Caribbean Princess Cruise ⋆ Get Out and Travel

Caribbean Princess Cruise

Our family of four set sail on this trip as our eldest prepares to enter medical school. It is one of the only ships and itineraries that fits our schedules. The ports of call are St. Marten, St. Thomas, and Bahamas.

Medallion Class

This entire ship is a Medallion Class ship. While not mandatory, we choose to enroll in the Medallion program. Our medallions did arrive at our home prior to departure. The embarkation process with the Medallions was a breeze. Definitely worth the few minutes you spend getting them set up at home. While there are a few glitches from time to time, the Medallions perform well at most times and make things easier.

The Medallion will unlock your door as you approach and it is used to charge most things to your ship account. The system was very accurate and the first time that we do not have any errors on our account. With only three ports, we will spend a lot of time on board the ship.

Cabins

Since our kids are a little older (23 and 16), we did book an inside cabin for our children and a balcony cabin for us on the same floor. Both cabins are nice and clean. Both room stewards are excellent. Note that the only downsides to the cabins are that the showers are really small and the hair dryer is old. If a good hair dryer is important to you, you may want to bring your own on this ship.

Pool Bars

Like our other experiences on Princess Cruises, this is not a party scene and the bartenders at the main pool bars are pretty bad. They completely ignore people. There is no first come first served. They get to you only when it is good for them. Come on Princess!!! If you want to sell your insanely overpriced drink package, you have to be able to at least get service!!! Flor and the other bartenders at the adult pool at the back of the boat were outstanding. They are professional and attentive, quite a step above our experiences around the main pool.

Restaurants

As always, we choose anytime dining and never have to wait very long for a table in either main dining room. Additionally, we have a great dining experience at the Crown Grill. The food is delicious and there are plenty of options for our vegetarian son.

Unfortunately, we have a horrible experience at another fee restaurant, Sabatini’s. After being seated, we never see our waitress. More than 30 minutes goes by. An assistant waiter brings us water, but leaves the bread that is half-eaten from the people before us. After that, the service is non-existent. We are fed up and gathered our things to leave. Karen could see our waitress and other waitresses gathering and chatting while assistants and bus boys worked very hard. The manager attempted to intervene, but after this treatment (or lack of service) we left.

Upon filing a formal complaint with guest services, the crew member, Amanda, did take our concerns very seriously and treated us well. The kind lady did make our reservation at Crown Grill to make up for Sabatini’s so we didn’t lose our credit since it is a fee restaurant. I do have to throw in that Crown Grille has our initial reservation time incorrect. We have to get Amanda on the phone again to get correct. At this time, she sent a bottle of red wine to our room.

Ports

As always, in each port we arrange our own private tours. We will write a review in additional posts. I will add that we have been to these ports MULTIPLE times. After debating staying on board all day, we decide to take the tender to the private island in the Bahamas. Having been here before, we spend a little time in the shops run by locals. After shopping, we spend some time having lunch and relaxing on the beach.

The Piazza

Back on board, we note that the piazza on this ship is considerably smaller than the other Princess ship we have sailed on. Speaking of the piazza, on the last night of the cruise, there is a balloon drop in the piazza area. We live at a beach. Therefore, we are a little more sensitive to sea life than the average people. We are keenly aware of what balloons and other items in the water can mean for marine life. Given the inherent danger to marine life, we hope that Princess will stop dropping balloons, which can then be carried onto the deck and let go to pollute the ocean and create havoc for animals.

Our kids have a good time, and we enjoy having a cabin all to ourselves. This itinerary is not as involved and therefore we are bored at times. We are able to relax and spend some time together as a family. In our opinion, the Caribbean Princess is not as fun as the Regal Princess which could be because of the smaller size piazza. It does have a large screen on the pool deck for Movies Under The Stars which is always a highlight. All of this being said, we would book a trip on this ship again if it has a great itinerary. http://www.princess.com