Caribbean Princess Review Posted

Laundry's done, dogs have calmed down, gone through the mail .... It's a long review, but I believe it to be pretty comprehensive. I hope it helps others. Now back to looking for our next cruise ....

Al

Where is it?

His review is posted on another cruise site. I tried but I cannot find it here on Cruise Critic

Al's Caribbean Princess Review is here.

Kim

Thanks

I also posted it here (with a few additions), but it apparently takes a couple of days to surface (when all else fails, read the page!). Sorry ....

Al

Thanks for the review, it was balanced and informative.

You mentioned this is your first Princess cruise. Have you sailed Royal Caribbean and how does it compare?

I am considering Princess for our next cruise. We like RC and I'm wondering is Princess is a similar product.

Thanks Kimba!

Al, very nice review! Thank You!!!!

I also posted it here (with a few additions), but it apparently takes a couple of days to surface (when all else fails, read the page!). Sorry ....

 

Al

If you posted it here as in here on this board it should be here immediately. If you submitted it to the reviews section it could take quite some time be available. You can copy and paste it into a window like you did this one, if it is too large you may have to post it into multiple windows within the same thread.

That way we can see it here right away if you like.

Thanks for taking the time to post your review

Chris - I did post it in the Reviews section, and will let it appear when it's good and ready.

awat - imagine Princess as a toned-down RCI. The major difference is that the latter has fixed dinner seating only, while the former allows for some flexibility. We enjoyed Anytime Dining, but it wouldn't be the deciding factor for us. I've sailed the mega ships as well as their little siblings. Frankly, there is nothing like the wow factor of those big boys; but again, it wouldn't preclude our sailing Princess (or other cruise line). All this considered, the two products would be in the same category for us. I hope this helps.

To the others - your comments are appreciated. I really try to be as objective as possible, believing that there's really no such thing as a bad cruise, but that some are better than others. On a 1-10 scale, my experience would come in at about an 8.5 - not bad at all.

My review here (whenever it pops up) has some additional information, which I thought of after I posted on the other site.

Thanks again for your interest.

Al

Thanks, Al, for the review.

How did you arrange the tour in St. Maarten? Just get off the boat and ask? Or did you pre-reserve somewhere?

Thanks!

Al. Read with interest your review, and you did a great job,as it helps to have the good and the not so good. I would like to ask you how to book a cab ride with the fellow you mentioned in St. Thomas. We have been to St. Thomas before and would like to just have a tour of the beaches and this fellow sounds like just the ticket. thanks for your help. Regards Liz

Al and I were on the same tour. Just go to the taxi stand right at the end and a little to the right of the dock area. They have different tours you can choose from. They were great. Our guide was very informative. All the prices are set. If you want the name of our driver it was Erwin. If you want more detail, provide me your email and I'll give you his cell #, otherwise, you could just ask for him probably at the stand.

Lizb (snow4sand) - go to Godfrey's website

http://www.godfreytoursvi.com

Look around, then e-mail him to reserve your spot. He'll pick you up right at the dock. Get in touch with me if you have any further questions. Have a great cruise!

Al

Al or crssiplover: How much was the taxi tour in St. Maarten per person? Also, would they stop at a beach for an hour or was it strictly a tour and then back to the ship?

Thanks again!

was $25 per person. There was a shorter one that didn't hit the outskirt of one side of the island that was only $20 per person. That was with 8 of us. I have a feeling if you'd ask him to stay a little while longer at the beach, he might for a few extra bucks.

We have sailed previously on the Grand and the Golden along with Royal Caribbeans Adventure of the Seas and several of the celebrity ships. While the Caribbean princess has added a neat feature in Movies Under the Stars, what troubles me is that they have added approximately 500 + more passengers with what appeared to be no addtional deck or pool space. And it seemed to us that the crew size was way too small for the amount of the passengers. While the Grand princess and Golden never seemed crowded and we were always on full cruises, the Caribbean princess seemed packed especially on the pool decks. Very difficult to get a decent pool chair, we found you had to be out very early( by 8 am) to get a choice spot and then you had to sit there all day otherwise the hawks were out searching for chairs. And the service from the bars was just awful. We sat in the aft by the adult only pool, and not once did any bar waiter approach us and ask wheteher we needed a drink. We had to get up every time to get our own drinks from the staionary bar. And when we went to the bar, their servers were standing around doing nothing and just talking with each other. Same problem in all of the lounges. In the show theatre we had to flag one waiter down for a drink. There was only one waiter in the entire theatre!! Usually in past cruises, they are swarming all over the place. Same in Explorers lounge. So, in short the bar service is terrible and staffed with extremely inexperienced personnel. We think the ship has just way too many passengers per the crew size. Entertainment was just awful and the same people as last years Golden. How many time s can you watch Bert Stratton.? The weather however was gorgeous and salvaged the cruise experience. I agree with al, don't get off the ship in San Juan.

Sterlings had a great Sirloin and fabulous creamed spinach. Service in regular dining rooms was just OK. Our room steward was also inexperienced. He was always asking us when we were going to dinner and we saw him all the time. Usuallually past room stewards who had experience were innocuous and not intrusive. We will keep to some of the smaller ships, and probably will change back to Celebrity and Royal carribean. Kind of soured on princess now, which is too bad . Service on CP needs to greatly improve in all areas!

We have sailed previously on the Grand and the Golden along with Royal Caribbeans Adventure of the Seas and several of the celebrity ships. While the Caribbean princess has added a neat feature in Movies Under the Stars, what troubles me is that they have added approximately 500 + more passengers with what appeared to be no addtional deck or pool space. And it seemed to us that the crew size was way too small for the amount of the passengers. While the Grand princess and Golden never seemed crowded and we were always on full cruises, the Caribbean princess seemed packed especially on the pool decks. Very difficult to get a decent pool chair, we found you had to be out very early( by 8 am) to get a choice spot and then you had to sit there all day otherwise the hawks were out searching for chairs. And the service from the bars was just awful. We sat in the aft by the adult only pool, and not once did any bar waiter approach us and ask wheteher we needed a drink. We had to get up every time to get our own drinks from the staionary bar. And when we went to the bar, their servers were standing around doing nothing and just talking with each other. Same problem in all of the lounges. In the show theatre we had to flag one waiter down for a drink. There was only one waiter in the entire theatre!! Usually in past cruises, they are swarming all over the place. Same in Explorers lounge. So, in short the bar service is terrible and staffed with extremely inexperienced personnel. We think the ship has just way too many passengers per the crew size. Entertainment was just awful and the same people as last years Golden. How many time s can you watch Bert Stratton.? The weather however was gorgeous and salvaged the cruise experience. I agree with al, don't get off the ship in San Juan.

Sterlings had a great Sirloin and fabulous creamed spinach. Service in regular dining rooms was just OK. Our room steward was also inexperienced. He was always asking us when we were going to dinner and we saw him all the time. Usuallually past room stewards who had experience were innocuous and not intrusive. We will keep to some of the smaller ships, and probably will change back to Celebrity and Royal carribean. Kind of soured on princess now, which is too bad . Service on CP needs to greatly improve in all areas!

I can watch bert stratton over and over!

Al - thanks for your review I really enjoyed reading it.

Regarding the service issue, I personally would prefer going to the bar to get a drink as opposed to being bothered by wait staff peddling drinks on deck.

Counting down the days........................

Dan

I'm still waiting for my review to post on this site, and I have additional comments which will be forthcoming at that time.

I'm wondering whether there are two Caribbean Princesses. After reading Snickers' comments, I find it difficult to believe that we were on the same ship. Other than the slow elevators (which I've also experienced on other ships) I had none of the difficulties described in that post. I guess that's why there are reviews. I'll return when mine is finally posted.

Al

Al, thanks for taking the time to post. I clicked on that link, and read it over "there"!

I hate to have you say, "don't get off in San Juan", as I love Old San Juan! So, anyone who's going, keep in mind, we all have our own opinions! :o

I too, have used Godfrey in St, Thomas. Not a better island tour, for a better price, anywhere!

I may try to get a taxi tour in St. martin. Thanks for the info.

I do hope you try a smaller Princess ship, as I think they're better! :)

Al, Thanks for your quick response, and we have looked at his web site and are seriously giving it thought. We did a bus trip of the island one time and find that by the time you wait for all the group to gather etc. much nicer just to have your tour.Once again thanks for your help and will be in touch if I have any more questions. How did you find this company to start with or was it just luck.???????Regards Liz