Caribbean Princess 5/26 - 6/4

[vowsatsea]

BACKGROUND: I'm a 22 year old female. This was my third cruise, and second on Princess. Traveling with my fiance Brett who is 25. This was his third cruise, and first on Princess.

 

EMBARKATION: The Red Hook Terminal was a gorgeous terminal. They had very helpful workers. A porter took our luggage at the curb and we walked in to find a very small line. We showed him our passports, and then proceeded to the metal detectors. We moved fairly quickly through them as they had about 6 of them going. We were handed a medical paper to fill out, which was a little confusing because people were walking/standing around looking for pens or pencils, so it was hard to tell who was standing there, and who was proceeding to the next line. We filled out the medical paper, and then went to the next line. We got called up to an agent almost right away. He told us it was his first day on the job, but he did an excellent job. We handed him everything, and we received our cruise cards, map and the number 36. We walked into a huge room with plenty of seating, and waiting for our number to be called. They started at 30, so it didn't take long. This is where it was getting a bit unorganized as it was hard to hear the loudspeaker, so people were getting up and standing by the entrance to wait for their number, which made it nearly impossible to get through when your number was called. We had gotten there at 11:00am, and by noon, we were on the ship.

 

CABIN: We booked an inside cabin, and were on deck 11 (Baja) in 736. The cabin was very clean, the mattresses were very comfortable, and most of all, we had the most amazing cabin steward. His name was Reynaldo. Upon getting on the ship, he came and introduced himself to us. I told him I liked towel animals, and he surprised us 4 nights on the cruise by making us a monkey, dog, chick and two swans. I am a complete mess when I'm on vacation, and many of times, I threw my pajamas and clothes on the floor, and we always came in to find them folded neatly in a pile on the bed. On the second night of the cruise, when we were leaving our cabin, he shocked us by saying "Good evening Brett, Good evening Sabrina." No other cabin steward has ever remembered our names! At the end of the cruise, we filled out the card for him to nominate him for the service recognition award.

 

SERVICE: I cannot even begin to describe the service on this ship. We were treated like royalty. When we were sitting down in the buffet, a worker came over and pushed the chair in for my fiance when we were sitting. They always asked us if we wanted sodas or anything from the bar. They came by constantly to refill our water glasses when we were in Cafe Caribe. They were always around the ship polishing, or cleaning, and it definitely showed. Midway through the cruise, when walking up to Outrigger's Bar, I realized I didn't even have to order my drink because he recognized me, and knew I was coming to get a Diet Cherry Coke. Like I said, I can't say enough. Every worker had a smile on, and if you walked past them 100 times, they would smile and greet you 100 times. One worker was walking past us while he was carrying a huge bucket of dirty dishes. He saw us standing together and asked if we wanted him to take a picture. He took it and asked us if we were on our honeymoon. We said no, and told him next year. This was on the first day of the cruise. At some point during the course of the cruise, we saw him again, and he asked if we were done with the planning and booking for our next year's wedding. We were amazed that with 3100 passengers on board, he remembered that! Helpful, friendly, outstanding service.

 

BUFFET FOOD AND ROOM SERVICE: We're buffet people. We ate in the buffet for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It was a clean buffet area, and I noticed a lot of people used the hand sanitizer stations, which was good. They had a great selection, and the food was great. The Seafood Extravaganza was amazing, and the crab legs were to die for. They even had it back out a couple of nights during the cruise. The pizza was delicious, and they had pretty good speciality pizzas throughout the cruise. We ordered 2-3 times from room service. Their Club House sandwich was delicious, and everything was delivered within 10 minutes of us ordering.

 

STERLING STEAKHOUSE: In one word: phenominal! The service was outstanding. Our waiter Chino and waitress Nati came and introduced themselves. We were there with a group of 16, so we made a total of 18 people, spread across two tables. Napkins were placed on our laps. Chino came with a tray of pre-cut meat and showed us what each of the cuts looked like, and how big they were. The appetizers were great. I had spinach and artichoke dip with tortillas. My fiance had the caesar salad, and others had the shrimp and/or the clam cowder. The dishes were flawless. I had the salmon, which was their fish of the day (although they offered three). My fiance had the sterling cut (10oz) filet mignon. He enjoyed it immensely, and said there wasn't an ounce of fat on it. It came with a baked potato, sauteed mushrooms, and choice of creamed spinach, corn bread something (? don't really remember). We chose the creamed spinach and it was delicious. Nati came around with a tray of toppings for our baked potato, and dressed them up for us, one by one. Exceptional service and amazing meal.

 

PORTS: -San Juan- I don't have much to say about this port, as it was my second time there, and I do not like it at all. In my opinion, it's a waste of a stop. I don't find the people to be friendly or helpful, so we usually get off just to get a picture of the ship and then we get back on. -St. Maarten- I haven't been here since 2003, and back then I wasn't too impressed with it. This time I was completely shocked to see a cruise terminal with maps, information center and taxi dispatch center. It was very easy to navigate and we were taken over to Orient Beach, which is one of the most beautiful beaches I've been to. The natives are a bit pushy with the hair braiding, telling me she'll do "an ok job" if I give her whatever money I have. The water was crystal clear and the sand felt like powder. -St. Thomas- Whenever in St. Thomas I feel like I visit the same beaches, so we went to the Skyride this time. The Caribbean Princess now docks in Crown Bay Pier so it was a little bit of a ride over to Havensight. The ride up was great, and the view was definitely worth the $19 they charge. We looked around the shops, watched the bird show, had a virgin pina colada (we don't drink), and made our way down. We were going to try to head over to Coral World, but we thought we might be cutting it a little close, so we didn't even try. -Grand Turk- Wasn't too crazy about this port when I first stepped off, but then it grew on me. The beach was beautiful. Although there was too much stuff floating for my taste (seaweed, fish, algae, etc). It took me a while to brave the water, but I did and it was an interesting experience, because the bottom of the ocean is rocky and has very little sand, which was interesting trying to walk on it. My recommendation is to bring a mask and a snorkel, because there is a lot to look at under the water. Margaritaville looked nice, but we really didn't venture into that area, because it was packed. It is extremely nice having the whole port practically at the tip of the gangway. We noticed the sun to be VERY strong on Grand Turk. My cruise card and my flip flops both melted and they were inside a beach bag. The weather was GREAT to us. We had a dark cloud above us in San Juan, but all the other ports were 85-90 degrees and clear skies.

 

ENTERTAINMENT: Sarge. That's one great comedian. He had three shows on our cruise. Unfortunetly, we missed the first one, but made it to the second and third. Once word spread around the ship what a great show he was giving, it was as if the entire ship was trying to pack into the theater. I know there was a lot of arguing going on over saved seats, but I wasn't saving the seats, and I didn't need them, so I stayed out of it. We also saw Wayne Hoffman, who was an illusionist and mentalist. He was reading people's minds in the audience, which was cool when it was going on, but not so cool when we walked by later on and heard him using the same exact mind reading examples with a completely different crowd. For example, don't try to tell me that two completely different girls in two completely different showings are thinking about the fact that they're wearing underwear with hearts on them. There was also talk amongst passengers at Sarge's show that he was picking certain people and telling them what to say. He was extremely entertaining though, so it doesn't both me :) The last guy we saw was Jason Neistadt. He was a comedy impressionist. I found some of his jokes to be a little dated, and he was mildly entertaining.

 

SHIP: The ship was gorgeous although the public areas are not nearly as big as they should be to accomodate all the passengers. Even on port days, it was often impossible to find a table at the buffet. While we were docked in San Juan, the CB was taken off guard with a surprise inpection by the USPH officials, and passed with 100%, which we all thought was pretty impressive. The layout of the ship is a little confusing, and I heard a lot of people complaining about it. For me, I liked it, because it never got boring. I felt that there was always a nook or cranny that I missed, and up until the last day of the cruise, I still barely knew my way around.

 

MOVIES UNDER THE STARS: An awesome addition, and a huge plus for this ship. They promptly put out the seat covers and blankets for the movie. During the daytime, there was a staff member walking around with a cart of cookies and milk, and during the nighttime, popcorn was served in bags, while other staff members walked around finding out if we wanted drinks. They showed very recent movies. Some I remember are National Treasure: Book of Secrets, Ratatouille, The Bourne Ultimatum, High School Musical 2, Atonement, No Country for Old Men, The Game Plan, Dan in Real Life, Indiana Jones, Transformers, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Into the Wild, Night at the Museum, and more.

 

POOLS: The pools were nice, but incredibly crowded during the day. We mostly hung out at the terrace pool, because it was usually empty, and it's a great if you do not want to be in the sun.

 

BOUTIQUES: We mildly enjoyed them. What they had was nice, but there was a small selection of stuff, and they didn't restock during the course of the cruise. The main thing I was shocked at was that they didn't have aloe - at all. Do you know how many burnt people came in there looking for it, too? They had a "big outlet sale" on the last sea day, and it was a big letdown. I didn't see anything that really stood out, and we really wanted to see what apparel they'd have. Unfortunetly, ever port tee they had was from a port that we did not visit on this cruise. Again, something minor, but noticed.

 

MISC: I feel like on the last night of the cruise, the staff focused a lot of their attention on resetting everything for the next group, and slacked a little in the service area on deck and in the buffet areas. I understand that they need to prepare for the next cruise, but they also need to understand that it's still our cruise, and everything should be the way it was throughout the course of the cruise.

 

DISEMBARKATION: We did the walk-off. It was a bit chaotic. They had us meet in the Coral Dining Room, and I don't think they expected such a large amount of people to be walking off. We gathered in the dining room at 7:30, and it was wall to wall people. There were people all over the atrium area, because there was no room to get in the dining room. However, once they told us it was okay to walk off, everything went incredibly smooth. They had neat lines and clearly marked outside the terminal for cabs, car services and pick up areas.

 

SUMMARY: This was by far the best cruise I have been on. Last year when I cruised on Carnival, I felt as though something was missing, and now that I have went back to Princess, I see the different between the two. The ship, it's staff and the line itself has convinced my fiance and I to cruise exclusively with Princess in the future.

 

I have already put together a photobook from the cruise that you can see by clicking the link below:

Caribbean Princess 2008

[gbcruiser72]

Thank you for your review; sounds like you had a great time!

[inspfitz]

Love the pic's!:)

[Colo Cruiser]

Great review thanks for taking the time to write it. :)

[DesertDuo]

A great review...thank you...

 

We leave on the 13th

[amy&ryan]

We just returned from this sailing as well - it was our second cruise on the CB (my 3rd overall - once on NCL and my wife's 5th overall - NCL, Royal Caribbean and Carnival). We enjoyed it just as much this time as the first time. The trip was wonderful. I don't have a complaint to offer - I would travel on Princess again any time. Although I must be fair and say that I did hear a couple of people complaining about the food as they were shovelling down their 2nd and 3rd plates. Go figure.

We flew in a day early and stayed in Manhattan. We used Carmel car service and would definitely recommend them. They were on time and courteous and we didn't have to worry about traffic and a cab driver who didn't know how to get to Pier 12. Embarkation was a breeze - we were in our room by about 12:30.

Like Sabrett, we also enjoyed Sterling a lot - good food and good service. I had the Porterhouse and was very satisfied. We also did the Balcony Dinner ($100 for the couple). We did it our first time on the CB and had to do it again. We weren't able to get the night we wanted but were lucky to have it at all as we found out they only offer 2 per night. You get a "complimentary" 8*11 photo, as well as a before dinner cocktail, 1/2 bottle of champagne, and a 5 course meal. Filet, lobster, or surf and turf. The filet was cooked perfectly and the lobster tail was huge. Next time we cruise with Princess, we'll do the Balcony Dinner again.

The entertainment was good - funniest was Not so Newly Wed game...couldn't believe some of the answers that were given - especially from the couple who was married for 52 years.

Anyway, that's all for now....it's almost 1 am and reality will be sounding in 4 hours as I get ready for work.

[Vacation Nut]

Well, I was excited before about my Aug 15 cruise on CB, but now I have read your reviews I can't contain my excitement. Thank you so much to both people who posted.

[caribill]

 

BOUTIQUES: They had a "big outlet sale" on the last sea day, and it was a big letdown. I didn't see anything that really stood out, and we really wanted to see what apparel they'd have. Unfortunetly, ever port tee they had was from a port that we did not visit on this cruise. Again, something minor, but noticed.

 

 

Purpose of the "sale" is to get rid of merchandise that they cannot otherwise sell. Thus, any port tees will not be from ports the ship will soon visit again.

 

We were once on a Princess ship that had sailed South America and Antarctica but was heading for Alaska. We were able to pick up some apparel (at a great price) that was quite useful when we did South America and Antarctica a year later.

[janetz]

We just returned also. Second sailing on the CB and as wonderful as before.

 

That couple married 52 years are my sister and brother-in-law....:D They are a hoot!

 

Sabrett, glad you loved it...

[dforeigner]

Thank you for taking time to write a review.

[doublemm16]

Thank you so much for your great review. I am going on the CB on June 22nd, and this review only makes me want the time to go faster!!

 

Glad you had a great trip!:D

[C&F]

Thanks for the great review. You mentioned you did walk off disembarkation. Were you allowed to use the elevators with your luggage? I read on these boards that you must carry all luggage, even down stairs.

[brego]

Thank you for a great review. We too are on the June 22 sailing and your review increases my excitement. I have a quick question. My boarding pass says that we can board the ship at 1:00. However, I noticed that you boarded at noon. Is 1:00 just the official time but they let people board earlier if cabins are ready?

[jag27]

We were on the same cruise and enjoyed it very much! We also ate at Sterlings and thought the food was excellent! I ordered the Sterling cut filet mignon and my husband ordered the 14 oz Prime Rib and we ordered them both medium-rare. Well, both came out at the same time cooked perfectly! My husband had the shrimp cocktail and they were huge! My husband could have eaten here every night if he could.

 

We also ate at Sabitinis one night - we found the food very good and the entrees innovative, but liked Sterlings much better. We only had dinner at the buffet the first night and loved the cold seafood buffet. We loved the crab legs but weren't too crazy for the lobster since they only serve the claws (I prefer the tails) and no crackers. They also had some hot items that were good (seafood turnovers). All the other nights were at in the Palm dining room and we had anytime dining. I have to say, this is were I was disappointed. Some nights the foods was really good, but the service was not so good. One night they forgot to serve us coffee, another night the waiter brought on guest at our table the wrong appeitzer and when he told the waiter, he started to argue with him! Then gave him the menu to pick to pick out what he wanted even though the guest told him what he wanted! The last formal night, we had a table for two (we had to wait 20 mins for a table when we would have been happy to sit with others, but the matre d never asked us). It took almost 20 mins to bring the dessert after we had been there for over 2 hours that we just walked out. If I sail Princess again, I would prefer the traditional dining. We loved the pizza - that became out late night snack!

 

Everything else was great on this cruise. Just a warning, we found the mixed drinks to be very strong, so we drank a lot of wine and beers. Also, this seemed the like honeymoon cruise! This was our honeymoon and went to the honeymoon toast on the second day - there were over 25 honeymoon couples at the toast and four wedding on board! We also enjoyed the ports of call and would visit all those places again!

[scooterzidel]

I loved your happy positive review - I can see from the pics that the two of you are happy positive people - it makes travelling lots more fun if you have a good attitude.

 

I loved the photo album, was it difficult to do? I've bookmarked that website and plan to look into in for my future pictures. Thanks again, we're a family of 4 that is really looking forward to our CB cruise this summer.:D

[dundalkspur]

We just returned from this sailing as well - it was our second cruise on the CB (my 3rd overall - once on NCL and my wife's 5th overall - NCL, Royal Caribbean and Carnival). We enjoyed it just as much this time as the first time. The trip was wonderful. I don't have a complaint to offer - I would travel on Princess again any time. Although I must be fair and say that I did hear a couple of people complaining about the food as they were shovelling down their 2nd and 3rd plates. Go figure.

We flew in a day early and stayed in Manhattan. We used Carmel car service and would definitely recommend them. They were on time and courteous and we didn't have

 

Hi, we are on the CB next friday and need a transfer -can you remember how much Carmel car service cost ?

[janetz]

Thank you for a great review. We too are on the June 22 sailing and your review increases my excitement. I have a quick question. My boarding pass says that we can board the ship at 1:00. However, I noticed that you boarded at noon. Is 1:00 just the official time but they let people board earlier if cabins are ready?

 

 

We were there at 10:30 and boarded just before noon....:D

[DGNY]

Were there any traffic issues getting to the pier?

[irishone127]

Thank you for a great review. We too are on the June 22 sailing and your review increases my excitement. I have a quick question. My boarding pass says that we can board the ship at 1:00. However, I noticed that you boarded at noon. Is 1:00 just the official time but they let people board earlier if cabins are ready?

We'd love to have you join in with all of us excited traveler's on the upcoming CB Cruise!!

[Pixelator]

thanks for the great review! will check out your photos now - DD Emily (17) and I were on CB last Aug 12 for 7 day Eastern Caribbean, first cruise, and LOVED it! We will be on CB this Aug 15 for 9 day out of NY so really appreciate your review, though we will have the regular itinerary. We loved St. Maarten/St. Martin. Our photos are at:

 

 

Thanks again!

 

Bob Laubach

Manassas, VA

[Pixelator]

Well, I was excited before about my Aug 15 cruise on CB, but now I have read your reviews I can't contain my excitement. Thank you so much to both people who posted.

 

Vaca Nut! Please join us on the roll call forum under "August 15, anyone?" We have over 60 people on our roll call and are all enjoying chatting on the forum - a great group already! Please join us!

 

Bob Laubach

Manassas VA

 

CB Eastern Caribbean 12-19 Aug 07

 

photos at:

 

[espo56]

We just returned from this sailing as well - it was our second cruise on the CB (my 3rd overall - once on NCL and my wife's 5th overall - NCL, Royal Caribbean and Carnival). We enjoyed it just as much this time as the first time. The trip was wonderful. I don't have a complaint to offer - I would travel on Princess again any time. Although I must be fair and say that I did hear a couple of people complaining about the food as they were shovelling down their 2nd and 3rd plates. Go figure.

We flew in a day early and stayed in Manhattan. We used Carmel car service and would definitely recommend them. They were on time and courteous and we didn't have to worry about traffic and a cab driver who didn't know how to get to Pier 12. Embarkation was a breeze - we were in our room by about 12:30.

Like Sabrett, we also enjoyed Sterling a lot - good food and good service. I had the Porterhouse and was very satisfied. We also did the Balcony Dinner ($100 for the couple). We did it our first time on the CB and had to do it again. We weren't able to get the night we wanted but were lucky to have it at all as we found out they only offer 2 per night. You get a "complimentary" 8*11 photo, as well as a before dinner cocktail, 1/2 bottle of champagne, and a 5 course meal. Filet, lobster, or surf and turf. The filet was cooked perfectly and the lobster tail was huge. Next time we cruise with Princess, we'll do the Balcony Dinner again.

The entertainment was good - funniest was Not so Newly Wed game...couldn't believe some of the answers that were given - especially from the couple who was married for 52 years.

Anyway, that's all for now....it's almost 1 am and reality will be sounding in 4 hours as I get ready for work.

 

How and when did you reserve the Ultimate Balcony Dinner?

 

Thanks.

[prg2101]

Does anyone know the price to park at the Brooklyn Pier per day?? per week?? Thanks

[Charmedone619]

It was $174 total to park for the 5/26-6/4 CB. You can pay either at the stand in the parking lot or at the terminal.

[cruise4kicks]

Well, I was excited before about my Aug 15 cruise on CB, but now I have read your reviews I can't contain my excitement. Thank you so much to both people who posted.

Vacation Nut, come join our roll call for the CB 8/15 sailing!!! ;)

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=697014

 

Oops, I now see that Bob beat me to the invite. Can you tell we're a friendly bunch of people? <LOL>