Caribbean Princess Review

4 Amigos Take on the Caribbean And Win the Dining Lottery!

Review for the Western Caribbean Cruise on Caribbean Princess
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kayakscout
2-5 Cruises • Age 70s

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Sail Date: Jan 2014

My wife, sister and our friend Ann and I left Washington DC and Pittsburgh to travel to Houston to meet the Caribbean Princess. Concerned by earlier reports of boarding delays due to fog in Bayport, we chose to hire Lady Bird Limo by Susan Hunter to meet us at Hobby Airport at 1 pm for departure Saturday. Susan met us and when we found the port, the police were not letting passengers be dropped off until 2 pm. Susan took us to a nearby town and we purchased our one bottle of wine apiece, toured the town and then went back. We were allowed to enter the terminal and were efficiently processed. But, then we had to wait over an hour before we were allowed to board the ship about 4 pm. When we arrived at our staterooms, most of our bags were already there. We called dining line to request the Chef's Dinner event and went to the gym to sign up for classes.

The Caribbean Princess is laid out almost exactly as the Ruby Princess, so we knew the layout and found our staterooms, Emerald 202, 204 and 120 were well positioned forward. Even though they were obstructed views, we were happy with the views, E120 is almost completely unobstructed by the life boat.

We had 5:30pm fixed dining in the Coral Dining Room, table 344 and we met our wait staff. A highlight of the the cruise was the amazing attention and care lavished on us by head waiter Martin Petrov, waiter Ric Dela Cruz, and his assistant Vira Ovcharova! What a delight! Each night our water glasses were filled according to our preferences and our wine bottles were on the table. Ric advised us on the best choices of the evening and Vira insured our breads were just right and brought our non-drinking members their favorite soft drinks without asking! One of our group has a food intolerance and Martin went way beyond the expected by helping her choose her dining selection for the next day and then communicating with the chef. The preparations she enjoyed were absolutely amazing! Martin personally checked each dish for her and sent several back to be redone. The results were spectacular! For us, fixed dining was a winner! A bonus was that we did not need to make a decision about when to eat. I heard many groups in the cruise struggling with this decision each night, it made for some interesting group dynamics!

Cabin Review

It was a good, conventional cabin at a good price. Storage was excellent! The only downside was that we could hear the music from the Princess Theater. Of course, when the rock and roll concerts were in play, it was like having music to sleep by! Our view was about 1/2 obstructed by the life boat, but we were glad to see the sea and weather. We agreed that not having a balcony on this trip was fine, we were off the boat in the good weather and busy inside on the poor weather days transiting to and from Houston.

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