Caribbean Princess Oct 29th-Nov 5th REVIEW

[Kenhel]

Just returned from Caribbean Princess Oct 29 to Nov 5th. We booked last minute (about 5 weeks ago). This was our 3rd cruise. Royal Caribbean in early 1990s and Costa Magica March 2006. We selected the cruise based on itinerary (wanted to visit St. Maarten) and great price.

 

We are a family of four with 15 year and 12 year old. Hope this review is helpful for first time cruisers or anyone considering Princess.

 

Cabin:

 

As this was our 2nd cruise this year we cruised on a budget and booked an inside quad on Deck 10. The cabin was adequate size, good layout and good storage space. The bathroom was a little small but functional. Our cabin stewardess Sonia was great. She kept the cabin very clean, replenished towels twice daily. Bathroom was stocked with good quality shampoo, conditioner, soaps and lotion so I would not bother packing those toiletries. My daughter and I have long hair and the hair dryer is OK but I am glad we brought our own. There are limited electrical outlets so consider bringing an outlet bar.

 

 

Food:

 

What can I say? Collectively my husband and I brought back 12 extra pounds of weight (not our luggage but around our waists!). We made a decision at the beginning of the cruise that we would NOT take the elevators. So we climbed 6 flights up to the buffet and walked around deck 7 and on the walking track everyday.

 

We found the quality of the food good and always hot. We had Personal/Anytime Dining and we loved the freedom. We ate early every evening (between 6 and 6:30) and never had to wait for a table for four. We had different waiters every night and found they were all very good. Service was equally good in the Palm and the Coral Dinning rooms. My husband had the Love Boat dessert several times and he said it was very decadent and delicious. The cold seafood buffet, Lobster Night, Beef Wellington were the highlights. Out of 7 dinners, we only had one meal we did not enjoy (eggplant parmaggiana). We ate at the Horizons or Caribe Buffets for breakfast and lunch and late night snacking. Our favourites were the brownies and cookies.

 

Don’t miss afternoon tea (3:30 to 4:30) in the Coral Dinning Room. This was the highlight of our Sea Days. Hot tea, warm scones, clotted cream and jam and delicious little sandwiches and cookies!

 

Entertainment:

 

Amazing!! We loved ALL the comedians on board – Carl Strong, Phil Tag, Adam Ace and Kamika :p :) . We also enjoyed Millionaire, The Newlywed Game and the Cooking Demonstration/Galley Tour. In total our family watched about 6 movies (in the Princess Theatre or on the MUTS screen). Especially loved MUTS. I agree with some past reviewers, that the area surrounding MUTS can get a noisy but there are many quiet areas to find a lounge chair. We loved the area around near the LOTUS spa and the aft pool. Also, don’t miss the life size chess set. Our son participated in Off Limits (the teen centre). There were a small group of teens on board (~50) but he enjoyed the activities.

 

Ports of Call:

 

St. Marrten:

 

Husband and Son booked the 12 metre Racing Boat challenge and really enjoyed it. My daughter and I took the water taxi to the downtown Phillsburg area and walked around the shops and spent some time on the beach (Great Bay). The beach was nice and 2 chairs and umbrellas were rented for $ 10. We ate at the Barefoot Grill and enjoyed a good lunch for $25 (with tip). I tried my hand at casino with little luck.

 

St. Thomas:

 

Docked at Crown Bay that is west of the downtown area and shops. No shops open at Crown Bay. I think taxi fares in St. Thomas are outrageous (example: a family of 4 to get to and from Crown Bay to Coki Beach is $ 80 !!):eek: We decided to stay near Crown Bay so we took a water taxi to Water Island. The Water Taxi leaves at 10:30 am from the Crown Bay Marina. Walk out of the pier gate; the marina is across the street. The water taxi is in front of Tickels restaurant. The return rate is $32 for 4 people. The ride is less than 10 minutes to Water Island. We spent the day on Honeymoon beach – very nice, quiet. Heidi (a local) caters a bbq on beach with fabulous burgers, drinks etc… Be forewarned – there are no facilities on Honeymoon Beach at this time:( :( . There is a restaurant that is being renovated – when it reopens there will be more food options and washrooms!

 

Princess Cays:

 

This port was cancelled due to high seas. Had a nice sea day although I did get a little sick from the high waves.

 

Money Saving Tips:

 

As I mentioned we were on a budget so I hope this helps others in similar situation. It is hard to resist buying things on board.

 

• We brought our own soda and water to take on shore with us.
  
• We bought the coke package for kids and we did not drink any alcohol.
  
• We limited ourselves to 3 pictures taken by the photographers ($66).
  
• Avoided taxis while in port (see St. Thomas)
  
• Enjoyed the free entertainment
  
• Avoid Art Auctions
  
• Stay out of the Spa and the gift stores
  
• Stay out of Casino (we limited ourselves to about $40)
  
• Did not eat in any specialty restaurant
  
• Have ice-cream in the buffet (in the afternoon) instead of at Scoops

 

OVERALL IMPRESSSION:

 

Great cruise, great customer service, hot meals, and great entertainment. We would cruise with Princess again. If you can stay on a budget, a cruise is great value for a family vacation.

 

We are booked on Norwegian Dawn in March 2007(from NY city). Would like some feedback comparing Caribbean Princess to Norwegian Dawn. We enjoyed our Princess cruise so much and are considering switching our March cruise from NCL to Princess. We are thinking of Grand Princess out of Galveston Texas instead?? Any comments or opinions??

[streaks23]

Thanks so much for the great review!

I was especially interested in your info on Water Island. We'll be sailing the Caribbean Princess 11/19 and Water Island is a possibility for us.

Cheap and close :) Was wondering??? did you snorkel at all at Water Island? And..are you saying there were no "potties"?

As far as Norwegian vs. Princess? I would go with Princess...

We were on the Norwegian Sun about 1 1/2 ago. Was a very nice cruise, but we prefer Princess. BUT,,, if the price was right and ports...would go with NCL again. Does that help at all??? :)

[Kenhel]

Yes thats right...no potties (for now). The restaurant has a bathroom .....it depends if the construction guy lets you use it while renovation is going on. Essentially, no washrooms until that restaurant is done.

My husband and kids snorkelled and they described it is OK - some fish, grassy bottom with spotted coral sections - they snorkelled along the rocks on the right hand side.

[streaks23]

Thanks so much for the Water Island info. Still sounds like a possibility.

Did you have to go through customs in St. Thomas? Also, any idea what time you were able to walk off the ship in St. Thomas? Earliest? Our kids are meeting up for a dive in Red Hook/St. John and wondering how soon they can get off the ship?

Thanks again!

[Kenhel]

Yes we went through customs in St. Thomas (while still on the ship) - bit confusing for non U.S. citizens (we are Canadians) so it slowed down getting off the ship. Have breakfast early that day (avoid dining room - service was very very slow that morning) so we didn't get off ship until 8:30. Better to have an early breakfast in the buffet or order room service.

[twinky53]

I loved the Norwegian Dawn and loved the dining options. However, we are just a couple and appreciated that we could always get a nice table for a couple, unlike the Crown Princess where the couple table we sat at once was actually two tables pushed together - a table for four if you ask me. The other tables for two were just part of a long banquette, so there was not much privacy. HOWEVER - since you are a family of four, obviously this was not a problem for you.

 

I also think since you are a family, you would enjoy the use of the free pools. One thing I recently learned is that they now charge $15 a day to use the indoor spa pool on the Dawn. I was shocked when I read that, since they only have one other pool, though a very big one with four jacuzzis. On Princess, you do get more pools and with the anytime option, you can dine as you please. And I definitely felt the Caribe Buffet was much better than the buffet on the Dawn. We even ate dinner at the Caribe four times we liked it so much and it was a good alternative for us.

 

And - you love movies. You won't get MUTS on the Dawn. They do show movies in their theater there, however.

 

Now, we loved the Dawn and sailed on her twice. We also think she is a very seaworthy ship, while the Crown Princess vibrated a bit much for our liking. However, if I was going to give a recommendation to a family who sounded like they had a great time on their cruise with Princess, I would go with the Grand Princess. It sounds like a perfect fit for you. JMHO!

 

 

And thanks for your great review!!!

[streaks23]

Thank you, again, Kenhel!!!!

[Kerry&LuAnn]

Great review, Kenhel! We were on the Caribbean Princess last March, and your descriptions brought back many good memories! In fact, we enjoyed our experience so much that we are returning to the Caribbean Princess again this coming spring! Like you, we kept on a budget and still had plenty of fun. The shore excursions can be very expensive. We found it to be very enjoyable to stay onboard when many others left the ship while in port.

[cancruiseforever]

Just returned from Caribbean Princess Oct 29 to Nov 5th. We booked last minute (about 5 weeks ago). This was our 3rd cruise. Royal Caribbean in early 1990s and Costa Magica March 2006. We selected the cruise based on itinerary (wanted to visit St. Maarten) and great price. </p>

We are a family of four with 15 year and 12 year old. Hope this review is helpful for first time cruisers or anyone considering Princess.

 

Cabin:

 

As this was our 2nd cruise this year we cruised on a budget and booked an inside quad on Deck 10. The cabin was adequate size, good layout and good storage space. The bathroom was a little small but functional. Our cabin stewardess Sonia was great. She kept the cabin very clean, replenished towels twice daily. Bathroom was stocked with good quality shampoo, conditioner, soaps and lotion so I would not bother packing those toiletries. My daughter and I have long hair and the hair dryer is OK but I am glad we brought our own. There are limited electrical outlets so consider bringing an outlet bar.

 

 

Food:

 

What can I say? Collectively my husband and I brought back 12 extra pounds of weight (not our luggage but around our waists!). We made a decision at the beginning of the cruise that we would NOT take the elevators. So we climbed 6 flights up to the buffet and walked around deck 7 and on the walking track everyday.

 

We found the quality of the food good and always hot. We had Personal/Anytime Dining and we loved the freedom. We ate early every evening (between 6 and 6:30) and never had to wait for a table for four. We had different waiters every night and found they were all very good. Service was equally good in the Palm and the Coral Dinning rooms. My husband had the Love Boat dessert several times and he said it was very decadent and delicious. The cold seafood buffet, Lobster Night, Beef Wellington were the highlights. Out of 7 dinners, we only had one meal we did not enjoy (eggplant parmaggiana). We ate at the Horizons or Caribe Buffets for breakfast and lunch and late night snacking. Our favourites were the brownies and cookies.

 

Don’t miss afternoon tea (3:30 to 4:30) in the Coral Dinning Room. This was the highlight of our Sea Days. Hot tea, warm scones, clotted cream and jam and delicious little sandwiches and cookies!

 

Entertainment:

 

Amazing!! We loved ALL the comedians on board – Carl Strong, Phil Tag, Adam Ace and Kamika :p :) . We also enjoyed Millionaire, The Newlywed Game and the Cooking Demonstration/Galley Tour. In total our family watched about 6 movies (in the Princess Theatre or on the MUTS screen). Especially loved MUTS. I agree with some past reviewers, that the area surrounding MUTS can get a noisy but there are many quiet areas to find a lounge chair. We loved the area around near the LOTUS spa and the aft pool. Also, don’t miss the life size chess set. Our son participated in Off Limits (the teen centre). There were a small group of teens on board (~50) but he enjoyed the activities.

 

Ports of Call:

 

St. Marrten:

 

Husband and Son booked the 12 metre Racing Boat challenge and really enjoyed it. My daughter and I took the water taxi to the downtown Phillsburg area and walked around the shops and spent some time on the beach (Great Bay). The beach was nice and 2 chairs and umbrellas were rented for $ 10. We ate at the Barefoot Grill and enjoyed a good lunch for $25 (with tip). I tried my hand at casino with little luck.

 

St. Thomas:

 

Docked at Crown Bay that is west of the downtown area and shops. No shops open at Crown Bay. I think taxi fares in St. Thomas are outrageous (example: a family of 4 to get to and from Crown Bay to Coki Beach is $ 80 !!):eek: We decided to stay near Crown Bay so we took a water taxi to Water Island. The Water Taxi leaves at 10:30 am from the Crown Bay Marina. Walk out of the pier gate; the marina is across the street. The water taxi is in front of Tickels restaurant. The return rate is $32 for 4 people. The ride is less than 10 minutes to Water Island. We spent the day on Honeymoon beach – very nice, quiet. Heidi (a local) caters a bbq on beach with fabulous burgers, drinks etc… Be forewarned – there are no facilities on Honeymoon Beach at this time:( :( . There is a restaurant that is being renovated – when it reopens there will be more food options and washrooms!

 

Princess Cays:

 

This port was cancelled due to high seas. Had a nice sea day although I did get a little sick from the high waves.

 

Money Saving Tips:

 

As I mentioned we were on a budget so I hope this helps others in similar situation. It is hard to resist buying things on board.

• We brought our own soda and water to take on shore with us.
  
• We bought the coke package for kids and we did not drink any alcohol.
  
• We limited ourselves to 3 pictures taken by the photographers ($66).
  
• Avoided taxis while in port (see St. Thomas)
  
• Enjoyed the free entertainment
  
• Avoid Art Auctions
  
• Stay out of the Spa and the gift stores
  
• Stay out of Casino (we limited ourselves to about $40)
  
• Did not eat in any specialty restaurant
  
• Have ice-cream in the buffet (in the afternoon) instead of at Scoops

OVERALL IMPRESSSION:

 

Great cruise, great customer service, hot meals, and great entertainment. We would cruise with Princess again. If you can stay on a budget, a cruise is great value for a family vacation.

 

We are booked on Norwegian Dawn in March 2007(from NY city). Would like some feedback comparing Caribbean Princess to Norwegian Dawn. We enjoyed our Princess cruise so much and are considering switching our March cruise from NCL to Princess. We are thinking of Grand Princess out of Galveston Texas instead?? Any comments or opinions??

no comparison

[Kenhel]

I called my online TA today and at this point it is not a problem to switch BUT the Grand Princess March 10th from Galveston is waitlisted. No quad cabins left.:( So I hope I am not making a big mistake by going on NCL Dawn. We went on Costa Magica March 2006 and all I read on these boards were bad, bad reviews but I loved that cruise too!

 

How would you compare the entertainment??

 

When I search reviews for Grand Princess (March sailings) out of Galveston I've noticed frequent comments about high winds, bad weather and cancelled ports which I find very unusual for that time of year. (I expected it during my Oct Caibbean sailing). Is that common for cruises leaving from Galveston??

 

Perhaps I would get different answers if I posted on NCL boards:p !

 

Thanks for all your comments!

[nho9504]

I am interested in hearing your comments since you sailed both this year.

 

We are going on Caribbean Princess on Dec 10, however, we are also considering a Costa Magica just before or just after the Dec 10 CB sailing (sort of like doing a B2B, on different line/ship).

 

However, the foods on Costa Magica does not seem to have good reviews and all I got from Costa board seems just like the exact opposite from the member reviews section. (The Costa Board seems to be too much cheerleading to me).

 

Your post on this subj is greatly appreciated.

[Kenhel]

They both had their plus and minuses:

 

Costa:

 

More Italian food - veal, rissoto, pasta - very good

Food was not always as hot as at it should be (in buffet and dining room)

Midnight Buffets were good

The poolside grill cooked food ahead and kept it on steamtable :cool:

The breakfast and lunch buffets had more variety

More free drink options: juice, iced tea, water, milk and chocolate milk (all meals)available at buffets

 

Princess:

 

Food presented well, and always hot

Breakfast buffet very repetitive

Lunch buffet had many unappealing casserole items

Dinner buffet was good - one restaurant had a theme, the other offered food from dining room. Often had a carving station with fillet, pork, beef - very good

Had sushi on buffet for dinner (I don't care for it but seemed very popular) - beautifully displayed

Loved cookies and brownies on buffet

Cakes were so so

LOVED THE AFTERNOON TEA!

The food was more "continental" steaks, beef wellington, fish - limited Italian food

Limited free drink options - water, unsweetened iced tea, coffee and tea

Juice at breakfast only

Better poolside grill - continously cooking pizzas, burgers, fries - fresher, hotter, better quality

 

 

WE GAINED WEIGHT ON BOTH CRUISES!!

[ckornuta]

Great review!! What movies were playing on MUTS? THANX

[Tribefans]

Thanks for the review. We were on the same cruise and we loved it. There were five of us and we weren't pleased with the taxi costs either, but we did our best to grin and bear it. We did go to St. John and made the 9:00 ferry, BARELY!

When did your husband and son race, in the AM or PM? We were on the Stars and Stripes in the morning race. That was terrific!

[Tribefans]

We were also on this cruise and we did go to Red Hook, and then on to Trunk Bay. We were off the ship by about 8:00 and JUST made it to the 9:00 Red Hook ferry. We waited for the taxi to fill and then stopped in Charlotte Amalie to drop off some riders and the driver waited there for quite a while so the trip didn't take an hour. There were three ships in port that day, including the CB. No problem getting a ride to Trunk Bay once we reached Cruz Bay. It is not cheap travel. From Crown Bay, where Princess now docks, it is $11 pp to Red Hook, the ferry costs $5, and the taxi to Trunk Bay was $6, so it was $22 pp ow! Trunk Bay admission is another $4, but it was WORTH IT!

[Kenhel]

Tribefans: Husband and Son were on the Canadian boat in the afternoon sailing - they beat Stars and Stripes! They had an amazing time!

 

 

ckornuta: So many movies....these are the ones I can remember: Break Up, Da Vinci Code, Grease, Scary Movie 4, The Sentinel, Ghost Busters (Halloween) and Willy Wanka and Choc Factory (new version)

[Tribefans]

Thanks for the info. The helmsman on True North, was the mentor to Mark, the helmsman on Stars and Stripes, and it doesn't seem that Mark wins very often. When we snuck around the marker to nip True North you could see the delight on Mark's face. He was like a little kid! That was a fun excursion.

[houstontaylor]

we too were on there with a huge group and everything was great- wonderful entertainment, the comedians were very funny as well as great nightime entertainment.,..I forgot I was even on a ship until we got to the Bahamas---the food was great-especially lobster night, and the staff was really friendly-- would go on this trip again!:)

[streaks23]

One more question???

As you booked "last minute", did Princess send you any luggage tags?

We booked last minute also and wondering if we'll get any tags?

Did you enjoy bedding/pillows? I really don't want to drag my pillows :(

Thanks again for all your help!

[twinky53]

Perhaps I would get different answers if I posted on NCL boards:p !

 

 

 

That is what I would suggest. I loved the Dawn. I would go on her again in a heartbeat and feel bad that she is leaving New York City for Miami. We try to sail from a place we can drive to so that we can save the air fare money. We were really lucky that our first experience was on the Dawn after staying 25 years away from cruising. On our first cruise we loved Bermuda, but were not too wild about the cruise itself. The Norwegian Dawn totally changed our opinion of cruising. If put up against the wall and forced to choose between the Crown Princess and the Norwegian Dawn - :eek: - we would choose the Dawn. Our entire cruising experience was better on her, but as I pointed out, the Crown had some things we liked better.

 

However, as I say here again and again so I don't get flamed by the Princessaholics - to each his own!!!!!:) :) :)

[Kenhel]

We received 2 packages from Princess - the second arrived about 10 days after we booked and it had our luggage tags. It is important to register yourself on the Princess Website ASAP after booking because this information is your tickets. BUT, I heard our sailing was the last one with paper tickets..I think they have e-tickets now?

 

As far as pillows and sheets. We usually bring our own pillows. We didn't this time and our pillows and sheets were fine. The room was set up with two pillows for each person.

[streaks23]

Thank you, again!

We booked 10/23 for the 11/19 cruise and haven't rec'd anything from Princess. All paperwork has been completed online since we booked.

Glad to hear the pillows were good - think I'll leave mine at home!