A
Al
Guest
I've posted a review of my Caribbean Princess cruise. Below is the stuff I left out, since I wrote it just after we got home. That'll teach me to write a review so soon! In addition to what I posted (and thank you for your positive feedback), there are several other matters which I believe merit discussion:
There are adjacent stations on the Lido (pool) Deck, one dedicated to pizza, the other to various quick munches (burgers, hot dogs, bratwurst, knockwurst, chicken, and even veggie burgers ... and if you'd like fries with that, you got it). The reason that the pizza tastes like ... well, pizza is that it's prepared in real Baker's Pride pizza ovens. There's always plain cheese and pepperoni available, plus a daily feature (garlic/spice, mushroom, veggie, etc.). The burger stand has a great array of choices. There is no additional charge.
The ice cream station, Scoops, is basically a build-your-own concoction kind of thing - for a price (I think it's $3.75). The choices of vanilla, chocolate and/or strawberry need some company. There is free ice cream available on occasion - and those flavors made more sense (I hit it when they had mango and raspberry). Go figure ....
There is no midnight buffet (not even one of those grand affairs toward the end of the cruise); but real food, served by waitstaff, is available in the Café Caribe from 11:00p.m. until 4:00 a.m. After that it's room service, or toughing it out until breakfast.
One one of the sea days, there's a cooking demonstration by the executive chef and maitre d', followed by a "tour" of the galley. They actually prepare a five-course meal, and their interaction is funnier than most of the comedians' material. What follows is a quick walk-through of the kitchen (nothing being prepared) augmented by a table of carved fruits and vegetables. The idea is to push the Princess Cookbook, which the executive chef will sign ... a shameless promotion which obviously works!
Rather than contract spa and art auction services to Steiner and Park West respectively, Princess runs them in-house. What passes for treasured pieces is the usual array of lithos and sports memorabilia. But the spa policies are a real concern. I had pre-booked a facial for Silla as a birthday present, which she thoroughly enjoyed. When I looked at the statement, I noticed that the price had risen by $15, and that a 15% gratuity had been added. When I approached the spa manager, I was advised that there had been an increase in price, and that the add-on was "standard." I replied that, rather than confront him in front of others (somehow, one always looks the fool, even though they're 100% in the right), I would discuss it with the chief purser and/or Princess customer service. Miraculously, the price was adjusted ("just because it's a birthday present") and the gratuity removed (we tipped the technician directly, so we know she got the money). Caveat: check your paperwork thoroughly.
I had no problem with the $10/day gratuity add-on. We tipped our cabin steward additionally, and always gave our waitstaffs a few extra dollars. You can have it removed if you wish. The crew seems to like it, since it largely eliminates their being stiffed.
The "permitted" amount of duty-free liquor purchased in St. Maarten is one liter per person. I bought five, and was permitted to take the bottles to my stateroom (they went right through the scanners, and I made no effort to hide them).
I think that's it for now. I trust that I've provided some useful information.
There are adjacent stations on the Lido (pool) Deck, one dedicated to pizza, the other to various quick munches (burgers, hot dogs, bratwurst, knockwurst, chicken, and even veggie burgers ... and if you'd like fries with that, you got it). The reason that the pizza tastes like ... well, pizza is that it's prepared in real Baker's Pride pizza ovens. There's always plain cheese and pepperoni available, plus a daily feature (garlic/spice, mushroom, veggie, etc.). The burger stand has a great array of choices. There is no additional charge.
The ice cream station, Scoops, is basically a build-your-own concoction kind of thing - for a price (I think it's $3.75). The choices of vanilla, chocolate and/or strawberry need some company. There is free ice cream available on occasion - and those flavors made more sense (I hit it when they had mango and raspberry). Go figure ....
There is no midnight buffet (not even one of those grand affairs toward the end of the cruise); but real food, served by waitstaff, is available in the Café Caribe from 11:00p.m. until 4:00 a.m. After that it's room service, or toughing it out until breakfast.
One one of the sea days, there's a cooking demonstration by the executive chef and maitre d', followed by a "tour" of the galley. They actually prepare a five-course meal, and their interaction is funnier than most of the comedians' material. What follows is a quick walk-through of the kitchen (nothing being prepared) augmented by a table of carved fruits and vegetables. The idea is to push the Princess Cookbook, which the executive chef will sign ... a shameless promotion which obviously works!
Rather than contract spa and art auction services to Steiner and Park West respectively, Princess runs them in-house. What passes for treasured pieces is the usual array of lithos and sports memorabilia. But the spa policies are a real concern. I had pre-booked a facial for Silla as a birthday present, which she thoroughly enjoyed. When I looked at the statement, I noticed that the price had risen by $15, and that a 15% gratuity had been added. When I approached the spa manager, I was advised that there had been an increase in price, and that the add-on was "standard." I replied that, rather than confront him in front of others (somehow, one always looks the fool, even though they're 100% in the right), I would discuss it with the chief purser and/or Princess customer service. Miraculously, the price was adjusted ("just because it's a birthday present") and the gratuity removed (we tipped the technician directly, so we know she got the money). Caveat: check your paperwork thoroughly.
I had no problem with the $10/day gratuity add-on. We tipped our cabin steward additionally, and always gave our waitstaffs a few extra dollars. You can have it removed if you wish. The crew seems to like it, since it largely eliminates their being stiffed.
The "permitted" amount of duty-free liquor purchased in St. Maarten is one liter per person. I bought five, and was permitted to take the bottles to my stateroom (they went right through the scanners, and I made no effort to hide them).
I think that's it for now. I trust that I've provided some useful information.
