Caribbean Princess 2/8 – 2/15 Review - Long

[Sunny AZ Girl]

I agree that on a cruise you should be able to do as much or as little as you want. That is the beauty of cruising! You contributed quite a bit to all of us with your wonderful review. Thanks.:)

[Cruisin Sal]

I was also on on the b2b. I had an early flight from San Juan at 11:15. I was off the ship at 8am and at the gate at 9am. Before you check in you must go throught agriculture check outside the terminal. At American you must use self check in and boarding passes. My plane was overbooked - they were offering $600 credit to change. The plane left on time but because SFO had bad weather we were delayed 3 1/2 hours in LAX. Not nice with a 4 hour time change!

[DonMar]

I agree that on a cruise you should be able to do as much or as little as you want. That is the beauty of cruising! You contributed quite a bit to all of us with your wonderful review. Thanks.:)

 

Thanks! ;)

[Cruisoholic]

Hi

Are there Penny slot machines on The Carribean Princess?

 

thanks

[DonMar]

Hi

Are there Penny slot machines on The Carribean Princess?

 

thanks

 

Yes, there are penny slot machines. There are penny, $.02, $.05, $.25 and up machines. A few things to note about the new casino;

 

1. You can cash out on your ship card. At the end of the cruise you go to the casino to collect any money (if any:o) in your casino account.

 

2. I am not a big casino person, but I (and others) seemed to do well in a specific bank of $.02 slot machines. If you walk into the casino from the aft entrance (walking toward the theater)this specific group of machines is just on the port side (left) of center ship as soon as you walk in. I did well on the corner machine on the forward, port corner.

 

3. They have some machines that accept only Princess coins, others that will only accept nickles, others quarters etc (all accept bills). This is why it is a good idea to use your ship card to cash out.

 

Good luck.

[Boricruiser]

Great review! I read that you do not do formal nights...but do you still have to dress formal in those nights?? I would like to hear about the pools, jacuzzi, and entertainment...

[DonMar]

Great review! I read that you do not do formal nights...but do you still have to dress formal in those nights?? I would like to hear about the pools, jacuzzi, and entertainment...

 

Welcome to Cruise Critic!

 

We do not dress formally on formal nights. We just do not go to the dining rooms - in respect for the others who do dress and want a formal evening. We do walk about and go to the casino after dinner.

 

The pools are fresh water - I prefer saltwater pools. They were never very crowded. The best pool area - in my opinion - is the Terrace Pool on Deck 14 all the way in the aft end of the ship. It is an adult only pool. There is no hot tub there.

 

There are four other pools (I think I counted them all.). One small pool, like the Terrace pool is on Deck 16 or 17 just forward of the Terrace pool. In this area there is a hot tub and toddler's pool. There are the two main pools (can not remember the names) on deck 15 midship (with hot tubs) and the spa pool on deck 16 (I think) all the way forward next to the Sanctuary. There is a hot tub there too.

 

They close the one of the main pools (the further aft of the two) at night for Movies Under the Stars (MUTS). During the day this pool has some type of movie or projected concert playing on the big screen.

 

The other main pool (the further forward one of the two) has the Hamburgers/Hot Dogs etc and Pizza. This is where the band plays.

 

All pools have bars.

 

There are many, many lounge chairs. Not all by the pools.

 

I cannot comment on the entertainment as we really did not participate in this.

 

Hope this helps.

[ljandiernp]

Thank you for a positive review; I am very glad that you had such a nice experience. We are sailing the CB this weekend!!! I am so happy to see that things seem to be settling down after some initial post-drydock blues :rolleyes:

I have 2 questions: did you notice if both the fee-based restaurants have opened? Apparently the new grill was not open for the first sailings. Secondly, if I read you correctly I think you went from the ship to San Juan? If so, can you comment on the taxi fee? We have a pre-cruise hotel and thought we were going to go check in to the ship and then go back to SJ for a portion of the day on Sunday, but now that I realise it's not a walking distance plan, I am not so sure that's what we'll do.

Thank you again for you thoughtful post! Laurie

[Cruisers13]

Thanks for the great trip review. :) We are cruising 3-22 on CB. Couple of questions. What is the cost of the ferry from Red Hook to St. John? Is there transportation after arriving at St John? How much time did you leave due to traffic when returning to the ship? Thanks so much.

[DonMar]

Thank you for a positive review; I am very glad that you had such a nice experience. We are sailing the CB this weekend!!! I am so happy to see that things seem to be settling down after some initial post-drydock blues :rolleyes:

 

I have 2 questions: did you notice if both the fee-based restaurants have opened? Apparently the new grill was not open for the first sailings. Secondly, if I read you correctly I think you went from the ship to San Juan? If so, can you comment on the taxi fee? We have a pre-cruise hotel and thought we were going to go check in to the ship and then go back to SJ for a portion of the day on Sunday, but now that I realise it's not a walking distance plan, I am not so sure that's what we'll do.

 

Thank you again for you thoughtful post! Laurie

 

 

Sabatini's and the steakhouse are open. Sabatini's is in their restaurant space (deck 7, I believe). The steakhouse is temporaraly in the Horizon Court in the evening.

 

The Crown Grill is not open, and I do think it will be open for your cruise or the next. Donald was able to get a quick glips or two into the Crown Grill space and - as he said it - was down to the studs. (As a former ship yard superintended - he loves this stuff.)

 

The ship docked at the Pam American pier which is not in downtown Old San Juan. We took a cab there for $12 (it might be $10 because we had our bags with us and they charge $1 per bag). It was not a long ride - maybe 10 minutes.

[DonMar]

Thanks for the great trip review. :) We are cruising 3-22 on CB. Couple of questions. What is the cost of the ferry from Red Hook to St. John? Is there transportation after arriving at St John? How much time did you leave due to traffic when returning to the ship? Thanks so much.

 

 

I think the cost was $6.10 pp. We were on the 3:00 ferry so we could get to the ship in plenty of time - which we did. If you can - get off the ship right away and get to Red Hook for the early ferry you should have plenty of time in St. John's.

 

There is transportation at the dock in St. John's.

 

Have fun!

[DonMar]

Great review! I read that you do not do formal nights...but do you still have to dress formal in those nights?? I would like to hear about the pools, jacuzzi, and entertainment...

 

 

Here is a photo of the Terrace Pool - which Donald just uploaded.

 

[KSCPA]

St Thomas...I am a first time cruiser and am looking to NOT take the excurtion to St John with the boat. Can you explain exactly how I would get to Trunk Bay. I am bringing my snokeling equip. I am traveling with my 11 year old son. I understand when I get off the Emerald Princess I can catch a bus to Red Hook to then get the ferry to St. John's but then is it difficult to then get to Trunk Bay. I really want to see the snokeling trail they have, everything I have read so far is great concerning the snokeling. I know I have to pay an admission fee for the national park.. do you have any suggestions about how we can plan the day.. 7am - 6pm.

We are also going to the following....

ANTIGUA, ST LUCIA, BARBADOS, ST KITTS, ST THOMAS, PRINCESS CAY...

THANKS IN ADVANCE

[DonMar]

St Thomas...I am a first time cruiser and am looking to NOT take the excurtion to St John with the boat. Can you explain exactly how I would get to Trunk Bay. I am bringing my snokeling equip. I am traveling with my 11 year old son. I understand when I get off the Emerald Princess I can catch a bus to Red Hook to then get the ferry to St. John's but then is it difficult to then get to Trunk Bay. I really want to see the snokeling trail they have, everything I have read so far is great concerning the snokeling. I know I have to pay an admission fee for the national park.. do you have any suggestions about how we can plan the day.. 7am - 6pm.

We are also going to the following....

ANTIGUA, ST LUCIA, BARBADOS, ST KITTS, ST THOMAS, PRINCESS CAY...

THANKS IN ADVANCE

 

 

The earliest ferry you could get would be 8:00am - if you got off the ship at 7am. I would plan to get the 9:00 ferry by leaving the ship by 7:30am. By the time you walk to bus stop, a bus comes along and you get to Red Hook, it will be about an hour. They ferry tickets go on sale 15 minutes before departure.

 

Once on St.John's there were safari buses and taxis able to take you to Trunk Bay. There were also people offering rental Jeeps. I should not be hard to get to Trunk Bay.

 

There is a thread on Cruise Critic about getting to St. John's on your own, which I found helpful. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=849041&highlight=john+your

 

I would make sure to get the 4pm ferry back (at the latest) so you have time to get through downtown traffic.

 

Have fun!

[mfbs]

Loved the picture of the Terrace Pool! We booked Riveria Deck to be near it. Your reveiw is great and has lots of information so thank you for posting it.

 

Question: At the port in San Juan can we buy beer to bring on?? All the posts I see mention liquour or wine. Is the store really in the terminal where the ship is??

 

Thanks!

[D&N LUV 2 TRAVEL]

The terminal is right in front of where you board the ship. We had plenty of time and boarded the ship around 1:30 pm, dropped stuff off in our room and then went back to the terminal to purchase our alcohol. We just put our purchases in the plastic liquor bag and then put that in our back pack. Others just carried it on in the liquor bag with no issues. I did not see any beer available.

 

 

 

 

 

Loved the picture of the Terrace Pool! We booked Riveria Deck to be near it. Your reveiw is great and has lots of information so thank you for posting it.

 

Question: At the port in San Juan can we buy beer to bring on?? All the posts I see mention liquour or wine. Is the store really in the terminal where the ship is??

 

Thanks!

[fun and breezes 2]

 

Disembarkation: We travel carry on only so we did not need to put our luggage out the evening before, but we did need to vacate the cabin by 8:00am. We were given a 11:45pm ticket, but spoke to the pursers desk to see if we could self-disembark. They gave us a number of tickets for different times so we could pick when to leave. Our flight was not until 5:45pm and it was a beautiful day so we stayed until after 11am – at the Terrace Pool.

 

What did the pursers desk tell you about self-disembarkation? I heard they have stopped the early self disembarkation in San Juan. How cooperative is the ship about letting people with early flights leave first?

 

Since you weren't trying to leave early, I recognize you may not know what they were able to do.

[Sunny AZ Girl]

Can you tell me when Muster Drill is?

[DonMar]

What did the pursers desk tell you about self-disembarkation? I heard they have stopped the early self disembarkation in San Juan. How cooperative is the ship about letting people with early flights leave first?

 

Since you weren't trying to leave early, I recognize you may not know what they were able to do.

 

When we asked about the self-disembarkation we made sure to let them know we had carry-on bags and that was all. The nice woman with whom we spoke really wanted to know if it was carry-on or if we would be dragging bags off the ship. After being reassured that we had only real carry-on she gave us a choice of time.

 

From what I could tell, they disembark people in order of flights. People with early flights get off first.

[DonMar]

 

Question: At the port in San Juan can we buy beer to bring on?? All the posts I see mention liquour or wine. Is the store really in the terminal where the ship is??

 

Thanks!

 

The terminal is right in front of where you board the ship. We had plenty of time and boarded the ship around 1:30 pm, dropped stuff off in our room and then went back to the terminal to purchase our alcohol. We just put our purchases in the plastic liquor bag and then put that in our back pack. Others just carried it on in the liquor bag with no issues. I did not see any beer available.

 

Just as Soontoretire said, the store is right in the terminal - you will not miss it. They carry mostly liquor. There is some wine. There was a small amount of beer. It was in with the soda on the back side of the cashier island.

[fun and breezes 2]

Great! Thanks for answering my question. I have one more. I saw earlier you posted that muster was at 8pm. Was that the originally scheduled time or did they slip it back to 8.

[DonMar]

Can you tell me when Muster Drill is?

 

 

It was at 8pm on embarkation day. It is an odd time, but it seems to work. They have a secondary Muster Drill for those who missed it the day before.

[mfbs]

Just as Soontoretire said, the store is right in the terminal - you will not miss it. They carry mostly liquor. There is some wine. There was a small amount of beer. It was in with the soda on the back side of the cashier island.

 

 

Since we only drink beer we won't be going to the store at the terminal. I read on some other posts that we can have the cab driver bring us to a Publix before we board. Have you ever done this?? I also want to make sure I can get my Diet Pepsi!!

 

Thank you for your help with my questions!

[JustinPlusLauren]

Thanks for posting your review! Sounds like you had a great time!! We went on the same itinerary in December on the CB, if you're interested in reading my blog, I've posted it in my signature!

[D&N LUV 2 TRAVEL]

We were on the B2B starting Feb 1 and the 1st week the muster drill was at 7pm and the second week was at 8pm. I do not know why the change or if that is the way they plan it.

 

 

Great! Thanks for answering my question. I have one more. I saw earlier you posted that muster was at 8pm. Was that the originally scheduled time or did they slip it back to 8.