A few questions about the Caribbean Princess

[Stimack]

Hello, this is my first posting to this form so I will apologize if these questions have been asked before. From my quick gander of the subjects I could not find answers to them.

 

1. Cabins on the Caribbean, normally on past cruises on Carnival we have had both inside and outside cabins. This time we are thinking about a balcony. It will cost a bit extra but both my wife and myself think it will be a nice change. Normally we go with family and/or friends but this time it will just be the two of us. In your opinions does it pay to get a room with a balcony?

 

2. We are looking to go on the Oct 1st cruise, which has me slightly nervous due to Cane season. Any folks here have a situation like this where changes had to be made, etc during the cruise?

 

3. I might be a little out in left field on this question; I am a beer drinker rather than wine. I enjoy what I would classify as better beers. Does any one know what the offerings are on the Caribbean Princess as well as cost?

 

4. In the past we have had the late seating for diner and have not enjoyed that part too much. What are the times for this ship?

[pamwinn]

I haven't sailed on the Caribbean Princess yet, but it's less than a week and I'll be there. I can answer your first question. Yes, a balcony is worth the extra money. There is one negative to this however. Many who book balconies are not able to go back to an inside or outside cabin. The experience is just too different. The balcony experience is wonderful.

[dawne577]

Beer-

Can tell you that they have Foster's, but don't really know the complete selection. The Foster's is a 750ml can (the volume of the average bottle of wine). We saw two different prices for this: $5.50 and $6.

 

Balcony stateroom-

These are larger than the ones we have seen on Carnival. You normally have two chairs, a table, and a chaise lounge. We'd vote for the balcony, but have been happy with inside as well (on the Disney).

[KAJOKG]

Yes, balcony cabin definitely worth it! On the Grand and Coral classes I definitely recommend the Caribe deck. Balconies on this deck are quite large and are half covered. We had on on the Caribbean Princess and loved it. We had 2 lounge chairs, a table and 2 side chairs and a foot stool with room left over. The cabins are the same prices as other balcony cabins on other decks....prices vary according to location. We were on the port side aft. Loved it. Can't answer your beer question.

[KAJOKG]

Forgot to answer your dinner question. We prefer Personal Choice dining. You can go for dinner any time you choose. No set time or set table. You can also choose traditional dining with set times and set tables and the times are pretty much the same as on other ships. These are in different dining rooms with the same menu.

[beckers]

I would definatly look into the Aft balcony cabins they are much bigger than the balconies on the side. But they are fully covered so you don't have the sun. You can hear the wake of the ship. Try for the corner ones, as they only have one neighbor. We had B748. Baja Deck. Some in the middle have a big beam in it. It was so quiet. You are at the end of the hallway no traffic. You have two full loungers, a table two regular chairs and, three little tables. We loved it and spent alot of time out there reading, napping and watching the water and horizon.

 

For dining we don't like the late dining either. I would highly recommend the Personal Choice. You can eat anytime you want from 5:30 to 10:00 pm. There are two dining rooms for this. We just went whenever we were ready and asked to be seated at a table for 6 to 8 and met lovely different people everynight.

No wait it was delightful.

 

As far as the hurricane season. If a hurricane is in your path they will change the route and take you someplace different. I would just go with the flow and have a great time. THe prices can't be beat.

 

Regarding beer you can smuggle some on in your suitcase. We had a third suitcase with our snorkle gear in it. And we bought some beer in Ft. Lauderdale and just rolled it onboard with us. They don't really care they just don't like you to bring on hard liquor. There is a refrigerator in your room. They don't tend to get really cold, but you can get ice from your room steward and ice it down. You can drink them on your balcony. So relaxing.:D

 

I LOVED the Caribbean Princess.

[marly]

Stimack: I'm not a beer drinker, so I can't help you there. I do remember seeing people buying buckets of beer, but I don't know any details of what kind or how much.

 

I do know about hurricane season however since we were booked during it. Hurricane Charley (I think it was Charley) hit while the CB was at sea. That cruise was unable to return to Port Everglades on Saturday. I did get more information from this board than I got from Princess, but they did eventually call us to tell us that our cruise would be delayed until Monday. They offered us the opportunity to cancel or half our money back for the shortened cruise -- I know that same offer was not given to those in the same situation when the next hurricane hit. We took the offer of the shortened cruise and left for Ft. Lauderdale on Sunday in the eye of the storm.

 

I know there was a lot of confusion for people who had air into Ft. Lauderdale. They had to change flights several times due to lack of info from Princess. Can't really blame Princees too much because these things are not very predictable and it's up to the authorities when the port and airports will open.

 

Anyway, my suggestion to you if you are at all concerned is to get cruise insurance. The peace of mind may well be worth the price. We had a terrific time and by the way, we're booked for our fourth time on CB this September!

 

Oh, and we've gotten spoiled to a balcony cabin.

Marly

[tpmartin]

Princess, has a contract with Dos Equies XX. they sell buckets of beer daily at poolside also they have The Normal Bud, Coors, Heiniken, etc The domestics are around 3.50 and Imports 4.00

As far as your Balcony room goes, Take a good look at exterior Photos of the ship the Balconies tier outward from the Top down so whoever is abouve you can see you, so please no nude sunbathing if you are on a lower balcony.

We love the Mini Suites on the Grand Class Ships they are however the lowest balcony on the ship. The whole deck is mini-suites.

When we were on the Diamond Princess my DW and I were enjoying a late night bottle of wine on our balcony, and they were washing the pool deck glass down and we got Soaked. Princess Gave us Choc Covered Strawberries and a New Bottle of Wine for the Unexpected Shower, but for a couple of dollars more I will always get a Mini over the standard balcony.

 

Tom

[crusdiva]

I might be a little out in left field on this question; I am a beer drinker rather than wine. I enjoy what I would classify as better beers. Does any one know what the offerings are on the Caribbean Princess as well as cost?

 

Domestic Beer - $3.25

Bud, Bud Light, Coors, Coors Light, Miller Genuine Draft, Miller Light

 

Imported Beers - $3.50

Becks, Becks Light, Bass Ale, Dos Equis, Non-Alcoholic

 

Grolsch - $4.95

Guiness Stout - $4.95

Foster - $6.00

[Stimack]

On the Insurance, I saw another post about insurance and the different choices. Is there much difference in their offerings? In the past we have just gotten the insurance that the travel/cruise company was offering.

[Baxter]

A slightly different response: Our first cruise was in a mini-suite, the second in a balcony, and the last 2 in an inside. We were happy in all of them. If the itinerary is port-intensive, we don't mind the inside cabin -- we're gone all day, and literally use the cabin to change our clothes and sleep. If we had several sea days in a row, we would likely book a balcony cabin. But we actually like the fact that the inside cabin "forces" us to be a bit more active.

[cherylandtk]

I am with Baxter on a Caribbean itinerary. There is not much other than the ocean to see from your balcony, and it very much looks the same all day long. Now if that is worth the extra money to you, by all means get it. I prefer to save my balcony dollars for Alaska scenery, where it changes moment to moment. But I do prefer light, so I go for an outside on a Caribbean route. It depends on you.

 

The major insurance difference between Princess' plan and the others is the 75%/90% "cancel for any reason" clause giving credit for a future cruise. Go to insuremycruise.com and compare features, when you narrow it down, read the fine print on the two or three final policies you are considering. Everyone's medical, financial, family and free-time situation is different, so what is best for me is not necessarily best for you.

 

As for October hurricanes, you are in better shape odds-wise because it is the tail end of the season. IF one does occur at that time, the ship will do what it must to stay out of the hurricane area. It may change ports of call, leave/arrive FLL early or late by hours if not days, etc. You may or may not be offered compensation by the cruise line for these changes. FYI, a changed or missed port is not usually offered any compensation. Missed days usually are.

 

Early sitting is usually about 6:15, late 8:30. 2/3 of the people on this ship will have the Anytime option mentioned above, 1/3 will have fixed dining. Sounds to me as if you would do best at early seating (if you like having the same table and time each night) or Anytime where you go to eat whenever you want.

[MentalVacation]

our first balcony was on the Caribbean Princess -- sadly, i doubt we will go back........i will just have to buy less jewelry or booze in port or something? It is amazing to have that available. Our group had 5 cabins -- 3 insides 2 balcony. we had a lot of traffic in our room. it was the "cool" place to be. :-)

 

i am ready to try PC dining after practically (literally) dozing off at dinner two different nights. I am 28, not 82, mind you! 8:15 dining meant almost 10:30 departure some nights. Not that it wasn't fabulous. It was. And it has its benefits especially on port days. But overall, I think we're going to consider our options in that area before the next cruise. Late got really late for us!

 

Have a wonderful cruise! And buy the insurance, from somebody! :-)

 

We sailed during hurricane season last time. Would do it again. Can't beat the prices. :-)

[RachelNYC]

definitely do the balcony cabin. I was on the Carib. Princess last week and I was on the Baja deck, cabin 534. I loved the location of the cabin and the balcony was amazing. It was so nice to sit outside with my cup of coffee every morning ;)

 

ENJOY!

 

-Rachel

[atlcple2]

You will never get an inside cabin again...