Beautiful ship, disappointed in food

Item: Caribbean Princess
Rating: 3.9
Author: alembicman

Caribbean Princess Cruise Review to Caribbean - Eastern

alembicman

Contributor Level: Second Mate

1 Day Till Next Cruise

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Reviews: 7

Helpful Votes: 61

Overall rating:

3.9 out of 5

7 Night Eastern Caribbean With Puerto Rico (Ft. Lauderdale Roundtrip)

Sail date: March 03, 2024

Ship: Caribbean Princess

Cabin type: Inside

Cabin number: L217

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 7 months ago

Review summary

For me food is a BIG Deal. Mediocre doesn't do it. Also, we tried to reserve our dining room 3 days before from home, no availability. On the app, no availability. From our room TV, no availability. At guest services, no availabilty. In person at dining room. Had to do on a daily basis. It was a huge hassle.

Embarkation

5 out of 5

fast, efficent

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

1 out of 5

Food in main dining room was hit or miss. Menus weren't always good. Buffet food was mediocre, Disappointing. same offerings daily. got old fast

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5

Pools and hot tubs good. Adult pool only had 10 lounge chairs. (do you think there were more than 10 adults who wanted to use them?) Excersise activities were fee paid.

Entertainment

3 out of 5

Stage band excellent. Other entertainment was just OK.

Children's Programs

No kids

Service and Staff

4 out of 5

Room steward did a great job. Most of other staff was friendly. Restaurant staff (Especially reservations) were NOT.

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Very nice

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

Inside cabin, really roomy enough.

Ship tip

Being a self proclaimed "foody" I would reccomend a different cruise. really disappointed in reservation department

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Ft. Lauderdale (Port Everglades), Florida

3 out of 5

No excursion, we live here

Thumbs Up 0

Princess Cays (Cruise Line Private Island)

5 out of 5

Nice private island

Thumbs Up 0

Grand Turk Island

5 out of 5

Had a great time here

Thumbs Up 0

Amber Cove (Puerto Plata), Dominican Republic

5 out of 5

Very nice, no excursion

Thumbs Up 1

San Juan, Puerto Rico

5 out of 5

Took a private tour for $20.00 Much cheaper than $60.00 for the cruiseline.

Thumbs Up 0

Disembarkation

5 out of 5

Fast and efficient

10 Comments

BrooklynJo19 6 months ago

Thank you for sharing. I too would say food is a big deal! Especially on vacation

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Gwbigdog 7 months ago

Thanks for sharing

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willwork4cruz 7 months ago

Funny how staff are fabulous when they give us what we want but rude when they can’t grant our wishes, no matter how unrealistic. Princess has a certain number of tables available for those who want to eat at a certain time and the rest available for walk-ins. If you fail to make a reservation early enough and your preferred time slots are full, you must just walk in and wait for a table. Everyone gets to eat. Failing to make a reservation does not mean the staff is not friendly or the food is bad.

Thumbs Up 4

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kelskazoo22 7 months ago

Sounds like your biggest beef wasn’t being able to reserve the dining time you wanted.

Thumbs Up 3

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karlgrgurich 7 months ago

Rarely have we found food to be an issue on our Princess cruises

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karlgrgurich 7 months ago

Hopefully better next time.

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javawoody 7 months ago

Cruise ships serve thousands of passengers,food is good, but can’t compete with local restaurants that serve far less people.

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1960cruiser 7 months ago

I've cruised on Caribbean Princess and i thought the food was great with no issues. As far as reservations go, after first day I would let them know which table I wanted and that was that with no further issues either. I by no means a food snob, but unless I chose a food option that I wasn't sure I would like, I can't blame anyone but me if it doesn't taste good. In the buffet, I never saw same food every day, except at breakfast, with lunch, there were always different entrees.

Thumbs Up 1

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cruising2004 7 months ago

Sorry the food was not up to par. Glad you enjoyed otherwise.

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HeavySeas 7 months ago

Thanks for sharing and glad you enjoyed your cruise

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