princess-sea10

Note - this page contains multiple reviews.

Name: FAllen
Email: allendf@flash.net
Age: 39
Occupation: civil engineer
NumberOfCruises: 9
TravelAgent: No
Ship: Princess-Sea
SailingDate: December 30, 2000
Itinerary: Western Caribbean
Cabin: A520
FoodDiningRoom: 80
CruiseDirector: 70
CabinComfort: 85
FoodRoomService: 80
CruiseStaff: 75
CabinAmenities: 85
FoodLidoDeck: 85
DiningRoomService: 80
CabinQuietness: 85
FoodMidnightBuffets:
CabinSteward: 95
ShoreExcVariety: 95
FoodVariety: 90
DeckService: 80
ShoreExcValue: 90
GoodForHoneymoon: 90
CasinoStaff: 95
PrivateIsland: 90
GoodForFamilies: 99
LoungeService: 95
TenderService: 90
GoodForSeniors: 99
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges: 90
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities: 80
EntertShowLounge:
OverallPortsofCall: 80
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside: 85
CruiseActivities: 90
Casino: 85
AirSeaProgram: 90
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 90
EmbarkDisembark: 95
DiscoNightclubs:
DeckSpace: 90
Stabilization: 95
ShopsOnBoard: 80
SpaceRatio: 90
OverallCruiseValue: 90
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 05 Feb 2001
Time: 21:06:06
Remote Name: 216.50.252.154
Remote User:

Comments

Unfortunately for Princess, this cruise comes 5 months after sailing on the Silver Cloud, which was the most
fabulous experience. So, I must temper my remarks somewhat. I have never been on a cruise like on
Silversea, but for a good family vacation, this Princess trip worked extremely well.

Let me give you the set up. 9 Americans meeting 5 Scots in Fort Lauderdale to surprize one of the Scots for
her birthday. The logistics were incredible, but it was a big surprize for her. All nine Americans left the day
before and went to Ft. Lauderdale on Friday, before the ship left. I was glad we did. This was the wekend all
of New England was under snow and we had quite a few people miss the ship and quite a few stuck in Florida
due to the storm. A Princess rep met us at the airport and gathered up free luggage carts for us (they are a$2
each at the FLL airport) She put us on a bus to the Embassy Suites hotel. Not bad budget suite hotel, but
they obviously needed to hire more personnel or train more personnel. We had a nice dinner out in Ft.
Lauderdale.

The next day Princess had reps at the hotel and after what seemed like an eternity of pointing out your bags
and placing your bags on the bus, we were on our way to the cruise ship terminal. There was another
Princess ship leaving the same day, and we dropped off those passengers first. We got to our terminal and
check in was very efficient. We got on the ship and found our cabins, note for the suite passengers - you
have a special lounge and escort to your cabin. We didn't see the sign so my mother, staying in one of the
suites, didn't get that perk.

We had an outside cabin on the Aloha Deck,with a balcony. Much smaller than I expected with a very small
balcony. As the American contingent had three cabins together, the cabin steward ulocked the dividers, and
we had a long balcony. The inside room, occupied by the youngest children, had a larger bathroom than our
room, and was very efficiently organized. They were right accross the hall, so we had privacy and had them
closer than at home. Note to all parents. Princess requires one person in the room be over 18. We actually
reserved the rooms with one parent and one child and switched on board. No big deal, the staff were very
accomodating. The Scots had a balcony room on the Aloha Deck, and outside rooms with no balcony on Baja
and Caribe. The cabins were larger, and similarly appointed.

Our group ranged in ages from 6 to 84. 4 of the travelers were between 20 and 23. There were plenty of
activities for everyone. The 6 year old was reminding us there was only 5 minutes until the Kid Zone opened.
We never saw her, except at meals. The childrens program was wonderful and allowed mom and dad to have
a grown up vacation as well. We had second sitting meals, which worked out well. The dining room staff
rearranged our tables so we sat next to each other on two tables in the same dining room. The 6 year old ate
dinner int he dining room one night and opted for the kids buffet, served every evening. We could feed her,
get dressed, drop her off at the Kid Zone, have a drink, and head for dinner. We had to pick her up by
dessert time. She returned to the dining room and was usually so tired, she headed straight for bed. Note to
adults, kids learn the ship's layout quicker than we do.

Unfortunately, the storm that froze the northeast US also froze the Western Carribean. Our first stop, Princess
Cays, featured 57 deg C temperature and very cloudy skies. It was a shame. I appeared to be a nice beach
resort, well planned to handle 2000 people. There weren't 100 people on the beach. Note to Princess, the
crew dressed like pirates in hokey. They looked silly. Food was decent, but the weather was a
disappointment. The Pelican's play area was a hit with the 6 year old. We kept checking on her and she told
us to go away.

New Years Eve was lots of fun. Plenty of cheap champagne and loud music. Wasn't Princess lucky that NY
Day was at sea. It let everyone recover. I must say it was a great celebration. Although I fell asleep early, most
of the group partied all night. The crew were having a good time too. At sea the next day was a good
opportunity to explore the ship. My husband and I had travelled on the Sun Prncess, so we were familiar with
the layout. Our favorite spot will always be the Wheelhouse Bar. Our group met there alot, and the waitresses
helped us pull chairs together.

Ocho Rios was warmer, up Dunns River Falls we went. The pictures were funny. First Graders can make it up,
faster than their parents. No one was at the top demanding tips, except when we were leaving. The catamaran
party back to the ship was fun as people finally loosed up. Gran was awesome dancing on the deck.

Grand Cayman saw a lot of wind and a majority of the snorkeling tours cancelled. No one got to see the sting
rays. We signed up for a reef and wreck dive, which was in the harbour, so we got to go. The water was
freezing, and I got zapped by an unseen jellyfish, but has fun never the less. We went into town and did a little
bit of shopping. It seems to be such a nice place, I'd like to return.

Cosumel was also windy and all the swimming tours were cancelled. So were the submarine tours, so we didn't
go. We walked into town from the pier. We made the obligatory visit to Carlos and Charlie's. The 20's group
enjoyed themselves.

Our last day at sea found us feeling the air get colder as we headed north. When we were off the coast of
Cuba, we lost power and drifted a while. We were expecting Fidel to throw a beach party for us. The captain
made several announcements. Apart from parts of the ship losing the toilet system temporarily, no one
seemed to care.

The food was okay, but I will say the last formal evening, when the lobster came out, really was wonderful. So
good, the 16 year old ate 9 of them. No, I'm not kidding, and the waitstaff graciously kept bringing them.

Another note to Princess, I can't stand the dining room being turned into a pep rally. When is that awful
cheering and Baked Alaska parade tradition going to go away? I vote for a Baked Alaska free dining room, so
you can have an enjoyable evening.

We always enjoy Trivia and did so on this trip. Some people really get into it. It is amazing.

We enjoyed the casino. The addition of the nickel slots is nice, but you used to get drinks for free in there, if
you were gambling. All the drinks have the tip included in the bar tab. I think that should be left up to the
customer. There were times that a tip was not appropriate.

The kids' cabin steward performed above and beyond the call, he was well tipped. We never saw our cabin
steward, and he was in and out without us knowing he was there.

The dining room service was very slow at times, maybe due to a table for 9 people, but there would be people
leaving the dining room before we had our entree.

We didn't attend any of the shows.

Name: Ken Lovell
Email: klovell@oneok.com
Age: 46
Occupation: Attorney
NumberOfCruises: 4
TravelAgent: No
Ship: Princess-Sea
SailingDate: January 27, 2001
Itinerary: Western Caribbean
Cabin: C716 / Inside
FoodDiningRoom: 98
CruiseDirector: 90
CabinComfort: 90
FoodRoomService:
CruiseStaff: 85
CabinAmenities: 90
FoodLidoDeck: 90
DiningRoomService: 95
CabinQuietness: 90
FoodMidnightBuffets:
CabinSteward: 90
ShoreExcVariety: 90
FoodVariety: 95
DeckService: 90
ShoreExcValue: 85
GoodForHoneymoon: 95
CasinoStaff:
PrivateIsland: 90
GoodForFamilies: 95
LoungeService: 90
TenderService: 90
GoodForSeniors: 85
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges: 90
WheelchairAccess: 90
ExerciseFacilities: 95
EntertShowLounge: 90
OverallPortsofCall: 90
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside: 85
CruiseActivities: 95
Casino:
AirSeaProgram: 90
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 95
EmbarkDisembark: 100
DiscoNightclubs: 90
DeckSpace: 80
Stabilization: 95
ShopsOnBoard: 95
SpaceRatio: 75
OverallCruiseValue: 95
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 07 Feb 2001
Time: 09:02:07
Remote Name: 12.39.160.61
Remote User:

Comments

?Sea Princess Jan 27 - Feb 3, 2001 Western Carribean

It will probably help to know a little about us before you read our review of this cruise in order to get a better
feel for our experience because there is no doubt that everyone looks upon their cruise experience in a
unique way.

This was only our fourth cruise, and our first on Princess. Previous cruises include: Carnival Inspiration -
Southern Carribean, HAL Veendam - Western Carribean, and HAL Veendam - Alaska Inside Passage. Our
previous cruise experiences were wonderful, but we were excited to try Princess, and would still like to try
Celebrity and Royal Carribean. We have friends that swear by both of these other lines.

I approached this cruise with a desire to compare it to our previous experiences with HAL. Especially since we
had cruised this same itinerary on HAL. So I looked for some definite comparisons.

My bottom-line conclusion: Princess offers a great cruise experience, especially if you do not mind the larger
ships. I suspect that when cruising was invented, the Princess experience is what they had in mind.
Nevertheless, we probably prefer HAL because of the smaller ships. We will however, never hesitate to cruise
Princess again.

Air Travel:

We booked our air through the cruise line so that if we had any problems along the way, it would be their
problem. We always fly in a day early, which I would recommend to anyone. We will never fly in the day of the
cruise again. We also booked a hotel package through Princess. The whole family was going, so there were
three of us were flying Delta from Tulsa through Atlanta to Fort Lauderdale, and our two college kids were
flying Delta from Salt Lake through Atlanta to Fort Lauderdale. The SLC kids made it fine. Our Delta flight in
Tulsa was canceled, (won’t it be nice when Delta gets back to normal) so they switched us over to Continental
and we connected through Houston. This only cost us an hour, so we feel very fortunate. We met up with our
two kids at the Fort Lauderdale airport and easily found the Princess rep and our baggage. She led the group
to the bus to the Embassy Suites Hotel. This hotel is in a nice location, only five minutes from the pier and
there are plenty of restaurants within walking distance.

Embarkation:

In the morning, our bags were to be left in the living room of our suites by 10:00 a.m. These were picked up
and taken to the bus for us to identify before boarding at 11:30 a.m. The bus left the hotel at 11:30 a.m. and
we were in our staterooms by noon. This was easily the quickest and most painless embarkation we have ever
experienced. The Princess staff were well prepared and helpful in every way. Things were starting out well.

The Ship:

The Sea Princess - as beautiful as the HAL ships are, the Sea Princess is a cut above. This is a beautiful
ship. The Atrium area is spectacular and the public rooms are comfortable and tasteful. The stateroom
hallways are light and seem much more inviting and elegant. All around, I give Princess the edge for
attractiveness, even though we found the Inspiration and Veendam to be beautiful ships. Since there were
five of us, we had two Inside Staterooms on the Caribe Deck (C708 and C716). The Inside rooms on the main
hallways are smaller, but comfortable and efficient. I think all of the triples and quads are in these main
hallways. If there are only two of you, I would suggest trying for one of the Inside rooms on the smaller halls
that run perpendicular to these main halls. They are a true rectangle shape and appear to be noticeably
larger. This was our first cruise with an inside cabin, and I’m not sure I will ever book an outside or balcony
suite again. We found them very comfortable. The bathrooms are small, but functional, although a larger
person might have an awkward time in the shower. There was plenty of drawer and closet space for a 7 day
cruise. If you have larger bags though, be advised that they don’t stow them. You have to keep them in the
room and they may not fit under the bed. Our room steward was excellent, but this ship more closely
resembles a nice hotel with the stewards maintenance carts in the hallways almost all day, every day. I can’t
remember this happening on other cruises. (Okay, so I notice small things.) It was a nice touch to see your
names posted nicely on the stateroom, and there is a nice holder for the Princess Patter and other
information being delivered to the room, rather than simply sliding it under your door.

Probably my biggest complaint about the ship is its overall size. I really prefer the smaller HAL ships which
only hold 1300 - 1400 passengers. The Sea Princess had in excess of 2000 passengers and this made for
some crowding and difficulties. Crowds were noticeable in the Horizon Court for Breakfast and Lunch, trying to
get a seat at one of the entertainment venues, passing through the Photo area, the shopping area and
getting a tender at Princess Cays. And don’t even think of finding a decent deck chair on the sea days.
People show up at 8:00 a.m. and put their book and towel in place to hold the chair, even though they may
not show up for hours and then leave for several hours while their stuff continues to hold the chair. About the
only place you can find a deck chair is up front on the top deck, and here it is generally very windy. I suppose
this is the nature of the larger ships, because we never had this problem on the smaller HAL ships. We could
always find a nice deck chair on HAL. I also wonder what will happen to these quaint Carribean Islands as the
ships get bigger and bigger and dump more and more passengers in the ports every day. It was one thing to
have three cruise ships at a port when they were the smaller ships. But with the mega-liners now here, can
these islands really accommodate that many people without eroding the overall experience. I don’t think so.
Everyone I know that has cruised the mega-liners love them, but its not for me. Even this ship was larger than
I prefer.

Eating:

Dining Room - the Sea Princess has two main dining rooms(Sicilian and Neapolitan) on the Emerald Deck.
Both are beautiful and the table separation is close but acceptable. In my opinion, the food on the Sea
Princess was superior to the food we have had on both the Veendam and the Inspiration. Dinner selections
included 3 appetizers, 2 soups, 1 salad and generally 4 -5 entrees, including a featured pasta. In addition,
they have several items available on any given night in case you don’t like the featured items. Don’t pass on
the soups. Everyone was excellent. We never ate in the dining room for breakfast or lunch, but we heard a lot
of positive comments. The service was excellent, but we felt we had equally good service on HAL and
Carnival. We were pleased that there were several Eastern European staff members on this ship. Our head
waiter was from the Philippines, but the assistant waiter was from Hungary. There also appeared to be many
more female staff members on Princess. We had 2 - formal nights, 1 - semi-formal night, and 4 casual nights,
one of which was designated as a “tropical dress” night.

Horizon Court - the comments we read in other reviews were correct. This is the most illogical and
dysfunctional set-up If you get there at a busy time, be prepared for chaos as items are located on different
buffet pods and you must go back and forth against traffic and then there is only one small machine for drinks
and ice, the line to which backs up into the food buffets. The food was fair to good, but the set-up really is
inconvenient. In addition, it is quite often difficult to find a table unless you are eating well before or after the
main rush. Come early, come late, or be flexible. We tend to be flexible, so we got by, but this area really
needs to be redesigned.

Other - above the Atrium Lounge on the Dolphin Deck, there is a pizzeria (Lago’s) that makes excellent pizza.
We ate lunch in their twice and were very pleased. Its worth the stop and was never crowded or rushed. We
also tried the burgers out near the pool at the Riviera Grill, but would only rate these fair. The barbecue on
Princess Cays also rates fair, except that they serve a lot of great fruit. If you like ice cream, order it as a
dessert at dinner, because the Ice Cream shop on the ship is an extra charge. We didn’t try room service, so I
can’t help you there.

Entertainment:

Sea Princess has two show areas - the Princess Theater near the bow on the Promenade Deck, where they
show their featured presentations, and the Vista Lounge in the aft portion of the same deck, which is more of
a large club and stage setting. We were able to see the premier of a new show 'Words and Music' which is a
salute to American Broadway composers as well as several other shows. (The lead singers, Casey Daniel and
James Campbell are terrific.) They were enjoyable and the cast seem talented, but I did not enjoy them as
much as the HAL shows. This will certainly come down to taste, but if I made a comparison, I would say that
the Princess shows are more New York, Cabaret and Costumes, while the HAL shows are Los Angeles,
Energy and Pop. It would probably not be fair to say one is better than the other because both are excellent, it
would just be a matter of personal taste and interest. In addition to the dancers and singers, we also had an
illusionist, hypnotist and comedian. The comedian, Dave Heenan, performed three times and was excellent.
Apparently, he runs Rodney Dangerfield’s in New York. We also enjoyed the illusionist, Gaetano, but passed
on the hypnotist. Please note, because this is a larger ship, you better get a seat early because they go fast
and many people are turned away.

Spa Facilities:

Beautiful spa area with excellent equipment. Plenty of stair climbers and treadmills. This is also the best place
to sit in the whirlpool. There are others by the pool, but these are best, especially the one located above the
spa area on the Lido Deck. What a great place to sit early in the morning with the cool air and warm water.
There are two others down in the shade and out of the wind. There is also a cool pool to get in and then go
back to the whirlpool. The steam room is always one of my favorite spots, and I love the steam room on HAL.
The steam room on the Sea Princess is quite a bit smaller and never got hot enough. They also have a dry
sauna which I did not try. Nor did we try any of the spa services, but I heard a lot of positive comments.

Other Facilities:

The Sea Princess has a Business Center back by the Spa with four computers and access to the Web. The
system runs a little slow, so I would use it only sparingly. The library on the Promenade Deck is beautiful and
don’t forget to bring your favorite CD and headphones, as each library chair has a CD player to plug in and
listen. The Wheelhouse Bar is as nice a setting as we’ve seen on a ship, but I wonder how they got so much
furniture into one room. Lots of couches and stuffed chairs. Rocky’s is the lounge and karaoke bar. Our kids
loved the karaoke and the staff made this a fun show. It’s a louder bar and quite different from the
Wheelhouse Bar which is dark wood and overstuffed chairs. We don’t gamble, so I can’t tell you anything
about the casino, other than that they have one and I’ve walked through it many times.

Princess Cays:

Our first Island was the Princess private island of Princess Cays. You have to tender into the island which is
beautiful and has plenty of beach chairs and lots to do. If you want to avoid the crowds, go to the right side of
the island away from the shops and eating facilities. Hardly anybody went over there. Unfortunately, if you
want to eat, shop or snorkel you need to be on the left side. The snorkeling on this island was excellent,
certainly better than that offered on HAL’s island. There is a beautiful beach, but also a lot, and I mean a lot of
people. The beach to the left is very crowded and snorkeling can also get crowded. We rented snorkeling
gear through the ship at $18 per person, including vest. You pick up the equipment on the island.

This second day of the cruise, Sunday, January 29th was Superbowl Sunday, and I want to give kudos to
Princess for their efforts on this. They arranged with ESPN to broadcast the game and they even set up extra
TV’s in the Wheelhouse. We grabbed a seat in Rocky’s and they set up snacks and burgers for all those that
wanted to watch the game. It was even a formal night, so I didn’t have to dress up and still got dinner while we
watched the game. Princess really went all out on this and they did a great job in letting us not have to miss
the big one.

Jamaica:

This was our second trip to Jamaica, and it is much better than it was two years ago. We were pleasantly
surprised that they have just about eliminated the 'gauntlet' of insistent cab drivers waiting just off the ship.
Some are still there, but it isn’t anything like it used to be. We walked to the Taj Mahal shopping center, then
walked through town to Soni Plaza and also shopped at the downtown flea market. All without any problems,
other than the occasional insistent hair braider. That afternoon we caught a cab and went to Dunn Rivers
Falls. We have always done this on our own to avoid the crowds of the tours and their insistence that you hold
hands while climbing the Falls. How dumb is that! The can ride is a set fare of $20 for 4. Entrance into the falls
is $6 pp. What a beautiful adventure. Better yet, we discovered from chatting on the net that you can by-pass
the exit through the 'gauntlet' of kiosks, by staying to the left at the exit and going out the same way you came
in. They may say something to you, but just keep going.

Grand Cayman:

Again, this was our second time here and we booked the Catamaran Sting Ray City tour. Last time we went on
the regular Sting Ray City tour. We enjoyed the Catamaran ride and rather than giving you one piece of
squid, they put an entire bucket in the water for you to use as desired to feed the Sting Rays. The sting rays
recognize the bucket and crowd around it, so if you want the 'up close and personal' experience, that is where
you hang out. We love this experience, and I still have the bruise and hickey on my wrist where the sting ray
over shot my hand and went after my wrist. It hurt a bit, but I wear it proudly. In my opnion, do something fun
on Grand Cayman. Shopping here is a waste of time.

Cozumel:

This was actually our third visit to Cozumel, and my son and I did the Novice Scuba dive through the ship. I
had done this before and enjoyed the trip again. If you’ve never done scuba, this is a great way to try it
without certifying. 30 minutes of instruction and you are in the water doing scuba at 30 feet. Great
experience!! We always like to shop in Cozumel, and recommend you walk several blocks East and South of
the main plaza to the local market. This gets you away from the tourist area and into the real local experience.

Disembarkation:

As simple and quick as embarkation. We were up and having breakfast when they called our color. A quick
walk down the gangplank, through a customs checkpoint and into the luggage area. Bags are separated by
an assigned color. Once you grab your bag they direct you to the appropriate shuttle and off we were to the
Miami airport for the ride home. As painless as painless can be.

Needless to say, this was a great cruising experience, and we are already planning our next cruise. I would
like to try a 10 + day cruise, because I’m just not ready to go home after only 7 days.

Name: Christine Hemme
Email: c-flo@webtv.net
Age: 38
Occupation: Mortgage loan officer
NumberOfCruises: 4
TravelAgent: No
Ship: Princess-Sea
SailingDate: February 3, 2001
Itinerary: Western Caribbean
Cabin: B 626/Balcony
FoodDiningRoom: 95
CruiseDirector: 80
CabinComfort: 85
FoodRoomService:
CruiseStaff: 90
CabinAmenities: 90
FoodLidoDeck: 90
DiningRoomService: 90
CabinQuietness: 90
FoodMidnightBuffets:
CabinSteward: 90
ShoreExcVariety: 90
FoodVariety: 95
DeckService: 95
ShoreExcValue:
GoodForHoneymoon:
CasinoStaff:
PrivateIsland: 95
GoodForFamilies:
LoungeService: 95
TenderService: 90
GoodForSeniors: 85
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges: 90
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities:
EntertShowLounge: 90
OverallPortsofCall: 90
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside: 90
CruiseActivities: 85
Casino:
AirSeaProgram: 75
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 90
EmbarkDisembark: 90
DiscoNightclubs: 90
DeckSpace: 100
Stabilization: 90
ShopsOnBoard: 80
SpaceRatio: 95
OverallCruiseValue: 90
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 11 Feb 2001
Time: 09:20:07
Remote Name: proxy-1556.public.svc.webtv.net
Remote User:

Comments

We sailed on the Sea Princess with a group consisting of family and friends and ages ranged from 38 to
68.We had gone on 3 previous cruises with Carnival, Royal and Norwegian with Royal being our favorite so
we compared everthing to that.

Air/Sea program was not something I would want to repeat with Princess. I think we'll just coordinate that
ourselves next time due to the flight times, arrival time on ship, etc. We lost most of the first day because we
were scheduled on a mid morning flight from our home town and a midday flight from Pittsburgh, Pa. that left
an hour late which resulted in our arrival onboard just before muster and early seating for dinner. We've
always been on board about 12:30 and were able to take a tour of the ship and get our bearings that first
day. Not being able to do that, we weren't comfortable with the layout of the ship until the 3rd or 4th day.

Private island/Princess Cays: Absolutely beautiful and very enjoyable with alot to do and something for
everyone. We went over about 10:30 and stayed until mid-afternoon. The barbecue was delicious. Our group
split up with some of us snorkeling, sunbathing, floating on the rafts, etc. Very comfortable with restrooms, lots
of lounge chairs on the beach, some shaded areas and few little shops for those who have to buy before
returning to ship.

The ship is a nice mid-sized liner with alot of deck space and 4 pools. We enjoyed the spa pool and deck in
the very back of the ship as it was less crowded than the main pool on mid-ship, especially on sea days. It's
beautifully decorated and has several lounges and bars with plenty of seating for just getting a drink or
meeting somewhere. Very well maintained and no problems with elevators, toilets or anything operational.

Food: Very good in the dining room..alot of choices of seafood and pasta. Chicken and steak are always
available. The casual dining in the Horizon Court was different every day and always very good which was not
the case on the Carnival and Norwegian ships. The pizzeria was excellent and so were the sandwiches at the
Riveria Grill. Ice cream was great, but not free at the Sundae Bar. Two negatives with dining....they offer
alternative dining in the Horizon Court for dinner but it's not really explained. You can eat there at a buffet
until 7:30 and then it becomes the Bistro with seated dining from a menu and takes longer than the dining
room and is almost the same menu. We learned all of this the hard way one evening when we just didn't want
to dress for dinner, but we noticed that the atmosphere is not casual and you wouldn't feel comfortable there
with shorts and a tshirt on.You are expected to tip the waiters and it's really not any different than the dining
room so we only did that once. If you want to eat at another location other than the dining room, you have to
eat before 7:30 or eat at the pizzeria. Alot of people just wanted to eat at the buffet in the evening after 7:30
and weren't able to. It's open until 4:00 am but it's just fruit and desserts. More of an annoyance than anything
else. Sodas are not free in the dining room which is ridiculous and having to sign for them before leaving for
the evening gets old.

Beach towels: One thing we noticed on all other cruises: There were bins on deck for clean and dirty towels.
On princess, you get one per person in your cabin and have to take it with you to the deck, poosls, beaches
etc. You must return it to your cabin to get clean ones and you have to bring it to your cabin or the steward is
responsible for it and reminds you of that. Not a big deal, just an inconvenience.

Cabins: We had a balcony cabin on Baja Deck 10. We compared it to our balcony cabin on Royal Caribbean
and were shocked at how small the Princess cabin was. I know alot of people say that you don't spend alot of
time in the cabin but just trying to dress for dinner and staying out of someone's way was a challenge. There
was adequate storage in the closet but not in the bathroom so most women would probably want to store
make-up, etc. in the vanity drawers. We really missed not having a love seat because there was nowhere to
sit with our morning coffee as the balcony is barely big enough for two to stand and the chairs are always wet
with sea spray. There's one chair in the cabin and it sits in front of the door to the balcony so you're always
moving it and as soon as you do that, it blocks the refrigerator and the only walking access around the bed.
We played musical chair all week and just decided the quarters were too tight for that category cabin.

Name: Tom Marton
Email: martons@erie.net
Age: 51
Occupation: Business analyst
NumberOfCruises: 4
TravelAgent: No
Ship: Princess-Sea
SailingDate: February 3, 2001
Itinerary: Western Caribbean
Cabin: 7034
FoodDiningRoom: 95
CruiseDirector: 70
CabinComfort: 85
FoodRoomService:
CruiseStaff: 90
CabinAmenities: 90
FoodLidoDeck: 85
DiningRoomService: 90
CabinQuietness: 80
FoodMidnightBuffets:
CabinSteward: 95
ShoreExcVariety: 85
FoodVariety: 90
DeckService: 85
ShoreExcValue: 80
GoodForHoneymoon: 90
CasinoStaff:
PrivateIsland: 90
GoodForFamilies:
LoungeService: 90
TenderService: 85
GoodForSeniors:
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges: 75
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities:
EntertShowLounge: 75
OverallPortsofCall: 90
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside: 70
CruiseActivities: 80
Casino:
AirSeaProgram:
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 95
EmbarkDisembark: 90
DiscoNightclubs: 70
DeckSpace: 80
Stabilization: 90
ShopsOnBoard: 80
SpaceRatio: 85
OverallCruiseValue: 90
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 19 Feb 2001
Time: 12:30:09
Remote Name: dap-208-1-140-223.erie-tnt-1.pa.erie.net
Remote User:

Comments

Prerecorded music and lip-synching have no place on a cruise ship. Although the results sound fine to
the casual listener, live music should be the norm. Only the lead vocals appeared to be live, with Milli
Vanilli doing the backups. The live music that did happen was a mixed bag. The "big band" that
preceded many of the shows was very good. The lounge acts ranged from passable to terrible. The
background music pianists were very good, although the French lady appeared to be ready for a nap
(yawn!!!) and wouldn't play any requests that were copyrighted beyond 1940.

Princess should learn not to be so obvious in their attempts to pick their passengers pockets. Every
time we turned around, we saw a flash, then saw photos posted for $7.95 and up a pop. The on board
shops, though, were fairly reasonable for a cruise.

Now that my major complaints are out of the way, the food was the best we've encountered on a
cruise. Whether we opted formal dining, the Lido lounge, or the pizzeria, it was excellent. The food
service was very good at formal dining (never try to request coffee BEFORE dinner), and spotty
elsewhere. Drop a fork? Forget a napkin? Spill something? Deal with it, because the waiters in the
non-formal dining areas don't seem very anxious to help. Especially early in the morning.

The cabin steward learned everyone's first name very quickly, and was very responsive to anything we
asked.

We had an inside room, no balcony, no window. It was considerably larger than one we had on our first
cruise with RC. But I'm adfraid i still consider RC to be Number One. The little things matter.

Name: Gary Davis
Email: gdavis@sedona.net
Age: 56
Occupation: Manager
NumberOfCruises: 6
TravelAgent: No
Ship: Princess-Sea
SailingDate: Feb 3, 2001
Itinerary: Western Carib.
Cabin: aloa 726 Cat I
FoodDiningRoom: 95
CruiseDirector: 90
CabinComfort: 95
FoodRoomService:
CruiseStaff: 98
CabinAmenities: 95
FoodLidoDeck: 90
DiningRoomService: 100
CabinQuietness: 90
FoodMidnightBuffets:
CabinSteward: 95
ShoreExcVariety:
FoodVariety: 90
DeckService: 95
ShoreExcValue:
GoodForHoneymoon:
CasinoStaff:
PrivateIsland: 95
GoodForFamilies: 85
LoungeService: 90
TenderService: 100
GoodForSeniors: 95
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges: 85
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities:
EntertShowLounge: 85
OverallPortsofCall: 90
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside: 90
CruiseActivities: 90
Casino: 95
AirSeaProgram:
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 98
EmbarkDisembark: 100
DiscoNightclubs: 98
DeckSpace: 98
Stabilization: 95
ShopsOnBoard: 80
SpaceRatio: 90
OverallCruiseValue: 100
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 27 Feb 2001
Time: 21:32:58
Remote Name: wormhole-eth0.sedona.net
Remote User:

Comments

Sea Princess Feb 3-10

This was our sixth cruise and the first with Princess. We sailed the Western Caribbean.

We arrived in Ft. Lauderdale late Thursday night in order to get the best air fare from Phoenix. Stayed
at the Ramada by the airport a $10 taxi ride from the airport. The Ramada took us to Port everglades
on Sat. for 2.50 each. Motel six had better rooms but at $45 a night we got what we paid for. We had
booked a tour of the Everglades for Friday and really enjoyed the experience.

Boarding time on our documents said 1pm. We took the van from the hotel to the port around 11:00
am. The check in opened at 11:30 and we were in our cabin by 11:50.

Cabin:

We booked a guarantee I. No visit from the upgrade fairy. Our cabin was on deck 7, I believe, aloha
deck inside at the very end of the ship. We did find the cabin quite comfortable with plenty of room for
our four bags. Lot of hanging space and enough drawers to get everything put away. Restroom was a
little tight but manageable. The shower curtain had to be peeled a few times when I dropped the soap.
Our cabin steward, Oscar, had our bags in the room by 4:00 pm. He did a very good job all week.
When you ask anything of the ships personnel, their last words were “no problem”. I was a little
concerned about the rocking we would have being at the end of the ship, but it was no big thing.
Actually it was kind of nice being rocked gently to sleep.

Dinning:

I had once asked a travel agent for a ship that served hamburgers and hot dogs all the time. She hung
up on me. Well I hit the mother lode on this ship. Hamburgers, hot dogs and some of the best pizza I
have ever had aboard ship. As you can tell from the above statement fine dinning is not to my thing. All
the evening meals in the dinning room were very good. We had early seating 6PM at a table for 8. On
port days 6pm was a little early to eat. I think I will like the open seating when they start in on most
cruises, although I will miss the friendships you tend to build with assigned seating. Our table mates
were all a lot of fun and we enjoyed each others company throughout the entire cruise.

Pizza Resturant was open twice a day. I believe the hours were around 11:00am to 4:00 and then
again 9:00 to 11:00. Very good pizza. You had to eat it there, no takeout. Suggested tip was $1.00 per
person.

Buffett was ok, we had breakfast there most of the time, the dinning room had much better food.
Breakfast and lunch were open seating in the dinning room.

Public Areas: The entire ship was very clean. We never heard many announcements. Absent were the
hourly calls to bingo and the art auctions, very relaxed ship. The entertainment staff always had
activities planned if you wished or there were always those deck chairs which were plentiful. In the
evening there was the casino and always two or three different types of music going on. The Shows
were not too bad, it helped if you had a drink or two before. It surprised me there were no bar people
in the main showroom. I believe they had a little bar setup outside the theater. The Wheelhouse bar
was a nice place to spend some time listening to music and dancing. Rocky’s had karaoke nightly. Our
tablemates and ourselves ran everyone out on night with our singing.

Ports:

First stop we tendered to Princess Cays in the Bahamas. This is Princess’s private resort type beach.
Plenty to do from snorkeling to jet skis to just sun bathing. Best of all they had cheeseburgers for
lunch.

Second stop Jamaica, where we docked. What an experience. We had booked a tour with Barrett
tours. I should have seen this coming when we were taken to the vehicle. We were with another couple
I had meet on the internet at r.t.c. Carolyn Barrett met us at the dock as she had e-mailed. When we
arrived at the vehicle it was a small Nissan not the large van in her advertisement. She explained that
her van was in the shop and this was a rental. The five of us squeezed into the car. Myself the, biggest
of the group, got the front seat. My wife and our new friends were in the back seat. Once in we started
for Port Antonio about a two hour ride. We were going to pick up a raft captain in town who was to
have taken us down the Rio Grande. We arrived in town and spent fifteen or twenty minutes looking for
the captain, no luck. We then went to a beach close to town for a swim and some snorkeling. It was a
very nice beach out of the way and we were not bothered by anyone selling anything. After the swim
we went to eat a roadside establishment that started jerk chicken, sort of a bar-b-q chicken with hot
sauce. We then went back to town to look for the captain again. We found him this time but it was too
late to start the raft trip. Carolyn gave us a choice of a tour around port Antonio of a trip to a water fall,
not Dunn’s, we opted for the fall. We stayed at the falls and swam around for twenty or so minutes then
headed back to the car. The time was getting short. We were to be on the ship by 3:30 and it left at
4:00. The rest of the tour seemed like it was a 50 mph race down the pot hole lined streets of Jamaica.
Carolyn was still pointing out sights as we were speeding towards the ship. No one was talking too
much at this time just grabbing on to anything we could. I must admit while the ride was a blur at times
Carolyn never came close to running us or anyone else off the road. We finally arrived at the dock just
in time to see everyone on the ship pointing and laughing. Yes we had managed to miss the boat. I
started to yell that I still had their beach towel and if they wanted to see it again they better wait for us. I
believe this worked. The ship did stop and wait. Someone on the dock radioed for a pilot ship. Ten
minutes later the pilot ship came alongside the dock. We jumped in and headed about 30 feet to the
waiting Sea Princess. While on the pilot ship the driver wanted $25 each or he would turn back. We
told him we didn’t have that much so go ahead and turn around. He settled for all the cash we had with
us. We pulled alongside the Sea Princess, what a very big ship when you are looking at it from a small
rocking boat. The Sea Princess crew had a hatch open about 15 to 20 feet above us with a rope
ladder down to the pilot boat. They sent a crewman down with lifejackets which he helped put on us.
Our backpacks were pulled up with a rope then it was out turn to jump on the rope ladder and clime up
to the hatch. It took a few attempts for the boat to get us close enough so we could jump on the ladder,
but we all made it with the help of the crewmember from the Sea Princess. Once on board we were told
the Ship leaves at 3:30 so don’t be late. I must commend the crew, no one treated us like the fools we
felt liked. Anyway I don’t think I will book with Barrett Adventures again, we didn’t even get a discount
for the small car. The rest of the ports were no match for this adventure.

Third stop Grand Cayman also tendered. Again I had a pre-booked on the inter-net with Captain
Marvin’s Tours. We had an excellent time at Sting-Ray City and two other snorkeling sites along with
stops at the turtle farm and Hell, which does have ice water. We made sure we were back on the ship
well before the last tender.

The forth and final stop was Cozmel where we docked. We took a taxi to their state park. $8 to get to
the park and $6 to get back , go figure, The water was pretty rough so the snorkeling was not too
good. We stayed at the park for a few hours then headed back to the ship for some lunch then back to
town for our hats and tee shirts, again we were back on the ship before last call.

Final Day was spent at sea. The weather was windy and cool, glad it was the last day the, first six days
we had beautiful weather. Our bags were to be put out by dinner, a little earlier than other cruises, but
no big deal. We had breakfast in the dinning room Saturday morning and the service was just as good
as day one. We were off the ship by 9AM one of the last colors to be called.

We really enjoyed this Princess cruise it was one of the best and will be taking the same Ship again in
the future along with the same itinerary Jamaica and all.

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