My Caribbean Princess Review 1/19/2013-1/26/2013

We just returned from our cruise aboard Caribbean Princess. This was our first Princess cruise, but our 5th overall cruise having sailed with Carnival 4 times previously.

Left Norfolk, Virginia on 1/18/2013 and stayed overnight in the Fairfield Inn and Suites in Dania Beach. Our DS had made the hotel arrangements for us using his Marriott Rewards points. At check-in, we were given a complimentary upgrade to a suite (DS is platinum with Marriott which is why I think we got the upgrade) which was really nice and a great way to start our trip. The hotel was really nice and I would definitely recommend it.

Woke up to rain. Rats. Oh well, we were on vacation. Dressed, re-packed bags, and went down to breakfast. Breakfast was the standard continental breakfast that most hotels provide. Just wanted a little something to tide us over until we could board and have lunch on the ship.

We had decided that we didn’t want to be herded onto a shuttle the morning of the cruise for the trip to the port, so we had the front desk call a taxi for us just before 10am. It was only about a 10 to 15 minute drive to the port, but there was a huge line of traffic trying to pick up/drop off at the terminal. Our driver went a back way and we ended up inside the parking garage directly across the street from the terminal. From there it was easy to hand off our luggage to the porters and enter the building. After about 20 minutes we were checked in and were given a number 3 boarding zone.

Embarkation began shortly after 12:30 and we were onboard the ship a few minutes after 1pm. We headed immediately to our cabin, Aloha 735, to drop off our bags so that we could try and make a Sanctuary reservation. When we entered our cabin, we realized that we had a problem with the bathroom lighting so DH called it in and we left for the Sanctuary. Unfortunately, we were unable to secure a spot due to the last 2 having been issued to a couple about 3 in front of us. Oh well…..no biggie and I knew from reading CC that this might be a problem.

At this point, we headed to the International Café for lunch. I had read about this on CC and it didn’t disappoint. Soup of the day was garbanzo bean….one of my favorites having grown up in Tampa and being introduced to various Latino foods. I found us a table and chairs in the atrium while DH went to get us a couple of drinks. We had purchased the Soda and more package before we left home and the stickers were already on our sign and sail cards when we picked them up.

There was entertainment in the atrium at this point….steel drum and keyboard players and I was enjoying the music while I waited for DH. I heard the opening notes of a song that resonated from years ago and my thought was “Could it be?” The answer was yes….the Love Boat theme. As corny as it sounds, this really brought a smile to my face and set the tone for the cruise.

After lunch, we headed back to our cabin so that we could make our specialty restaurant reservations. When we returned, the light fixture in our cabin bathroom had been repaired. I was pleasantly surprised as I had read a number of complaints about how slow Princess had been to correct some problems that others on CC had experienced. In fact, we got 2 follow up calls to make sure that the problem had been corrected.

Time for muster drill. Took our lifejackets and reported to Club Fusion. I really liked that Princess scanned your sail and sign card to account for you. Muster was completed pretty painlessly and we headed back to our cabin for sailaway. It was still pretty overcast and drizzly so we opted to just stay on our balcony.

By this time our luggage had shown up so we unpacked and settled in for what was going to be a fun week.

PRINCESS CAYS

Unlike some other posters who wished that Princess would eliminate this stop for more time in Curacao, we really enjoyed it. We were very impressed at how well the tendering process went. DH loved the snorkeling and I loved the fact that I could lay under our clamshell in the shade and read or nap. I know some have posted that the clamshells are hot, and while that may be true in summer, I didn’t find it to be the case in January. We got one on the first row and there was a nice breeze blowing that I benefitted from.

Also, the question had been asked about water temps and snorkeling in January with many posting that the water was very cool that time of year. DH took his wetsuit as a precaution, but found that he didn’t need it.

We both appreciated the fact that Princess offers cool facecloths when you are coming back aboard ship….something that we had not experienced before.

CURACAO

We enjoyed this stop, but didn’t find enough to keep us occupied by just walking thru Willemstad. Our primary goal was to see the Jewish synagogue, which we did. Willemstad was an interesting town, but I think next time we would arrange to take a tour to see more of the island.

ARUBA

LOVED Aruba. We took a 4 hour ship’s tour that I would highly recommend. Comfortable motorcoach ride along the coast, to the California Lighthouse, Casibari Rock and ended up with a ride on a semi-submersible to see a reef and shipwreck. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable and funny. After the semi-submersible we were taken back to the pier and there was still time for lunch in town and shopping. Unfortunately, we lost almost 30 minutes due to a couple from our tour who decided at the end to ditch the tour for whatever reason but couldn’t be courteous enough to let the tour guide know so that she didn’t spend all that time trying to locate them. After the tour, we walked down to the marina to the Marketplace and found a great little restaurant that served Caribbean/Latino foods called Spanglish. We really enjoyed the food there. On the walk back to the pier, we shopped at some of the local vendor stands along the way for the usual t-shirts for the grandkids back home.

SEA DAYS

Did some of the usual things….slept in, spent time on our balcony reading, played games, took naps and occasionally just chilled and channel surfed. I enjoyed watching the old Love Boat re-runs.

ENTERTAINMENT

Went to more shows than we normally do on a cruise. We saw Hawley Magic, Caliente, Do You Wanna Dance and the Walk Like a Man Tribute to boy bands of the 50s and 60s. We also played Majority Rules Trivia and saw the Love and Marriage show. We also hung out in the atrium a lot and saw Rootberry (juggling act) and listened to a couple of bands.

FOOD AND DINING

We had anytime dining and while that gave us some flexibility to enjoy more of the evening’s entertainment, we probably wouldn’t do it again. No matter what time we went to the Island Dining room, there was always a line out the door. It would take about 10 to 15 minutes to get to the front when you were handed a pager and told that the wait would be another 20 minutes or so. No sooner would we sit down and order a drink than the pager would go off that a table was ready for us.

We did dinner 2 nights in the Horizon Court Buffet/Café Caribe…..one night because we were too lazy to dress up and the other night because we went to the dining room and really couldn’t find anything on the menu that we wanted to eat. No….we are not picky eaters although DH is way more adventurous in his dining options than I am. Nothing that night appealed to either of us.

We loved the International Café and ate lunch there several days or sometimes just stopped in for a snack.

Breakfast was mostly room service although we did go to the Horizon Court one morning.

OBSERVATIONS

TEMPERATURE: I had read several complaints about temperature issues on CB. DH does not like excessive heat, so I was a little concerned about this. However, we found our cabin to always be at a very pleasant temp….a couple of times even on the cold side. Elevators, on the other hand, were always stuffy and warm. Also standing in line at the Island Dining room was rather warm on several occasions. Other than that, though, we did not find excessive problems with the temperature aboard ship.

MOVEMENT: Felt more movement on this ship than on any other previous cruise. Yes, I know that there is more movement the further aft you go, but we have had aft cabins on other ships comparable in size and did not feel this much. In fact, we were sitting in the atrium on Day 1 and spoke with an older gentleman that had cruised 26 previous times. He said he had just taken Dramamine as this was the first time he had ever experienced seasickness. I took my Bonine and never had any ill effects. So I would recommend that if you are even slightly affected by movement that you take precautions prior to and during the cruise.

DÉCOR AND LAYOUT: We loved all the beautiful woodwork on this ship. Having only cruised Carnival, it was a nice change of pace not to have all the neon. We also loved the look of the Horizon Court/Café Caribe dining area. What we didn’t like was that the area could be extremely hard to find someplace to sit if you went during peak dining times. The space really seemed too small to accommodate the number of passengers that this ship can carry. Navigating the ship wasn’t too difficult although we did find a few times that we got some place that was a dead end. We finally figured out to use the atrium as a calibration point and it worked well after that.

BEDDING: Hated it. Pillows were not good and even with a padded mattress topper, the bed was much too firm for me.

SERVICE: Mostly good to excellent. Our room steward, Antonio, was a dream. Kept the cabin in great shape all week. Never had to ask for anything. We also liked Iris, one of the wait staff in the atrium. She remembered what we liked to drink and always just had the best smile.

Specialty restaurants: Ate in both and thought that the food was great and worth the price. However, our experience in the Crown Grill was slightly dampened as there was a wedding party eating in there on the night of our reservation. There were several small children that were very fussy and one that was being allowed to run around. The other guests in the party were quite loud as well. In Sabatini’s, the waiter set our dessert down and before we could take more than a bite or two of the dessert, asked for our room card to charge the meal. Never asked if we wanted anything else. Sorry, but I consider that to be poor service.

DISEMBARKATION: We had purchased the Princess transfers back to MIA. We had to be in the casino at 0830. About 0845 they called our number and off we went to locate our luggage, go thru customs and board the motor coach. Best disembarkation we’ve ever had. A little bit of a line to get thru customs….not Princess’ fault….other than that it went extremely smoothly.

Overall we really enjoyed our experience with Princess and would definitely sail with them again with the right itinerary and right price.

Thanks for the thoughtful review.

As an FYI, you can always order an entree size of an appetizer or vice versa if that appeals to you. You can also order thing off menu as long as they are simple. Sometimes, I order a Caesar salad with grilled chicken strips. It's not on the menu but you can get it. Or, you can order meat without sauce or a different sauce. Or, different potatoes or vegetables. Just a thought for your next Princess cruise.

Thanks for the review. :)

Enjoyed reading your thoughts as we were on the same cruise and I posted a previous review. You had the same thoughts about Horizon...just not big enough and a bad layout. Also forgot how warm the elevators were. Our Crown Grill experience was great but we did not have to put up with a wedding party or children...although some people may have complained about our party of 8 being too loud:) Our Anytime Dining experience was good and never had to wait...other than the line leading to the check-in. Maybe a party of 8 is easier to sit than a smaller party.

What time did your MIA transfer arrive at the airport?

Thanks for the great review. How was the Synagogue on Curacao? I wanted to go there when we were in Curacao a couple years ago but didn't get to go. Maybe next time.

Thanks for the great review. Do you think the unusual motion was because of weather or just the ship?

So glad to hear your trip was great. we are cruising in Nov not he Crown and stopping at Cururaco and Aruba. I haven never been to either of these ports and am looking forward to it. We have also cruises with Carnival 5 time and the last three being with Princess. I also like the color scheme and the decor of the Princess ships.

Enjoyed reading your thoughts as we were on the same cruise and I posted a previous review. You had the same thoughts about Horizon...just not big enough and a bad layout. Also forgot how warm the elevators were. Our Crown Grill experience was great but we did not have to put up with a wedding party or children...although some people may have complained about our party of 8 being too loud:) Our Anytime Dining experience was good and never had to wait...other than the line leading to the check-in. Maybe a party of 8 is easier to sit than a smaller party.

We thought that the "look" of the Horizon Court was beautiful.....but just too small and not laid out very well. We did like that the tables already had napkins and silverware on them and that waitstaff provided drinks.

What time did your MIA transfer arrive at the airport?

That was something I forgot to mention in my review. Disembarkation went great and we were in the motorcoach ready to leave by about 9:15 at the latest. Problem was we sat there and waited for a couple for over 30 minutes so we did not get to the airport and thru security until almost 11am....and we were in the first group that was dropped off at the American Airlines terminal. Why these 2 could not make it down and onto the bus like the rest of us who followed instructions I'll never know. Not sure if it was their fault or a glitch in the system.

Thanks for the great review. How was the Synagogue on Curacao? I wanted to go there when we were in Curacao a couple years ago but didn't get to go. Maybe next time.

We enjoyed it. Very beautiful and worth the visit.

Thanks for the great review. Do you think the unusual motion was because of weather or just the ship?

Good question and an honest answer would be that I'm not really sure. We did have weather issues leaving out of Port Everglades and then again the last sea day. The rest of the time was beautiful although we may have had an overnight shower one other night. Most of the time the report from the bridge was that seas were running about 1.5-4 feet and my sailor husband tells me those aren't bad at all. I will say that the nights heading to Curacao were the worst. I felt like at one point that I was just going to roll out of bed there was that much motion. So my suspicion is that in order to make that long run from Princess Cays to Curacao, we were running full tilt and that may have been the reason for some of that rocking.

We were also on this sailing. I really enjoyed your review. I will have to work on my review this weekend. It sure is hard to be back at work and reality again.

Curious to know what the casino was like. I heard that it is small but are the machines as tight as they say? How friendly are the dealers and casino host? Just wondering if it's worth the time to go there.

Thank you for your review. I always enjoy reading reviews from cruisers who are new to Princess.:)

thanks for the review. We leave on our first ever cruise this Saturday. Did you walk to the Synagogue in Curacao or take a taxi. I am looking for the Jewish Historical tour there as well. Any and all advice greatly appreciated

Thanks for the report!

Curious to know what the casino was like. I heard that it is small but are the machines as tight as they say? How friendly are the dealers and casino host? Just wondering if it's worth the time to go there.

We're not gamblers so didn't spend much time in there. However, it did seem to be on the small side and they do allow smoking in there, although there are smoke free nights (announced in the Patters).

thanks for the review. We leave on our first ever cruise this Saturday. Did you walk to the Synagogue in Curacao or take a taxi. I am looking for the Jewish Historical tour there as well. Any and all advice greatly appreciated

We walked. On the way there, the floating bridge was pulled in so we took the free ferry to the other side of the river. It was only about a 15 minute or so walk, but the streets weren't signposted very well. We missed the turn, but a very nice local walked us over to where we needed to be to find it.