Caribbean Princess Review

4.0 / 5.0
2,772 reviews

5 star? You must be joking!!

Review for the Western Mediterranean Cruise on Caribbean Princess
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teabag minnie
2-5 Cruises • Age 40s

Rating by category

Cabin
Value for Money
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Dining
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Entertainment
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Additional details

Sail Date: May 2015
Traveled with children

Embarked on above date, greeted with an disgusting smell. Which lingered along the whole of deck 15. From beginning to end of cruise the toilet facilities were apalling. At least one toilet (out of 3) were "out of service" for the majority of the cruise. Sometimes two out of three. Deck 16 had no working toilets on the deck. The food in cafe caribe/horizon court was poor. Often cold or unedible. Bagels (which were a rarity) were only useful to prop open your door. Getting a table was a daily ordeal. The cruise clientele on this ship were mostly OAPs. Lots of mobility scooters/walking sticks etc/poor mobility. Believe me, dont be fooled. Come dinner time, or in anticipation of a table, by god they can shift! I found some (not all, some were very nice) rude and even though you had paraded around both resturants for 3 laps, did not leave their table. Even though they had finished their breakfast etc and were JUST drinking coffee etc, would not offer their seat to accomodate my family. (I have 3 children). The entertainment was shocking. The caribbean dancers performances were quite good. However, the rest of the shows were lacklustre. I lost count how many times the same band/singer etc played multiple performances over the duration of the cruise. Before booking this holiday, I was assured by a princess representative that this ship is suitable for families. Well, I have to say I completely disagree. I explained I had previously been on Independance and she assured me "there was plenty for children to do". Please, dont waste your money. After 9pm there is nothing to do. If you think Blankety blank, wooden horse race, chat-up lines trivia, liars club is your idea of entertainment, then this is perfect for you. There is better entertainment in your local workingmans club. Absolutely embarrassing. No variety, for any age group just focused on the older generation. There were no chocolate nights as advertised. Oh, I forgot to mention the 50th anniversary celebrations which I was told they "would be pulling all the stops out for" consisted of balloons being released all the children didnt get a chance to get one, as all the adults (mostly old pushing down the stairs) to burst the balloons first! Yes, really putting all the stops out! Im sure you are really excited now!! What a treat!! Whilst embarking to Marseille (we did not know until evening before) we had to pay a shuttle price from port which was 8 dollars each way. The princess patter stated journey was 45 minutes. This was really only 20 minutes tops. Very misleading on princesses part and a complete rip off. Sixteen dollars per person was definitely not justified. Shame on you princess! The staff were very good, especially in the palm dining room. However, the meals were definitely not 5 star quality. The menu was mostly samey, with lack of variety and imagination. I feel misled in booking this cruise. It is nothing like the promo video, nor like the way the representative had described. Not suitable for families at all. Even my parents would not book again they are 58 and 62. They found it very boring. Princess has no hope in competing with the likes of royal caribbean. If you enjoy lazing by the pool on a dirty broken sunbed this is the perfect cruise for you. If you have children please do not book!

Cabin Review

Cabin was fine, compact. Stateroom attendant good.

Port Reviews

Corsica (Ajaccio)

Again, did our own thing. Shore excursions with princess soooooo expensive. Cannot justify for a family of 5. Went on the petite train which lasted over an hour. The trip ended with a chance to buy some lovely home made nougat from a delightful family business. Lovely, pebbly beach in corsica well worth a look.

Rome (Civitavecchia)

Travelled to rome via train 12 dollars per adult. Takes over an hour to Rome. Trains quite frequent. You do get hassled by the locals water/tour bus/etc. They are quite intimidating and annoying. We did get on the tour bus which was nice but expensive. If you havent seen Rome before I would recommend. 18-20 euros pp. Check out princess prices shocking!!

Florence (Livorno)

Due to a busy day at Rome we decided to chill out and explore just the surrounding area. The town is lovely. Nice resturants, quirky shops etc. Icecream is beautiful a real treat. Gorgeous handbags and "junky jewellery".

Gibraltar

Lovely place. Good for shopping...... only for booze/cigarettes/perfume. A bit disappointing I thought it would be cheap for everything, sadly not. Pub prices for drink expensive. £6 for a bottle of magners pear!!!??? Good grief!!!?

Barcelona

Walked into Barcelona but bused it back. Didnt realise until later 3 euros would cost per person 2 for children.. for return. Shops/resturants/bars lovely. Lovely food market well worth a look.

Marseille

Omg soooooo expensive! Resturants in particular. Went on the petite train to Notre Dame. Took all of 15 minutes to get there. The ride was an anti-climax. The streets were very dirty, covered in graffitti. Very disappointing. On arriving at Notre Dame which is very pretty (from the outside), you have to pay to go inside. I chose not to bother. I would not reccomend the trip waste of money. MARSEILLE was sadly a disappointment not glamorous as I had imagined just a dump.

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