Positive thoughts Caribbean Princess!

We are seriously thinking of a cruise on the Caribbean Princess for 10/18. The itinerary is one that I really like. However, this question is about the ship. To those of you that have sailed and those of you that have booked a cruise what are your thoughts of the ship. I realize that it is having problems with propulsion those that sailed did it hamper your cruise?? Those that are booked are you having second thoughts?? As I said I like the itinerary especially Trinidad.

Thanks for your responses, have a great day.:)

We are seriously thinking of a cruise on the Caribbean Princess for 10/18. The itinerary is one that I really like. However, this question is about the ship. To those of you that have sailed and those of you that have booked a cruise what are your thoughts of the ship. I realize that it is having problems with propulsion those that sailed did it hamper your cruise?? Those that are booked are you having second thoughts?? As I said I like the itinerary especially Trinidad.

 

Thanks for your responses, have a great day.:)

In July and August we spent 24 days aboard the Caribbean Princess. We really enjoyed the ship. The changes made to the Trident Grill, Pizza place, Ice cream bar, Horizon Court Buffet, and Caribe Cafe were all improvements over what we had experienced aboard the ship on a previous cruise. We loved the Planks BBQ specialty restaurant.

The limited propulsion speed issue was not noticed at all. On one transit between ports the ship averaged 18.9 knots. That is only 2 or 3 knots slower than the maximum the ship was designed to do.

We did a transatlantic on her last fall and had a great time. The only thing I notices was the A/C wasn't great in the Piaza.

We sailed on the CB last month. We had one port affected by the ship's propulsion problem. We left Guernsey late due to the time it took tendering passengers back from the island. Then there was some other technical problem during the evening. The captain made an announcement, and the emergency lighting came on the corridor outside our cabin as I was walking back to it. The regular lighting came back on shortly afterward. We ended up getting to Cobh around four hours late. Fortunately the distance from Cobh to Dublin made it possible to extend our port time there by four hours. I heard that a few Princess excursions to Waterford were canceled. Our privately booked excursion to Blarney Castle and Kinsale went on fine. The organizer emailed to let us know that they were aware of the changes in times.

Overall we had a great cruise and wouldn't hesitate to book the CB again. There are other threads here about the changes to some itineraries. The biggest change was leaving out some ports on the trans-Atlantic due to the slower speed. Those passengers are getting a little bit of onboard credit.

We did a two-week British Isles trip in May. It was our first time on Princess (we've sailed Cunard previously). I had some reservations about the Caribbean Princess after the environmental revelation, but I'm glad we weren't scared away. The ship is lovely, the food was heavenly, and the crew was friendly and attentive. The onboard entertainment wasn't our cup of tea -- that was our only gripe. We went with the Princess excursions (because I'd heard raves), and they were all value-packed and worth the peace of mind that we wouldn't be left behind (several people on indie trips didn't make it back to the ship). Booking with the three-for-free is great, because you won't get nickeled and dimed as much with free gratuities and credit. We're doing a Grand Mediterranean itinerary next year, and we decided to go with Princess over Cunard because of the quality excursions and superior food.

We're sailing on the CB this January for a true Circle Caribbean 14 night cruise. Our itinerary has been changed more than once because of the propulsion issue (nothing to do with the hurricanes), and we've lost both Curacao and Antigua. It will likely be changed again due to the destruction on some of the islands that we're supposed to visit. It's become our "wait and see" cruise. With flights and hotel booked, regardless of where we end up, we're still going.

I had already booked another cruise on the CB in January 2019. But with no evidence that anything's getting fixed onboard anytime soon, I've cancelled that one.

We are seriously thinking of a cruise on the Caribbean Princess for 10/18. The itinerary is one that I really like. However, this question is about the ship. To those of you that have sailed and those of you that have booked a cruise what are your thoughts of the ship. I realize that it is having problems with propulsion those that sailed did it hamper your cruise?? Those that are booked are you having second thoughts?? As I said I like the itinerary especially Trinidad.

 

Thanks for your responses, have a great day.:)

We were on the CB in Europe this past April and there were no signs of issues. If there were, we were completely unaware and unaffected. Loved the ship!

Haven't sailed CB yet but we are booked in March. Before the storm our itinerary was changed - almost certainly due to the ongoing propulsion issue. We lost one port (Amber Cove) and gained a sea day. Not a problem for us. Of course we may see more itinerary changes due to the storm. We'll just have to wait and see. We're looking forward to sailing CB. No doubts in our minds that we will love the ship.

Leaving on TA next Friday, will let you know how it is when we return. Disappointed when we lost Amsterdam, Spain & Azores islands but decided not to cancel. Hopefully everything goes well.

We were on Caribbean Princess this past August for the British Isles cruise. I really liked the ship. It has features I like: a fully wraparound promenade deck and quiet nooks to read among them. Very beautifully decorated, too. I liked it over the larger Regal Princess we were on last year in the Baltic. Easier to navigate around in. The Marketplace buffet is smoothly expanded into two speciality restaurants in the morning for breakfast. (That's where the omelette station is.)

I did not notice any problems with the propulsion. We were in a northern clime, so I don't know what the ship would be like in the warmer Caribbean.

We were on Caribbean Princess for 22 days in January (2017) and had a great time.

Booked on her again in 2018! (y)

Love the Caribbean-we are also booked next October and plan to stay with her. We have sailed six times with her and always loved it. Even if the ports change its still a great cruise-staff-environment-etc. No one can predict all situations good/bad-its a cruise-time get away -enjoy yourself-Princess will fix it if it gets bad enough

We are on the 10/7 cruise, first time on the Caribbean Princess.

We are also booked on her again for 10/18/18.

Looking forward to both!

We have sailed on the Caribbean Princess twice. A transatlantic cruise last year and a British Isles cruise last month. It is a good ship, but not my favorite of the class. With the addition of the Riviera Deck without other changes it feels more crowded than the Grand, Star, or Golden. The new buffet areas are nice, but why omelet stations in the aft areas and not in the main buffet? Also, what is the purpose of wash stations in the buffet area without an effort to get people to use them? Just a few thoughts, none of which would keep me from sailing on her again.

In April, 2017 we crossed the Atlantic on the Caribbean Princess, Ft. Lauderdale to Southampton. No propulsion problems. All ports were reached on time, no issues. However we found the ship to be old and shabby. While there had been some rehab done, it wasn't apparent. In fact while on board the staff were replacing the portion of the corridor carpet that goes partially up the wall, and they were doing a very tacky job, just very low class and cheap, lots of mistakes. Obviously no one was supervising. On the other hand, we hand a very comfortable suite at a bargain price and were in Club Class dining that was comparable (even better) than dining on luxury iines. We will return to the Royal Princess for another crossing in spring, 2018, another super deal on a suite with Club Class. So we like certain things about the Princess product. But I do warn you, the Caribbean seriously needs a makeover, which might not happen for a very long time.

Refreshing to read some good, honest and objective comments about this ship. Challenge some to write a review and they go out of their way to find negatives and most of the issues have no real bearing on the overall ability to have a great voyage.

We will be on her next week for the TA and the B2B for the circle of the Caribbean. 29 days onboard will give us enough time to review this ship. We have been on her many times before the last dry dock and the retrofit of the HC and the other special dining areas.

The real reason for both of these voyages is to experience some new ports like Bruge and Normandy along with Lisbon and Bermuda. The only mystery now is what the itinerary changes are to be made as result of Irma in the Caribbean. I would guess that we will be bypassing St. Thomas (which was added as result of the technical propulsion issues) and St. Martin. Might have more sea days added to our already 16 days, but we are on a ship and that's what it's all about.

Did 30 days on her last year (an 18day TA from FLL to Southampton and stayed on for the 12 day BI itinerary). The Caribbean was one of the few in the fleet that I had not cruised on before, so didn't know what to expect, but everything was just as I have come to expect from Princess. We had a wonderful time on her, and loved the ship and level of service. I would definitely not hesitate to book another cruise on her.

We did two Iceland/Norway T/A's on the CB (2015/2016 before the refurb/Club Class). We loved both voyages and eagerly look forward to booking a future voyage on her.....:):):)

Bob

We sailed on the Caribbean Princess several years ago. It was a New England -Canada cruise , if I remember correctly.

It was a fine ship then.

We were booked for a ten day Caribbean cruise for May 2018 in a Window Suite.

We chose the cruise specifically because Barbados was a port on the itinerary. For some reason, I have wanted to visit Barbados for some time.

We had no concerns about sailing on the ship,despite its' age and looked forward to the "suite"experience.

However, we cancelled the cruise only because the Barbados stop was cancelled due to the propulsion issues.

We were considering other ships that had Barbados on the itinerary- I think one was the Royal Princess . We were about to book another Princess cruise.

Then, close friends asked us to join them on a cruise to Bermuda.

Sometimes,creating memories with loved ones needs to take precedence in travel plans, so we will be sailing to Bermuda in July.

Barbados is still on our list.

Hopefully, Princess will take care of the propulsion problem and restore the Caribbean Princess to efficient sailing capability.

3 times, we have cruised on the CB

Great ship, wonderful crew.

Don't think twice. ;)

I know that opinions vary greatly, but one of the posts painted the CB in a very bad light as if it is run down and unsightly. We just sailed on her in April after the dry dock and I think it's a great ship! We think the CB is beautiful and we thoroughly enjoyed our trip!