Tell me about Caribbean Princess

[cr8tiv1]

14 minutes ago, Level six said:

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. 

 

I have not been on a Royal Class ship and have no intentions of cruising on one either.  If you feel this way about a "smaller" ship, the same can be said about the Royal Class ships with MORE passengers and less public spaces than the Caribbean Princess.

[KKB]

We sailed Caribbean Princess 8 years ago over NYE so likely quite full.

Don't remember having to be at show 45 min. early--honestly, on all the cruises we've sailed really that has only been an issue at smaller venues, like dueling pianos or comedians on NCL Getaway.

 

Admittedly, having sailed 1/3-1/2 full ships last summer & this spring was DELIGHTFUL.

Looking that July 9 & 16 sailings show no availability tells me they will be full.

I need to adjust my expectations to pre-COVID.

Loved cruising even when ships were fairly full, so I think will be ok.

[Thrak]

Given my choice I would sail on Caribbean Princess anytime over Royal Princess. Give me a nice Caribe Deck balcony with the extra large half-covered balcony as opposed to the "shelf" they call a balcony on Royal. Sailing on the Grand Class of ships feels like "coming home" to me whereas our one (May of this year) sailing on Royal Princess felt "off". Of course the sailing on Royal actually  "off" as it was understaffed and mostly masked with a Medallion that only worked part of the time. Still, I prefer the Grand Class of ships.

 

Booked for 16 days on Ruby  Princess this coming December and for 32 days B2B2B on Grand Princess October/November 2023.

[GonzoWCS]

We love the Caribbean Princess "Class" of ships.  Compact and Comfortable.

 

Cheers

[Kitty Ellas Mom]

Thanks everyone! At the moment I'm thinking of this as a solo trip. And probably still my 1st cruise although it's an awfully long time to wait. 

[caribill]

On 6/30/2022 at 10:13 AM, 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. 

 

 

The post was referencing the buffet, not the MDR.

 

On 6/30/2022 at 9:08 AM, 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.

 

[capriccio]

5 hours ago, caribill said:

 

The post was referencing the buffet, not the MDR.

 

 

And I expanded with a reply that may be interesting to other readers.  Is that not allowed now?

[Thrak]

On 6/30/2022 at 7:08 AM, 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.

 

We sailed Royal Princess in May. The buffet was mostly empty. Lots and lots of absolutely nothing.There was one line open and it was far from impressive. It was the most disappointing buffet we have ever seen. After reading so many posts about how great the buffet is on Royal Class ships it was a huge letdown.

 

When we sailed CB it had a great buffet - if you continued on to the back portion that is Planks and Steamers later in the day. In the mornings it was a continuation of breakfast and I had the best made-to-order omelets I've had in a cruise ship buffet.

[Redwing55]

4 hours ago, Thrak said:

 

We sailed Royal Princess in May. The buffet was mostly empty. Lots and lots of absolutely nothing.There was one line open and it was far from impressive. It was the most disappointing buffet we have ever seen. After reading so many posts about how great the buffet is on Royal Class ships it was a huge letdown.

 

When we sailed CB it had a great buffet - if you continued on to the back portion that is Planks and Steamers later in the day. In the mornings it was a continuation of breakfast and I had the best made-to-order omelets I've had in a cruise ship buffet.

I hope that changes sooner than later.  When we took the Royal when she just came out, the buffet was outstanding.  We felt it really differentiated itself from the other classes.  We're planning on being back on her in February.  With that, here's some hope that this is a short term situation.

 

And coincidentally, we'll be back on the Caribbean Princess in a couple of weeks,  after over a 10 year hiatus from her.  We'll enjoy her!

[KKB]

16 hours ago, Redwing55 said:

I hope that changes sooner than later.  When we took the Royal when she just came out, the buffet was outstanding.  We felt it really differentiated itself from the other classes.  We're planning on being back on her in February.  With that, here's some hope that this is a short term situation.

 

And coincidentally, we'll be back on the Caribbean Princess in a couple of weeks,  after over a 10 year hiatus from her.  We'll enjoy her!

I'm on the for 2 weeks starting Saturday--I will report!

 

[MissP22]

On 7/3/2022 at 7:26 PM, Redwing55 said:

I hope that changes sooner than later.  When we took the Royal when she just came out, the buffet was outstanding.  We felt it really differentiated itself from the other classes.  We're planning on being back on her in February.  With that, here's some hope that this is a short term situation.

 

And coincidentally, we'll be back on the Caribbean Princess in a couple of weeks,  after over a 10 year hiatus from her.  We'll enjoy her!

To us, the buffet on the Caribbean Princess was a big letdown compared to the Royal class ships. It's one of the reasons why we wouldn't book another one on that ship. To many items already dished out n little containers sitting under heat lamps. Items in the dessert section that should have been hot never were throughout the whole cruise.

Of course things may have changed by now. Good luck and let us know how it was.

[jack dcruiser]

Does the Caribbean have a pickleball court and equipment?  Lessons too, LOL

[KKB]

2 hours ago, jack dcruiser said:

Does the Caribbean have a pickleball court and equipment?  Lessons too, LOL

YES!

[geoherb]

I'm going to Greenland on the CB next month. I heard the horror stories from three years ago and still booked it. This will be my eighth cruise on the CB. I was on it in December and had a great time on a 7-day itinerary. I hardly ever eat in the buffet. I will go to the production shows again even after having just seen them eight months ago. 

 

When I'm on the Royal and newer ships, I really miss having an outside Promenade Deck to walk on. There's not much I miss from those ships when sailing on the smaller ships.