12/20 CB xmas cruise review

[vikqueen]

We just returned to a foot of snow and cold weather in MN after a beautiful stay in San Juan and on the CB so let me relive some warmer memories before it seems too much a dream to me!

We left MPLS for San Juan on Saturday and had an easy, direct flight. This meant a lot to us as we read on the boards and saw on the news how difficult it was for people on the east coast especially to fly out. Over a hundred passengers joined us in St Thomas and others didn’t make it at all, our hearts really went out to them.

We had a pre-cruise night at the Courtyard Marriott Isla Verde, and it was lovely. We were upgraded to an oceanfront suite without even asking, the view was beautiful. I think it was less than 10 minutes from check in to being on the beach for us! We had planned on going out to dinner but couldn’t bear to leave so we had burgers beachfront at the pool bar, they were very good. A big iguana was lounging nearby. There was a wedding there and they had live music that we enjoyed as well. We were granted a late check out (1 PM) so we could enjoy the beach and the pool on Sunday as well and then we took a cab to the Caribbean Princess.

We arrived at the port around 1:30 and had no problem checking in, we went right into the “hanger” and only had one row ahead of us before being able to check in. We stopped at the duty free shop and bought a case of water and some sodas and wine, it was really convenient to be able to do that! We went straight to our rooms which we loved. The aft cabins have great balconies and NO wind, we enjoyed many hours out there playing cards and scrabble or just reading. We were on Emerald deck directly above Club Fusion and never heard any noise, even though we generally retired quite early. The motion didn’t bother us until the last day/ night when my kids were feeling it. Our steward, Virgil, was very friendly and helpful the whole trip. I couldn’t open one of my suitcase locks and they sent someone to bust open right away, I was a bit disappointed on how easy it was for him to break it using a butter knife! It only apparently kept me out of my luggage!

We had anytime dining and went to the Island restaurant where we were served by a gentleman named Joel who was so great that my kids insisted we request him every other night, which we did. He made us feel so welcome and so well taken care of that it was better than being at home: it was like being at grandmas!

We went up to watch the Vikings on MUTS (The worst part of our whole vacation was watching the past two Vikings games!) and then went to meet people at our Meet and Greet, which was really fun. I really enjoyed knowing people on the ship and on different excursions, and running into Tigger’s Mom (and dad) in San Juan after the cruise, it was like having friends where ever we went! I’ll post this before it gets too long and then post more to this thread.

[Colo Cruiser]

Sounds great, glad you had a good time. :)

[vikqueen]

On Monday we were in St Thomas where we docked at the Crown Pier. We had booked a Princess excursion to do the ONDECK Ocean racing, where we helped man a 40 foot racing yacht and raced against 4 other teams. It was very fun, and I learned a lot, having never sailed before. We just chilled on the ship the rest of the day, watching movies in the pool.

On Tuesday we were in Dominica where we went on Levi Baron’s Bumpiing tour the Roseau Valley Treasures. I think everyone in the two vans were on our roll call! It was fantastic, beautiful island and a fun adventure. We got to swim through Titou Gorge and we even could climb up a small water fall to see another water fall which we could go under, then we jumped back down the water fall. I wouldn’t have been brave enough if my kids hadn’t already gone!

Wednesday we were in Grenada, we took a Princess excursion to go tubing down a river. I personally thought the driving was scarier in Grenada than in Dominica, but perhaps it was our driver, Levi seemed much more careful. I think next time I’ll just head to Anse Beach via water taxi and avoid the roads altogether! The tubing seemed tame in comparison!

Thursday we were in Bonaire, docking late so the kids got to sleep in again. Every morning my husband and I awoke earlier than the kids so we would go down to check our email in the internet cafe and have a specialty coffee and danish from the International Cafe, or go to Sabatinis for breakfast, which was really fabulous. We would order the kids room service for later so they could eat on the balcony when they awoke. We booked Woodwinds to go snorkeling, something only my husband has ever done. We had such an amazing time! I worried that water would be getting in my mask, etc., and that I would not be comfortable, but their equipment was great and I had no problems. Our time in the water was up too fast -- but not before we saw more than 5 turtles, 7 barracuda, a couple of pufferfish, some Blue Tangs, and many others! Amazing! Very nice staff, too.

Friday we were in Aruba. It was Christmas day so we booked horseback riding through Princess since the outfits I had contacted privately were closed. They use Ponderosa Ranch and we had a good experience. We rode Paso Fino horses through the countryside to the ocean where we trotted along (but not in) the water. We were able to take pictures at the baby natural bridge. The boys did not enjoy the trotting part as much as I did, for reasons you can imagine. We returned to the ship for lunch and then went to Palm Beach for a couple of hours. We went by the Hyatt hotel and rented chairs for $5/ per and floating mats for $5 each. There was shade under trees and umbrellas that we did not have to rent. It is really great sand, lots to do, lots of fun! I'll post more details on the ports site on these excursions.

Saturday was our day at sea, a much needed rest for us all! Again we enjoyed played games on our deck as well as trying out a few activities on board. We had fun making boxes out of paper, sort of like oragami. My son had gone to a few of the board games get togethers on the ship, no one else ever came. We did a few trivia contests, also with very little turn out. My daughter and I went to the ceramics, but not to the intro to ceramics, and the guy “helping” really didn’t give us any direction at all, even when asked. We were very disappointed in this activity, and it was NOT cheap. We were impressed with how the entertainment director had to really juggle to supply some of the entertainment since the weather prevented some of the entertainers to get to the ship, he flew in a fun comedian from Vegas for example, I thought he showed great flexibility and effort to keep us with things to do when mother nature was not co operating with flight schedules! Our kids did not participate in any of the kids programs, I think it was a combination of so many port days and things to do, and just their natural disinclination to throw themselves in with kids they don’t know. My daughter was especially disappointed to be in the younger group whose activities she felt sounded too young for a twelve-year old, but then again, she never went to try so who knows. The advantage for us was we had a great week of family time! More soon...

[vikqueen]

We did use the free laundry that comes with a suite, which was great, except that my son seemed to be allergic to something in their soaps, but that meant he got a few new tshirts so it was okay in the end!

The spa was great, except here and in a few other areas we had to deal with conflicting information about what the rules were. The first evening I went to request a mother/ daughter massage and tried to get appointments for a facial/ shave for my son and husband. The massages were no problem, but I was told that my son was too young at 15 to have the shave because of the razors, etc (??). So I booked him a massage instead. The day we had these the woman shaving my husband told him he should book this for his son. He told her he was told it wasn’t allowed, which confused her since she was the only one doing it and it wasn’t a straight blade or anything, so he did book in my son and he received the treatment. A similar thing happened when on embarkation day we signed up at the purser’s desk for the Ultimate Ships Tour, we asked if we could sign up as a family with our kids and their ages, we were told it was no problem as long as we were chosen. Then we received an invite for my husband and myself, but were told the kids were too young! If that is the case than that is fine, but why not tell us that when we tried to sign up?

Our meet and greet was handled by Pixelator on our roll call, it was very fun to chat with people in person and compare cruise notes. My husband and I were impressed at the turnout of cruise personnel who came to the event. We had some great people on our cruise which helped make it so fun!

Disembarkation was really a breeze, we had a 8 am time and walked right off the ship, grabbed our bags, and were out the door in no time. We had hired a private rainforest/luquillo beach tour through Legends of Puerto Rico and we had a fabulous time, they were so kind and emailed us the next day as well to make sure we had a good time and if we needed any further information on Puerto Rico for the rest of our stay. I highly recommend them! We stayed post-cruise at the Hotel El Convento which was beautiful and had a great location. We took the Segway tour the following day and it was really fun, I think it helped the kids to really enjoy a tour of Old San Juan.

I will comment in more detail of our post cruise stay/ restaurants, etc., on the San Juan board, unless anyone has questions.

One final note, I had bought my daughter and I the teenee baggallini mini wallet purses for our cruise cards and they worked out great, very small but big enough for lipstick, etc., and hands-free card carrying that was a tad more stylish than the neck wallets. Our cards were never de-magnetized by the clasp.

I am happy to answer any questions that I can! It was a great trip!

[Clutterlady]

Sounds like you and your family had a fantastic time! Thank you for the review:)

[Sea42]

It sounds like you and your family had a wonderful time! Thank you for the information on the Dominica and Bonaire tours. We're booked with the same companies for our Jan. 31st cruise.

Do you remember about what time the tours ended and were there any concerns about being back on the ship on time? We are doing the Treasures tour also and I was wondering what you wore for this tour? Did the hike to the waterfall require long pants? Did you wear your swimsuits under your clothes to swim through the gorge? I'm just not sure what would be the best way to dress for this tour.

Sorry but I just have to say that we've kind of enjoyed the last 2 Viking games:D

[vikqueen]

Carol, despite your last comment I will answer your questions ;)! The Levi tour ended I believe around 3:30, others on the tour continued on to go snorkeling at the Champagne reef and did make it back to the ship on time! We wore our swimsuits with t shirts and shorts or coverups (not long dressy ones!) There was a safe place for us to leave our clothes and other stuff while we went swimming in the gorge. We did bring along towels from the ship as well. You do not need or would not want long pants for this tour. Please do not wear flip flops, the climb especially around the falls is rocky, slippery, and you will want more stable shoes like tevas or keen sandals. The gorge was cold, but we got used to it very quickly! We did soak in the warm waters around Trafalgar falls, too. Levi was a great driver, I think you will really enjoy this tour! For Bonaire you just have a short couple of blocks to walk over to the boat, just wear your suit and a coverup and whatever shoes you want. They have a professional photographer on the tour as well as the guides, we bought her cd of the trip and believe me, it was money well spent, her pictures are amazing!

[Sea42]

Very good of you to ignore my snarky side!

Thanks for the clothing info! That helps quite a bit!

Did you visit the Wotten Waven Sulfur Springs on your tour with Levi? How did it work with the people who were doing the Champagne Reef? Were you taken back to ship first or were they dropped off at the reef and then you were taken back to the ship?

Can you tell me how much the picture cd was on the Bonaire tour?

[vikqueen]

Carol,

I'm not ignoring your snarky side, I love people with snarky sides! I believe the CD was $30, but I honestly am not sure now. I think that is correct, it is no more than that for sure. I know it is pricey, but the quality of her pics vs ours on an incredible trip really made it worthwhile to me. The disc included pictures of everyone snorkeling as well. We did not visit the Wotten Sulfur Springs, there is a series of "pools" of very warm (think hot tub) water that we soaked in below Trafalgar falls, but I know he offers a variety of tours that include different things. We had two vans, one van went back to the ship and the other continued on to the Champagne snorkeling. If it hadn't worked out that way he was going to drop off people at the ship and then continue on to the snorkeling. Honestly, we had a full day by then and were ready to return to the ship, but I hear the snorkeling there is great.

[DrivesLikeMario]

Lynn, it is so funny that you posted this! I was just thinking of writing a mini-review too. It was so nice meeting you, your family and everyone else at the M&G. Wish I had more time to talk to everyone there.

 

I wasn't that impressed with Levi's tour itself. I thought it was poorly organized and we spent SO much time just sitting and waiting for the rest of the group. This could partially be our fault because we like to get the lead out and see things quickly. The roads were incredible in Dominica!! OMG they were bad! I can't imagine them being worse in Grenada because everywhere we went, we had double-laned PAVED roads! Guess we didn't get as far off the beaten track as you all did.

 

Glad the VS & BB cabins worked out well for you guys. We should've hooked up for a heated game of Scrabble, as we were playing it too! If I get around to it, I'll post a brief review and you can compare notes.

[cynbar]

I must say , this review was really a pleasure to read, so happy and with so many great details ! I do have a question, however ---- which suite were you in ? And did your kids share with you, or did you get them a separate cabin? We're trying to figure out what the best space allocation would be.....

[sunsetbeachgal]

VikQueen,

 

I really enjoyed reading your review...thank you!

[Sea42]

 

I wasn't that impressed with Levi's tour itself. I thought it was poorly organized and we spent SO much time just sitting and waiting for the rest of the group. This could partially be our fault because we like to get the lead out and see things quickly.

 

I think this is going to be an issue whenever you go on a tour with other people. Someone is always going to be the first one done. I guess the only way to avoid it is to hire a private guide just for yourselves.

How many people were in your groups? Did they wait for both vans to be ready before heading to the next stop?

[Colo Cruiser]

Lynn, it is so funny that you posted this! I was just thinking of writing a mini-review too. It was so nice meeting you, your family and everyone else at the M&G. Wish I had more time to talk to everyone there.

 

I wasn't that impressed with Levi's tour itself. I thought it was poorly organized and we spent SO much time just sitting and waiting for the rest of the group. This could partially be our fault because we like to get the lead out and see things quickly. The roads were incredible in Dominica!! OMG they were bad! I can't imagine them being worse in Grenada because everywhere we went, we had double-laned PAVED roads! Guess we didn't get as far off the beaten track as you all did.

 

Glad the VS & BB cabins worked out well for you guys. We should've hooked up for a heated game of Scrabble, as we were playing it too! If I get around to it, I'll post a brief review and you can compare notes.

 

Oh please by all means do give us your views too!! :D

The more reviews the better.

[vikqueen]

Mario, I can't wait to read your review! Its funny how everyone experiences things differently, we were probably the ones lagging behind in the pools that you were waiting for, sorry! I wish we had met up for a Scrabble face off, your family was so nice and fun!

Cynbar, we were in the Vista Suite, #733, and our kids were next door in #735, a bb balcony. We originally had them up the hall in an obstructed room, but there was a price drop and we grabbed it. I loved the arrangement because we were able to open the door between balconies and could go back and forth between rooms at will. (We never had a problem with it closing, either). We had an extra card key for each room in the opposite room in case we ever got locked out. The balconies were big, roomy and comfy. We really hung out on the Vista balcony the whole time. My kids are so big now that I couldn't think of getting all four of us in our room to sleep, but while we were awake we hung out in our room almost the whole time so if your kids are younger I think a vista would be plenty of space, but ask Mario, she really knows her stuff!

[champtaylor]

I am a relatively new user of this message board. What doe CB refer to?

Thank you

[vikqueen]

CB is Caribbean Princess, I really should have written that in the title instead because many people don't know the abbreviations and it isn't apparent, I am sorry!

[Colo Cruiser]

I am a relatively new user of this message board. What doe CB refer to?

Thank you

 

If the letter combo looks goofy its because CP is used by another Princess ship already.

[JustinPlusLauren]

Thank you so much for the review, sounds like you had an amazing time! I was happy to re-live this cruise through your postings, as this is the same cruise we took last December!

[DrivesLikeMario]

I think this is going to be an issue whenever you go on a tour with other people. Someone is always going to be the first one done. I guess the only way to avoid it is to hire a private guide just for yourselves.

How many people were in your groups? Did they wait for both vans to be ready before heading to the next stop?

 

Yes, you're right about that. ;) We were discussing the same thing as we waited and waited and waited. It was a learning lesson for us. I think there were about 20 people total in our group with 2 vans. Does that sound about right, Vikqueen? Our van had to wait for the slower people in the other van because we had the cooler with drinks in it. Once we unloaded that, we were able to go on our merry way, but it was at the end of the tour.

[DrivesLikeMario]

Mario, I can't wait to read your review! Its funny how everyone experiences things differently, we were probably the ones lagging behind in the pools that you were waiting for, sorry! I wish we had met up for a Scrabble face off, your family was so nice and fun!

Cynbar, we were in the Vista Suite, #733, and our kids were next door in #735, a bb balcony. We originally had them up the hall in an obstructed room, but there was a price drop and we grabbed it. I loved the arrangement because we were able to open the door between balconies and could go back and forth between rooms at will. (We never had a problem with it closing, either). We had an extra card key for each room in the opposite room in case we ever got locked out. The balconies were big, roomy and comfy. We really hung out on the Vista balcony the whole time. My kids are so big now that I couldn't think of getting all four of us in our room to sleep, but while we were awake we hung out in our room almost the whole time so if your kids are younger I think a vista would be plenty of space, but ask Mario, she really knows her stuff!

 

You are too nice, Vikqueen! :) We had a VS when our sons were younger - I think they were 9 & 11 and it worked out great. I totally agree with Vikqueen though - once they get older it is SO much nicer to have 2 cabins. ;) I'm not sure who exactly we were waiting for at Trafalgar Falls. I just wish they had unloaded that darn cooler so we could get the lead out! lol

[Pixelator]

Hi Lynn!

Great to read your review! I love Cruise Critic for allowing us to enjoy our week's cruise BEFORE and AFTER the cruise too! And your review adds to my week's fun on the same cruise!

 

I'm sorry i only got to meet some of the roll call at the first meetup before sailaway at Outriggers - I felt kinda bad missing the main Meet and Greet since I set it up with Princess, but when i found out we were selected for the Ultimate Ship's Tour and it conflicted with our Meet and Greet, I trusted that the group would understand my missing it to see the UST. There were only 7 of us on the UST though 9 had been chosen - some folks wondered why two would not show up but now it makes sense - surely you wouldn't want to do it without your family!

 

I'm still working on my photos (post-processing and uploading to website) and will write a review shortly, i hope. What a great week's cruise, after a snowy mess getting out of the Washington DC area!

 

Thanks for your review, and glad you are home safe from travels! Happy New Year!

 

Bob

[Sea42]

Yes, you're right about that. ;) We were discussing the same thing as we waited and waited and waited. It was a learning lesson for us. I think there were about 20 people total in our group with 2 vans. Does that sound about right, Vikqueen? Our van had to wait for the slower people in the other van because we had the cooler with drinks in it. Once we unloaded that, we were able to go on our merry way, but it was at the end of the tour.

Did you at least get to have a cold beverage while waiting?

[vikqueen]

Pixelator, just to be clear, we called immediately to cancel so Princess could have added another couple in our place for the tour. I would love to hear your review of it, it really sounds great! My husband was especially impressed with the turnout from the CB staff, and we learned that many are "lurkers" to cruise critic, so be sure to offer opinions and suggestions everyone! We heard the reason for your absence, Pixelator, and everyone understood completely! Perhaps they should've had two coolers on the Dominica tour, and maybe the cooler was the reason I was more comfortable driving in Dominica than in Grenada! I have pics but I don't know how to post them to my review, but I would highly recommend a southern Caribbean tour to anyone!

[DrivesLikeMario]

Did you at least get to have a cold beverage while waiting?

 

LOL Yes. ;) Maybe I should've had a beer. Then it wouldn't have mattered how long it took for everyone to get there! :D

 

I so agree, Vikqueen. I would book this cruise again in a heartbeat!