How is the Caribbean Princess?

[Dreamcruiser185]

We went on the Sky Princess a couple of weeks ago.  The wife and I really liked the ship and Princess line,  it was our first cruise with Princess.  The cruise was a 9 out of 10.  Looking to book for next March, but the only ship that is good for us, for the dates we want is the Caribbean Princess.  We will be happy with this ship after sailing the Sky?

[eclue]

The Caribbean Princess is an older ship - different from the Sky. We like the older ships better - so it is all personal taste. We were on her last year and going again for 3 trips this year.. the layout of the ship will be different, but the Princess service will be the same. We are long time Princess cruisers so obviously we love the line - have traveled other ship lines and have Princess to be the best for us. It's good to travel on different ships and compare.

[LibrarianMonroe]

What features of the Sky did you particularly like?  There are definitely things on the Sky that aren't on Caribbean, such as Alfredos.  All in All, Caribbean is a nice, older ship (she's the ship I've been on the most, but that's coincidence more than anything else).

[cruiseray]

the caribbean princess is our favorite ship.  we have been on it 16 times. yes it is 19 yrs old but it has features that not many ships have.  deck 7, the promenade deck, has a walk around outside that you can walk completely around.  also, it has skywalkers which you go up an escalator in the back of the ship to a nice big sit down area that has a bar. every evening from 5pm - 7pm skywalkers has a platinum/elite party with some food items.  

 

we just went on it for a 10 day partial transit of the panama canal. the only negative was one of the back elevators was out of service.  there are two outside elevators that go up to deck 18 - skywalkers and down to the palm dining room on deck 6. so, with one out of service, it upset some passengers.

 

every cruise we have been on it the crew was fantastic.  the bartenders were excellent.  the room stewards were also friendly and efficient in keeping up our room.  we like deck 5 international cafe which is open 24/7. the make great soy milk lates with chocolate cookie dough syrup.

 

we also like movies under the stars - they provide lounge chairs, blankets, and popcorn.

 

if you have any questions, let me know.

[cruiseray]

another neat thing about the caribbean princess is that you can go forward on deck 15 to a door that opens and allows you to go on top of the bridge for a great view.  also if you walk forward on deck 7 there will be stairs that you can go up to another viewing area - which you can use to look over the bow to see the water hitting the very front of the bow.

[Tak8]

I was on the Caribbean Princess in May for 2 weeks.  I enjoyed the ship.  Fourth time on her.  An older ship, but maintained well and great staff.  Thermal suite instead of Enclave.  

[Essiesmom]

She is doing a partial transit of the Panama Canal today:

 

 

[kokopelli-az]

We were on the Caribbean Princess twice last year and will be on her again this April and June.   We found nothing to complain about.   We love this ship!    

[Thrak]

3 hours ago, Dreamcruiser185 said:

We went on the Sky Princess a couple of weeks ago.  The wife and I really liked the ship and Princess line,  it was our first cruise with Princess.  The cruise was a 9 out of 10.  Looking to book for next March, but the only ship that is good for us, for the dates we want is the Caribbean Princess.  We will be happy with this ship after sailing the Sky?

 

If you are booking a balcony cabin book one on Caribe deck (deck 10) as the balconies are much larger and are half-covered half-uncovered. If you are only familiar with dinky balconies on a newer Princess ship you will be quite pleased with the difference in size.

[Rick&Jeannie]

We just finished a PC partial transit on the Caribbean P about 3 weeks ago.  It was our first time on her, having been on quite a few of the "newer" ships...nothing to complain about.  The Skywalkers nightclub is really interesting sitting way up above the aft...very nice views during the day.

 

[Essiesmom]

Heading back out through Agua Clara locks today.

 

 

[BamaVol]

49 minutes ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

We just finished a PC partial transit on the Caribbean P about 3 weeks ago.  It was our first time on her, having been on quite a few of the "newer" ships...nothing to complain about.  The Skywalkers nightclub is really interesting sitting way up above the aft...very nice views during the day.

 

I was on her at the same time.  Not having sailed Princess before, I had nothing to compare expect other lines (NCL & RCL).  For an older ship, I thought she was in good condition.  Our bathroom tiles needed regrouting, but other than that, no issues.  Lots of storage space, comfortable bed.  The crew was first rate.  We were well taken care of in the MDR and bars. It was a full load, but seldom felt crowded.

I liked Princess enough to want to sail them again, although my next cruise will be on MSC.

[PMGS247]

Love the CB! Sailed on her twice and currently booked to sail her again in November.  I won't repeat all the things that have been said above and generally agree with all of them....I'll add that I actually like the MUTS setup better on the CB than on the Royal class.  While the royal class has the screen looming over 2 pools and a vast open space and an upper level down the sides, it's almost stadium style seating on the CB, with a few levels of lounge chairs and if you're further back you're higher up.  Creates more of a theatre feel.  There is a second large pool on the lido deck just aft or just forward of this one (I simply forget lol), which has the band stage looming over it rather than the MUTS screen.

 

Picture is of Emerald, but same design on CB.

 

[Ken the cruiser]

I don't know what your budget is, but we had a blast cruising through the Panama Canal last May in an aft-facing Vista Suite with a huge fully covered balcony. We also really enjoyed eating in their "anytime dining" Club Class (now Reserved Collection) dining area as well as going to the evening shows in the main theater and their very funny game shows in the Explorers Lounge!! There are also a few aft-facing Premium Balconies which offer fully covered balconies as well.

 

Here's a link to the Live From thread I posted to if this will help.

 

 

 

[Thrak]

Not sure if this is still the case but... When we sailed on CB you could walk all the way through the "main" buffet area and get to a secondary buffet area at the aft portion. While the main part had pre-cooked eggs and such the aft portion had made to order omelets and things of that sort. It seemed that most folks didn't realize there was another portion of the buffet. We ate there every time we had breakfast in the buffet and it was much better and it wasn't difficult to find seating.

 

Note: Whatever you do, if they have the Marriage Match Game do not volunteer!!! Trust me on this...

[Rick&Jeannie]

3 minutes ago, Thrak said:

Note: Whatever you do, if they have the Marriage Match Game do not volunteer!!! Trust me on this...

Sounds like a story might be here...

[Thrak]

4 minutes ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

Sounds like a story might be here...

 

No but I've watched the game. On our last cruise one of the questions they asked the women was something along the lines of: If you were to describe your husbands "male parts" would you describe it as:

 

A) A Mighty Oak standing proud and tall

B) A Willow - Kind of long and thin and drooping to the side a bit

C) A shorter but very full Bush or Shrub

D) A tiny little Bonsai Tree

 

One woman looked embarrassed and chose option D. When the men came back out and were asked how their wives would have answered the poor guy looked embarrassed as heck and said he thought she would pick option D as well.

[BamaVol]

16 hours ago, Thrak said:

 

No but I've watched the game. On our last cruise one of the questions they asked the women was something along the lines of: If you were to describe your husbands "male parts" would you describe it as:

 

A) A Mighty Oak standing proud and tall

B) A Willow - Kind of long and thin and drooping to the side a bit

C) A shorter but very full Bush or Shrub

D) A tiny little Bonsai Tree

 

One woman looked embarrassed and chose option D. When the men came back out and were asked how their wives would have answered the poor guy looked embarrassed as heck and said he thought she would pick option D as well.

I have attended similar shows with Royal Caribbean and Norwegian.  They are designed to embarrass couples for cheap entertainment value.  I think the winners got a bottle of inexpensive sparkling wine.  
 

I also witnessed a Deal or No Deal game on Norwegian Epic where a man won $0.01.  The cruise director said it was a record low.  At least all that said about the contestant was how unlucky he was. Okay, I see similarities.

Edited March 28, 2023 by BamaVol

[u2harmony]

Hey, thanks for all of these comments on the CB - I will be on this ship next month and found this VERY helpful. 🙂

[Dreamcruiser185]

23 hours ago, eclue said:

The Caribbean Princess is an older ship - different from the Sky. We like the older ships better - so it is all personal taste. We were on her last year and going again for 3 trips this year.. the layout of the ship will be different, but the Princess service will be the same. We are long time Princess cruisers so obviously we love the line - have traveled other ship lines and have Princess to be the best for us. It's good to travel on different ships and compare.

I watched a few videos of the CP,  the ship looks in great ship for the age.  We liked the layout of the Sky, easy to navigate.

[Dreamcruiser185]

23 hours ago, LibrarianMonroe said:

What features of the Sky did you particularly like?  There are definitely things on the Sky that aren't on Caribbean, such as Alfredos.  All in All, Caribbean is a nice, older ship (she's the ship I've been on the most, but that's coincidence more than anything else).

We loved the Take 5 lounge,  CP doesn’t have this.  No biggie, I am sure we will a a favorite hangout when we sail next March.

[Dreamcruiser185]

23 hours ago, cruiseray said:

the caribbean princess is our favorite ship.  we have been on it 16 times. yes it is 19 yrs old but it has features that not many ships have.  deck 7, the promenade deck, has a walk around outside that you can walk completely around.  also, it has skywalkers which you go up an escalator in the back of the ship to a nice big sit down area that has a bar. every evening from 5pm - 7pm skywalkers has a platinum/elite party with some food items.  

 

we just went on it for a 10 day partial transit of the panama canal. the only negative was one of the back elevators was out of service.  there are two outside elevators that go up to deck 18 - skywalkers and down to the palm dining room on deck 6. so, with one out of service, it upset some passengers.

 

every cruise we have been on it the crew was fantastic.  the bartenders were excellent.  the room stewards were also friendly and efficient in keeping up our room.  we like deck 5 international cafe which is open 24/7. the make great soy milk lates with chocolate cookie dough syrup.

 

we also like movies under the stars - they provide lounge chairs, blankets, and popcorn.

 

if you have any questions, let me know.

We watched some YouTube videos, the ship looks great!   We are sailing Club Class, which dining room is used for dinner?

[John99]

Clarification on Princess Ships Codes.

CP is designated for the Sea Princess – entered service on 1998.

CB is designated for the Caribbean Princess – entered service on 2004.

John

[RNRcruisers]

I liked the Caribbean Princess, love the layout and lounges and especially the promenade deck. However, it was a full sailing and we did feel like it was crowded. We were lucky to book some days in the Sanctuary, including the Panama Canal sailing day. 

[Thrak]

5 hours ago, John99 said:

Clarification on Princess Ships Codes.

CP is designated for the Sea Princess – entered service on 1998.

CB is designated for the Caribbean Princess – entered service on 2004.

John

 

This can be demonstrated by visiting the Princess site and clicking on Our Ships and then clicking on Caribbean Princess. The resultant URL contains the Princess designation for the ship. This is true for all Princess ships.

 

https://www.princess.com/ships-and-experience/ships/cb-caribbean-princess/