Caribbean Princess Review

[gavinfromlondon]

My wife and I returned from a cruise on the Caribbean Princess on Wednesday and, given how helpful I've found these boards in the past, I thought I'd write a review giving our thoughts, particularly on areas where questions seem to regularly arise.

 

Overall, despite being due a dry dock, we thought the ship was in great condition and they were constantly painting and maintaining it and we had a fantastic cruise.

 

Princess -v- RCCI

 

We had sailed twice before on RCCI but this was our first Princess cruise. During the nine days we kept commenting on the differences between the two (for example, we thought the main theatre entertainment isn't as good as RCCI but there are far more shows in the lounges, the restaurants and bars are more intimate on Princess but it feels less spacious and more boxed in than RCCI, we thought the restaurant food was slightly better on Princess but the buffet wasn't quite as good, the embarkation was better on Princess, the cruise directors staff were better on RCCI etc etc) but overall we felt that the two were pretty equivalent and that we'd happily book a future cruise on either.

 

Aft Suite

 

We were in aft suite A751 on the Aloha deck. Despite reading various comments on being in the aft, and in this particular suite, we loved the huge balcony (and the aft views) and didnt have any annoyance from the "dreaded air vent" or noise from above apart from a very occasional slamming door. Yes there were some very minor vibrations during docking, but it wasn't even enough to wake my wife! The aft location wasnt a problem as it was only a short walk to the Horizon Court, the pool areas and our restaurant was also at the back of the ship.

 

Generally loved being in a full suite, I know that everyone has different tastes, but for us we considered both the extra space and the perks to be well worth the additional cash. Whilst there are a whole raft of perks, the ones that were most useful to us were the priority for booking anytime dining (we used this to get a table when we wanted, but it was frustrating having to keep playing the suite card to get this), the afternoon tea and canapes in the room and the free dry cleaning and internet access.

 

Things we didnt like

 

Most of our gripes were pretty small but included the main theatre being far too small, not being able to check our folio on the stateroom TV and the internet cafe being out of action for three days (this was a real problem for me on sea days as I needed to log into work emails). We also missed the relationship that we had previously had with wait staff in the dining room on RCCI where you have the same staff every night. Also, for some reason, the casino didn't seem as friendly as on RCCI.

 

If anyone's got any questions on anything above, or anything else in connection with the Caribbean Princess I'd be happy to answer them.

[warb]

Good info. Thanks !

[carefreebee]

Thanks for your review, I just keep getting more and more excited for our 6/13 sailing:D

 

Could you give an overview of the dinner menus? We know about the Sailway menu, the Captian's Welcome dinner, Caribbean night, Chef's night, Italian night, Captian's Gala, and the Landfall menu. Do you recall what the other 2 evening's menus were? I'd like to know what menus were served on formal nights and when was the Caribbean menu served?

 

We'd like to make reservations for Sterlings and the Balcony dinner as soon as we board (they seem to get booked up fast:( ). Having some idea of what and when the menus are will help us select.

[Julia’s Journey’s]

Thanks for the review.

Did you go to crown grill or Sabitini's??

[DonnaK]

Thanks for posting your review - as RCI loyals who are going on our first Princess cruise, we are curious about how the two lines compare.

[gavinfromlondon]

Hi, to answer the questions above, I'm not 100% sure about the other nights, I think there was one called a "cosmopolitan night" which was a bit of a mish mash.

 

We did go to Sabatinis one night. Whilst the food was very good, the quantities were a bit much and it might have been better if we could have ordered one or two appetisers that we really fancied rather than being given small portions of everything.

[Colo Cruiser]

Thanks for the review. :)

 

If you like the same waitstaff why don't you book traditional dining. :confused:

[gavinfromlondon]

Hi Colo, you're completely right and I think we will probably go for traditional waitstaff in the future (this was our first time with anytime).

[fathercop]

Thank you for your comments. We have been on the CB before and I like to hear how other people experience the ship.

 

Good luck to you and enjoy any future cruises you may have.

[JWJs]

Enjoyed reading your review ~ especially about the suite life. Thanks for taking the time to write and post your review. Glad the "dreaded air vent" wasn't a bother! That would be a bummer to pay for a suite and have anything mess it up. We have our 1st aft cabin coming up on the Emerald in December. Not a suite but it is a corner balcony. :)

[gavinfromlondon]

You'll love it at the aft, and I imagine on the corner you'll get a great view of the side as well as the back!

[Colo Cruiser]

Hi Colo, you're completely right and I think we will probably go for traditional waitstaff in the future (this was our first time with anytime).

 

That is why we went back to traditional. We had anytime since its inception. For the last year, and 6 cruises we have gone back to Traditional. :)

[prg2101]

My wife and I returned from a cruise on the Caribbean Princess on Wednesday and, given how helpful I've found these boards in the past, I thought I'd write a review giving our thoughts, particularly on areas where questions seem to regularly arise.

 

Overall, despite being due a dry dock, we thought the ship was in great condition and they were constantly painting and maintaining it and we had a fantastic cruise.

 

Princess -v- RCCI

 

We had sailed twice before on RCCI but this was our first Princess cruise. During the nine days we kept commenting on the differences between the two (for example, we thought the main theatre entertainment isn't as good as RCCI but there are far more shows in the lounges, the restaurants and bars are more intimate on Princess but it feels less spacious and more boxed in than RCCI, we thought the restaurant food was slightly better on Princess but the buffet wasn't quite as good, the embarkation was better on Princess, the cruise directors staff were better on RCCI etc etc) but overall we felt that the two were pretty equivalent and that we'd happily book a future cruise on either.

 

Aft Suite

 

We were in aft suite A751 on the Aloha deck. Despite reading various comments on being in the aft, and in this particular suite, we loved the huge balcony (and the aft views) and didnt have any annoyance from the "dreaded air vent" or noise from above apart from a very occasional slamming door. Yes there were some very minor vibrations during docking, but it wasn't even enough to wake my wife! The aft location wasnt a problem as it was only a short walk to the Horizon Court, the pool areas and our restaurant was also at the back of the ship.

 

Generally loved being in a full suite, I know that everyone has different tastes, but for us we considered both the extra space and the perks to be well worth the additional cash. Whilst there are a whole raft of perks, the ones that were most useful to us were the priority for booking anytime dining (we used this to get a table when we wanted, but it was frustrating having to keep playing the suite card to get this), the afternoon tea and canapes in the room and the free dry cleaning and internet access.

 

Things we didnt like

 

Most of our gripes were pretty small but included the main theatre being far too small, not being able to check our folio on the stateroom TV and the internet cafe being out of action for three days (this was a real problem for me on sea days as I needed to log into work emails). We also missed the relationship that we had previously had with wait staff in the dining room on RCCI where you have the same staff every night. Also, for some reason, the casino didn't seem as friendly as on RCCI.

 

If anyone's got any questions on anything above, or anything else in connection with the Caribbean Princess I'd be happy to answer them.

 

 

YYYYEEAAA I finally found someone who is in the same cabin that I booked. We have this cabin booked for May 09, How did you enjoy the size of the room? Was it worth the price? Did the bathroom seem large enough or small? This is our first Princess cruise so any details would be great.....How about some pics? Thanks and glad to hear you enjoyed your cruise I cant wait:p

 

John

[dforeigner]

Thank you for taking time to write a review.

[gavinfromlondon]

YYYYEEAAA I finally found someone who is in the same cabin that I booked. We have this cabin booked for May 09, How did you enjoy the size of the room? Was it worth the price? Did the bathroom seem large enough or small? This is our first Princess cruise so any details would be great.....How about some pics? Thanks and glad to hear you enjoyed your cruise I cant wait:p

 

John

 

Hey John, I hadn't been back to this post and only just saw your message!

 

The size of the room was pretty good (including loads of storage space), the size of the balcony was fantastic... being able to sit out at a full sized table and chairs plus having loungers just felt like the height of luxury, especially eating afternoon tea and breakfast out there or having a drink and watching the sun set.

 

The bathroom felt plenty large enough and it was really useful having the shower and bath separate to the sinks and toilet. I especially liked sitting in the bath (which is huge, plenty big enough for two!) with the jacuzzi bubbles on full blast.

 

I don't know which cruise lines you've sailed with before so that will obviously affect how you'll find this suite. I guess if we had any criticisms it would be that the decor is not only pretty muted (in line with Princess generally) but it could be seen as a bit too "traditional" for our tastes. As mentioned in my original review, we occasionally heard a slamming door, but this didnt affect our enjoyment at all.

 

I do have a few pics that Ill attach to a posting soon.

[artvlay]

Great information. Thanks