Caribbean Princess Review Oct 30 - Nov 6 - Part 1

:) I tried posting this in the review section, but it hasn't made it there yet, so will post here! Hope you enjoy reading as much as I enjoyed living it!

This cruise was for our 20 yr anniversary so we really wanted to splurge and not cut too many corners like we've had to do on previous vacations. Unfortunately, our splurge did not start with the hotel for the night before in Ft Lauderdale. We stayed at the Ramada Inn Cruiseport. I DO NOT recommend this hotel at all. It was old, under renovation and room was extremely musty. I can't think of anything positive except that their shuttle service to the port was prompt and efficient. My hubby forgot something in the room and they had no problem turning around to get it. That was probably the only nice thing they did. Once we got to the port and the line started moving, it was less than an hour to get to our cabin. I'm not sure having our documents done in advance online made the lines move any quicker though.

Our first "splurge" was for a balcony cabin. What were we EVER thinking before by not paying the extra for this! We will never go back to a port hole, window or inside cabin, ever. To be able to walk out onto the balcony and watch the sunrise, or sunset...is just priceless. We also have a tradition of dragging our mattress out and sleeping under the stars wherever we go....so did that too one night. Shhhhh...not sure whether that was a no-no or not. The room was nice, nothing spectacular, but plenty of storage space, etc. Much larger than a standard hotel room and like I said, the balcony was definitely a plus. The Aloha deck balcony was pretty private also and the room conveniently located near the stairs and elevator.

We immediately called the concierge to make our reservations for Sterling Steakhouse, Movies Under the Stars and our highlight of the trip, "the Ultimate Balcony Dinner". ****I cannot stress how important it was to call ASAP.**** We had to reserve for Sabatini's at the restaurant itself, so that was our next stop. More on the balcony dinner later. There are limited seats in both the restaurants and the movies, and they are all SO worth it.

Most of the food onboard was great. Service wasn't always as good as it could have been. I still tend to wonder whether the tip included deal is working or not. When they know they are going to get their tips, do they not work as hard? The dining room food far exceeded the buffet food, but all were very good and plenty of variety. Hubby enjoyed the salmon and whitefish most mornings at the buffet. The grill out by the pool was also good, as was the pizza and ice cream. You will not starve. I'm actually having withdrawals from not having my 8 meals a day. Ok, 6 meals a day....no, I really think it was 8! My scale says EIGHT. Contrary to rumours, it is NOT required that you eat something every nautical mile! The desserts were incredible also. The love boat dream is everything everyone has said about it. I only had it once though when they mentioned it was thousands of calories.

Sterling Steakhouse was incredible. Like others have mentioned, the ambiance isn't that great, but the food was wonderful. I had the 12 oz filet and hubby had the 22 oz porterhouse. Where else can you get meals like that for $15?? Many others said...I'm not paying anything extra when I can get the food included. Believe me...these people missed out on an incredible meal from start to finish. Waiters were attentive and efficient and there were even a few non-steak meals for those who don't like Turf.

Sabatini's was a dining experience in itself. It's difficult to even explain! Let's just say that about 80% of the menu is served to you. Between the 8 appetizers, 3 salads, 2 soups, pizza, bread, entrees and dessert, we just about needed a wheelbarrow to get out of this place. Good idea not to eat too much before dining there. Once again, well worth the extra $20.

We aren't heavy drinkers, so I really can't say too much about the quality of the drinks. Plenty of choices out there, but not cheap either. IF we were drinkers, we would have splurged there also. We also did not opt for the coke card because we didnt' drink soda, but it's a good deal for those that do. We found that the water and ice tea, available at both buffets to be more than adequate. We did buy one bottled water for our excursions.

Ok, now for the Ultimate Balcony Dinner review. First of all, they only do TWO of these per night. Yes, two, that's only 14 per cruise. Why? I don't know. Maybe because its a trial? So that is why we had to call IMMEDIATELY. You need 2 days notice I think they said. Since our anniversary was Thurs. we chose to have it that day, which was also one of the formal nights. It's $100 extra (a MAJOR splurge) but what they do, is about 1/2 hr before, set your table out on the balcony with white linen, china, crystal, etc. They give you a nice centerpiece of flowers, a split of champagne. They had asked in advance about cocktails, so they brought them first. You sit out there on your balcony...and Alex (who was very sweet) just started bringing course by course to us, waiting outside our door anticipating when we would be ready for the next one. One of the professional photographers came in and took our picture (one included in the price). They started with canapes, then appetizer, salad, main entree and dessert. The main entree was, and I am not exaggerating here...16 oz lobster AND 12 oz filet mignon, EACH, along with fresh veggies. There was no way we could eat all this food. We were made to feel so special and it was a wonderful way to spend our anniversary evening. Took a good 2 hrs. Took lots of pictures, including pics of every course if anyone is interested. We had the nice music playing on our tv to add some ambiance, and even got up and danced at one point. Once again, had many ask why we would do this instead of ordering room service for free. But there was no comparison. This was awesome. We did tip our waiters, Alex and David because they did a great job.(they looked like brothers, but laughed everytime we mentioned that).

The ship like everyone else has said is HUGE and beautiful. I don't think 10 minutes went by when we didn't see someone cleaning, painting, touching up every inch of this ship. It was kept very clean. They do offer tours and that helps a bit figuring out the lay of the land (or lay of the sea?) so to speak. There are alot of "you can't get there from here" issues, so its good to learn about them early on. The pools were all nice, the adult pools were definitely quieter. All the action was at the main pool and that was always fun to watch. Good Caribbean music going on at the main pool also.

Entertainment - Highlights...Bert Stratton, the piano sing a long guy who was next to the Martini Bar and Crooners. He was entertaining, funny and really drew a huge crowed every night. Fernandez, the hypnotist was hilarious and kept us laughing for pretty much the entire hour. We enjoyed his first show better than his "adult" show. Maybe we were expecting something abit more. The Let's Rock show as ok, the International Crew Show was GREAT, kind of like a Starsearch. Scott Wyler was excellent and HIS adult show was hilarious and worth staying up late for. Movie under the stars was a great concept and we enjoyed it very much. Other things we partook in were the Passenger Fued show (pretty good), horse racing (very comical), and bits and pieces of other shows. The Halloween costume party was also great. The TREE costume was incredible. Those of you on this cruise will know what I mean. All was pretty top notch and enjoyable. There were plenty of choices for dancing and/or music to listen to into the wee hours of the night. The disco (Skywalkers), accessible by a moving sidewalk, seemed to be a hotspot for many. Had to go see it, just to see it. Didn't spend much time there. I spent alot of time looking at all the artwork that I couldn't afford. Took pictures instead! The auctions seemed to be alot of fun for those willing to spend their money there.

So much to see, so little time to see everything. The boutiques on board were very nice and each night they had tables set up featuring different items. One night, t-shirts, another loose gems, another watches. List goes on and on. We used the stairs alot but never really waited a long time for the elevators. Seemed that there was alot less waiting time in the Aft of the ship. Only time we encountered crowds were around the photo gallery area. Tip: Buy your photos at a time when lots of other activities are going on. Restrooms were hard to find at times, but never a big issue for us. Casino was a bit smoky, but they did have one non-smoking blackjack table there so we spent a bit of time there. First three nights won quite a bit on the tables, and spent our money wisely for a change in the gift shops and in the ports rather than giving it all back. The last 4 days we went downhill FAST as far as gambling goes wondering whether they let you win early on and then take it all back! Glad we got some things to show for our winnings.

Part 2 next post!

Part 2 of Caribbean Princess 10/30 - 11/6

Port experiences. In San Juan we took a tour (found online) that I ended up arranging for my cruise critic friends while still at home. It was a 14 passenger van and we toured Old San Juan and several other areas that I don't remember the names of. We went to a very nice two story open air restaurant on the beach for a wonderful authentic Puerto Rican style dinner at sunset. Our tourguide was very knowlegeable of the area and gave a good narrative of where we were, etc. It was alot of fun, very reasonably priced and a nice way to get to know our new friends also. In St Thomas we booked the Champagne Catamaran Sail to St John. Unfortunately, it rained the entire time, we were not able to even GET to St John and only found mediocre snorkeling at Christmas Reef. The captain and his crew were very nice though, they had a nice spread of food and plenty of free drinks for the trip home. They did their best I suppose under the conditions, but it really felt like we didnt' get our money's worth. Can't predict the weather I suppose. I was really looking forward to going to St John though. Oh well. In Sint Maartin, we rented a car (did that online in advance) and toured the island on our own. Price was reasonable, car was clean and comfortable. We found several secluded beaches to hang out on, including Orient Beach which was everything it was supposed to be. We really were not impressed with the beach itself though. We thought the others we found were much nicer. If, however, you are wanting to do (or see) the clothing optional feature, that's the place to go. One BIG tip....LISTEN when they say do not leave anything of value in your car. We learned this the hard way when my husband's watch and two traveler's checks (had them wrapped in towels to dry) were stolen from our locked trunk. This was at Pic Paradise (top top top of a mountain). Of course, the checks were replaced, but not the watch. Kids are there just waiting in the bushes for tourists like us. Someone else who had just driven up had to shoo these kids away from their car. The car also was screaming RENTAL CAR, RENTAL CAR, TOURIST, TOURIST. So listen when they say to be careful in that respect. Otherwise, this was our favorite island. We luckily, did our shopping last after returning the car. Lots of great deals on jewelry, camera equipment, linen and more.

Disembarking was very organized and we were off the ship quickly. They gave consideration to those that had early flights (as long as you informed them in advance).

I'm sure there's plenty more to say, but I wonder how many of you lurkers actually made it to the end of THIS one! Email me if you have any questions. I'll be more than happy to respond. Alymark@aol.com

Alyce

Thanks Alyce for a great report. It seems as though you two really enjoyed yourselves.. congratulations on the anniversary.

Question, How did you find out about the "Ultimate Balcony Dinner"? and do you know if it is available on other grand class Princess ships?

thanks again

Mike :D

Great review. We also loved the Ultimate Balcony Dinner on the 11/06 sailing.... Where can we see your pics!! Our guide in St. Martin told us about Pic Paridise and wouldn't take us there for that very reason. She said most of the kids are harmless but its a terrible thing for their economy to get that reputation.

I'm not sure about whether the balcony dinner was on other ships or not. I read about it here in the boards. If anyone wants pics, I'll send them through email. Let me know. Pic Paradise was a beautiful photo opportunity place, a shame that it has the reputation of being a place for theft....but I found out the hard way that its not just talk!

Alyce

Hi Aly!

Great review!! I didn't know that Mark's watch was stolen. Bummer!!!

We, too had a wonderful time on this cruise, thanks for posting on the Boards as it may take several months to get your review posted in the Reviews section.

Take care!

Rose :D

Alyce,

Thank you for posting your review. Sure makes me want to cruise on the Caribbean Princess again. I agree about Sterlings, it was GREAT! Never tried Sabatinis since my wife eats like a bird it would be a waste.

Would you allow me to put your review on my website?

Thanks again for posting your review

Bill

Sure Bill, I checked out your site and if you'd like to post mine on there, I would feel honored :)

Thank you so much for your detailed review. We will be going in Feb. and will be looking forward to cruising this ship.

Thanks for the great review! Do you remember the name of the restaraunt you were at in San Juan? Sounds like it had great atmosphere :) Also what time were you actually docked there? Thanks for the help...leaving soon! :)

Alyce--thanks for the detailed review. Which car rental agency did you use, and where are they located on St. Maarten?

Les

The rental car agency was Best Deals I believe and I think you can access it online through a website called CaribbeanCars.com. Book it in advance, because with all those ships docked at the same time,I think the car rentals are at a premium. Cost was reasonable, but what shocked us was the price of gas! Close to $5/gallon! There were atleast 5 different agencies right at where the ship docks. The name of the restaurant was Soleil Beach Club, but I think it was a private restaurant. The name of the tour company we used was Puerto Rico Tropical Tours. We docked right around 4 p.m.

Alyce,

I have added your review. Thanks so much for allowing me to post it on my site. I have added your review. :)

Alyce's review

Bill

Great review. Sorry to hear about the rain and the watch though.

Dan

Thanks for the reply on the name of the restaraunt, what do you mean by its private? Thanks :)

http://www.shoplogos.com/SOLEIL/CLUB.htm

how's your Spanish? This is the website for the restaurant in San Juan. It was wayyyyyyyyyyyy off the beaten path, but fun!