My Thoughts Caribbean Princess 11-27-04

Just returned from the 11/27 sailing of Caribbean Princess. We had a great time and sailed with our best friends. Embarkation was a breeze - they opened the doors right at 11:30 and we were on the ship by noon. Our friends actually lost their birth certificates and we didn't know how this would be handled. Very simple, actually. They had to fill out a form with SS numbers and they were allowed to board. We were in D528 (mini-suite on Dolphin Deck) and we no sooner arrived in the cabin then Arnaldo (best steward we have yet!) introduced himself. He was a delight - happy, friendly, always available. Went to Horizon Court for lunch - it was okay. I'm not big on buffets and had I read the Patter I would have seen that the Coral Dining Room was open for lunch. Oh well, I'll remember next time. We had PC dining though we really wanted traditional. Waitlisted at 338 we were quite aware that we would not be getting Traditional. I had asked on the boards for recommendation for a waiter in PC and thus I requested Suemy for our waiter. Unfortunately he was not available, however, we did have John Paul (Portugal) and Marlon (Phillipnes). What a team! These guys were great! We had standing reservations for the entire week at the same table with the same team. I feel we really lucked out. Now, I did feel the ship was a bit more crowded then I would have liked, but I was prepared for this having read many reviews. It did not alter the fact that we were having a blast! Of course it helps when one wins a progressive jackpot in the casino. Yup! I won $1,145 on Flaming Sevens. Woo Hoo! Won Bingo too! $125 - did not win the Jackpot or the free cruise, but I'm not complaining. Great comedienes this week - Rodney Johnson, and two others I can't remember their names though. Our friends were picked for the Not so newlywed game (or whatever it is called). They had a blast, but didn't win. You would not believe the things that one woman said up there! We were very happy with the quality of food, and particularly the drinks! Crooners is awesome! $5.00 for a Milky Way Martini, Toasted Almond Martini, Butterytini, etc. Shooters in the dining room at night, and the best Rum Runners of any ship we have been on.

Well, I'm sitting here and I'm still rocking as if I "were upon the sea", but alas, I am home and back in hard cruel reality. However, I did a future cruise booking on board, came home and firmed up the Star Princess for 10/16/05 - Aft Cabin C752. Woo Hoo - No post-cruise depression here!

Anyone have any questions, please feel free to ask!

Glad you had a good time on the Caribbean Princess SoFlo, we'll see you on the Vampires cruise!

I Deb. Happy that you had a good time. You will be getting off the Star and I will be getting on , next year!! Can't wait!!! :)

Chris, Think I'm cancelling Vampires and going for the Star instead. Having a hard time sticking with Carnival. I seem to always book it and then cancel. Of course you know that Greg went for his original PVP interview and did well. He is scheduled for a 3rd interview in January. They take forever to make an employment offer! He'll be ready to retire by the time they do.

Sue, I couldn't decide which weekend to do the Star - If I had realized you were going the following week, I could have done that one! Oh well, we'll wave hello as you get on!

That would have been kool if it had been the same week!!! :D

i'm a couple of days away from sailing and have a couple of CP questions for SoFloDeb or ANYONE:

What PC restaurant were your waiters in?

Did you eat in Sabatini's?

Did you have breakfast or lunch in the restuarants? Good? Bad?

If you ate all your dinners in the dining room, which one would you recommend we skip for alternative dining? Which one is an "absolutely don't miss"?

You said the embarkation started at 11:30. My tickets show embarkation starting at 1pm. Do you think this is a change? Or do you think they start boarding (as a rule) before times printed on the tickets.

Thanks for taking time to write a critique, I intend on doing the same when I return.

Here's my opinion.

What PC restaurant were your waiters in?

We ate in the Palm Dining room and had John Paul and Marlon as our wait staff. On Lobster Night, John Paul brought us the two lobster tail with the beef wellington in the middle. Awesome!

Did you eat in Sabatini's?

Nope - did not try Sabatini's, but did do Sterling. Maria was a great server - good sense of humor, great serving skills.

Did you have breakfast or lunch in the restuarants? Good? Bad?

We much prefer the dining room to the buffet and we ate there about 85% of the time. Excellent French toast with daily specials like Eggs Florentine, Eggs Benedict, Huevos Rancheros, Farmers Omelet (I think that's what it was called) and our favorite "Steak and Eggs" on Friday morning. Lunches were very good also. Some standards like a Reuben, Tuna Melt, Philly Cheesesteak; some Italian dishes and just some overall well prepared hot dishes like Ciopppino (seafood stew).

If you ate all your dinners in the dining room, which one would you recommend we skip for alternative dining? Which one is an "absolutely don't miss"?

We missed Monday night in the dining room due to the fact that we got to San Juan at 4:00. We wound up at the Horizon Court, and it was "ok". I never seem to have good luck with buffets. Other people eat in the same place and they seem to have better success that we do.

You said the embarkation started at 11:30. My tickets show embarkation starting at 1pm. Do you think this is a change? Or do you think they start boarding (as a rule) before times printed on the tickets.

This was our third Princess cruise and I think they always start boarding/check in at 11:30. Our room was ready so we were able to go in and drop off, but I did hear of some not being quite ready at noon.

Hope this helps and if you can think of anything else, just ask away. Have a wonderful cruise!

Thanks for your review, I have been reading sooooo many neg.on this ship that I am wondering if we have made a mistake!!!! I do realize that some people do not just anything. I can understand about the overcrowding and will be ready for that. We are lucky enough to have traditional dining booked and have read where a lot of people do prefer that to PC. To each his own. My question for you is if you think we can carry our luggage off with us??? Yes ,I know bulky and heavy but we have an early flight at 11:30 so an slightly concerned about getting off in good time. Any thoughts on this ?? Thanks for your help. We have travelled with Princess before and can't recall any doing that.Regards Liz

I saw several people carry their luggage off. When you get on the ship check with the pursers desk about the exact procedure and they'll give you the instructions. However, I did see people doing it, so you should have no problem. We were on deck 9 and were called to disembark around 10:00. We actually got home around 11:30. They actually start disembarking around 8:45, so if you didn't want to carry your stuff off, the purser's desk will ensure you get early debarkation tags.

We were also very concerned with the negative reviews. Yes, some things were not perfect, but we never let those things dampen our views. If the Princess Theater is too crowded, we go to Explorers. If Explorers is too crowded, we go to Club Fusion. We really had a great time and there were way many more positives, then negatives.

Hope this helps.

what is the vampire cruise. Loving the taste of blood as I do I might not want to miss that one.

Its a Cruise Critic Group Cruise - 10/30/05 - on the brand new Carnival Valor - so it is named the Valor Vampires cruise. The groups sounds like tons of fun and I think anyone that goes will have a ball. Plus the rates are very good - $749 for a balcony guarantee, I think.

I am becoming a true Princess fan and I'm just having a hard time giving up Princess for Carnival, not that there is anything wrong with Carnival. I've sailed on the Paradise and Ecstasy, but I'm just not quite ready to give up Princess yet.

My question for you is if you think we can carry our luggage off with us??? Yes ,I know bulky and heavy but we have an early flight at 11:30 so an slightly concerned about getting off in good time. Any thoughts on this ??

We just got off this ship today, had an 11:20 flight and got to the airport by 9:20, so no problem.

For those with early flights like this, you go to passenger services and you will be put in the first off the ship group (luggage color coded Aqua 1. YOu put your luggage out the night before). We were in the first group off the ship (about 9 am)........no problems, so don't worry. They have your luggage grouped by color (for us, Aqua 1) and we found it, and a porter got it out quickly for us. Believe me, you'll get it out quicker with a porter than you will on your own.

Hope this helps.

We had a wonderful cruise in September on board the Caribbean Princess. We have been very pleased with our Princess cruises. After cruising on another line last year, we came back to Princess this year.

Also, we became more involved in the Activities on this cruise, partly because we were with a group we met online, but also because of the enthusiasm of the Activities Staff. As usual, Hubby's favorite room was the Casino, but I watched Movies Under the Stars upstairs during the day, and even caught Shrek 2 in the Explorer's Lounge on a repeat showing.Scott Wyler was our comedian.Don Ware performed,also. He used to write for the Cosby Show, and if you closed your eyes, you'd swear it was Bill himself. I believe there are many positives about this ship. You're right, nothing is perfect, but a cruise is what you make it. Lynne Thanks for sharing.

SoFloDeb, you mentioned 2 martinis: Toasted Almond & Milky Way. I think I'd like to try them. Can you tell me what they consist of?

TIA!

Just returned from the 11/27 sailing of Caribbean Princess. We had a great time and sailed with our best friends. Embarkation was a breeze - they opened the doors right at 11:30 and we were on the ship by noon. Our friends actually lost their birth certificates and we didn't know how this would be handled. Very simple, actually. They had to fill out a form with SS numbers and they were allowed to board. We were in D528 (mini-suite on Dolphin Deck) and we no sooner arrived in the cabin then Arnaldo (best steward we have yet!) introduced himself. He was a delight - happy, friendly, always available. Went to Horizon Court for lunch - it was okay. I'm not big on buffets and had I read the Patter I would have seen that the Coral Dining Room was open for lunch. Oh well, I'll remember next time. We had PC dining though we really wanted traditional. Waitlisted at 338 we were quite aware that we would not be getting Traditional. I had asked on the boards for recommendation for a waiter in PC and thus I requested Suemy for our waiter. Unfortunately he was not available, however, we did have John Paul (Portugal) and Marlon (Phillipnes). What a team! These guys were great! We had standing reservations for the entire week at the same table with the same team. I feel we really lucked out. Now, I did feel the ship was a bit more crowded then I would have liked, but I was prepared for this having read many reviews. It did not alter the fact that we were having a blast! Of course it helps when one wins a progressive jackpot in the casino. Yup! I won $1,145 on Flaming Sevens. Woo Hoo! Won Bingo too! $125 - did not win the Jackpot or the free cruise, but I'm not complaining. Great comedienes this week - Rodney Johnson, and two others I can't remember their names though. Our friends were picked for the Not so newlywed game (or whatever it is called). They had a blast, but didn't win. You would not believe the things that one woman said up there! We were very happy with the quality of food, and particularly the drinks! Crooners is awesome! $5.00 for a Milky Way Martini, Toasted Almond Martini, Butterytini, etc. Shooters in the dining room at night, and the best Rum Runners of any ship we have been on.

 

Well, I'm sitting here and I'm still rocking as if I "were upon the sea", but alas, I am home and back in hard cruel reality. However, I did a future cruise booking on board, came home and firmed up the Star Princess for 10/16/05 - Aft Cabin C752. Woo Hoo - No post-cruise depression here!

 

Anyone have any questions, please feel free to ask!

Martinis: We had them at "Crooners", the martini bar. You can get the toasted almond at any of the bars, but the milky way you can only get at the martini bar.

Toasted Almond: Absolut (main ingredient), Baileys and Amaretto.

Milky Way: Absolut (main ingredient), Baileys and Kahlua. The glass had chocolate syrup kind of striping down the sides. This was my favorite.

There is also one called a butterytini, and this was a good one too, but can't rmember what was in it.

We ate in the Palm Dining Room at table 107 for four people. I called the Concierge desk from our cabin and made the reservation for the week, except for the night we went to Sterlings. Made that reservation over the phone also. I did this right after we had lunch on the embarkation day.

Hope this helps!

You said that you stayed on Dolphin deck in a mini suite. Were the balconies covered or exposed to other decks? Thanks ..Glad you had a wonderful cruise.

Deb - Very nice review. We had Marlon in the middle of the week on our cruise and we also liked him very much. That milky way martini sounds delicious, will try it next time.:)

Burnsey, all mini-suites are on Dolphin Deck and all cabins on Dolphin Deck are exposed - no covering at all. We had a mini on our Golden cruise and we had no problem with the exposed deck. I understand that some may have a problem with it, so I guess its according to what you plan to do out there. ;)

Marlon is a sweetie, isn't he? Really loved John Paul though. On "rack of lamb" night, he brought everyone a double portion. Didn't even ask, he just did it. And he didn't put two huge dinner plates in front you either. He discreetly placed it all on one plate. Carnival and RCI both give you the entire plate. Maybe some waiters on Princess also, but not John Paul. Very classy, very experienced. He told us he had one guest from CA who actually ate 26 lobster tails! Wow - our two each were plenty big enough for us, plus he placed a big piece of Beef Wellington right in the middle.

Happy Sunday!

Don't forget the 12 or so Aft Mini-Suites on the Emerald deck, They are totally covered!

had a great time on the cruise. this is my 4th cruise with princess and they still keep impressing me. the 500 extra people didn't even phase me. the movies under the stars was neat. watched I robot. and had popcorn and a nice soft lounge chair with a blanket. my father-in-law got to watch monday night football with the packers and made his whole cruise. the tradional dining was wonderfull. the baked alaska on parade was delicious. zoltan was our waiter in Island dining and table 238 and was nice, easy to talk with and joke around with. wanted to make sure our meal was to our satisfaction.

the entertainment was okay, some of the jokes were a little crude. Rodney was the best and the most clean of them all. the magic act was very nice and the gentlemen seem to be a nice guy outside of the act. Graham the CD was not as great as many on here think he is. tim donavan is still our favorite. Graham seems to push the enevelope a little to much esspecially on the talent night. my in-laws walked out on the end. won a make over from the lotus spa, they did a great job. Susie and Scott (Cruise staff) were great and easy to joke around with. was able to find lounge chairs anytime of the day, but not always by the pool. sun works no matter where it is. my in-laws are ready to go on another one(this being their first). husband and I have pre-booked next year cruise. any questions I;ll try to answer

angela L-236

michigan

Thanks to all for your input regarding getting off in a timely fashion. Getting more excited as time passes,especially today, snowy and cold.Will take the advice about getting a porter to grap a cab, and will let them know about hopefully being one of the first off.

Filled out our pre boarding info today,so we are getting there. I too, agree that some people are just never happy. We were able to get a balcony this time so if things are too croded I will hang out there.Not really pool all day people,so just a lounger in the shade on a deck is fine,watching the sea go by and the waves ripple.

I wanted to ask what is the one thing not too miss??? Thanks for all the input Regards Liz

Snow4Sand,

I'm not a pool person,either, much to my hubby's displeasure. But there are wonderful spots just to lounge and people watch, which I like to do. There are enough activities without the pool.I love the warmth, but not the direct sun. Have a great time. Lynne