We booked this cruise with Princess for our 50th wedding anniversary We chose Caribbean Princess because it is a 5-star rated ship and we wanted this curse to be something truly special. The Waldorf Astoria in New York city is rated a 5-star hotel, although trip advisor and Forbes both rate it as a 4-star. Being a 5- star anything is a responsibility to live up to. You are expected to offer service, luxuries, cleanliness, and amenities far above the average.

This ship was average at best. Embarkation at Fort Lauderdale was extremely smooth and efficient. Once in our room, a balcony state room, we noticed that the carpet was extremely faded and stained and that there were no amenities whatsoever in the bathroom such as tissue etc. I do not blame the staff for the state room because they are extremely understaffed. Where there used to be a room steward and an assistant, the assistant has been eliminated therefore the room steward has to do all the work himself. On all the cruises we have been on previously you always saw staff cleaning polishing and maintaining the ships overall appearance, in the eight days we were on this ship never once did we see any of this, and the lack of upkeep was visible.

Dining in the dining room was a huge disappointment. We asked for a table for two since this was our anniversary we wanted to be alone, together. There was all of 4 inches between us and the next table for two. This happened on three occasions. The people that were next to us were very nice but they wanted some privacy too. Some of the food was good and some was an extreme disappointment. Just because you can cover it up with gravy doesn't make it any less a piece of fat and gristle. I do not for the life of me understand how anyone who calls himself a chef could put that on someone's plate. We ate up at horizons for the remainder of the cruise at least up there you could see what the meat looked like before you took any. Read more