Review Caribbean Princess 6/29 - 7/8

[coastieretired]

Here are some quick thoughts.

 

Embarkation: Arrived at 1430. The process was easy and organized in my opinion. There was only one gangway in use due to the tide, but did not make much of a difference

 

Dining: Anytime dining which was great for us. Did not have to wait long, except for formal night, and the service and food were very good in my opinion. The specialty eateries were awesome!!! Crown Grill was absolutely awesome!!!! The price ($25.00 per person) was worth every penny!! Sabatinis ($20.00 per person) was well worth it also. For Sabatinis, come with an empty stomach because the amount of food served is insane!!!

Also the food at the International Cafe was awsome, in particular, the lamb and the oysters!

 

Entertainment: Did not partake in any of the shows. Enjoyed the peace and solitude of the cabin.

 

Buffets: The buffets were awesome. It was nice to roll out of bed at 2 am and eat a decent meal! At times it was a bit crowded, but the service staff worked hard at clearing tables. It worked for us to get seated, then my girlfriend went to buffet, and I went when she returned.

 

 

Lodging: Had a mini suite and I must say it was awsome. There was plenty of room fo storage, and plenty of room to roam. My girlfriend and I spent a significant amount of time in the cabin and did not feel crowded. Was on the Dolphin deck which does not have a covered balcanies, but was still fine! The mini suite is well worth the extra cost. I did peek into a couple of the interior rooms and double balcony rooms and was glad to have a mini suite. The climate control was excellent in the room, and even kept the room cool with the balcony door opened. I must say that the matress, bathrobe, and towels are not luxurious for mini suite occupants as stated on the Princess web site. But overall I was very comfortable!!!

 

Ports: We didn't get into Bermuda. Channel had very strong winds (gale force) early that morning, so the captain made the decision to pass Bermuda. I was sad, but had an excellent sea day!

 

San Juan was fine. But very hot. Had an awesome meal at one of the local eateries. Did the Bacardi tour which was nice, but later found out the we could have done the same tour for half the price paid on the ship. Oh well live and learn. still had a great time.

 

St. Thomas-- did a tour independent of the ship and it was awesome. Went on the Fury, a sail boat, which took us out snorkeling and fed us to boot! The price was so very good!!!!!

 

Grand Turk-- Beaches were nice, would like to have stayed longer!

 

 

Sanctuary: Well worth the cost!!!! It was absolutely fabulous!!!!

 

Other: My girlfriend and I are nurses. We went to sick bay and got an awesome tour of the medical facility! We got to go behind the scene, where regular passengers cant go. I must say that I felt very comfortable with the medical care provided on the ship. The nurse who gave us the tour was absolutely awesome. She was friendly and really took time to explain different procedures and other nursing stuff which I am sure would bore most! I told my girlfriend that the sickbay tour was the best excursion, and it was free!

 

 

Overall had a great time, and I am planning to book another cruise very soon!!!!!!

[mii]

Glad to hear that you enjoyed your cruise. Cruising is very addictive so watch out.:D

 

Marilyn

[Theresa522]

Glad you had such a wonderful cruise. We will be sailing the CB next Friday :D

[Shell Seeker]

We were on the 6/29 Caribbean Princess as well and thought the cruise was FABULOUS. Only let down was not being able to go to Bermuda.

We had inside cabins on Plaza deck and they worked out wonderful - 1 deck down to get off for excursions, 1 deck up to shopping, 2 decks up to casino, anytime dining in Island which was on our deck and a few feet away from the International Cafe - great for snacks when getting back from excursions. Pizza and burgers on Deck 15 were great as well. Entertainment was fun - 2 funny comedians. Been on 2 Carnival and Disney cruises and found Princess to be the best yet. Would book it again tomorrow. Have fun to all of you future Caribbean Princess cruisers.

You will LOVE the ship, food, and have fun - fun - fun!

[nurse@sea]

hi, glad you had a great time...very encouraging since my dh and i leave next friday!!! would love a little more info on the sick bay tour. was it advertised? or did you just go down there and ask to see it. was down there once to use the scale ( i know its a cruise, but i had to know!) was really interested in what happens down there. was on one ship where they actually had to run a "code." again thanks for the info and glad you had fun! vickie

[sept10dsm]

I am glad to hear all the POSITIVE reviews of the CB lately!!! We sail on the last Canada/New England in Oct and can't wait.

[BalconyGal]

YAY! Glad you had a good time I can't wait to go! Thank you for your review.

[dawnprincess]

:) DH and I were also on this cruise and I agree -- high marks all around. Here are my own comments to add to the first post ......

 

Embarkation: Arrived at 11:30 and were on the ship by noon. First stop was The Sanctuary where we reserved our loungers for the week and second stop was our cabin to call the Dining Line and put our names on Chef's Table list (see both below). Were in buffet by 12:15 and our luggage was in our cabin by 1:30!

 

Dining: Our first time with Anytime dining and worked out well. We joined others each night and met some nice people. Our meal in the Crown Grill was really wonderful ($25.00 per person + $9 surcharge for DH who ordered the Brazilian Lobster) and worth the money. The Chef's Table was a simply FABULOUS experience. Don white jackets, escorted into the galley, sample 5 scrumptious appetizers, meet head chef AND the Captain, great dinner in the dining room. $75 per person includes 2 8x10 photos (1 of each couple and 1 of group), ladies get a rose, and a cookbook will be mailed to us as it is being revised. Again, well worth the money. A real dining experience (3 hours).

 

Entertainment: All 3 productions shows (Piano Man, Caribbean Caliente, and Do You Wanna Dance) were all fabulous. Comedians were great, Hypnotist very funny and entertaining, and Martin Kaye at the piano bar in Crooners was simply amazing! A real showman!

 

Buffets: Food in the buffet area was quite diverse and we could always find something we liked.

 

Cabin: We had an aft balcony (C-752). Nice cabin, but next time if we plan on booking the Sanctuary again, I'll save the money and get an Inside Cabin as we hardly spent any time on our balcony because the Sanctuary was SO wonderful (more below) A/C was great in the cabin but felt the rest of the ship was VERY warm. I usually bring sweaters and wraps because normally I'm cold in the dining room or the showroom. This time I was sweating half the time. Beds are EXTREMELY hard as are the pillows. DH likes that for his bad back, so I requested an eggcrate on my half of the mattress which helped some and also a feather pillow which was softer and more suited to me. But again DH had no problem with either the pillows or the mattress.

 

Ports: No Bermuda as stated. We are not really Caribbean people or sun people but viewed this more as a relaxation cruise which it definitely was. Our tour in St. Thomas as cancelled and probably they did us a favor as our Old and New San Juan Tour was hot and not very interesting (just my opinion). In St. Thomas and Grand Turk, we just strolled off the ship, took some photos of our ship from the pier, had a quick look around and got back to the Sanctuary!

 

The Sanctuary: The best money we've EVER spent on a cruise. Attendants Ari and Mark are such fine young men and anticipated when you wanted ice water (I LOVED the cucumber water!) or a cold towel. The loungers have thick pads and were completely comfortable. The spa pool is a convenient deck down for those who like to swim. This was a little piece of heaven, quiet so we could read our books, nap, etc.

[AAAAmerican]

WELCOME HOME!

 

 

Thanks for the nice review.:cool:

 

What is the Captains name ?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[NeurosurgeryNP]

 

 

Other: My girlfriend and I are nurses. We went to sick bay and got an awesome tour of the medical facility! We got to go behind the scene, where regular passengers cant go. I must say that I felt very comfortable with the medical care provided on the ship. The nurse who gave us the tour was absolutely awesome. She was friendly and really took time to explain different procedures and other nursing stuff which I am sure would bore most! I told my girlfriend that the sickbay tour was the best excursion, and it was free!

 

I am an NP and would love to see the infirmary area. Did you just go down and ask?

 

Also - we have sailed ont he CB 3 times. This time it is new for us with the International Cafe and such. Do you pay for food at the International Cafe/sushi, vines, etc?

[Shell Seeker]

anytime dining was great - we never had to wait - the Island dining room was less crowded than the Coral dining room

 

I agree with the inside cabin - save the extra $$$ - you are only in the room to shower, change and sleep - rooms have plenty of storage space

 

wish I were going again! I still can't believe people had so many negative comments - we had NOTHING to complain about - even though we wree disappointed about not docking in Bermuda we still had fun at sea - they came up with more on-board activities for the day

[coastieretired]

hi, glad you had a great time...very encouraging since my dh and i leave next friday!!! would love a little more info on the sick bay tour. was it advertised?

 

 

No it is not an official tour. My girlfriend and I just went down to the sickbay introduced ourselves as nurses and asked for a tour. The charge nurse was very happy to show us around. Very modern setup. They had about 12 beds and a few ICU wards with central monitoring and all the works. It was like being on a regular hospital floor. The nurses took their own X rays which could be read by a radiologist via tele medicine, and also did the pharmacy duties. I was very impressed!

[coastieretired]

I am an NP and would love to see the infirmary area. Did you just go down and ask?

 

Also - we have sailed ont he CB 3 times. This time it is new for us with the International Cafe and such. Do you pay for food at the International Cafe/sushi, vines, etc?

 

 

Just went down and asked. They were very nice, but once they found out we were nurses we got the grand tour!

 

Did not do the sushi bar, but the morning pastries were free at the international cafe. The evening lamb, oysters, and shrimp were not free. But the charge was minimal in my opinion. For an individual lamb chop or oyster the charge was one dollar. The lamb was AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[dawnprincess]

WELCOME HOME!

 

 

What is the Captains name ?

 

 

 

Captain Marco Fortezze ... very nice!

[dawnprincess]

 

Also - we have sailed ont he CB 3 times. This time it is new for us with the International Cafe and such. Do you pay for food at the International Cafe/sushi, vines, etc?

 

Not sure about International Cafe and Sushi but the Buffet had sushi twice during the cruise and seemed to have a nice display. I don't know that much about it but there were various colors including a deep purple that I tried and liked and a lavender color. ha ha

[Sandytoes]

coastieretired Shell Seeker dawnprincess

 

Thanks for sharing your thoughts about the CB.

Looking forward to my 3rd time aboard her.

 

 

No one mentioned about the towels they hand out after an excursion.

Are they still doing that?

 

:)

[leavitt1]

How was the motion in C752? I will be in that room in July 2010.

[coastieretired]

coastieretired Shell Seeker dawnprincess

 

Thanks for sharing your thoughts about the CB.

Looking forward to my 3rd time aboard her.

 

 

No one mentioned about the towels they hand out after an excursion.

Are they still doing that?

 

:)

 

They did hand out cold towels after the San Juan port call. I don't believe they did for the other port calls.

[ForTheGlory]

How was the motion in C752? I will be in that room in July 2010.

 

I was in C753 and the motion was definitely noticeable but it was not bad, mostly like being in a cradle except the last (or it may have been second to last) night in which the ship was in some pretty rough waters and it was a lot more pronounced.

[TorontoTL]

Who knew that medical people could get a tour of the sick bay. I'm a physician and would love to see their facilities. I always thought it would be nice pre retirement to work as a ship's MD for six months and then retire.:)

[Stevesan]

Thanks for the awesome review. :D