Caribbean Princess Problems

[ve3ell]

I sailed on the Caribbean Princess from January 25 to February 1 2009.This cruise was a 55th birthday gift from my wife bless her heart.Princess had scheduled us to fly American airlines from Toronto to Puerto Rico with a plane transfer in Detroit.There was only 20 minutes between the two flights to get our luggage.We cancelled that flight and booked a return direct flght from Toronto to Puerto Rico ourself for less than what Princess wanted.The day we were to fly to Puerto Rico started off bad with our 10:30 am flight on Sunwing being grounded for mechanical reasons.Sunwing finally got us out later in the day at 2:30pm.That transportation group at the airport in Puerto Rico was poorly organized.We had arrived at the airport at 8pm but finally arrived at the ship around 10:00 pm .We got onboard the ship fairly smoothly but when we got to our room number L310 on the Lido deck we found that the carpet in the hall was very smelly and wet .It was replaced 2 days into the cruise.The ship was scheduled to leave at 11pm Sunday but instead it left at 6am Monday.as a result the ship ran full speed to keep on schedule.The casino was still being refurbished.They offered free wine on the ship untill 11pm Sunday due to the delay.The air conditioning in most of the ship never worked properly.I sat in the Coral Restaurant on Captains night sweating in my suit.The water and ice machines in the Horizon and Caribe restaurants never worked during the whole cruise.They placed jugs of water and plastic containers of ice cubes on tables in each restaurant.The water was so fully over bleached that my Wife got a migraine the second night and was up most of the night vomiting.The only real potable water available you had to pay $3.50us for a 2L bottle. Orange juice was available only at breakfast.My wife asked for tomato juice but was told she would have to pay for it.We resorted to buying water on shore at a much lower price than the ship.I need to drink 3L of water a day,more in higher temps.By the middle of the trip I developed a sore throat .The last 2 days of the cruise I had full blown Bronchitis.I never did report this to the medical centre.What made matters even worse for both of us non smokers was the passenger next to us constantly smoked stinky cigars on his balcony almost all day.We were not able to use our balcony very much.Some of the tables on the lido deck had no smoking signs that smokers ignored.One night the casino was opened for non smokers.We walked through it and could still smell cigarette smoke.Sure even 3rd had smoke can cause problems.The ship docked in Dominica at an industrial dock.Only a small flea market was setup here.You had to walk through a slum area if you wanted to see the main city.In St. Thomas the ship docked at Crown Bay west of downtown.It took an hour to walk to the Havensight mall that offered more stores.If you took the cab it cost $5us per person each way.This was the first cruise with the Princess line and will be our last.Today Monday February 2nd I saw my Doctor.I was told I now have pneumonia and was sent for a chest xray.I was told to stay home for the rest of the week and take BiaxinXL for 10 days.I phoned work to advise them of this.I work with a company that supplies Honda Canada with parts and presently they are cutting the work force.I may be out of work when I return next week.A full shift has been stopped in the one plant and more will happen soon.I fully blame the poor conditions on the Caribbean Princess for the Pnuemonia I now have.I saw many other people on this cruise coughing like me.

 

Russ

[Colo Cruiser]

Sorry you had to experience this.

 

Like I said before Princess should not sail these ships until they are pristine after a dry dock. And the CB is far from it. :)

[Ephraim]

I'm sorry for your troubles, but let me understand this... you thought that saving $2 on a bottle of water was worth your health? And $5 for a taxi to Havensight was so big an expense that you walked clear to the other side of town? I'm sorry, but my health comes before a few dollars, even if I don't like paying for water..

 

If you are susceptible to pneumonia and get bronchitis, you should have been vaccinated. I know if Quebec that the government vaccinated me when I went in for my normal flu vaccine. I think Ontario offers it as well, Pneumovax 23, because it blocked 23 different types of pneumonia and it's usually given at the same time as the flu vaccine.

 

As for Havensight, I personally wouldn't have bothered. It's closer to take the taxi into town and most of Havensight's stores are copies of stores in town anyway.

 

I don't remember Princess or any other cruiseline talking about the suitability of ports. Heck, I was on an RCL cruise where we berthed in the furthest berth at the port and it was a 2 km walk just to the front gates where you could take a taxi. I've been to good ports and to bad ports, I never assume anything about the ports, other than if it's docking or tender.

 

Did you complain about the people smoking cigars on the balcony or do the Canadian thing and tolerate it, hoping that it would go away, magically? Did you go out on deck to enjoy yourself, even if your balcony wasn't available? Did you discuss the smoke with the casino staff? What did they say?

[ve3ell]

I forgot to mention that they also did 360 degree turns after leaving Aruba to test out the motors.My Doctor has sent a letter to the cruise line about my current condition.

[ve3ell]

I'm sorry for your troubles, but let me understand this... you thought that saving $2 on a bottle of water was worth your health? And $5 for a taxi to Havensight was so big an expense that you walked clear to the other side of town? I'm sorry, but my health comes before a few dollars, even if I don't like paying for water..

 

If you are susceptible to pneumonia and get bronchitis, you should have been vaccinated. I know if Quebec that the government vaccinated me when I went in for my normal flu vaccine. I think Ontario offers it as well, Pneumovax 23, because it blocked 23 different types of pneumonia and it's usually given at the same time as the flu vaccine.

 

As for Havensight, I personally wouldn't have bothered. It's closer to take the taxi into town and most of Havensight's stores are copies of stores in town anyway.

 

I don't remember Princess or any other cruiseline talking about the suitability of ports. Heck, I was on an RCL cruise where we berthed in the furthest berth at the port and it was a 2 km walk just to the front gates where you could take a taxi. I've been to good ports and to bad ports, I never assume anything about the ports, other than if it's docking or tender.

 

Did you complain about the people smoking cigars on the balcony or do the Canadian thing and tolerate it, hoping that it would go away, magically? Did you go out on deck to enjoy yourself, even if your balcony wasn't available? Did you discuss the smoke with the casino staff? What did they say?

 

I did go to the desk in the lobby and complain about the smoking problem.I told them also about the smell of smoke in the Casino on the non smoking night.They wrote it down but didnt seem too concerned.Usual American attitude.

[sultan_sfo]

Again the OP's first post on this thread is his Post #1 on these boards. I still keep wondering how these complainers find Cruise Critic Forum immediately after their perceived bad cruise! But I do appreciate that he is active in responding to comments.

 

To OP: How much did you research cruising (read about it / talk to TA / talk to friends / google etc.?

[blueyes34]

I take umberage to that! Not all Americans are full of a lack of concern for others and by the way aren't those ships mostly run by Brit's anyway?

 

So sorry you had the bad experience you did. I have been on 4 Princess cruises so far and that cruise is not the normal standard of operation for them. We never, I repeat, never had any trouble like that on any of our cruises. And if you have a problem, you just need to keep going up the chain of command complaining until they remedey the problem. Next time, no matter the cruise line, try harder.

[Colo Cruiser]

They wrote it down but didnt seem too concerned.Usual American attitude.

 

 

You know for only having 4 total posts you sure are not making alot of friends. :rolleyes:

[Colo Cruiser]

I take umberage to that! Not all Americans are full of a lack of concern for others and by the way aren't those ships mostly run by Brit's anyway?

 

So sorry you had the bad experience you did. I have been on 4 Princess cruises so far and that cruise is not the normal standard of operation for them. We never, I repeat, never had any trouble like that on any of our cruises. And if you have a problem, you just need to keep going up the chain of command complaining until they remedey the problem. Next time, no matter the cruise line, try harder.

 

With comments like that from this OP I am thinking TROLL!!!

[Toto2Kansas]

Sorry to hear you became ill onboard. Happened to me one time in Europe and it wasn't fun, although it was just something I caught and not anyones actual fault.

 

My dear, did you not know the itineary before you booked this cruise? A little research goes a long way when it comes to ports visited. There are several ports like Dominica and Trinidad that aren't really passenger friendly, and we usually just stay onboard. And most sailings, depending on what we are looking for in that particular cruise, we will avoid these two ports at all costs (there are a few others we try to avoid also).

 

As for the condition of the ship, I have to agree, why in the world does Princess do only half the work in drydock and then send the ships out unfinished? I would guess because they would get more complaints if they cancelled the cruise then if they sent the ship out not in pristine shape. And then there is the fact of the bad economy which means they will sail the ships now no matter what condition they are in. ARGH!

 

Again, sorry you became ill onboard.................but have my doubts that the ship caused you to contact pnemonia. IMHO!