Just back from the Caribbean Princess 8/13/11

[KCL214]

We got home yesterday from our Caribbean Princess cruise to Canada/New England. This was our first cruise on Princess. The last two summers we cruised on Disney and did not think there was any way this cruise line could compare. Well, we were wrong. Princess was fantastic and totally won us over. We still love Disney, but we would not hesitate to cruise Princess again, (especially since the price is so much less!)

 

We live in New Jersey and chose this cruise mostly because it left from New York and we did not have the expense of air fare. Leaving from Brooklyn was a breeze. We arrived at the terminal at 11 and we were on the ship having lunch by 12:30. The Ship was beautiful and very clean. We had an inside cabin, and while it is not the best, we found it fine for our family of four. We were on Deck 5, which is where the atrium is located and the International Cafe. This was so convenient, and we spent a lot of time relaxing with a coffee in the Piazza.

 

I think the thing that really won us over was the Cruise Director's staff, who we all found to be very friendly and funny. We love trivia and nightly game shows, the staff on the ship were so funny and engaging, they made all of these things very fun. They also had a great comedian at the beginning of the cruise. However, the comedian the second half of the cruise was one of the worst I have ever seen, it was embarassing for him. Also, the large theater productions were lacking, this is one place that Disney is way ahead. Also, the comedy team Alfred and Seymour, who we had enjoyed on our Disney cruises, were on the Ship on the first night, but had to leave the Ship for some unknown reason, this was a disappointment to us.

 

I could go on, but I see this is already very long. We did enjoy all the Ports. The food was overall great, we had early seating and the service was wonderfu. If anyone has any questions I would be happy to answer them. I hope everyone who is going on this cruise in the next few weeks has a great time and I highly recommend Princess Cruise Lines. Karyn

[TracieABD]

Glad that you had a great first experience on Princess!:)

[srpilo]

Sounds like a great time

 

 

 

Welcome home

Srpilo

[karatemom2]

We started with Disney, but had a similar revelation when we tried Princess. We found we loved it even more. I do agree about the production shows. Disney cannot be topped in that department!

[seahorse]

Can you please tell me if the dining room was open for lunch on port days.

 

Thank You:)

[geoherb]

Thanks for posting your review. We loved our cruise on the Grand Princess to New England/Canada. I'd love to do another one when DH retires in a few years. We haven't had an inside cabin on the Plaza Deck, but we have had outside ones and loved the convenience.

[cruzinwithprincess]

Thank you for your review. Please post in the Member Reviews also.

[KCL214]

Seahorse, the dining room was open from 12-1:30 for lunch on port days.

[chris2597]

Who was your Cruise Director?

Did you take any excursions while in port? Any recommendations?

 

 

We got home yesterday from our Caribbean Princess cruise to Canada/New England. This was our first cruise on Princess. The last two summers we cruised on Disney and did not think there was any way this cruise line could compare. Well, we were wrong. Princess was fantastic and totally won us over. We still love Disney, but we would not hesitate to cruise Princess again, (especially since the price is so much less!)

 

We live in New Jersey and chose this cruise mostly because it left from New York and we did not have the expense of air fare. Leaving from Brooklyn was a breeze. We arrived at the terminal at 11 and we were on the ship having lunch by 12:30. The Ship was beautiful and very clean. We had an inside cabin, and while it is not the best, we found it fine for our family of four. We were on Deck 5, which is where the atrium is located and the International Cafe. This was so convenient, and we spent a lot of time relaxing with a coffee in the Piazza.

 

I think the thing that really won us over was the Cruise Director's staff, who we all found to be very friendly and funny. We love trivia and nightly game shows, the staff on the ship were so funny and engaging, they made all of these things very fun. They also had a great comedian at the beginning of the cruise. However, the comedian the second half of the cruise was one of the worst I have ever seen, it was embarassing for him. Also, the large theater productions were lacking, this is one place that Disney is way ahead. Also, the comedy team Alfred and Seymour, who we had enjoyed on our Disney cruises, were on the Ship on the first night, but had to leave the Ship for some unknown reason, this was a disappointment to us.

 

I could go on, but I see this is already very long. We did enjoy all the Ports. The food was overall great, we had early seating and the service was wonderfu. If anyone has any questions I would be happy to answer them. I hope everyone who is going on this cruise in the next few weeks has a great time and I highly recommend Princess Cruise Lines. Karyn

[KCL214]

Neil Roberts was the Cruise Director. We did not see much of him, but we really liked the Deputy Cruise Director Fernando and we found the other members of the staff to be particularly funny and entertaining.

 

For the Ports, in Halifax we did a four hour private tour of the City and Peggy's Cove with Your Cab Tours. This was great and I would highly recommend the Tour company and seeing Peggy's Cove.

 

In St. John we were going to walk to the Market but as we were walking we came upon a two hour narrated bus tour that is run by the City. It was $20 per person and $5 for children under 16. This turned out to be a great idea as we got to see the City and Reversing Falls. After this we walked around briefly. There really isn't much to do in St. John.

 

In Bar Harbor we did a four hour private tour with Mary of At Your Service Taxi Company. We went all around Acadia National Park and then she gave us a short tour of the town. Acadia was stunning and I highly recommend this company for a tour as well. We then had lunch at West Street Cafe about a block fron the ship's tender, lobster rolls, chowder and blueberry pie - amazing!!

 

In Boston we split up, my daughter and I did the ship's tour of Historic Boston and Cambridge. I would not recommend this tour and it confirmed for me that it is worth it to do the extra research and do things on your own. The Ship ran a shuttle to Quincy Market for $15.00, which probably would have been better than the tour. For some reason this is the Port with the most to do and we stayed there the shortest amount of time.

 

My husband and my other daughter did the ship tour of Fenway Park, which they enjoyed and say they would recommend.

 

In Newport we tendered to the town and shopped in the area right near the tender area. This was not great, mostly t-shirt shops and we did not stay long. We should have toured a mansion, but it was a Port intensive trip and I didn't want to overdose my family on tours.

[seahorse]

Seahorse, the dining room was open from 12-1:30 for lunch on port days.

Thank you..........I may not be able to get off in some ports and I have to eat in the dining room....so that is good news:D

[chris2597]

KCL,

Thank you for the info. I think we will most likely do the shuttle to the market in Boston and walk around a bit on our own. We plan to do the mansions and Cliffwalk in Newport. We are doing Ollie Trolley for a tour to Acadia and a ships tour in Halifax to Peggy's cove. The private tours in Halifax are full so we had to go with the ships tour, which we normally dont do.

We have sailed with Neal Roberts before and we found that he didnt engage with the passengers much at all. Oh well, I guess he has his own style. It is good to hear that his staff is good.

What was the type of dress for Formal Nights? I was expecting the Formal Nights to be fairly formal but have read that isnt the case since the cruise is so port intensive.

[julia]

So glad you enjoyed your cruise! :) We have also used "Your Cabs" in Halifax.... by any chance did you have Jonathon as your guide?

[KCL214]

Julia, we had Jonathan's wife Joy who was filling in for a driver who called in with an emergency. She was not really a "tour guide", but she showed us everything and gave us lots of information, so we did not feel we were missing anything. She and Jonathan are both such friendly and warm people, we enjoyed spending the day with her.

 

Chris, I think the shuttle is the way to go in Boston, it seemed like there was a lot to do within walking distance of the shuttle stop. We found a large range of dress on formal night, everything from tuxes to button down shirts with no ties or jackets. However, a majority of the people were at least somewhat dressed up in suits and cocktail dresses. Have fun, Karyn

[FloFoley]

So glad you had a nice time. I will be going on this cruise with my mom and my sisters this Sat. This is also our first cruise on Princess. Looking forward to it. Can you tell me when the formal nights were. Thanks for your help.

[nycruise]

KCL214: "We then had lunch at West Street Cafe about a block fron the ship's tender, lobster rolls, chowder and blueberry pie - amazing!!"

 

We were on the 9 day Caribbean Princess cruise last month and also had lunch at the West Street Cafe and agree it was a great lunch, we ate the same menu as you and since it was a nice day we sat in the outdoor cafe.

 

Regarding Boston we took the ship's tour of Boston, Harvard, Lexington and Concord. Full day tour and highly recommend it.

 

Agree with you about the Cruise Director and his assistant, we had the same reaction.

 

Glad you enjoyed your cruise, we had a great time also, Princess was and is our favorite line.

[southpawsdakota]

I agree that the hop on hop off trolley is a great way to go. I did this last Nov. on my first trip to Boston and will be on the New England/Canada cruise 9/3. I have walking difficulties so it is a great way to ride the trolley and get off where you might want to. I got on again for the last run of the day and the nice driver dropped me right off in front of my hotel! Enjoy I can't wait to go back. Does anyone know if taking a cab from the port to Quincy Market is cheaper than the Princess transportation?

[stipmom]

What was your cabin number.?Was it noisy?

[KCL214]

FloFoley, formal night was Sunday, the day at sea and semi-formal was Thursday, the day we were in Boston.

 

Stipmom, we were in Cabin P236 and we literally never heard a noise the entire week.

 

Nycruise, the all day tour was probably much better than the half day we did. I knew we wouldn't get to see much, but it was ridiculous how quickly we went past the sights and then they gave us a 40 minute break at a non-descript office building across from Harvard. It felt like really poor planning.

 

Southpawsdakota, I did not price the cabs in Boston, but I cant believe they would be that expensive, the pier is not that far from the Downtown area.

[rdmurray]

You can also get downtown by taking public transportation. MBTA Silver line has a stop right near the terminal. The bus will take you to South Station and from there you can transfer to the Redline and go to Park Street which is on the Boston Common. Total trip price should be at least ten dollars less than the shuttle. Depending on the traffic, the trip may be shorter. And the Silver Line is pretty cool. On the way back make sure you take the SL2 bus.

 

From Park Street you will be in the middle of downtown Boston. There are many places you can explore, and you can walk straight up Tremont Street, visit the cemeterys where Mother Goose, Ben Franklin and other really famous people are buried. See the ugliest building on earth, which is Boston City Hall. Depending on the day there may be a farmers market. You walk across city hall plaza, behind city hall, go down the stairs and you will be at Quincy market. The walk is maybe ten minutes, but not strenuous until you have to walk back up the stairs.

 

Trolley Tours are everywhere, and free maps are too.

[John Reid]

KCL214,

 

We were on the same cruise and had a great time. Agree that the cruise director, Neil Roberts, was underwhelming. We went to all the ship activities we could, especially trivia and games, and only saw him at the finals of Princess karaoke. Also agree that the others on staff carried the task admirably. Fernando was a scream; it's as if he studied under the late comedian Mitch Hedberg. We also enjoyed Veronica's approach.

 

We had a wonderful room steward, Cynthia, on Lido deck.

 

We had sailed Golden Princess previously, and we enjoy the basic Princess ship layout and public spaces.

 

Yes, the second comedian was embarrassingly awful. I understand that he was a late replacement for Alfred and Seymour, but he had a full day on ship to prepare and seemed to have done nothing. I laughed when he saw Fernando in the wings as he neared the end of his time and asked him how much of his scheduled 45 minutes was left. In Fernando's usual style, he told him 45 minutes to make him squirm. By the way, though I don't know the veracity, I overheard a conversation that stated that Alfred and Seymour were "bounced" from the ship.

 

We enjoyed the first hypnotist show. We found it funny.

 

Left one production show after a few minutes, but we returned for the "Piano Man" show and enjoyed most of that. The Liberace section was a bit much.

 

We walked around Halifax and Saint John. No thrills; a tour bus would have been better though we did see a very entertaining (injury free) fender-bender in Saint John. Definitely funnier than the comedian, Max Amini.

 

Bar Harbor was fantastic. We walked around town, having been there 40 years ago. We also took Olli's Trolley. We chose the 2 1/2 hour tour. Well worth the $25 dollars. The traffic on the park roads was unbelievable; our driver said it was the worst he had ever seen. It had rained for two previous days, and everyone came out on that beautiful day. We also stopped for lunch at the West St. Cafe. My wife loved her lobster roll, chowder, and pie. I have a personal theory about food. If the Maker wanted us to eat seafoods like lobster/clams/ etc., why did he hide them under water, give them impenetrable shells, and give them painful defense mechanisms? I just had the pie and ice cream. Very good and it doesn't fight back!

 

I've been to Boston over 20 times, so we just went to the Copley Square area to meet our son for lunch. Recommend taking the Silver line S-2 bus to South Station Red line. We connected with the Green Line two stops after that. $2.00 each way is a real bargain. Just don't accidentally leave the station confines before making your transfer.

 

In Newport, we took the 67 bus from the visitor center to the mansions. Easy and $2.00 each way. An all day pass is available. The tender through the harbor with all its sailboats is entertaining in itself. On sailaway, we saw the Mirabella V, the largest single-mast sailboat ever. Astounding. The mast was 8 feet short of a football field in height.

 

For those driving, dropping luggage and parking could not be easier. I wish Princess had more choices out of Brooklyn.

 

P.S. - For a ship, astoundingly good pizza.

[KCL214]

I can't believe I forgot to mention the pizza! Some of the best I have ever had. My brother in law ate a pie a day.

 

Max Amini may have been a substitute, but a comedian should have some "act" that he is ready to do. How did he ever get hired by Princess? My husband said it would have been better to have Fernando do a half hour show than to bother with bringing that guy on board. The first comedian, Rollin Jay Moore was hysterical, we saw him the first night and then caught the end of his show the second night and he was just as funny with mostly new material.

 

We also attended many of the ship's event including trivia, so we probably crossed paths with you often.

[John Reid]

I can't believe I forgot to mention the pizza! Some of the best I have ever had. My brother in law ate a pie a day.

 

Max Amini may have been a substitute, but a comedian should have some "act" that he is ready to do. How did he ever get hired by Princess? My husband said it would have been better to have Fernando do a half hour show than to bother with bringing that guy on board. The first comedian, Rollin Jay Moore was hysterical, we saw him the first night and then caught the end of his show the second night and he was just as funny with mostly new material.

 

We also attended many of the ship's event including trivia, so we probably crossed paths with you often.

 

We said the same thing! Fernando improvising would have been a stitch. We were "pinned in" in that little section just right of the stage. Otherwise we would have left. I told my wife that if we did so and he said something humorlessly insulting (which he was doing to guests), I would have answered back that we were in the wrong venue; we were looking for the comedian.

 

Maybe we exchanged scoresheets at trivia! I'll remember the Guinness Book of World Records next time the question is asked!

[RickEk]

We saw Alfred and Seymour last month on the Caribbean Princess. We caught their short act in the Piazza one day and made sure to see them for their full show in the Princess Theater. They were quite hilarious, but I can see where some small-minded folks might not like their brand of "in your face" humor. I certainly hope they didn't get "bumped" from the ship. :(

[KCL214]

Alfred and Seymour seemed very popular with the passengers. Their first show went over very well and people we talked to seemed to enjoy them. We ran into Seymour in the hall one day and he didn't have any voice, so we thought maybe they left because he was sick. My daughters were very disappointed, we have seen them on two other cruises and they think they are hysterical.