CB Review of July 28-August 6

[siameez]

My daughter and I just got off the CB yesterday. It was our first time on Princess, we have done Celebrity and RCCL. We have all ready booked on the

CB for next year Below is my review of the cruise. It is a mostly positive review so if looking for the negatives don't bother reading.

 

Embarkation: The quickest and easiest we have had. We arrived at the cruise terminal around 11:15am handed a number and went right up to the counter to give our paperwork and get our room keys. We sat for maybe 15 minutes and were in the second group called on. We went right up to our cabin (some cruise lines make you wait until after 1pm) on Baja deck 714. We were greeted by Zoltan our cabin steward, he asked if we had any special requests? We asked for robes and extra towels. He told us the robes would be there the next day and the towels were there when we returned.

We went right up to deck 15 to make arrangements for the specialty dining and the spa. Muster drill was at 3:15 and we sailed out of NYC right around 4pm. We had a beautiful sailaway seeing the Statue of Liberty always chokes me up and this time was no different what a beautiful sight she was.

Sailing under the Veranzzano never ceases to amaze me etheir.

 

Cabin: I was impressed with cabin layout. I liked the walk in closet area, I have found on other ships that the closet doors and cabinets are in your way when trying to get ready this alleviated that problem. Yes, the shower is small but I liked the shower head and we always had hot water at all times.

Our balcony was fine chairs comfortable and table of ample size for our room service dishes.

 

Ship: The ship is beautiful loved the art all around and some of the carpets were art themselves. I saw a little wear but for the most part it has been well kept. One day they varnished our railing on balcony. With approx. 3,000 people sailing each cruise it is amazing that it looks so good, and a testament to the people who maintain it.

 

Ports: We enjoyed all the Ports. Puerto Rico we just wanted to go to Coach and Guess. We made it to Coach but Guess was closed. We walked back to ship just as the heavens opened. St. Thomas we shopped in the morning in Charlotte Amalie and took a cab out to Magens Bay in afternoon. I thought there could not be anything more beautiful then Trunk Bay on St. Johns but I found another paradise. Will definetly go back there again. The only disappointment there was that they close the beach at 4:30 we would have stayed later. Tortola we did the Bath excursion. My daughter did the actual

caves I did not I stayed back at the first beach and swam there the water was beautiful. It was a bit overcast but warm and that might have been a good thing as getting down to the water is a long steep walk and the same going back and if you go to the caves its even longer and more rugged. So if you have physical limitations take note. Grand Turk we went right to the beach off the pier. Rented a cabanna and a float and off to the water we went. Very rocky and alot of holes so its a bit tricky getting in and out. I would recommend water shoes for this port my daughter had hers (forgot mine) she said made a big difference. We had our own snorkel equipment. Out by the robes it dropped dramatically the snorkeling was amazing there.

We did not get to Margaritaville but did get in some shopping I thought the stores had some very nice different things I did not see elsewhere.

Yes, some of the ports were limited in time but we enjoyed each one with the time we had and were happy to have seen what we did.

 

Dining: We had traditional late seating Island dining room table for 8. Our waiters were Arnold and John which made the dining experience that was great even better. The first night we were just 4. We were sat with another mother and daughter which I don't know if that was done on purpose or just lucky but it was so nice and we have new friends. The formal night was the only night we had all 8 seated. That was a big disappointment as we ask for a large table as to meet people. Also I know the second seating is usually waitlisted. My feeling on this is if you don't think you will go to the dining room take anytime dining don't take up seats when you will not be using them.

 

Food: We thought the food was very good in all venues. We started the cruise up in the buffet (I think Coral dining room is open till 1:30pm we were too late) I had read alot of negative about the layout of the buffet area we never had a problem and never encountered a crowd. We ate there most breakfasts and lunches. The breakfast buffet had fried eggs, scrambled plain and each day a pan with something mixed in. Bacon (which was cooked to perfection, I don't know how they do it in such large quanity), sausage and corned beef hash (very good) couple of different potatoes, cereals, fresh fruits (melons, pineapple very sweet and tasty) canned fruits pears, peaches stewed prunes. Salmon, deli meats and cheeses. All kinds of breads, rolls and pastries. What most impressed me is that the food looked inviting and actually tasted like it was suppose to it had great flavor. I have found on many cruise buffets the food looks great but as no taste or is like cardboard.

Lunch buffets were always different alot of days were themed but again food was always tasty and there was always something we could eat. There was always salad bar with alll acoutrements and again fresh fruit. A few days they had a carving station with a turkey one day and a roast beef another day.

Don't miss the seafood buffets we had them the sailaway and two other nights. Lobster claws, shrimp and crab legs all cold but they have drawn butter and the cocktail sauce. We had it for a snack before our dinner again if you like seafood don't miss it.

food in dining room was wonderful always a very varied menu my favorite was the fettucine alfredo had a side dish almost every night. You can always have a shrimp cocktail and ceasar salad. We found portions to be very large almost too big. Desserts I can only speak for the cheesecake and ice cream both terrific.

 

Specialty Resturants: We went to both Sterlings and Sabatinis. We loved Sterlings and liked Sabatinis. We had a rib eye and Porterhouse at Sterlings cooked to perfection and again tasted great. The shrimp cocktail was excellent shrimp were jumbo and marinated lightly in something. All the sides we had were good, corn souffle, creamed spinach, mushrooms and french fries. Desserts we had fried peach turnover and raspberry creme brulee. delish!!!!!

Sabatinis is a tasting menu you pick your main course and they bring plates of different food for each course. It is a true dining experience it takes about 21/2 hours. Take it from us only eat light the day you go to ethier of these resturants to fully enjoy the experience.

 

Entertainment: We loved Sarge saw all his shows and bought his DVD, I know there will be times I really could use a laugh. Saw a couple other shows entertaining. Saw a couple of good movies in the room while getting dressed for dinner but never saw a MUTS. They did seem to have a nice variety though.

 

Debarkation: We had brown tags and were off the ship and on our way home by 10:30. Again found it very organized and had plenty of porters to help you out.

Last but not least I found the people we sailed with to be very friendly and did not hear or experience too much complaining. I was most impressed by the children I did not find alot of screaming at the pools kudos to you parents.

Yes, the deck chairs were often left unattended for hours, we were always able to find empty ones. I do wish the deck attendents would deal with that better.

I have all the Patters so if you have a question I will try to answer.

If you are sailing soon enjoy, we will be on the CB again in about 355 days and we can't wait!!!!!!!!!

[chrysalis]

Thanks for the comprehensive review. Glad you had a great time.

[High C's]

Sounds like it was a great cruise! Thanks for sharing.

[Pam in CA]

Sounds like you had a great cruise! Thanks for sharing.

[Diane Rose]

Thank you for the great review. This is also my first Princess cruise, having been on Holland, RCCL, Celebrity and Azamara. This board has been extremely helpful to me and I am looking forward to the Princess experience in just a few weeks.

 

Diane

[dforeigner]

Thanks for taking time to write a review.

[apeller]

Thanks for posting the review. We are sailing on the CB in a couple of weeks and I can't wait.

[rdsqrl]

Also I know the second seating is usually waitlisted. My feeling on this is if you don't think you will go to the dining room take anytime dining don't take up seats when you will not be using them.

 

Yay! Couldn't agree with you more!

Your review was enjoyable to read; sounds like you had a fabulous time. I particularly liked your loving descriptions of the food -- I'm now really hungry...

[mollyanne]

Great review - we have 2 upcoming CB cruises - and this just makes me want to get there sooner!!:)

[Casshew]

Thank you for your review, we are sailing the CB in 2 weeks :)

[NeurosurgeryNP]

THanks for taking the time to write a review. 79 Days to go for us!

[CMM]

The seafood buffet sounds great & we plan to try it.

Thanks for the review.

[Cinerama]

I have all the Patters so if you have a question I will try to answer.

 

Who was playing at the Crooners piano lounge? What shows did they have?

[dbdave]

Also I know the second seating is usually waitlisted. My feeling on this is if you don't think you will go to the dining room take anytime dining don't take up seats when you will not be using them.

 

quote]

 

If only the people that do this would read this and heed the friendly advice. They tend to ignore this part of a review.:rolleyes:

[Colo Cruiser]

Thanks for the review. :)

[cruizer2d]

Thanks for the great review.78 more days for our CB cruise, and I am so excited!! Funny-- Princess has us booked for late seating, even though we wanted early, so we're wait-listed for 1st. So far, nothing's changed on my Princess Personalizer.

[Whimsy]

Glad you had a wonderful vacation. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.

[val523]

We also had a wonderful time on the cruise. The staff was outstanding. We had Arnold and John at the Traditional Dining 2nd seating also. They were terrific!

The only problem we had was when we ate at Sabatini's and when we walked out, the maitre'd ran after us to ask "what we thought of the service?" We did not think we had to tip, but after he did that, we did give him a cash tip for the waiter. Did anyone have this kind of experience? Are you supposed to leave a tip at Sabatini's?

[siameez]

I had asked this same question before we left. The majority felt yes, you should. On previous cruises we have been on we have and we were able to leave it on the cruise card when we signed for the check. We went to Sterlings first and I do not normally carrry cash around on the ship but had some with me as we were going to casino after. I was surprised when I could not leave a tip on the check so I knew to bring cash with me to Sabatini's. I am surprised that they do not mention this as most people would not be carrying cash around and they most certainly expect more then the cover of the meal.

[siameez]

To CINERAMA,

Monday sailaway: John HIdes

Tuesday: John Hides

Wednesday: John Hides

Thursday: Robert Smith

Friday: John Hides

Saturday: John Hides

Sunday: John Hides

Monday: Nothing listed

Tuesday: John Hides

I have all the Patters from the trip so if anyone else has questions I would be happy to answer.

I don't think we we got to this particular lounge but the other ones were all very nice and always had nice entertainment singer or piano etc.

[Melissa5920]

Was on this cruise too. We loved it and thought it was great. The only problem we had was with the chair hogs and the response from the staff, basically doing nothing about it and giving an attitude to those who didn't go out at 8am and save seats, it was rather strange. The CD staff and upper management were great but the other staff was par. They really seemed a little taxed and tired. Food was good and so were the speciality restaurants.

In regards to John Hides playing in the crooners lounge I believe, I feel really bad but he should not be singing. On one of the first nights we thought a women was singing bad karaoke and it turned out to be him. Maybe it was his non-stop version of purple rain but we always avoided going to that lunge b.c. of it. lol

[noobiecruiser]

Thanks for taking the time to write your excellent and comprehensive review. We will be on the Caribbean Princess next summer, and I can't wait!

[Bakermania]

In regards to John Hides playing in the crooners lounge I believe, I feel really bad but he should not be singing. On one of the first nights we thought a women was singing bad karaoke and it turned out to be him. Maybe it was his non-stop version of purple rain but we always avoided going to that lunge b.c. of it. lol

 

I have to agree with you, each time I approached that area from the Explorer's Lounge I too thought it was a woman singing poorly and it ended up being John. Therefore, never once did we sit and enjoy that area of the ship. I have heard some wonderful piano bar singers over the years and he definitely ranks right up there as one of the worst.