Caribbean Princess somewhat disappointing

Item: Caribbean Princess
Rating: 2
Author: jr1315800

Caribbean Princess Cruise Review to Caribbean - Western

jr1315800

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 21

Overall rating:

2 out of 5

Verified Review

6 Night Western Caribbean (Ft. Lauderdale Roundtrip)

Sail date: March 05, 2017

Ship: Caribbean Princess

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: B319

Traveled as: Family (older children)

Reviewed: 7 years ago

Review summary

This was our 12th cruise, 3rd with Princess. From check-in, we were disappointed overall in the friendliness of staff. The woman who checked us in was "snippy," unfriendly and made us feel as though we were bothering her with questions. We had not cruised with children before, although we had cruised extensively ourselves (my wife and myself) and we had relevant questions regarding identification requirements and accommodations. She treated us as if we were asking stupid questions and never really responded to any of them directly. On board, with the exception of our room steward who was outstanding, our experience continued to be disappointing. Waiters in the dining room were "ok," but not overly friendly or accommodating. We did have a wonderful waitress (name unknown) in the dining room at breakfast, but she was unfortunately unusual. The food in the buffet was mediocre, the dining room meals were very good as was the Crown Grill. We requested assistance twice at guest services and encountered the same lack of friendliness in the communications. This was a first cruise for our grandchildren and while it was exciting for them because they had nothing to compare it to, it was disappointing to us. We were also very disappointed after taking an excursion sponsored by the cruise line (helmet dive) that the vendor does not accept credit cards to purchase photos and videos. We really wanted them but weren't prepared with cash because there was no disclaimer provided by the cruise line advising us ahead of time that cash would be required.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5

Dining room was excellent, buffet was disappointing.

Onboard Activities

5 out of 5

Entertainment

5 out of 5

Comedian Steve was excellent, second comedian not so much. Musical show was very good.

Children's Programs

3 out of 5

Jr Baker program is excellent, not enough to engage older teens.

Service and Staff

1 out of 5

Dindo, our room steward was OUTSTANDING!! However, he was the exception unfortunately. Crew was not friendly or very accommodating.

Ship Quality

1 out of 5

Ship needs updating, carpets worn and stained, décor aged.

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

Disappointed that cabins do not adjoin, even balcony adjoining is limited and has to be relocked at night. Other cruise ships offer adjoining rooms. Also, the rooms don't have any sitting area except one chair. I'll choose another ship next time for family travel. The room was well maintained by steward, who was outstanding (Ding)!!

Ship tip

The ship needs an update, more variety on buffets. Pools are nice and well maintained. Restrooms were an issue, we encountered closed restrooms all over the ship throughout the week, some for multiple days.

Thumbs up