carribbean princess review 12/10-12/17

[massagegirl]

After reading some of these bad reviews, I'm not sure if they were on the wrong ship or if I was. This was the best cruise I have ever been on.

We arrived at the port at 1 and by 1:30 we happily sat in our room, stood out on our balcony and waited for sailing.

 

Our room steward was the most attentive we have had. Any request we had, he provided in moments.

 

We had anytime dinning and it worked very well for us. We had reservation every night at 6, but we never saw a line. Breakfast we liked the horizon court. Most times we found a place to sit. This was the worst part of the cruise and it had to do with the other cruisers. There would be two people sitting at a table for 6 and not let anyone sit with them. The food was hot, the selection was good. I ate someting diferent every morning and it was ALL good. Lunch you had so many options. two buffets, room service, pizza, hamburgers, chicken sandwiches, etc. I dont know how one could not find something they liked.

 

I just read a comment about the gym being too small, no equipment. I went every moring bewteen 7-9 and once in the afternoon. I never had to wait for any equipment I wanted. There was a great selection, and all new machines.

 

The staff all over the boat was the best we have found. If I asked where to find something they did not just point and say over there, they walked me to it. They always smiled and said Hi, asked if we needed anything.

 

There are multiple pools, hot tubs and had to be 1 chair for everyone. I went to diferent areas to sit at various times and never had a problem finding a lounge chair or seeing other empty chairs around, Now if you have to sit the first row around the pools, you have to be smart ebough to know those are going to be taken first and you will have to sit a few rows back, what a shame;)

 

My boyfriend had to be at work first thing this morning, so sadly we had to depart first off the boat. We had not problems, the front desk was very helpfull. We carried our own bags off. The "gates" opened at 8:45 and we were in our taxi by 9am.

 

I have sea legs, so if my writing is slanted you know why. I will get back on later and add to my thoughts as I remember.

 

Oh, here is why some people complain. Some lady was upset there were no cookies in the buffett. A waiter brought her out a plate of cookies in seconds, then she complains that he only brought out a few. Well, if she would have taken 3 steps to her right she would have seen a plate over flowing with cookies.

Complaint 2, there is no free ice cream, every afternnon in the horizon court was make your own sundea's. I saw it done the same way on RCCL. So you cant yell at princess for that.

I could answer most reason people complain, so if you have specific questions please let me know.

 

I found nothing wrong with this ship and would with out a doubt sail her again.

[hill6]

I seen pictures on webshots of a seafood buffet. When was that? We just booked the crown princess.

 

What cabin did you have and how was the noise level?

[cruzinchris]

Massagegirl,

Thanks for taking the time to post your thoughts about the Caribbean Princess. DH and I will be boarding the ship six weeks from today. This will be our second voyage on this magnificent vessel; we sailed on 1/22/05.

 

Question: Did you by chance go to Motown night in Club Fusion? I read about this in a Patter from October, but there was no Motown night on our sailing earlier this year. DH and I are in our 50s and grew up in the Motor City. This is our favorite dance music, and we are excited about an entire evening of the Motown sound.

 

I'll look forward to additional posts about your cruise; I enjoyed your right-to-the-point writing style.

Chris

[jima53]

Thank you for the review. We have a fall cruise planned on this ship. Concerned about the table sharing or lack of it, by the couple. Did people ask them if they minded sharing, and if so, what was the response or reaction, if you heard anything. I think I would have excused myself and sat down after letting them know the lack of chairs elsewhere. Of course they might get huffy or upset but I've got thick skin concerning ill manners and lack of courtesy. The reason i say this is I don't believe anyone has the rights to take a big table in this type of buffet setting on a cruise.

 

Jim

[CruiseFever]

Thanks for your review. I'm with you, I sometimes wonder what ship people are on that write the bad reviews. I guess some people just like to moan

[lahoban]

massagegirl you have such a great attitude! I wish more people could be like you it would make the world a better place. I can't wait to sail the CB. I loved your review, thanks.

[crusdiva]

Hi massagegirl,

Glad to hear that you enjoyed our cruise on the CB. DH and I are weeks away from sailing her for the third time and are always amazed by the things people decide to complain about. We too have found her crew to be friendly and very good at what they do. I wonder if you could answer a couple of crew questions for me. You said you did Anytime Dining, which dining room did you frequent? Who were your waitstaff? Do you remember who the Maitre'd was? Did you try Sabatini or Sterling? I just love hearing good things about the CB.

[trvlhorse]

Massagegirl,

 

Question: Did you by chance go to Motown night in Club Fusion? I read about this in a Patter from October, but there was no Motown night on our sailing earlier this year. DH and I are in our 50s and grew up in the Motor City. This is our favorite dance music, and we are excited about an entire evening of the Motown sound.

 

Chris

 

Chris,

We were on the 12/3 sailing of the Caribbean Princess. I did not go to the Motown night, but our son and his girlfriend did. They said it was a lot of fun!

[JanMD]

Glad you had a great time on the CB. I still wish I was on it from Thanksgiving week. It was really hard to leave that ship.

 

Regarding the horizon court- we have been on many Princess ships- for some reason and the caribe court- the table and chairs are too close together. To let someone out that was sitting by the window- the person beside actually had to get up to allow that person to get out. Oh yes, we are skinny people. We finally ended up eatting at a table of 6 so we didn't have to deal with that problem anymore. Not sure why they put those columns so close to the tables/chairs.

 

That was great to get off with your luggage and your boyfriend to get to work.

 

We noticed the same thing- no free ice cream at 3. Back in March when we were on the ship before it was there and when we were on the Sapphire Princess in Alaska it was there.

 

I went back to work and still was like The Leaning Tower of Pisa. I finally got them on that Thursday after the cruise. Which is a long time for me.

 

Glad that you had a great time.

J

[massagegirl]

I was happy to find that a few of you enjoyed my cruise. Ezpecially while writing and still having a sea buzz.

 

I dont know what night the seafood buffett was, we did not attend. Our cabin was dolphin203 and the noise level was good. Except when there was a show in the princess theater but they only lasted about an hour and then the noise was over. And the noise was only during the production shows.

 

Yes there was a motown night. They had a few events for motown. I think they even had princess idol on motown night.

 

You asked people to share seats and some where very nice, others had excuses not to give up empty seats, but I always found some place to sit.

 

We ate in the palm, and moved tables around, everyone was great. We also tried Sterlings. It was fair. Glad we tried, but we did not go for a second night. And the best was the ultimate balcony dinner. I cant say enough about how great the whole experience was, from the wiaters, to the food, the presentation, the moon shinning down on us. This was the best night.

 

Hope I answered all questions thus far, will check in again later.

[marly]

Massagegirl: Glad to hear you had a great time on your cruise. I sure wish I was with you!

We just got back from a cruise on Constellation and we were so disappointed. My hubby and I kept saying how much we wished we were back on the CB! I was surprised at how much Celebrity has declined in the two years since we last cruised with that line -- or perhaps it's just that we enjoy Princess so much more.

 

The reason we decided to go back to Celebrity this December is that last December 90 percent of our fellow passengers were old to very old folks. Was it the same age demographic this year?

Marly

[CruiseKing]

massagegirl,

So glad to hear you had a great cruise. I'm getting ready for my third cruise on her and am friendly with some of the crew. Could you check your patters and let me know who the captain. maitre'd and cruise director were.

Thank You.

[ushcruiser]

I was on the same cruise and massagegirl, I totally agree with you. The cruise was absolutely perfect. I loved the crew staff escpecially Shaun. He was gorgeous. I recommend this ship to everyone.

[massagegirl]

Marly, it was an older crowd, I think we were one of the few who had our own hair color, but that does not bother us at all. We meet some gret people and some not so nice people, and that happens at all ages. My first cruise was celebrity and although it is how I got hooked I dont think I would try it again.

 

Cruiseking, I'm so sorry I did not bring the patters home with me. I had a huge over load problem with my luggage. I know the captain was Italian, if that helps.

[Coochuck]

Was on the same cruise..a nice write up.

 

From my perspective:

Staff - Friendly, and eager to meet your needs

Room - Exceeded my expectations, layout - great, kept clean, and the best cabin steward ever.

Public Areas - Not overly impressed, but very nice when compared to other ships

Pools - Fantastic, both in number, and ample chairs surrounding.

Food - Sad to say my only complaint...could not get a good hot breakfast anywhere..buffett or dinning room...the worst ever....dinner in dinning room was hit and miss..sometimes fantastic..sometimes....horriable (There was always pizza and burgers...Caribe Cafe a lot of times was much better than the dinning rooms.

Coffee - Grows hair on a persons chest quickly

Getting off and on the ship....Princess does a great job

 

Would I go again..for sure...but so many nice ships to chose from.

 

Regards, Chuck

[foreverr]

Hi, we will be on the CP 2/11. How did you arrange for the Ultimate Balcony Dinner. How many people can they accommodate? We will be with our kids and grandkids. So we have 7 adults, but my husband and I have an aft suite so we'd like to do this for the adults. Please let me know? Thanks,

foreverr

[Frugalist]

We were on the same cruise and agree that it was a fabulous week. The staff do everything in their power to make sure everything is just right. All they ask for is a simple "please" and "thank you" for their efforts. Sadly, many passengers seem to have missed that lesson in civility when it was taught. Not surprisingly, these are the same people who are most likely to be the first to complain when the tiniest thing goes just slightly less than perfectly.

 

We tend to keep to ourselves and enjoy the many people-watching opportunities that a week on a ship with 3000 other people affords. And let me tell you, there was SOME INTERESTING people watching that week!

 

Complaint 2, there is no free ice cream, every afternnon in the horizon court was make your own sundea's. I saw it done the same way on RCCL. So you cant yell at princess for that.

 

Not only is free ice cream available every afternoon in the Horizon Court, but it's also available in the Dining Rooms for lunch and dinner. And you don't have to sit through an entire dinner to get it either. Several times we have eaten our meal at one of the other venues then gone down to the dining room and told the Matre D that we were only there for dessert. Guess what? No problem! I have no patience with the people who complain about there not being free ice cream available on the ship.

[srussell]

If everyone quits smoking I wonder how the government will make up for all the billions of dollars that it will lose in taxes?

 

Could that be the reason that cigarettes are still allowed to made and sold?

 

Hmmmm

[crooooze]

MassageGirl,

Do you remember what movies they were showing on MUTS? Anything current? Or pretty much old movies?

[paradise4ever]

We are going on the CP May 13th. My answer on the yes there is ice cream no there isn't any is--------Maybe the ice cream machine was broken. I've been to Sams Club for the past several visits and the ice machine is still broken. Could be!! I love ice cream but i would not let the lack of it spoil my cruise. But, on the other hand, if they didn't like icecream and had that to complain about they would find something else, like the lack of caffeine free soda. Some people need to have a scape goat because they could and would not like to let anyone know that they were having a good time. Everyone knows someone who never has a good time. Its just, O'k, or it will do, or hows about i've seen/ate/done better. I can shout it from the roof tops. I ENJOY EVERYTHING. NO MATTER HOW GOOD, BAD OR INDIFFERENT. I ALWAYS MAKE THE BEST OF IT. I love living.

[youngyedi]

thank you for your insight on the carribean princess. i have been on the grand twice and the star. this is the first time on the carribean. sailing on 01/21/06 with wife and another couple. so im used to the routine by now. plan on using you info whenever possible. the only problem i might have is seeing some of the same shows and comedians i have seen before. do they still have bingo and dicey wooden horses?. is the orient beach really that nude?. we are also doing the cat thing to st john again. we loved it the first time at st. thomas. thanks again for your info. will report back when we come back.

After reading some of these bad reviews, I'm not sure if they were on the wrong ship or if I was. This was the best cruise I have ever been on.

We arrived at the port at 1 and by 1:30 we happily sat in our room, stood out on our balcony and waited for sailing.

 

Our room steward was the most attentive we have had. Any request we had, he provided in moments.

 

We had anytime dinning and it worked very well for us. We had reservation every night at 6, but we never saw a line. Breakfast we liked the horizon court. Most times we found a place to sit. This was the worst part of the cruise and it had to do with the other cruisers. There would be two people sitting at a table for 6 and not let anyone sit with them. The food was hot, the selection was good. I ate someting diferent every morning and it was ALL good. Lunch you had so many options. two buffets, room service, pizza, hamburgers, chicken sandwiches, etc. I dont know how one could not find something they liked.

 

I just read a comment about the gym being too small, no equipment. I went every moring bewteen 7-9 and once in the afternoon. I never had to wait for any equipment I wanted. There was a great selection, and all new machines.

 

The staff all over the boat was the best we have found. If I asked where to find something they did not just point and say over there, they walked me to it. They always smiled and said Hi, asked if we needed anything.

 

There are multiple pools, hot tubs and had to be 1 chair for everyone. I went to diferent areas to sit at various times and never had a problem finding a lounge chair or seeing other empty chairs around, Now if you have to sit the first row around the pools, you have to be smart ebough to know those are going to be taken first and you will have to sit a few rows back, what a shame;)

 

My boyfriend had to be at work first thing this morning, so sadly we had to depart first off the boat. We had not problems, the front desk was very helpfull. We carried our own bags off. The "gates" opened at 8:45 and we were in our taxi by 9am.

 

I have sea legs, so if my writing is slanted you know why. I will get back on later and add to my thoughts as I remember.

 

Oh, here is why some people complain. Some lady was upset there were no cookies in the buffett. A waiter brought her out a plate of cookies in seconds, then she complains that he only brought out a few. Well, if she would have taken 3 steps to her right she would have seen a plate over flowing with cookies.

Complaint 2, there is no free ice cream, every afternnon in the horizon court was make your own sundea's. I saw it done the same way on RCCL. So you cant yell at princess for that.

I could answer most reason people complain, so if you have specific questions please let me know.

 

I found nothing wrong with this ship and would with out a doubt sail her again.

[crusingforfun]

Totally agree with you! We were on the next cruise 12/17 - 12/24 and LOVED it! In fact, we're looking into booking the same cruise for December '06.

[paradise4ever]

youngyedi, what is the cat thing? We are looking for things to do.