Review of CB May 24-June 2

[prg2101]

Welcome to my review of our cruise on the CB this past week, we had a great time and to give a heads up this was our 4th cruise and our 1st on Princess so not a vet but not a newbie......

 

1) Embarkation in RedHook, NY....

Does it get any better than this. We wizzed through the line and were on board by 1230pm....Bit of advice for others..get a transfer!!!!We almost didnt and TRUST ME, cabbies dont really know where the pier is.

Room was ready as soon as we stepped on board. Hats of to Princess for this one..

 

2) Our cabin.....

This is a gray area for most of us fellow CCers. Depends on what you like and pay for. We had the Grand Cayman Suite on Aloha all the way Aft and I must say, the best cabin I have had on our cruise's yet! Very large and Princess by far has the biggest balconies in the Aft..(Highly recommended) Had a quiet room steward, always greeted us and gave us top service(we really didnt ask for much). No towel animals on Princess but that really didnt bother us....

 

3) The ship.....

We loved the CB, first time on Princess and already booked another one for next year, sorry NCL and RCCL but they really out did themselves as far as we were concidered..(we always book a suite so that didnt matter)

 

MOVEMENT ON THE SHIP.....I know this has been a topic for some time on the boards so let me put my two cents in here, we sailed on the NCL Gem and RCCL voyager and this ship BY FAR moves less than those two in some hairy conditions.....we missed the port of Bermuda because of strong winds and high seas(I know it sucks)...I didnt even know we were in bad weather that day when I woke up soooooo....The CB really handles well...and we were in the Aft!!!

 

4) Food......

Food on the ship was great in my opinion..Had a wonderful meal at the Crown Grille..Pizza on Princess is the BEST I have had on any cruise(Hats off to Princess for that!!!!!) The area I would like to touch a bit is the Buffet.....My wife and I are pickey with food but conciderate to others and I saw some of the worst mutiny in the Horizon Court and the Caribe that I have ever seen in my life....People just expect way too much from the workers in the buffet....Think about it when your there, do u tip them? Chances are no.....Bring a drink with you to your meal and you wont have to wait for them to come to you....(not hard) Anyway we enjoyed our meals in the buffet but flavor for some is subjective.....

 

5) Ports.....

Grand Turk was very nice but they are still building from the hurricane....Go shopping right off the ship and have fun in Margaritaville(Its a blast)..

Puerto Rico was also great, went to the Barcardi distillery and traveled the city with my in-laws( wife is from there)

St. Thomas was our favorite stop...just a beauty of a place, would love to go there again....

We missed Bermuda on this trip due to bad weather so had to make an extra sea day out of it.....(didnt mind that, bought our total sea days to 5)

 

6) All in all......

We really had a great time, missed our meet and greet but that was my fault....Princess is a wonderful line and look forward to booking our Alaskan trip with them....Any questions please ask as I will try to be helpful...

 

John

 

 

P.S. Little hint for the Beer guys out there, bring your empty bucket back to the bars when your ready for a new on and they give u a discount, and if you tip the bartenders a little extra, you get a little extra.....Happy Sailings:D:D:D

[synet165]

Wecome back. Great review. We will be on the ship sailing Aug. 13th staying on the Dolphin Deck and really would appreciate it if you should have menus and patters that you could post.

Thanks

synet165:)

[AAAAmerican]

 

Welcome home!

 

Glad , by reading, you liked the ship and trip.

 

Princess Cruise lines is actually a few steps above a lot of other lines in culinary quality and services rendered.

 

 

Did they have the first sea night the seafood...Lobster Claws and parts etc.. and no Nut ( Craw ) Crackers?

 

Maybe if they had a Deposit on those the magic of easily disappearing may stop..

 

Did you also eat in the dining room the day you left for lunch?

 

 

 

All the Best.

 

AAAAmerican

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Welcome to my review of our cruise on the CB this past week, we had a great time and to give a heads up this was our 4th cruise and our 1st on Princess so not a vet but not a newbie......

 

1) Embarkation in RedHook, NY....

Does it get any better than this. We wizzed through the line and were on board by 1230pm....Bit of advice for others..get a transfer!!!!We almost didnt and TRUST ME, cabbies dont really know where the pier is.

Room was ready as soon as we stepped on board. Hats of to Princess for this one..

 

2) Our cabin.....

This is a gray area for most of us fellow CCers. Depends on what you like and pay for. We had the Grand Cayman Suite on Aloha all the way Aft and I must say, the best cabin I have had on our cruise's yet! Very large and Princess by far has the biggest balconies in the Aft..(Highly recommended) Had a quiet room steward, always greeted us and gave us top service(we really didnt ask for much). No towel animals on Princess but that really didnt bother us....

 

3) The ship.....

We loved the CB, first time on Princess and already booked another one for next year, sorry NCL and RCCL but they really out did themselves as far as we were concidered..(we always book a suite so that didnt matter)

 

MOVEMENT ON THE SHIP.....I know this has been a topic for some time on the boards so let me put my two cents in here, we sailed on the NCL Gem and RCCL voyager and this ship BY FAR moves less than those two in some hairy conditions.....we missed the port of Bermuda because of strong winds and high seas(I know it sucks)...I didnt even know we were in bad weather that day when I woke up soooooo....The CB really handles well...and we were in the Aft!!!

 

4) Food......

Food on the ship was great in my opinion..Had a wonderful meal at the Crown Grille..Pizza on Princess is the BEST I have had on any cruise(Hats off to Princess for that!!!!!) The area I would like to touch a bit is the Buffet.....My wife and I are pickey with food but conciderate to others and I saw some of the worst mutiny in the Horizon Court and the Caribe that I have ever seen in my life....People just expect way too much from the workers in the buffet....Think about it when your there, do u tip them? Chances are no.....Bring a drink with you to your meal and you wont have to wait for them to come to you....(not hard) Anyway we enjoyed our meals in the buffet but flavor for some is subjective.....

 

5) Ports.....

Grand Turk was very nice but they are still building from the hurricane....Go shopping right off the ship and have fun in Margaritaville(Its a blast)..

Puerto Rico was also great, went to the Barcardi distillery and traveled the city with my in-laws( wife is from there)

St. Thomas was our favorite stop...just a beauty of a place, would love to go there again....

We missed Bermuda on this trip due to bad weather so had to make an extra sea day out of it.....(didnt mind that, bought our total sea days to 5)

 

6) All in all......

We really had a great time, missed our meet and greet but that was my fault....Princess is a wonderful line and look forward to booking our Alaskan trip with them....Any questions please ask as I will try to be helpful...

 

John

 

 

P.S. Little hint for the Beer guys out there, bring your empty bucket back to the bars when your ready for a new on and they give u a discount, and if you tip the bartenders a little extra, you get a little extra.....Happy Sailings:D:D:D

[RickEk]

Thanks for the review. We're less than 30 days from our cruise on the Caribbean and can't wait!

 

Quick question though... what time did you get to NY and which airport did you take your transfer from?

[Clutterlady]

Thank you for the review and welcome to Princess. Glad you enjoyed the CB, she is one of our favorites!! Did they have the sailaway seafood buffet?

[Tralynn]

Thank you so much for taking the time to post your review. We're going on the CB in the beginning of November and are really looking forward to it. It sounds like we're in for the service we've come to love from Princess.

 

As far as the lobster claws (and no nut crackers) we're from the deep south, we can show you how to get into those suckers with a butter knife!

 

How was the entertainment? Any not to be missed shows?

[tteettimes]

did you observe any noises or odors from the adjacent vent???

 

did you have noises from the pool immediately above your suite???

 

we have C748 ( next to vent) booked in September is why I am asking

glad you had a great trip

[sherman931]

Thanks for the review. I wish the CB would come back to Ft. Laud :(

[JulesNJ]

Hi there!

Thanks for your review! We are sailing this ship in August out of Red Hook too. We live in NJ so we have no option but to take a taxi to the pier. Any help you can provide as far as where I should tell them to go in case I also have a cab that doesn't know where he is going and we end up driving around in circles? :)

 

Thanks ever so much!

[prg2101]

 

Welcome home!

 

Glad , by reading, you liked the ship and trip.

 

Princess Cruise lines is actually a few steps above a lot of other lines in culinary quality and services rendered.

 

 

Did they have the first sea night the seafood...Lobster Claws and parts etc.. and no Nut ( Craw ) Crackers?

 

Maybe if they had a Deposit on those the magic of easily disappearing may stop..

 

Did you also eat in the dining room the day you left for lunch?

 

 

 

All the Best.

 

AAAAmerican

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We did not see the claw crackers for the seafood night and it was served in the buffet on sailaway night...

 

we ate in the buffet for lunch when we arrived so I am not sure if the dining room was open for lunch....

[prg2101]

Thanks for the review. We're less than 30 days from our cruise on the Caribbean and can't wait!

 

Quick question though... what time did you get to NY and which airport did you take your transfer from?

 

 

We got to NY the day before the cruise and stayed at the Four Seasons Sheraton in Chelsea....The transfer was the hotels transfer and we decided at the last minute to use it...It was 80 dollars but well worth it..

Getting to Red Hook is a little tricky as you will find out....Enjoy your cruise!!!

[prg2101]

Thank you so much for taking the time to post your review. We're going on the CB in the beginning of November and are really looking forward to it. It sounds like we're in for the service we've come to love from Princess.

 

As far as the lobster claws (and no nut crackers) we're from the deep south, we can show you how to get into those suckers with a butter knife!

 

How was the entertainment? Any not to be missed shows?

 

 

The International Crew show was a huge hit with us....Very funny

Also the comedian Rollin Jay Moore was great...

They had a Pop Idol that I have heard about from others but we didnt get the chance to go..

[prg2101]

did you observe any noises or odors from the adjacent vent???

 

did you have noises from the pool immediately above your suite???

 

we have C748 ( next to vent) booked in September is why I am asking

glad you had a great trip

 

The sound of the wake drowns out the sound of the vent but there is a odor from time to time, didnt bother us because it is the smell coming from the restaurants so it just smells like fresh food being cooked:D.. As far as the pool above us, not a peep....

[prg2101]

Hi there!

Thanks for your review! We are sailing this ship in August out of Red Hook too. We live in NJ so we have no option but to take a taxi to the pier. Any help you can provide as far as where I should tell them to go in case I also have a cab that doesn't know where he is going and we end up driving around in circles? :)

 

Thanks ever so much!

 

 

Go to mapquest and map it out, then give it to the cab driver and that should be fine. They are doing some construction in Brooklyn so it seemed

confusing as we circled around to the pier.

[prg2101]

A little info that I left out of my review.......

 

The captian has recently changed and is now Marco Fortezze

The CD is Dan Styne, he's good but we saw more of the Deputy CD Sam

 

Some of the movies shown in MUTS were

Concerts, Soccer Tournament, Seven Pounds, Marley and Me, Ratatoulle,

Secret life of Bees, Must love Dogs, Mad Money, The Yes Man, ect....

 

The band On The Roxx was awesome by the pool!!!

DONT miss the Champagne Waterfall!!!!!!It was great:D

[CruiseKing]

A little info that I left out of my review.......

 

The captian has recently changed and is now Marco Fortezze

The CD is Dan Styne, he's good but we saw more of the Deputy CD Sam

 

Some of the movies shown in MUTS were

Concerts, Soccer Tournament, Seven Pounds, Marley and Me, Ratatoulle,

Secret life of Bees, Must love Dogs, Mad Money, The Yes Man, ect....

 

The band On The Roxx was awesome by the pool!!!

DONT miss the Champagne Waterfall!!!!!!It was great:D

Dan & Sam left on Tuesday for vacation. Tim Donovan is now CD. Don't know who came on as his deputy.

[jumojimvw]

A little info that I left out of my review.......

 

The captian has recently changed and is now Marco Fortezze

The CD is Dan Styne, he's good but we saw more of the Deputy CD Sam

 

Some of the movies shown in MUTS were

Concerts, Soccer Tournament, Seven Pounds, Marley and Me, Ratatoulle,

Secret life of Bees, Must love Dogs, Mad Money, The Yes Man, ect....

 

The band On The Roxx was awesome by the pool!!!

DONT miss the Champagne Waterfall!!!!!!It was great:D

 

On the Roxx also performed every night in the Explorers lounge, Also the quick change artists were pretty good.

[kblee]

Hi there!

Thanks for your review! We are sailing this ship in August out of Red Hook too. We live in NJ so we have no option but to take a taxi to the pier. Any help you can provide as far as where I should tell them to go in case I also have a cab that doesn't know where he is going and we end up driving around in circles? :)

 

Thanks ever so much!

 

Directions here:

 

http://www.brooklyncruiseguide.com/cruise-terminal.html

[lkmamom]

Dan & Sam left on Tuesday for vacation. Tim Donovan is now CD. Don't know who came on as his deputy

 

CruiseKing, I am so excited! Tim Donavan was our all time favorite CD. Do you happen to know if he will be the CD throughout the summer (like through August?)

 

To the OP, very excellent review, thanks!

Linda

[pokey's mom]

Hi there!

Thanks for your review! We are sailing this ship in August out of Red Hook too. We live in NJ so we have no option but to take a taxi to the pier. Any help you can provide as far as where I should tell them to go in case I also have a cab that doesn't know where he is going and we end up driving around in circles? :)

 

Thanks ever so much!

There is a wonderful private parking lot at the pier. There is usually lots of room and we have parked there several times and the car was never touched and is very easy to get in and out of. Think about driving to the pier. However there is a charge per day. Notsure what that is right now.

[pokey's mom]

Thanks so much for you great review. People usually write reviews when they want to complain about something. We have traveled with Princess 11 times and we have our 12th planned for Sept. This will be our third time on the Caribbean and we find it to be a very lovely ship. We liked it before it went into drydock, and we found it only got better. So glad ou enjoyed Princess , you will love Alaska. Enjoy your next trip!!!!!:D

[CruiseKing]

Dan & Sam left on Tuesday for vacation. Tim Donovan is now CD. Don't know who came on as his deputy

 

CruiseKing, I am so excited! Tim Donavan was our all time favorite CD. Do you happen to know if he will be the CD throughout the summer (like through August?)

 

To the OP, very excellent review, thanks!

Linda

He usually does a 4- 6 month contract so he may be there in August. That can always change based on the needs of the company.

 

There is a wonderful private parking lot at the pier. There is usually lots of room and we have parked there several times and the car was never touched and is very easy to get in and out of. Think about driving to the pier. However there is a charge per day. Notsure what that is right now.

Just off the 9 day CB. The cost to park was $183 for the length of the cruise.

[Kavendish]

Thanks for your review. I noticed that you didn't mention the Sanctuary. Do you know anything about it (cost, etc). I've read different accounts on different threads.

 

This morning I called Princess to try and get some real information. The operator was totally unfamiliar with the ship and the Sanctuary. You could hear her turning the pages of her reference document. All she could share was $10/half day. She had no knowledge of how you reserved (by day or cruise).

 

Princess' website seems not to have been updated.

 

thanks.

[C&F]

P.S. Little hint for the Beer guys out there, bring your empty bucket back to the bars when your ready for a new on and they give u a discount, and if you tip the bartenders a little extra, you get a little extra.....Happy Sailings:D:D:D

 

First off, thanks for the great review. Sailing in July on her. What kind of discount do you get for bringing back the bucket? I always brought them back and walked away. Then I'd go to another bar for another bucket. A discount is a little incentive to just keep on getting buckets, lol!

Also, do you know who the rest of the CD's cruise staff is? We had a great time with the best cruise staff last year.

Thanks,

Freddie

[Cruiser7772]

Was the order of the ports the way you listed them in your post: Grand Turk, St. Thomas, San Juan and Bermuda? It's the opposite of what my itinerary is for next week and I know that some of them do the opposite itinerary. Just curious...thanks also for the great review. It's so nice to hear that someone else shares the same love for the CB! This is our second time on the ship! I can't wait for my first slice of their pizza and a 3 Berry Daiquiri!