Review of Caribbean Princess 6/25/05 (long)

[ironmagnolia]

First, let me tell you that this was our 4th cruise, our 1st on Princess. We generally cruise with my Mom (age 81), and my brother and SIL (ages 53/57). This year we decided to splurge and take along all our children, daughter and son-in-law (newlyweds, ages24/25),daughter (21), and son (19). They had never cruised before and they are all almost gone from the nest, and we thought this might be the last time we could get them all together for a family trip. (Oh, we are 51/53)

 

Our last cruises have been on Carnival, Royal Caribbean, and Celebrity, so we wanted to "go for the ship", the biggest and newest we could find! Also, we wanted to experience Princess, so after much research, we found ourselves on the Caribbean Princess headed to the Eastern Caribbean.

 

We alway stay the night before with my brother and his wife in Ft Lauderdale in their home. Nine people getting ready for the cruise of a lifetime in just two bathrooms, was an experience in and of itself! But we did manage to get ready in time for our transportation in a Mercedes "bus", with all our 22 peices of luggage. The ride was great, and when we rounded the curve and our son saw the ship for the first time, he shouted, "OMG!! It's HUGE!", and everyone became very excited for the kids to experience the awe of the ship and the sheer size of it! He said he was expecting the ship to be about the size of a shrimp boat, LOL!

 

Embarkation was very smooth. We arrived at the port at 1pm, and stepped on board at 1:35pm. Very fast moving lines, and very efficient people checking us in. It was probably the smoothest embarkation we have experienced. Of course, we did all we could online well before the cruise.

 

We entered into the beautiful atrium and found our cabins very easily. CC tip about the different color carpet on the port side and starboard side really helped us, and was very beneficial to my elderly Mom during our trip.

 

Our cabins were ready when we arrived, although not all the luggage was there, and we had our first balcony cabins. OK, we are all very spoiled now, and can't see ourselves in "just an oceanview" cabin again!! The view was spectacular, even in Ft Lauderdale on the port side. During our cruise, we found we could enjoy the ship/view, even in our rooms while resting.

 

We were in Baja 534, brother and SIL in B526, Mom in B522, and kids across the hall in inside cabins B532, and B324. The cabins were spacious, and there was lots of storage. Refrigerator did not cool very well, but we only kept H2O in there anyway. Jefferson was our Stewart, and was very efficient and friendly. We did not tip him up front, but it did not seem to matter. He was very attentive all week, and kept our rooms spotless. He brought my robe the 2nd day as requested, and was very visible, calling us all by name, and calling my mother "Mom". He was from the Phillipines, and had an expectant wife and child at home, and will be separated from them a total of 10 months while working on this ship. He will miss the birth of the new baby. We did give him an extra cash tip personally, at the end of our trip.

 

The only downside to our balcony was our neighbor who smoked a cigar EVERY time we went onto the balcony. We think he must have listened for us to go out there, LOL! After a couple of days, my DH called passenger services to verify the smoking policy and complained. A representative called back, said she would speak to him, and we never smelled the cigar again. Princess' policy on cigars is to only smoke them in the cigar bar. This was one of our major complaints on Celebrity, because they never enforced the smoking policy, and people smoked all over that ship, even in the common areas inside.

 

Even though the ship was full, we never felt the crowds except at the shows. You do have to get there early for a seat for the more popular shows, but we never had a problem with the elevators. Our kids said the pools were crowded, but we only went to sit by the aft pool a couple of times, which was very quiet, peaceful, and nice (adults only).

 

Entertainment was plentiful on CB, we heard the comedians were very good, and we saw the hypnotist, who was good also. The two shows we saw in the Theater were "Piano Man", and "Caribbean Caliente" which were both well done. The dancers were especially good, and there was a lot of music and dancing packed into the 50 min shows. Bert Stratton was also very entertaining, but I had hoped he would play and sing more, I just wasn't into the "sing-a-long". But he was a hoot! The martinis in the Crooners bar where he sang were to die for! ( try the Toasted Almond) We were unable to see MUTS, we tried to get 10pm reservations for The Wedding Date, but it filled up very quickly. We did stop by that evening to see how MUTS was done and saw empty seats. Our kids skippped dinner one night to see Meet The Fockers and said MUTS was great. I found it a little distracting during the day, especially if you wanted read quietly by the pool.

 

Our one bad experience was with the PC dining. We wanted to try it, and my Mom is a diabetic, so we usually eat early, about 6:30pm. We were under the impression we could just go to any PC dining room at the desired time, and we would be seated fairly quickly. But we found out our large party could not be accomodated easily, and were turned away (rudely, I might add) by the ?maitre'd in the Palm dining room. He said it would be 1 1/2hr until we could be seated, and this was at 6:20pm! They were all booked up. Luckily, another waiter from the Island dining room walked by, heard us, and said he had a group that did not show, and we could have their table, and escorted us over there! We learned that night that we would have to book our time for the rest of the week, which was not easy after the first day. I think this must have been because of the large size of our group, but I wish I had known that this would be an issue,and that we needed to make daily reservations. We had to take the leftovers as far as reservations the rest of the week, and only were able to sit in the Palm one night, the rest of the time, we had to eat in the Coral, earlier than we really wanted to. We found the service there quite slow, and not very friendly at all. At both breakfasts we had in the Coral, we had poor service, and ate most of our meals in the Horizon Court and Caribe Cafe after that, but we soon tired of "buffet food". It was plentiful, and some selections were very tasty, but overall, the food on the ship was not that great, even in the dining rooms. Pizza at the pool was excellent, though. My brother was very disappointed in the wine selection by the glass in all the dining rooms, and in Sterling's. I think people who dine in fine resturants regularly may be disappointed in the food/wine on the CB.

 

Our day in St Thomas was the BEST! After reading CC, we booked a daysail with Capt. Max on the LOU for a full day with our kids, just the six of us. We had never done anything like this before, ( I don't even swim), but we all had a blast! The sailing, snorkeling and food she served was wonderful. Capt Max and her First Mate Brittany were wonderful to us, and we saw the most beautiful scenery. It really IS Paradise there!. I highly recommend Capt Max and the LOU, our kids said it was the best thing they have ever done on a trip and we made family memories we will never forget.

 

On St Maarten, we booked a bus tour with my Mom to ride around and see the sights, and Princess overbooked it. After a lot of waiting around, we were told we would be refunded the cost, and put on another "tour" which would be the same. Well, we were put on another bus, but he merely took us straight to the French side never stoped along the way like we were initially suppose to, to see the sights. He dropped us off for 2 1/2 hrs(too long) and then took us straight back to the ship, or dropped some off to shop on the Dutch side. Not the tour we originally booked, but it was free. The new area near the pier was very nice, and close to the ships.

 

We never made it to Princess Cays because a passenger fell on some stairs, had a severe head injury and was too unstable to airlift. We went to Nassau instead so he could be hospitalized. The staff scrambled to get some excursions together, and we decide to do a beach day on our on. It seemed that none of the staff at the tour desk was very knowledgeable about the beaches there, and we ended up at Cable Beach, was dropped off at a hotel, and used the beaches of the hotels along there. The beach was not very nice

and we left early, and took the kids to the Atlantis Hotel to look around. Very impressive, but we were not allowed to use their beach. Too bad, it looked great. But it was nice to see how "the other half" lives at the Atlantis. It is a spectacular hotel.

 

Too quickly, Sat morning came and we all had to go back to our real lives. Debarkation was as smooth as Embarkation, and we were off the ship in a jiffy after we waited in a lounge for our tag color/number. Very organized and quick.

 

All in all, we really enjoyed the CB, she is a beautiful ship, pristine, and decorated to the hilt. The tile mosaics alone were worth seeing, and I couldn't stop looking at the carpets! We loved our balcony stateroom, and had a wonderful time.

 

I DO thnk Princess needs to rethink the automatic tipping, because we did notice an overall indifference in the attitudes of many of the staff (with the exception of Jefferson). We have had much better service on other cruiselines, and I personally feel these people did not feel they had to go out of their way because they knew they would get their tips anyway. Even the Purser's desk employees acted like they did not care if they addressed your questions. If they did not know the answer, they did not offer to find out for you.

 

Even so, we very much enjoyed our cruise, and with a few changes, would sail Princess again.

 

Ironmagnolia, San Antonio, Tx :)

[new18]

Thank you so much for sharing your experiences! I am going on the CP on Aug. 20 and can't wait!!! I have a few questions for you...if you don't mind :)

 

1. Does Capt. Max have a website/phone number? And, do we need a large group or can just 2 people sign up?

2. I keep hearing about requesting robes, lounge chairs, etc. on the first day. When I do this, should I tip extra or is this considered a normal request and figured into the "$10 a day"?

Thanks again!

[sunluva7]

Thanks for taking the time to post. We leave four weeks from tomorrow, and have a couple of questions:

 

Given the latest word from Princess about not arriving at the port until 1:00 p.m., were there a lot of passengers who arrived much earlier, anyway?

 

When did you try to make MUTS reservations? I plan to make them as soon as I can after I board, but was wondering do they fill up that soon?

 

Did you try either Sabatini's or Sterlings?

[Cinerama]

 

Even though the ship was full, we never felt the crowds except at the shows. You do have to get there early for a seat for the more popular shows, but we never had a problem with the elevators.

 

 

How early to get a seat?

 

Thanks,

 

Roland

[cruzinchris]

Very nice review, Ironmagnolia. Thanks for taking the time to post your first impressions of Princess and the Caribbean Princess.

 

I tend to agree with your overall assessment of the food/wine on the ship. Having eaten in several 5-Star restaurants, DH and I have found that mainstream cruiselines do not offer outstanding cuisine. That said, there are some items on Princess' menu that are exceptional, and we find ourselves making the same selections on each cruise. The Princess' wine list is somewhat limited, and we usually take 5-6 bottles of our favorites.

 

We're not into buffet dining and rarely visit Horizon Court unless we want fruit or cheese for a snack. We never ate in Cafe Caribe and may try this on our encore trip on the CB next January. We usually have continental balcony breakfast, but I enjoy Eggs Benedict and Eggs Florentine in the dining room and try to go when these are offered.

 

As a party of two, DH and I have never had a problem being seated immediately for anytime dining, but we have also made standing reservations just in case. Sorry that your large party had difficulty being seated promptly.

 

You sailed into the sunset on our anniversary, June 25, and we plan an Alaskan cruise on the Diamond or Sapphire (Alaska) to celebrate our 35th next year.

 

Thanks, again, for the well-written review.

Chris

[Melb1127]

Hi New18~

I am also going on the Aug. 20th cruise! We have a thread going under the Roll Call section and there is a great man named Jim trying to get us all to meet up on the cruise. I don't know how to give you the link, or I would do that for you!

 

I hope you join us in the fun at the Roll Call board!

[vmom]

Thanks so much for your feedback!!!

 

Do you recommend late show seating or early show seating for less crowds at the different shows?

[suzan2]

I tend to agree with your overall assessment of the food/wine on the ship. Having eaten in several 5-Star restaurants, DH and I have found that mainstream cruiselines do not offer outstanding cuisine. That said, there are some items on Princess' menu that are exceptional, and we find ourselves making the same selections on each cruise.

Chris

 

 

Sailing for the first time on Princess on 7/30. Which items do find exceptional?

 

Can anyone tell me if there is any difference between the Palm and the Coral restaurants? Is one nicer than the other or have different/better food? I know about lobster in the Horizon, but is there a particular night when it's offered in the other dining rooms? Can you order it if it's not on the menu?

Suzan

[new18]

MELB1117~ I checked for a roll call for 8/20 but couldn't locate one on the list...I guess I wasn't careful enough. I will look again, thanks!

[ALEX553]

Hi New18

go to roll-calls

should be under Caribbean Princess Aug 20th on the first or second page.

Funny thing it keeps jumping around, yesterday it was at the end of the second page. Maybe it has to do with recent posts!

[4xcruisers]

Hi New18

go to roll-calls

should be under Caribbean Princess Aug 20th on the first or second page.

Funny thing it keeps jumping around, yesterday it was at the end of the second page. Maybe it has to do with recent posts!

 

Alex553,

you are exactly right. The placement on the lists has to do with recent posts. The most recent posts are first. It is easy for a thread without a lot of activity to quickly fall into the abyss.

[Pam in CA]

Thanks for an excellent review. Very balanced, based on your experiences.

 

One thing I have noticed is that the overall level of service is much better on the smaller ships than on the larger, newer ships. Perhaps because the oversight is more direct and the crewmember more visible to their supervisor. Also, I think the overall service in the Traditional dining room is much better than in PC dining. I know many say it's the same, particularly if you make reservations, but I don't think so. Even with a good dining team, they're still dealing with three tables on completely different dining schedules. Just about every night, we had to wait 15 - 20 minutes after everyone finished their main course (and with dirty plates in front of us) because another table filled and the waiters had to get them started and their orders taken.

 

Glad to hear you'd sail Princess again.

[cruzinchris]

Sailing for the first time on Princess on 7/30. Which items do find exceptional?

 

Can anyone tell me if there is any difference between the Palm and the Coral restaurants? Is one nicer than the other or have different/better food? I know about lobster in the Horizon, but is there a particular night when it's offered in the other dining rooms? Can you order it if it's not on the menu?

Suzan

 

Suzan,

I reviewed the menus from the Caribbean Princess so that I could tell you what DH and/or I prefer for our dinner entrees. We've been on four Princess ships, so I feel that we have had enough experience with the cuisine to determine our preferences. We will do an encore sailing on the CB in January, 2006.

 

Generally speaking, the Sailaway menu is pretty mundane, and this is the night that we usually opt to dine in one of the alternative venues. Since most passengers go to a dining room on "opening night," it is easy to be seated in an alternative dining room at almost any time you want, and service is always very attentive.

 

When we have gone to the dining room on the first night of the cruise, I usually have the Filet of Zander, and DH likes the Prime Rib, neither of which is anything to write home about, but both are adequate.

 

For the Captain's Welcome Dinner, I enjoy the Mahi Mahi, and I think DH chooses either the featured Pasta or the Fettucine Alfredo from the "always available" menu.

 

Chef's Night features Rack of Lamb that's to die for. Need I say more?

 

The Caribbean Night menu was new to us on the CB. I ordered the Rack of Pork and deemed it the best entree item on Princess.

 

On Italian Night, both DH and I like the Veal Chop, but I think he has also enjoyed Osso Bucco or the featured Pasta.

 

We both love the Lobster Tails at the Captain's Gala Farewell Dinner. I also order the Beef Wellington, remove the pastry shell, and enjoy my own "surf & turf."

 

Like the Sailaway menu, the Landfall dinner tends to be a little boring, and, quite frankly, DH aren't even in the mood to eat on the final night of the cruise. I've enjoyed the scallops, and I think DH usually has Prime Rib again or a Pasta dish.

 

None of the salads are particularly impressive, but I love the duck appetizer one of the nights, and DH is fond of the French Onion Soup that may be served on French Night (not on CB).

 

Neither of us is into desserts, but the chocolate concoction that is presented for birthday/anniversary celebrations is awesome. I think it is the same recipe as the much-honored "Love Boat Dream," and it is, indeed, what dreams are made of. Personally, I like the International Cheese Selection after dinner: a healthy dose of calcium and some good cheeses presented elegantly with biscuits or crackers.

 

Two wines that we have become familiar with on our Princess' cruises are the Kenwood Jack London Cabernet Sauvigonon and the Cuvaison Chardonnay. Both are exceptional, and we enjoy at least one bottle of each on our cruises.

 

If I had to choose among favorite meals on Princess, I think I would say that I most enjoy Afternoon Tea. Please treat yourself to this elegant repast that features dainty sandwiches, lovely little pastries, and white-gloved tea service. You will feel like you're at the famous Betty's Tea Room in Harrogate, Yorkshire, England. Not to be missed!

 

DH and I had dinner in the Palm Dining Room except for the night that we ate at Sterling Steakhouse (good, but not outstanding). We ususally had continental stateroom breakfast, but we went to the Coral Dining Room two or three times. Both are nice dining venues and offer the same menu. We rarely go to the buffets, so I can't speak to availability of lobster in Horizon Court.

 

Bon Voyage!

Chris

[suzan2]

Chris -

Thanks very much for taking the time to look through the menus and give me your recommendations...I'm going to print out this page and take it with me!

Suzan

[ironmagnolia]

Answers to some of the posted questions:

 

1. Capt Max email and phone#: seamax@islands.vi 340-775-7467

The size of the group is limited to six.

 

2. We requested robes, etc on the second day. The robes may not be available on the first day due to their being laundered. Like I said earlier, we did not tip extra until the last day, which is the norm for us. Some tip extra up front.

 

3. We would have arrived earlier at the port if we could have arranged it with our transportation, we always like to have lunch on board, but I know many people did arrive earlier than 1pm.

 

4. I would strongly suggest making MUTS reservations on the 1st day. We waited unitl we saw it posted in the Patter, and lost out on the one movie and time we wanted. I think you may be able to ask the desk when the movies are playing before they are anounced in the Patter.

 

5.We ate at Sterlings on Wed for our son's birthday, and I have to say I was somewhat disappointed after having eaten at The Palm and Mortons on more than one occasion at home. It was good, but not on the level of a fine steakhouse IMO.

 

6. We found that we had to arrive in the theater about 45 min early to get a seat, especially if it was for the 1st performance of the early show. We did not attempt the late shows due to being accompanied by my elderly mother.

After attending the early shows with her, we put her to bed, and then hit the martini bars!!

 

7. We were forced to eat in the Coral on most nights, the Palm was booked. When we DID get to eat in the Palm one night, we did not understand the draw. It was in an area of the ship where there was quite a bit of vibration, which I found distracting. Both dining roooms seemed to have the very same decor, but I thought the Palm was larger. We had lobster in the Palm on Thurs night (they had the same menus), but it was a very small amount. I was still hungry and had wished that I had ordered both the steak and the lobster. Of course, I had more room for dessert!

 

I hope my comments have helped some folks. I lurked on this board everyday for months before our cruise, but only registered to post after we returned. This board was very helpful to me and I took notes about the various things that I found to be of interest to me personally. I appreciate the comment about my "balanced" review, I initially was afraid that if I posted things that I did not like, I might be viewed as too negative, but I felt that I should report what I condered the "good, bad,and ugly", LOL!

[massagegirl]

Thank you very much for the good the bad and the ugly. It really is helpfull!!

[CoronaCpl]

Thanks for the great review. We're sailing CB in August; this is our 2d Grand class ship and appreciate reviews like your's - they help jog our memories of things we have long forgotten!

 

A couple of questions:

 

Who was the CD on your cruise?

Did you by chance notice escargot on the menu?

 

Thanks!

[cruzinchris]

Did you by chance notice escargot on the menu?

 

Thanks!

 

 

Escargot was on the menu towards the end of the cruise - can't recall exactly which night.

 

DH vowed to try "something new" and hadn't done so until he saw escargot on the menu. He had not had this before and really seemed to enjoy it. I think he liked all the garlic and butter - LOL!

 

Bon Voyage!

Chris

[ironmagnolia]

James Lay (don't know it this is spelled correctly) was the CD. I think the Assist CD was his wife, her name was Lisa.

[Melb1127]

MELB1117~ I checked for a roll call for 8/20 but couldn't locate one on the list...I guess I wasn't careful enough. I will look again, thanks!

Ok, let me try to give you the link... http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=196289

 

I hope this works for you!

Melanie

[Melb1127]

Sorry, my last post was posted twice...oops! :eek:

[gatour]

Ironmagnolia nice review.

 

Chris, thanks for the comments on the menus. Is the order that you refer to each menu in your message is the order that they occur in the cruise?

[gatour]

Oops I have one more question. Which pier in Ft Lauderdale does the Caribbean Princess use? I think the one closest to the causeway is pier 21

[hurwitz5]

The shows that draw the biggest crowds on the CB are the production shows. We found that the second show of the evening (around 10:30 p.m.) wasn't as crowded as the earlier shows. If you arrived 20 minutes before the late show, you could get good seats. We had sailed on the CB in January 2005, and went to the early shows - you had to arrive at least 30 - 40 minutes ahead of time to get good seats.

Regarding dining: we had any time dining and rarely waited to be seated, with our party of 6 people. We would first go to the Coral dining room (mid-ship), and if there was a wait there (on one or two nights) we then headed for the Palm dining room. On on January CB sailing, when the seas were rougher, we prefered to eat in the Coral dining room, which is mid-ship. When we had to eat in the Palm dining room, we found there was a lot more motion, since it is located in the rear of the ship. During our May sailing, we had very calm seas, so the dining room location wasn't important. We also ate whenever we could at the Caribe Cafe, which is at the rear of the ship, behind the regular buffet. The offerings at the Caribe Cafe were more interesting - ethnic foods, such as German night, Asian night, and there were two nights where lobster, crab and shrimp were served in abundance - the first night there an excellent cold seafood buffet and about the third or fourth night, there was hot lobster tails, paella, etc.

Princess also has a very smart omelet station set-up. At the rear of the Horizon Court buffet, you can order an omelet, hit the other stations in the breakfast buffet, and when you are finished, return to the omelet station to pick up your omelet. They give you a ticket for your omelet, which is ready for you in 3 minutes.

We also enjoyed the steaks at Sterlings Steak House. It was definitely worth the extra $15pp, as the quality of the steaks were as good as any good steak house on land. The appetizers and side dishes were also wonderful - huge shrimp in the shrimp cocktail and excellent creamed spinach, etc.

Regarding the dining room service: we have sailed on Celebrity, Royal Caribbean, NCL and Carnival. While having traditional dining gives you more personal and perhaps more organized service, we really enjoy the anytime dining on Princess because we enjoy eating when we are ready (no time constaint) and have never had to wait more than a few minutes for a table. The service is "good enough" for us to enjoy our meal in a leisurely fashion. The anytime dining on NCL is more disorganized - Princess seems to have gotten a handle on anytime dining, and we didn't feel in any way neglected during our dining experiences on Princess (vs. NCL).

[TheParrotHeads]

Thanks for a great review. Like many who are sailing the Caribbean Princess, it will be our first Princess cruise (From RCI/NCL).

 

Is the pier waiting area like that of RCI in Miami? Does it have a nice air-conditioned forum where guests can escape the heat? I am affraid if we arrive at peak time we may be waiting outside. I was hoping someone experieced with the Fort Lauderdale port could shed some light on this. Thanks :)