Extensive Carib Princess Review 4/9-4/16

[Bustersmom]

Thanks to all board members who helped me enormously with my cruise. All the tips and help I got was just wonderful and want to return the favor! Flew from Upstate New york to Ft Lauderdale friday before the cruise. Flew Jet Blue for the first time and after all the great things I had heard about them, I found them to be about the same as everyone else. Seats nice with TV in them which makes the time go by. Stayed at the Renaissance Ft L as part of a precruise Princess pkg. Nice place, but never received any info when we checked in. On Sat morn got up early and she was in port! OMG! Towering over the entire terminal, we could see her from the window!! Told my husband that after all the reading I had done, we would not take the transfers from princess from hotel to ship, but take a taxi. He was concerned about dragging the luggage everywhere (and I was a newbie and not sure what really did happen to the luggage if you took a taxi so I let myself be talked into using the shuttle transfer!) HUGE MISTAKE! Went to front desk to ask about how to do this, wasn't I given a letter upon checkin? NO. Well luggage was to be outside your room at 10;00 am (it is now 10:30) so I co back up and out goes luggage. We are to meet Princess Rep in Lobby at 12 or 12:30. We go downstairs at noon and in she comes. Seems there are three Princess ships in port that day- Carib Princess, Regal and the Dawn. Very, very busy. The hotel has only one bell person to do all this luggage-they had sent two full size greyhound bus for all of us! I knew right then and there it was a disaster in the making. I could go on and on, about treking upstairs to identify the luggage, being onthe bus while the luggage is brought downstairs and put onthe bus etc. From noon until the time we got to the terminal which everyone knows is mins away, was almost 3pm!! I thought I would explode! THen the lines at the security and to check into were horrible. I had read on these boards that Princess has the embarkation process down to a science, NOT. We were inthe express check in line for Dophin deck and each and every line was just as long. We were in our cabin just in time for Muster. However, having said that, that is the last negative I have to report. Perhaps it was the time we got to the terminal?

 

The ship is just gorgeous beyond description. Clean, bright, like new. The only time I ever felt the number of people was getting on and getting off at the end. Room D509 Dolphin deck. Loved. loved the exposed balcony. Had worries initially but would do it again and again. Saw one person above us on leaving and that was it for the week. Cabin steward for nice and efficient. Made all reservations for specialty restaurants as soon as I finally got on board. Can be done thru concerige after 4:30pm. Made Sterling, Sabotinis and MUTS. Plus, anytime dining for the times I wanted, no problems! And thanks to cruise critics, ULTIMATE Balcony Dining.

 

Never had any problems finding seating at pools, yes chair hogs out in force but still so many places, so many chairs never ever an issue and I was out everyday.

 

MUTS: Just the best in my estimation. Too much fun to explain, watching movies, National Treasure and Shall we Dance under the stars! Tina Turner excellent also. Was not at that pool much during the day so did not pay attention to what was playing.

 

DINING: Thanks to all here, went to Caribe Cafe many times! Did bring clothes for both formal nights, but only did one. Saw all manner of dress, from ultimate formal to the people next to us in the Palm dining room, sundress and bermuda shorts! Did not bother me in the least and did not detract from my experience. It is everyones vacation after all! I decided to follow the "rules" just because I know so many people feel strongly about this, but I honestly think it is going to be a thing of the past soon.

Food was good-as someone else wrote here, if I do not have to cook, clean or serve, it is always good. Nothing exceptional, except our balcony meal which I will detail. Sabitinis very good, too much as everyone said, service great. Sterling was just ok, the service was great but nothing to write home about food wise I did not think. Just my opinion.

 

ULTIMATE DINING: So many people cannot imagine why anyone would spend 50/pp extra on a cruise. It was the standout experience of our trip. We arranged for 7pm on the night we were leaving St.Thomas which was our actual 30th anniversary. (We are in our early 50's) Perfection from the flower arrangements, wine, champagne appetizers, surf and turf and deserts. The service was absolutely the best ever, and they just waited outside and seemed to know when to come back and do the next course. No rushing, just enjoying the sea and the evening views. I cannot say enough about this, I guess you just had to be there. My husband was totally blown away! Any other questions anyone may have I would be happy to try and answer.

 

PORTS: Very nice, the usual jewerly stores etc. Did not excursions on this trip. Came back to ship early and enjoyed the solitude.

 

WEATHER: Beautiful every single day!

 

CASINO: Tightest slots we had ever seen initially, but by the middle of week, got better and we hit a few jackpots, I saw people winning somewhere every night.

 

SMOKING: My husband smokes an occassional cigar and had always enjoyed the balcony for this reason, but on this trip, he utililized the wonderful cigar bar Churchills, many nights, and it is right off the casino so very convenient. He actually never smoked on the balcony and I saw very little of that.

 

PRINCESS CAYS: Tender process very quick and very easy. The area is just gorgeous and so new. Lunch was great and we enjoyed the white sands.

 

SHOWS: Did not attend any shows as we really chose this ship for MUTS.

 

DISEMBARKING: We had Red Five as we had afternoon, 1pm flight. Ship was in Port before 7 and had clearance around 8 or 8:30 I think. We got called at 10am and were at airport by 11. It is still rather chaotic but you make it thru. Finding the luggage was fairly easy but getting a cab was alittle difficult but not bad. FLL Airport really does need to address the issues with this many passengers and cruise ships. It was truly a mess!! I had read that and now having experienced it I can't decide if it is any better than Miami or not???

 

Anyway, suffice it to say I would cruise Princess again and again and in particular this ship. Crew was exceptionally helpful and smiles all around. Yes, sometimes it is hard to understand but you figure it out. The size of the ship is intimidating initially, but after a few days you figure which elevators and stairs get you where you need to go and it just becomes habit.

 

Hope this has helped someone else. Probably forgot some stuff, but you get the idea right? WONDERFUL.

[mushroom]

Thanks for taking time to keep us informed. Based on a couple of your comments I am seriously thinking of spending the day of debarkation in Ft. Lauderdale rather than end my cruise in a hectic manner. Nothing brings you back to reality faster than pushing and shoving!

[gfromftlaud]

Agree 100% on the ultimate balcony dinner experience. It was the highlight of our Caribbean Princess cruise last November!

 

As a Fort Lauderdale resident, I agree that our Airport is tough on the weekends. I travel for my job 3-4 times a month and dread weekend flights. It is however, a better experience than leaving out of Miami. MIA I refuse to do.

 

On weekends I just plan early flights out, before the cruise passengers decend on the terminal. If you can spend an extra night in Ft. laud post cruise and book a morning flight that is the best option, in my opinion.

 

Best Regards,

Gary

[cruzinchris]

Great review! DH and I were on the CB the week of January 21. Loved it so much that we are going back next January.

 

We had Princess vouchers for transportation from airport to hotel, hotel to pier for embarkation, and pier to airport. When we learned that the Princess rep would not arrive at the hotel until 1PM with boarding commencing at 2:00, we decided to call for a taxi on the day of sailing. The whole purpose in flying down the day before was to get on the ship early! We were at Marriott North, which is about 20 minutes from the pier. Surely, the bus ride would have taken longer, and we probably wouldn't have gotten on the ship until 3:00. Our taxi arrived shortly after noon, and we were in our stateroom before 1:00. It was worth $30.

 

We didn't find the post-cruise airport scene too bad, but wading through the sea of luggage in the terminal was definitely a low point of our Caribbean Princess cruise. Next year, I plan to heed the suggestion by some to mark our bags with some kind of brightly colored ribbon for easier identification.

 

Glad you had a wonderful time and, again, thanks for the nice review.

Chris

[Dreamer333]

Thanks for the review!

 

I'm curious about the balcony dinner...

Did you have the same menu as in the dining room, or is there a specific "ultimate dining" menu, and if so, what were the choices?

 

Thanks!

[gfromftlaud]

The Balcony dinner is different than what is offered in the dinning rooms in certain respects. Pre-dinner cocktail, Appetizer was assorted canapes with a split of Champaigne, salad, assorted breads, main entree was a choice of filet mignon, lobster tail, or Both. We had both....the filet and Lobster were larger than that served in the dinning room or Sterlings. Quality was also better than what we had experienced elsewhere. Dessert was an assortment of mousse, dark chocolate, milk chocolate, and white chocolate, and coffee.

 

An amazing meal...way too much food. Everthing was "super-sized" but flawlessly prepared. Service was also incomparable to anything else on the Ship.

 

In addition you receive one free 8x10 photo taken on the balcony.

 

It is also a great option for one of the formal nights if you do not want to get dressed up. We did a casual balcony dinner. The servers were a bit confused at first, they thought we were behind schedule in getting ready. Once we told them we were taking it casual, they laughed, and said "we can see this is going to be a fun evening" The also said it was a nice change for them because most people take the dinner very seriously and it becomes very stressful for the servers. By the time the dinner was over all of us did a shot of tequila! they had fun too!

 

Best Regards,

Gary

[CruiseFever]

Thanks so much for taking the time to write your review!

[Dreamer333]

Thanks so much for the info, Gary!

 

The Balcony Dinner sounds wonderful! Do you mind a few more questions??

Did you have to make reservations right away? I heard they only do a few per night!

Did they take the photo before or after dinner?

You mentioned you did a shot of tequilla (you guys sound so fun!!)... Were you able to order shots and drinks... or did you already have tequilla in your room?

Did you have any problems when it got dark, or was the balcony lighting okay?

 

Thanks for the great review! You've gotten me excited about my upcoming cruise aboard the CB!!

[gfromftlaud]

make your reservations the minute you get to your cabin after boarding. They fill up fast. We were told they only do 4 Ultimate Blacony Dinners a night. Call to make the reservation, and they will send someone to your stateroom to make the arrangements. They arrived within 10 minutes. Be prepared to tell them what you want for your dinner at that time. Kind of odd to be ordering your pre-dinner cocktail days in advance...but we found it very funny.

 

Our photos were taking just after the appetizers. I think it varies depending on the night. Since we had ours on Formal night, the photogs were very busy.

 

We had the tequila in our room... :) With the dinner you receive one cocktail. But you can order more if you like. We also had a few bottles of wine that we had brought aboard. They were served without the corkage fee...

 

Blacony lighting was perfect! Our dinner was at 7:30, it was dark, but they set the tabel with candles. You can also have the balcony light on for a little extra lighting if needed.

 

Another note. We were traveling with another couple that had the stateroom next to us. We all had the balcony dinner at the same time with the balcony divider open. Fun time was had by all! But critical to reserve as soon as boarded to assure availablility at the same time.

 

We also chose to tip above the norm because the guys that served us were so much fun. They actually told me "i think we should tip you!"...Must have been the tequila talking!

 

Best Regards,

gary

[Bustersmom]

Yes, make the reservation as soon as you get on the ship. They gave me choices for everything over the phone and we ended up with surf and turf for the meal and it was the best meal of the week. Steak was awesome, the entire meal was delicious.

[lindy2]

Thanks for the review. We were also on CB on 4/9 and stayed at the Renaissance pre cruise. We had a totally different experience. We had the 11:00 shuttle and brought our luggage down at 10:45. Never heard anything about leaving it in hall. The shuttle left a little early and we were in line by 11:05. Embarkation was terrible. Doors opened at 11:30. We didn't get on board until 1:15. The platinum check in line was over 1/2 hour and there were only 3 people in front of us. Bad start but everything else was wonderful!

[jonj]

Do you have the patters from the cruise? I would love to see them. If you do can you fax them to me? Let me know and I will give you my fax number

[KurtMo]

Bustersmom,

What exactly do you do to reserve the ultimate balcony dinner? Are there time slots to pick from, or do they basically choose the time for you?

 

Leaving in about 4 weeks and want to do this for DW.

 

Thanks,

 

Kurt