Thoughts on the Caribbean Princess and Iceland Cruises

[jajsmom]

We are considering booking a cruise to Iceland next year on the Caribbean Princess.  A trusted friend just came back from a cruise on the Caribbean Princess, and said it was the only ship she would never sail on again.  I've read some other negative reviews about this ship.  Please tell me your thoughts.  Also, if you've been to Iceland, please tell me which of the various flavors of cruises you did and liked or not.  It's very hard to tell the differences between these cruises.  Should we stay away from the Caribbean Princess?  Thanks for all input.

[snoozecrooze]

1 hour ago, jajsmom said:

Also, if you've been to Iceland, please tell me which of the various flavors of cruises you did and liked or not.  It's very hard to tell the differences between these cruises. 

I'm not quite sure what this turn of phrase means regarding "flavors". But Iceland is a wonderful destination and the Caribbean's itineraries next year are very good, IMO. Sky is also offering almost identical ones if you are weary of the older vessel. Next time, I might actually pursue an itinerary that has an overnight in Reykjavik and/or has more stops in Iceland (I believe Holland America is an example).

 

CB has been the unfortunate stepchild, I feel, in terms of norovirus and engine issues, but I really think the itinerary can dictate the vibe you have and encounter on a cruise, so what your friend may have experienced on a cruise in the Caribbean won't be what you get in Iceland (and we'd hope those pesky engine issues are long behind us by then).

 

FYI, there's another thread here on the forum about the ship and 'positive reviews' and that might give you more insight you're looking for.

[thehowlingroad]

3 hours ago, jajsmom said:

Also, if you've been to Iceland, please tell me which of the various flavors of cruises you did and liked or not

 

We went last year on the Enchanted Princess. 3 ports in Norway, 4 in Iceland (no overnight in Reykjavik). It was a good mix for us, and I had looked at multiple other cruise lines during the planning process; Princess regularly does 4 stops in Iceland, instead of 2 or 3 with an overnight in Reykjavik like some of the other cruise lines.

 

Whether or not that's a trade-off that's worth it to you is a personal preference; all our port stops were 10+ hours, so we felt it was still plenty of time to do the tours we wanted to do and walk around town. With the exceptions of Reykjavik and Akureyri, the other "typical" Icelandic port towns (Isafjordur, Grundarfjordur, Seydisfjordur) are really small.

[Torfamm]

Roundtrip from Southampton to Norway and Iceland was one of my favorite itineraries. Our ports were Bergen, Alesund, Flam, and Geiranger in Norway and Isafjordur, Akureyri, Grundarfjordur, and Reykjavik in Iceland. It was absolutely fantastic.

 

As for the Caribbean Princess, we were on that ship in the spring and had a great cruise. I wouldn’t ever let that keep me from an appealing itinerary. 

[Princess Cruises Fann]

I have been on the Caribbean Princess three times and love the ship. I have booked the Caribbean Princess for the 16 day Iceland and Greenland in July 2024. With all the sea days, I personally wish a different Princess ship was doing that itinerary since the Caribbean Princess does not have a covered pool so I'm sure it will be quite chilly on the Lido deck. We will probably use the hot tubs, but I'm guessing the pools will be pretty cold. 

[34TigerLily]

Caribbean Princess is our favorite ship. We have been on her numerous times.  There have been isolated issues which Princess always compensated us for and which we laughed off as a good story to tell when we got home (toilet not working overnight, cabin flooded and had to move to another cabin). You have to not sweat the small stuff, laugh it off, and enjoy your cruise.

[Robkat]

2 hours ago, 34TigerLily said:

Caribbean Princess is our favorite ship. We have been on her numerous times.  There have been isolated issues which Princess always compensated us for and which we laughed off as a good story to tell when we got home (toilet not working overnight, cabin flooded and had to move to another cabin). You have to not sweat the small stuff, laugh it off, and enjoy your cruise.

Oh golly!  We are "go with the flow" kind of people (or, at least we try to be as much as possible!) and we always try to make the best of not-so-great situations, but those issues you mentioned don't seem to be such "small stuff"!!!  

We're boarding the Caribbean Princess in the next few weeks and we're praying that whatever else we may find, those small stuff issues you had happen will NOT be challenging us!

Fingers crossed! 🤞

[jajsmom]

22 hours ago, snoozecrooze said:

I'm not quite sure what this turn of phrase means regarding "flavors". But Iceland is a wonderful destination and the Caribbean's itineraries next year are very good, IMO. Sky is also offering almost identical ones if you are weary of the older vessel. Next time, I might actually pursue an itinerary that has an overnight in Reykjavik and/or has more stops in Iceland (I believe Holland America is an example).

 

CB has been the unfortunate stepchild, I feel, in terms of norovirus and engine issues, but I really think the itinerary can dictate the vibe you have and encounter on a cruise, so what your friend may have experienced on a cruise in the Caribbean won't be what you get in Iceland (and we'd hope those pesky engine issues are long behind us by then).

 

FYI, there's another thread here on the forum about the ship and 'positive reviews' and that might give you more insight you're looking for.

  Yes, by flavors I meant different ports of call.  I wish there was more time spent in Iceland, so also considering a land trip.  We were most recently on the SKY and have sailed mostly in that class of ship.  Unfortunately, the Sky had less time in port than the Caribbean Princess itinerary.  Will check out the other positive reviews.

[jajsmom]

20 hours ago, thehowlingroad said:

 

We went last year on the Enchanted Princess. 3 ports in Norway, 4 in Iceland (no overnight in Reykjavik). It was a good mix for us, and I had looked at multiple other cruise lines during the planning process; Princess regularly does 4 stops in Iceland, instead of 2 or 3 with an overnight in Reykjavik like some of the other cruise lines.

 

Whether or not that's a trade-off that's worth it to you is a personal preference; all our port stops were 10+ hours, so we felt it was still plenty of time to do the tours we wanted to do and walk around town. With the exceptions of Reykjavik and Akureyri, the other "typical" Icelandic port towns (Isafjordur, Grundarfjordur, Seydisfjordur) are really small.

That is our ideal cruise, except we will be on another cruise during the dates of that particular cruise next year.

[jajsmom]

19 hours ago, Torfamm said:

Roundtrip from Southampton to Norway and Iceland was one of my favorite itineraries. Our ports were Bergen, Alesund, Flam, and Geiranger in Norway and Isafjordur, Akureyri, Grundarfjordur, and Reykjavik in Iceland. It was absolutely fantastic.

 

As for the Caribbean Princess, we were on that ship in the spring and had a great cruise. I wouldn’t ever let that keep me from an appealing itinerary. 

That is the cruise I would like to do, but we're going on a group cruise at the time it is offered next year, so the dates don't work for us.  Glad to hear you had a positive experience on the Caribbean Princess.  My friend's cruise had norovirus problems, air conditioning problems as well as problems with the thrusters.  We actually choose Princess cruises when we are looking for a good itinerary.

[jajsmom]

10 hours ago, Princess Cruises Fann said:

I have been on the Caribbean Princess three times and love the ship. I have booked the Caribbean Princess for the 16 day Iceland and Greenland in July 2024. With all the sea days, I personally wish a different Princess ship was doing that itinerary since the Caribbean Princess does not have a covered pool so I'm sure it will be quite chilly on the Lido deck. We will probably use the hot tubs, but I'm guessing the pools will be pretty cold. 

That is the specific cruise we are looking at, and I also wish it was on a different ship.  Especially with so many sea days.

[jajsmom]

8 hours ago, 34TigerLily said:

Caribbean Princess is our favorite ship. We have been on her numerous times.  There have been isolated issues which Princess always compensated us for and which we laughed off as a good story to tell when we got home (toilet not working overnight, cabin flooded and had to move to another cabin). You have to not sweat the small stuff, laugh it off, and enjoy your cruise.

I'm fairly low maintenance, but that is much more than I'm willing to deal with on an expensive cruise!

[amanda384]

I've never done Iceland, but I've been on the Caribbean Princess three times with a fourth coming up next week, and I have always loved it.  I feel like the Crown Grill is always better than on the Royal Class ships.  It is a smaller ship but I don't feel crowded and I feel like they do crowd dispersal very well. It doesn't have Alfredo's but Slice is better than the Lido pizza on the Royal ships.  It's not a bells-and-whistles ship but we're low maintenance.  We only had one technical problem in those trips, and that was AC trouble a few nights on one sailing. We propped our balcony door at night and got a great sea breeze, didn't even miss the AC. But if we had complained I'm sure it would have been handled or compensated one way or another.

 

TLDR: I think the CB complaints are a bit overblown but everyone cruises differently and as different priorities.  If you love the intinerary I wouldn't let the ship deter you.

Edited July 1, 2023 by amanda384

[snoozecrooze]

2 hours ago, jajsmom said:

  Yes, by flavors I meant different ports of call.  I wish there was more time spent in Iceland, so also considering a land trip.  We were most recently on the SKY and have sailed mostly in that class of ship.  Unfortunately, the Sky had less time in port than the Caribbean Princess itinerary.  Will check out the other positive reviews

I read through your other responses and can definitely vouch for the itinerary you really want to partake in. It's a great combination. If you want to push it back by another year, the Emerald Princess will cruise several Iceland/Norway itineraries in 2025.

 

I did look through Holland America's options and noticed Rotterdam (ex: July 6, 2024) and Nieuw Statendam (ex: July 1, 2024) all hit Iceland and have more immersive itineraries than through Princess. Celebrity also has several options next year as well. 

 

Whatever you do, though, just get yourself to Iceland; you won't regret it. Wishing you all the good planning vibes!

[cr8tiv1]

CB has two voyages in 2024 to Norway, Iceland, AND Greenland.  July 21 and I think again in August.  

[Torfamm]

12 hours ago, jajsmom said:

That is the cruise I would like to do, but we're going on a group cruise at the time it is offered next year, so the dates don't work for us.  Glad to hear you had a positive experience on the Caribbean Princess.  My friend's cruise had norovirus problems, air conditioning problems as well as problems with the thrusters.  We actually choose Princess cruises when we are looking for a good itinerary.

We were on board when they had noro virus and it was inconvenient not to be able to use the laundry rooms. Those things can happen on any ship on any sailing though. It wouldn’t affect my choices in the future 

[socmft]

12 hours ago, amanda384 said:

I've never done Iceland, but I've been on the Caribbean Princess three times with a fourth coming up next week, and I have always loved it.  I feel like the Crown Grill is always better than on the Royal Class ships.  It is a smaller ship but I don't feel crowded and I feel like they do crowd dispersal very well. It doesn't have Alfredo's but Slice is better than the Lido pizza on the Royal ships.  It's not a bells-and-whistles ship but we're low maintenance.  We only had one technical problem in those trips, and that was AC trouble a few nights on one sailing. We propped our balcony door at night and got a great sea breeze, didn't even miss the AC. But if we had complained I'm sure it would have been handled or compensated one way or another.

 

TLDR: I think the CB complaints are a bit overblown but everyone cruises differently and as different priorities.  If you love the intinerary I wouldn't let the ship deter you.

The Crown is one of my favorites - I love the smaller ships. Going on CB this fall and looking forward to it. We did go on Enchanted in Nov '21 on her very first sailing and totally loved it due to it being BRAND NEW and less than 900 passengers!

[jajsmom]

18 hours ago, snoozecrooze said:

I read through your other responses and can definitely vouch for the itinerary you really want to partake in. It's a great combination. If you want to push it back by another year, the Emerald Princess will cruise several Iceland/Norway itineraries in 2025.

 

I did look through Holland America's options and noticed Rotterdam (ex: July 6, 2024) and Nieuw Statendam (ex: July 1, 2024) all hit Iceland and have more immersive itineraries than through Princess. Celebrity also has several options next year as well. 

 

Whatever you do, though, just get yourself to Iceland; you won't regret it. Wishing you all the good planning vibes!

Thank you.  I feel like you understand me.  🙂 Did a lot of research today and we may try to push out to 2025.  We've been on the Emerald before, and it was fine, but not like the Royal class ships--no Alfredo's!  We have a FCD that needs to be used by December 2024, but I think if we purchase before then, we can use it in 2025 still.  Will check out Holland and Celebrity too.  Thanks!

[jajsmom]

We live less than an hour from Port Canaveral, where the Caribbean Princess is going to start homeporting next year.  I'm hoping all problems resolve before then.

[Ken the cruiser]

On 6/29/2023 at 9:20 PM, jajsmom said:

We are considering booking a cruise to Iceland next year on the Caribbean Princess.  A trusted friend just came back from a cruise on the Caribbean Princess, and said it was the only ship she would never sail on again.  I've read some other negative reviews about this ship.  Please tell me your thoughts.  Also, if you've been to Iceland, please tell me which of the various flavors of cruises you did and liked or not.  It's very hard to tell the differences between these cruises.  Should we stay away from the Caribbean Princess?  Thanks for all input.

We did not cruise there with Princess, but went on a Celebrity Summit B2B cruise to Greenland and Iceland last August and you can find my Live From thread in my below expanded signature area which went to many of the ports Princess goes to. I would recommend looking only at the pictures to speed up your time looking at the thread. 😁
 

But we are scheduled to cruise on the Caribbean Princess in October and are definitely looking forward to being on the ship again. We were on her on a Panama Canal cruise last year and had a great time!

Edited July 1, 2023 by Ken the cruiser

[0bnxshs]

16 hours ago, jajsmom said:

We live less than an hour from Port Canaveral, where the Caribbean Princess is going to start homeporting next year.  I'm hoping all problems resolve before then.

We do as well and have already placed a deposit on her first 6 night cruise in early December 2024.  Have been waiting for HAL or Princess to start using Port Canaveral for years.  Although we have done Carnival and RCCL out of PortC we just aren't Disney or RCCL mega-ship fans.

 

Sorry, didn't mean to hijack the Iceland itinerary thread, just happy that we will now see more Princess ships in Central Florida.

Edited July 2, 2023 by 0bnxshs

[FritzG]

We have sailed to Iceland several times and loved all of the ports.  

We had numerous issues with the plumbing and a.c. on 3 CB cruises, and it is the only ship we will not ever sail on again.  

[jajsmom]

3 hours ago, 0bnxshs said:

We do as well and have already placed a deposit on her first 6 night cruise in early December 2024.  Have been waiting for HAL or Princess to start using Port Canaveral for years.  Although we have done Carnival and RCCL out of PortC we just aren't Disney or RCCL mega-ship fans.

 

Sorry, didn't mean to hijack the Iceland itinerary thread, just happy that we will now see more Princess ships in Central Florida.

OMG, I see that we are neighbors!  Just got off of Narcoossee Road!

[Despegue]

FYI, in my opinion, the Royal Class vessels lack manoeuvrability for destinations like Iceland .