Caribbean Princess.....Just back

[Mel2421]

I was on the May 26th cruise and had a wonderful time. My family (includes two teenagers) didn't want to leave! My 18 year old loved the magician and we enjoyed the "game show" nights. The food in the MDR was fine. We had breadsticks and enough butter every night. Made to order omlettes in the Buffet were good and we loved to fix a plate of olives, cheese and fruit to have on our balcony with a bottle of champagne most late afternoons. I thought the ship was beautiful and didn't encounter any "smells". We spent one afternoon in the Sanctuary and had great service, ordered from the "spa" menu and had afternoon tea. Take me back!

 

Thanks sounds heavenly. My daughter and I said on July 21st. My husband and I loved the Regal this is our first time on CB.

[JF - retired RRT]

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.

In 23 cruises on Princess since 2013, the Baked Alaska parade has always been plastic.

Tried it once...once was enough.

[floridalover5623]

Ice cream cones were free in March...the ice cream sandwiches were about $3 each...but worth every penny!

Was it any better than the free ice cream they have in the DR?

[FritzG]

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

 

We're not giving up on Princess because we had a fabulous cruise on the Star to Hawaii in March which renewed our faith in Princess, but we would never sail on the CB again. We had many of the same problems and more that you had last fall on the 27 day British Isles/TA. We had frequent plumbing issues including toilets that finally flushed as much as 40 min. after we pressed the button, or never flushed until we called. Several passingers in our hallway had the same issue. In addition there were bad smells in the hallways, poor a.c., and the food especially on the TA part was not good. We were told that they couldn't get the temperature in our cabin below 75 "without taking other people's a.c" which I had never heard before in 20+Princess cruises. Before we even sailed on the TA portion they were out of lots of food and drink items. Our tablemates had pre-ordered a wine package, and they didn't have any of it and tried to convince them to take a cheaper wine. In the Crown Grill we saw a couple being told that they were out of 3 different wines before they gave up. It went on and on. I read rave reviews of the CB, and that sure wasn't our experience. We've been on the Star, Ruby, Diamond, Emerald, Grand, Royal and Regal and had very good to great cruises.

[VaCruzers]

Debbie, you give me hope. We are sailing first week of July on this ship and I'm getting concerned about all these posts.

 

Peggy, we've been on CB four times in the past 18 months and have a fifth planned in September with no significant complaints. I don't question the validity of any individual's experience, and can only share mine.

 

We are laid back, long time cruisers who no longer feel compelled to participate in every activity, visit every dining venue or see every show. In fact, last cruise we did zero activities and attended zero shows. CB is not among the newest, most updated ships, but our cabin and public spaces we visited were comfortable. Did we love every menu item at every meal? No, but we certainly didn't go hungry. Do I wish there was less "junk mail" promoting services or spending opportunities in which I have not interest? Absolutely! But it takes little effort to file those in the trash basket. While I observed many fellow passengers treating each other and the crew with respect, unfortunately, I also observed a few situations of the opposite.

 

Not everyone is going to have a perfect experience every cruise, but remembering that we are all human and having realistic expectations goes a long way in having at least an enjoyable experience. Wishing you smooth sailing!

[suzyed]

We're not giving up on Princess because we had a fabulous cruise on the Star to Hawaii in March which renewed our faith in Princess, but we would never sail on the CB again. We had many of the same problems and more that you had last fall on the 27 day British Isles/TA. We had frequent plumbing issues including toilets that finally flushed as much as 40 min. after we pressed the button, or never flushed until we called. Several passingers in our hallway had the same issue. In addition there were bad smells in the hallways, poor a.c., and the food especially on the TA part was not good. We were told that they couldn't get the temperature in our cabin below 75 "without taking other people's a.c" which I had never heard before in 20+Princess cruises. Before we even sailed on the TA portion they were out of lots of food and drink items. Our tablemates had pre-ordered a wine package, and they didn't have any of it and tried to convince them to take a cheaper wine. In the Crown Grill we saw a couple being told that they were out of 3 different wines before they gave up. It went on and on. I read rave reviews of the CB, and that sure wasn't our experience. We've been on the Star, Ruby, Diamond, Emerald, Grand, Royal and Regal and had very good to great cruises.

Our sailing on the Caribbean Princess on May 26, was perfect! Not one problem. We had a ball!

[suzyed]

Peggy, we've been on CB four times in the past 18 months and have a fifth planned in September with no significant complaints. I don't question the validity of any individual's experience, and can only share mine.

 

We are laid back, long time cruisers who no longer feel compelled to participate in every activity, visit every dining venue or see every show. In fact, last cruise we did zero activities and attended zero shows. CB is not among the newest, most updated ships, but our cabin and public spaces we visited were comfortable. Did we love every menu item at every meal? No, but we certainly didn't go hungry. Do I wish there was less "junk mail" promoting services or spending opportunities in which I have not interest? Absolutely! But it takes little effort to file those in the trash basket. While I observed many fellow passengers treating each other and the crew with respect, unfortunately, I also observed a few situations of the opposite.

 

Not everyone is going to have a perfect experience every cruise, but remembering that we are all human and having realistic expectations goes a long way in having at least an enjoyable experience. Wishing you smooth sailing!

Thank you Debbie....my thoughts exactly!

[cheggy]

Peggy, we've been on CB four times in the past 18 months and have a fifth planned in September with no significant complaints. I don't question the validity of any individual's experience, and can only share mine.

 

We are laid back, long time cruisers who no longer feel compelled to participate in every activity, visit every dining venue or see every show. In fact, last cruise we did zero activities and attended zero shows. CB is not among the newest, most updated ships, but our cabin and public spaces we visited were comfortable. Did we love every menu item at every meal? No, but we certainly didn't go hungry. Do I wish there was less "junk mail" promoting services or spending opportunities in which I have not interest? Absolutely! But it takes little effort to file those in the trash basket. While I observed many fellow passengers treating each other and the crew with respect, unfortunately, I also observed a few situations of the opposite.

 

Not everyone is going to have a perfect experience every cruise, but remembering that we are all human and having realistic expectations goes a long way in having at least an enjoyable experience. Wishing you smooth sailing!

Sounds as if we have a lot in common as we just want to relax and enjoy the cruise. I have wanted to cruise on the Caribbean Princess for several years and hoping for a great cruise. Thanks Debbie.

[RMM34667]

I also wouldn't give up on Princess from the issues I personally experienced on this cruise. I also wouldn't give up on the Caribbean Princess. She was my first cruise in 2004.

 

But that doesn't make the issues reported any less real.

 

I love Princess. Just became elite. Looking for my next Princess cruise now.

 

But that doesn't change the facts. On the June 9th sailing of the Caribbean Princess the food in the new buffet sucked. Ship smelled of sewage.. It's been reported and confirmed by more than a few on that cruise.

 

I am happy those on other sailings did not experience the same things. But we did.

 

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[RMM34667]

Oh I forgot to add we had a great time on this cruise. Only left the ship in St. Thomas to me for the first time my great niece and mother's first great grandchild. And a quick stop in St. Marten for shopping. We were sailing to relax and enjoy the ship.

 

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[moki'smommy]

Quick question..are they now charging for ice cream cones???

Not for cones (on April 1, 2018 cruise) or for a dish of soft serve. THey had other items with a charge.

[floridalover5623]

 

 

 

But that doesn't change the facts. On the June 9th sailing of the Caribbean Princess the food in the new buffet sucked. Ship smelled of sewage.. It's been reported and confirmed by more than a few on that cruise.

 

Just because they added a new buffet layout doesn't mean they food has been improved also.

Hopefully the sewerage problem will be corrected after dry dock.

 

Not for cones (on April 1' date=' 2018 cruise) or for a dish of soft serve. THey had other items with a charge.[/quote']

Are those cones the pre-made ones or the cones they've been making for years with the soft serve ice cream.

[kywildcatfanone]

I also wouldn't give up on Princess from the issues I personally experienced on this cruise. I also wouldn't give up on the Caribbean Princess. She was my first cruise in 2004.

 

But that doesn't make the issues reported any less real.

 

I love Princess. Just became elite. Looking for my next Princess cruise now.

 

But that doesn't change the facts. On the June 9th sailing of the Caribbean Princess the food in the new buffet sucked. Ship smelled of sewage.. It's been reported and confirmed by more than a few on that cruise.

 

I am happy those on other sailings did not experience the same things. But we did.

 

Sent from my SM-G930V using Forums mobile app

 

Can you detail a bit how the food in the new buffet sucked?

 

 

I ask because we board in 2 weeks and are only planning to eat in the buffet, not going to a dining room at all. We did that on the Regal in March and it worked out great, am hoping for the same experience on the CB.

[floridalover5623]

Can you detail a bit how the food in the new buffet sucked?

 

 

I ask because we board in 2 weeks and are only planning to eat in the buffet, not going to a dining room at all. We did that on the Regal in March and it worked out great, am hoping for the same experience on the CB.

That worked well for you on the Regal only because their buffet is much superior to that of the older ships. We ate most of our meals on the Royal in the buffet & thought the same thing as you.

We've also been on the CB in the past & the buffet food was only passable at best. I was hoping for an improvement for this coming Caribbean season but it doesn't look that way.:(

[lola2013]

Was it any better than the free ice cream they have in the DR?

 

The chocolate soft serve on deck was delicious. Sorry, I never had it in the DR. My dessert after dinner every night was the Love Boat mousse...also delicious!

[kitty2264]

That worked well for you on the Regal only because their buffet is much superior to that of the older ships. We ate most of our meals on the Royal in the buffet & thought the same thing as you.

We've also been on the CB in the past & the buffet food was only passable at best. I was hoping for an improvement for this coming Caribbean season but it doesn't look that way.:(

 

We agree that the buffets on both the Regal and Royal are superior to those on the Caribbean Princess. We were on the Caribbean in March 18th and were anxious to see her after her recent dry dock. We ate at the buffet several times in the evening and found the food quality and selection had gone a bit downhill from our previous trips. The buffet was also crowded due to the addition of the Steamer's/Plank's venues. While only one side of the buffet was open in the evenings there was overflow seating available on the opposite side of the ship in the closed buffet section. Bad part was that access was through the elevator lobby with your plate of food. That layout seemed to be not very well thought out.

 

We still enjoyed the trip though and and wouldn't hesitate to travel on CB again.

[floridalover5623]

We agree that the buffets on both the Regal and Royal are superior to those on the Caribbean Princess. We were on the Caribbean in March 18th and were anxious to see her after her recent dry dock. We ate at the buffet several times in the evening and found the food quality and selection had gone a bit downhill from our previous trips. The buffet was also crowded due to the addition of the Steamer's/Plank's venues. While only one side of the buffet was open in the evenings there was overflow seating available on the opposite side of the ship in the closed buffet section. Bad part was that access was through the elevator lobby with your plate of food. That layout seemed to be not very well thought out.

 

We still enjoyed the trip though and and wouldn't hesitate to travel on CB again.

I read that comment in another thread you posted. It's strange that there's no access to the available seating without walking through the lobby.

I hated to see the Royal leave Florida & can't wait until another Royal class ship returns with 10 day trips. :(

Meanwhile we're stuck with the CP for a while.

Maybe they'll send it to Australia someday. They don's seem to mind older ships.;)

[kywildcatfanone]

Well, we aren't picky eaters at all. As long as they have 2-3 meat options and sides, I think we will be fine. While I know they aren't the same as the Royal/Regal, I'm sure there are lots of options.

[shpshootr]

Hello...I heard that with the last refurbishment on Caribbean Princess that the televisions were like the ones on royal and regal where you have a great selection of free movies and shows available, can anyone that has been on it recently tell me if this is true?

[lola2013]

We were on the last two weeks of March; the TVs had been replaced with flat screens...great selection of TV shows and movies...along with standard ship info and advertisements!

[spyro1952]

I was on the CB immediately after dry dock in 2017 and will never go on it again. The worst ship in the fleet and it needs to be scrapped. I have over 65 cruises with Princess and avoid any itinerary where this ship is going.

Everything that was mentioned in the previous 4 pages is absolutely true and now has been going on for over a year

[floridalover5623]

I was on the CB immediately after dry dock in 2017 and will never go on it again. The worst ship in the fleet and it needs to be scrapped. I have over 65 cruises with Princess and avoid any itinerary where this ship is going.

Everything that was mentioned in the previous 4 pages is absolutely true and now has been going on for over a year

Only those that have experienced it for themselves will understand where your coming from.;)

Of course they are still a few that don't care one way of the other.

[teachingforme]

We were on the June 9, 2018 sailing. Yes, there are new TV (much bigger and take up the whole space plus some where the old TV's were).

TV liking/ not liking is going to be subjective. We experienced live feed limited to 4 or 5 news channels. The on demand feature had lots of chooses (don't remember how many) but only 5 episodes per show. We could find no cartoons or kid shows for my 6 year old to watch while waiting for a parent to get ready. We could never access our account on the TV. We did watch some of the other features like GO that highlights other locations (it was okay), did watch port talks and morning show a few times. But TV went out 3 times in 1 week was the TV was more of a frustration to us then helpful. The compensation for the TV being out was drink coupons (not useful to us since we had the drink package).

My son would watch the safety video every night before bed as his way to relax and calm down. He had parts of it memorized

 

 

We are with other posters we won't be sailing this ship again. But that is our opinion and everyone has different experiences.

[Thrak]

Hello...I heard that with the last refurbishment on Caribbean Princess that the televisions were like the ones on royal and regal where you have a great selection of free movies and shows available, can anyone that has been on it recently tell me if this is true?

 

While the TV options aren't identical to those on Royal and Regal they were greatly improved. There was a lot of on demand programming and you were able to stop your movie and then pick it up where you left off at a later time. In the past if you wanted to watch a movie you had to catch it at the beginning and then watch it through. My wife watched a few movies that she caught in the middle and then watched the beginning later. Not good. On Caribbean Princess you could just start the movie any time you wanted and, like I said above, you could stop it, go to dinner or whatever, and then pick it up where you left off.

 

We didn't hate CB when we sailed in March. We did experience a total lack of Internet and even intranet access the last two days of the cruise which was really bad for those trying to check flights, etc. I found it extremely annoying not to have access to Princess @Sea for those two days but the system was down hard. Apparently the onboard IT staff is pretty much worthless.

 

We did like the new hand washing stations outside the buffet and also enjoyed the breakfast and lunch options at Planks and Steamers. The updated offerings at the grill were also appreciated although the Princess idea of "street tacos" doesn't match our idea of them. They were "OK" and you were limited to two per order but nothing to get excited about and I can get better tacos from any taco truck in town. The pizza was still incredibly bad and, based on that, we didn't even try the new offerings at the pizza place. We just had our "test" piece of pizza - most of which went into the trash.

 

We found no issues that would cause us to avoid booking on CB in the future. One would hope the IT issue was a one time deal.

[kywildcatfanone]

I was on the CB immediately after dry dock in 2017 and will never go on it again. The worst ship in the fleet and it needs to be scrapped. I have over 65 cruises with Princess and avoid any itinerary where this ship is going.

Everything that was mentioned in the previous 4 pages is absolutely true and now has been going on for over a year

 

Wow, I'm not sure if I should be sad that I board next week or not. It's my 20th anniversary, and I hope it's not overall as bad as people are saying. Not planning to use the dining room, or go to shows, mostly just pool during the day, buffet for food, and TV/deck in the evenings.

 

I've sailed on the CB twice before, including our first Princess cruise and am nervous because we have only been on the Royal/Regal since they came out, and have gotten used to them, and particularly the retreat area, and the layout of the buffet.