Caribbean Princess
Ashley

Age: 17
Occupation: Student
Number of Cruises: 3
Cruise Line: Princess
Ship: Caribbean
Itinerary: Eastern Caribbean

This was my third cruise, second with Princess, I have been on the Grand PRincess before and the Disney Wonder. I was traveling with my best friend, her parents, her sister and her sisters boyfriend. Also, I am a little resentful of my friend and the awful time I had on this cruise, so my review may be a little slanted.

Day 1: Fort Lauderdale: We had arrived the day before and were staying in a small motel called the Blarney Castle. I recommend this to anyone looking for a cheap nice room close to the beach and shops and the cruise itself. We arrived at one o'clock, even though I told my friend several times we should leave earlier to avoid the line and wait. Of course she never told her parents, so we didn't get on until much later. There was a huge line outside when we got there, out in the heat and sun. When we got inside we waited again, and then waited in the deck line, and we didn't get our gold cards, but the lady said, oh, it doesn't matter. We went to our rooms, B245, was our room, an inside room. It was one of the only things I loved. It was well laid out and cozy, and not bright from the awful sun we had just been in. We went up to the buffet and had lots of food. After exploring the ship, my friends parents said they were going up to watch the ship leave. We were just finishing unpacking, and said we would meet them up there. We spent half an hour trying to find them, this was my stupid friends fault, i didn't think it was necessary that we had to stand with her parents as the ship left. we practically missed the whole thing. Also, her parents decided to have dinner in the buffet that night. I was very disappointed, I liked eating in the restaurants.

Day 2: At Sea: We had breakfast at the buffet, and then suntanned for the whole day with her parents. It was a very nice day, hot and sunny. It was our first formal night and we decided to eat in the restaurant. Note: People were very dressed up, like prom dresses and tuxes and the whole shebang. Dinner was very nice, the food was very good.

Day 3: At Sea (Again!): I was definately getting sick of the ship. We had breakfast with her parents in the buffet, and then suntanned with her parents for the whole day. I found myself getting really bored, there was not as much to do as I remembered. We had dinner in the restaurant, it was very nice.

Day 3: St. Thomas: I didn't like St. Thomas very much at all, there was a lot of shopping, but they were all jeweler and liquor stores. And the people were very pushy nad loud. We did the BOB excursion in the afternoon. The captain was hilarious, and the ride there was so much fun. We got to snorkel for an hour while the other groups took their turns. We say a stingray and a lot of people saw a turtle. The BOB is a big yellow machine, that u put your head in and control it with your steering wheel. You don't go very fast, but your 8 feet below the surface and once u get control of it and stop worrying, you realize that ur in the midst of all these tropical fish swimming right next to you, and the coral and everything is beautiful. You get the end and the divers take ur pictures, and then you head back. They give you juice and water, and cookies. We got back on the ship got showers to rinse ourselves of the sticky salt and went for dinner in the restaurant. The food was good and the service was very friendly, singing and laughing. We saw a movies under the stars that night, only because it was for teens, otherwise you have to make a reservation. They didn't hand out popcorn or drinks and I wasn't as impressed with it and I thought I would be.

Day 4: St Maarten: I really like St. Maarten, there was lots of shopping and the beach was gorgeous. The water was refreshing but not cold. my friend and I did a horseback riding excursion that morning. It was good because it wasn't too hot when it was that early. The excursion was so much fun. The place was kind of stinky and gross, but once you got on your horse and past the industrial part of the ride, the view was gorgeous. You were up high looking down at the water and trees. The horses were well trained too. They knew to stay in line and they knew the route. Once you got to the beach, we went straight into the water. Up to your waist. It was amazing. The only problem is it was hard to take pictures, because you were obviously afraid to let go. I would definately do it again. That night we ate in the buffet, I was definately sick of it by now, I hated eating there for dinner, I could never get enough food, most of it was stuff I didn't like, I always had to go to the grill after.

Day 5: At Sea: Again, another boring day at sea, we swam, we suntanned, we ate, I wished I could have been home rather than here. We spent the whole day with her parents. The only good thing about the day was dinner, it was a formal night, and it was lobster night. Everyone ordered lobster, except me, and they all said it was delicious.

Day 6: Princess Cays: This was the biggest disappointment by far. I had been last year and loved it, but not this year. We were on the first tender to shore, on a rocky and scary ride. The beach was empty when we got there which was good, we got to take pictures before the beach filled with hundreds of people. The weather was cloudy and very windy. We went swimming, it was hard getting in, it was so rocky and full of broken shells. By the time you got out in the water, you tried desperately to find sandy parts, as there were rocks and coral everywhere! I cut my feet and they were sore for a long time. the waves were huge, and that was the only fun part of the day. I was so excited for the bbq too, I remembered it being so good. Obviously I was wrong. There was very little choices, the food was all right, but the corn, ew! It was soggy and didn't have any taste, and I didnt know where to get butter.

In the afternoon, we had rented glass bottom kayaks. My and friend and I were in one, her parents in another, and her sister and boyfriend in another. the waves were very choppy and it was very hard to paddle. Getting there wasn't too bad because the wind was pushing us, but coming back, we couldn't make it! We tried so hard, but couldn't do it. Her parents came back and we drifted ashore far down from the beach. Her dad then took one of the kayaks and tried as hard as he could to paddle it back to get help for us. Lucky for us (or so we thought) a man on a sea doo came up, and offered us a ride back. The three of us squished on while he waded us out. He jumped on and the whole thing tipped over. We were still in very shallow water, and had to be careful not to land on coral. Her mom swam ashore, as we did not want to try getting on again. My friend and I decided to swim further down to avoid coral, but there was no avoiding it, it was everywhere. When we got ashore, we just walked back, on the hot sand all the way back to the kayak place. We got on a tender back to shore, for an even scarier ride back to the ship. We went for a quick swim because we were so exhausted and hot. We packed all our luggage, because apparently they thought they picked it up at 5, after we got back form looking at pictures, which was around 7, they were still there. Anyways, we prepared for our last dinner, only to find out we were going to the buffet, again! My friend and I were very upset, and I suggested that me and her could have dinner in the restaurant by ourselves, for once. She said no. So, we went to the buffet, where surprise, surprise, the food was not very good, and nothing that I liked. I couldn't wait to go home. The next morning, her parents woke us up at 6:30, we were done breakfast by 7:30, and waited for 2 and a half hours to get off the freaking ship. If they hadn't of woken us up so early it would have only been like an hour, but there a little bit psycho.

And so concludes my awful trip. It would have been better if I hadn't have been with my stupid friend and her parents, but it was still not as good as before. The only thing I enjoyed was the excursions and the restaurants. I don't think I will go on the Caribbean Princess again, too many people, and not very well laid out. And too many days at sea. And I wouldn't go in may and june again, too hot and sticky, even when we were moving. I was very disappointed in princess.

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