10XCRUISE

You all are probably right on the CP. It was pre smart phone era and our “photographs” are buried in our attic. Thanks for the correction. After 40 cruises in 24 years they all become jumbled.

rdsqrl

i would be happy to send you pictures of the Canal trip we took while on the Caribbean Princess. It was about 12/13 years ago.

A little background: We are Platinum on Princess, Elite with Celebrity and a jumble of cruise with NCL, Royal and Carnival. 40 total.

We chose this Caribbean Princess cruise for the great price and we went through the Panama Canal on this ship when new. It’s 15 years old now but it is amazingly well preserved.

Food: As always a subjective topic we found the food offerings everywhere exceeded our expectations. Planks bbq has an interesting menu and well worth the $12. Very happy with the Marketplace’s offerings and all beverages are served to you tableside; a nice convienance. Of course it’s crowded at times but what’s the rush...we’re cruising. All the way aft has an extension of the buffet The was never crowded: omlettes, Mongolian stuff. No one goes hungry on any cruise we’ve been on.

Entertainment: ummm was not as extravagant as the other cruise lines offer. I do believe the parent company cut back on that expense.Unfortunately you need to arrive at the theater 30 minutes early since it seems every show is sold out...and the seat savers were in full force.

Excursions: Princess Cays was fabulous and not to be missed. There were plenty of lounges so no problem finding open ones. We did book a Kon Tiki ferry to Water Island/Honeymoon Beach.Our thought was to avoid the crowds going to Megan’s Bay etc since there were 3 ships in port. Our mistake. The brown sand is covered in stones and the walking in the water was the same. Oh well.

Medallion: The Medallion was sent to us 8 days before embarkation and the set up was easy. If you do it beforehand then the pier experience is a  5 minute breeze. We didn’t down load any Princess apps and we used the Medallion ever where without any problems: food, drinks, casino stores etc. The pursers desk told us cruise cards won’t be issued starting next week. 

Cabin:The balcony cabin we had was underwellming.1 small chair for us both and I’m sure the mattress and pillows haven’t been replaced for a long long time.The tv didn’t access our cabin summary but you can on your app....I assume. Next to the pursers desk is a kiosk that you can use to easily print your room charges.Bring your own shampoo and conditioner. Had water dripping out of the smoke detector in the hall at our door...that was fun to watch.We didn’t use it but the self serv  laundry was empty whenever we walked by.

Of course every staff person we interacted with gave excellent customer service which we do expect from Princes. Yes we ran into some small problems last week but after 40 cruises....Hey, that’s cruising.

Does the Regal have a midweek special for a bag of laundry? We haven't sailed Princess in a couple of years; we are Platinum.

Chair hogging🤬

Yes the Equinox is an S (Solstice) class ship which uses the luggage valet service

In the USA. 3 weeks before sailing I called Celebrity and requested tags. 72 hours later they were in my mailbox. 4 for each passenger.

I called Celebrity today and learned:

Luggage Valet is still available but only on S Class ships if you are flying on American,United and Delta. $25 per bag.

Luggage Lounge in South Beach is a great alternative.

Thanks for sharing the info with me.

This is our 35th cruise but we haven't used any post cruise services from Celebrity so hopefully someone can answer these 2 questions:

1. Does Celebrity still offer the post cruise "ship to airport luggage service"?

If so do you know the charge?

2. Post cruise, does Celebrity let you stay on board for an extended period of time

if you want a later debarkation? If so how much?

We have a very late flight on debarkation day and we would rather not drag suitcases around Miami.

May 9th 2015 cruise on the Breeze

I made the effort to pack a suit, shirt, tie etc

Surprise! There were maybe 30 men wearing suits on the 2 formal nights. Vast majority did not wear jackets and tuxedos are almost extinct.

Leaving on the Pride in 3 weeks. You know what I am packing this time.

I read 2 different prices on 7 day port parking in Baltimore.

If you drove in , what did you pay for the week?

Highly recommend MIA airport check in. It was quick and easy.

You will be amazed at the long lines at the cruise terminal of people waiting up to an hour to check in.

We received the same call. Nice

Booked the 7 day cruise but paid for an upgrade of $250.00 each to a balcony that was priced at $899.00 each.

Who wudda thunk

In our honest opinion?

No.

And I am sure the 3 table mates with us recently on the Breeze would agree. Same quality you would get at Applebees. Better than the main dining room but not worth the premium price.

After 33 cruises we have found that anything that is tagged "exclusive" does not necessarily mean better.

The extended 8k is not 'extended' enough that makes much of a noticeable difference. Maybe 2 feet..

8 weeks ago we took a cab from the pier in Miami (the Breeze) to the airport.

2 of us for $30.00 including tip.

We stopped taking shuttles long ago. Cabs are less hassle, faster and priced competitively.

Don't forget to do the Carnival check in when you arrive at the airport. There is no one in line and the whole process took 10 minutes. You eliminate the embarkation crowds at the pier check-in

last week we received a call from our PVP offering a 7 day cruise for $50.00 each with a $100.00 onboard credit.

This was 6 weeks before sailing.

Sounded like a free cruise to us so we booked it on the spot.

33 cruises over 20 years and this was our 8th Carnival trip.

We enjoyed our 8 day cruise last week but Carnival has many opportunities to enhance the experience.

We flew into Miami the day of and fortunately we did the airport check in: it took all of ten minutes. Upon reaching the overcrowded/jammed pier the masses were standing in line up to 2 hours. Best kept secret; check in at the airport!!!!!

Cabin:

8th floor balcony room was the standard run of the house found on all of the ships in the Caribbean. Plenty of storage and well functioning facilities. Our room steward did the expectedly decent job of serving our cabin. $15 laundry service everyday. Good value.

There are no amenities in the bathroom other than shampoo and shower gel. The chocolates on the pillow at night were eliminated.

Food:

Generic food nicely presented and served well by the staff but......... There was not a single meal or menu item "to die for" .Yes we are foodies and it got to the point that we had the head waiter sit with us and sample some of the meals. He was rather surprised to taste our dry and cold fish on several occasions. To stay outof negative territory I will say the specialty restaurants did produce an decent meal at all locations. We were disappointed in the Steakhouse. As always, food is subjective. By the way on Formal Nightsthere were no more that 10% of the men wearing jackets. Shirts and slacks were the norm.

Entertainment:

Saw them all. Some excellent some not. Different tastes for everyone. Carnival has eliminated the live music in the main theater and instead of multiple scene changes they have integrated visual technology in its place. Nicely done.

The Breeze has not succeeded in accommodating 4000+ passengers in the entertainment venues in the evenings. Standing room only and long lines throughout the ship.

Ports:

Grand Turk. Thanks cruise critic for steering us to Jack's Shack

LaRomana. Better get a shore excursion because there is nothing to do or see at the pier.

Curacao. Goof around the town during the day. No evening events/attractions at night

Aruba. Lots of stuff to do. In town or touring around. Always a great port.

Debarkation:

The same as embarkation. Total gridlock. The Breeze's exit procedure was running almost45 minutes behind. Lots of room for improvement.

All in all a pleasant week. The staff exceeded our expectations in service. The Breeze is very understated and 'plain jane' as compared to the rest of the Carnival fleet.

Our ship is in port from 1 to 10 pm. We have afternoon plans but as of yet we haven't seen anything 'to do' in the evening on the island. After an early dinner on the ship we would like to go back on the island but we haven't seen any suggestions posted as to what the town has to offer.

Suggestions from anyone?

We were at St Thomas once with 6 ships in port. Traffic on the main road was very slow. The most popular beach was a crowded. But all in all it was just another day away from work. Enjoy your day

DW and I have been on 32 cruises from Philadelphia. We have never experienced a flight cancellation in all of the cruises in January, February and March. Only one time we flew out a day early because there was a storm warning on the day of departure. Luck? Perhaps.

We all spend an untold amount of time searching for the best cruise and flight deals but my DW and myself don't want to spend a few hundred extra dollars on car rentals and hotel costs to fly in the day before.

We have learned the vacation 'adventure' begins the moment we leave our driveway and head to the airport. Roll with it.