Caribbean Princess.....Just back

Wow, I'm not sure if I should be sad that I board next week or not. It's my 20th anniversary, and I hope it's not overall as bad as people are saying. Not planning to use the dining room, or go to shows, mostly just pool during the day, buffet for food, and TV/deck in the evenings.

 

I've sailed on the CB twice before, including our first Princess cruise and am nervous because we have only been on the Royal/Regal since they came out, and have gotten used to them, and particularly the retreat area, and the layout of the buffet.

ENJOY! Our two weeks on the Caribbean Princess at the end of March was wonderful. No complaints...I even enjoyed the pizza!

We also were on the ship in March, and the pizza was absolutly the worse I had. They seemed to have changed the cheese or something, BAD!

While the TV options aren't identical to those on Royal and Regal they were greatly improved. There was a lot of on demand programming and you were able to stop your movie and then pick it up where you left off at a later time. In the past if you wanted to watch a movie you had to catch it at the beginning and then watch it through. My wife watched a few movies that she caught in the middle and then watched the beginning later. Not good. On Caribbean Princess you could just start the movie any time you wanted and, like I said above, you could stop it, go to dinner or whatever, and then pick it up where you left off.

 

We didn't hate CB when we sailed in March. We did experience a total lack of Internet and even intranet access the last two days of the cruise which was really bad for those trying to check flights, etc. I found it extremely annoying not to have access to Princess @Sea for those two days but the system was down hard. Apparently the onboard IT staff is pretty much worthless.

 

We did like the new hand washing stations outside the buffet and also enjoyed the breakfast and lunch options at Planks and Steamers. The updated offerings at the grill were also appreciated although the Princess idea of "street tacos" doesn't match our idea of them. They were "OK" and you were limited to two per order but nothing to get excited about and I can get better tacos from any taco truck in town. The pizza was still incredibly bad and, based on that, we didn't even try the new offerings at the pizza place. We just had our "test" piece of pizza - most of which went into the trash.

 

We found no issues that would cause us to avoid booking on CB in the future. One would hope the IT issue was a one time deal.

I agree Thrak. And we were lucky enough that the internet was working great....surprisingly great, in fact compared with every other time we have used the internet on Princess. Our Princess@sea was also good...we didn't have to carry a Patter around since we could access it on our phones.

We could never access our account on the TV.

Not accessible on TV on any Princess ship. Can access it on a digital device such as a laptop or smartphone.

We also were on the ship in March, and the pizza was absolutly the worse I had. They seemed to have changed the cheese or something, BAD!

They've also changed the cheese they use for the fettuccine alfredo.:(

It nothing like it was a few years ago.

I agree Thrak. And we were lucky enough that the internet was working great....surprisingly great, in fact compared with every other time we have used the internet on Princess. Our Princess@sea was also good...we didn't have to carry a Patter around since we could access it on our phones.

I fine that just carrying around a sheet of paper is much more convenient without any chance of losing or breaking my phone.

They've also changed the cheese they use for the fettuccine alfredo.:(

It nothing like it was a few years ago.

 

 

 

 

 

I fine that just carrying around a sheet of paper is much more convenient without any chance of losing or breaking my phone.

Of course, whatever your preference is.

I'm going to chime in here (been reading the whole thread). We did a B2B (5/26, 6/2) on the CB this year. I've been on the Regal/Royal several times so feel I can make a comparison regarding the buffet. There is no comparison....the buffet on CP is nothing like the other ships. We usually have lunch in the buffet; it's just easier and with more choices than the dining room. But, this time, we ate in the dining room the whole time. I found the hot food in the buffet to be mainly of a "stew" type variety. Not a lot of choice of veggies either. They did have a huge round of beef a couple times but it looked awful; maybe it was the way they were "carving" it? I really was quite surprised that I couldn't even find plain old roasted chicken to make a salad with as I usually do when I can't find anything else. I'm not into sandwiches (especially with one lousy slice of meat in them) so that wasn't an option either. We went into the other area that becomes Planks and the seafood restaurant and while there is a ton of seating in there, the food didn't vary at all. Same thing every day.

I seriously found the differences between the CB and the Royal/Regal buffet setups to feel like two different cruise lines, definitely an odd thing. Won't stop we from sailing on the CB though; she's the only game in town this summer and we do like to get away. I won't starve (there's always the International Cafe! :)).

Linda R.

Can you detail a bit how the food in the new buffet sucked?

 

 

I ask because we board in 2 weeks and are only planning to eat in the buffet, not going to a dining room at all. We did that on the Regal in March and it worked out great, am hoping for the same experience on the CB.

I'm going to chime in here (been reading the whole thread). We did a B2B (5/26, 6/2) on the CB this year. I've been on the Regal/Royal several times so feel I can make a comparison regarding the buffet. There is no comparison....the buffet on CP is nothing like the other ships. We usually have lunch in the buffet; it's just easier and with more choices than the dining room. But, this time, we ate in the dining room the whole time. I found the hot food in the buffet to be mainly of a "stew" type variety. Not a lot of choice of veggies either. They did have a huge round of beef a couple times but it looked awful; maybe it was the way they were "carving" it? I really was quite surprised that I couldn't even find plain old roasted chicken to make a salad with as I usually do when I can't find anything else. I'm not into sandwiches (especially with one lousy slice of meat in them) so that wasn't an option either. We went into the other area that becomes Planks and the seafood restaurant and while there is a ton of seating in there, the food didn't vary at all. Same thing every day.

 

 

I seriously found the differences between the CB and the Royal/Regal buffet setups to feel like two different cruise lines, definitely an odd thing. Won't stop we from sailing on the CB though; she's the only game in town this summer and we do like to get away. I won't starve (there's always the International Cafe! :)).

 

Linda R.

We were on the CB prior to its dry dock. I just assumed that they would upgrade the buffet to be more like the ones on the Royal and Regal, which frankly are the only buffets we go to anymore.

We were on the CB prior to its dry dock. I just assumed that they would upgrade the buffet to be more like the ones on the Royal and Regal, which frankly are the only buffets we go to anymore.

You know what they say about the word ASSUME...

The CB rebranded the Horizon Court as "World Fresh Marketplace". Which has been received as well as a screen door on a submarine. Though there has to be someone out there who considers a PB&J station an "upgrade" :rolleyes:

you know what they say about the word assume...

 

The cb rebranded the horizon court as "world fresh marketplace". Which has been received as well as a screen door on a submarine. though there has to be someone out there who considers a pb&j station an "upgrade" :rolleyes:

We were on the CB prior to its dry dock. I just assumed that they would upgrade the buffet to be more like the ones on the Royal and Regal, which frankly are the only buffets we go to anymore.

Once anyone has experienced the buffets on either the Regal or Royal it impossible to consider going back to the old Horizon court. :cool:

I agree Thrak. And we were lucky enough that the internet was working great....surprisingly great, in fact compared with every other time we have used the internet on Princess. Our Princess@sea was also good...we didn't have to carry a Patter around since we could access it on our phones.

What is Princess @ sea? We are on her on the 21st of July. Thanks!

What is Princess @ sea? We are on her on the 21st of July. Thanks!

It is the ship's free intranet network allowing you to view the onboard activity schedule (though not nearly complete), events you have scheduled, your stateroom account, and messages between other members of your party.

https://www.princess.com/ships-and-experience/onboard-experience/activities/princess-at-sea/index.html

So, in the new steamers and planks section of the buffet, do they have food there for breakfast and lunch? And if so, what kind of foods are available there?

Also, the new coffee and cones section at the pool deck, is it open early in the morning for coffee? One thing I like about the Royal/Regal is the pastry area and I don't have to go to the IC for coffee.

So, in the new steamers and planks section of the buffet, do they have food there for breakfast and lunch? And if so, what kind of foods are available there?

From the CB's ship specific page on the Princess website:

https://www.princess.com/ships-and-experience/ships/cb-caribbean-princess/index.html

STEAMERS:

Our new family-style seafood restaurant offers dinner served by wait staff for a nominal fee. Choose from Black & Blue Mussels or Classic Clams “Steamers” and other seafood favorites. All come with generous sides and dipping sauces as well as starters and dessert. At lunchtime, help yourself to a buffet that includes Gourmet and Ramen Bowls with regionally inspired broths—all at no charge. And join us for breakfast, also at no charge, for specialty egg dishes like omelets, fried eggs and eggs Benedict.

PLANKS:

Drop by for a classic American-style dinner, served by wait staff for a nominal fee. Our casual BBQ restaurant gives you a choice of "Planks" loaded with four meats, chili, coleslaw and seasoned fries along with starters and decadent dessert. Planks BBQ also serves a buffet-style lunch at no charge, with signature soup and freshly tossed salad, as well as regionally inspired fork-and-knife sandwiches. Buffet-style breakfasts, also at no charge, include savory breakfast bowls customized for you.

Also, the new coffee and cones section at the pool deck, is it open early in the morning for coffee? One thing I like about the Royal/Regal is the pastry area and I don't have to go to the IC for coffee.

According to the Dining Venues and Hours document, Coffee & Cones opens 11 AM

https://www.princess.com/downloads/pdf/food-and-dining/dining-options.pdf

No mention of a coffee bar inside World Fresh Marketplace on the CB page.

Once anyone has experienced the buffets on either the Regal or Royal it impossible to consider going back to the old Horizon court. :cool:

We haven't been on a Royal class ship, so we have no comparison. We liked the buffet on the Ruby in January. Does the buffet on the CB still have the extensive salad bar? DH loved that.

Just returned from the CB June 16th sailing. I agree with several of the points in this thread especially about the food choices at lunch at the buffet. Tried breakfast in the dining room one day hoping for fresh waffles or french toast and they are not even on the menu nor is Eggs Benedict so the dining room was not any better than the buffet. I was looking for grilled chicken for my salad and they never had it. Went to the Salty Grill one day to get some- line was long and poorly organized. I also looked for grilled fish- had it at breakfast but not at lunch. Food choices definitely need improvement. Service in our cabin was great and loved that they still give chocolate at night as many cruise lines cut that out. No towel animals though but can't remember if Princess ever did that. Have not been on a Princess ship since 2014. Food was definitely better years ago when Princess was a favorite line to sail. Also do not like their reservation system for anytime dining. You can only make it on the day of and we NEVER were able to get the time we wanted. Other cruiselines you can make reservations for several days- all week if you want. We had a nive time but Princess is definitely gone downhill over the years.

Just returned from the CB June 16th sailing. Tried breakfast in the dining room one day hoping for fresh waffles or french toast and they are not even on the menu nor is Eggs Benedict so the dining room was not any better than the buffet. Did you ask for any of these and were told "no" or did you not see thjem on the menu and did not ask? Others have reported they can get Eggs Benedict and French toast even if not listed on the menu that day.

No towel animals though but can't remember if Princess ever did that. Not a Princess thing.

 

 

Have not been on a Princess ship since 2014. Food was definitely better years ago when Princess was a favorite line to sail. Also do not like their reservation system for anytime dining. You can only make it on the day of and we NEVER were able to get the time we wanted. Other cruiselines you can make reservations for several days- all week if you want. We had a nive time but Princess is definitely gone downhill over the years. The reservation policy varies by ship (or Maitre d'). Some allow a standimg reservation for the entire cruise, some allow it for 2-3 nights in a rtow, and some do it as you experienced.

Thanks for your report

We haven't been on a Royal class ship, so we have no comparison. We liked the buffet on the Ruby in January. Does the buffet on the CB still have the extensive salad bar? DH loved that.

It used to be similar to the Ruby but I'm not sure if it's been expanded since the last retrofit.

It still couldn't be similar to the Royal class ships due to the allotted space.

It is the ship's free intranet network allowing you to view the onboard activity schedule (though not nearly complete), events you have scheduled, your stateroom account, and messages between other members of your party.

 

https://www.princess.com/ships-and-experience/onboard-experience/activities/princess-at-sea/index.html

Awesome! Thanks!

Just returned from the CB June 16th sailing. Tried breakfast in the dining room one day hoping for fresh waffles or french toast and they are not even on the menu nor is Eggs Benedict so the dining room was not any better than the buffet. Did you ask for any of these and were told "no" or did you not see them on the menu and did not ask? Others have reported they can get Eggs Benedict and French toast even if not listed on the menu that day.

This is true on sea days when lunch is served in the MDR. Eggs Benedict and French Toast are in the "brunch selections" on the left side of the lunch menu. And are usually already being readied at breakfast time. But on port days, unlikely you can get them.

We had a very, very difficult trip on the caribbean princess this last february and every time I tried to post about it here, CruiseCritic would delete the thread. it was a disaster in the panama canal.

and for all our trouble we got $150 cruise credit per person.

We will not be sailing on the Caribbean princess until they fix her mechanical issues that caused problems in several of the ports that caused us to miss excursions.

The staff, the food, and the decor, as well as our room were our usual happy standards, but when a ship's mechanical problems interfere with a trip, that's a serious issue.

We cruised the British Isles on the Caribbean but can't remember if there was a covered pool as there were so many port days!?! Thanks, Karen

...That is something to hear that Princess no longer has a dress code for anything but formal nights.

We witnessed it on the Crown in March: lots of men in shorts and some in flip flops on nights other than formal night. No one ever turned away.