Cruising on the Caribbean Princess - Photo Essay

Caribbean Princess docked in St. Lucia

Cruising sure has changed a lot in the past 12 years.  My husband and I have been married 12 1/2 years and have been on four cruises.  Two were Norwegian and two on Princess Cruise Lines.  The two Norwegian cruise ships were very different while the two Princess ships were very similar.  I'm hoping that this won't be our last cruise, but at our age we found it a little exhausting this time, but then again it is more due to my physical limitations and DH has had trouble with a bulging disc and now his knee is acting up also, so he was in a lot of pain when he walked.  Cruising requires a lot of walking.  The ship was very big and everything you do requires elevator rides and a lot of walking.  The promenade deck has a walking/jogging track which goes around the entire ship and it is 1.8 miles around.  This is on the seventh level.

Back of the ship.

We had a mini suite which has a balcony outside, four chairs and a table with sliding glass doors.  There is a small sitting room which has a pull out sofa, chair, coffee table and TV.  The next room is a bedroom with vanity, two twin beds that you can have configured into a queen.  They put the two twins together and put a mattress on top.  It was pretty comfortable, but could have been better this trip.  The last Princess Cruise the bed was very comfortable but then again the ship was only a year old that time so I'm sure the mattress wasn't worn out as much.  You also have a nice size bathroom in the mini suite, a closet with shelves and a safe and a large closet for hanging clothes.  You can tell, there is plenty of room.  The rooms with just a balcony are big enough for two people also, we just like to have that extra sitting room because DH has sleep apnea and it's nice to have the option of sleeping in a separate bed if he gets too bad.

I was starting to tell you about how cruising has changed though over the last 12 years.  Things are more relaxed now while cruising.  Some for the better and some things I wish were still the same as in the past.  Of course again I attribute this opinion to age.  You now have the option to eat whenever you like and you don't have an assigned table.  This is great IMHO.  The first cruise was on our honeymoon and while the people at our table were nice, there was too much of a mixture of personalities and ages.  I like the option to either eat with others or request your own table.  On this cruise we usually ate with others, meeting different people each night and we were lucky that we always sat with people of the same approximate age.  It makes for nice conversation and each night we met different people from different places.  We also ate at one of the restaurants on board.  We ate at the steak house one night which was just an additional charge of $15.00 each.  They had two formal nights on this ship, one too many IMHO again.  My reason for this is the required suit coat and tie for men.  The airlines now charge for baggage and we opted to keep packing to a minimum and the suit coat was one option we left out.  You cannot go to formal night without a suit coat, a little unfair I think since I saw some young men in jeans with a suit coat being allowed to attend yet a man with just a button shirt and tie not allowed.  We also missed the captain's dinner because we didn't have the proper attire.  After your first cruise with a cruise line you are invited to a special night with the captain of the ship.  I'm not sure what we missed, but I'm sure it was special.  At the formal dinner we probably missed out on Surf and Turf dinner.

Jogging track on one of the upper decks.  You could also jog or walk around the promenade deck which is level seven.

Another change is the amount of activities available on-board.  The new ships have so many options from a library, internet rooms, lounges, miniature golf, video golf, game rooms, tennis, basketball, jogging on two different levels of the ship, watching movies outside or in your stateroom, sunning decks, pools, spa, hot tubs, and of course eating all day long! 

One of five pools. 

I'm sure I left some activities out and each ship has a different variety.  We saw two brides on this voyage also, so getting married or renewing your vows is another option.  There are a few shows each night, a comedy show, magic show or illusionist, and something musical.  We saw a good illusionist show.  During the day they have Bingo, dance lessons, wine tasting, an art show in the art gallery, and a few other options.  So in actuality you could stay on the ship and have a very good time.  There is also a mall on-board, expensive but it is an option.  They have some nice sales on the last day of the sail.

Watch movies under the stars.  During the day they had sports, here is a football game televised.  That of course is the bar and the largest pool on board with a hot tub shown.

You can also book excursions for any of the port-of-calls.  We decided to snorkel in Tortola and we saw the island of St. Thomas from the mountain tops and went to a Butterfly Secrets exhibit in St. Thomas.  We also stopped in Barbados, St. Lucia, and Antigua.  We left from Puerto Rico.  We didn't walk around Puerto Rico this time because of DH's leg.  After the flight which left at 6AM, he was completely exhausted and in pain from running around the airport.  The airports are another story, especially Atlanta, not a favorite for either of us.  It is just way too big and confusing.  I think even the employees are confused there.  That was on the way home, Charlotte was our stop over on the way down which wasn't too bad.  We took one cruise out of Philadelphia when we lived there, going to Bermuda, and this was the best.  We weren't traveling all day just to get to the ship.  So sorry, I went off on a tangent.  Back to the cruise.

Top sun deck.

Between the two of us we took 18 videos which I have already posted and over 200 photos.  So, you can see why I haven't shared much with you so far.  I'm still trying to figure out how to go about this.  Certainly I'm not going to post each individual photo, I'd break the bank and after a while I'm sure everyone would stop looking!  So I'm going to try photo essays and few individual postings. 

Starting mid afternoon there was always a band playing at one of the pools.  A movie or sports program was shown at the other main pool.  These two pools are on the same deck as the buffets which are open all day until about midnight.  Room service is available 24 hours a day.

We get asked a lot of questions about cruising and rather than ramble on I'll put the most asked answers here.  If you have questions or want to know anything I've missed feel free to drop me a line and I'll gladly answer what I can.  Cruising isn't just for the elite any more.  We saw every age, personality, nationality and heard so many different languages during our trip.  Everyone was having a great time. 

Questions we are asked most often:

Isn't it expensive?  Actually I think it is the most affordable vacation considering the fact that it is all inclusive.  You don't need to spend money when you port.  You can walk around town and window shop and enjoy the views.  A cab ride is almost always $8.00 per person each way and the cab drivers are experts at getting you to the most wonderful places offering the best of what you want to do.  We like beaches so we always tell the cab driver we want to go to the best beach.  We have never been disappointed.  We really didn't even have to book any excursions, we only did it because at the time of booking we had some extra cash and decided we'd each pick one special thing we wanted to do.  We could have done each of these without paying the extra cost and had just as good of a time.  Had we have known that what our finances were going to be in December we definitely would have skipped the extra expense. 

Is it a good trip for children? - We probably aren't the right people to answer this, but I can tell you there are infants on up to teenagers on every cruise we have been on.  I personally wouldn't want to take children under ten but people do.  You see strollers on the ships, kids running around and playing on the elevators and teenagers seem to love it.  There are rules that children cannot be left unattended, but we all know about rules.  The good part if you don't have children, there are adult only pool areas and areas that are restricted for adults only.

Adults only pool.

What can I do to save money?   Book early, take as little luggage as possible, sail from a port you can drive too.  Airfare is the most expensive extra you'll have unless  you like to shop.  We have been told that you really don't save money on jewelry and liquor in the islands.  You may find things you can't find in the States, but with the internet I think you can find everything you're looking for.  Remember, you have to cart this stuff home with you and if you are flying the price of the extra pounds may not net you any savings at all.

Don't you get sick?   I only felt sick one day.  It was a small and old Norwegian ship we took when we went to Bermuda.  The newer and bigger ships can't port in Bermuda.  It was a nasty day and the seas were very rough so you could feel the movement.  Other than that one time I have never been sick or felt any movement on a ship.  The bigger and newer ships have excellent stabilizers so  you don't really feel the ship moving.  You can get sea sickness patches from you doctor.  I have seen people wearing these and they tell me they work very well.  As far as other illnesses that are reported from sailing, there are sanitizing stations in all the eating places.  I'd suggest using them often.  I have never been sick from the food, water or other airborne viruses while cruising.

My only other suggestions would be to pack as lightly as possible.  You'll never see these people again, it isn't a fashion show.  Be comfortable, take your most comfortable walking shoes and clothing.  You've paid for a good time and enjoyable memories so make the most of it.  You'll never be bored or hungry.  An inside stateroom wouldn't be for me either.  No windows and they are very small.  I don't think I would like that.  It is worth the few extra dollars to at least have a porthole.  When you see the really low prices on cruise ships they are for the inside staterooms.  Unless you plan to only sleep in your room, I wouldn't recommend getting the inside one.  This time we also did not use a travel agent which saved us some money.  You can do everything online and it is very easy.  Something that wasn't available years ago.  We even booked our own air flights.  We don't buy the photos they take....and they take a lot.  We just keep moving when we see the photographer telling us to smile!  If you drink coke or alcohol, the price is expensive.  These are the only two extras and eating in one of the private restaurants, that  you will find on-board.

Well, I've rambled on enough.  I hope you get a chance to cruise someday and that my articles and photos will help you decide.

Looking up from the pool deck.  The pool below with the movie screen has a retractable roof.

One of the adult pools located on one of the top decks outside the spa.

More sun deck. 

Deck right above the pool with the movie screen.  As you can see, comfortable clothes and shoes are all you need.

Closer view of the pool area and one of many hot tubs.  On the top left is the shower.

The other pool area without the movie screen.

The highest point on-board.

There's no such thing as not being able to get a seat with a view.

This is the life.