Caribbean Princess ?

[beshears]

I am thinking of booking for 8 of us the Caribbean Princess ship. If you have been on it within the last year or so, would you give me your pros/cons (yes I know this is YOUR opinion) of this ship?

[u2harmony]

Hey neighbor, I am boarding tomorrow and will let you know my opinions. ☺️

[BamaVol]

We sailed March 2-12 partial Panama Canal.  
 

Pros: entertainment was to our liking. We skipped the theater and hung out at Crooners and the Wheelhouse bars. Food in the MDR was better than average.  I informed Princess of my dietary restrictions and they assigned a headwaiter to prepare all my food.  I felt like royalty.  Our steward was on top of everything and tidies up 3-4 times a day. The medallion tells him when we are out of the cabin. Ports were the reason I booked.  Costa Rica in particular was an excellent visit.  Any crew I interacted with was friendly, helpful and genuinely nice.  Internet was available at all times but slow at peak. The spa facility looked empty most days. The gym as well. Medallion app worked fine for us.  I even ordered a sandwich and it was delivered to me on deck 45 minutes later.
 

Cons: Facilities were okay.  The ship is a little worn out in places but everything functioned. Our ocean view cabin worked well: lots of storage but no place to sit. Buffet can be confusing, but more a COVID/Noro issue than ship specific.  Embarkation in Port Everglades was smooth, although we were delayed for a deep cleaning.  Disembarkation was a zoo.  We returned to a different terminal and had to bus back.

 

Conclusion: I would sail her again.  It was our first Princess cruise and I was sufficiently pleased to book with them for September on the Sapphire.

 

 

Edited May 5, 2023 by BamaVol

[pathi]

I just got off last week. Overall ship is very nice. Food this cruise was very good. Sabatini's was spectacular this trip. Crew was helpful and friendly. We had an issue with our toilet on the 3rd day. This was corrected within 2 hours. Ordering Food and drinks from the app varied from very quick to kinda slow.(Took 30 minutes for a lunch order to arrive at sanctuary. Note this was an app order not off the sanctuary menu.)

 

The bad was mainly embarkation. They were still under the Noro protocols with extra cleaning required before we got on board. We were notified the day before. We were able to board around 1:30 but rooms were not ready until 4. Huge crowd in all public spaces because of this.

[Jadn13]

I’m on now for 4 weeks, I have one more CB Princess booked after this and then I doubt I will sail on her again. I have been sailing CB since 2014 and she’s looking tired. 

[mtnesterz]

You did not mention when or where you are cruising and that does matter. The Caribbean does not have a covered pool and in wintertime, that might be something you might want when it's cold. All the Crown Class are like that. The Caribbean also has the least space per passenger of any Princess ship. Why the Caribbean is different than sisters in that regard, I don't know.

There is no reason this can't make for a great vacation though. Otherwise, we've found Princess' service, food and entertainment consistent ship to ship.

[MissP22]

2 hours ago, Jadn13 said:

I’m on now for 4 weeks, I have one more CB Princess booked after this and then I doubt I will sail on her again. I have been sailing CB since 2014 and she’s looking tired. 

I can understand why. There are many other Princess ships that are in much better shape. 

We haven't sailed on the CB since 2017 and wouldn't return but that was for other reasons. 

[Rick&Jeannie]

We did a partial Panama Canal transit in Feb this year.  As others have said...it is an older ship but it is being maintained very well (in my opinion.)  Very interesting design with the Skywalkers Lounge perched way up above the aft.  You can get some very good wake views while out of the wind and sun.  We missed out on 2 shows because it appeared to be standing room only...and I refuse to do that!  Food (which is always very subjective) was OK...definitely have had better on previous Princess sailings but not so much since the restart.  We did not go hungry!

 

I would sail her again with the right itinerary.

[nasa1974]

Will be on the Caribbean in April of 2024. It will be the second time on her for me. The first time was a southern Caribbean cruise. Loved the ABC islands. Sailing with my youngest daughter and her family this time. The grandkids are excited. First time for the grandkids. 🙂

[beshears]

Thank you EVERYONE for your responses to my question of the Caribbean Princess. In answer to one of your questions, we would be doing the Caribbean direction now. I will take all your information into consideration when we decide what ship to do for next year.

[trekkerlady]

Caribbean was the first Princess ship my husband and I sailed on and we loved her.  I've been on her a total of 10 times and just returned from the 11th after 10 years.  I found her to be showing her age (don't we all? LOL) but I wouldn't hesitate to sail on her again.  Yes, she is smaller than the royal class ships and so space feels more crowded now.  She has a true promenade deck which my husband loves.  We had wonderful food and service in the specialty restaurants, we did not go hungry in the buffet, Slice or Salty Dog.  Cannot speak to main dining rooms because I couldn't drag my husband in there this time.  LOL

The crew and staff are always the best and one of the main reasons we continue to return to Princess.  

 

[wildbird1275]

Good morning!  I just booked the Christmas Cruise on the Caribbean Princess (17th-27th).  Is anyone else booked on this cruise???  How has the maintenance been on this ship?  I know it is one of the older ones and do not know when last refurbished?

Edited May 14, 2023 by wildbird1275

[wildbird1275]

Sorry - 17th thru 27th).

[gamja]

I'm currently on the carribean princess now. It's at 100% capacity and honestly isn't bad. Even though it's older, I don't feel much of a difference from the discovery and sky. The discovery at 100% definitely felt twice as congested than the carribean.

[nasa1974]

1 hour ago, wildbird1275 said:

Good morning!  I just booked the Christmas Cruise on the Caribbean Princess (17th-27th).  Is anyone else booked on this cruise???  How has the maintenance been on this ship?  I know it is one of the older ones and do not know when last refurbished?

Have you checked the Princess Roll Call area?

[wildbird1275]

Yes... I do not see this cruise listed on the roll call.

 

[wildbird1275]

On 5/14/2023 at 12:26 PM, nasa1974 said:

Have you checked the Princess Roll Call area?

Yes - I do not see it listed...

[RNRcruisers]

We were a group of 8 on CB in February, Panama Canal. It was our 5th Princess cruise.

 

Pros - I like the ship layout and design, I feel it is well maintained. We enjoyed Skywalkers lounge later in the evenings. Most staff were great, we enjoyed the Sanctuary several days, loved the promenade deck.

 

Cons - Too crowded. It was full and felt it. I wasn't as happy with the MDR food as I usually am on Princess. We also couldn't get the same table/waiter every night. Wasn't impressed with the theater production shows. Hate that the atrium is very smoky because of the casino right next to it.

 

Overall we enjoyed it and would sail CB again but would try for a less crowded ship, if possible.

[mtnesterz]

32 minutes ago, RNRcruisers said:

...but would try for a less crowded ship, if possible.

It is possible. Of the Princess fleet, the Coral has the best passenger to space ratio at 1:38. Sisters Diamond and Sapphire, our two favorites, are next at 1:36. The Caribbean is the least at 1:30. 

Edited May 15, 2023 by mtnesterz

[BamaVol]

33 minutes ago, mtnesterz said:

It is possible. Of the Princess fleet, the Coral has the best passenger to space ratio at 1:38. Sisters Diamond and Sapphire, our two favorites, are next at 1:36. The Caribbean is the least at 1:30. 

I’m curious what the space unit of measure is. Is it square feet, square meters, or what?

[mtnesterz]

14 minutes ago, BamaVol said:

I’m curious what the space unit of measure is. Is it square feet, square meters, or what?

Source Cruisemapper:

"Cruise passengers-to-space ratio

The ship's "space ratio" (by definition) is the enclosed space (measured in ft3/cubic feet) per passenger. A ship of 45,000 GT (gross tonnage) with capacity 1,000 passengers will have a space ratio 45 (or 45ft3=45000/1000). So if your ship has generally smaller cabins but very large public spaces, she will have a higher space ratio, and the higher the space ratio number, the more guests will enjoy a sense of spaciousness on board."

[BamaVol]

1 minute ago, mtnesterz said:

Source Cruisemapper:

"Cruise passengers-to-space ratio

The ship's "space ratio" (by definition) is the enclosed space (measured in ft3/cubic feet) per passenger. A ship of 45,000 GT (gross tonnage) with capacity 1,000 passengers will have a space ratio 45 (or 45ft3=45000/1000). So if your ship has generally smaller cabins but very large public spaces, she will have a higher space ratio, and the higher the space ratio number, the more guests will enjoy a sense of spaciousness on board."

Thank you. That’s useful in comparing one ship to another. 

 

And it is certainly one way of looking at it.  I’d probably put more value on square feet.  That way, I’d discount huge atria and hundreds of feet overhead while knowing the space beside me is open. I’d also look at the total number of souls on board instead of just passengers.  We like a high crew to passenger ratio until it starts feeling crowded in some particular area.

[nasa1974]

2 hours ago, wildbird1275 said:

Yes... I do not see this cruise listed on the roll call.

 

Sorry your cruise isn't posted. Just a nice place to meet up and find out who will be on the cruise. It seems to me that the roll calls are having less folks post in general. Obviously, some are very popular while most just seem to go nowhere.