Just got back from the Caribbean Princess

[torbs]

Suzw:

 

We missed her too!! Is she afraid of AK?

 

Until 4/3 Caribbean Princess

 

 

Caribbean Princess 4/3/04

Navigator of the Seas 8/03

Voyager of the Seas 6/01

[torbs]

Cruiseking;

 

correction, i do remember our cabin steward's name, Samuel

 

Until 4/3 Caribbean Princess

 

 

Caribbean Princess 4/3/04

Navigator of the Seas 8/03

Voyager of the Seas 6/01

[suzw]

yes, definately

[CruiseKing]

Thank you. I appreciate the response.

 

Bruce

 

Crown 1991 Eastern Caribbean

Dreamward 1994 Bermuda

Sun 1997 Western Caribbean

Grand 1999 Mediterranean

Dawn 2000 Southern Caribbean

Ocean 2001 Mexican Riviera

Crown 2001 Hawaii/Tahiti

Dawn 2002 Eastern Caribbean

Conquest 2003 W. Caribbean

Dawn 2003 Transit Panama Canal

 

[torbs]

To all good night! I hope I was able to give you a preliminary feel. I am sure there will be many more reviews to come!

 

Until next time!

 

Until 4/3 Caribbean Princess

 

 

Caribbean Princess 4/3/04

Navigator of the Seas 8/03

Voyager of the Seas 6/01

[chloeleigh]

Was on the 4/3 sailing, had a better time than even expected..must have really been in bad need of a vacation...as point of comparison..have been on cruises with carnival, norwegian, celebrity, royal carib and now finally princess..royal carib and princess have been my two favorite...adventures of the seas (royal carib) takes a slight lead in the offering of rock climbing wall, ice skating rink and show, shade over hot tubs, and daily newsletter posted at various locations...impressions of this princess cruise..ship was very clean (obviously since new, even saw some carpeting already being repaired as we were disembarking today), it think it was very nice, but more understated than the glitzy glass sculptures and promenade on royal carib..a highlight of the princess cruise was lots of variety of entertainment during the evenings...so much so that choices had to be made and we'd hop from one to the other...comedy and piano bar (Burt the pianist was VERY popular,and one of my personal favorites), as well as regular main princess theatre entertainment...we did traditional second seating dining and had good experiences..overheard those with personal choice complaining, especially on formal nights..and felt badly that often those people just opted for buffets..the ports visited were very nice..order of preference was Cozumel, Grand Cayman, Princess Cayes, and last but not least (since it was the favorite of my rasta wannabe husband) was Montego Bay..highly recommend booking excursions on your own, since cruise excursions will cost you more and with more restrictions timewise, etc...Cozumel we did Chankaneeb Marine Park which was actually beautiful and a nice place to snorkel, we had signed up well in advance on the net for the royal dolphin swim, which was a once in a lifetime experience..all 5 of us loved it...Cayman Islands, we did the stingray city..also a lot of fun, but we booked with captain marvins which was a little less expensive and the boat was smaller and more personalized so we weren't with a ton of people, for jamaica i was just plain worried about safety so i booked thru the cruise for the horseback riding..definitely a nice time, no amazing trotting, galloping, just a nice simple horse walk, but the finale is swimming the horses thru water..definitely a unique experience...forgive the disjointedness of this post but it's almost midnight, just getting home, settled and about to start the first load of laundry...movies under the stars was nice novel idea, was surprised it required reservations, but same movie is shown about 4 nights, two seatings each, so it's not that hard to get a seat..they set u up with lounge chair, blanket, popcorn...very cute idea, we opted to sleep on the deck chair a while after the movie ended since we were already so comfy...definitely helped having the cruise critic get together for sailaway..made seeing familiar faces aboard, that much more fun as the trip continued...other bit of advice..on princess cayes, we were told no need for money since it was all ship owned...but that wasn't the case, there were sourvenires for sale as well as MANY hair braiders..so you do need to take cash there as well as the ship card...will post more, and look forward to reading other people's opinions and posts after we all get some sleep

[CruiseFever]

Thanks so so much for taking the time with us, we all really appreciate it!

 

Happy Cruising

 

Chris

 

www.LifeIsCruising.com

 

Next up:

Caribbean Princess 06/26/04

Star Princess 10/24/04

Carnival Victory 12/19/04

Carnival Miracle 03/13/05

 

[nick1234]

I have a few questions.

1. should we make our reservations for the week if we have pc dining?Can you do this as soon as you board?

 

2. Hot topic this week has been the formal attire. Did you see people on formal nights not dressed formally?

 

3. Since the buffet is so troublesome can we eat in the dining room for breakfast and lunch?

 

4. How was the weather?

 

Thanks cant wait to go in a few weeks

 

Ali

[chloeleigh]

in response to your questions..1. don't know about making PC reservations for the week as i had traditional dining 2. formal dining..you don't have to dress to the nines although some people did, but you'd feel comfortable in almost any dress (and no stockings required, hence not totally formal) we did see one man in a dark t-shirt one formal night and polo shirt (no jacket) the other and we did end up talking about him, so i wouldn't go to that extreme..but if you don't want the ball gowns with hair done in the beauty parlor updo look with lots of jewelry, you don't have to go that route either..3. for breakfast and lunch..they don't open all the dining rooms for sit down and hours were limited..but the days that we did manage to do the dining rooms for those meals, we were very satisfied..on shore excusions days, you don't necessarily want to lose port time just to have a better meal..also, in addition to the buffets..there is pizza (much better than the dominoe's quality that i expected) as well as the trident grill with not only the hamburgers and hot dogs avail, but also veggie burgers and chicken sandwiches..so that worked for a 4pm lunch when coming back froom shore excursions (dining room closed at 2pm for lunch and caribe cafe (which i expected to be open longer) closed at 2:30 for lunch)..hope this was helpful

[cruzenmama]

Is there a difference between the Caribe Cafe and the Horizon Court?

 

Jeanne-Marie

 

Caribbean Princess 10/16/2004

Triumph 4/26/2003

Triumph 4/13/2002

Sensation 96-01

Destiny 97

Costa Victoria 99

Horizon 95

Noordam 89

 

[goldengirl]

hi

thanks for your r4vioew so quickly, it is much appreciated, hope you had a nice cruise.

 

my questions are please:

i heard it was hard to make a reservation at the Steakhouse, is that true. it sounds as if it is no big deal.

 

what kind of enrichment activites did they offer daily, and what was the fee?

 

what time did the ship dock, in florida and what time did you get to the airport? i have a 11;30 a.m. flight and i am anxious if i will make it in time usairways changed our flight time home.,

 

thanks for all of your help.

 

what was the age rANGE ON THE SHIP?

 

have a good week

[KarenTom]

Hello,

 

Glad to hear everyone had a good trip. We'll be on the Caribbean May 1st and I was just wondering if you remembered the order of the themes for the dining each night. We want to make some reservations for the specialty restuarants on the italian and french nights.

 

Thanks!!!

[BluIDblonde]

FOR CHLOELEIGH-

Thanks for your information. I have 3 questions: On the horseback riding excursion, did you HAVE to go through the water with the horses? I am allergic to salt water and would love to ride the horses, but was unsure if going through the water was a MUST!

 

ALso...Was the pool open as the movie played on in the night? I understand you need to make reservations to watch the movie, how do you make them? Thanks for your time....

 

 

"Attitude is the minds paintbrush. It can color any situation."

[igloo42]

Hi - we were also on the ship this past week (Hi Michelle!)

 

all reservations can be made (or a connection to the correct department) through the concierage (sp?) extension 6219....for the Movies under the stars - one night they had the NCAA basketball game up there & another night they had a 6:30pm showing of Finding Nemo - no reservation required & both well attended and enjoyed

 

we arrived in Ft Lauderdale at about 5am and we were cleared by 8:20am, our flight was late so we took the Everglades/Santuary tour through the ship - actually saw a gator so the group was happy and it was a lot better than waiting at the Miami airport for all of those hours...

 

I agree with Chloe on the formal night dress - as long as you were up a notch from the other nights, pretty much anything is okay but I did see many people dressed to the nines having a great time, most of our group (9 of us were female) wore cocktail lentgh and were quite appropriately dressed. Smart casual for most were golf/polo/hawain shirts and chinos/slacks for the guys and slacks/skirts (many tropical in color scheme) and nice summer tops for the ladies.

 

Also, the casino was fairly quiet and the first couple of days the dealers were changing way to fast & then later in the week they obviously who could handle which tables and the changes were actually too slow - on the roulette wheels they did not control the betting well - tooooo many early and late placements of bets, which made many of us who were "trained" in Vegas or AC very uncomfortable....drinks were also extremely hard to get in the casino - at one point I was at the roulette wheel for almost an hour and though I didn't want a drink I wasn't offered one either...

 

I would also highly reccomend the Dolphin swim/snorkel at the Marine park in Cozamel - it is pricey (and then there are the pictures/video that you really don't want to pass up) but it is probably one of the best excursions I have ever taken in almost 30 cruises!

 

Bob Voyage to all future travelers of the CP.

 

Doreen

 

igloo42

[Rob & Tam]

Doreen,

Did you do the Balcony Lobster Dinner or know anyone who did... interested in knowing what that turns out like?

 

Anything that you would say was a DO NOT MISS... DW and I are on the May 1 sailing.

 

Carnival Paradise 4/01 Western Caribbean

Carnival Paradise 3/02 Southern Caribbean

Coming Soon... Caribbean Princess 5/1/04

[igloo42]

Hi Rob & Tam - other than the Dolphins, we did the Island tour with Stingray city (Hell is a pure tourist trap but the turtle farm was a pleasant surprise - our group got a real kick out of picking them up) and stingray city is a must - I organized all of our trips through the ship because I had 15 people traveling with us and wasn't looking to make extra work for myself but I know Capt Marvin's is a great tour group in Cayman. My husband, etc loved the golf in Montego Bay (but of course they would love golf anywhere...)

 

A couple of cool things to do on board are - in Skywalkers go to the far end of the room and look down out the window (either during the day or night) the view of the ocean is pretty cool, afternoon tea - sounds boring but it was one of the best variety of treats the whole week (marzipan cookies to scones with fresh jam & cream and little sandwiches), the beef wellington at dinner one night was fabulous, the movies under the stars was impressive (though we didn't attend a formal movie - we enjoyed the NCAA tournament and a short bit of Finding Nemo), we didn't do any of the specialty resturants but I did hear Sabatini's was very good (and it smelled wonderful!), if you are into wine tastings the first one ($7.50) was nice but the 2nd one ($25) was really nice - great individual tray of fancy hordvours (sp?) and even a sampling of Opus One (which they have on the ship for $148 per bottle - they gave us an opportunity to get $20 off a bottle if we bought it that day for dinner - too much $ for me for a bottle of wine but I saw 1 or 2 folks going for it...) and last but not least - the Lotus Spa, even if you don't go for a treatment - use the saunas, relaxation tables & the Japanese spa...for anyone who has kids their youth spa program was great my DD had the massage & then I surprised her with the facial - she had a blast but back to adults, my seaside facial was excellent, husbands hot stone massage was very good (please note the last set of stones is Cold to close up the pores - quite a surprise for some), my deep tissue massage was very good, all of the group who had the 25 minute swedish massage really loved it but I would say the reflexology was not worth the time/$. 3 points - many of the massage therapists are limited english speakers, so keep trying if you are not geting your point across; try to book for a port day (i.e. 5pm on Princess Cays or Grnad Cayman day) - you get port day prices but you are not mising any port time; and get there early or plan to stay after to enjoy the relaxation room.

 

Hope you have a great trip!

 

Doreen

 

Other thoughts, snorkeling in Princess Cays to the right side of the rocks was excellent (even if you are not a snorkeler you can still see many interesting fish just from the pier by the snorkeling area and also the fresh fruit to the side of the buffet in PC was really good.

 

igloo42

[DBDB9116]

Can I ask what age do they consider eligible for the Youth Spa treatments.

Thanks,

DB

[igloo42]

Hi - for youth treatments,the ages are 13-18 and this is the only ship I have ever seen this on - the prices are reasonable and they require bathing suit or loose fitting clothing - no other options like adult massages (I would suggest pre-resrving on-line, it actually worked qquite well)

 

Also, sorry I didn't do the balcony dining & didn't hear anyone talking about it.

 

Doreen

 

igloo42

[DBDB9116]

Thanks Doreen You just saved me some money. I have already booked my daughter as an adult. I'll change them now.

DB

[idcruisers]

Doreen,

 

We are taking our kids (16, 14, 9) on 9/18/04. It will be their first cruise. How old is your daughter? What did you think of the kids programs? What did she think? Did she eat in the dining romms with you? Any info for the kids would be great. We can't wait.

Thanks,

Ilise

[goldengirl]

hi

welcome back to all of your cruisers.

 

i have some questions please.

 

What is there to do on Princess cays? do you tender in? Do they have a barbeque there?

 

Does the princess cruise line give each passenger a canvas tote bag in there room?

 

What time di any of you get back to the ft lauderdale airport to fly home?

 

Did anyone take a cab on there own what was the fee?

 

Did they have a captain's party?

 

How was the nightly entertainment?

 

Does anyone have any menus so we know which night

is which theme?

 

can anyone tell me what the enhancement activities were on the ship such as pottery etc?

 

what movies did they show?

 

hope to hear from you all soon with more info

 

thanks

 

glad you all had a nice cruise

[CruiseFever]

Could you explain the relationship of the Caribe Cafe to the Horizon Court? Are in different areas? Any more information would be appreciated

 

Happy Cruising

 

Chris

 

www.LifeIsCruising.com

 

Next up:

Caribbean Princess 06/26/04

Star Princess 10/24/04

Carnival Victory 12/19/04

Carnival Miracle 03/13/05

 

[goldengirl]

hi

welcome back to all of your cruisers.

 

i have some questions please.

 

What is there to do on Princess cays? do you tender in? Do they have a barbeque there?

 

Does the princess cruise line give each passenger a canvas tote bag in there room?

 

What time di any of you get back to the ft lauderdale airport to fly home?

 

Did anyone take a cab on there own what was the fee?

 

Did they have a captain's party?

 

How was the nightly entertainment?

[igloo42]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by idcruisers:

Doreen,

 

We are taking our kids (16, 14, 9) on 9/18/04. It will be their first cruise. How old is your daughter? What did you think of the kids programs? What did she think? Did she eat in the dining romms with you? Any info for the kids would be great. We can't wait.

Thanks,

Ilise<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

 

 

The kids programs were very good especially for the younger kids - my DD & niece are 15 & 16, they actually preferred hanging with us and did have dinner with us every night - the wait staff was great with them and they loved the attention. Chloeleigh & Sea-escape both have younger kids & might be of help but all of the parents with younger kids said the planned events were really good. We had traditional late dining in the Palm, so we did not have dinner reservation issues which you might have with a bigger group.

 

Also, if they are into animals, the dolphins & sealions in Cozamel are great tours and the turtle farm was a nice stop and stingray city is always fun in Grand Cayman.

 

Doreen

 

igloo42

[igloo42]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by goldengirl:

hi

welcome back to all of your cruisers.

 

i have some questions please.

 

What is there to do on Princess cays? do you tender in? Do they have a barbeque there?

 

Does the princess cruise line give each passenger a canvas tote bag in there room?

 

What time di any of you get back to the ft lauderdale airport to fly home?

 

Did anyone take a cab on there own what was the fee?

 

Did they have a captain's party?

 

How was the nightly entertainment?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

 

Hi - tender in Princess Cays & Grand Cayman; yes, the b-b-q buffet is on Princess Cays;no tote bag in our cabin (not even a logo plastic bag...);we had a late Miami flight so we took the Everglades tour - it was more fun than I thought it would be and it was much better than sitting in the Miami airport;we took the ship transfers - so hopefully someone else can help with the cab (the transfers probably took more time but we had a big group so it was easier);there was a captain cocktail party which was done at 2 times and was spread over many public rooms - we stood by the Lobby bar and had plenty of drinks & hor'derves (sp?);and entertainment at night was mixed - I didn't choose to go to most of it but one of the comics was good and the hyptonist was very good, there was music available at multiple locations most of the afternoon/evening.

 

Hope that helps.

 

igloo42