Just off the CB! 9/24-10/01

[ltprn]

This was our first PRINCESS cruise and it won't be our last! We cruised with Carnival about 3 years ago, and Carnival doesn't even hold a candle to PRINCESS!

 

I was really worried about the crowds and waiting in line, but was pleasantly surprised that this was NOT the case!!

 

We saw Bert Stratton the first night and he was a little silly we thought at times, but he is a great entertainer!

 

Embarkation was a breeze! We arrived at the port around noon and we were in our cabin within 45 minutes!

Muster was great also, after standing out in the hot sun on the Carnival ship - we were really dreading Muster, but we were in Sabatinni's - all nice and cool!

 

We were in a balcony cabin, Aloha 604 and although the covered balcony was small, it was a great place to sit and watch the beautiful blue ocean!

 

We were very impressed by the beauty and cleanliness of the ship, and every crew member we passed made it a point to greet us!

 

Our cabin steward was Linda and she was great!

 

The food was good, but we would have liked a little more variety in the buffet.

 

The only complaint we really had was that the elevator service was very slow. We took the stairs several times because we got tired of waiting. It was a good workout to try and get rid of the extra pounds we gained!

 

We put a deposit down for a future cruise and have that to look forward to!

 

Please let me know if you have any questions - I have all of the patters!

[Redsgj]

I read in another thread that they no longer have the drink of the day which they used to post in each day's Patter. Is this true? We're going on the Caribbean Princess in January and was looking forward to this! Thanks

[Dreamer333]

I read in another thread that they no longer have the drink of the day which they used to post in each day's Patter. Is this true? We're going on the Caribbean Princess in January and was looking forward to this! Thanks

 

Hi, Redsgi... I am the one who wrote that they no longer have a drink of the day, and I should have clarified it better!

 

In the past, on the back page of the Princess Patter, they had a section in which they would list a Drink of the Day, and a Shooter of the Day.

The drink was different each day, such as a Banana Daqueri, and the price was slightly lower for that particular drink, for that particular day.

 

On this new format, they list several specials going on thoughout the ship.

 

First they list their Signature Collection Drink (which they called a Premium Cocktail), which as far as I can tell, is NOT a discounted price. For example, they listed the Rasberry Fizz for $6.50 (On another day, they listed the Mojito for $6.50).

 

Under the Signature Collection drink, they than list a different "specials" going on that day... Most days it was a "1/2 Yard Special" in which you can buy a 1/2 yard of any blended drink for $6.

 

Under the 1/2 yard special, they list a sale of DosXX beer... buy four, get one free.

 

Then they listed if there was a special at a certain bar for a certain time (for example, you could get a Bloody Mary in 4 different bars for $3.25 between the hours of 9am-noon).

 

So they definitely have specials still... but they don't list a drink (or shooter) of the day for a discounted price.

 

Sorry for any confusion my earlier post may have caused!

[ltprn]

Dreamer333 is correct - they have drink specials listed in the Patters daily at certain bars. I noticed the Casino Bar had the best prices on the specials.

 

BTW, the new Patters are really nice!

[Dreamer333]

Hi, ltprn!

 

I'm glad you had a great time on this cruise... I did too!!! (And, I too, put another deposit down for a future booking! :D )

 

Were you able to attend the cruise critic get together?

I was very disappointed when I realized I MISSED it! But this trip was a bit hectic for me... We had about 30 family members on it (my sister got married in Ocho Rios), so it is definitely a DIFFERENT experience than when I travelled with just my husband and I... but I loved every moment of it!!

[ltprn]

Dreamer333,

 

I'm sorry I didn't make it to any of the CC get-togethers. I was sailing with 6 other people who don't use CC and I hated to ask them to join me. We did meet a lot of nice people on board though! Wish I could have met you!

 

Can't wait to cruise again!

[waterrats]

Yes, where was everyone for the meet and greet? There were only about 10 people that met there. We saw them throughout the cruise and hung out with some as well. It would have been nice to meet more people. I did meet Traci28 on Princess Cays somehow. I don't think I met anyone else out there. I am sure some saw me on the cruise if you were hanging out at Neptunes Pool. I mainly wore a green brim hat the entire trip and hanging out at the pool with my bucket of Dosxx's.

 

For those looking forward to playing basketball, I didn't because it looked like a huge disappointment. They did put up a net but there is a bar about 2 feet above the backboard as well as the covering for the sports deck. There is no way you can lob the ball much at all. They did make the running track a 24 hour track compared to the original 8pm to 8am running times. They also put down some nice spongy track surface so it is nice to run. 9.3 laps = 1 mile.

 

Our cabin steward was Agostigno. He was great. Always there when we needed him. He noticed that we were sleeping with the comforter on the bed so after the first two nights, when he did turn down service he would take the comforter off the bed for us and put it under the bed.