First cruise on Princess and impressed

We are 88 and 78 and have taken more than 20 cruises. Most on NCL and some on Carnival. We were on the Caribbean Princess Aug 4...7 day cruise to the E Caribbean. Here are some random comments. The bed was the MOST comfortable bed we have ever slept on. That alone would lead me to take another Princess cruise! The Caribbean Princess recently replaced all bedding and whatever they chose, it was perfection.

We had a mini- suite on the Dolphin deck 9- forward port side. I saw our room steward one time and all he said was we made him wait as one day we didn't leave the cabin until 12:30. I was not impressed with him and that was a bit of a disappointment. he never left ice but we had a lot of water delivered so we didn't really need the ice. I knew that the balcony was not covered and that was a bit of a drawback as it was way too hot to sit out there during the day. Sadly the people next door had some very loud pre teens that spent a lot of time yelling, running around their room, slamming doors and generally acting obnoxious. I have a feeling the parents left them in the cabin by themselves.

We thought the food in the dining room was above average. We had anytime dining , table for 2 and only 1 night had to wait maybe 15 min and was given a pager. The waiters were very good and there were many selections to choose from. Surprised they never did have a steak on the menu. The food in the buffet was very good! So many choices and the waiters cleaned off the tables pronto and came over and asked what beverage we wanted. Very impressed with the buffet.

I went to most of the shows. The singers and dancers were above average for sure and I thought the entertainment ( ventriloquist, comedian etc. were enjoyable. )

The casino didn't have many video poker machines and seemed smaller than the ones on NCL and Carnival. I wasn't crazy about having to insert cabin card in every machine and if you waited too long the machine would click off and you would have to go through the whole sign in procedure again.

We couldn't believe how fast the elevators came and we never had to wait more than 2 min! The doors close very quickly so that was tricky if anyone has mobility problems.

I had read a lot of reviews prior to taking this cruise but we were more than pleased. I will say the mini suite was clean but a lot of the floor tiles were coming off and the pipes in the bathroom shower were rusty so it was definitely showing its age.

We had 2 large tvs but I never could figure out how to access the closed caption and I didn't feel the need to ask someone.

All in all, a very pleasant cruise and the waiters were all very nice and friendly. Embarkation and debarkation went quickly and smoothly. They have it down to a science! Very impressed!

Glad your first Princess experience was good, for the most part. I guess nothing's every quite perfect, but that's life!!

In 40+ Princess cruises, I've never had a steward who didn't go out of his/her way to take good care of us and our cabin. A lot of posters here extol the greatness of their stewards. Sorry you got the "lemon".

Hope your first experience was good enough that you'll choose Princess again. :-)

Welcome to Princess.

Thanks for your comments

Hi, seems to me you are easy to please, I would have been getting those sort of problems fixed t by the second day

I can't tell you how many bathrooms I have had retiled and black mold removed and new shower curtains...……………..

And its the cabin stewards job to fit in around you, not the other way round.

You didn't miss much not having Princess MDR steak, often tough and gristly.

Great you enjoyed your cruise

By the way I hope you were aware of possible OBC you can get by being a veteran or a stockholder or having a future cruise deposit. It can be substantial.

And its the cabin stewards job to fit in around you, not the other way round.

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Mostly - if I was to stay in the cabin until 12:30 pm, I would probably tell the Room Steward to skip the cabin. Most likely, I would leave for 30 minutes before that so they can make the room and then return.

12:30 is pretty late to stay in the cabin.

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I am glad the OP liked the rest of the cruise.

Thank you for your new to Princess perspective. Regarding the no steak, I thought the New York was on the menu one night and a filet with shrimp another?

Any way, sounds like you tried something new with an open mind. Glad you had a good time.

Sleep in as long as you want. On the first day we inform the room steward of out needs and explan we will use the door hanger sign to let them know when we are out of the room. We do our time schedule not the stewads but try to make things as easy for hem as we can.

Glad you enjoyed your cruise!!

After all my Princess sailings, I have only had one bad cabin steward. I wonder if he transferred to your ship!

One thing Princess almost always has is the greatest crew at sea so you probably won’t ever encounter this again.

we've also only had one steward that was not up to par with the others...and it was our only female steward on any cruise...

we've also only had one steward that was not up to par with the others...and it was our only female steward on any cruise...

You just reminded me of lazy Joanne from Liverpool who was the cabin stewardess on QE2 when we had a Queens Grill ( Griller!) suite.

It was in such a dusty and grimy condition apparently I worked her too hard to get it clean and she went off sick the second day with an alleged bad back. Never saw her again on that cruise.

Her replacement was a lovely Pilipina lady named Esther who was excellent and was Maggy Thatcher's choice of stewardess when she sailed QE2.

Thanks for your balanced review!

We had a room steward yell at us once, too as we didn't get out for dinner until late one night. I was shocked at how mad he was. I explained he should have just skipped it but he said we might have complained. Well, he was on duty for another hour but obviously wanted to get off a bit early as he was done with all his other cabins. I don't really blame him but we kind of got the cold shoulder for the remainder of the cruise. Now, I make a point to let them know it is ok to skip our room if we want to stay in all morning and watch a movie / order room service ... or if we want to stay in late in the evening / go to bed early. No more angry room stewards since then.

And, we've been next to very loud, inconsiderate passengers as well. Once, we were approached by a group that were on either side of us. They said, we're really noisy, aren't we? I said, "well, yes, you are! but you also paid for your cruise to have fun". From then on, they were oh so much more considerate about making noise.

Glad you enjoyed your cruise overall ... and yes, those new beds are the best we've ever experienced on any cruiseline.

OP

So glad you returned impressed, and hope to run into you guys you onboard a Princess ship in the future

Srpilo

Welcome to Princess. For your next Princess cruise you might want to try either Regal Princess or Royal Princess. Regal is my favorite ship. As for the noise in the cabin next store to you. If it were really bad, I would just call the PAX services and have them speak to them.

On one of our last cruises, the cabin next store was playing loud music on the balcony as we were docking at the pier. That was the one and only time that we heard it. I think some one told them to stop it. For us the one time was OK. But if it was all the time, then something would be said. So far, in all my many cruises I have had good neighbors.

I have been on more than 30 Princess cruises and cruised other lines as well. Strangely I am not hard of hearing and have never heard the neighbors on either side of me but 1 time when I could vaguely hear a TV but never after 10pm. I have been on many cruises where I never even saw neighbors entering or leaving their cabins yet the mail was collected and names on so they were occupied but by chance I usually sail when kids are in school. I would have called passenger services immediately. Not have I ever had a rude steward but perhaps the luck of the draw. I am happy that you enjoyed the first with Princess in general. Mike

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Thanks for your review!

Glad you had a great cruise.

Anyone know if EZ Check is still alive and well in Ft Lauderdale? (United)

Glad you had a great cruise...:):):)

Tony

OP;

Glad you enjoyed your first Princess cruise.....:):):)

Bob

Thank you for your review ! Glad that your cruise went well !:D - EBC

We have found that the cabin stewards on Princess are happy to accommodate our time schedule, as long as we let them know our needs. If we decide in the morning that we just feel like hanging out in the cabin all day, I go into the corridor to find the steward and tell him, "We're staying in the cabin all day, so you can skip our cabin this morning -- all we need are fresh towels and some more ice." Usually, he or she will thank you for letting them know and will bring the requested items right to the door.

( This may involve changing out of pajamas and into day clothes in order to find the steward in the corridor, but oh well, one can always change back to pajamas). :p

Sometimes on a sea day, guests just want to hang out in the room, or read quietly on the balcony and watch the beautiful ocean. Stewards are happy to oblige, just as long as they know what you want to do. :) - EBC

We had 2 large tvs but I never could figure out how to access the closed caption and I didn't feel the need to ask someone.

I recall pressing the right arrow button but not all movies/shows had CC as an option.

We just finished our first Princess Cruise on The Regal. We have taken many cruises, RCCL, Holland and Carnival. We LOVED Princess and have already booked our next Princess cruise. I think we will be life long Princess fans!

Welcome to Princess!!!

We tried Royal Caribbean first, then Princess and have not even bothered to try another line. Every ship has been unique in some ways...service on all has been great...to include the Regal, the Emerald, and the Crown. We can hardly wait to try the Sky Princess next year when she makes her first appearance!!

I love Princess and the unique character each ship offers that I have two more booked just for this year. (This is not a paid announcement).

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Thanks for the review and too bad about your inconsiderate neighbors.

I wish you many more happy cruises. At our time in life we want to get all we can out of each one.

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