Caribbean Princess REVIEW 6/17/07

[pipedreams62]

We just got off the Caribbean Princess on a 7 day eastern Caribbean cruise.

 

This was our sixth cruise. We have now sailed Holland America, Celebrity and Princess twice.

 

We went on the Sun at Christmas and didn't really care for it. I decided to give Princess another shot (and the price was right)

 

Boarding the ship was a breeze,we were on the ship in 10 minutes and that was with a long line.

 

This ship is absolutely gorgeous. I really was wowed with how clean and beautiful the ship was.

 

We had an oceanview cabin on the plaza deck. cabin was fine,shower was small. The bedsprings were coming thru the mattress in 5 different places? all of this "Egg Crate" chatter is now starting to make sense.

 

 

We explored the ship and were constantly wowed with all the bells and whistles the ship had to offer.

 

 

 

 

We were 252 on the waitlist for traditional dining. I went down to talk to the Maitre D and they said there were already 150 people in front of me to meet with him. I decided to not bother and go with the flow and try it.

 

I must say anytime dining is not for me. I much prefer traditional dining and having the same waiters all cruise. Why you ask?

 

Because you feel special. Your waiter makes conversation with you, his assistant brings you your drink without you even asking. You find out about your waiters family, children etc and even keep in email contact sometimes.

 

My wife and I never eat in the specialty restaurants on Holland America or Celebrity. The reason being is we never wanted to miss a night with our waitstaff. On this cruise we ate in Sterling and Sabatini's (just to get away from this anytime dining)

 

Both of the specialty restaurants were outstanding and the service was great.

 

back to anytime dining. I'm on vacation. I don't want to go down to a restaurant and be handed a beeper and stand outside the restaurant till a table is ready (there's no chairs ) the wait isn't long but I can do that at home.

 

The anytime dining experience was basically a "Get Em In,Get Em Out" experience. The waiters we had really had nothing much to say. They would bring you your food and say "Bon Appetito" and that was it.

 

The moral to the story is. We always considered dining every evening an event and was the highlight of our day. The service was fine but that "Special" feeling just wasn't there.

 

Just a couple of rants

 

We booked the thermal sanctuary for the week and it's worth every penny. Except for the clown that decided to get on my tile lounger after my shoes and robe and water were on it. (and he hadn't even paid) Not to worry I summoned a spa worker and we got rid of him.

 

We were boarding the ship and there was a guy with (3 ) 24 packs of water that had busted apart in a bag. The elavator door is trying to close but this guys bag is in the way. The poor elavator operator is pulling 3 discs in his back trying to move the bag with the busted open water bottles out of the way, so the door can shut and people can get to their rooms.

 

The guy who owns the water just sits there with this Dumb Ass quizical look on his face. Holy crap are you that cheap you've got to bring 3 cases of water on the trip with you?

 

I caught a cold on the ship and went to the gift shop. I looked all over and there was hardly anththing for a cold. I said to the girl that was working there "I'm Surprised You Don't Have More Cold Medicine"

 

Here answer was

 

"We Have Halls and Tissue,What More Do You Want"?

 

 

 

This ship was so beautiful that up until the last day I was going to book another cruise for next year.

 

 

I then decided that as gorgeous as the ship was and with all the activities (you won't even have time to do a 1/3 of them) I simply wanted to go back to Holland America or Celebrity where it really is a true "Cruising" Experience and you just feel "Special" your entire cruise.

[ldoc31]

I hope your next cruise gives you that "special" feeling.

[NthernLgts]

It really is interesting how one ill advised comment can put a cloud over things, especially in the hospitality industry. Our experience with Princess has been they usually get it right.

[KLLund]

I was with you on the review of anytime dining .. I just plain don't like it either .. and I almost did not go back to Princess because of it .. but .. I learned to request the Traditional when booking and have never had to deal with it again..

 

That said .. I have sailed on HAL and Celebrity also .. and I think the service on all three is comparable .. some have better features some not so much .. but I am off on my 4th Princess cruise in Sept .. and I keep up with the itineraries on the others also .. I never exclude a cruise line .. I just add it to the list and include them in the many choices for cruising. I would Cruise HAL or Celebrity in the future but I wouldn't rule out Princess for anytime or a chance remark.

[baileyboo123]

I just got off the Caribbean Princess as well. And I absolutly loved it, the service and staff was amazing. They always did whatever they could to accomidate you. It was just the little things that really made the difference. For example: The milk and cookies when your laying out in the hot sun all day. The chocolate on your pillow at night. Th friendlyness of everyone we saw, they all made the effort to at least smile and say goodmorning or hi. You definitly feel like you are special.

 

We were also on Plaza Deck with Ocean view, and yes the beds are very uncomfortable. We made sure to get an Egg Crate first thing and Ive never slept better. As mentioned before the bathroom/shower area was definitly small.

 

I disagree very much with the comments about Anytime Dinning. Although everyone has their own opinions. We absolutly loved this concept and will go back just for this. With Anytime you can go literally "anytime" the dinning room is open and get seated. This is great for the times when shows were going on, or a good movie was on the MUTS. We never once were given the "buzzers" we were always seated as soon as we walked up. Although we did always request Dennis for our waitor every night. And without traditional seating still got to know our waitor, and he already knew what we wanted every night. So Anytime is definitly the way to go, if you want flexability.

 

We liked it so much, we are already getting ready to plan our next cruise with Princess. Nothing bad to say. But do watch out, they charge $10 per person per day to your card for gradituity. You can get it taken off, but many people are unaware of this charge, and it can be a suprise when getting your bill the last day.:)

[Pia1913]

 

 

We liked it so much, we are already getting ready to plan our next cruise with Princess. Nothing bad to say. But do watch out, they charge $10 per person per day to your card for gradituity. You can get it taken off, but many people are unaware of this charge, and it can be a suprise when getting your bill the last day.:)

 

Do watch out? This is no secret; all the cruise lines are putting the suggested tipping on your bill. Easy way to do it and you can always tip extra for exemplary service "above and beyond", yada yada yada.

[Pia1913]

 

This is most likely the same bunch that brings their own soda and water

 

Oh No.....caught in the act! ;) I'm guilty of bringing soda aboard; need diet pepsi; hate coke. I get FREE setups of Coca Cola products and still bring my own Pepsi.

 

Pia

[baileyboo123]

well the smart people do. its rediculous the prices of drinks. and after already paying 1,000 plus dollars for the cruise you have every right to bring anything you want on to that ship. we will definitly do that next time. its better then paying an extra 3.75 for a bottle of water. or like 35 dollars for a soda package.

[Poulsbo Cruisers]

I guess this is why there are so many different cruise lines with so many different choices. My DW and I fell in love with anytime dining last year on the Grand. We never had to wait in line and could eat whenever we wanted to. We like the experience of eating with different and interesting people every night more than having an assistant waiter remember our choice of drink. We will be on the TP in September and are disappointed that it does not offer anytime dining.

 

With that said, I don't understand why anytime dining would keep anyone from sailing with Princess since they do offer traditional dining. One just needs to book early enough to take advantage of this option.

[Scotty1]

We booked the thermal sanctuary for the week and it's worth every penny.

Hi Pipedreams .. we're booked on the CB in August and were wondering what the thermal sanctuary was and what the cost is. I couldn't find it on the Princess website.

[TeacherLaurie]

We were just on this cruise also. Loved anytime dining. We only got a beeper on the first formal night as we arrived at the same time they were seating the 150 person singles group. It only took about 5 minutes though. We always went to the Palm dining room as it was in the aft section, straight down from our cabin and off the main area. I really think this dining room had less crowds due to its location.

In St Marten my hubby had gotten a bad sunburn (watching the planes land at Maho beach) and didn't think he could get his formal shoes on. 17 year old son really wanted to go to formal night with the whole family so we worked it out. It was so cool. How many 17 year olds want to put on their tux and go to dinner with family?

Anyone have the fetticine recipe? I tried to find it their cookbook, and the waiter looked also, couldn't find it. Loved that and had it as my appetizer every night.

[pipedreams62]

Hi Pipedreams .. we're booked on the CB in August and were wondering what the thermal sanctuary was and what the cost is. I couldn't find it on the Princess website.

 

The thermal sanctuary is out of this world. It has 2 differnet steam rooms and a large dry sauna. It also has 2 different aromatic showers with a button you push with a cool tropical mist. After you've sat in the steam room and showered you then can lay on a tile lounger that is heated. Bring an ipod or a book and just relax. It really is wonderful. The cost was $115 a couple for the 7 day cruise.

[Scotty1]

The thermal sanctuary is out of this world. It has 2 differnet steam rooms and a large dry sauna. It also has 2 different aromatic showers with a button you push with a cool tropical mist. After you've sat in the steam room and showered you then can lay on a tile lounger that is heated. Bring an ipod or a book and just relax. It really is wonderful. The cost was $115 a couple for the 7 day cruise.

 

Thanks for the info !

[janetz]

We liked it so much, we are already getting ready to plan our next cruise with Princess. Nothing bad to say. But do watch out, they charge $10 per person per day to your card for gradituity. You can get it taken off, but many people are unaware of this charge, and it can be a suprise when getting your bill the last day.:)

 

 

 

If you read your documents you would see there is an auto tip..:)

[Sandytoes]

I just got off the Caribbean Princess as well. And I absolutly loved it, the service and staff was amazing.

 

They always did whatever they could to accomidate you. It was just the little things that really made the difference.

 

Th friendlyness of everyone we saw, they all made the effort to at least smile and say goodmorning or hi. You definitly feel like you are special.

 

We never once were given the "buzzers" we were always seated as soon as we walked up. Although we did always request Dennis for our waitor every night. And without traditional seating still got to know our waitor, and he already knew what we wanted every night. So Anytime is definitly the way to go, if you want flexability.

 

Nothing bad to say. But do watch out, they charge $10 per person per day to your card for gradituity. You can get it taken off, but many people are unaware of this charge, and it can be a suprise when getting your bill the last day.:eek:

 

Surprising, after your wonderful review, you mention taking off the auto tip.....:confused: ....:rolleyes:

I always leave it on plus give extra to those who made my cruise special....:)

[baileyboo123]

Oh, maybe you misunderstood. We never took it off the tip off we actually tipped 50 dollars more, I just wanted to make everyone aware of the fact they do that, sense the they dont even tell you. Many people take it off, and its an option to consider. We were suprised when told they did this and the bill was 140 more then thought. Plus, Some people may rather tip individuals they liked or thought did better.

[Kittycat]

The thermal sanctuary is out of this world. It has 2 differnet steam rooms and a large dry sauna. It also has 2 different aromatic showers with a button you push with a cool tropical mist. After you've sat in the steam room and showered you then can lay on a tile lounger that is heated. Bring an ipod or a book and just relax. It really is wonderful. The cost was $115 a couple for the 7 day cruise.

 

Is it possible to book the thermal santuary in advance of boarding? It sounds wonderful!!!

[aarep]

We were on the Caribbean Princess in May and had "Personal Choice Dining" and loved it. This was the 2nd time and we will always request it on a Princess Cruise. We ate in the Palm Dining room each evening at our convenience and never had to wait more than a few minutes. We were a party of four and always asked for and got a table for four. Having the same waiter each night would not be a reason to change to traditional

dining as far as I am concerned. However, with anytime dining you can always ask for the same table/waiter if you like. But as long as you get good service and the waiter is pleasant what difference does it make. I dont want my waiter to be my new best friend. I certainly wouldnt go to the same restaurant at home each time I ate out just to have the same waiter.

[Sandytoes]

Oh, maybe you misunderstood. We never took it off the tip off we actually tipped 50 dollars more, I just wanted to make everyone aware of the fact they do that, sense the they dont even tell you. Many people take it off, and its an option to consider. We were suprised when told they ( do you mean me ? ? ?:confused: )did this and the bill was 140 more then thought.:rolleyes: Plus, Some people may rather tip individuals they liked or thought did better.

 

I guess your

"watch out, they charge $10 per person per day to your card for gradituity." " You can get it taken off "

:eek:

throw me....:rolleyes:

 

That $140 for 2 is divided between all the crew who serve you on your entire cruise. They work long, hard hours. They deserve every penny and then some.

Princess does state it in their booklet.

_________

As for the CB,

I would sail on her again, hopefully in the here future out of NY.

[yarlenna]

The thermal sanctuary is out of this world. It has 2 differnet steam rooms and a large dry sauna. It also has 2 different aromatic showers with a button you push with a cool tropical mist. After you've sat in the steam room and showered you then can lay on a tile lounger that is heated. Bring an ipod or a book and just relax. It really is wonderful. The cost was $115 a couple for the 7 day cruise.

 

Can try it on the first day and then pay for the whole week after we pay. I do expect to pay for the use for the time that we use it. It does sound wonderful, but I am just not sure.

[Pia1913]

But as long as you get good service and the waiter is pleasant what difference does it make. I dont want my waiter to be my new best friend. I certainly wouldnt go to the same restaurant at home each time I ate out just to have the same waiter.

 

Perfectly stated. :D

 

Pia

[sk8terchick]

Hello cruisers :) this will be our first experience with anytime dining & we are very excited to try something new. We have found on our last few cruises since the auto tipping, that we do not get the "personal service" we have been use to on Princess Cruises. The waiters were more attentive I think (my opinion only) before the auto tip. On our last cruise they couldn't even remember to bring the Diet Cokes to two of our party who had them every evening. Also to get the wine poured we finally got up & did it ourselves. Of course on the last night they wanted us to put EXCELLENT service on the card(SIGH):confused:. We also work in the service industry & believe service should be excellent at all times auto tip or no auto tip...you never know when you may get a little bonus for going above & beyond:D In fact we always tipped more before the auto tip & still give extra for those who give extra special service....so just because you have the same wait staff every night, you never know what your going to get

:rolleyes: Just remember it is vacation and your not cookin!!

[fathercop]

Pipedreams62 - thanks for taking the time for the review.

 

I do think that the CB is a lovely ship. I have been on her three times.

 

With anytime dinining, we have never encountered a wait on any of Princess' ships. We have been lucky, I guess.

 

We have weighed the idea of a regular waiter and tablemates against what anytime dining might offer, convenience, new people, or table for two. On one cruise, we had the same waiter and table the whole cruise. He was fantastic! We were so impressed with his service, culinary knowledge and his style that we wrote a couple of letters of recommendation. He let us know that he ended up getting promoted. I certainly hope I run into him again!

[Rstamper]

Pipedreams62 - Thanks for the review. We are booked on the CB for 1/20/08. I I have a couple of questions. Did they have an Island deck party one of the nights and what did they serve for food? Also is there a place where they serve pastries, smoothies, and hot drinks (like the International cafe on the Crown) other than the Horizon buffet or Caribe Cafe?

 

Thanks

[Aquaholic101]

Is lemonade (need it for my Vodka) available for free or do you have to purchase the coke card? Leaving on the 15th and planning ahead