quick review - Caribbean Princess cruise

[nbsjcruiser]

Thought I'd do a quick review on the Caribbean Princess. We were on the Nov 12 sailing to San Juan, Amber Cove, Turks/Caicos and Princess Cays.

 

Embarkation/Disembarkation - boy does Princess have this down pat. We arrived at the pier at around 9:30 or so after dropping off our rental car. Stood in line until around 10 or so, doors opened and those who had their medallion (not us) were let in first and then about 10 mins later our line was opened. We were upstairs, in the Platinum lounge by 10:40 or so and were walking on the ship at 10:55. Disembarkation was so fast I could hardly believe it. We literally walked off the ship, grabbed our one suitcase and did the facial recognition thing in under 20 mins. 

 

Ship condition - Overall the ship wasn't too bad although I would say in honesty, she needs a little TLC. Paint peeling off elevators in the Piazza is not a good look and there were areas where different carpet had been replaced that looked like a last-minute job. Floor seemed wonky at times in some areas like the underlying weld on the metal flooring had let go. I'd give the Ship a 7 out of 10. She needs a couple months dry dock to spruce her up a bit. Don't get me wrong, I'd go back next week if I had the opportunity but the Caribbean Princess needs attention before it gets out of hand.

 

Food - this one is going to be a little weird. We ate dinner every night in the Palm dining room. Service and food quality was as good as I have ever seen on any cruise. We've found eating early (around 5:30) seems to be the sweet spot for service and hot food and they nailed it all week. The Coral dining room on the other hand - I have no idea what they're doing there. We ate breakfast there 5 times and lunch twice. The pancakes (ordered twice and then we gave up) were Lilly white, cold and had a rubber texture. I ordered Eggs Benedict each morning and the eggs ranged from soft boiled to hard boiled. I really should have sent them back every morning but I hate doing that. We didn't learn until the last sea day when we were eating lunch there that the Coral dining room was a sh*t show all week. We ate lunch with a couple who had been eating there all week and they said there were massive complaints there all week and I have to say that lunch there was not good. Quality and service were both bad. Apparently the Maitre D' was asking people to address all complaints directly to him. I feel bad for anyone who dined there because their experience was night and day compared to ours in the Palm. Buffet was good, no complaints and the steak we ordered from Chops in the MDR was perfect. We did no other specialty dining.

 

Itinerary - The captain did have to reverse the itinerary to avoid a major storm in the Caribbean and we had great weather as a result - kudos to the Captain. San Juan - Like we normally do, we did a self-guided walking tour. This is one of our favorite stops. Princess Cays - we had a clam-shell and enjoyed the beach as we always do. Amber Cove - Started out pretty good. Sat by the pool after we rented a chair and umbrella - We've been there twice and I thought umbrellas were free? Maybe I'm wrong on that. Anyway, it was sunny and warm - all good until a Carnival ship rolled in and things quickly turned into a scene reminiscent of the Trailer Park Boys. We left around 2:30 or so. Turks/Caicos - we kinda got sucked into a chair and umbrella here. They walked us for about a half mile down the beach, away from the main area where the umbrella they gave us did only a marginal job since the sun was directly in front of us. We're going back there in 2025, we'll just hang out near the main area and grab a chair up in the trees right near the exit of the pier. Not sure but I think they may be free.

 

Staff - all good especially in the Palm Dining room. Wife has some allergies and the head waiter checked in with her every night with the next day's menu to ensure everything she ordered was going to be ok. Above and beyond service here. Comedian was awful imo. Not even remotely funny. She finally realized her show was going down the toilet and began to hone in on some insufferable oaf in the crowd who was insistent on making sure everyone knew he was in crowd. It only made matters worse. We would have left but we were sitting next to this moron a few rows up from the front and I know how that would have gone. We didn't go to any production shows, so no comment there. There was an entertainer who did 2 shows - he did some R&B stuff (wish I could remember his name) but he was quite good.

 

Pool area - no issues getting a chair provided you didn't need to sit right next to the pool. The Chumley's were on board with us and I feared they'd use up all the chairs and make getting one in the sun impossible but you wouldn't have known they were on the ship tbh, unless you were told, so no issues at all.

 

That's about it. Any questions, feel free to ask away

 

 

[MissP22]

Yep, your experience mimics that of a few years ago and it's the reason we won't return. There are so many better Princess ship to sail on.

[Krap]

Thank you for your review, doing this exact itinerary in February, my first cruise! I was wondering if you, or anyone else reading this thread, has ever been off resort at Amber Cove. There seems to be a beach within walking distance with some local shops and maybe a bar. If you have any experience with going over there can you tell me how it was? I have also planned our own walking tour of San Juan and would love to hear if you have any suggestions other than all the big obvious things to see there, like the forts, umbrella street, and the home of the Pina colada. I did read about a beach that may have sea glass behind the Capital Building, so that is exciting! Thank you for any information you or others may have. 

[nbsjcruiser]

37 minutes ago, Krap said:

I was wondering if you, or anyone else reading this thread, has ever been off resort at Amber Cove

Last year we were on a RCI ship that docked downtown and we spent the day wandering around there. It was a very hot day and so we stopped for a couple cold ones. You can grab a taxi from Amber Cove and get them to drop you off in Puerto Plata and do a tour there if you like. Not sure of the price but the pick up area outside Amber Cove seems well organized.

 

37 minutes ago, Krap said:

I have also planned our own walking tour of San Juan and would love to hear if you have any suggestions

There is a free hop-on hop-off golf carts - we thought they had stopped this but we saw them toward the end of the day. You can hop on one of those and get off at a spot that looks interesting. We generally just follow our nose except for a couple of stops - we like Bombanera Restaurant, although it was closed. We also grab a pastry in Mallorca (San Francisco street) and wander in the Parroquia San Francisco de Asis church on the same street and most time we'll take a walk around San Juan Bautista Cathedral. Then we generally walk down through town, stop for a bite to eat somewhere, a beer. Wander through some stores - basically anywhere that looks interesting. We do one of the two forts usually although we didn't this time. Toward the end of the day we end up near the port, grabbing a cold beer just enjoying the day.

Edited November 29, 2023 by nbsjcruiser

[Krap]

Thank you

[Cruz4Sun]

Thanks for your review!  I have friends at Amber Cove today that stated they were asked to pay $70 for an umbrella by the pool, but the chairs were free.  This sounds out of line.  Do you remember how much you were charged?  

[MissP22]

31 minutes ago, Cruz4Sun said:

Thanks for your review!  I have friends at Amber Cove today that stated they were asked to pay $70 for an umbrella by the pool, but the chairs were free.  This sounds out of line.  Do you remember how much you were charged?  

That's outrageous. I'd fine a tree to sit under. 

[memoak]

I don’t see how the food differed in different dining rooms since I believe the food comes from one galley 

[nbsjcruiser]

1 hour ago, Cruz4Sun said:

Thanks for your review!  I have friends at Amber Cove today that stated they were asked to pay $70 for an umbrella by the pool, but the chairs were free.  This sounds out of line.  Do you remember how much you were charged?  

$22 for the umbrella by the pool is what we paid. If you go to a more fancy area near the pool with padded chairs you pay more. I think they were looking for around $50 when we were there.

[nbsjcruiser]

20 minutes ago, memoak said:

I don’t see how the food differed in different dining rooms since I believe the food comes from one galley 

Each dining room has it's own galley and each dining room has different personnel so there can be a variance in quality and service although generally it shouldn't be as noticeable as it was on that cruise.

[MISTER 67]

7 hours ago, MissP22 said:

Yep, your experience mimics that of a few years ago and it's the reason we won't return. There are so many better Princess ship to sail on.

We sailed twice on her back at start up in Nov and December of 2021 and were extremely pleased with the condition of the Caribbean Princess, in fact the November cruise was her first sailing IIRC in over 600 days, surprised that things have deteriorated a bit in 2 years, We have sailed on her 10 times and the only time she looked worn out was back on a cruise in 2017, she was definitely in need of new carpeting and furniture.

[IndyKid]

Thank You @nbsjcruiser for this review, we're doing our very first Princess cruise in 11 days on CB, doing the exact same itinerary. I have a few comments/questions:

 

1. Did you use the OceanNow feature with the medallion? If so, how did that work out?

 

2. Good to hear about your experience in the Palm MDR, I happened to book the same one for the 5 nights we plan to eat there, doing the other 2 at Sabatini's and Crown Grill.

 

3. Did Palm offer breakfast or lunch? Or was the Coral MDR the only option outside of the buffet? I prefer to sit down and be waited on, but if the food isn't good in the MDR I guess I'll do the buffet. 

 

4. Did you eat at any of the casual restaurants? What was your impressions of them and the International Cafe?

 

5. As far as embarkation day, were there a lot of people there when you showed up?  I'm debating whether to show up early like you did, or later after the crowds did down. How soon was your cabin ready - we're you able to get in right away or did you have to wait? Where would you recommend for lunch that day?

[reedprincess]

8 hours ago, nbsjcruiser said:

Thought I'd do a quick review on the Caribbean Princess. We were on the Nov 12 sailing to San Juan, Amber Cove, Turks/Caicos and Princess Cays.

 

Embarkation/Disembarkation - boy does Princess have this down pat. We arrived at the pier at around 9:30 or so after dropping off our rental car. Stood in line until around 10 or so, doors opened and those who had their medallion (not us) were let in first and then about 10 mins later our line was opened. We were upstairs, in the Platinum lounge by 10:40 or so and were walking on the ship at 10:55. Disembarkation was so fast I could hardly believe it. We literally walked off the ship, grabbed our one suitcase and did the facial recognition thing in under 20 mins. 

 

Ship condition - Overall the ship wasn't too bad although I would say in honesty, she needs a little TLC. Paint peeling off elevators in the Piazza is not a good look and there were areas where different carpet had been replaced that looked like a last-minute job. Floor seemed wonky at times in some areas like the underlying weld on the metal flooring had let go. I'd give the Ship a 7 out of 10. She needs a couple months dry dock to spruce her up a bit. Don't get me wrong, I'd go back next week if I had the opportunity but the Caribbean Princess needs attention before it gets out of hand.

 

Food - this one is going to be a little weird. We ate dinner every night in the Palm dining room. Service and food quality was as good as I have ever seen on any cruise. We've found eating early (around 5:30) seems to be the sweet spot for service and hot food and they nailed it all week. The Coral dining room on the other hand - I have no idea what they're doing there. We ate breakfast there 5 times and lunch twice. The pancakes (ordered twice and then we gave up) were Lilly white, cold and had a rubber texture. I ordered Eggs Benedict each morning and the eggs ranged from soft boiled to hard boiled. I really should have sent them back every morning but I hate doing that. We didn't learn until the last sea day when we were eating lunch there that the Coral dining room was a sh*t show all week. We ate lunch with a couple who had been eating there all week and they said there were massive complaints there all week and I have to say that lunch there was not good. Quality and service were both bad. Apparently the Maitre D' was asking people to address all complaints directly to him. I feel bad for anyone who dined there because their experience was night and day compared to ours in the Palm. Buffet was good, no complaints and the steak we ordered from Chops in the MDR was perfect. We did no other specialty dining.

 

Itinerary - The captain did have to reverse the itinerary to avoid a major storm in the Caribbean and we had great weather as a result - kudos to the Captain. San Juan - Like we normally do, we did a self-guided walking tour. This is one of our favorite stops. Princess Cays - we had a clam-shell and enjoyed the beach as we always do. Amber Cove - Started out pretty good. Sat by the pool after we rented a chair and umbrella - We've been there twice and I thought umbrellas were free? Maybe I'm wrong on that. Anyway, it was sunny and warm - all good until a Carnival ship rolled in and things quickly turned into a scene reminiscent of the Trailer Park Boys. We left around 2:30 or so. Turks/Caicos - we kinda got sucked into a chair and umbrella here. They walked us for about a half mile down the beach, away from the main area where the umbrella they gave us did only a marginal job since the sun was directly in front of us. We're going back there in 2025, we'll just hang out near the main area and grab a chair up in the trees right near the exit of the pier. Not sure but I think they may be free.

 

Staff - all good especially in the Palm Dining room. Wife has some allergies and the head waiter checked in with her every night with the next day's menu to ensure everything she ordered was going to be ok. Above and beyond service here. Comedian was awful imo. Not even remotely funny. She finally realized her show was going down the toilet and began to hone in on some insufferable oaf in the crowd who was insistent on making sure everyone knew he was in crowd. It only made matters worse. We would have left but we were sitting next to this moron a few rows up from the front and I know how that would have gone. We didn't go to any production shows, so no comment there. There was an entertainer who did 2 shows - he did some R&B stuff (wish I could remember his name) but he was quite good.

 

Pool area - no issues getting a chair provided you didn't need to sit right next to the pool. The Chumley's were on board with us and I feared they'd use up all the chairs and make getting one in the sun impossible but you wouldn't have known they were on the ship tbh, unless you were told, so no issues at all.

 

That's about it. Any questions, feel free to ask away

 

 

I was aboard with you.

Had a fantastic cruise . Ate in Palm dining room a few nights - we had a table of 9, it was a touch disjointed, but overall good and efficient.. food was Princess food. No complaints, no real standouts at our table.

 

I never even set foot in the theater, lol. Seen them all too many times to count.

 

BA Duo in Wheelhouse was wonderful. The steel pan player was fab.. Static, the "party" band was good, very repetitive though, weirdly.

 

The nightclub was busy!! Loads of fun. DJ kept that going all night, thankfully!  

 

No problems finding pool chairs. Chumley's were basically in the aft pool most of the time. They had a few private events in Club Fusion aft. And like above, if you didn't know they were a partial charter aboard, you wouldn't have noticed.  

 

International Cafe was spot on, very well stocked, especially at 4 and 5am when coming from dancing, lol... Casino was super busy, I only managed the craps table once, and roulette tables were packed. Unfortunately, it smells like a wet fog met a full ashtray, even on the "non-smoking" areas, so didn't play much there at all. Definitely needs a deep deep clean - and Princess needs to follow Celebrity's lead on no smoking in the casino. 

 

Cabin was fine. Literally saw my steward once - he was an absolute ninja. Room made up daily, he left hanging towels hanging, straightened shoes, etc. he was fab.. I just never saw him except once! Lol..

 

All in all, a fab cruise had by me aboard.. while not a fan of CB for some layout reasons, she was in decent enough shape. Sure, some TLC is needed, but for her age, she's alright..

ports were not of any consideration for me, I was aboard to see a few friends and couldn't have cared less if I tried as to where we ported. The change of order made no difference to me either . We did have fab weather all week, which was great.

 

I'm trying to get aboard for Christmas to sail with a few other friends - that's how much fun I had, lol.  

 

Happy sails... 

 

[reedprincess]

2 minutes ago, IndyKid said:

Thank You @nbsjcruiser for this review, we're doing our very first Princess cruise in 11 days on CB, doing the exact same itinerary. I have a few comments/questions:

 

1. Did you use the OceanNow feature with the medallion? If so, how did that work out?

 

2. Good to hear about your experience in the Palm MDR, I happened to book the same one for the 5 nights we plan to eat there, doing the other 2 at Sabatini's and Crown Grill.

 

3. Did Palm offer breakfast or lunch? Or was the Coral MDR the only option outside of the buffet? I prefer to sit down and be waited on, but if the food isn't good in the MDR I guess I'll do the buffet. 

 

4. Did you eat at any of the casual restaurants? What was your impressions of them and the International Cafe?

 

5. As far as embarkation day, were there a lot of people there when you showed up?  I'm debating whether to show up early like you did, or later after the crowds did down. How soon was your cabin ready - we're you able to get in right away or did you have to wait? Where would you recommend for lunch that day?

I can answer a few, having been in same Cruise..

 

1) yes, used Ocean Now several times. Delivery was pretty quick every time. Easy to order, etc.  enjoying my OB&J at Wheelhouse while listening to music with a strong pour from Aleksandr was blissful, lol.

 

Breakfast and lunch are only in one MDR, Coral on this sailing.. I did neither, so can't comment on experience...

 

Ate at Vines twice. Delicious. The portion for charcuterie is substantial, and the truffles are divine.   Didn't try Planks or Steamers. They alternate nights aboard.

International Cafe, I addressed above, but again - spot in. Sandwiches and such were fresh and tasty and delicious.. and the changeover to breakfast in the morning gave a good selection of both savory and sweets, lol.. 

 

I arrived at 12:45 and was aboard before 1. Basically, walked right in (had medallion in hand).  Longest wait was while they scanned passport...  I'm not one who has to be first aboard or anything, and I'm not a fan of waiting around in lines, etc. He ce, arriving after the initial rush.. 

 

Happy sails, have a wonderful time!! Say hey to Aleksandr, Pedro, Terence, Chantal, Ruben, and DJ! 

[IndyKid]

Thanks @reedprincess, appreciate your input.

 

If you don't mind me asking, where did you go eat after you boarded? 

[reedprincess]

28 minutes ago, IndyKid said:

Thanks @reedprincess, appreciate your input.

 

If you don't mind me asking, where did you go eat after you boarded? 

Too deck, had a slice of pizza and bowl of chili fries. No wait, no worries. 

[nbsjcruiser]

56 minutes ago, IndyKid said:

Thank You @nbsjcruiser for this review, we're doing our very first Princess cruise in 11 days on CB, doing the exact same itinerary. I have a few comments/questions:

 

1. Did you use the OceanNow feature with the medallion? If so, how did that work out?

 

No we didn't use it but others have commented that it was fine, no issues.

 

3. Did Palm offer breakfast or lunch? Or was the Coral MDR the only option outside of the buffet? I prefer to sit down and be waited on, but if the food isn't good in the MDR I guess I'll do the buffet. 

 

For breakfast and lunch, Coral only.

 

4. Did you eat at any of the casual restaurants? What was your impressions of them and the International Cafe?

 

Ordered steak from the Crown Grill - excellent cook on it. International cafe we used only for our morning coffees and they were fine. Nice selection of deserts there though. I'm surprised I didn't try at least one of them. ;-)

 

5. As far as embarkation day, were there a lot of people there when you showed up?  I'm debating whether to show up early like you did, or later after the crowds did down. How soon was your cabin ready - we're you able to get in right away or did you have to wait? Where would you recommend for lunch that day?

 

When we arrived there were maybe 50-70 people waiting. Cabin was ready around 12:30 and our luggage was there waiting for us. We ate lunch at the Coral Dining room. Might be good for you to give it a shot on embarkation day to see if it's still sub-par. That will let you know whether or not you should lunch elsewhere for the week.

 

Have a great cruise! I'd be interested to hear how it was when you return.

 

See above

[GonzoWCS]

Thanks for this will be on Her very soon in December.

 

Cheers

[jayred1]

We're on her for our first Princess cruise in four days ... thanks everyone for the reviews!

[nbsjcruiser]

Addendum to my review:

 

Cabin - Princess beds are very comfy. The room was comfortable, maybe a little warm for us at times but overall we were happy. The room attendant was excellent, the room was always cleaned and taken care of. Great job.

[GonzoWCS]

11 hours ago, jayred1 said:

We're on her for our first Princess cruise in four days ... thanks everyone for the reviews!

Keep us posted.  Hope you have a great time!

 

Cheers

[nanreyn]

Has anyone been notified or aware that the Feb. 25 cruise on CP has changed its itinerary.  They have cancelled Turks and Caicos, changed the port in Jamaica and added Cozumel.  I for one am very upset about this.  Turks was one of the reasons I chose this cruise,.   I have been to Cozumel too many times to count.  Had a Dunns River excursion booked out of Falmouth, don't know if they will have this from Montego Bay., One of my traveling companions happened to find this on  a website.  When I contacted my Cruise Agent, she had not been notified. Wouldn't you think Princess would have notified us????

[IndyKid]

Was this supposed to be a Western or Eastern Caribbean itinerary? We did manage to make our stop at Grand Turk earlier this month, missed Princess Cay and Amber Cove due to weather. Was your stop actually at Grand Turk, or another island in T&C? If it was actually Grand Turk you're not missing anything IMO. The island is rundown, lots of derelict and vacant buildings. There's a nice little beach by the pier, with plenty of shops waiting to fleece tourists but not much else.

[nbsjcruiser]

17 hours ago, IndyKid said:

Was this supposed to be a Western or Eastern Caribbean itinerary? We did manage to make our stop at Grand Turk earlier this month, missed Princess Cay and Amber Cove due to weather. Was your stop actually at Grand Turk, or another island in T&C? If it was actually Grand Turk you're not missing anything IMO. The island is rundown, lots of derelict and vacant buildings. There's a nice little beach by the pier, with plenty of shops waiting to fleece tourists but not much else.

It was listed as an Eastern and yes our stop was Grand Turk which is in T&C. i think people use both names interchangeably. We've been there several times and as you note, other than the beach there isn't much else unless you want to hang around the pool area and party and drink - no thanks.

[nanreyn]

Ok it was an Eastern caribbean. If Grand Turks as you say it is then I guess I'm not too disappointed. Just upset the cruise line hasn't informed us yet. Not even our travel agent. Knew about it. Thanks for answering my question