Just Back From B2B on the CB

[chefim]

Hi All,

 

Just returned from a wonderful 14 days on the Caribbean Princess. We did the same Eastern itinerary on both legs. This was the first time on Princess for us, as we had only been on RCCL.

 

We have definitely become Princess fans. While there were some things that were not perfect, for the most part everything was wonderful.

 

I will putting together a review which I will post here. If anyone has any questions, I would be happy to answer them.

 

Bon Appetit'

 

Chef

[strummer]

Looking forward to reading your review.

 

Hope you had a fantastic time

[dforeigner]

Welcome back, looking foward to read your review.

[scotandtamcruzn4fun]

Welcome Back- I too will be a first time Princess cruiser in May sailing aboard the CB. Looking forward to your review.

[DiTomCruisers]

Sweet! looking forward to your review!

[TwinCruiserMom]

I have a couple of questions for you :)

 

When you went to Princess Cays, was there any damage noticeable?

 

On what days did you change your clocks forward and back?

 

Thanks and I am looking forward to your review!

[vmom]

Thanks!! glad your cruise went well.

 

We cruise on the CB in a couple of weeks. Does the ship change time to match Island time or does the ship stay at Eastern Time?

 

Any preference regarding the Palm vs the Coral dining rooms?

[Richard]

Hi All,

 

Just returned from a wonderful 14 days on the Caribbean Princess. We did the same Eastern itinerary on both legs. This was the first time on Princess for us, as we had only been on RCCL.

 

We have definitely become Princess fans. While there were some things that were not perfect, for the most part everything was wonderful.

 

I will putting together a review which I will post here. If anyone has any questions, I would be happy to answer them.

 

Bon Appetit'

 

Chef

 

Welcome back. Glad the second half of your B to B went well. Did you make Princess Cays on voyage 2 or was it Nassau all over again? I'll E mail you.

Richard

[chefim]

I have a couple of questions for you :)

 

When you went to Princess Cays, was there any damage noticeable?

 

On what days did you change your clocks forward and back?

 

Thanks and I am looking forward to your review!

 

We went to Princess Cays the second week, as they had told us that there was some damage from Noel. The second week we did go, and there was no visible damage. I did speak to one of the crew, and found out that the problem was one of sand. So much sand was blown around that it was really a matter of cleaning up, and dealing with some erosion problems only.

 

We set our clocks forward on Monday night, and then back again on Saturday night before returning to Ft Lauderdale.

 

Regards,

 

Chef

[chefim]

Thanks!! glad your cruise went well.

 

We cruise on the CB in a couple of weeks. Does the ship change time to match Island time or does the ship stay at Eastern Time?

 

Any preference regarding the Palm vs the Coral dining rooms?

 

The ship does in fact change time to match Atlantic Standard Time. You will change the clocks forward one hour on Monday night, and change back one hour before returning to Ft. Lauderdale.

 

As to the Anytime Dining rooms, I can only relate to you what I was told by some of the crew and other Cruise Critic members who ate there.

 

First of all, our waiter recommend the Palm over Coral. He said that it was a bit more quiet. Many of the Cruise Critic members from our roll call who had Anytime Dining complained about waiting times, and slow service. One couple said that dinner took up to 2 1/2 hours because of slow service between courses. I do not know the time they ate, as this might have been an issue. Others said that once they found out a great wait staff, they would just make a standing reservation at their station for the duration of the cruise.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Regards,

 

Chef

[chefim]

Well, here goes with the review. I will probably try to write this in stages, as you can imagine there is much to write about over 14 days. Let me preface this review with the fact that we had not vacationed in 3 years, and this was meant to be restful, so there might be areas that I do not go into in detail. For instance, we never made it to any of the shows in the Princess Theater, but we did see some comedians, and other acts in some of the smaller rooms. I might go more into detail regarding the food, as I am a Chef. I will be happy to answer any other questions to the best of my ability, as I believe in giving back, as I have been helped out enormously by reading and interacting on these forums.

 

 

Nov 4th, Embarkation Day:

 

This was by far the best embarkation of any cruise. We live in Orlando, so we drove down on Saturday and stayed with my sister in Lake Worth. Sunday morning had brunch in the morning, and arrived at Port Everglades about 11:50AM. Of course there was already the rather long line of people waiting for the check in process. I believe they opened the doors and began letting people in about Noon. I was amazed how quickly the line moved. Once inside the building we passed through security, and then on to the check in desk. We had our cruise cards within minutes and were boarding the ship. We were able to go right to our cabin and drop things off, before heading up for lunch. This is one of the things that is great about Princess. They do not start boarding the ship until every cabin is ready for occupancy. You do not have to lug your carry on's around until they get your cabin ready. I think from start to finish, the process was about 45 minutes from getting on line to getting to our cabin.

 

 

Cabin C255 Caribe Deck Forward - Starboard Side:

 

We were in a Caribe Deck balcony cabin, and everything that we read about it was true. It was double the size of the normal balconies, and half covered, and half exposed. I got a kick out of meeting with the Future Cruise Consultant, Angela who is from Canada. She refers to these balconies as "double wides". Now, no offense to anyone who lives in a trailer, but she did not realize that this is a reference in the states to a double wide trailer. The DW and I now affectionately refer to our Caribe balcony as the double wide.

 

The cabins are maybe a little smaller than others we have been in, but we had no problem with it. I am a pretty big guy, and had no problem maneuvering around. The bathroom is another story, but we will get to that in a minute. The beds were set up as a queen, but I think it is actually a little bigger than a queen. We had requested an egg crate, but there was not one on the bed. I laughed when we first got in the cabin, as the bed looked like two hollowed out canoes pushed together. We met Siwan, our cabin steward from Thailand, and she took care of it immediately. Even though the beds looked like they could be a problem, we had no problem sleeping on them. As a matter of fact, when I asked Siwan to maybe double up on the egg crates, she actually had a queen mattress brought in. So we did not have the hump between us. Between the mattress and the egg crate we were fine.

 

There is a great amount of storage in the closet area. There is a tall, narrow closet that has a door with about 5 shelves, and a safe for valuables. There is a long closet area next to this with hangers and plenty of room for his and hers. Above this is a shelf where they store the life jackets, but there is nothing else up there and you can use this space as well. There are night stands on both sides of the bed, with 3 drawers, and the desk also has 3 drawers on each side.

 

Now, on to everyone's favorite and most talked about part of the cabin, you guessed it, the bathroom. My DW says this is the only bathroom she has ever been in where you can shower, go to the bathroom, and shave your legs all at the same time. Here is the thing. Everyone who had ever been on a cruise ship already knows that the bathrooms are going to be small. I am a guy who is 300+ and I was able to maneuver around the bathroom. I was even able to take a shower without soaping the walls and spinning around. It was a little tight, but I managed as I always do. After all, it is a cruise, so who cares about the sacrifice of what little time we spend there.

 

Horizon Court Buffet:

 

For some reason when you board a cruise ship it is as if the sirens of the sea are located wherever the food is, and they continue to call to you until breakfast on the day you disembark. This is true as well on the Caribbean Princess, and especially in the buffet areas. Of course, next to the pool, this is the busiest place on the ship once people get on board. There is the obligatory first unhinging of the jaw, and stepping up to the feeding trough. I have read many complaints about the Horizon Court and the way it is set up, however, I loved it. I think the problem lies in that most people are conditioned to act as cattle and just stand in the buffet line waiting there turn. The buffet is set up as stations, and once you learn this, rather than wait on line, you just go from station to station and get what you want.

 

I thought that the buffet for the most part was good. Considering that they are cooking for over 3000 people, they do a pretty good job. With that said, I am more critical of the buffet food, because of what I call filler. When I was still in the traditional industry, I used to do a 100 item Sunday Brunch at an oceanfront resort hotel. You can imagine that there are going to be some uninspired dishes that are not going to appeal to everyone, and that is what I call filler which I found many times at the buffet. As a chef, I will typically try to taste small bites of many items, as I know people are going to ask my opinion. There were many items that I found to be lacking flavor and seasoning, which has been a common complaint regarding the buffet, however, I always found something that was well seasoned and flavored whenever we were there. I for one enjoyed the breakfast buffet the best, as they almost always had smoked salmon and smoked whitefish.

 

More on the food to come.

 

The Horizon Court can get quite busy, especially on sea days during peak hours. Keep in mind that behind the Horizon Court is the Caribe Cafe, which is also a buffet that is opened during the day, and then again in the evening for those who prefer a more laid back dining experience. The trick is to get your food from the Horizon Court, and then to find a seat in Caribe. I was surprised that many people never found this area and would aimlessly wander around with plates loaded with food looking for someone to leave a table, when there was plenty of empty space in the Cafe Caribe.

 

To be continued.

 

Regards,

 

Chef

 

 

[gettingmarried]

Hi Chef,

It was SO nice to meet you and your DW on the cruise (or rather on the tour bus!)

 

Wasn't it an amazing time? We just loved it and can't wait to go again. Happy for you that you got to go to Princess Cays on your 2nd time round. What was that like doing the b2b?

 

Talk later.

D

[cdnguy]

Hi Chef. We were on the first leg of your cruise and agree with everything you have said. This is one of the best 7-day cruises we've ever taken.

Good job so far and look forward to your next installment.

BTW I almost joined your roll call but don't normally participate in 7-day cruises.

I think the problem lies in that most people are conditioned to act as cattle and just stand in the buffet line waiting there turn. The buffet is set up as stations, and once you learn this, rather than wait on line, you just go from station to station and get what you want.

Exactly.... and I experienced the situation that if you reach through that 'waiting line' for something, you get that stare as if your intruding. :)

[vickie_bernie]

can't wait for next installment

[mumeof3]

Siwan, our cabin steward from Thailand, and she took care of it immediately. Even though the beds looked like they could be a problem, we had no problem sleeping

 

Hi there Chef she also was our stewrad and she was awsome,as for the horizan court I loved it too and noticed not many people in caribe...

[chefim]

OK, so where did I leave off:confused: Ah, food of course.

 

So, I was speaking about the Horizon Court Buffet. The one tricky thing you have to learn is the hours. They will keep only one side of the buffet open until 11:30, and then they shut it down. They will then prepare for lunch, and you get to figure out based on the time whether to look for food at Horizon or Caribe. In the Caribe Cafe the food tends to be more. As I mentioned earlier, Cafe Caribe is also open in the evening for those who want a more laid back dinner, and don't feel like dressing. You can wear shorts at Caribe. They are open for dinner from 5:30PM - 11:00PM and serve the following:

 

Monday

Welcome Dinner Buffet: Seafood Extravaganza, Roast Beef Tenderloin and many other dishes from around the world.

 

Tuesday

Noon - 2PM "Oriental Buffet"

5:30PM - 11:00PM "Down Island Buffet"

 

Wednesday

5;30PM - 11:00PM "Bavarian Buffet"

 

Thursday

5:30PM - 11:00PM "Mexican Buffet"

 

Friday

Noon - 2PM "Oriental Buffet"

5:30PM - 11:00PM "Dinner Buffet" This is the second formal night, so you will find another Seafood Feast with Lobster Claws, and Crab Legs, as well as Beef Wellington.

 

Saturday

5:30PM - 11:00PM "Creole Cookery"

 

There is also a sailaway "Seafood Extravaganza" on Sunday night in the Horizon Court Buffet.

 

Have I mentioned food lately.:D

 

We actually did not run for food right away. We decided that after dropping off our carry on's and headed to see the Maitre D'. We really wanted a table for two, as we had not vacationed alone for about 7 years. We were told by our TA and by many on this forum that we would not have a table for two in Traditional dining. When we got down to the area, there was a girl who was screening people's requests, and we told her that we would like to change to Anytime so we could have a table for two. She checked our cruise card, and said, "I believe this is a table for two", but let me check. She walked away for a minute, and then came back and confirmed that we did in fact have a table for two in Traditional Second Seating. Hooray!!!!!!!

 

We then ran over to Sabatini's where the very personable Manager of the restaurant, Sergio, was holding court. He was taking reservations for Sterling and Sabatini's for the week. We decided to do Sterling the first week, and then Sabatini's the second week, which was our 10th Anniversary.

 

When we had completed all these formalities, we decide to go change, and head up for something to eat, and the to Outrigger Bar for our CC Roll Call Meeting at 3:15PM.

 

The Outrigger Bar is actually located at the aft of the ship, right behind the Cafe Caribe. If you walk through the buffet and all the way to the back of Cafe Caribe there will be doors that lead out to the Outrigger. Below the bar, just a few steps down was my favorite pool on the ship. The "ADULTS ONLY" Pool. Don't get me wrong, we love kids, just not when we are trying to lay by the pool and relax. The other great thing about the Adult Only pool, is that there is both sun and shade depending on the time of day. Skywalkers Nightclub sits right over this pool, and presents that shade during the hotter part of the day.

 

Well, I need to head out for a time, so more coming later. Wow, all this, and I have not even gotten to the end of one day.

 

Regards,

 

Chef

[joan24]

Chef,

Glad to hear that you were able to get a table for two at the second seating, traditional dining. We have a confirmed second seating and requested a table for two.

Joan

[Clutterlady]

Thanks Chef.........can't wait to hear more. Really getting excited for our upcoming CB cruise:)

[chefim]

Chef,

Glad to hear that you were able to get a table for two at the second seating, traditional dining. We have a confirmed second seating and requested a table for two.

Joan

 

Hey, I used to live in Hollywood. Anyway, check with the Maitre D' Angelo Balbiani. He seems rather stern with the crew, but is very personable, and will attempt to make you happy if he can.

 

Regards,

 

Chef

[ashtyn]

Hey Chef,

 

It is nice to see that you made it back here to Orlando. I was remembering that you were still cruising when I was having a real bad night at the hospital where I work. Wishing I was back on the ship again. It was nice to have the cool weather, but ohhh what I would do to see the beautiful water and sands of the carribean.:D

 

Next year I may see If I can convince my husband to take 2 weeks off so we could do a B2B.

 

Sorry we didn't spend anytime with you. It was a little rough the first couple of days at sea and we just chilled out.

 

The comedian that we saw was great. He lives in Orlando and had everyone laughing. I asked and he doesn't even perform here in town:( .

[tennisobo]

Thanks for the detailed list of Buffet themes. I printed it for our cruise in January.

 

Keep it coming...

[TwinCruiserMom]

Thanks for the info and I am enjoying your review!

[chefim]

I left off with the info on Horizon and Cafe Caribe. So, now it was off the the Outrigger Bar to meet the other CC'ers from our Roll Call. I was the person who set things up with Princess. The new contact for Onboard Passenger Services is Liz Williamson, and her email is ewilliamson@princesscruises.com. She handles both the CB and the Coral. Princess really does not do anything special. You can of course pay for them to supply snacks, but that is about it. They were willing to give us what they call a No Host Bar, which means everyone pays for their own drinks, and dry snacks. The dry snacks are pretty funny. They gave us three mini carafe's about 4" high filled with the typical salty treats to promote, you guessed it, more drinks bought at the No Host Bar. We had a great group get together for about an hour, and then everybody headed to the muster drill.

 

This is one of the areas that Princess shines. On previous cruises with other lines we were forced to stand out on a deck in the heat of the day while they take roll call. Princess instead has us meet in the theater, where we are able to sit, and listen to Tim Donovan the CD explain some of the safety features. The CD staff then demonstrated the putting on of the life jacket. .We were then asked to stand and put our own on, and when everyone had completed this, we were basically finished and headed back to our cabin for a power nap and preparation for our first dinner in the dining room.

 

We took that power nap on our wonderful "double wide", the Caribe balcony cabin. This really is a wonderful deal. You get a balcony that is bigger than most, which is half covered and half exposed. Great for those lazy afternoons when you want to get some extra sun, or just a nap in the shade. Can you tell that we like naps?

 

As I had stated earlier we were in second seating traditional. We had originally planned for traditional this week, and anytime the second week, and I will go into that further in a later post. We had the most incredible wait staff. Gyula from Hungary was our waiter, and Jules from the Philippines was our assistant. This was at table 260, and they covered tables 261 & 262 if you would want to request them. I believe both of them will be onboard till March.

 

I loved the new menus, and also the concept of small and large plates. There was what I consider a good variety of different foods, and there always the standards like Fettuccine Alfredo, Chicken or Steak for the unadventurous. The DW had the Baramundi, which is becoming very popular in culinary circles. It is easily farm raised, and is a tasty white fleshed fish from Down Under. I started with the Porcini Mushroom Soup, which was quite good. They almost always had some type of cold soup on the menu. I love those as well as they are refreshing and stimulate the palate for what it to come. I think I had the Prime Rib the first night. The other think I loved about the menus was the desert. They always had interesting ice cream and sorbet flavors, and they most definitely make these fresh on the ship. We do not eat pork or shellfish, so the Seafood Extravaganza and formal nights with Lobster tails do not impress us. Overall, I would rate the food a step above what we have had on RCCL, and I think it is very well presented as well. Keep in mind folks that food is very subjective. As a chef, I recognize that these folks are cooking for in excess of 3000 people, so I do not expect the food to be high end gourmet However, with that said, for banquet food, it is definitely some of the best I have ever tasted.

 

 

More to come when I have some time.

 

Regards,

 

Chef

[MrsNoPlea]

Thanks for this wonderful review, I am REALLY enjoying it!!!! Especially since we board the CB this coming Sunday!!!! YIPPEE!!!!!!!!:p :p :p

[WISH84]

Hi Chef. I'm a Food & Beverage Director for Hilton Hotels and I'm wondering if you can tell me which of the two you preferred, Sabatini's or Sterlings? We are only on the ship for one week and only want to use this option for one night. Thanks.