Toodycat's Caribbean Princess Review (February 17-24) Dramatis Personae: Your narrator, a 45 year old English teacher on school break, my DH, a 47 year old IT project manager my DS, a 13 year old 8th grader and self-professed video game fanatic, my dad, a retired electrical engineer and my mom, a retired nurse. We all live on Long Island, about 50 minutes from Manhattan and we were happy to be leaving the NY winter for a week in the Eastern Caribbean and some quality family time. Background info: My parents have cruised about about ten times with voyages nearly equally distributed among HAL, Princess, and Disney plus one journey on Cunard. My husband, son and I have sailed several times with Disney and HAL and done one prior cruise with Princess We had been hoping to sail on the HAL Westerdam this week, but it had been completely chartered by an Irish Music Appreciation Group. The Caribbean Princess was our second choice. Pre-cruise: We arrived in FLL at about 3:00 p.m. the day before sailing. We had reserved rooms at the Embassy Suites where we have stayed multiple times. We booked the hotel through Princess. The rooms at the Embassy had been renovated since our last stay and were very comfortable and well-appointed. As usual, the ES offered a complimentary cocktail hour and full American breakfast. One disappointment was that the van that the ES used to provide for guests is no longer available. In the past, the driver had taken us to the Riverwalk for dinner, shopping if we needed to pick up any last minute items and to Port Everglades. Unfortunately, the van had become a liability and is no longer an amenity the hotel provides. Taking a cab to the Riverwalk was expensive for five people, so we ate at Carlos and Pepe's which is just across the street from the Embassy. The next day we transferred to the port on a Greyhound bus provided by Princess. Check in: We had completed online check-in, so getting our stateroom cards and boarding the ship took no time at all. We bypassed the photographers taking embarkation shots. Keep in my that we arrive at the Port around 2:00. Ports and Excursions: Monday, Our first stop was Princess Cay where we rented a bungalow for $199. A young lady drove us in a golf cart to the bungalow which was on the north side of the island .The bungalow had a table, chairs, lounge chairs, towels, pitchers of water, an outdoor shower and a waiter who brings your lunch and beverages. Lunch was BBQ---ribs, grilled chicken, corn, cole slaw, various fruit, cookies and brownies brought to us by our very personable waiter, Oliver. If you book a bungalow, you also get priority tender tickets, a big help. The negative thing about the bungalows is that there is not direct beach access. The area directly in front of the bungalows is roped off and you must walk around to one of the coves if you want to swim. The water was pretty cold and there was a bit of a current, so I was the only one in our party who actually went swimming. Also, be careful of coral. It is easy to cut your feet as I did. Water shoes are not a bad idea at Princess Cay. Before lunch, wait staff walk up and down the beach taking drink orders constantly. After lunch, as the island is being broken down, these visits are much rarer. Plan accordingly. Wednesday, St. Martin: I am not a big fan of Phillipsburg. I've been to St. Martin about 5 or 6 times and don't find the shopping scene there anything special. My dad wanted to sail the 12 metre regatta, so we did that. This is a fun excursion---I can only speak for myself, but how often does one get to go yacht racing? If you choose the regatta, be aware that this is a working excursion. You will be asked to assume a role that is very active or medium active. People who have back injuries or other maladies can give out soda or keep time, but this excursion really can only be successful if everyone works ( I was a "winch wench." My dad was the timekeeper.)We raced the "Star and Stripes", the sailboat that won the 1987 America's Cup. It was a windy day and we were moving at about 10-12 knots which was quite a rush. Unfortunately, we lost to the "Canada II" but the supervision and support of our captain Liam and his crew, Ben and David were still excellent. As we were disembarking the "Stars and Stripes" my dad tripped and sustained a very bloody and nasty scrape on his shin. Ben was extremely professional in his immediate attention to the injury. He got the first aid kit and cleaned the scrape with antibiotic ointment and wrapped it in bandages. The gentleman who seemed to be in charge of the whole regatta---I forget his name but it may have been Steve---took a report of the incident which he radioed to the CB excursion manager. He also arranged for my dad and I to get a ride back to the CB without having to wait for others on our excursion to drink rum punch and shop in Phillipsburg. I am very grateful to the staff of the 12 meter regatta for their courtesy and care. While we sailed, my husband and son fished on the "Bubba's Bottom Fishing" excursion." They found it satisfactory. The boat is a plain, no-frills fishing vessel. It is 15-20 minute ride to the fishing spot for bottom fishing where nearly anything could be caught but because of the time of day, little (five fish total) was. Happily, my son was one of the lucky fishermen. My husband recommends wearing old clothes and bringing a towel. They spent a lot of time baiting hooks with fresh sardines which is bloody work. The captain commented that there wasn't much chance of catching fish midday, so if you book this excursion, try to get the morning trip. Thursday, St. Thomas: This was definitely the highlight of our trip. We made arrangements to sail on the "Lou" with Capt. Max and her first mate Julie. Max arranged for Blandell, a cab driver, to pick us up at the port and drive us to Red Hook where we met Max and began our sailing day. The Lou is a 41 ft Rhodes sailboat and sitting on the bow while sailing to St. John is a real treat. Max and Julie are delightful, intelligent, well-informed women and it was great to chat with them as we sailed. When we reached St. John, Max directed us to an area where we could snorkel and see rays and turtles. The snorkeling equipment was sturdy and of high quality, not the cheesy stuff I've gotten on other excursions. We spent about 45 minutes viewing these creatures and swam back to the "Lou" where Max and Julie had prepared an amazing lunch of chicken with rosemary and orzo with chopped vegetables. After lunch, we snorkeled around a coral reef Max pointed out and used our camera to photograph the many colorful fish. We were sailing from about 9:30-3:30. It was a truly special outing and one I won't hesitate to repeat the next time I cruise to St. Thomas. (www.sailwithcaptainmax.com) Onboard Experiences: Stateroom: We were in mini-suites on the Dolphin deck. We usually book a stateroom that can accommodate our family of three. The Caribbean Princess' mini-suite fits that bill, but is surely the smallest stateroom we have stayed in when compared with Disney's Family Verandah Suite or HAL's SS category. Although the CB is not very old, our room was showing some signs of wear. Our mattress was peaked in the center, so it was as though my husband and I were sleeping on two different sides of a mountain. However, we did notice mattresses being replaced, so maybe ours is gone by now. Throughout the week, we were visited by repairmen fixing the tile in the bathroom which kept popping out, the lights in the bathroom and the sofa bed which lost a screw the first night and a vital spring later in the week. Many of these repairs were called in by our room steward, Jessie who was conscientious and thorough as well as friendly. To Princess' credit, the time the sofa bed broke most seriously, they sent enough repair people to re-enact the stateroom scene from the Marx Brothers' "A Night At the Opera." It did take a few phone calls to accomplish this and the folks on the other end of the phone did not immediately grasp that a non-functioning sofa bed is a big deal in a stateroom with three people. Dining room: We prefer traditional dining and ate at 6 p.m. every night in the Island Dining Room. The meals in the dining room were adequate but unremarkable. In my opinion, the best feature of the menu was the interesting selection of fish. For example, I was able to order barramundi, rockfish and turbot. Sometimes the description of a dish on the menu did not seem to completely match up with what arrived at the table. For example, a seafood "crockpot" dish arrived in a puff pastry shell that was not mentioned and a chocolate mousse wound up being a chocolate cake. "Vichyssoise" turned out to be a sauce. "Petit fours" were just a series of small cookies and candies, not the layered cake confections one expects. A "parfait" was a big lump of ice cream. "Grotto style ragout" meant meat sliced fajita-style rather than the stew-like consistency I would anticipate. I really enjoyed appetizers such as the asparagus with prosciutto and hollandaise; the spring rolls offered on the first night were amazing. My son was very appreciative of the fact that two of his all-time favorites, shrimp cocktail and fettucine alfredo, were available every night, although the first night the fettucine was a little brown and burned. Everyone raved about the roast turkey. There was a "baked Alaska" parade on the last night with waiters wearing American flag vests for some reason. The baked Alaska parade is a cruising ritual I don't quite get, though it seemed to make more sense when we were in Alaska last summer. I have to say that while normally, baked Alaska tops my list of overrated desserts, Princess' version is very, very good. Bebe , our server was attentive and efficient. He and Jackie, our beverage server, remembered our likes and dislikes early on which is one of the reasons I prefer traditional to any time dining. There was no disinfectant outside of dining rooms which I thought was a little reckless in the world of norovirus. Horizon Court: At the breakfast buffet, The fresh fruit selection is excellent and fresh. The grapefruits and pineapple slices are particularly tasty. The made-to -order Mexican omelet was delicious. Keep in mind that it has chopped jalapenos, if you like a little heat in the morning. I would have liked to have seen a greater selection of fruit juices--- grapefruit was available sporadically---and turkey bacon and turkey sausage offered consistently, not just once or twice. Also, maybe it was me, but I couldn't find any egg whites or egg beaters. I would have liked to have seen some genuine whole grain bread, instead of just whole wheat bread. Weaker points were the scrambled eggs which were gushy and flavorless and the coffee which was weak throughout the ship. Tables were definitely at a premium and we spent a lot of time wandering with our plates. (Princess doesn't give you trays, for some reason. They do, however, provide Purell or its equivalent outside the buffets. ) As for lunch, I had trouble finding any dishes that interested me at lunch and generally wound up having pizza. The fried shrimp was pretty good. The salad bar has a nice selection of vegetables, but only creamy dressings. There was no vinaigrette, balsamic vinaigrette or honey Dijon dressing. Dinner buffets: The Caribe Cafe offers different nighttime buffets. Some of these were excellent...others not so much. The first evening's seafood buffet had a generous selection of crab claws, lobster and shrimp. There were no nutcrackers for the lobster and many of them had not been pre-cracked which led to some frustration. The Caribbean night buffet included delicious and flavorful curried lamb, jerk chicken, garlic shrimp and garlic rice. We like our food spicy and none of these dishes disappointed. The Mexican buffet had quesadillas which are another personal favorite of my son. However, he felt the cheese tasted "funny." On Creole night, the fish fried in cornmeal was excellent as was the spicy green sauce. Also, the cornbread was very good and the coconut layer cake is not to be missed. We really enjoyed the Caribe Cafe. It had the most interesting and varied food on the ship. Pizza and other fast food: As I mentioned, the pizza at Prego Pizza was my lunch most of the week. It is outstanding! I am a New Yorker and to say that we are particular about our pizza is an understatement. Prego's had a thin, delicate crust and a perfect sauce to cheese ratio. The sauce was nicely spiced and not too sweet. Also, the variations on the pizza were delicious. There was a mushroom and ham pie one day, a Calabrese pie with onion and garlic another day and a Mexican pie with red onion, sausage and peppers another day. My husband got a hamburger from the Trident Grill and described it as a "hockey puck." He didn't finish it and started to talk about the pizza again. Scoops, the ice cream stand, has delicious ice cream, a wide, wide variety of toppings---mashed rum cake, for one---and some interesting sundaes. The downside is that Princess charges for ice cream, something we did not encounter on HAL or Disney. Specialty Restaurants: Sabatini's: We had a good meal at Sabatini's. I was afraid my son wouldn't eat the traditional Italian antipasto, but he made his way through porcini mushrooms, black olives, air dried beef, prosciutto, parmesan cheese, sun dried tomatoes and chubs in lemon juice with the rest of us. These were followed by a soup course. After that, there were two pasta dishes: a pappardelle with vegetables and a ricotta cheese ravioli. We chose our own entrees. I had prawns in a delicious sauce with polenta, my son and my father both had the lobster with risotto and my husband had the langoustines. These were all very good. Our waiter, Bernardo, was very friendly and attentive. He was beyond apologetic when the soup came out cold. In spite of that tiny glitch, I would recommend dining at Sabatini's. I would also recommend eating a light lunch that day. Sterling Steakhouse: This restaurant got off on the wrong foot with us when my parents arrived and the maitre d' walked right past them a few times without seating them or asking if they had a reservation. He then proceeded to seat the people behind them. After the existence of our 8 p.m .reservation was established and we were seated, the restaurant sort of emptied and staff around us were cleaning up as we sat without water, bread or menus. Unable to get the waiter's attention, my husband served the water himself which---surprise—suddenly generated our waiter's notice and apologies. Thus followed bread (tasty cornbread muffins and jalapeno bread as well as other breads), water and a description of the types of steak available, including a display of steak on some sort of domed, platter. I had a brie and mango quesadilla---ok, but very light on the mango side of the equation, a garden salad and the halibut. The size of the halibut was enormous, but the fish was not really seasoned and was pretty bland and dull. Everyone else reported that their steaks were "good not great." Entrees were served on gigantic American flag plates tied into no other theme or aspect of the restaurant's somewhat generic dEcor; they seemed strangely reminiscent of a Fourth of July BBQ. For dessert, I had a fried peach turnover which tasted a lot like what you would get if you put peaches in a McDonald's apple pie. The raspberry crème brulee was a better choice. Kid's Program: My son is not a joiner by nature. However, he did participate in some of the activities the teen program, Remix, offered and came back no worse for the wear. His favorite activity was playing "Rock Band "on the Music Under the Stars movie screen. This was a pretty popular activity and a lot of kids turned out, so he only got to play once, but it is an experience he will remember for a while. Remix has a good selection of PS2 games, but they won't let the kids use them all the time, probably because it makes it more difficult to get them to participate in the other social activities available. There were about 50 teens in Remix the first night, most of whom were older than my 13 year old. Entertainment: We did not go to the any of the big show except "Beatlemaniacs." That show was OK, but you have to get to the theater very early in order to secure a seat. The ratio of seats to guests is such that latecomers can't count on fitting in the theater. We played trivia every day and enjoyed it. We had a lot of fun at Cali's trivia. His questions are harder, but his humorous banter is charming. We also liked the fact that there are so many bands and musicians playing in the lounges. On any given night, we could wander from club to club and see different entertainers. The marriage show was fun, but the Patter described it as PG-13. The night we were there, it was at least R. One of the couples definitely exceeded my TMI limit in their answers. My parents loved Bert Stratton on the baby grand piano, though he really is in the wrong venue. The Crooners bar is way too small for his show. It was standing room only every night which caused a jam near the elevators. Then, you would stop by the Explorers Lounge or Wheelhouse bar and there would be another entertainer or band, but a much smaller audience. The Skywalker's night club was a nice place for a drink. The gentleman who brought me my Mojito and got the DJ to play "Blue Monday" for us was a lot of fun. Spa and gym: My husband and I signed up for the three yoga classes on at sea days. The instruction was excellent and the classes were very relaxing. I had had some back trouble on this ship---probably the result of our peaked mattress---and the yoga helped stretch me out a lot. I had a deep tissue massage and I have mixed feelings about it. When Regina, the petite therapist, saw on my record that I had had a stress fracture on my foot last year, she commented that I would not have so much trouble with my feet if I were not so big. I am a 5'9 and a size 12. My frame is broad (Thanks eastern European ancestors!) and reasonably muscular. When I looked taken aback, she said, "I'm just being honest." I am not sure I had sought her unvarnished opinion. She did an excellent job massaging my shoulders and sore back, but when she got to my legs I had the sensation of the "Indian burns" kids used to give each other in grade school. When I asked what she was doing, she said she was breaking up the cellulite on my thighs. Thanks, but no thanks. I'm not really into pain. The session culminated in her recommending that I get two more massages and purchase $150 in therapeutic bath salts. I made another appointment for a massage, but thought better of it and cancelled. I think this may have been my last shipboard massage as I am getting tired of people pushing overpriced Elemis products all the time as though they are medical necessities. Pools: We used the Lotus pool the most because it is quieter and smaller. We also liked the terrace pool, although it does not get much sun. A lot of people love the MUTS screen by the big pool, but to us the constant movies impede relaxation. Internet Service: Unfortunately for my husband, he had to do some work during our cruise. The internet packages ranged from 50 to 75 cents per minute. The connection speed was beyond slow with the result that these expensive minutes burn up quickly. There is only one printer in the internet cafe. On the second to last day of the cruise, there were many of us in the internet cafe, printing out our boarding passes. Disembarkation: This was a mess. Although our flight was at 11:10 a.m., Princess had planned our disembarkation at time listed for people with flights after 12:30 p.m. When we asked to be switched, two different people told us we had "plenty of time." We persisted until we were switched to a group disembarking from the island dining room at 7:45 a.m. However, when it was time to disembark, we were told to climb a flight of stairs and leave via deck 6 which is on the same deck as the Coral dining room (where breakfast was being served.) The stairs were very crowded and no one had told my mom who walks with a cane that she would have to walk so far. This was not comfortable for her, and I really think that Princess should let handicapped guests gather someplace that is not so far from the exit if they are not going to let them have access to the elevators. Disembarking in an atmosphere of last-train-out-of-Paris was bad enough; being in pain while doing it is worse. Once we found our luggage, we headed straight for the cab line and got a taxi in a minute. I don't recommend taking the Princess transfer bus to the airport because valuable time is lost waiting for everyone else to board the bus and then for their luggage to be removed at the airport. Everyone who helped us told us we were lucky to have gotten off the CB early because there were multiple cruise ships in port and long lines were expected. We experienced none of the crowding they predicted and made it to the FLL airport in about 10 minutes. Summary: The Caribbean Princess is a nice ship that is a little worn and crowded. I would give it high marks for entertainment---though not as high as Disney---, fair to good marks for food, very good marks in service and for the teen program. I had a lovely week with my family, and I enjoyed cruising on the CB, but I can't say that anything other than the pizza and Sabatini's really knocked me out. I can't complain much, but I don't feel like raving either. We will probably return to the HAL Westerdam next February.