Just off the Caribbean Princess....any questions?

Update to MUTS: The Greatest Showman, Tomb Raider, Justice League, Black Panther, Star Wars Episode VIII, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, the last nigh of cruise were three concerts Sol3 Mio live then Lady Gaga then Michael Buble. The movies were the same for both segments of the cruise

Could you tell me what time trivia is, both on sea and port days?

Trivia time was pretty consistant. Morning trivia started between 1030 and 1100 am most days. A couple of days there was afternoon trivia at 4pm. The night time trivia started anywhere between 730pm and 930pm. Port arrival and departure times varied greatly so there does not appear to be a set time for trivia just beacuse you're at sea versus a port day.

Looking at my itinerary for my B2B sailing from 27th July until 10th August it is 3. I anticipated it would be 4

As it is two 7 day segments, there will be 2 formal evenings on each segment.

If you booked this as a single 14 day cruise (one booking number) the personalizer will show the number as 3 as that is the number for a true 14 day segment. The Princess software is not sophisticated enough to know it is really two 7-day segments.

Hi we are thinking of Caribbean Princess for a cruise in February 2019. I've been reading a lot of the reviews and a common theme seems to be that people are a little disappointed with the food. I know that this is difficult to comment on but what did you think? What were your ports of call?

My wife and I also just got off the Caribbean Princess after doing the 14 day B2B. We had a great time. We embarked about noon time and went straight to the room to drop off the carry on bags. We didn't see the sign stating rooms were not ready until 1pm. No one stopped us or said anything about dropping our bags off. I'll try to answer some of the questions posted above. There were 4 formal nights. All were on sea days except one which was after one the Western ports, possibly Belize. We dined next to a couple who were staying on the ship when we got off and stated the ***** was going live starting their 2nd half on 7/14. There were IT guys all over the ship during our second week. The rear pool was emptied one day to repair a broken railing.( In reference to a comment above about a empty pool)

At this moment I only remember a couple of MUTS. Some were the same as our March cruise. Greatest Showman, Black Panther, Star Wars........

Good information except the part about the movies. They were showing the exact same ones last Nov. :(

You would think they could have had an update by now.

Hi we are thinking of Caribbean Princess for a cruise in February 2019. I've been reading a lot of the reviews and a common theme seems to be that people are a little disappointed with the food. I know that this is difficult to comment on but what did you think? What were your ports of call?

You're right; food is subjective! We sailed for two weeks at the end of March. I am a very picky eater and found the food delicious...both in the buffet and the MDR...no complaints. We also did Planks twice; it had to be good to make a repeat trip. There are also a lot of comments about the pizza, which I thought was very good.

April 1, Caribbean Princess. Best food we've had in years other than awful pizza.

As it is two 7 day segments, there will be 2 formal evenings on each segment.

 

If you booked this as a single 14 day cruise (one booking number) the personalizer will show the number as 3 as that is the number for a true 14 day segment. The Princess software is not sophisticated enough to know it is really two 7-day segments.

That’s really helpful information. I will make sure I have 4 dress shirts with me :)

When was your cruise? We arrived in Fort Lauderdale at about 0630 am on each leg our our B2B, 6/30-7/14

we were on the 6/30-7/7 and no issues, arrived back at FLL at about 5:45am.

My wife and I also just got off the Caribbean Princess after doing the 14 day B2B. We had a great time. We embarked about noon time and went straight to the room to drop off the carry on bags. We didn't see the sign stating rooms were not ready until 1pm. No one stopped us or said anything about dropping our bags off. I'll try to answer some of the questions posted above. There were 4 formal nights. All were on sea days except one which was after one the Western ports, possibly Belize. We dined next to a couple who were staying on the ship when we got off and stated the ***** was going live starting their 2nd half on 7/14. There were IT guys all over the ship during our second week. The rear pool was emptied one day to repair a broken railing.( In reference to a comment above about a empty pool)

At this moment I only remember a couple of MUTS. Some were the same as our March cruise. Greatest Showman, Black Panther, Star Wars........

Now I'm curious to see if ***** will be up and running on my upcoming CB cruise

When was your cruise? We arrived in Fort Lauderdale at about 0630 am on each leg our our B2B, 6/30-7/14

11/20/17 to 11//30/17 - Eight months ago.

Looking at my itinerary for my B2B sailing from 27th July until 10th August it is 3. I anticipated it would be 4

If you are on the Caribbean Princess, I hope you mean July 28th until August 11th! At least that is when we will be boarding her! Wish we could stay on but we have to get off on August 4th!

Pooh

I'm boarding on August 11, through September 1.

We had a great week. We were on the Same ship in 2014 as well.

 

I was a little miffed that rooms were not ready at embarkation with all doors closed until 1:00 pm...not sure if this is a one time change or new policy...I did really like that about Princess..and we missed dining room lunch because of this.

 

Otherwise it was enjoyable...any questions?

We are contemplating a 14 day Caribbean next January having sailed before but never on Princess. How was this ship in particular? I see it has had a refurbishment but that they didn’t touch the cabins. Are they old and tired especially the bathrooms? Any pros and cons regarding Princess and the Caribbean Princess?

Hi we are thinking of Caribbean Princess for a cruise in February 2019. I've been reading a lot of the reviews and a common theme seems to be that people are a little disappointed with the food. I know that this is difficult to comment on but what did you think? What were your ports of call?

If you are a regular Princess cruiser, you will be disappointed with the food. It was NOTHING like the food on any of our 25 Princess cruises, especially the buffet. Bad chef, severe cost cutting? I don't know. But everything they used to have was suddenly no longer available.

If you are on the Caribbean Princess, I hope you mean July 28th until August 11th! At least that is when we will be boarding her! Wish we could stay on but we have to get off on August 4th!

 

Pooh

I do, the 27th is when we fly from England to Miami, so have it in my head as the start date for the cruise :)

What other activities are available? Are the stargazing and other Discovery programs offered or is that just an Alaska thing? Also, were there any craft classes or anything like that? I'm a non drinker who's not into trivia or gambling traveling solo looking for things to do.

We were on the July 7-14 sailing on CB.

- every single pool was drained and closed July 7 embarkation day. (Spa, Neptune, Calypso, Terrace and Pirate's View. All closed). The Terrace pool opened around 5pm. The Neptune pool was supposed to open around 5 as well but we didn't go check as we stayed at Terrace. Calypso didn't open because MUTS was in 2 hours so they'd have to close it then - not open during MUTS evenings due to pool noise interfering with movie.

We spoke to numerous staff and called the passenger services desk - no satisfactory answer from noon until 5 when they finally started opening them. A waiter selling drink packages in the elevator lobby heard a bunch of us talking and told us that there had been a surprise inspection that morning and all the pools had to be closed and drained, and they'd be reopened in international waters. I have no idea whether this was true or not. I do know that I've never been on a Caribbean cruise when every single pool was unavailable from embarkation to well after sailaway. It was HOT out and we were onboard around noon. Many people were unhappy that we couldn't cool off in a pool all afternoon on day 1 of a 7 day cruise AND we couldn't find out all day long why not or when they would be opened, from anyone!

Last day the Neptune pool had to be closed and drained as an adult vomited in the pool, according to staff. It was reopened that evening.

Buffet:

We decided to eat at the buffet one night early in the cruise. It was exactly as many reviews here have described. The "Marketplace" theme replacing Horizon Court and with two permanent pay extra dinner places (Steamers and Planks) replacing Cafe Caribe.

As I walked around the buffet with a half empty plate, I passed by four chefs -please forgive my ignorance as to their proper titles - it was the head chef for the ship plus 3 men who seemed to be his next in lines. He asked me what I thought of the buffet. I told him I didn't understand the concept and that to me it seemed like Lunch food and a lunch experience. The tables were not set for dinner, (they were set for dinner in Planks/Steamers) the waiters were not serving drinks as they used to in Cafe Caribe for dinner. It was not an alternative to the dining room Dinner experience like Cafe Caribe was. The type and quality of the food, to me, was "lunch" not dinner - at least not dinner on any Princess ship I've ever been on.

He told me that The Marketplace concept is an experiment by Princess - they have had the same Horizon court for a long time and need to innovate. He said they are constantly trying to change it up - that it has been changed up many times since the renovation - and appreciate feedback from passengers. They are trying to figure out where to go with the dinner concept as their competitors are changing but Princess has not changed much of the dinner experience. He referred to the pay extra venues as well. He understood that I expect a proper quality food dinner experience and that the Marketplace was not currently providing it. We discussed it all for a bit longer, then I left.

I find it interesting that a few other ships have had the Coffee & Cones and Slice and other renovations, but have NOT had the Marketplace / Planks/ Steamers reno. They appear to have stopped the rollout.

We walked thru Planks or Steamers most nights and they were mostly empty.

Otherwise the cruise was good. Service was fine.

We were surprised that there were usually plenty of chairs all morning with minimal saving going on early. The pools got busy around noon.

Cabins - our past few cruises (Royal and CB) cabins aren't ready til 1 pm.

I can try to answer any other questions too.

What other activities are available? Are the stargazing and other Discovery programs offered or is that just an Alaska thing? Also, were there any craft classes or anything like that? I'm a non drinker who's not into trivia or gambling traveling solo looking for things to do.

One night there was stargazing. It was too cloudy though.

There were steel drum lessons.

St thomas we were in until 9pm. They brought on live parrots as part of the new Caribbean themed events.

There was pickleball and zumba also.

There were meeting times for solo travellers listed in the Patter.

Did you go to trivia? Who gave it? Any impressions?

We were on the July 7-14 sailing on CB.

 

- every single pool was drained and closed July 7 embarkation day. (Spa, Neptune, Calypso, Terrace and Pirate's View. All closed). The Terrace pool opened around 5pm. The Neptune pool was supposed to open around 5 as well but we didn't go check as we stayed at Terrace. Calypso didn't open because MUTS was in 2 hours so they'd have to close it then - not open during MUTS evenings due to pool noise interfering with movie.

 

We spoke to numerous staff and called the passenger services desk - no satisfactory answer from noon until 5 when they finally started opening them. A waiter selling drink packages in the elevator lobby heard a bunch of us talking and told us that there had been a surprise inspection that morning and all the pools had to be closed and drained, and they'd be reopened in international waters. I have no idea whether this was true or not. I do know that I've never been on a Caribbean cruise when every single pool was unavailable from embarkation to well after sailaway. It was HOT out and we were onboard around noon. Many people were unhappy that we couldn't cool off in a pool all afternoon on day 1 of a 7 day cruise AND we couldn't find out all day long why not or when they would be opened, from anyone!

 

Last day the Neptune pool had to be closed and drained as an adult vomited in the pool, according to staff. It was reopened that evening.

 

Buffet:

We decided to eat at the buffet one night early in the cruise. It was exactly as many reviews here have described. The "Marketplace" theme replacing Horizon Court and with two permanent pay extra dinner places (Steamers and Planks) replacing Cafe Caribe.

 

As I walked around the buffet with a half empty plate, I passed by four chefs -please forgive my ignorance as to their proper titles - it was the head chef for the ship plus 3 men who seemed to be his next in lines. He asked me what I thought of the buffet. I told him I didn't understand the concept and that to me it seemed like Lunch food and a lunch experience. The tables were not set for dinner, (they were set for dinner in Planks/Steamers) the waiters were not serving drinks as they used to in Cafe Caribe for dinner. It was not an alternative to the dining room Dinner experience like Cafe Caribe was. The type and quality of the food, to me, was "lunch" not dinner - at least not dinner on any Princess ship I've ever been on.

He told me that The Marketplace concept is an experiment by Princess - they have had the same Horizon court for a long time and need to innovate. He said they are constantly trying to change it up - that it has been changed up many times since the renovation - and appreciate feedback from passengers. They are trying to figure out where to go with the dinner concept as their competitors are changing but Princess has not changed much of the dinner experience. He referred to the pay extra venues as well. He understood that I expect a proper quality food dinner experience and that the Marketplace was not currently providing it. We discussed it all for a bit longer, then I left.

 

I find it interesting that a few other ships have had the Coffee & Cones and Slice and other renovations, but have NOT had the Marketplace / Planks/ Steamers reno. They appear to have stopped the rollout.

We walked thru Planks or Steamers most nights and they were mostly empty.

 

Otherwise the cruise was good. Service was fine.

We were surprised that there were usually plenty of chairs all morning with minimal saving going on early. The pools got busy around noon.

 

Cabins - our past few cruises (Royal and CB) cabins aren't ready til 1 pm.

 

I can try to answer any other questions too.

Two comments.

1.You say that the cabins were not "ready" until 1 PM but did they block you from making your way to them to at least drop off your bags?

2. It sounds like the reduction of dinner items/service at the Horizon buffet was done purposely to drive people to the pay extra dinner places (Steamers and Planks).:(

After all, any changes that Princess comes up with lately is always centered around profit and not just to attract passengers for free.

What better way to drive them to pay more than reduce the free stuff. :D

Two comments.

1.You say that the cabins were not "ready" until 1 PM but did they block you from making your way to them to at least drop off your bags?

 

We embarked and went first to the Piazza bar and other things near there. The piazza staff directed us away from going back to the centre elevators. There were signs in the hallways. We didn't try to go down the halls until after one pm - I didn't see anyone "guarding" when the elevator door opened but we didn't disturb the staff.

 

2. It sounds like the reduction of dinner items/service at the Horizon buffet was done purposely to drive people to the pay extra dinner places (Steamers and Planks).:(

After all, any changes that Princess comes up with lately is always centered around profit and not just to attract passengers for free.

What better way to drive them to pay more than reduce the free stuff. :D

I agree- they definitely are testing for the pay extra dining. I stressed to the staff that reducing the buffet dinner to the extent they had was not to my liking. But Planks and Steamers were definitely not busy any night we walked thru. We ate twice at Crown Grill - it was busy.

I think they have to readdress this plan as its not working well - for passengers or for profits - which is why they keep tweaking it.

The World Marketplace buffet on the Caribbean definitely sucks as does Planks and Steamers. We were comped to the latter so we didn’t have to pay. We are in the CG and it was ok but not like it used to be. I didn’t see a big difference between CG and mass market steak houses in US.

Won’t sail on this ship anymore regardless of how cheap the cruises are and live an hour from Port Everglades.

Did you go to trivia? Who gave it? Any impressions?

Yes, and what were some of the questions? :D:D:D

Update to MUTS: The Greatest Showman, Tomb Raider, Justice League, Black Panther, Star Wars Episode VIII, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, the last nigh of cruise were three concerts Sol3 Mio live then Lady Gaga then Michael Buble. The movies were the same for both segments of the cruise

Were the theatre shows from the Princess Singers and Dancers different on the two legs?