Cruise Report from the Caribbean Princess

• Embarkation: Transfers from San Juan airport to the pier were $15/cab, a set fare plus baggage—cheaper than buying transfers. Hint: tip a porter at the airport. They bump you to the front of the taxi queue. We visited Old San Juan, very crowded, but charming. Bumper to bumper traffic, luckily the cabs had a set rate back to the pier. I've noticed that some posters here did not know that CP leaves from Pan American pier. It's noted online in your cruise docs. There's a liquor store at the pier. They told us to put the liquor in the carry-ons and they were right. No hassle for the one bottle of gin we brought on board. • Cabin review: o Nice size, not as big as others we've been on and less storage space, but a very nice sized balcony. o Tiny shower, even for a ship o Very accommodating cabin steward. We have Elite status, so we took full advantage of free laundry. o Bed was comfortable • Public areas: o Didn't not seem crowded, although it was a full ship. o There was no running track all around the ship. On Promenade deck, you have climb stairs at one end. It's 2.7 laps to one mile, but the lack of a flat running track was very disappointing. It seems there used to be one on Sun Deck, but it taken over by the Sanctuary, which was usually empty. A major waste of space. o The dining rooms are a bit claustrophobic, low ceilings. Palm Dining Room, which was where set dining times are held, was hard to find on the ship. o Lido buffet area was tight, but a nice selection of foods. The space between stations always seemed crowded. It was also very warm there, which wasn't pleasant for eating. We tried to do breakfast in the dining room to avoid the throngs. o Lots of elevators, so wait time was short o Gym isn't enormous, but there are enough treadmills, crosstrainers, equipment and free weights. o Public areas (not just Lido buffets) were warm throughout the ship. In fact, the cabin was on the warm side, which was surprising, since most ships are chilly. o The only chaise lounges that were padded were those by the movies or those in the Sanctuary. It was hard to find a quiet place to sunbathe. • Food: o They need a bigger selection. My partner said the beef ranged from very good to excellent, but I (who don't eat meat) found the fish so-so. We ate at the Lido buffet one night, which had a better selection of fish than dining room....but we went to the dining just for dessert! o Desserts were very good throughout o Waiters are more polite than they are attentive to special needs. I think the anytime dining has caused this. Not having the same waiter every night reduces their chances of getting an extra tip at the end of the week. o It seems nearly ½ the passengers do anytime dining or eat in Lido. We went for anytime dining, switched to late seating, but didn't have anything in common with dinner guests so switched back to anytime dining. o We dressed for Formal Nights, no tuxes this time, but still wore jacket and ties. Most people did dress nicely for formal nights. • Entertainment o I can't comment on them; we only did one portion of one show. Like others have said, "not terribly sophisticated". o The Movies Under the Stars seemed to be a big hit, but we're not much for crowds. Strange was the fact that some people would watch movies during the day, rather than go ashore.

• Ports: o St Thomas- ? We didn't go downtown this time. We docked at Crown Bay (new port) 2 miles out of Charlotte Amalie. This was not noted in any cruise docs I saw and was disappointing. Havensight was much nicer. However, many of the store prices at Crown Bay were the same as downtown. ? We visited Coki Bay for snorkeling. Don't bother. Crowded and lousy snorkeling. We sat on top of each other and were hounded to buy drinks. Next time we go back to St. Johns. o Dominica ? A poor island, many roads unpaved, but beautiful and very lush, with exquisite tropic flowers growing on roadside ? We took the Aerial Tram, (very cool) for 90-minute ride over rain forest, where it was only 72 degrees (compared to mid-80's at coast) ? We looked at sulfur pools - don't bother o Grenada: ? We took a water-taxi from the ship and visited Grand Anse beach - very pretty, but not much snorkeling. ? We didn't have enough time there (the ship left at 130), so rushed through the spice market haggling with 'da local ladies' to buy spices and souvenirs. o Bonaire: ? Our highlight was a trimaran ride to Klein Bonaire, a deserted island just off the coast, where we snorkeled. We read about the company (Woodwind Snorkeling) on Trip Advisor and booked over the Internet. Lots of fun - it was drift snorkeling, where a current pulls you along. We had underwater cameras so we took lots of fish pixs. ? In the afternoon, we walked through downtown Kralendijk, the capital. Cute and very clean - big difference from the poverty of Dominica and Grenada, but very tiny o Aruba: ? Our first time there. Another very clean island - flat. We took a public bus and went to a snorkeling beach (Boca beach, just north of Malmok) (round trip USD $2.30). Surprisingly, the snorkeling was amazing. Water wasn't as deep as Bonaire, but LOTS of fish. ? Some nice bars on the water downtown in Oranjestad, the port, but mostly jewelry stores lined the streets • Last day of cruise was a full day at sea - lots of chillin' in the sun and mucho eating. If you want quiet, go to aft of the ship above Sun Deck. Read more