Caribbean Princess Review

We escaped completely!

Review for the Southern Caribbean Cruise on Caribbean Princess
User Avatar
small talk
6-10 Cruises • Age 40s

Rating by category

Value for Money
Embarkation
Dining
Public Rooms
Entertainment
Service
Cabin

Additional details

Sail Date: Apr 2011

FLIGHTS:Flew US Airways from London Gatwick to Charlotte then Charlotte to San Juan. The flights went smoothly with no problems. We had a total of 25 movies to choose from in flight so I was never bored! Charlotte Aiport puts Gatwick to shame. It is large, spacious, comfortable, easy to use, clean and had plenty of shops and restaurants. We had approx 5 hours wait at Charlotte so we took our time going through security (did make me feel like a criminal with the finger print and photo), collected our bags, dropped them off for our connecting flight and off we went to find a restaurant for something to eat. PRE-CRUISE HOTEL:Stayed at San Juan Sheraton Hotel and Casino, literally a stones throw away from the port terminal. It cost us about $12 for a taxi. On entering, I felt old, even though I'm only 32! Very chic and cosmopolitan. Not my thing but absolutely did the job of bed and breakfast. Staff did not tell us to put our door card in the slot in the lift to get to our floor. Bearing in mind we had been travelling for nearly 20 hours, after 15 minutes we were getting fed up of bypassing floor 5. We eventually spotted it and hey presto we were in our room. Breakfast was free (up to $37.50 for 2) but somehow they managed to charge us an extra $20. My husband had orange juice, two sausages, a slice of bacon, some scrambled eggs and a bowl of melon and pineapple. I had a cup of tea, an orange juice and the same hot meal as my husband!!We sunbathed at their infinity pool for the morning and found the hotel full of cruisers - mainly for RCI and Carnival. Left at about midday and taxi was about $7. We found preferred check-in line outside. Elite and platinum were let through first and we were 9th and 10th on the ship. I can't believe I missed Goldensforever!!!!!We spent the rest of the day sunbathing and finding our way around.1ST WEEK:We stopped at St. Thomas, Tortola, Antigua, Barbados and St. Lucia. We had an unfortunate experience with a taxi driver in St. Thomas. We approached the busy taxi rank and said we wanted to go into town and we were put in a taxi. We drove a little way out that where we would normally be driven to and were slightly confused. The taxi driver poked his head out of the cab and asked if we were for somewhere beginning with 'R'. Couldn't understand him and though he said 'Redhaugh'. (I now know this is apparently 'Red Hook' whatever that is!) I said we wanted 'town'. He ranted and raved, screamed and shouted and did a detour into a side street. He claimed we didn't say that!!! My husband refused to pay at first but them gave him a $10 bill which then the taxi driver refused to give us our change!!!! I didn't know whether to scream or cry. It ruined our trip into St. Thomas so we immediately got a taxi back!!! There had been a miscommunication which we understood but the problem was more with his attitude and rudeness. Needless to say, St. Thomas is not a place I want to return in a great hurry. (The following week I insisted we did a ship tour and not go to Emerald Beach as planned as I had an aversion to taxi drivers!)In Tortola we did a ship tour - snorkelling on a catamaran to Peter Island. It was a good trip. We had sun all morning whilst the ship ahd cloudy skies.I have always disliked Antigua but thought since it was our fourth time there, we'd better visit Nelson Dockyards and Shirley Heights. Needless to say, I have changed my opinion of Antigua!We stayed on ship in Barbados but in St. Lucia we went Sea Kayaking to Pigeon Island. It wasn't as good as our kayaking in St. Vincent the year before, but it was okay and we enjoyed our trek up to the top of Pigeon Island.2ND WEEK:We stopped at: St. Thomas (again!), Dominica, Grenada, Bonaire and Aurba. In Dominica we went river tubing. The journey was an hour and a half to get there and the same back!!!! The tubing was brilliant and we got some brilliant photos and footage but the drive was painful. Don't do it if you're prone to travel sickness. Do it in Grenada instead.In Grenada we stayed on ship.In Bonaire we turned right and went to the Flamingo Casino and Hotel and sunbathed and snorkelled off little jetties. It was small, quiet and excellent. Definitely do this again.In Aruba we turned right and went to a very good hotel and asked if we could use their facilities. They gave us 2 free day passes to go to their island in front on the ship. We sunbathed in paradise with Flamingos, iguanas and the sea life was amazing. This was our best trip - we were the only Princess cruisers there. We didn't like the idea of spending all day with the human variety of 'wild life' on Palm Beach as our table mates did!!THE SHIP:I liked the ship and the attention and care given to us by Princess staff. In fact, they over stepped expectations as we received an upgrade from inside to balcony because of what we considered to be a minor problem. We made our issue known to passenger services and didn't make a fuss and within 24 hours we were moved to a balcony cabin with a very big verandah!!! We are now sold on balconies and future cruising will be in a balcony cabin!!!!We also got cash put into our accounts (we don't know why!) and when we made a comment about the Crown Grill, they rang back and gave us feedback!!! The comment wasn't a complaint - more of a "The dining room steaks are just as good as Crown Grill steaks".The only problem we had (as did many cruisers and staff believe it or not) was the company on the ship during the 2nd week. Without meaning to sound judgemental, there was a lot of families on the ship who had paid less than $300 for the cruise and so the standard of behaviour was remarkably low. We witnessed large groups, shouting, running around, barging past people, being rude when speaking and one man whistling for the waiter's attention!!! The dress code was too relaxed. We had lots of these people roaming around in daywear during formal nights and expected to go into a classy dining room in shorts and flip-flops!! The ambience of the second week was definitely spoiled because Princess initially sold cabins at too high a cost (especially for UK passengers) and so didn't sell many and then had to drastically reduce the price to fill the ship. There was approximately 1600 of these people on the ship and it lowered the tone. A lot of people were apparently offended that shows and announcements were made in another language when it is an 'English' speaking ship. I personally didn't but found the spanish singer annoying on the final night (30th). He was clearly out of tune and time with the music and his voice was blasted up to 7th deck - a bad move by Princess to put him in the piazza when there were queues of people trying to sort out bills at passenger services. They should have placed him in a lounge. Heather Sullivan plays piano and sings in Crooners on deck 7 and her music is not blasted across all 3 decks!!Nevertheless, I WILL sail with Princess again as I tend not to let one experience ruin or spoil my overall opinion of a cruise line. I have had many fabulous cruises with Princess and have decided it was a 'one-off'. I am certain that I will not sail from San Juan again until Princess enforce their strict codes of dress and behaviour on the ship. They also need to re-look at prices for UK passengers. Some in the UK are feeling 'unwanted' by Princess which is a shame because personally I prefer sailing with a US based cruise line than a British one as I like holidaying with our cousins across the pond!

Cabin Review

Spacious room. Good location - midship and next to lifts and stairs. Quiet. Huge balcony. Overlooked by those above but there is a shaded area that isn't overlooked. We are definitely booking this grade cabin in future.

previous reviewnext review

Find a Caribbean Princess Cruise from $278

Any Month

Get special cruise deals, expert advice, insider tips and more.By proceeding, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

© 1995—2024, The Independent Traveler, Inc.