Caribbean Princess Cruise Blog -TONS of photos & videos! Full Review March 7-14 2015

[JustinPlusLauren]

Hello all!

 

I recently returned from a cruise with my sister and now I'm writing all about it! We cruised aboard the Caribbean Princess from March 7-14, 2015, sailing from Fort Lauderdale. We visited Princess Cays, St. Thomas, St. Martin, and Grand Turk.

 

My cruise blog is called Justin Plus Lauren - while I normally travel with my boyfriend, Justin, this trip was a girls/sisters holiday. I have so many stories to share, so many photos (including tons of underwater pics when snorkeling) and I'll be compiling many videos of our journey. It would be awesome if you'd like to check out the blog!

 

Also, if you have any questions about the CB, the ports, or anything else about the Caribbean and our trip, feel free to ask them and I'll try my best to answer them!

 

It's going to take me some time to write every article, edit all of the pics and video, but I'll post here every time there's a new entry.

 

So far I've written 3 articles all about our pre-cruise day on March 6, 2015 in Fort Lauderdale. One is about the hotel we stayed at, and two are about restaurants we dined at along 17th Street (easily accessible from Port Everglades).

 

The full blog is located here: http://justinpluslauren.com

 

Hotel Review of the Hilton Fort Lauderdale Marina (with photos & video): http://justinpluslauren.com/hotel-review-hilton-fort-lauderdale-marina/

 

Fresh First Restaurant: http://justinpluslauren.com/fresh-first-fort-lauderdale/

 

Green Bar & Kitchen Restaurant: http://justinpluslauren.com/green-bar-and-kitchen-fort-lauderdale/

 

I'll be posting all about embarkation day very shortly. Thanks so much for looking! And if you went on this cruise, I'd love to hear from you...especially if we met on board or you recognize us from the ship! :D

[Colo Cruiser]

Great to see you posting another review! :)

Edited March 22, 2015 by Colo Cruiser

[JustinPlusLauren]

Great to see you posting another review! :)

 

Thank you!! :) I'm having fun already going through my pics and recalling all of the fun times. My sister came over today and we exchanged photos/video so I could use some of her pics on the blog. In total, we have 56GB of pictures and video! :eek: Lots of them are doubles though, but I certainly gave my GoPro a workout on this trip!

[Colo Cruiser]

Thank you!! :) I'm having fun already going through my pics and recalling all of the fun times. My sister came over today and we exchanged photos/video so I could use some of her pics on the blog. In total, we have 56GB of pictures and video! :eek: Lots of them are doubles though, but I certainly gave my GoPro a workout on this trip!

 

Guess you will have to post all 56gb!! :eek: LOL :D

[lynwar]

Hi,

I'm looking forward to all your posts and photos from your cruise. We sailed on the CB twice. The first time was Sept 18-25, 2004, which turned out to be Hurricane Jeanne week. Then, we just returned to her Sept. 20-29, 2014 (who knew it would be a 10 year anniversary week), because of special prices. What started out to be a 5 day, turned into the 9 day, combined 5 +4, when the Princess phone rep noted that it was really a 9 day cruise. ;) What a marketer!!

 

I know you will have a good report.

 

Lynne

[PescadoAmarillo]

Lauren, sorry we missed you but I am looking forward to reading about your thoughts and experiences. Your cruise reviews are the BEST. Thank you for doing them.

[JustinPlusLauren]

Hi,

I'm looking forward to all your posts and photos from your cruise. We sailed on the CB twice. The first time was Sept 18-25, 2004, which turned out to be Hurricane Jeanne week. Then, we just returned to her Sept. 20-29, 2014 (who knew it would be a 10 year anniversary week), because of special prices. What started out to be a 5 day, turned into the 9 day, combined 5 +4, when the Princess phone rep noted that it was really a 9 day cruise. ;) What a marketer!!

 

I know you will have a good report.

 

Lynne

 

Thank you, Lynne! That's good to hear that you're familiar with the CB. What happened during Hurricane Jeanne, did the ship sail to different ports? And a 9 day cruise sounds nice - I think that would be better than a 7 day one :) I always enjoy the 10 day cruises, I think it's a good amount of time! This one was just a 7 day for me, but I will take what I can get!

[JustinPlusLauren]

Lauren, sorry we missed you but I am looking forward to reading about your thoughts and experiences. Your cruise reviews are the BEST. Thank you for doing them.

 

Sorry to have missed you as well! I really love your blog and I'm happy that you enjoy reading mine, too!! I'm sure our paths will cross at some point on a cruise. It was a great week on board that we sailed and I can't wait to write all about it.

[JustinPlusLauren]

Oh! I also have a very small request if anyone would like to help us out! Our blog has bee nominated for Best Canadian Weblog at the 2015 Weblog Awards (the Bloggies!) and it would be AMAZING if you could take a moment and vote for us! I know that I haven't started writing about my cruise experiences from this year just yet, but we wrote all about our cruise aboard the Emerald last year (all of the blog posts: http://justinpluslauren.com/cruise-january-2014/)

 

To vote, just go to this site: http://2015.bloggi.es

- Scroll down to "Best Canadian Weblog"

- Click on "Justin Plus Lauren"

- Then, scroll down to the very bottom and enter your name and email address. You'll have to verify the email that they send you. Don't worry, the site won't spam you or anything like that. I truly appreciate it if you wanted to vote for our travel/cruising blog, it would be such an honor to win the award! Thank you!!!

[Auntiejo]

Always enjoy your reviews.....looking forward to all the info, pics and videos!

[PathfinderEss]

Thank you for the links to your blog and hotel review.

[Colfireman]

Oh! I also have a very small request if anyone would like to help us out! Our blog has bee nominated for Best Canadian Weblog at the 2015 Weblog Awards (the Bloggies!) and it would be AMAZING if you could take a moment and vote for us! I know that I haven't started writing about my cruise experiences from this year just yet, but we wrote all about our cruise aboard the Emerald last year (all of the blog posts: http://justinpluslauren.com/cruise-january-2014/)

 

To vote, just go to this site: http://2015.bloggi.es

- Scroll down to "Best Canadian Weblog"

- Click on "Justin Plus Lauren"

- Then, scroll down to the very bottom and enter your name and email address. You'll have to verify the email that they send you. Don't worry, the site won't spam you or anything like that. I truly appreciate it if you wanted to vote for our travel/cruising blog, it would be such an honor to win the award! Thank you!!!

 

Done and good luck

 

Greg

[jimbri]

Looking forward to your review!

[JustinPlusLauren]

Thank you so much everyone - Auntiejo, Melodie, jimbri!

 

AND thank you so much, Greg for voting!

 

The voting closes tonight at 10pm EST so it would be amazing if people could vote for my blog! I'm not sure if a travel/cruise blog has won for this category before, so that would be pretty cool too :)

 

I hope to have the embarkation day photos and blog post ready to go for tomorrow (I'm at work today) - I'll post here when it's up on the site!

[lynwar]

Hello,

Hurricane Jeanne week started out pretty well. It was nice and calm. We had just been through 3 hurricanes in Florida and this was the fourth one. Many of the usual staff were off on a break. We were following Jeanne every night on TV via Anderson Cooper! The ship left Port Everglades on a Saturday and on Thursday, we woke up to high swells and we had the "groaning" of the water going in and out beneath the ship. The pools were going back and forth, some staff and passengers were falling ill and there was a minor injury by one of the pools. The group I was with had a miniature golf tournament planned, and I did feel the need to eat some crackers before going up to that deck. I was OK, but the diesel fuel up there "got" me. I returned to the cabin for awhile and later learned that the ship had turned around into calmer waters. The next day, we tried it again, but at 5:30 PM, while we were in the casino, Capt. Romano announced that the ports had closed and we'd be out 2 extra days (48 hours). So, the ship sailed back and forth by Cuba with several others. I must add that we saw Jeanne pass right over our city here in Central Florida. What were the odds of that? Also, a couple who was sailing with us, had their damaged by a previous hurricane on the West Coast of Florida, only to have another house hit by Hurricane Jeanne on the East Coast! We arrived back in port on the Monday-the people on the cruise after us weren't happy because they only got 5 days and a tired crew.

This is another tip: if you wear a patch or wrist band for seasickness, make sure to keep wearing it. We had a gal in our group her took hers off the night before because of the calm seas, only to be sick all day that we hit those swells.

We had a meteorologist in our group, too, who told us we'd never get back on time because Jeanne had turned and sped up-so we didn't even pack our bags that Friday night. I had no problems with work and my husband was retired, but there was a frantic line for the phones by those who had plans for children and pet pick-ups, work arrangements, etc.

 

Our cruises are usually 7 days but have taken a couple of 10 days and one 8 day. In September-it was a surprise to have a 9 day, but had to get off and back on after the 5th day because of customs requirements in Ft. Lauderdale. We kept the same cabin throughout because it was booked as a 9 day. It was on this cruise where we met Bert Stratton, who usually entertains in the Crooners Lounge, after hearing about him a few years back. Great guy.

 

I'm looking forward to hearing more of your adventures. Oh, I was born in Montreal and my dad lived in Toronto for several years.

 

Lynne

[lynwar]

Clarification-the couple mentioned had two houses damaged or destroyed on each coast by two different hurricanes within a 6 week period. Lynne.

[JustinPlusLauren]

Lynne, that's quite the story!! It sounds like a whole lot of sailing, and the captain did what was best. It's very scary...so many hurricanes! I'm sure that many passengers weren't happy, but there's only so much a tired crew can do when Mother Nature takes over. Thankfully, I don't get seasick (never been seasick) though I'm sure in extreme situations most people would be affected. Thanks for sharing! :)

 

I hope to have my blog post ready for late tonight or tomorrow morning...darn work has been keeping me from writing it!

[JustinPlusLauren]

Just wrote all about Embarkation Day on the Caribbean Princess!

 

http://justinpluslauren.com/embarkation-day-on-the-caribbean-princess/

 

It was my first time sailing as a Platinum Member, so I really enjoyed the Priority Boarding as well as the lounge at Skywalkers with the hors d'oeurves and drink specials! You'll also see how our sailaway party was a bit of a bust, we totally made up for it as there were plenty of things to do on board. We had a really enjoyable first day at sea!

 

Please note...it is very picture heavy! But, I hope you enjoy all of the photos!

[RosieCanberra]

Thank you Lauren! I am cruising on Caribbean Princess in August for the first time and your blog is very interesting and informative.

 

And I love all the pictures 😄

 

Cheers

Rosie

[akeasley]

Just read your embarkation blog post and it was great to read...loved the pictures! Did you like having the inside room or miss having a window or balcony? I have a co-worker sailing on Caribbean Princess (her first Princess cruise) so I'm going to show her your blog with all the great pics!

 

Congrats on being platinum and getting to enjoy all the perks! I love going into the platinum/elite/suite lounge every night for the $5 drinks and snacks. DH and I are usually the youngest ones there by 15+ years but it's a status I earned so I'm going to use it :-)

 

Looking forward to reading your upcoming blog posts!

Edited March 24, 2015 by akeasley

[schlot]

I just started to read your blog. What a pleasant and nice person you must be! You sound like you really enjoy cruising and life itself. Cheers.

[Hoosier-Cruiser]

Great timing for another JustinPlusLauren (minus Justin this time) blog! We are embarking on the Caribbean Princess on Monday for a short Spring Break getaway. Having beein on the ship a short 9 months ago, we are familiar with her, but love all the pictures we can get anyway :)

[spingal]

I LOVE YOUR REVIEWS!!

 

Can't wait for the next installment. :D

[golfb4cruzing]

So no review here?

[msmoger]

So no review here?

 

The blog is better than any review she could put on cruise critic, especially with the pictures. I'd suggest checking it out. :D