Live from Caribbean Princess 6/26/04

[TexEm]

Teach21566--I don't know the specific age groups on the CP but I'd read on another thread before the great crash that kids could go down an age group, but not up. (in other words, your older one can be with your younger one in the younger one's group). Hope that's right, I'm sure Princess can answer that by phone or email. I'm also pretty sure you're not the only one with the problem, would guess it's been solved before. (my kids are the same age, it's not been a problem) Good luck!

 

Bill, am waiting for your next post--we go July 10, can't wait!

[S.S.Oceanlover]

Thanks Rich. I'm having a great time so far. Of course I haven't done much but veg out so far since we've been at sea since we left Saturday.

 

The only problem I've seen was on that first night. Haven't seen any security about but really wasn't looking.

 

Graham did say on the first night in the Princess therter that they were having snorkeling by the propellers for the kids on Sunday. lol

Otherwise what I've seen they have well mannered.

 

I'll check on the French onion soup, the kids programs, and if Graham will still be onboard in October.

 

TTYL

Bill

[stoneharborlady]

Hi Bill, Hope your cruise is fabulous, leave some seafood for the CC group cruising on 7-3, we are right behind you!! See any shorts in Carib Cafe on the first night? What movies are they showing this week? Thanks in advance. Have fun!!

[keebae]

Have a couple of questions about the Carib Cafe and Horizon Court. Are they both open for Breakfast, lunch and dinner? Do you have to dress up for dinner if you go to the Carib Cafe? Can you explain the waiter service provided at dinner in the Carib Cafe? Do you know if you can order a bottle of wine in the Carib Cafe at dinner, and if you have some left over will they hold it for you like they do in the regular dinning room? We have heard such rave reviews about the food in the Carib Cafe that we are considering eating there each night, instead of the dinning room. Thanks in advance for your help with my questions. Will be on CP in Sept. B2B

[TinaLee]

They've cut out the French nite on the CP so I guess " NO ONION SOUP FOR YOU"

 

(& no escargo for me!) CP 5/15

MFoxey - looks like good news for both of us. I had a friend on CP just a few weeks ago and she said that escargot and French onion soup were BOTH definitely on the menu, she just couldn't remember which night! Apparently there were some complaints about them being removed and they have been added back here and there, just not on a specific "French" night. So I'll get to have my soup and you and my husband can have the little garlic soaked erasers! LOL! ;)

 

TinaLee

[bdjam]

On deck 14 the teens went down the hall taking all the name tags and the next days patters from the mailboxes and ripped them up and threw them on the floors. :-(

This is the second mention of unruly kids that we've seen in the last few days. I hope that all who encounter this are indicating their dissatisfaction to Princess. If Princess wants to both compete with RCI and keep their loyal following, they need to nip these kinds of issues in the bud.

[cruzfvr]

Bill, I am enjoying reading your posts while you are onboard the CP. Lots of info which will help us with our upcoming Christmas cruise. Also, loved the "propeller and kids snorkeling" joke by the cruise director. Hope he is there when we are, as he sounds like a funny guy.

[S.S.Oceanlover]

We went to PC dining tonight at 6:30 but they didn't have a table available so they sent us to the traditional dining room. Our waitstaff there was the best. It's ashame the table won't be available the rest of the week as the regular diners were at Sabitinis tonight.

 

I asked and they said that the French onion soup was on Friday night.

 

I asked at the pursers desk about Graham Seymour and they weren't sure if he would still be here in October. They explained he usally does 4 month stints on the Caribbean Princess and they said they think he is doing the Golden after that.

 

My son who is a teen is back in the room by midnight sometimes earlier as he said there isn't much to do for the teens. I'm still trying to figure out why there is no arcade?? He's pretty bored and said he'd rather cruise on CCL on RCI since they have more for the kids to do.(His quote not mine.

 

As for the kids programs they are broken down as follows:

ages 3 - 7: Princess Pelicans

ages 8 -12: Princess Pirateers

ages 13 - 17: Off limits

 

Also the mini golf course is pretty lame. They had plants up there but most look like they were either pulled out of the ground or stepped on. Not to mention the sewage smell which is the only place on the ship I've encountered that.

 

There were about 5 backdrops on formal night. I'll have to check for prices. We are waiting til Thursday night to get ours as the lines were real long. The embarkation picture was $14.95.

 

We had no waitstaff to speak of the first night of the cruise. We just went and helped ourselves. There wasn't even anybody to get sodas or drinks from.We just grabbed an iced tea.

 

It may be different after the first night as we were finishing our late lunch they were putting linens on the tables and all which were not present the first night.

 

At breakfast and lunch they were both open but the Cafe Caribe closed at 2pm to get ready for dinner. They had quite a spread od sushi this afternoon.

 

Bill

[Snowball]

My son who is a teen is back in the room by midnight sometimes earlier as he said there isn't much to do for the teens. I'm still trying to figure out why there is no arcade?? He's pretty bored and said he'd rather cruise on CCL on RCI since they have more for the kids to do.

Bill - Maybe you should bring your son to our next lunch so I can tell him about my Valor group cruise and then he can talk you into going with us. :p

[mary07054]

bill - you said your teen was bored. mine are 16 and 19. boy i hope they have a good time. i was hoping there would be alot of teens on the ship. No?

[oraf7]

I am traveling with two teen girls ages 13 and 16 and a 6 yr old July 3rd. Is it that boring for them? How about the daily activities for them??

[mary07054]

oraf7 - this is the first time i read anything about 'bored' teens. we will have to wait for a full report from bill. hopefully by now his son is having a better time. sometimes it takes kids a few days.

[oraf7]

Mary 07054 are you going on CP this week? Do you have boys or girls? I have been doing nothing but telling my kids how there won't be enough time to do everything they want now I am a liitle nervous. I wonder if things the girls might like also might be boring for a teen boy. We leave Friday and I am glued to these boards for the reports on the CP. HUbbie and I cruised the Greek Islands and hit an Island everyday so no time for boredem, I was a little concerned about the sea time on this ship but also looked forward to some r and r because when we got off the boat in Athens I needed another vacation. It was however the best vacation yet. Hope this one beats them all!!!!!

[mary07054]

oraf7 - i am going on 8/14 and am too getting nervous. i don't want any 'bored and moaning teens' with me if you know what i mean. i really think it depends on the kid and also how many teens are on board. my kids are not shy and will probably meet up with others. this is my first cruise and i am so looking forward to it. i think i will just go with the flow and hope everyone is happy. since my kids have never cruised before they might love it no matter what. i was a little upset that there is no arcade. that would definitely have kept my son busy. but then i think about all the money spent in there. my daughter is 19 and will probably sleep half the day and dance the night away. when r u going anyway? please email me after your trip and give me all the details. thanks

[NancyK]

oraf7 - I thought I recognized your name - but I'm not sure if your on our list of people cruising on 7-3. I think we are over 100 people - or close to it - all meeting when we get on the ship - wearing red..........I am traveling with Radtech and her family and she has a 14 year old boy and 18 year old girl. Out of all the families that we have been in contact with - there are a lot of children - all different ages. Here is my email - nkitz@carolina.rr.com - if you want to email me, I will forward you our list of the people - you can see how many kids our going - maybe they can all get together.

 

Few more days - can't wait.

 

NancyK

[beachlovergirl]

Oh no....looks like Graham will be gone by the time we're on in October!

[NCumpire]

I have been reading about teens running in packs on the ship causing great disruption in the daily peace and serenity of the ship. But I have also read that this poor misunderstood group of adolescents is board. I don’t understand this… there are pools… there is food… they have their own privet club… when they’re at home all they do is sleep and complain because there is nothing to do. What a great injustice. Taking teenaged children of to a tropical paradise with nothing to do. I have an idea! Let them make their own fun. If not, sent them to the library. It’s hard for me to believe that teens cannot find anything to do. I know there is no arcade or play stations but maybe, just maybe with some deep thought and reflection they can discover something about them selves that they never knew. Or is that too much to ask?

Rick

[roe2ship]

NCumpire, do you have a teenager? They are all so different and most of the time just want to be with their friends. Bill's son may just need a few days to start having some fun. Most teens are very hard to please. Very common, as I have one at home and get the same feedback from the friends parents too.

[Hav2cruise]

Hey Bill I hope you are having a GREAT time & it sounds like you are..
If I could ask you to ask Graham where he will be in march I would like you to PLEASE. Because we are on the Caribbean March 19-26. We had Graham on the golden & he is GREAT love his morning showes.
THANKS AGAIN

Tom

Dawn Princess 3/98
Disney Magic 3/01
Golden Princess 3/03
Caribbean Princess 3/05

[S.S.Oceanlover]

My son is with his niece so he has someone he knows. They both said that the teen center is too kiddie. Hey what can I say? He is very quiet like me so I'm sure that has something to do with not meeting that many kids. Last night they hung out in the hot tub all night. Right now he's up in the cabin watching TV since he said he couldn't find any of the kids he met. (shrugging)
For anyone with kids going soon don't get frantic. All kids are different.

Anyway we went to St. Thomas and did the island tour with Godfrey.Since we went at 11am and there was no one else leaving at that time we got an air conditioned van all to ourselves. It was very very good. After the tour we had the choice of Sapphire Beach or Coki. We opted for Sapphire. Sapphire Beach was also very good. We found a great waitstaff today in PC so we made reservations for the same table the rest of the week. We just saw Scott Wyler in the Explorers lounge. He was great. Had the audience in stitches the whole time. The R rated hypnotist last night in Club Fusion was also not to be missed.

Oh yeah for Coiran,
I passed on the chicken livers tonight. lol

Bill

[prophotogirl]

We found a great waitstaff today in PC so we made reservations for the same table the rest of the week. Bill[/QUOTE]

Bill what are the waitstaff's names and in what dining room? I know some of them onboard! and will be there in September.:D

[bcs819]

I met Bill and his family on another cruise and his son was very respectful and well-behaved. THAT is not the kind of teens that I have seen running around on cruise ships. Kids that are raised correctly don't all of a sudden 'go bad' on a cruise ship. If he is bored it is probably because he doesn't want to hang out with the troublemakers that are so frequently allowed to run wild on vacation (and not just cruise ships, either).
Bill-
Hope you guys enjoy the rest of your week and have a safe trip home. Our Phillies are setting records left and right up here, 14 runs yesterday and 17 today-
Bernie

[khfadpi]

We had our 17.8 yr old daughter and 15.11 yr old son with us on the 6/5 cruise. Our friends had their 16 yr old son and 11yr old daughter with them. We hardly ever saw the boys. They went to the workout room, met friends in the Teen Room that they swam with, did lunch with, etc. during the day. We did make them eat dinner with us, but after that they went to the Teen Area. They said there were some young kids in there but there were alot their age. They would play cards, dance with girls their age, eat again with those teens in the Horizon after the teen room closed. They didn't run around the ship wild.
The girls would stay with us during the day at the pools, but after a couple of days they started going up to the teen club after dinner too. Melissa, who will be 18 in Oct., said she wished she had went up there more. She had fun with the kids there( even with her brother there). Of course they were all with us when we went on Shore Excursions, but met up with the new friends once we were back on board the ship.

[TinaLee]

Bill ~
Glad to hear you liked Godfrey's tour. We're signed up to do his tour when we sail in October. Still haven't decided on a beach though. Did you snorkel at Sapphire? DH is concerned about the snorkeling there, since it is a resort beach.

We LOVED Scott Wyler when we were on the Grand. I never heard so many one-liner cruise jokes in my whole life. Since we use walkie-talkies, our daughter was crying with laughter over his whole bit about "Nintendo-Boy", "Bread Winner" and the "Dragon Lady".

Enjoy your dinner at Sterling tonight!

TinaLee

[Shelli]

[quote name='S.S.Oceanlover']On deck 14 the teens went down the hall taking all the name tags and the next days patters from the mailboxes and ripped them up and threw them on the floors. :-(
Bill[/QUOTE]

Mailboxes? Each cabin has a mailbox? I don't think I've ever seen this on a ship before-- on all my past cruises, the steward has left my next-day's newsletter in my cabin.