Wish I was back on Caribbean Princess!

[gaa2]

Well, it has taken a week for the cruise withdrawal blues to really sink in. We had such a great time on our cruise (6/12-6/19) that the afterglow lasted a full week!

 

It was great meeting other people from this board. Thanks to Janie and Mike for setting it up. It looks like our plan to meet on the roll call forum will not work due to the organization of the new board, but hope we can keep in touch.

 

For anyone considering this cruise before the reviews get posted, here are a few of our comments. We stayed at the Hyatt Regency Pier 66 pre-cruise, which was very convenient. The water taxi was great. We got a good rate from Enterprise and rented a car for one day. They picked us up at the hotel, and took us to the ship when we dropped the car off. Embarkation was very smooth. We were onboard before noon. Once onboard, we called the concierge and made reservations for the Movies Under the Stars. Each passenger can reserve two tickets. The movies were really beside the point--the experience was delightful. Shortly after getting onboard, you should also make any reservations for alternative dining (Sabatini's or Sterling) through the concierge, and call room service to reserve the wonderful Ultimate Balcony Dinner if you have a balcony. It was a highlight of our cruise. It was an additional $50 per person, but very romantic, great food, outstanding service, and well worth it. The extra charge includes cocktails for two, canapes, a fresh flower arrangement, a split of champagne, and a photograph (in addition to all of the wonderful courses served to you). As for entertainment, we enjoyed Sarge (comedian) and the pianist in Crooner's. We watched the NBA finals in Churchill's, the cigar bar (don't breathe if you are a non-smoker, but it is hard to complain since this is really the only place for cigar smokers to relax onboard). Our waiter, Silvio, was the best we ever had (2nd seating, traditional dining, Island dining room). Don't miss the souffles! The gym was great, and I really enjoyed the yoga classes taught by Rachel. Our mini-suite on the Dolphin deck, midship, was perfect. There was no problem due to the fact the people above could see us---we never felt that our privacy was being invaded, and we enjoyed not having a roof over our heads. We ordered items that were not on the room service menu for breakfast--no problem. In fact, nothing was a problem on this cruise! Service was flawless. We also enjoyed the America's Cup excursion in St. Maarten (we were on the winning yacht with Helen's sons).

 

We highly recommend this cruise, and of course, this cruiseline. We have two future cruises booked with Princess....it helps the post cruise blues a bit, having another to look forward to.....

 

Happy sails!

[Debi_D]

gaa2 - glad you had such a wonderful time. Now I am just waiting to go again, we too are the dolpin deck and looking forward to the balcony.

 

Thanks for the info on the America' Cup Excursion, we are thinking of doing that or playing golf with the boys....

 

Debi

[*KristenInCT*]

Deb- You definately should try Americas Cup when you are in St Maarten...It was so much fun and an awesome experience!!! Thanks for the positive review of the CP!!:D

[sanemb]

I concur that after being on the 6/12 Caribbean Princess, it has sunk in cruise withdrawal, big time. It was the best cruise ever..... Hope we can all keep in touch too, it was just so great putting names with faces...... :-)

 

Sandy

[susmith1]

I know... it's been a full week since we've been off the 6/12 - 6/19 cruise and it was so hard getting back to work. I think that's the hardest part about returning from a cruise!

 

Anyway, I too, enjoyed meeting everyone from the boards and hope we can keep in touch.

 

The ship is absolutely wonderful. There were over 3400 passengers on that trip and I really couldn't tell much of a difference from our trip on the Grand Princess last summer. We also stayed in the mini-suite on Dolphin deck and it wasn't that big a deal that people from the other decks could look down on you. When people are sitting on their balcony, they're looking out, not down. We definitely enjoyed the balcony and made a lot of use of it. And one last thing, there were 3 of us in the mini-suite and we had plenty of room and closet space. I couldn't believe it since we had 7 suitcases between the 3 of us!

 

The food was good and the entertainment, especially the comedians, was great. And, of course, our cruise director Graham was fabulous. He truly has to be one of the funniest cruise directors I've ever seen... and this was my 12th cruise.

 

I wish all of you heading out on the Caribbean Princess soon a wonderful time.

 

Susan

[srphnx]

We hate PCD post cruise depression. Book the other future cruises to ward it off helps some but we see through that trick in about a week so you are right on time for that.

[Helen]

gaa2,

I feel your pain! I had such a nice week that it is really hard to get back in to the real world. Jamie and Jett are still talking about the race. It must have been a great experience and should we go back we will definitely join in.

 

Sounds like the ultimate balcony dinner was wonderful. It's recommendations from past cruisers that prompt us to do those same things next time around so positive comments are so appreciated. Helen

[meyerhaus]

I am so glad to see that Princess is experimenting with all of these unique features to see what works and what doesn't. I just wish that MUS and UBD (I love CC abbreviations:p ) were available on the Golden in 2 WEEKS!:D :D

 

JON

[gaa2]

The room service manager said they were considering offering the balcony dinner on the other Grand Class ships....it might be too soon for your trip on the Golden, tho. Also, I think more people would have to show an interest. On our cruise very few passengers took advantage of it. On Tuesday of the cruise, no one else had the balcony dinner yet on that sailing, and we were told three couples had reserved it for Wednesday night. I hope they don't abandon the idea.