Caribbean Princess Review
Princess not up to expectations
Rating by category
Additional details
Itinerary . We took granddaughters ages 16 and 17 and it seemed to be exactly what we were looking for. The itinerary was great. Food was not as good as other cruise lines we have cruised on. Service was great. We felt communication was poor compared to other cruises. If you did not take a cruise sponsored shore excursion you were treated like a second class passenger. Long slow lines. Again without good communication as to where lines started and ended. We had a bad experience with the tendering at the Guernsey Islands. I want to emphasize this was not the fault of Princess Cruise Line. The winds and waves had gotten worse and the tenders were having difficulty docking at the ship. Finally, Princess delayed all docking efforts. We were the last tender that attempted to dock at the ship. We were able to get tied up OK and one passenger actually got off the tender. Then a huge wave hit us and broke one of the ropes securing us to the docking platform. We immediately moved back out to sea. Eventually, Princess moved the docking to the other side of the ship where the ship was able to block the huge waves. Yes, people were getting sick, including my granddaughter. Yes, communication could have been better. No, Princess had no control over the wind and wave conditions. People need to understand this and decide whether they want to go into a port that is tendered. Only guarantee this won't happen is to stay on the ship.
Cabin Review
Balcony
We were upgraded from an inside room to a balcony so have no complaints. The cabin was spacious for a cruise ship, clean and had excellent service from Anne our cabin Steward.
Port Reviews
Cobh (Cork)
We hired a Tours by Locals guide. Raymond was our guide. We had an all day experience. The vehicle was great. Very spacious and clean.
Dublin
We purchased a hop on, hop off tour. Enjoyed it. Also took a free (gratuity expected) walking tour from Yellow Umbrella Walking Tours. Enjoyed it very much. Great guide who was extremely enthusiastic about showing us the sights of Dublin and telling us it's history. Also went to " Small Little Dublin Museum". Very nice experience. Granddaughters enjoyed the Pub experience.
St. Peter Port (Guernsey)
We hired 1st Call Taxis to take us on a tour of the Island. 3 hours cost us 120 pounds. Guide was great. We enjoyed the one on one dialogue with the guide. Would recommend this company.
Belfast
We hired a private tour from belfastofficialblackcabtours. Our guide Jim was absolutely the best. His vehicle was clean and spacious. He even had an audio system so we could clearly hear everything he said. We toured the titanic exhibit, both sides of the areas impacted by "the troubles", the beautiful countryside on our way to Bushmills, Giants Causeway, Carrick-a-Rede Ropebridge, Dunluce Castle, Games of Thrones locations, etc.. our day ended with Jim dropping our granddaughters off at the ship and then taking us downtown Belfast to some really neat pubs.
Greenock (Glasgow)
We hired a private tour from Inverness Tours. Scott , our guide was excellent. He had a minivan with an audio system. What was really nice was Scott's willingness to customize our tours to include the things we wanted to see. He was also our guide at Invergorden so we coordinated both tours so as not to duplicated anything on the two tours. Our granddaughters really enjoyed him. It was a pleasure to see how they interacted with him. I highly recommend Scott to anyone looking for a tour of anywhere in the Scotland Highlands, Glasgow and Edinburgh.
Edinburgh (South Queensferry)
We hired Tours by Locals. Martin was our guide. We traveled in a very nice vehicle with a audio system. Martin was very thorough in the information he provided us of the sights in Edinburgh. Of course the highlight was the Castle and walking the royal mile. Neat thing was Martin is a member of the historical society so we got to skip the lines to buy tickets at the castle.
Southampton
We hired Airports Taxis Transfers to take us from our London Hotel to Southampton Cruise Terminal. I would hire this company again. Rates were reasonable and everyone was great to work with.
Le Havre
We disembarked the ship here and hired Kiwi Taxi Service to transfer us to our Paris hotel. I would definitely hire Kiwi Taxi again. The vehicle was spacious and clean, the drive friendly and the price was reasonable.