Caribbean Princess Review

4.0 / 5.0
2,773 reviews

Almost perfect cruise and something for everyone

Review for the Eastern Caribbean Cruise on Caribbean Princess
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portlandpete
First Time Cruiser • Age 60s

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Sail Date: May 2009

We were on the Repo cruise on the CB in May. This is how we experienced the cruise and we really enjoyed it!  With just a few exceptions.Cab from airport at San Juan to ship 19 plus 1 per bag. Had the driver stop at a store for us so we could pick up soda/beer so gave him an extra 5 for that plus usual tip.Embarkation: Very smooth, line went quickly. Carried on beer and soda and didn't hide it and didn't get questioned. It wasn't even in our carry on but in the bag from the store. We like to keep some in the room for relaxing on the balcony but buy most of our drinks in the bars. Cabin: R727 balcony. Loved the cabin because it was close to the Outrigger so we can just run up to get more soda for me. I always get the soda card and is well worth it if you drink a lot of soda. The steward was great and filled our ice up everyday and kept the room spotless. Made up a towel animal the first night and we kept it all week. Always had a smile and was fun to talk to. Told him I liked the lotion and he gave me extra every day without me even asking!Food: Sorry to say for breakfast AWFUL! We went to the buffet the first morning and the eggs are not real, the bacon/sausage pretty bad, hash browns cold. The coffee was so bad my husband couldn't drink it. He bought coffee everyday at the international cafe. For breakfast the rest of the week we had cereal and fruit on our balcony. We aren't big on breakfast so it didn't really matter to us though. But remember you don't have to eat in the buffet you can go to the dining rooms for breakfast and also you can order eggs to be cooked how you want them. Even though we don't normally care for buffet food we pretty much always ate there because the lunches and dinners were really good. We had salad on many of the days, the Mexican food was really good, Bavarian night was tasty, we loved the German potato salad, there was always either turkey or ham so it was not hard at all hard to find good food to eat. Didn't miss the dining room at all. I know for some people food is a big thing (so don't worry there are tons of good places to eat) on their cruise but our attitude is for a whole week we don't have to cook it or clean up so we happy! Anytime dining: We went once and were told it would be a 25 minute wait...after 40 minutes we went back and we knew he forgot about us. When we first arrived I saw a table for 4 and asked if we could sit there (we sat there the last time we were on the ship and it was just the 2 of us) and he said he couldn't sit 2 people there because it was for 4??? It was confusing because there were quite a few empty tables so not sure why that rule is in place. So we waited 40 minutes and then ate and the tables still stayed empty. We had pork and it was dry and the meal was tasteless. Also the waiter was not friendly, he wasn't rude but you got the feeling that he didn't want to be there. So for us it made sense not to get worked up about it because we really didn't care. We just chose to eat at different places and were happy with our decision. We don't like to be on any schedule when on vacation anyway.Trident Grill and Pizzeria: We loved the pizza and hamburgers! You can have different types of pizza, french fries, hamburgers or sausage. Also the icecream is in between the 2 pools and we saw lots of people with cones.Sabatini's: Excellent! Loved trying all the different food. Everything tasted great! We had reservations for 6:30 and left at 8:30. Everything was timed perfectly. Waiter very friendly and just enjoyed the evening.Pub Lunch: Had it in the Crown Grill and we loved it! Husband had fish and chips and I had cottage pie. We would have gone back on another sea day but there are so many different options we never made it back.  This is free on sea days and not to be missed.International Cafe: Coffee was good and lots of desserts that are free. Quiche was excellent. Room service: Had it almost everyday and also for late night snacking. The chefs salad is the best! We had the same room service waiter almost every time and he was great! It was nice getting to know him and we talked about our day and he told us about his family. On the last morning there was a knock on our door and it was him! Even though you don't get room serve on the last day he brought it to us without even asking. That is what I call service!Piazza: We LOVED this area! We listened to the piano, steel drums, guitarist, saw the hola hoop girl (the captain actually tried it too!) and the acrobats. We also enjoy watching the demonstrations. This area was so relaxing it ended up being one of our favorite places to be.Entertainment: Comedy, hypnotist, Bert, productions shows, ship bands....all were really good. You would never be bored on this ship! Was is all top notch? Well I wouldn't say that but we still enjoyed it all. We go knowing it will be entertaining but not on Las Vegas level. We watched a movie on Mutts and it was fun. Won 1200.00 in the casino! We are not smokers and wish there were more nights of no smoking. Plus it was smaller than it had been so we wished that hadn't changed. Husband wanted to play poker but there was not poker. But we are not complaining because of what we won on video poker! Saw the newlywed game and just went from once place to another on all the nights. Loved the Island Party and Skywalkers lounge because we did a lot of dancing.Crew: Honestly except for the Coral dining room every member of the crew was exceptional! Everyone smiling, in the buffet we always got asked if we wanted a drink, they took our dirty plates right away, the waitresses and bartenders were friendly, everywhere we went that was our experience. The captain was everywhere and always talking to everyone so maybe that is why the crew is so great.Pool: Very frustrating to see chair after chair with no one sitting in them. We saw the towel and sometimes a book and just kept walking. There are so many places to be around the pool we just kept going and always found a place on the upper level. We decided that we could let that get to us or just enjoy a sunny day at the pool and so that is how we handled the chair hogs! The pool games were fun to watch but we mostly read and just enjoy being outside after a long winter!Public bathrooms: DISGUSTING! Most of the time one or more of the womens bathrooms in each area would be closed for maintenance. I didn't think they were very clean either. This really bothered me. My husband said none of the mens bathrooms were closed when he used them. Maybe it was just my timing but I hope they do something about it. There were a few things I think could be improved but we had a wonderful time! We love this ship and the crew and will be booking again! In fact we paid for the future cruise credit!!We took a car service from the boat to the airport because someone here on CC suggested it was better and he was right! Perfect way to end the cruise. It was 55 plus tip so it was less than the transfers.

Cabin Review

Cabin bal

Cabin was perfect.  No noise at all.  Close to AFT pool and bar. 

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