Sapphire and Crown, (if and when they get the propulsion issue fixed.)  

[hubcruiser]

In my opinion, the best ship in the fleet.

 

[Tak8]

I was on Caribbean Princess in May for two weeks.  A little older and doesn't have all the new Royal Class ship additions, but it is a great ship.  I would sail her again.  The thermal suite is very relaxing.  It does have Sabatini's and Crown Grill.  Great staff.  I find her an easy ship to navigate.  

[rwilk1129]

We were very disappointed in the breakfast, lunch, and dinner buffet on our Caribbean Princess sailing in May. After experiencing Horizon Court on Regal and Sky don't believe we will ever go back to CB. Really missed the fresh pastas and various shrimp available. CB had a lot of weird dishes.

[tetleytea]

I'm not very picky, but as far as anything I actually cared about, I noticed no difference between the Caribbean Princess and the Island.   The staff were different, but people will always be different.

 

[capriccio]

56 minutes ago, rwilk1129 said:

We were very disappointed in the breakfast, lunch, and dinner buffet on our Caribbean Princess sailing in May. After experiencing Horizon Court on Regal and Sky don't believe we will ever go back to CB. Really missed the fresh pastas and various shrimp available. CB had a lot of weird dishes.

Wow - I wonder if the executive chef has changed since January. 

 

We had some of the best MDR food on any of our 27 Princess cruises. The ship was at 33% capacity which could influence that but it was also experiencing supply chain issues and still managed excellent dishes in the MDR for all meals including 4 nights with beef options plus shrimp and excellent fish dishes on many nights.   We didn't go to the buffet or a specialty restaurant. 

 

I would never write off a ship on the basis of the dining experience on one cruise.  All executive chefs are working with the fleet wide recipes but obviously not all executive chefs are created equal.

[PacnGoNow]

22 minutes ago, capriccio said:

Wow - I wonder if the executive chef has changed since January. 

 

We had some of the best MDR food on any of our 27 Princess cruises. The ship was at 33% capacity which could influence that but it was also experiencing supply chain issues and still managed excellent dishes in the MDR for all meals including 4 nights with beef options plus shrimp and excellent fish dishes on many nights.   We didn't go to the buffet or a specialty restaurant. 

 

I would never write off a ship on the basis of the dining experience on one cruise.  All executive chefs are working with the fleet wide recipes but obviously not all executive chefs are created equal.

I agree!  We had 6 weeks on CB  3 mos ago and food was good.  Buffet was hit or miss.  Great crew!  Amazing!

I do miss Alfredo’s though. 

[azbirdmom]

We were on the ship in May.  Our expectations were low but the food exceeded our expectations.  Staff was fantastic.  We did have an issue with our toilet but that was fixed before it became an issue.  It's old and rusty in spots but none of that affected our enjoyment on our cruise.  YMMV!

[tetleytea]

50 minutes ago, azbirdmom said:

 We did have an issue with our toilet but that was fixed before it became an issue.

 

Same story here.  We had a toilet issue but it went away before we even had to report it.  The cabin stewards must know things we don't.

[msmoger]

Just finished a week on the Caribbean Princess.  Had a great time.  MDR and specialty restaurant food was excellent.  Didn't eat much in the buffet but when we did it was fine.  Crew was fantastic also.

[azbirdmom]

37 minutes ago, tetleytea said:

 

Same story here.  We had a toilet issue but it went away before we even had to report it.  The cabin stewards must know things we don't.

We knew our's was an issue.  There was occasional delayed flushing and the steward was going to have a plumber take a look at it.  That has happened to us before on cruises so we weren't very concerned.  Late that night it stopped flushing and would only fill with water.  We knew enough not to keep pushing the button as it would have overflowed.  Anyway I went down to Passenger Service at 3 AM (they said I should have called).  They had a plumber come immediately to replace a part.  No problems for the rest of the trip.

[tetleytea]

We had no water at all.   But it was okay--we didn't need it at the time.

[Jersey42]

We are heading out on the Caribbean Princess on Saturday.  This will be our sixth cruise on this ship.  The first was on it's maiden voyage in 2004. And one was a Canada/New England cruise.  From the beginning, it was not our favorite ship, primarily because it had a layout very similar to the Golden Princess (and Star and Grand) but it added an extra passenger deck without adding more public space.  So it always felt more crowded than it's smaller siblings. Unfortunately, two of the smaller versions of this ship are gone and I expect the other one to be gone in the not so distant future.  Plus, we will probably never see another Princess ship of that size again.

 

We have still cruised the Caribbean Princess more than any other ship, and unless something crazy happens next week, we won't hesitate to sail on it again.

[capriccio]

5 minutes ago, Jersey42 said:

We are heading out on the Caribbean Princess on Saturday. 

 

Bon Voyage!  I'm jealous!  We were supposed to be on that cruise.  It was a family (8 people) cruise originally scheduled for 2020 that was cancelled (obviously).  Unfortunately our youngest granddaughter is 34 months old and too young for the covid vaccine until last week so we canceled at final payment and rebooked for next year's early July cruise.  Here's hoping the 3rd time is a charm!

 

[MISTER 67]

We've been on 22 Princess cruises with 10 on the Caribbean Princess. No complaints at all, the engine problem was fixed in 2019 and they laid new carpeting in many areas of the ship. The Atrium area along with the International Cafe and all the shops plus Crooners lounge is a great area on decks 5,6 and 7. Something always going on in Explorers lounge from Trivia to comedians to movies. The Wheelhouse lounge is a nice quiet place to have a libation with some nice live music in the evening.

I'm sure you will have a very nice cruise on her.

[Potstech]

23 minutes ago, Jersey42 said:

We are heading out on the Caribbean Princess on Saturday.  This will be our sixth cruise on this ship.  The first was on it's maiden voyage in 2004. And one was a Canada/New England cruise.  From the beginning, it was not our favorite ship, primarily because it had a layout very similar to the Golden Princess (and Star and Grand) but it added an extra passenger deck without adding more public space.  So it always felt more crowded than it's smaller siblings. Unfortunately, two of the smaller versions of this ship are gone and I expect the other one to be gone in the not so distant future.  Plus, we will probably never see another Princess ship of that size again.

 

We have still cruised the Caribbean Princess more than any other ship, and unless something crazy happens next week, we won't hesitate to sail on it again.

DW and her companions are leaving this Saturday so I will know how it went then. This cruise elevates her to Elite status which doesn't mean a whole lot.

[Level six]

IT is super crowded, most crowded ship I have ever been on in over 30 cruises.  Just be prepared. 

[kokopelli-az]

We just got off the Caribbean Princess on June 18.   I didn't see one single area that needed attention.  A beautiful ship.   We even booked another cruise while on board for the Caribbean Princess for next year and booked yet another cruise on this ship with the Princess promotion going on now of the $1 deposit.   I'm actually thinking about booking still another Caribbean Princess cruise with the $1 promotion before it ends . . .

 

The buffet was ok but not great.   

[msmoger]

25 minutes ago, Level six said:

IT is super crowded, most crowded ship I have ever been on in over 30 cruises.  Just be prepared. 

It was near capacity on our cruise which ended 6/25.  Never once did I feel it was crowded.  Everybody has their own perceptions.

[chamima]

12 hours ago, Kitty Ellas Mom said:

I was supposed to go on Royal and then Majestic, both to Alaska, and in June, but all that got canceled. 1st cruise. Now I have a chance to go with the same people on Caribbean to see Canada in fall 2023. I've started looking at Caribbean and am feeling a little underwhelmed. Things I liked like the waterfall into the pool in Enclave are missing. I take it that this is an older less fancy ship? Please tell me some pros and cons and opinions about this ship in Canada and New England in mid Sept.

 

If you're sailing with kids and if the weather is good there's a kids water play area on the aft of Deck 16 or 17 that no other Princess ship has. It's adjacent to a hot tub and a bar to keep the adults happy.

Ye, we missed Alfredos and yes, the buffet is small but it has a lovely Vines that is missing in some of the newer ships.

[HBCcruiser]

10 hours ago, skynight said:

Full suites have various size balconies.

Do. you happen to know if the Penthouse Suite balconies are like the ones on the Grand? Are they wide enough to fit a lounge chair? 

[doxiegal]

We’re sailing on her on Saturday. Our third time on this ship. No complaints.

[Level six]

4 hours ago, msmoger said:

It was near capacity on our cruise which ended 6/25.  Never once did I feel it was crowded.  Everybody has their own perceptions.

True, near capacity and at or over capacity are different.

 

This was to Greenland in 2019, it was packed, packed, packed.  WE had to go to theater when they first opened (45 minutes before show) to get a seat, any seat.   If you wanted to play trivia, you had to go and get seats about 30-45 minutes early.  Seat at the buffet during lunch........forget about it.  I don't know how many people were onboard, but you literally had to fight(with patience and time) for every single thing.  Everyone onboard was saying the same thing.