Caribbean Princess Review
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Watching the weather reports of Hurricane Wilma approaching, we headed to FLL a day early to prepare for our cruise. We had reservations at Clarion Beach Resort in Lauderdale by the Sea. The room was Ok and the view was great but this hotel was too far from the port. It was a $35 cab fare (one way!). Saturday morning came and we found a shuttle from our hotel for just $7 each (much better). We rounded the corner and got our first look at the Caribbean Princess and were in awe. What a beautiful vessel! Embarkation was reasonably well organized considering the large number of travelers.
Accommodations - Soon we were on board and quickly found our stateroom. We were pleased with our Accommodations. We set out to check out the ship. She is beautiful inside and out. The decor is tasteful and classy. The ship still looked sparkling new and was as clean as could be, and stayed that way throughout the entire cruise. Juan our cabin steward was friendly and took good care of us. Tips - 1. Use the "Privacy" sign on the door... they rap lightly then walk on in! 2. Ask for an "egg crate" pad for your bed. They make things much more comfortable.
Food - We had requested early seating but were placed on a waiting list... not sure why since this trip was booked way back in February. Since we had no seating assignment, we opted for Personal choice dining. We used both the Coral and Palms dining rooms. The service was good but not as good as we experienced with assigned dining on our previous cruises. The food quality was about the same as we experienced on RCCL and Carnival cruises. It's all good. Actually, we found the best food on this cruise on Cafe Caribe buffet. Loved the rock lobster and shrimp with orange sauce (yum!). The Wife enjoyed her desserts as always! My only real dislike was the chaos at breakfast in the Horizon Court buffet. It was a battle every morning to fight the crowd to get a plate of food and then try to find an empty table. We tried room service for a continental breakfast which arrived promptly... much better than the zoo at the buffet. We did not try Sterling Steakhouse or Sabbitini's. Maybe next time.