Post-Caribbean Princess Report - 04/23/05 Sailing

[dakotajeanmarie]

Here is my summary of our cruise from the perspective of first-time cruisers (DH is 48 years old and I’m 42).

 

 

 

Packing:

 

I didn’t over pack….too much, but I would take less the next time. Think mix and match with clothes and take fewer shoes. I took 6 pairs, but could have easily survived with 4.

 

 

 

Getting to and Staying in Ft.Lauderdale:

 

We flew from Washington, DC-Dulles Airport to Ft. Lauderdale on Friday, April 22nd to eliminate any possibility of missing the ship’s sailing. We stayed at the Hampton Inn-Airport North which is only about 10 minutes from the airport. This Hampton Inn offers free shuttle service from the airport to the hotel (and from the hotel to the pier). When we checked into the hotel, we immediately signed up for the shuttle service to the pier. Don’t wait to sign up in the morning because the shuttles may be full by then.

 

 

 

Restaurant choices within walking distance of the Hampton Inn aren’t plentiful. There is a strip mall directly across the street from the hotel with a few choices -- Chinese, sandwiches, Wendy’s, Dunkin Donuts, and a couple others. This strip mall also has a liquor and grocery store. There is a German restaurant about a block away from the strip mall. The hotel recommended Rendezvous, a small, casual restaurant by the water that is very reasonably priced. The hotel provided free shuttle service to and from the restaurant.

 

 

 

Embarkation:

 

We left the hotel around 1:30 p.m. and were dropped off at the pier by 1:45 p.m. We dropped off our luggage (except for our carry on bags) and proceeded to the embarkation line. The entire process was smooth and went quickly. We were on board in about 20 minutes. The ship sailed a little over an hour late due to late arriving passengers. A few people actually missed the departure and had to catch up on day 3 in St. Thomas :-(

 

 

 

Stateroom:

 

Our balcony stateroom (port side) was located on Deck 11 -- Baja 620 aft. We LOVED the balcony. We kept the balcony door open every night and fell to sleep with the sound of the waves. Our stateroom steward, Henry, provided excellent service. He was never intrusive and kept our room looking great. We gave Henry $20 when we first met him and an extra gratuity at the end of the cruise.

 

 

 

Food:

 

You will NOT go hungry on this cruise. Overall, I thought the food was good. My DH and I really enjoyed the buffets in the Horizon Court and Café Caribe. You could always find something you liked. The pizza, hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken sandwiches offered by the pool and movie screen on Deck 15 was decent.

 

 

 

For dinner, we chose the Traditional Dining option – first seating. My DH is a picky eater and had some trouble with the dinner menu on some nights. One night we opted for the Horizon Court dinner buffet so my DH could find something he liked. Our waiter and assistant waiter, Radu and Antonio, were awesome. We tipped them extra at the end of the cruise also. On our next cruise, I’m not sure if I would choose Traditional Dining. Or I may select the second seating. We seemed a little rushed on most days to get to the first seating and 6:00. However, the first seating made it easier to go to see the evening’s entertainment. Maybe we will try Personal Choice dining next time. However, I would make a reservation at the same time every night.

 

 

 

We bought the soda card ($27.95 plus gratuity) that came with a souvenir coke container. For us the soda card was worth it. It’s $1 (plus gratuity) for a small fountain soda and $1.50 (plus gratuity) for a can. You can also get large sodas. You can only get fountain soda with the card.

 

 

 

Be cautious of some servers in the bar areas trying to get you to buy the medium or large alcoholic drinks. They fail to mention that there is a “small” option which is the price listed on the drink menu. We noticed this especially in the Explorer’s Lounge.

 

 

 

Entertainment:

 

At night we stuck with the shows featuring the comedians and enjoyed their performances. I got dragged on stage (unwillingly) during one performance so beware! Most of the comedians performed in the Explorer’s Lounge (one show was in the Princess Theater). One word of advice…the Explorer’s Lounge isn’t large, so go early (about 45 minutes before show time) or you will not get a seat. We also went to Princess’ version of the Newlywed Game. It was supposed to be rated PG-13, but seemed inappropriate for children. We also hit the casinos (day and night).

 

 

 

During the day we went to bingo, the mock-horse races, a financial seminar, a food demo by the Caribbean Princess’ executive chef and others, toured the galley, and explored the boutiques. We also explored every inch of the ship.

 

 

 

Ports of Call:

 

We got off the ship at St. Thomas and St. Maarten. The weather was in the high 80s and very humid at both ports. We took the sightseeing tours offered by Princess. The tour of St. Thomas was o.k., but nothing spectacular. We had been to St. Thomas before so maybe that took an edge off of our excitement. At the end of the tour we stayed in Charlotte Amalie and shopped. If you want to buy liquor, shop the prices. The same item varies in price from store to store. We were told it was about 2-1/2 miles from downtown back to the cruise ship, so we took a taxi back. It was $3 per person. We enjoyed our tour of St. Maarten (Dutch side) and St. Martin (French side) much more. For Heineken beer lovers, you can buy a mini-bottle (8 ounces) for $1! – even at the McDonald’s. In some stores, you can buy the beer unchilled so you can enjoy it later in your stateroom. Just ask your steward for a bottle opener. We walked back to the ship from Philipsburg. It took about 20 minutes. Since my DH and I aren’t big water sports/beach enthusiasts, we didn’t get off at Princess Cays. We spent part of the day at the pool (you could easily get a lounge chair right by the pool) and watched movies.

 

 

 

Other:

 

Even though there were over 3,100 passengers on board, the ship never felt crowded. We didn’t experience any problems with kids either.

 

 

 

Disembarkation:

 

Disembarkation began around 8:40 a.m. on Deck 5 – midship. We hung out on Deck 6 and could watch the disembarkation below. We were scheduled to disembark about in the middle of all the groups. Our designated color was called about 9:40 a.m. We hit the taxi stand around 10 a.m. and took a $10 (before tip) to the Ft. Lauderdale airport.

 

 

 

Final Grade:

 

We went into our first cruise with realistic expectations and a relaxed, flexible attitude. We weren’t disappointed. We give the Caribbean Princess an A. It won’t be our last cruise and we expect to cruise Princess again!

[britneyangel]

Thanks for the review. I am thinking sailing on this ship in the future. I'm glad to hear you will be sailing Princess again. I love them!

[Ziggy7]

Thanks for sharing your cruise and review with us :)

[Sestrong821]

Hi Dakotajeanmarie~

 

I am going on the Caribbean Princess in September and flying out of Regan National to Ft Lauderdale. Did you notice any difficult upon arrival to Ft. Lauderdale airport? I have heard different info from different people. We will also be flying in the night before and then be transfer to the pier.

 

I am glad to hear you had a great time. This will be my first cruise on Princess and I am excited to sail on her being that I've only experienced Carnival so far. Don't get me wrong, Carnival is great too in my opinion, however, I have nothing to compare it to yet.

 

Thank you for the review and welcome home.

 

Shelly

[DonicaB]

Hi!

 

One quick question concerning the Cafe Caribe on the CP. What night is the Seafood Buffet? Only 12 more days to go! :)

 

Thanks so much!

Donica

[Discount-Eyewear]

Sounds great!!! In like 3.5 weeks for my second voayge on board the CP. I made sure I booked when Bert was back from vacation, make sure next time you go on he is on. He will make the cruise even better!!

[cruisencouple]

I was on that cruise as well. There were nine in our party and we had a great time. We are in our mid to late 20. Our steward was alfonso and he was great he organized my shoes for me each day that was big points for me! We spent alot of time in Club Fusion my friends were in Princess Idol and we thought that was fun. My advice is NOT to take a red eye into ft. Lauderdale we did and ended up spending 4 1/2 hrs in the lobby of the airport. It was horrible. Pay the extra money and go a day earlier. This was my first cruise and I loved everything about it. We are already talking about our next cruise. I really miss being on the ship. I hope all you future cruiser enjoy it as much as we did. I give the CP an A+

[dakotajeanmarie]

Hi Shelly,

 

We didn't have any trouble at the Ft. Lauderdale airport. We took a 4:30 p.m. flight out of Dulles and arrived in Ft. Lauderdale about 6:45 p.m. The airport didn't seem too crazy even for a Friday. I wonder if the people who experienced trouble flew in on a Saturday. I bet it's a zoo at the airport then. I would always fly out the day before. Enjoy your cruise!!!

 

Jean

[dakotajeanmarie]

Hi Donica,

 

I can't remember the exact night of the Seafood buffet. We chose traditional dining so we never ate dinner in the Caribe Cafe. However, I think the Seafood buffet night was somewhere in the middle of our cruise. I hope you aren't stressing out over packing! Enjoy.

 

Jean

[AliceJ]

Hi!

 

One quick question concerning the Cafe Caribe on the CP. What night is the Seafood Buffet? Only 12 more days to go! :)

 

Thanks so much!

Donica

 

We're just off the CB as well. The seafood buffet in Cafe Caribe as the first night. Lots and lots of lobster claws, crab legs, shrimp. I'm sure there was much more, but I never made it past those!!!

 

Happy sailing!!

 

Alice

[CruiseFever]

Thanks for taking the time to tell of your sailing!

[cdncruiser09]

Hey Guys!

 

 

We were also on the April 23-30th sailing... (dakotajeanmarie) which show did you get pulled on stage? Rick Novell in the princess theatre? and we were also at all the comedy shows and TOTALLY agree to get there atleast 45 min before the show starts because it was always VERY crowed and hard to find seats but all the comedians were GREAT and really enjoyed them..we were a party or two in our mid 20's..

 

 

:D Chris

[laurashelby]

Hi Jean..thanks for your great review! How was the Hampton Inn? We're investigating hotels for our pre-cruise one night stay and that's one we're considering. How was their shuttle service....I see you left the hotel at 1:30...was that the first shuttle?

thanks,

Laura :)

[dakotajeanmarie]

Chris,

 

I got pulled on stage during the first show of the comedic/juggler Rick Novel in the Princess Theater. If I could have found a trap door, I would have used it. I hate being in the public eye. At least I didn't drop the bowling pins!

 

Jean

[cdncruiser09]

Hi Jean!

 

Yea I totally remember, you did great I also totally hate being the center of attention too :)

 

Chris

[roe2ship]

Thanks for posting your review, sounds like you had a great time. Just wondering, you indicated you paid 27.95 for the soda card with the cup, anybody know if the price increased? Last July the price was 22.50 with the cup.Thanks

[dakotajeanmarie]

Laura,

 

We were very pleased with the Hampton Inn Airport North location. I wouldn't hesitate to stay there again. We checked into the hotel close to 7:30 p.m. and that's when I asked to get on the list for the free shuttle to the pier. The hotel staff asked me what ship I was sailing on and I said the Caribbean Princess. She then looked at several clip boards and picked one up. I think they group people by the cruise ship and assign times for departure. Only two hotel shuttles were making the round trip from the hotel to the pier. If you have a reservation at the hotel, I suppose you could call before you get there and get on the list. They may have an earlier shuttles and when we got there only the later ones were available.

[laurashelby]

Thanks Jean! Did you happen to notice if they had a nice pool area? We'll be getting there early afternoon and I'm sure the kids would love to swim.

 

Laura :)

[dakotajeanmarie]

Laura,

 

The kids will love the pool on the Lido Deck 15 where the Movies Under the Stars screen is located. You can sit by the pool and watch movies all day long. I can't remember the exact name of this pool.

 

Jean