Caribbean Princess Review

[cobalt206]

We just returned from a wonderful week aboard the Caribbean Princess. This was our first time cruising with Princess and have sailed RCCL (5), Carnival (1) and Windstar (1) in the past.

 

We flew from Seattle the day before and stayed at the Embassy Suites on 17th St. This was very convenient and we also stayed there for one night after the cruise.

 

Embarkation: We arrived at the port at Noon and it took us about 40 minutes to check in to our room. Overall the process was very efficient, however, we heard that if we arrived after 1pm, we could have checked in in about 20 minutes.

 

The Ship: Our first impression of the ship was very favorable. The ship is well laid out and signage really helps you navigate the decks. We had two aft staterooms, C753 in the starboard corner aft and C743 which is the last stateroom on the starboard side Caribe deck. We loved both cabins, although C753 is definitely a nicer balcony.

The pool areas are nice, but you do need to get your chairs early on sea days. The MUTS is phenomenal and we all enjoyed this new feature. The Friday night showing of Walk the Line was standing room only; this was the only time I noticed the area was at capacity.

The lounges, theater and dining areas are all tastefully appointed. This ship has understated elegance and is less Las Vegas glitter than RCCL and Carnival. We never had a problem with seating at the theater or lounges.

 

Entertainment: The comediens were excellent. The ship's singers and dancers are very mediocre and Simon from American Idol would have labeled them Karaoke at best. The Teen program was good and our 15 year old daughter enjoyed the experience.

 

Dining: We had a party of 8 and had the same table and waiters in the Palm Dining Room. Our waiter Kunto and Jr Waiter, Supan were excellent. The Head Waiter, Carlos went above and beyond anything I have ever experienced and we tipped him very well. My daughter has a wheat allergy and Carlos ensured that all of her meals were indeed wheat free. He would come to our table twice nightly, the second time to show my daughter the next day's menu. My daughter would then pre-order her next day's meals and everything was done as promised.

The food was very good although the beef was sub par. All the seafood, chicken and lamb were excellent. We did not try Sabatini's or Sterlings, however, the beef quality looked much better at Sterlings.

 

Service: The overall service exceeded my expectations. Our cabin steward, Edwin was outstanding and very personable. The one thing I really noticed was all the crew members that greeted us with smiles and nice comments. This is something I can honestly say that I have not seen as much on RCCL. The service was close to what we received on Windstar, although you can't compare the two lines as they are so different. We were totally impressed how a ship with 3100 passengers can have such personal service!

 

Ports: We just shopped on St. Thomas and I bought my sweetheart a nice diamond pendant. We rented a car on St. Maarten and we toured the island with stops in Marigot and Orient Beach. Princess Cays was a nice surprise. The beach is beautiful but it does get crowded; make sure to get there early! We rented a Hobie Cat and sailed the beautiful, clear azure waters.

 

Debarkation: We were shocked at how easy it was to get off the boat and find our luggage. Way more organized and efficient compared to RCCL and Carnival.

 

Final thoughts: We are impressed. We will definately sail with Princess again and we will recommend this line to friends. The few complaints are really not even worth mentioning ... BTW - The coffee is not as bad as what we read on this board and I'm from the coffee capital of the USA!

 

Please let me know if you have any questions.

 

Cheers

[dennbr9]

Thanks for the review. We travel on her in January of 07. Wish it were sooner.

 

Dennis

[Mrs. Gump]

overall, did you like Princess better than Royal Carib?

[cobalt206]

Mrs. Gump,

 

I think Princess' service made a big difference in distinguishing itself as a superior line to RCCL. I'm still a fan of RCCL and will cruise with them again, but I will spread my $$ around with Princess and Windstar also.

[cabana]

Thank you for the review.

[losuds63]

Great review iam very happy you had no problems --we are going at the end of july my wife and I for our anniversary 1 year --we sailed the Valor for our honeymoon and it was great but i chose to try something different this time --Any luck in the casino? or is it not your thing good luck!!;)

[bardon719]

for the quickest embarkation, try checking in after 2pm. It should take you about 10 minutes to both check in and be on the ship. Princess has the most organized check in of any cruise line.

[ISLANDFAN]

Sailing on the Crown Princess in February and we have booked C753 on her. I am sure the stateroom layout on the Crown will be the same as on Caribbean Princess. By the way we enjoyed her this past February. We find the Grand Class ships are our favorite. If you have any pictures of stateroom C753 could you please post them or send them to me @ Islandfanusvi@aol.com.

 

thanks,

 

Islandfan

[losuds63]

Sailing on the Crown Princess in February and we have booked C753 on her. I am sure the stateroom layout on the Crown will be the same as on Caribbean Princess. By the way we enjoyed her this past February. We find the Grand Class ships are our favorite. If you have any pictures of stateroom C753 could you please post them or send them to me @ Islandfanusvi@aol.com.

 

thanks,

Islandfan

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http://www.cruisedeckplans.com --thought this might help some folks to see a better view of any ship

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[cobalt206]

Losuds63, the casino was fun, however, I did leave them a donation at the Blackjack tables. I was able to play for a few hours for 3 nights and lost only about $150. The way I look at it, it's still entertainment value and we had some nice people on the tables. Of course if I left the table when I should have, I would have made a few hundred ... oh well it was fun!

 

Island Fan - I will email you some photos of C753 as the resolution is higher than what I can post here on CC. It's a great cabin and I'm confident you will LOVE your time there on the new Crown. We took appetizers from the Caribe Cafe down to the balcony several nights prior to our 8:15pm dinner.

My wife and daughter had this room and enjoyed it very much. They loved the noise of the wake, to help them fall asleep at night.

 

We also requested an extra chaise lounge for the balconies and egg crate foam for the beds; our steward delivered both quickly!

[flvol77]

Entertainment: The comediens were excellent. The ship's singers and dancers are very mediocre and Simon from American Idol would have labeled them Karaoke at best. The Teen program was good and our 15 year old daughter enjoyed the experience.

 

 

 

 

We were on the same cruise and I thought the same thing about the singers and dancers.

 

Three years ago my wife and I took the Grand Princess and there was a flat out awesome guy on piano named Charlie Sleeth....I would pay more money just to have him on the CBPrincess. He was awesome. The guy on piano this cruise (sorry don't know his name, and honeslty don't really care if I ever know his name) just flat out stunk...he was talented, but everytime a big crowd would go by he would start playing everything off key so people would look, and I just couldn't handle it. I missed Charlie Sleeth on this cruise bad

[EKELLEY]

cobolt206,

 

In November we will be in cabin C742 which is the same as C743 but on the other side of the ship. Could you e-mail me pictures of this cabin if you have any. My email address is kelleygallery@yahoo.com.

 

Thanks

[Fuzzzy]

Thank you for your review. I echo your thoughts. It was a great disembarkment.. :)

[nudave]

Yes, cc those pictures to me as well...we are on the port side in C752. email is nudave@gmail.com

 

Thanks!

[cobalt206]

Ekelley and nudave, I will email you some photos today. Fuzzy, I see you also hail from the land of the best beverages in the USA (Starbucks, Quilceda Creek et al and Red Hook)! Have you tried any wine from Betz Family in Woodinville? I believe the secret is out as their prices are going up fast.

[mafig]

RE: C753. You had to request extra lounges for this balcony? What was in place when you arrived? No loungers?

[Coolcruise02]

Thanks for your review. Can't wait til September! :)

[ml64]

Cobalt206~

Thanks for the great review. We're heading out on the CB again this fall. My aunt has C752 booked (same as C753 I think) so I was hoping you could e-mail me the pics too (mlynn64@hotmail.com). I'd really appreciate it. Thanks again.

Lynn

[ashleytera]

how early did you have to get there in order to get a chair at the pool? which pool was the least crowded? did it have full sun?

 

if you could send me those pictures that would be awesome.

 

we will be on the cb in july - 3rd anniversary.

[Iamthesea]

Loved the review as well and would like to see the pictures of the stateroom. ccshipmates@hotmail.com

Thanks!

[serene56]

Woo Hoo- I have C753 booked now. Had C752 booked first but had to change. I still have over 300 days to wait but if you send me those photos it could make the wait a little bearable. serene56@aol.com

 

could you tell me about motion/vibration.

was it windy?

I have sailed most of my cruises on the aft but always in the middles.

[shellfreak]

Cobalt- We were on the CB last week too. I'm having withdrawal pains. The comics were awesome. We met Steve Moris after his show & my husband bought his dvd. I agree about the lounge chairs. We tended to hang out in the adult pool areas and it was easier to find chairs. MUTS was everything I hoped it would be. We went snorkeling at Pinel Island in St. Maarten and the water was murky. Much better at Princess Cays. I'm glad you had a good time.

[cobalt206]

Mafig, We originally had 4 chairs (2 with full cushions) one large table and one small table. We requested a chaise lounge and it fit fine on the balcony.

 

ML64, I will email the pics today.

 

Ashley Tera, On sea days it's best to arrive at the pool around 8-8:30. We really frown on chair saving but unfortunately, a lot of people only think of themselves. I did not see employees enforce the rule; I think it should be like golf in that you police yourself and play with fairness and honesty. The least crowded pool is the Terrace adult pool all the way aft. It is very nice but it has more shaded areas than I like. I will need your email address if you want me to send photos.

 

Iamthesea, I will email photos today.

 

Serene56, Changing from C752 to C753 is not really a big deal, you went from port to starboard but it's still the same corner BB aft stateroom. Either room is going to be great! We felt some motion but not a lot. We had one windy day where there was some roll but I didn't notice anybody getting sick. The weather was incredible; mid 80's and ZERO rain all week. I'll send you some photos today.

 

Shellfreak, We too are having withdrawal pains. We went to both Steve Moris shows and he was awesome. Sorry to hear Pinel Island was a disappointment. I enjoyed the scenery at Orient ;)

[mafig]

Thank you, Cobalt--very helpful review.:)

[swom]

Do you have any pics of your cabin????? I will be on the Crown and have this exact same cabin and would love to see some pics of the cabin and especially the balcony.

Can you help me out here?

Thanks in advance!!