Review Caribbean Princess August 9 thru 16

Wife and I sailed on the CB on her 2nd voyage out of Port Everglades 10 years ago. The ship still looked pretty good today. It was clean, well maintained and our cabin (E436), bath and balcony were in excellent shape. Overall, service was great. Our room steward Rodelio was excellent. He made sure we had everything we needed or requested and then he was invisible for the rest of the cruise.*

After many cruises in the Caribbean my wife and I do not go ashore much, we cruise to eat, drink and gamble. Also, we are no longer youngsters.*

Saturday. Dress code Casual

We sailed on time. It was hot, but the weather was good. We always reserve a our favorite table in the Coral dining room for anytime dining. We ate at 8 PM each night. The show in the theater was the usual Welcome Aboard Presentation. There was also a preview of the comic who was on board Carlos Oscar. He performed the next night and then left the ship. No more comics after that.*

There was a movie everyday at 1PM in Princess theater. Today's movie was Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit.*

Sunday. Princess Cay. Dress code Casual. Anchored

Today we anchored off of Princess Cay from 9AM to 3 PM. The show in Princess Theater was Variety Showtime and the comic Oscar Carlos. A Princess favorite Bert Stratton was in Crooner's Bar. Bert turned out to be the primary entertainment for the week appearing in Crooner's, Explorer's Lounge and even in The Princess Theater. I like Bert, but his act hasn't changed much that I could tell.*

The afternoon movie in the theater was X-Men, Days of Past.*

Monday At sea. Dress Code Formal

Today was the first sea day. It is also the day of the Champaign Waterfall. The show in the Princess Theater was Piano Man. Another daily Entertainment group appearing throughout the week was the Sounds of the Los Brilliantes Mariachi Trio.

British Style Pub Lunch available in Crown Grill.*

The afternoon movie in the theater was Non-Stop.*

Tuesday Ocho Rios. Dress code Casual. Docked at pier

We arrived at Ocho Rios at 9AM and departed at 4:30PM.*

The show in the Princess Theater was Caribbean Caliente. There was a jazz group in Crooner's, The Jazz Cafe. Today they held a Black Jack Tournament.*

The afternoon movie in the theater was Million Dollar Arm.*

Wednesday anchored at Grand Cayman. Dress code Formal

Entertainment in Princess Theater was an illusionist, Landon Swank. The jazz group was in Crooner's and Bert was nowhere to be found.

The afternoon movie in the theater was Captain America, The Winter Soldier.*

We left late because they had a hard time weighing anchor. It took almost an hour to get the anchor free. Never found out what the problem was.*

Thursday Cozumel at the pier. Dress code Casual.*

We arrived at Cozumel at 10:30 and departed about 8PM.

The shows in Princess Theater were Do You Wanna Dance and The International Crew Show. Bert was in Explorer's and a pianist was in Crooner's.*

The afternoon movie in the theater was Chef.*

Friday At sea Dress code casual.*

Show in Princess Theater was Variety Showtime with mentalist Carl Andrews. A pianist was at Crooners and a group called Passion was at Explorer's Lounge.*

The afternoon movie in the theater was The Lego movie.*

Other observations:

No poker tournament.*

MUTS included: Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Million Dollar Arm, Scene It Movie Second Edition, Frozen, Concert Sheryl Crow, Gravity

Crab Shack was available on Tuesday and Thursday.*

Flamenco Dancers appeared in the Piazza.*

Steel Drum frequently performed in the Piazza

Pianist frequently appeared in the Piazza.*

The weather was great and the seas were smooth.*

Conclusion.*

We enjoyed the cruise. We love the Caribbean Princess. We had previously cruised on the new Royal and did not care for the changes that were made. It is a beautiful ship but we felt it was not as "functional" as the grand class ships.*

Back to the CB. I thought the food was average, it was all good but not great.

The crew were wonderful, except for the waiter in the Coral Dining room who thought he was a wine sommelier. He was pushy and obnoxious. I would never put that on a comment card because I believe Princess may be too harsh with a reaction.*

The casino was good to me because I got to play with there money for several days although at the end they did, as always end up with some of mine.*

Thanks for the comments.

nice review

Thank you! Nice, concise review, not too much, not too little..

Just noticed I said our cabin was E 436. Correction it was B 436

Thank you for your review. We are on the CB in October so great to read your comments.

Thanks for posting your review. We were getting off right before you got on. Our cruise was also very smooth. We'd never had known there was a tropical storm a few hundred miles away. Unfortunately we missed Princess Cays because of the storm, but we enjoyed having the extra day at sea. A lot of folks we met were staying on for your week as well.

Thanks for the review! We board in a few weeks. It's been a couple of years since we were last on CB, and she seems to be getting a bad rap, so I'm glad to hear a few good reviews recently. We're the "glass half full" kind of cruisers, so I know WE will have a great time anyway :)

Thank you for your review. It sounds like you had a good cruise.

We were on this cruise also. It was a wonderful cruise. The ship was beautiful and we had no complaints.

We sail her Sept 13. Great review, Thanks!

Thank you for the concise review, liked the format!

Thank you for the concise review, liked the format!

A specialty "restaurant" with a fee of $20 set up in a section of the buffet on several evenings.

Thanks for the report!

Thanks a million for your review. Like you, we are Florida residents and do many Caribbean cruises withoutgetting off the ship. And, like you, we did not care for the Royal at all. We will be on CB for a B2B next month and your review gave us most of what we wanted to know ahead of time.

Glad they have a movie every day in the theater as well as MUTS.

Thanks for the review.

I have 2 questions....I have read a couple people mention a Champaign Waterfall, what exactly is that? I assume a fountain of Champaign...is that included?

Also with the shows...can you take pictures during them, or is that prohibitted?

Thank you for that review. We will be sailing on her in October and I enjoy reading everything I can. This will be my first cruise.

54 days.

Can't wait.

Thanks

Thanks for the review.

I have 2 questions....I have read a couple people mention a Champaign Waterfall, what exactly is that? I assume a fountain of Champaign...is that included?

 

Also with the shows...can you take pictures during them, or is that prohibitted?

The waterfall is set up in the Piazza on the first formal nite. It is a large pyramid of champaign glasses. The Maître D pours champagne from a bottle into the top glass and as more and more is poured it flows down towards the bottom from glass to glass. Passengers who want can get in line and get their pic taken as they pour with the Maître D.

No pics allowed in Princess Theater.

No pics allowed in Princess Theater

No flash pictures allowed. Pictures without flash are allowed.

No video allowed.

Thanks for your review. Very nice, concise and to the point.:)

Thanks for your review...

During the champagne waterfall, while the maitre d' is pouring the champagne into the tower of glasses and posing for photos with passengers, waiters are circulating on all the levels of the piazza with trays of free cheap champagne and hors d'ouevres

The waterfall is set up in the Piazza on the first formal nite. It is a large pyramid of champaign glasses. The Maître D pours champagne from a bottle into the top glass and as more and more is poured it flows down towards the bottom from glass to glass. Passengers who want can get in line and get their pic taken as they pour with the Maître D.

 

No pics allowed in Princess Theater.

Like so...

Star Princess - Alaska - June 2014 008 by RickEk, on Flickr

No flash pictures allowed. Pictures without flash are allowed.

 

No video allowed.

Awesome...I am anti flash anyways! They come put much better without a flash!

Like so...

 

Star Princess - Alaska - June 2014 008 by RickEk, on Flickr

Love it...thanks

Great picture of the champagne waterfall!