Caribbean Princess 4/3/04

[sue d. miller]

Carol, I learned today that one side of the horizon was closed at 5:30 for passover, and the other side stayed open till 11:30. The the Carib kicked in for sit down menu with a varied menu till 4:00 a.m. Then the horizon reopened for pre breakfast with pastries and coffee.

 

Sue

7 days on Star Princess 10/24

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[suzw]

so will the Horizon be open for dinner on future sailings?

Suzanne

[wolf5367]

First of several- please see below

 

The good-

 

This was our first Princess cruise.We have only been on one other,RC's Sovereign of the Seas.We had the same cabin cat on both sailings.We chose PC dining just to try it out for flexibility.

 

The ship was gorgeous.Despite the fact it was full, we very seldom had trouble with lounge chairs and crowds, other than at dinner.The movie screen was awesome but could get loud.The dealers at the casino tables we very nice and willing to explaint the games to newbies.

 

The buffets were pretty good.Breakfast at the horizon court was more traditional and the Caribe Cafe was contenintal.We really enjoyed the Caribe Cafe'. You were promptly seated and drinks ordered. The selection was ecletic but quite good. The waitstaff was attentive and friendly.It was not your standard buffet line by any means.That would be the Horizon court.The only thing I did not like about the buffets were you never knew which was open or closed.But sice they were so close together, it was not a big deal.

 

Embarking/disembarking/tendering all went pretty smoothly.We were quite pleased with that.

[wolf5367]

2nd of several-

 

the bad-

 

The first night out, the boat had some pretty good rocking going on.Several people we seasick.The seas did not seem to be that bad.In comparison, the only time we felt the S.O.S rock was when we skirted a hurricane!. There also seemed to be a constant vibration, almost as if the propeller had a bent shaft or blade. You could feel it on any deck, particullary if you were aft.

 

We could not get our cabin to really cool off the entire cruise, even though the thermostat was set all the way down.Several people we spoke with had the opposite problem,

 

While the entertainment was pretty good, there just wasn't a lot of it. They really only had one major thing happening twice a night. And the broadway type production was cancelled after the fist showing due to tech problems with the set.

 

More to come

[wolf5367]

the ugly---

 

PC Dining. Never again. There was constantly a wait, normally about two hours, even though we were willing to share a table with strangers.The service was lackluster and impersonal, The portions were small but tasty.We could not get a reservation earlier than 8:30.

 

Sterling Steakhouse. I expected a lot from this place. Instead they screwed up our reservation and we had to come back an hour later.The maitre'd was bussing and resetting tables due to being understaffed. The service was impersonal and barely there. The steaks were not cooked to order and quite honestly just ordinary.We saw at least three get sent back but we decided not to wait.Finally more waiters, the head maitre'd, and one of the ship's officer showed up (individually) By that time we were done, our drinks had not been refilled and we left mad that we had spent $15pp.

[wolf5367]

summary---(the last I promise!)

 

We really liked the ship and its amenities. However, it lacked a lot in the service aspect compared to our experience on RC.I do think that many of the problems were due to being the maiden voyage. However, the small, almost intangible things were what we missed.Like the towel animals every night in our cabin, service that really seemd happy to be there, and the variety of entertaintment.

 

Im almost curious enough to take another one next year just to see the difference, but I don't think I could convince my wife of that!

 

(climbing off of soapbox) Im working on a full revue which will have more details.

[ladymist]

hey there~ I'm Wolf's wife Beth

 

As a restaurant manager I wanted to add two cents to the whole restaurant experience from my perspective.

 

I have been involved with the biz for over almost 10 years and have not only staffed family-to-fine dining but have been ground level on several openings.

 

Sterling Steakhouse - the night we went, the whole place was crashing, in flames, beyond the weeds, etc. I would have been on the phone with everyone, including the marines, calling for assistance. This was the kind of situation where every available set of hands (including children- most of the times my own or the owner's) can only help. That being said I have never see waitstaff, service personnel responsible for 20 passengers/diners when things are so new. I felt deeply for the maitre'd, our server, and EVERYONE else involved. I would have leant a hand if I hadn't felt like I would have embarrassed a few people. Bad Management. Completely.

 

Main dining room - Computer reseveration system, shambles. SOMEONE should have had hosts, greeters, seaters, waiters and Maitre'd's fully trained to do the whole process of dining room flow on paper. Wasn't done. Computers crashed and no one knew what to do. Our waiter and assist. waiter responsible for 24 passengers. There is NO reason for a water glass to remain empty at 9:30 PM. I found all-in-all the staff more reserved and less animated (personality-wise) than I expected but that could be due to a bunch of different factors.

 

Carib Cafe and Horizon Court - all the service was located there. I am an unrepentant food snob and would happily deal with less than supurb food for a beverage once in a while.

 

I think many of these problems will become resolved with time and experience. I remain however, a fan of traditional dining. Formals dining is just NOT the place to have 8 tops coming and going at odd times without a staff trained to the nines.

 

Anyway - nuff for tonight, I have to open in the morning.