Caribbean Princess Cruise Reviews - Reviews

I loved the nice relaxing environment, the food, the friendly staff and the stateroom privacy!

Beautiful ship and great service. Everyone truly works to ensure your shipboard enjoyment.

It was a very relaxing time! Highly recommend the Ultimate balcony dining experience! Wait staff was fabulous!!

The cruise was great, we had perfect weather out of Houston and the weather was great the entire cruise. The cabin steward was great, easy to get service from and remembered all our quirks. The ship is definitely due for the upcoming upgrades. Some areas weren't super clean and there was clear wear and tear in some of the public areas. The balconies were a good size compared to other ships. However the glass was never cleaned on the bannisters. Their idea of cleaning the glass was throwing a bucket of water at it and walking away. That is the first time I've seen a ship with glass so dirty on the balconies. Usually I see them cleaning the glass in Mahogany Bay but it didn't happen on our cruise. Other than that and the few public areas that need upgrades, the ship is fantastic. The public areas are great and definitely take a trip on the Lido deck all the way to the front past the balcony staterooms. The view once you get outside is great, albeit very windy when you're sailing.

Overall disappointing

The ship needs to be renovated. It is really starting to show its age. The food was good and the staff were good although we did have a less than great dinner experience. The wait staff was slow to take our order, slow to clear between courses. Not impressed that night. Other nights in the dining rooms were good.

We had a wonderful week with our son and daughter-in-law. Loved the food. Felt well-informed of what was happening while we were on board as far as weather, location of the ship, and fun events. Loved all the different dancing options in the evening and the movies shown. Good choices and up-to-date movies. Loved the movies even being shown on the TV in our room. Felt very in touch with the real world as much as we wanted to be. Very relaxing and enjoyable. Will take our whole family next year!

Ship looks worn. Food not good. But, the service was GREAT. The other travelers on the ship were friendly and easy to be around.

The ship was also amazing. Plenty of activities to do and the food was also great. The staff and customer service was excellent.

This will be brief...but everything was great BUT the entertainment was outstanding....especially artist/pianst Bert Stratton and the band "Eastside Connection". Will to on Princess again!

Some of the excursions very disorganized

Nice cruise. Enjoy FL more for departure. Did get to see our friends that live in Houston though.

Over all it was great. Friendly helpful staff great food. The lounge entertainment was excellent. The only complaint was that the lounge entertainers quit too early in the evening. We found that if we had dinner and then went to the show in the theater we were too late to enjoy the great music that was offered in the bars. Definitely would have liked spending more time dancing and enjoying the music late into the evening.

It was a Seven day Cruise on The Caribbean Princess.

Having only sailed on new or newly refurbished ships, I could see the difference in an older ship; however, it is still in good condition.Everyone on the ship was nice and did their job. Cruise director was very impressive.

This was my first cruise so I have nothing to compare it to. I would say that in no way did we seem to get what we paid for. 

The food in the formal dining room was sub par at best. It was barely warm and just not very good, our first meal there was average then it was down hill from there. We ended up finding really good food in the buffet. Seems like most of the staff is just overworked, there was at least 5 or 6 times where they were just plain rude. My sister and her husband had always taken Holland cruises and they said Princess would never have a chance to get a dime of their money again. I have heard that other ships were much better on Princess but I would not take the risk. I ended up in the dr and that was a very bad experience, overall they were just not even nice. Save your money and frustration, allot of waiting in lines. If you choose to risk it be prepared to hurry up and wait and eat at the buffet.....

We loved this cruise! Our only problem was that it was too short. After this cruise, we vowed to only go on 10+ days cruises.

Having taken four other cruises. (three of them with Carnival,) the selection of Princess brought a heightened expectation of better service, ambiance and perception of value than the competition. This was not the case.

To get the particulars of this January 4th -11the voyage out of the way: Record cold was forecast for the region and it was quite chilly/windy in Houston. Embarkation was relatively swift and the Bayport Terminal well-suited for the task. Lines moved quickly, alcohol possession was not checked, and we were exploring the ship by Noon, settling in and enjoying a leisurely lunch in the Horizon Court. Within hours after the hour late departure, we began to encounter the warmth of the Gulf. The first full day brought enough sun and heat to allow for a marginally acceptable "deck day," with many of our fellow travelers enjoying the plentiful lounges. Days two thorugh six brought heavy showers, thunderstorms, low temperatures in the 50's ,and 45-50 knot sustained winds, with gusts in excess of 60 knots. The 950 foot ship rode heavilly in the 20 foot plus seas, with several passenger areas closed. Day Seven brought some out to the first sunny day, in several. The following day was our return to Houston, with strong winds and temperatures in the upper 40's.

In Cozumel, The excursion, to the Mayan ruins at Coba, cannot be recommended, as the participants travel in excess of eight hours, (including a 30 minute stop for shopping enroute,) to visit a significant archaeological site for a 45 minute visit and a 2 km walk. The tour guide, however, was excellent. As a result of the heavy weather, the stop in Roatan was cancelled altogether and the same caused the cancellation of the tour to the Xunantunich ruin. While weather is not Princess's fault, or responsibility, this certainly put a damper on the entire cruise experience. They were ill prepared for the extra "sea day." Note: There were several bottles of alcohol purchased in both Cozumel and Belize and there was no effort to retain it for delivery pre-debarkation.

Day Five bought an announcement that there was an outbreak of the Novo Virus on the ship, and "Condition Red" hygiene standards would be in effect for the remainder of the voyage. It turned out to be the symptoms of four, of the over 3,000 passengers, onboard. As others have reported, on other cruises, the fog delayed our entry into the Houston port for 4 1/2 hours. with the ship's berthing at 11:30 AM. The debarkation, while not chaos, was disorganized, inefficient and lacked real care for the passengers. Originally instructed to vacate the cabin at 8:AM, we remained there until well after Noon and independently decided to go down to the Island Dining Room, indicated as being our earlier assembly point. In situ for 1 1/2 hours, we were directed to depart the ship and claim our luggage. This was easily accomplished and a friendly porter secured. Transiting through customs was quick, with no one's bag being checked and brief, cursory questions asked by the Customs Agent.

Now about the experience with Princess: This cruise line was selected, above others, even though there was a closer port, (New Orleans,) the destinations similar, and the price higher. Originally booked as a single, there was no discount to the fare and the resultant rate was the merely doubled "per-person" rate, (less $75 port taxes.) Other lines frequently add only a single supplement. At the last minute, an additional passenger was secured and the $75 port tax fee paid. The balcony cabin was relatively small, clean, well appointed and adequate for this length of the cruise. Our cabin steward was accommodating, eager to serve and pleasant. Unfortunately, the condition of the ship itself is below standard. The paintwork and varnish are in real need of attention and some of the interiors seem dated. With 3,000 plus people on board, the ship never felt crowded, but this comes at a sacrifice. Unlike other ships, the Caribbean Princess seems a bit claustrophobic, with many low ceilings. The notable exceptions are the Piazza (mid-ship deck 5 -7,) and the Princess Theater, (forward.) There are numerous "settings" above and below to read, exercise, be entertained, shop, etc. without feeling crowded.

Our "anytime" dining usually occurred around 7, with minimal wait times. The food was, on average, "above average." The buffet usually good, the Coral Dining Room, up a notch from that, with the service, in each pleasant and eager. The food/in the up charged Crown Grill was exceptional and the experience recommended. Sabatinni's was universally disappointing with perfunctory service and pedestrian taste. Frankly, this was the biggest disappointment the cruise. Entertainment was pedestrian, (not a note of Caribbean music,) with the playing times often short and the settings minimal, especially in the Princess Theater. Much of the overall "entertainment" required passenger participation with bingo, trivia, a passenger singing chorus, an egg-drop and other similar events. This is a much older crowd, than some other cruise lines, and it showed in the types of activities as well as the "sidewalks" being rolled up at a way too early hour.

We cannot recommend Princess, above what other cruise lines have to offer. As Princess is now owned by Carnival, the line between differences in quaity is quite blurred. As there is another port 4 hours closer to home, with more cruise options, future travel will likely occur there.

This cruise was the worst. Captained lied to us told us we we returning to Houston due to fog when we were coming back as over 200 people were sick. Didn't go to all the islands we were scheduled for. We wouldn't eat at buffet due to people being sick.The weather was cold. Bathrooms didn't work. Went through a terrible storm to get back. Would not go on a princess cruise again. Most passengers were in there 70-80's all using wheel chairs, walkers, and scooters.

Very POOR Customer Service, we were lied to, treated with disrespect and in 10 years of which we have taken 6 cruises, we wasted our money!!! We were to go to 3 ports Cozumel, Routan, Honduras and Belize. We left on Saturday apprx 2 1/2 hours late and on Tuesday after Honduras they stated we must return to Houston due to potential fog on Saturday!! We returned because their were sick individuals on board. I can take the truth I cannot nor will not accept lies!! Shame on you Princess. We know now you are about one thing MONEY.