should I book on the Caribbean Princess?

[cruisingotter]

Hello! We're looking at maybe taking a last minute cruise in the caribbean in the next couple months, with a 14-day cruise on the caribbean being a strong contender.

 

However, partner and I have been iffy about going on the caribbean princess as we went on a short 6-day cruise on her in Mar. 2022 and had a horrible experience. We had 3 cancelled ports and were only able to get into one port - which I get, rough weather happens. But we think because of that, the ship maybe wasn't able to get supplies (they never said this) and we had dishes w/ tomato sauce almost every single meal. Seems like that's all they had... tomato sauce... even the shrimp cocktail dip tasted like marinara sauce. Any dish that had tomato in the description tasted the same... We also got food poisoned the one time we ate at the buffet. I was a first time cruiser back then and really didn't know the norms so I thought cruising just wasn't for me. But since then I have gone on many other princess ships and almost always great food. While I feel like that was just an extremely unfortunate cruise we had, I am still wary of booking another cruise on the caribbean and wanted to see what others' experience has been like recently to consider giving her a second chance. 

[chrysalis]

 

[Itchy&Scratchy]

I wouldn't.

 

The one time we were on it we didn't care for it much. And it had a noro outbreak. Every time I read something about Caribbean Princess on cruisecritic, it seems that every one of those times they have a noro outbreak.

[cr8tiv1]

At one time, it was the Emerald, then the Crown, or the Ruby, or the Grand/Diamond.  Pick your ship and someone will have negative reviews about it:  Noro, Covid, buffet, etc.  (I can't speak for Royal class ships since I won't book them).

 

I have been on the Caribbean Princess twice in 2023.  I did catch covid over a 13 day cruise (expected over longer cruises).  My fault for being more lacks with my masking.  Still, all went well.  

 

Princess has no responsibility for missing ports due to weather.  I was once on a ship that missed ever port and replaced it with one that I did not even get off the ship (San Diego) on a 4 day cruise.  

 

If you have trepidations regarding cruising on the CP again, I would look for a different ship/cruise line.  

[Hlitner]

DW and I have been on more than 30 Princess cruises, and the Caribbean Princess is the ONLY ship upon which we will never cruise again!  Why?   Take a wonderful ship design (Grand Class) and add an additional passenger deck (with hundreds of additional passengers) without expanding the public spaces.  The result, in our opinion, is too much crowding, too many queues, etc.  While we are very good at adapting to most ships (we have cruised on 17 cruise lines) we found the Caribbean Princess to simply have too many folks in a space designed for fewer.  

 

Hank

[Idratherbeatsea]

We were on her for two weeks at the end of July 2023, it was very good. Cruising on the CB again end of May. I won’t hesitate 

[Thrak]

 Only sailed on CB once - in 2017. 14 day Circle Caribbean. Excellent cruise and not a single issue with the ship or sickness. I wouldn't hesitate to book CB again.

[ChutChut]

Sailed on her in 2019 for a Thanksgiving Panama Canal cruise. Loved it. 

[cr8tiv1]

I stand corrected:  CB = Caribbean Princess.

 

 

[rdsqrl]

I sailed on her pre-pandemic (so I can't comment on covid likelihood) a 13-day New England/Canada cruise.  We had perfect weather, so indoor crowding wasn't a thing I noticed since I was out sunning every sea day.  Enjoyed the itinerary immensely and, although I expected a crowded ship, didn't really think it was that bad. 

 

I will admit the food was not the best, but that's down more to whomever is the executive chef onboard than a ship-specific thing.  I didn't starve, and my tablemates and I just enjoyed making fun of some of the weirder offerings. 

 

The one downside to her, in my opinion, is that the aft pool is in shade due to Skywalker's.  But there are three other pools.   I'd sail on her again without hesitation if it were an itinerary I wanted to do. 

[BamaVol]

We had a lovely cruise on her last March.  Outstanding crew.  MDR food was delicious.  We never felt any crowding even though she sailed close to capacity. We enjoyed the bar music and took (not maximum) advantage of the Plus package. We walked the promenade deck every day, enjoyed the gym and various games and programs.  No cabin issues.
 

Noro and missed ports can occur on any ship, any line.  If you’re concerned about that, you need to book a cabin in the mountains.

[Thrak]

42 minutes ago, cr8tiv1 said:

I stand corrected:  CB = Caribbean Princess.

 

 

 

The official Princess abbreviation for each ship is included in the URL for the ship on the Princess site:

 

The Princess Fleet

CB - Caribbean Princess

CO - Coral Princess

KP – Crown Princess

DI – Diamond Princess

XP – Discovery Princess

EP – Emerald Princess

EX – Enchanted Princess

AP – Grand Princess

IP – Island Princess

MJ – Majestic Princess

GP – Regal Princess

RP – Royal Princess

RU – Ruby Princess

SA – Sapphire Princess

YP – Sky Princess

ST – Star Princess

SU – Sun Princess

 

[cr8tiv1]

Thank you @Thrak.  Now, that makes absolutely no sense.  I guess I spell out the names from now on.  Thanks for the simplistic list (verses hunt and peck on a thread).

[Thrak]

3 minutes ago, cr8tiv1 said:

Thank you @Thrak.  Now, that makes absolutely no sense.  I guess I spell out the names from now on.  Thanks for the simplistic list (verses hunt and peck on a thread).

 

I find it easy to type the name of the ship. Some of the abbreviations don't seem to make sense but some have come about due to the "obvious" abbreviations having been used in the past for ships no longer in the fleet.

[CaptainPedantic]

We had a fabulous 14n cruise on Caribbean Princess last May, no issues with illness or overcrowding, wouldn't hesitate to book again

[MissP22]

Havin sailed on the CB as well as all the other similarly class ships, I would definitely say choose another of Princess's ships. The layout (especially the buffet area & food prep) leaves a lot to be improved upon. 

The Royal class ships have taken that into account and made changes accordingly. 

[seeyouinthesun]

Caribbean Princess is my favorite Princess ship (I’m on it now in fact), for me it’s the right size and I like the location of the gym. But a bad experience on a ship will definitely flavor your future cruise experience. Although I love the ship, because you had such a poor experience last time, I’d advise that you find a different ship. That way you’re not going into it worrying about history repeating itself. 

[gilboman]

I was on CB in Sept 2023 for a New England/Atlantic Canada Cruise and it was great. I really like the updated world market/buffet area, the ship was in great condition and service in the dining room was excellent especially after our 3rd night we had a server team we really liked and the hosts told us to just walk in and they'll always have table ready for us with them.

 

the only "complaint" is that the service in the buffet is inconsistent (which was our experience even precovid) in that they don't always come asking for drink orders (a really small thing, not an issue for us but noticable). 

 

we really enjoyed, the buffet being a grand class ship was more limited than the Royal Class and not as good as our last time on a grand class ship (Crown princess) but that was prepandemic and on a med cruise, so hard to compare. 

 

room was excellent, our steward was fine (not great, definitely not bad), it was very enjoyable cruise and we thought entertainment was better than we remembered too especially in the main theatre.  

[MissP22]

31 minutes ago, gilboman said:

we really enjoyed, the buffet being a grand class ship was more limited than the Royal Class and not as good as our last time on a grand class ship (Crown princess) but that was prepandemic and on a med cruise, so hard to compare. 

That's the one big item that turned us off the CB. Limitations on buffet items and at the time they were presented in small cardboard containers, which may have now been changed. Many items were served cool or even cold when they should have been heated up. Even after we complained about it to the head waiter they repeated the same mistake the next day ! 

Again this was a while ago and may have been corrected by now but after sailing many Royal class ships I can't honestly say we've experienced the same situation. 

[Paula_MacFan]

17 hours ago, cr8tiv1 said:

I stand corrected:  CB = Caribbean Princess.

 

Nonetheless I'm pretty sure people knew which ship you were referring to since this thread asked specifically about the Caribbean Princess 🙂

 

We've sailed on CB twice and have another cruise booked for 2026. We tend to choose trips based on itinerary, so if that's the ship sailing it then away we go. All ships have plusses and minuses, and you can get sick on any of them as well. 

 

For our upcoming Alaska cruisetour we chose Sapphire for a myriad of reasons, but we had many options for that destination. 

 

We leave in 3 days for the Regal since we can drive to the port. It will be our 3rd Regal cruise.

 

If the CB was sailing on an itinerary I wanted, I wouldn't hesitate to go. 

Edited January 16 by Paula_MacFan

[capriccio]

We've been on the Caribbean Princess a number of times.  Our best was January 2022 when the number of crew (1000+) outnumbered the passengers (around 900) and everyone was just glad to be sailing again.  Last July we were on a 7 day cruise with our family, including two granddaughters (almost 4 and 8 1/2).  They especially appreciated the Splash Zone (for anyone with kids reading this).

[spethstation]

For me, personally, the ship was only ok! It was in great condition and had an awesome crew. But a little too old and small of a class for me. Nothing wowed me. I wouldn't sail her again.

[nbsjcruiser]

We were on the Caribbean Princess in Nov - here's my review:

 

I'd go back on the ship for sure.

[MissP22]

4 hours ago, spethstation said:

For me, personally, the ship was only ok! It was in great condition and had an awesome crew. But a little too old and small of a class for me. Nothing wowed me. I wouldn't sail her again.

You can fool some people many times over and until they experience some of their other newer ships they just won't know any better. 

[cr8tiv1]

4 hours ago, spethstation said:

For me, personally, the ship was only ok! It was in great condition and had an awesome crew. But a little too old and small of a class for me. Nothing wowed me. I wouldn't sail her again.

 

I prefer the smaller class ships personally.  The Royal Class ships have new bells and whistles, but missing too many of the spaces I enjoy on the Caribbean Princess.  This may not be the ship for you.  This may not be the cruise line for you.  There are many options out there.  I hope you find a good fit for you. 

 

BTW, I've been on many Princess cruises and have had excellent crew interactions.  Can't say the same for some other lines.