Caribbean Princess Review

4.0 / 5.0
2,769 reviews

Caribbean Princess - Western Caribbean

Review for the Western Caribbean Cruise on Caribbean Princess
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fienx001
First Time Cruiser • Age 40s

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Sail Date: Aug 2006

1. Beginning with the shameless marketing, and sales pitches throughout the entire cruise. Most objectionable was the way in which the "Grand Atrium" was utilized as a Olan Mills type of photo shoot. Folding tables were set up around the banister on all three levels of the ship, at which were sold various trinkets. The already smaller than normal Atrium (Carnival by comparison), was now excessively hard to navigate during evening hours. 2. The music being played on deck by the Pizzeria and Trident Grille was played so loud it bordered on "Hard Rock Concert," far too loud to enjoy light Caribbean music in the background, while you catch a tan. The music played in the Explorers lounge was equally as loud, making it anything but a lounge as conversations could not be conducted. 3. There was no direction, or supervision of the buffet lines. With two entrances two separate lines stood at a stand-still trying to decide how to move. This made the dinning experience for breakfast and lunch highly unpleasant. However, the food for the most part was fine. 4. One of my biggest problems was the poor ventilation in the Casino where cigarette smoke permeated the above and below floors, and the rooms and hallways surrounding the area. We had to go down to our dinning room level and walk back up to go over the casino so we would not smell like smoke, and then back down. Not a physical feat, just highly annoying on our "relaxing vacation." 5. My biggest problem, and the single reason I will never sail Princess again. I went to the Casino on the last day of the cruise, and put $10.00 into the five cents machine, which immediately gave me two hundred credits. After playing one round, I had won one credit, and stupidly hit the "cash-out" button, which proceeded to give me back my two-hundred credits. At this point Letitia, one of the Casino Supervisors, came swooping down on my machine, and in the nastiest voice possible demanded to know how old we were and immediately followed her question with the statement "You have to be twenty-one or older to play this machine, how about you two produce some ID." Of course I did not have a photo ID, we were told that all we needed anywhere on the ship was our room card, which also has our photo attached to it, as it was taken when we boarded the ship. I informed her of this and asked her to swipe my card and check. This of course was not acceptable to her. I told her my ID is my room, six decks up, she told me "How about you go get it," I told her to accompany me to my room and I would remove the Id's from the safe. She replied "How about you go get them and bring them to me." Absolutely enraged by this point, I ran up the six flights of stairs, down the hall and removed the Id's from the safe. I ran back down to the casino where Ethan had remained to present the Id's and surprise Letitia had walked away. She returned shortly and Ethan presented our Id's to her. He advised her of how atrocious the customer service had been to date, and Letitia requested "How so?" She was provided a detailed list of the events, to which her only reply was that "I have seen so many people in here who tell me I have already checked their Id's and after a while they all begin to look the same." This was the limit to her apology, and a complaint was made over the phone with Passenger Services. Afterward I learned from Ethan that she, Letitia, while I was going to get the Id's, had scooped out the nickels from the casino machine, put them in a bucket and shoved them into Ethan's chest while stating "HERE!" 6. Dry cleaning was another issue. On the second night of the cruise we had dinner reservations for Sabatinis Trattoria. I sent off our suits that morning and requested same day service, which was guaranteed by 5pm. The suits never came, and we went to dinner without them. Not a huge problem, the problem was trying to get the $40.00 charge removed because of the delay, and the fact that the only thing that was dry cleaned were the shirts, as the suit jackets still had wrinkles. I was told the next day when I called Passenger Services, by Michelle at the front desk, that she would speak about it with her boss, and never heard from her again. Ethan called again two days later, and the woman at Passenger Services (whose English was impairing her ability to assist) sent up the head of the department, who was in an absolute panic, because passenger services told him that they had lost our suits and we needed them that evening. 7. It was my understanding that water, tea and coffee were always free. Only to be nickel and dimed to death when I found out that if you get coffee from the bar instead of going up 8 decks to the back of the ship, then there is a charge. 8. At Cozumel there should have been Princess personnel on the tender when the tour guides were collecting our tickets. We had no idea who these people were, and to have your $200.00 in tickets taken and to be handed a little sticker in its place was a bit concerning. Also the Stingray City tour WAS NOT the Stingray City I had been to before. The single, best part of my previous cruise, was going to Stingray City, and feeding the stingrays in waist deep water. Where we were taken, I don't know, but the water was at least twenty feet deep, there was no feeding of the stingrays allowed, except by the captain, and the only one I did get to touch I had to rapidly dive twenty feet to get to. Very disappointing. 9. It took two days of requests to get the lights in our cabin fixed. One was flickering and the other out completely. Also, during the disembarking process, while sitting in the Explorers lounge as directed, where CNN was supposed to be playing, the sound was off, and the bulb on the projector kept flashing advising to replace it. Minor issues, again annoying. 10. Finding a table for two at Dinner time was not bad, about a twenty minute wait. Food for Dinner was always good, and desert even better. Service the last night was poor, the staff seemed absent. They should have announced in their daily Princess Patter that there was an all you can eat seafood buffet on Wednesday night, I found out about it on Thursday. 11. Boarding went fairly smooth, the building should be extended to air condition the outside waiting area, in which we waited in line for an hour. That would have been nice. Baggage was delivered before anyone else's, but that is because over the years I have learned to give a huge tip to ensure that, and this time was no exception. Baggage pick up the last day was poor. Having your luggage ready before dinner is not feasible, several hours were wasted trying to make this happen mostly because the dryers at the far end of our deck were not working properly, and only took quarters, of which I had none and had to run to the casino for change because the change machine in the laundry room only took $1.00 bills. 12. Sabattinis was highly overrated, and the food worse than any place I have been in a long time. However, Sterling's Steak House was EXCELLENT, and the best dinning experience of the cruise. The wine list was equally good, overpriced, but worth it.

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