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My review of CB 7/8-7/17

Love Boat Dream

By Love Boat Dream,
in Princess Cruises

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Love Boat Dream

Love Boat Dream

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Posted

Just arrived home from the CB. I am Elite on Princess and I traveled with my son who is almost 10. (I am early 50's)

 

Overall, it was a fabulous trip. Cruising is what you make of it and I was in need of rest and relaxation and I decided not to let the small things bother me. If there was a line somewhere, we went elsewhere.

 

The crew were wonderful as always. Attentive, smiling, friendly. I didn't find anyone pushy or grumpy (as past cruisers have reported)

 

We stayed the night before at the Sleep Inn in Brooklyn (thanks to a CC recommendation) It was 15 minutes from the pier (in traffic!) It was in an industrial/ residential area in Brooklyn. I got the "Mature Traveler" (over 50) discount and paid $80. It was $95 with the taxes. The day before, it was an easy subway ride into NYC. The stop was 5 blocks away. We came back at 8:30pm and felt perfectly safe.

 

Check in was a breeze. We got to the pier just before 11:30. They weren't letting any cars in until 11:30. At 11:35 I dropped off my bags. I parked the car, checked in and was on board at 11:50!

 

We were in A422. A very good location near the midship elevators.

 

As I said in my mini "live" post, I went right up to the Sanctuary to reserve my space for the cruise. I was glad I did because they were sold out of the 20 spots by 1 pm. People were running up with their hand luggage still with them to make sure they got in! The Sanctuary was very popular this cruise. People were lining up at 6 am to get one of the remaining daily spots. One of the serenity attendants told me this was the worst cruise for them ever because people were yelling at them when they couldn't get in. (I know someone who tried a bribe and they turned it down!) They were just doing their jobs! People were also mad that some people in line were reserving 6 or 8 spots for people who weren't there. The attendant told me they are reevaluating the policy and in the future might only allow each person to reserve 2 spots. I also heard there was a fist fight among the people waiting! (Sanctuary opens at 8 am, btw)

 

I was glad to have my space waiting there for me when I wanted it!

 

I also found out that if you have a spot, it is yours to decide who sits there. It can be you, your spouse, your friend. As long as the person who booked it tells the attendants that it is ok, they will let someone else sit there.

 

I loved the food offered there. It was worth the $3 delivery charge. And, they came around to "spritz" our faces and there was not a charge although the menu said there was.

 

I enjoyed the headphones and mp3 players offered to us as well. The Lotus Pool was always crowded and it drowned out the noise (also the noise of the man next to me snoring!)

 

They also moved your lounger wherever you wanted it.

 

Mark and Ari are the attendants and they were excellent!

 

I also used the spa several times. The full price treatments are expensive, but they offered lots of discounts. Also, the daily specials are good. I was also surprised that they are now offering Botox and acupuncture!

 

I didn't use the gym, but I heard that it was hot!

 

The a/c on the ship wasn't much better than it was last year before the refurb. That was a negative.

 

The dining room was always crowded for breakfast, even on port days. I was surprised by that. I found the pastries offered by the International Cafe to be a better choice for me than the dining room or the buffet. There was never a line. In the morning, the beignets and croissants were both excellent! The coffee bar (and coffee card) was very popular though.

 

The soda card and the "ultimate kids card" (sold to all ages) were popular too. I know that seeing all of the tables set up selling them the first day bothers some people, but obviously most didn't mind because they sold a lot of them!

 

We had a few nice lunches in the dining room. Another popular option was the Ploughman's lunch (traditional English like fish and chips, bangers and mash etc) in the Crown Grill. No cover charge. It was offered several times.

 

Also, we had lunch on embarkation day in the dining room. It was excellent! I had a lovely grilled salmon and an orange soufflé.

 

Dinners in the dining room was an issue. There always seemed to be a long line, even with reservations (another negative) The first evening, we saw the line and then went up to the buffet. I think we only had dinner in the dining room 3 times. Once we got in, the food was good as well as the service.

 

We ate in Sabatini's the 2nd night. It was delicious and I liked the way they catered to my son and encouraged him to try new foods. The cover charge for a child is the same as the adults: $20 each. Worth every penny! I think it was 17 courses!

 

I went to the Chef's Table the 3rd night. This was my 3rd time doing this and it gets better and better! Once again, they accommodated my wish not to have meat for my main course (I got a beautiful and delicious seafood plate with lobster, shrimp, scallops and a white fish) Also, the man next to me was allergic to shellfish and he was not "rejected" from the dinner. If anyone is interested, I can post the menu.

 

They did the Chef's Table twice.

 

On the next to last night, we went to Crown Grill without a reservation. But, we went early and they were able to fit us in. It was an incredible meal! The cover charge was $25 for me and half for my son. There was plenty of seafood for a non meat eater like me and my son was able to try a 20 oz Porterhouse steak! The Smores cake and the Chocolate Obsession desserts were amazing.

 

We liked it so much, we went back the next night with some friends we made on board. Again, no reservation. First we were told no, but then the head waiter there found us a spot.

 

Another fabulous meal that I had was the Most Traveled Passenger lunch. It was elegant and delicious.

 

I mentioned in my other post that yes, Scoops is free and you get a kids size cone. Also, Scoops is a Belgian Waffle station from 7-10 am. Yummy!

 

The International cafe had delicious salads and pastries for lunch.

 

The only things that you pay for are the chocolate strawberries which were well worth $1 each, the fondue ($10) , I think they had gelato but I didn't see it and the tapas for $1 each. The sushi at Vines was $1 each too and was very popular.

 

I didn't smell any stinky cheese or raclette on this trip! ;-)

 

to be continued....

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Love Boat Dream

Love Boat Dream

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I was disappointed to see the same shows as the past few cruises I have been on: Piano Man, Caribbean Caliente and do you Wanna Dance. I was told now they keep the shows for 5 years! The dancers were just great though. This troupe has only been on board a few cruises.

 

The Hypnotist, Joshua Seth was excellent. He did a weight loss seminar the last day and it was awesome. I bought his CDs!

 

There was a comedy magician named James Michael. He did a "family" show in the theater and then 2 adult shows in the lounge.

 

There were only 2 entertainers in the Piazza. Krill was an amazing performer. Hard to explain. He rotated and juggled large open forms (like a cube made of plastic pipe) and Victoria and Pepo who did quick change and magic.

 

Epithani was the band and they were very good and they played all kinds of music.

 

The piano player was Heather (don't know her last name) and she was very good too.

 

The CD was Tim Donovan. Very accessible. He was funny and personable. His asst was Colin who was also very good. the rest of the staff seemed very good but I didn't have much interaction with them. The ones I remember are Tyson, Shane, Rocky and Mo.

 

Tim did the morning TV show "Whatz Up" by himself and with guests from the crew.

 

There was a port lecturer, but I didn't go. My son took some computer classes and enjoyed them.

 

The culinary show was the standard one, not the hysterically funny one I saw on the Golden last year.

 

There were 800 children on board (under 18) They didn't seem to be a problem though. My son likes Shockwaves but he would prefer it if it wasn't the same stuff on every cruise.

 

The ship was full. 3428 passengers.

 

Later I'll write about the ports, Ultimate Ships Tour etc.

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Starz723

Starz723

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Thanks for your review. I had a bunch of friends on your sailing and Im waiting for their phone call to hear how they liked it. We were all on the CB last year and I remember how uncomfortably warm my cabin was and in some of the public areas. I would have thought that the new engine and/or generator would have brought it up to par. Despite the warm areas, I had a wonderful cruise.

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RickEk

RickEk

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Posted
Thanks for your review. I had a bunch of friends on your sailing and Im waiting for their phone call to hear how they liked it. We were all on the CB last year and I remember how uncomfortably warm my cabin was and in some of the public areas. I would have thought that the new engine and/or generator would have brought it up to par. Despite the warm areas, I had a wonderful cruise.

 

Alot of folks seem to complain abut how warm it is on the Caribbean Princess. On our recent cruise (6/29), I didn't find any public area that was too "warm". The only areas that seemed to be sorta warm were on Promenade deck near the doors leading outside to the deck. But that would seem to be normal because of the foot traffic. Our cabin was very cool, although we did keep the thermostat just one bar from the bottom of the scale all the time. I do live in SoCal (it's 101 outside right now!), so maybe my tolerance for heat is greater than other folks? :confused:

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Love Boat Dream

Love Boat Dream

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The ports:

This is the 3rd time we have done this itinerary (once on the Crown and on the CB last year) but the first time I've been in Bermuda since one of the final sailings of the original Pacific Princess years ago.

 

We were all happy to dock in Bermuda since the ship missed this port during the last sailing. When we got off the ship, we were able to buy transit passes at the Visitors Center. They cost $12 for each person (adult or child) and you get unlimited rides on the ferry or the bus. Many people chose to take the ferry to Hamilton and then the bus to Horseshoe Bay (pink sand beach) and then the bus back to the ship. I asked at the Visitors center for the sea glass beach but they didn't know what I was talking about, except for one near St George about an hour away. I finally found someone who knew and directed me to Black Bay which is not far from the Dockyard. The bus driver dropped us off and the 2 of us happily searched out sea glass among the waters edge and in the rocks in the water. Most of it was clearly old green or amber beer bottles with softened edges but we did get some nice pieces of clear glass and a few tiny pieces of blue. By the time we got back to the bus stop, it was pouring and the special buses wouldn't stop. We finally got one to stop and we were the only passengers. The driver gladly told us some history and told us what we were passing. It rained on and off to Horseshoe bay but it was so worth being there. At one point, the rain came pelting down but many of us stayed in the water. Then we were rewarded with beautiful sunshine. Note if you go to this beach: the food there is very pricey and they charge $10 for a beach chair. Also, if you come by bus you have to walk downhill to get to the beach. There is an enterprising taxi driver who will take you to the top of the hill for $2. Kids under 10 are free. Well worth the money!

 

We took the bus back to the dockyard. There are many more shops and restaurants there than I remember.

 

I didn't go into Hamilton so I can't report about that.

 

The buses were clean and easy to take to the beach or to Hamilton. Highly recommended over a $65 taxi ride that I heard that someone took!

 

It was very hot and muggy in San Juan! We docked walking distance to Old San Juan. Lot's of shops. I recommend Eclectica for higher class locally made goods.

 

We booked a Segway Tour

http://www.segwaytourspr.com/

We had done this last year and it was so much fun! José took us on a wonderful 2 hour tour. He just requires that his customers weigh at least 90 lbs. Age is not an issue. We went up to the Fort and it was so nice to have him as our guide.

 

We took the ship's tour to the Bioluminescent lake. It was just ok. The information received was not clear. We were told to wear warm clothes. I knew through a friend who went last year to wear our bathing suits. When we got on the bus, we were told that we would be wet from the waist down in the open kayaks. That didn't make the people wearing long pants very happy! Some people were told bug spray and others weren't. If you do this tour, get very strong spray! The mosquitos are vicious! I got bit right through my bathing suit. We made a stop for some people to change at a McDonalds which I heard was gross. Luckily there was a Walgreen's next door so we got bug spray, some people got flip flops etc. Also, bring your own toilet paper!

 

I also didn't know we would be rowing the kayaks for over 2 hours!

 

The moon was almost full so when we finally got to the lake, we couldn't see much of the glow. Very disappointing. Though, when we headed back in the channel, it was darker and we could see more of it. Though, we were rowing in the dark and we kept running into the sides and getting smacked with the mangroves.

 

It took 2.5 hours to get back (should have been an hour to an hour and a half) because of heavy traffic. We got back at 10:40. Although all aboard was 10:30, we were in plenty of time for sailing at 11 (and we were on a ships tour anyway)

 

If you take this tour, make sure it will be dark enough and bring the proper supplies and clothes and bring a snack. The "refreshment" was a bottle of water and a package of crackers.

 

St. Thomas: instead of the ship's snorkeling tour, we booked our own and it was fantastic! This catamaran holds 6 passengers plus the captain and the first mate and a cute dog named Hinckley. But, we were the only passengers! We went to 2 stops in St John for snorkeling and swimming. The first mate took my son snorkeling personally. We were also served a delicious lunch. If you want to snorkel or see the St John beaches, check out: http://www.simplicitycharters.com/index.html

It cost the same as the ships tour but it was so much more intimate!

 

Grand Turk: my 3rd time here. We stayed in the pool at Margaritaville for 4 hours. The beach there isn't the best. Hidden rocks under the sand and lots of seaweed.

 

The pool is 3 feet all around. They also have a wave rider for a fee. (Pool is free)

 

There are a few shops here. Nothing too exciting.

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Love Boat Dream

Love Boat Dream

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Ultimate Ship's Tour

 

Highlight of my trip! It was so interesting!

 

I signed up at the Passenger Services Desk. No more lottery. First come, first served. Only 12 allowed (we had 11) Usually they are split between men and women but we had 9 men and 2 women.

 

It cost $150. But, we received gifts worth more than that. There was a fluffy bathrobe, a chefs jacket, a pad with my name on it, many photos from the photographer (no cameras allowed for us) and high class petit fours, champagne and hors d'oeuvres.

 

We started with the theater where we were treated to a special light show. We met the stage manager, the dance captain and we got a photo with the dancers. I've been on the back stage tour before but this was more in depth.

 

We went into the galley and saw much more than I have seen on the galley tour and even the chef's table. We went in and out of all of the sections.

 

We went to decks 2 and 3. Deck 3 is where most of the crew live and it is called the "Holiday Deck" (alphabetically after "Gala" deck) Someone had a sense of humor! Below the passenger decks, it is very spartan but very clean and well kept.

 

We went into the fridges and freezers and saw how all the fresh veggies and the meat are stored. We saw the butchers (and the bakers and the ..... I'm digressing) We saw the floral shop too.

 

In every place we stopped we were greeting by the officer in charge of that section and given a full explanation of what we were seeing.

 

We also went to:

Print Shop

Photo Shop

Engine control room. The guys all ate this one up. I asked about the engine explosion last year and got the details from the man in charge and he showed me computer diagrams of which engine was out.

 

We spent a lot of time in the laundry. The people who work there are so proud of what they do! The folding machines were very interesting too,

 

We missed the Medical Center because someone was quarantined there.

 

Then we went up behind the big Sea Witch on the top of the ship and saw the funnels and smoke stacks there.

 

Our last stop was the Bridge (with champagne and treats)

 

The whole tour was 3.5 hours. Tim the CD started the tour and Colin took us on the rest.

 

This was an unforgettable experience!

-----------

 

One thing I forgot to mention was the VIP program for the photos. you make our first purchase and then your 2nd is 10% off, and then your next is 20% and the rest are 30% off. But, you can only get one discount a day. So, make sure you don't wait to the end to get your photos because you need 3 days to get all the discounts!

 

I think this is all I have to report. I'll try to answer any questions.

 

Disembarkation was a breeze!

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AAAAmerican

AAAAmerican

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I sure hope your a shareholder at least your Shareholder OBC Benefit will be well spent...;)

 

 

 

 

 

Wow!! Thank you so much for the details of the ship tour (and for your great review!)

 

BTW... you have personally increased our October sailing by $$$!! :o

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Love Boat Dream

Love Boat Dream

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I forgot to mention our Meet and Greet!

 

Our roll call member FroFro arranged it with Passenger services. It was at the Outrigger bar. An area was roped off for us with a sign (so we didn't need leis or beads etc to know each other!)

 

We bought our own drinks and there were no hors d'oeuvres offered. But, the Captain and the Passenger Services Director all visited with us!

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