A Very Good 14 Day Cruise (With Some Bumps)

Caribbean Princess Cruise Review to Transatlantic

Cruises: 7+ cruises
Reviews: 3
Helpful Votes: 92

Overall rating:

4 out of 5
Verified Review
Caribbean Princess

28 Night British Isles & Mediterranean (Ft. Lauderdale To Southampton)

Sail date: April 25, 2015

Ship: Caribbean Princess

Cabin type: Oceanview

Cabin number: R611

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 8 years ago

Review summary

The Cons: Ship is showing her age a bit but is scheduled for drydock in 2016. Ship ran out of cabin blankets after passing south of Bermuda, Really? On a T/A cruise in April/May? And it was cold the closer we got to the U.K. Although not under the control of Princess, embarkation in Port Everglades was a disaster. My wife had to board via wheelchair and the port works on the "Honor System" to board wheelchair passengers. No number system or sign-up sheet. Waited 1 hour before being able to board. Buffet onboard was hit or miss (yet was more miss). If you pre-pay gratuities, they will show as an OBC (Credit) to your cabin where $11.50 will be deducted per day from that credit. Make sure to factor this into your budget. Mattresses in cabins need replacement. We needed to order foam egg crates to put on top of the mattress. Slots in Casino VERY loose, I won $1155 in one day on the penny slots and many others were hitting as well. Not enough seats in Princess Theater to allow passengers to see shows unless you got there 1 hour prior. We missed many of the shows because we had early seating in the dining room and those with late seating would always fill the seats before we could get there.

The Pro's: Ship was always being cleaned and maintained. The ship handled the Atlantic very well with hardly any movement in 7-14 foot seas. We had arranged seating in the Palms dining room and the meals were pretty darn good and presented well. Service and crew in general always smiling and pleasant. Cabin (R611) was basic size. There was a major price drop 2 months prior to sailing and Princess honored the change and upgraded us from an outside, obstructed view cabin to a balcony. Not many lines will do that after final payment is made.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5
Buffet was not good yet Dining room was very good.

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5
Crossing was cold so outside activites limited which was expected.

Entertainment

3 out of 5
Princess needs a ticket system as so ALL passengers can see shows.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5
Always smiling and willing to help.

Ship Quality

3 out of 5
Ship showing her age but is well maintained.

Ship tip

Go to deck 15 and walk all the way forward to gain access to the viewing area perched atop the bridge.

Ports of call

Ft. Lauderdale (Port Everglades), Florida

1 out of 5
A disaster for embarkation. Worse than Miami.

Royal Naval Dockyard, West End, Bermuda

1 out of 5
Skipped this port due to storms and spent 7 days at sea.

Greenock (Glasgow), Scotland

5 out of 5

Dublin, Ireland

3 out of 5

Cobh (Cork), Ireland

3 out of 5
Did not dock in Cobh. We docked across the harbor in Ringaskiddy.
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