Caribbean Princess Cruise Review by Jean&Cat

We met in NYC the night before our departure date and used Jane's Hilton points to stay one night at the Waldorf-Astoria. We went to see the musical Hair that night at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre.

The next morning, we drove over to the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal. Folks, there is nothing quite like priority boarding. Now that I am platinum with Princess, we sailed through the check-in process and were on the ship within minutes of arrival. I had read on the boards that the Coral Dining Room was open for lunch and even though every ship staff member tried to direct us to the Lido for the buffet, we were able to sit down in the Coral Dining Room for lunch. I had the tenderloin and Jane had salmon - both very good. Then we both had the orange souffle - yummy!!!

We went back to our room and our bags were already there, so we unpacked. Then we headed to the Princess Theatre for the muster drill. It was a very smooth process that is always well-handled by the crew.

Then it was time for the sailaway party up on the Lido deck. Now here is where my first HUH? moment happened. It was bitterly cold and a light rain was falling as we began to move away from the dock, but crew members were circulating with frozen tropical drinks and ice cream. It seems that they were on auto-pilot. Does nobody have the ability to think - "Gee, it's cold and we should serve hot beverages in addition to our typical sailaway drinks." Most of us would have killed for a hot chocolate or an Irish Coffee!

That night, we had quite the roller coaster ride as a Nor'Easter with 80 MPH winds tossed us about. It was a bit scary. I was quite concerned about some of the elderly folks on board. The next morning brought the expected announcement that we would not be able to stop in Newport, as scheduled, due to the high seas. Jane and I were not happy because there was a seafood festival going on in Newport that day that we were really looking forward to attending. But we both agreed with the captain's decision - safety first!!!

So, we spent a rocky day at sea! We played bingo and did not win anything. We joined three other ladies to form a team to play - AND WIN - the Passenger Feud game, which is patterned after the style of Family Feud. Woo hoo! We won - slight deflation - Princess baseball caps. Oh-kay. You'd think they could come up with something better than that. I would suggest a boutique gift certificate worth the cost of the baseball cap. We would end up spending more than the gift certificate, I'm sure!

That afternoon, I had my first spa treatment - a hot stone massage. I guess I am never going to recapture the incredible experience of my very first hot stone massage, which I had on the Golden Princess years ago. This one was okay, but the Thai woman who did it used very choppy movements. Hot stone should be long, smooth strokes without any sudden movements. Thai massage is jerky and choppy and I do NOT like it, which is why I did NOT sign up for a Thai massage! Oh well ...

Jan and I had the Anytime Dining, so that night we had dinner in the Coral Dining Room. We sat with some very nice people and enjoyed a lovely dinner. I bought a bottle of wine. Since I only had one glass, I asked the staff to store it for me. No problem, I was told.

The next day, we enjoyed Boston. We got off the ship and rode the little transfer over to Quincey Market. We walked around and did some shopping. Then we bought a trolley ticket and rode around Boston a bit. We got off and visited the Copp's Hill Burying Ground, the Old North Church, Paul Revere's home and a few other hot spots. Then we mostly rode the trolley around to see the other places. It was nice - very relaxing and we got some great pictures.

That night was formal night and we went to Sabbitini's. You pick the main course and they bring you 14-16 appetizers. It isn't as much as it sounds because due to individual tastes, you won't want all of them! But it was still a lot of food. The atmosphere was very nice and our waiter sang to us - a lot. We let him, because we are nice. But we both agreed that he should not give up his day job.

The next day we visited Bar Harbor, Maine. We took Oli's Trolley (also recommended on the Cruise Critic boards) and had a lovely time. We went into Acadia National Park, up to the top of Cadillac Mountain (what a view!) and stopped at the Wild Gardens of Acadia and Thunder Hole, near where some tourists were swept into the ocean several weeks ago. Then we walked around the downtown area, stopping into a number of little shops. It was fun.

Back on board, we played a game of trivia, which we did NOT win. Wow! Those questions were really obscure! Jane and I usually do pretty well at trivia, but we bombed this time around, scoring a miserable 8 out of 20!

That night, back in the Coral Dining Room, the waiters could not find my stored bottle of wine. The head waiter came to the table several times, trying to convince me that I had actually had dinner in a different dining room on the previous night, even going so far as to bring a wiater up from the other dining room to show me that I had not been in the Coral Dining Room. I kept asking him what this had to do with my bottle of wine. If he thought it was stored downstairs, then he should have gone down there to look for it. I finally became so annoyed that I held up my hand and said, "We have already spent far too much time on this subject and it is disrupting the table service. If you are not going to bring me a bottle of wine, please just go away." They did. Then the head waiter came back with one glass of wine for me. It was a nice gesture, but why didn't he just replace the bottle that they couldn't find? They could check my account and see that I bought bottle!

The next day found us in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada. We had arranged a tour through the ship. We rode over to the Reversing River Rapids and took a jet boat ride out onto the frigid waters. Folks, I do NOT recommend this river ride unless it is warm outside. The protective suit they give you does NOT keep you dry. And that water was frigid. My toes felt like popsicles. We were doused with ice cold water over and over and over again. That jet boat driver was a maniac. I think it would have been fun if it had been warm. But I don't do well with wet and cold. I was miserable.

Back on board, I stopped at the main desk and asked that the charge for the bottle of wine be removed from my bill. I indicated that I would be happy to pay for the one glass of wine that I actually enjoyed, but I was not willing to pay for an entire bottle of wine which was lost. I was told that I would receive a call from someone a bit later. The Maitre d' called me and I explained what had happened. He told me that a new bottle of wine would be waiting for me at my table that night. It was and I was satisfied. But why didn't they just do that the night before???

The next day found us in Halifax, Nova Scotia. We did the ship's tour to Peggy's Cove, It was a gorgeous but long drive out to the quaint little town. We ate a little light fare at the visitor's building and toured around some little shops and took a few pictures. The tour guide on this bus was absolutely fabulous. She really knew her stuff and it was very well organized. I highly recommend this tour! It also included tickets to use the Double Decker Bus City Tour, which we did. The bus rode us around Halifax and we stopped at some great shopping places. It was great fun!

Our last day on board was a relaxing day at sea. It was also my birthday! I started the day in the spa where I had the Total Asian Spa Ritual, which included a massage and a facial. Ahhh! What a wonderful birthday treat! Jane and I competed in the slots tournament, which we did not win! And we played Bingo again, which we did NOT win!

That night, we went to the Crown Grill for my birthday dinner. It was absolutely delicious! Jane had steak and I had lobster. The side dishes were spectacular and the dessert was scrumptious! You can't beat this!

All in all, this was a good cruise. We had fun!