Caribbean Princess.....Just back

[MISTER 67]

We are seasoned cruisers with 56 now and 20 with Princess. We are not complainers and have always given Princess 9s or 10s on their survey, not this time. We have sailed on the Caribbean Princess 7 previous times. First of all let me say that service as good as ever as were a lot of other things. What was bad was a sewage smell in some areas of the ship. We had TV issues with no service for many hours at a time. In our cabin along with leaks below the sink and the toilet stopped working twice, the carpeting in our cabin should have been replaced on the last dry dock. Internet sevice was pretty bad especially the first 3 days. The shower curtain had quite a few stains on it. Towels were very rough, like drying yourself with sandpaper. We know that the ship has engine problems but that being said, the Caribbean Princess needs a major overhaul.

Now to the food, Princess has raised most brochure rates but the quality of the food is only a little better than Carnival. My wife who bakes a lot along with me noticed that desserts lacked butter and we would bet that lard is being used instead of butter. Sauces in dishes like Veal Marsala and Beef Wellington were pathetic. The Lobster was not served with melted butter. There was no Tiramisu on Italian night, that's unbelievable. Sandwiches in the buffet were a joke especially the wraps, on piece of ham surrounded by a lot of Wrap. I learned real quick to have my sandwich custom ordered at the sandwich station. The Pizza was horrible as someone mentioned in another thread. Soups both in the MDR and buffet were in some cases really bad, cream soups were watered down. No breadsticks in the MDR, was told that the machine is broken????. The Baked Alaska on parade is now done with plastic instead of the real thing, they don't slice it at the waiters station but bring your slice from the kitchen.

There was a couple at a table across from us who were complaining about the food and the assistant Maitre'd admitted to them that Princess has cut down on the food budget but justified by saying they must be competitive but as I said before, they have raised the prices of their cruises, can't have it both ways.

 

I know that the CP was in dry dock last year, well about all they did was make the Horizon Court into a Starbucks or Panera bread designed buffet room, very ugly. We are on a ship, what is wrong with a nautical theme. They also took the Caribe cafe and made it into 2 money making venues, Steamers and Planks.

 

This was more than likely our last cruise with Princess, they are now a nickel and dime the passenger company, in fact we are cancelling our Mediterranean cruise next year on the Emerald Princess and going with Holland America instead. We had a great cruise on the HAL Eurodam in March and that ship looks like it's brand new and is almost as old as the CP, we have sailed with HAL19 times. Here in the states we will sail with HAL, MSC and RCCL

Edited June 16, 2018 by MISTER 67

[suzyed]

We are seasoned cruisers with 56 now and 20 with Princess. We are not complainers and have always given Princess 9s or 10s on their survey, not this time. We have sailed on the Caribbean Princess 7 previous times. First of all let me say that service as good as ever as were a lot of other things. What was bad was a sewage smell in some areas of the ship. We had TV issues with no service for many hours at a time. In our cabin along with leaks below the sink and the toilet stopped working twice, the carpeting in our cabin should have been replaced on the last dry dock. Internet sevice was pretty bad especially the first 3 days. The shower curtain had quite a few stains on it. Towels were very rough, like drying yourself with sandpaper. We know that the ship has engine problems but that being said, the Caribbean Princess needs a major overhaul.

Now to the food, Princess has raised most brochure rates but the quality of the food is only a little better than Carnival. My wife who bakes a lot along with me noticed that desserts lacked butter and we would bet that lard is being used instead of butter. Sauces in dishes like Veal Marsala and Beef Wellington were pathetic. The Lobster was not served with melted butter. There was no Tiramisu on Italian night, that's unbelievable. Sandwiches in the buffet were a joke especially the wraps, on piece of ham surrounded by a lot of Wrap. I learned real quick to have my sandwich custom ordered at the sandwich station. The Pizza was horrible as someone mentioned in another thread. Soups both in the MDR and buffet were in some cases really bad, cream soups were watered down. No breadsticks in the MDR, was told that the machine is broken????. The Baked Alaska on parade is now done with plastic instead of the real thing, they don't slice it at the waiters station but bring your slice from the kitchen.

There was a couple at a table across from us who were complaining about the food and the assistant Maitre'd admitted to them that Princess has cut down on the food budget but justified by saying they must be competitive but as I said before, they have raised the prices of their cruises, can't have it both ways.

 

I know that the CP was in dry dock last year, well about all they did was make the Horizon Court into a Starbucks or Panera bread designed buffet room, very ugly. We are on a ship, what is wrong with a nautical theme. They also took the Caribe cafe and made it into 2 money making venues, Steamers and Planks.

 

This was more than likely our last cruise with Princess, they are now a nickel and dime the passenger company, in fact we are cancelling our Mediterranean cruise next year on the Emerald Princess and going with Holland America instead. We had a great cruise on the HAL Eurodam in March and that ship looks like it's brand new, we have sailed with HAL19 times. Here in the states we will sail with HAL, MSC and RCCL

What sailing were you on?

[MISTER 67]

June 9th-16th.

[jean s]

I agree about the pizza. We were on this ship in February and I was shocked at how horrible the pizza. I have always loved the pizza on this ship in the past.

[suzyed]

I agree about the pizza. We were on this ship in February and I was shocked at how horrible the pizza. I have always loved the pizza on this ship in the past.

I thought the pizza was great!

Different strokes....

[fishywood]

Wow I haven't seen the Baked Alaska carved whole at the table since 2012. And the waiter's parade was with the battery-powered "fake Alaska" long before that--the old school flaming ones having been deemed a fire hazard a good decade ago. Perhaps the OP should just be thankful they hadn't noticed until now.

[stepmor99]

We were on the May cruise and I cannot agree with you more. The sewer smell was everywhere for the first four days and was a real buzz kill in the Piazza. The food was mediocre. This was a casino VIP cruise and was oversold......600+ VIPs vying for 120 slot machines on most nights. Smoking areas are a joke throughout the ship.

The ship staff was good, though, but we're full of lip service if you had a complaint.

 

I've done 15 cruises with Princess over the past 10 years. I used to love the feeling when I board a ship and everything is familiar. I want to keep loving Princess but I've seen too many changes over the past two years that negate our cruise experience. Our most recent trip may be our last for a while. It's time to try something new.

[kywildcatfanone]

I am sorry to hear this, as I board in a couple of weeks. We aren't doing the DR this time, relying on the buffet for food, so I hope they have similar options to the Regal/Royal food wise.

 

 

We have basically stopped doing the DR because the food quality has gone down, and the service takes longer.

[love to cruz]

We just got off the Caribbean Princess today as well. You forgot to mention that shorts & flip flops are now permissible in the dining rooms at dinner. I asked Anastasia upon entering the dining room one night. She told me Princess no longer has a dress code for anything but formal night.

What did you think of the ship's entertainment? We felt this also has deteriorated badly. The magician was nothing short of pitiful.

Since we own a business, the lack of internet was costly to us. Had to pay roaming charges in St. Martin to touch base with our company.

Like you we are looking at Celebrity & Holland America. Sad, as we are long time Princess fans.

[fishywood]

Not being snide this time...but the OP should examine their conclusion to abandon Princess based on one experience on one ship--particularly a ship that was a unique build from the start that has also had a unique recent refit.

 

The CB is the only ship that has had its original Horizon Court rebranded as World Fresh Marketplace. With the Cafe Caribe section changed to Planks and Steamers. Plus the Ice Cream stand adding the Coffee and Cones upcharge items (though two other ships have done so as well).

 

And this is hardly the first thread reporting that those changes have resulted in a cascade of further revisions to dining onboard CB that have been--to put it mildly--not well received. So much so that World Fresh, Planks and Steamers have yet to appear on any other ship emerging from its recent refit. Not that Princess will ever admit that mistakes were made and restore what they can on CB to its previous use.

 

Now I believe in taking a chance despite public outcry--I just got off Island Princess last month. (For the record, the 200+ additional passengers were not an issue, but the lack of a second showlounge aft is disastrous). But I continue to pause my plan to book the first-time-in-many-years-on-Princess northbound repo cruise from Ft Lauderdale to Quebec on the CB next July based on what I have read here. Combined with my memory of sailing her when brand new--the two major refits she has undergone since appear to have not done the job.

[OCruisers]

Gosh, hate to hear this!

 

We had a WONDERFUL time on CB for 14 days in January (2018). :)

[MISTER 67]

We just got off the Caribbean Princess today as well. You forgot to mention that shorts & flip flops are now permissible in the dining rooms at dinner. I asked Anastasia upon entering the dining room one night. She told me Princess no longer has a dress code for anything but formal night.

What did you think of the ship's entertainment? We felt this also has deteriorated badly. The magician was nothing short of pitiful.

Since we own a business, the lack of internet was costly to us. Had to pay roaming charges in St. Martin to touch base with our company.

Like you we are looking at Celebrity & Holland America. Sad, as we are long time Princess fans.

 

Actually we liked the magician along with the 2 vocalists and the comedian. Bravo was fantastic but the Broadway show last night was horrible, too much canned singing and no live orchestra and the show itself was very dark and almost evil. The music before the show with a lot of classic Rogers and Hammerstein songs was better than the live show.

As far as the dress code we have gotten to the point of not letting it bother us anymore, you can complain and let it bother you but nothing will ever be done about it as the lines don't want to offend anyone, We started cruising in 1982 when on 7 day cruise you had 2 formal nights, 4 semi-formal nights and one casual night which was the last night. If you showed up in the wrong attire you were not admitted in the Dining Room, no ands, ifs or buts about it.

[suzyed]

Gosh, hate to hear this!

 

We had a WONDERFUL time on CB for 14 days in January (2018). :)

My daughter and I had a wonderful time on the CB sailing 5/26! The ship looks great! The staff is wonderful!

I will admit the MDR food was just ok and the first night the kitchen was very slow....but we had bread sticks every night along with some nice fresh rolls! The service improved over the next few nights as did some of the food!

There was not a baked Alaska parade but they served it slice by slice.

We didn't see anyone in the MDR in flip flops and/or shorts...not one!

The Bravo show was great but as another poster mentioned the Great White Way show was lacking...I am a fan of Broadway but I didn't even recognize most of the songs...they must have been very very old broadway!

 

We also had a very special lecture by Amy Purdy the young woman who lost her legs at 19 years old but went on to win 2nd place in the Paralympics Snowboarding event and even came in 2nd on Dancing with the Stars! She is amazing!! She had a book signing and was just a lovely, beautiful and inspirational young woman!!

 

The only time we smelled anything on the ship was up on the second level at the main pool and it was only for about 15 minutes, ONE day!

It was my 30 something daughter's first Princess cruise and she liked it and said she would sail on Princess again.

 

Boy! What a difference a week makes!

[Host CJSKIDS]

We just got off the Caribbean Princess today as well. You forgot to mention that shorts & flip flops are now permissible in the dining rooms at dinner. I asked Anastasia upon entering the dining room one night. She told me Princess no longer has a dress code for anything but formal night.

What did you think of the ship's entertainment? We felt this also has deteriorated badly. The magician was nothing short of pitiful.

Since we own a business, the lack of internet was costly to us. Had to pay roaming charges in St. Martin to touch base with our company.

Like you we are looking at Celebrity & Holland America. Sad, as we are long time Princess fans.

 

Can I ask who Anastasia is?

 

That is something to hear that Princess no longer has a dress code for anything but formal nights.

[Host CJSKIDS]

OP, thanks for sharing your thoughts. Sorry to hear that you didn't enjoy your cruise.

[myfuzzy]

Wow, we are on her in a few weeks and are looking forward to seeing the "new" refurbishments. I have read the comments on Planks and Steamers and saw a few photos of the new decor. But, smells and nickel and dimeing everything....I too am a long time Princess cruiser and really don't want to "jump ship" to see if the "sea is bluer" on the other side of the fish. I am looking forward to my cruise....one of my first cruises years ago was on a ship that smelled like diesel fuel and old socks...

[Thrak]

We sailed CB 14 days in March. Had a great cruise. Never saw shorts or flip flops in MDR. As for Steamers and Planks we didn't eat there for dinner but had good breakfasts and lunches (no extra fee) in those venues. Much better for breakfast than the regular buffet as we had made to order omelets and cooked to order eggs. We had a great cruise. We didn't care for the Born to be Wild production show but it seemed others did. I can't imagine anybody who cruises Princess being surprised by the "Faked Alaska". I also can't see why anybody would care.

 

To the OP: Hope you are happy wherever you go. If you don't like Princess then please, by all means, move to another line for the remainder of your cruises. If other lines work better for you then that is definitely where you should spend your cruising dollars.

[land lover]

Wow I haven't seen the Baked Alaska carved whole at the table since 2012. And the waiter's parade was with the battery-powered "fake Alaska" long before that--the old school flaming ones having been deemed a fire hazard a good decade ago. Perhaps the OP should just be thankful they hadn't noticed until now.

 

 

The "fake baked" Alaska recipe.....take one plate cover, cover it with meringue..use a blow torch to brown, top with an led light.....

[land lover]

How unfortunate to have such a unpleasant experience.....especially on a repeat shipand I am guessing similar itinerary....

 

 

But the reality is...if you have cruised that many times there has got to be a couple of cruises from Hell....I guess it was your turn....on #56

 

 

 

I've had a couple, but just chock it up to the life of a traveler....

 

 

Certainly disappointing though.....

[riclop]

Thanks for your thoughts.

[DisneyDatknee]

First princess cruise today on the Star Princess. The food in the dining room is awful. Not a good impression for the first night. We left our entrees on the table and had a better experience at the buffet.

 

I also tried the pizza and it tasted closer to Royal Caribbean.

 

 

Sent from my SM-N950U using Forums mobile app

[Lucky TGO]

Gosh, hate to hear this!

 

We had a WONDERFUL time on CB for 14 days in January (2018). :)

 

 

I was on the same cruise and had a great time also. LuLu don’t forget you promise me a dance...:):):)

The Captain of The Rowboat,

Tony

[caribill]

 

I also tried the pizza and it tasted closer to Royal Caribbean.

 

 

Does that mean it was good or it was bad?

[caribill]

did. I can't imagine anybody who cruises Princess being surprised by the "Faked Alaska". I also can't see why anybody would care.

 

 

I don't mind the fake parade, but I do mind that they no longer actually make the domed shaped baked Alaska. Instead is it now a thin sheet cake with small slices.

[caribill]

 

Towels were very rough, like drying yourself with sandpaper.

 

I know that the CP was in dry dock last year...

 

Thanks for your honest report

 

Sounds like the rough towels first introduced on the Royal Princess have made their way to the Caribbean Princess.

 

FYI, CP is the code for the Sea Princess. CB is used for the Caribbean Princess.