Just off the Caribbean Princess - REPORT

[Montreal Eh!]

Just got off the 12/31/06 sailing of the Caribbean Princess.

We were a large group of 30+ people that were cruising together for a third consecutive December Cruise. Our last two cruises were on Royal Caribbean voyager class ships (Navigator and Explorer). Our group decided it wanted a new experience and had hoped that we were “upgrading” by choosing Princess.

There are both good and bad points in comparing Princess with Royal Caribbean.

We had hoped for better food on Princess. Royal had been fine but not outstanding. Montreal has great restaurants and if RCCL were a restaurant, our group agreed that we would not be going back again. However, we recognize that our cruise, with our family, is about more then just the food. Princess was picked in the hope of a slight upgrade in that category as we knew that we would be “downsizing” in terms of the ship itself (no climbing wall, half basketball court, no skating rink, no promenade). Princess food was a big disappointment. We could not point to one great meal. We ate at both Sabitinis, which was adequate, but with far too much food presented. Sterling’s was a huge letdown. It looks like you are dining in a coffee shop in a hotel lobby. The steak was Holiday Inn quality at best. I ordered the Rib Eye and left ½ over as it was just too tough to eat. Three others at our table did the same. The waiter offered to try again but we declined.

If you are a shellfish lover there is an abundance of it on Princess.

I did find the Horizon Buffet on Princess better then the RCCL Buffets. I am not a fan of buffets to begin with as I much prefer to be served in the dining room. However, this past week the weather was so good that hanging out by the pool took precedence over being properly dressed to go to the dining room for breakfast or lunch. The Princess buffets are better organized then RCCL, however there is no lemonade as on RCCL and this disappoints the kids.

Princess Movies under the Stars (MUTS) are great. They play all day and night long. We got some of the bowl games, NFL Playoff games and some great movies (Rocky Horror Picture Show, Da Vinci Code, Grease, Harry Potter).

Pool areas on Princess are better then RCCL. Never a problem finding a chair (or several in a row for our group). Towels are readily available, unlike RCCL where they are rationed out.

Spa is nicer on Princess. Heated Stone loungers are amazing!

Entertainment was not great on Princess. A couple of good solo acts (Berte in Crooners is very good, kane who does Sir Elton John was very good as was the Hypnotist). However, Piano Man was probably the worst production at sea I have seen after 6 cruises – unless you used to like the Lawrence Welk Show!

Princess does Embarkation and Debarkation better than RCCL. However, Port Everglades does not run as smoothly as the Port of Miami and there is confusion at the Pier but this is not the fault of Princess.

Cabins are comparable on both lines. We had Balcony Rooms on the Baja Deck. One plus on the Caribbean Princess is that if you have adjoining balcony cabins the balcony separation can be opened. We therefore had a large balcony to enjoy.

We are still looking to upgrade a notch for next year and are deciding between Holland America and Celebrity.

[MaryPoppinz]

Piano Man was probably the worst production at sea I have seen after 6 cruises – unless you used to like the Lawrence Welk Show!

 

I think you and I may be the only people that agree on this. :) A lot of people like it. I get embarassed just thinking about the dancers with the keyboards on their heads....the Liberace section is beneath just about any performer, and I feel bad for them.

[sandytoesrose]

Thanks for the review. I'll be on the Caribbean Princess in two weeks and will look forward to trying the seafood. I have not experienced MUTS, but wonder what the attraction is if they show movies that everyone has already seen! I've been on HAL, Celebrity and Carnival and am looking forward to trying Princess.

[emdia43]

MUTS is the best thing on Caribbean Princess- sailing along at night under a starry sky,miles out at sea,waiters bringing you fresh popcorn and frou frou drinks,or a blanket for your lounger. Who cares what the film is?:)

[flynrph]

I didn't try the upgraded dining rooms and stuck to the regular sit down. Food was good, but I wouldn't call it great. Due to food allergies I had use the optional beef tenderloin twice. That was a big disappointment, as it was consistenly dry and over done. Service however was quite good.

Buffet had a good selection and I thought the staff worked hard at keeping it clean. Always got a quick and cheerful delivery of diet coke on my coke card. No hassles or looks as has been ocaionally mentioned on these boards.

The pizza, cardboard goo. First thing I had when I returned to Chicago was a decent pizza.

Had a Riviera balcony. Nice room. Great steward.

Always able to find a chair by one of the pools, so many pools and hot tubs I couldn't count them all. MUTS was a little loud, so I tended to avoid the area if I wanted to have any conversations.

Embarking and debarking I felt went quite smoothly, although I did come later to get on board, it only took me about 10 minutes total.

Shows overall I felt were entertaining, my wife liked Piano Man, but I have to agree with a previous poster, it was a Lawrence Welk type show mostly, and those piano costumes, well... hideous. The Elton John imitator was first rate! I've seen the real deal and I thought the impersonator pulled if off nicely. The hypnotist had me rolling on the floor. The guys doing the chipendale act at the end was a great finale! (the guy midway up the starboard side doing the lap dance!)

The photographers need to stop taking pictures while people are on the ramp! They caused the back ups while trying to get off the ship for excursions.

Overall the ship was great. I had read that mega ships with 3000 passengers would have poor service and long lines and crowds. Not once, did I feel crowded, or wait in a long line. I had more crowding on the Inspiration by a long shot.

Couple of weird things I noticed. Mid ship on Riviera deck, had a very peculiar deck hop going when the ship was hauling at 20 knots. (500 section.) This was not noticable at the back of the 600 section. I don't know how my sons were able to sleep, though one of them slept on the balcony a couple of nights.

And for the first time in the Caribbean, I did not see a single dolphin or flying fish alongside the ship.

Good ship, would cruise her again in a heartbeat

[sept10dsm]

On our recent cruise, outside Key West we saw many dolphins as well as the flying fish. My husband never heard of flying fish and didn't see them. Upon our return he looked them up on the internet and yes believed me. Seeing the wildlife was a highlight for me on the cruise!! Too bad you didn't see any. Maybe next time.

[Montreal Eh!]

I kept looking for dolphin!s from my balcony. My kids had seen them last year on a cruise. No luck this year!

 

BTW, i thought the coffee was fine. I usually hate American coffee as it is so weak. The CB DCoffee was ok. The Espresso was very good.