Caribbean princess: largest "love boat" in Princess Cruises' Grand Class is specially built for Caribbean cruising

Cruise Travel, May-June, 2005 by Theodore W. Scull

With the debut of the 112,894-gross-register-ton Caribbean Princess a year ago, Princess Cruises' Grand Class comes in a new, enlarged size with an added deck of cabins increasing the double-occupancy capacity by more than 500 passengers to 3,114. To handle the larger numbers, an additional informal restaurant, an expanded main dining room, and a concierge reservation service for all passengers help ease the demand at mealtimes.

On her typically popular Eastern Caribbean itinerary--calling at St. Thomas, St. Maarten, and Princess Cays (the line's private Bahamian island), and including three full sea days--shipboard life for me becomes more than equal to the destinations. Depending on the mood, I relish doing very little other than reading, eating, and sleeping, but when the spirit moves, I operate at full steam by taking in as much as I can.

The "Princess Patter" arrives in the evening for a quick look before bed, then at breakfast, it is time to get serious about managing the day. The program requires a careful read to ferret out what really appeals, hoping that on another page there isn't something that conflicts. Happily, "Personal Choice" dining allows flexibility in eating times, with the high-consumption orgies reserved for the evening. Long ago, I learned to eat a light lunch to be able to enjoy a dinner such as the multi-multi-course Italian feast at Sabatini's Trattoria or a 22-ounce porterhouse in the Sterling Steakhouse. For me, lunch might be a slice or two of pizza with an iced tea or just a hot dog without the bun and a small salad.

Beginning with the most active events of the day, we joined in for a round-robin of paddle tennis high up and forward on Deck 17 and later in the day battled away at table tennis. To cool down, we took to the spa pool with its swim-against-the-current machine, then soaked to a sweat in the flanking Jacuzzi. The Princess Links miniature golf course seemed a bit scruffy for a new ship, so we headed elsewhere for our constitutional. The Wraparound promenade on Deck 7 was never crowded--we walked counterclockwise while the joggers trotted in the opposite direction, making it easier to pass at the narrow-squeeze points.

The most tranquil pool was on the Sun Terrace all the way aft beneath Skywalkers, the disco and lounge housed in an overhead horizontal pod. For a Coney Island on the 4th of July atmosphere, Neptune's Reef & Pool was the most vibrant scene with water games and a band to generate the energy, while the Calypso Pool was overlooked by a huge movie screen with films and concerts during the day and "Movies Under The Stars" at night, a new feature for Princess that is to be added to the other Grand Class ships. Some films required reservations and others not, but there seemed to be no problem snagging a comfy cushioned deck chair, and the popcorn sure smelled terrific.

Overall, the decor found in the foyers, corridors, and stairwells is unifying throughout, with jazzy patterns that mirror the colors of the Caribbean and the undersea coral reefs. I liked the stairway art, with paired and triple sets of prints, photographs, and shipping posters.

Within the ship, the public rooms pretty much mirror the Grand Class sisters (Grand Princess, Golden Princess, Star Princess) with one major exception. The aft Vista Lounge, the secondary theater-style showroom, has been replaced on the Caribbean Princess by Club Fusion, a nightclub-style space used for cabaret acts, TV game-show take-offs, horseracing, bingo, ballroom dancing, and the Captain's Circle (repeaters) party.

The primary show lounge, the Princess Theater, is more high-tech than most of Broadway's houses and is able to handle multiple backdrops for several major nighttime production shows. A full kitchen was even wheeled out when the executive chef and the maitre d'hotel (both Italians) put on a hilarious cooking performance yet still managed to prepare a four-course dinner. They received a much deserved standing ovation.

We also really enjoyed the energetic antics of a female British comedian and her musician husband, as well as the major song & dance routines, additionally pepped up by ingenious lighting. We often found that by attending the first show and having dinner later, there was more elbow room and no need to arrive early to secure a seat. The cruise director encouraged this practice in his announcements, and eventually enough passengers paid attention to even out the demand.

During the day, the Explorer's Lounge and its powerful Afro-Egyptian decor seemed mostly obscured by wall-to-wall art-auction paintings. But at night it came alive as designed and was used for films when the demand warranted repeating one shown earlier in the Princess Theater.

The Caribbean Princess offers many intimate and some quiet daytime retreats for a drink or a read, such as the maritime-themed Wheelhouse Bar and Skywalkers, the pod hanging high above the stern. For people-watching while bending an elbow, the best venues are the Lobby Bar on Deck 5 and Crooners martini bar on Deck 7. Churchill Lounge, tucked under the Princess Theater, is a clubby sports bar with the television monitors acting as a visual backdrop when the events on-screen are not very important.