CB Brief Review March 11-18

[allelect]

We have cruised just with Royal Caribbean before and decided to give Princess a try this time. We decided to be very open minded and not get bogged down during our vacation with constant comparisons as if we were authoring a critical travel book. Our flight from New York was about 10 minutes late, and we waited over a half-hour for our luggage. We then took a taxi to the seaport and traffic was rather congested. It cost $20 for the trip including a reasonable tip to the driver. The congestion is due to the security coming into the seaport. Consequently, we didn't arrive at the CB pier until about noon. We quickly turned our 2 bags over to a porter, but the line to enter the embarkation area was double length. The line moved along. Again, the backup was due to security and screening of passengers and hand baggage. But we made it onto the ship and into our cabin by 12:30PM. I was pleasantly surprised when our luggage arrived at our cabin within one hour!

 

All in all, I have to say that the service we experienced ranged from excellent to outstanding. Our room steward was friendly, introduced himself immediately, and kept our room spanking clean twice a day, and with fresh ice, towels, etc. Our balcony on the Caribe deck was huge, about 100 sq ft.

We used anytime dining in the Palm Dining Room. We had a wonderful, efficient team of waiter and assistant. They always kept on the run for all of us in their area. Water was constantly refilled. I'd order a glass of wine to be only served with the entree. When the entree arrived, my wine was brought as well. We also ate in Sterling Steakhouse. The food was fantastic, and, again, both the waiter and assistant, gave us outstanding service.

 

The weather didn't always cooperate. About half of the cruise, the sky was overcast or it rained slightly. Due to this, we cancelled our plans to go to Orient Beach in St. Maarten. So, we milled around the shopping area we travelled to via water taxi. The weather also did not cooperate in St. Thomas in the beginning, but we took the afternoon eco tour hike in St. John which was truly a memorable experience. Our guide was Thunder Hawk and he was truly a man of the woods! He gave an amazing informative tour of the flora and fauna along the hiking trail. We ended at Honeymoon Beach which was like paradise.

 

We used the gym almost every day, and it was well outfitted with exercise machines and weights. You can drink warm water out of a fountain, but cold, bottled water there you have to pay for.

 

With regard to pricing on the ship, we found prices to be competitive and not out of whack.

 

For entertainment, we went primarily to see the comedians. John Ferrentino was very funny and entertaining. Fernandez the hypotist was amazing and he had his subjects do some things that made you laugh quite a bit. We also saw a gifted comedian juggler. Jay Moore was great when he started his comedy routine, but I quickly became bored when he resorted to jokes about bodily functions. I've heard that all before. Steve Couette was OK, but he has real talent for simulating all kinds of sounds with his mouth.

 

Finally, I want to grouse about Princess' express walk off at the end of the cruise which we chose to do. There was a very long line of people with all their luggage. Princess kept on calling ticket numbers even when previous ticket holders had not even cleared the disembarkation yet. Some passengers came off elevators and butt in line. Others who were seated and heard their ticket numbers butt in line. I saw a woman in a wheelchair contending with this mess as well. And no one gave her a break whatsoever. This whole walk-off was a disgusting experience. And no Princess personnel were to be seen to manage this until the cruise card exit machine. The farewell of this Caribbean Princess cruise did not fare well, and I think Princess should beware that final impressions for some can be lasting impressions.

[FloridaLaura]

Thank you for your review. One question, the water taxi you mentioned in st. martin. Do you get on it near the cruise ship pier and it takes you to downtown? Is that an alternative to a land taxi? Glad you enjoyed your cruise (except for disembarking)

[cbpanda]

allelect -- Thanks for the review. Glad you had a good cruise.

 

FloridaLaura -- The water taxi is right on the pier (just outside of the security area). You can buy an all day pass for something very reasonable (off the top of my head, I can't remember the cost) or just pay per person, per trip. It takes you across the harbor into downtown Philipsburg (and other piers as well). You can also walk into downtown Philipsburg. It's approximately a 25 minute walk. Not bad at all since most of it is in shade. We ended up walking into town then taking the water taxi back to the port. I'm sure there are regular taxis available, but since we didn't opt for this, I don't know the cost.

[5fathom]

Allelct, you said the cab from Airport to Pier was $20 + tip ! This seems high as last October we paid $12. We were taken by these cab drivers two years ago. They do not turn on the meter and charge what they want. We paid $20 and two elderly ladies on that cruise were charged $22. The drivers have been running this scam for years down there. Maybe the cost is $20 now and then again maybe not. We checked with the police who said "Not our problem, it's a Civil matter "

[SC_Sam]

Allelct, you said the cab from Airport to Pier was $20 + tip ! This seems high as last October we paid $12. We were taken by these cab drivers two years ago. They do not turn on the meter and charge what they want. We paid $20 and two elderly ladies on that cruise were charged $22. The drivers have been running this scam for years down there. Maybe the cost is $20 now and then again maybe not. We checked with the police who said "Not our problem, it's a Civil matter "

 

Without tip, our fare (on the meter) usually runs around $15. The last few times, we've had a fair amount of sitting in traffic, which tends to inflate the fare. We usually just give a $20 to include the tip.

[Salbythec]

Allelect--I just got back from the CB on the 11th, the cab was 12.00 from the port to the airport . Thanks for the review, I am not organized enough to do mine yet.Lol

 

FloridaLaura--The price was 5.00 round trip good all day.

[Kerry&LuAnn]

allelect, we were in an inside cabin on the Caribe deck and ate dinners in the Palm Dining Room, so perhaps we passed each other without knowing it!

 

Due to some unexpected delays at the Minneapolis airport and subsequent delays with ground transportation in Miami, we didn't arrive at the port until after 3:30 p.m. But by that time there was absolutely no lines and we were checked in within a matter of minutes. We were on board only 15 minutes before the Muster Drill.... that's cutting it close!

[allelect]

5Fathom: The $20 from the airport to the seaport included our tip. The backup at the seaport entrance made for some waiting time which increased the charge on the taxi meter.

 

FloridaLaura: The water taxi stopped at 2 places along the boardwalk: at the end and about the middle where the beach area starts. It cost $5 roundtrip per person for the day with unlimited rides. Frankly, we could have walked the short distance if we wanted to.

 

 

I forgot to mention that we used the internet cafe in St. Maarten above the Little Switzerland store just outside the peer. It's a bit pricey at $12/hour or 5 minutes for $1. In St. Thomas, we went to the Nisky Center mall, just a 5 minute walk from the pier, and used the internet at the computer store there for just $5.00 for an hour.

[Vanilla]

Thanks for the review...We are also RCCL cruisers and our first experience with Princess is coming up in June. Looking very forward to it and it sounds like getting aboard the ship is alot easier than with Royal Caribbean. I have always felt that leaving the ship is a mess - seems like the cruise members just want you off - and probably so the next passengers can have a smooth getting on board experience. Good point that last impressions are as important as the first impressions are.

[Kerry&LuAnn]

Thanks for the review...We are also RCCL cruisers and our first experience with Princess is coming up in June.

 

We sailed on Royal Caribbean ships twice before trying out Princess. Although we really enjoyed Royal Caribbean and probably wouldn't hesitate to go again, we have been completely satisfied with Princess. We thought the entertainment and food were superior on the Caribbean Princess.

[mollyanne]

Thanks for the review...We are also RCCL cruisers and our first experience with Princess is coming up in June. Looking very forward to it and it sounds like getting aboard the ship is alot easier than with Royal Caribbean. I have always felt that leaving the ship is a mess - seems like the cruise members just want you off - and probably so the next passengers can have a smooth getting on board experience. Good point that last impressions are as important as the first impressions are.

 

We did the "regular" disembarkation. Our color was called at 9:05 (estimated at 9 A.M.) and we were done collecting luggage (8 pieces for 4 of us), through customs and at the Renaissance on 17th Street by 9:30. Get yourselves a porter - ours was fantastic and even helped search out the luggage. They are so worth it.

 

mollyanne:)

[allelect]

Kerry&Luann: Hi! Even the aborted Princess Cay visit turned into another delicious sea day, right? Hope you had a great time as we did. We were in Caribe C630. Nice deck and centrally located.

 

Ft. Lauderdale airport was a real zoo. We had an 11:10AM departure, but waited for 2 hours in a line to check our bags at AirTran. The bad weather in the northeast last Friday took its toll on the airlines ---and passengers. But we ended up getting home just about on time. Hope you had no problems.

[FloridaLaura]

thanks to everyone for the water taxi info sounds perfect for us:)

[Kerry&LuAnn]

We were in Caribe C630. Nice deck and centrally located.

 

We were in C524 and passed by your cabin frequently, since we usually used the stairs or elevators in that end to access Club Fusion or the Coral Dining Room. Last year we had a cabin in the front of the ship and this year felt significantly less rocking motion in a mid-ship cabin.

[Kerry&LuAnn]

Kerry&Luann: Hi! Even the aborted Princess Cay visit turned into another delicious sea day, right? Hope you had a great time as we did. We were in Caribe C630. Nice deck and centrally located.

 

Ft. Lauderdale airport was a real zoo. We had an 11:10AM departure, but waited for 2 hours in a line to check our bags at AirTran. The bad weather in the northeast last Friday took its toll on the airlines ---and passengers. But we ended up getting home just about on time. Hope you had no problems.

 

Although we really enjoyed relaxing on Princess Cays last year, we were not overly disappointed because there was so much we still wanted to enjoy on the ship. So another sea day was just fine with us.

 

We had no problems getting home to Minnesota after the cruise, but had significant delays on our trip down to Florida before the cruise.... and ultimately arrived on the ship 15 minutes before the Muster Drill. That's cutting it a bit close!