We then spent the better part of the morning lounging about on the cabin’s balcony while Emerson played on beach tools that we placed down for her. The weather was “perfect” for us: overcast and slightly cool with the breeze. We grabbed some pizza for lunch and awaited our afternoon arrival in the Turks and Caicos (#72).

Our docking in Grand Turk was delayed as Regent’s Seven Seas Navigator was in our berth unexpectedly for a medical evacuation. I’ve never personally seen this before (a ship diverted to another port to offload a sick or injured passenger), though we’ve witnessed countless passengers getting carted off in ambulances at planned stops. After the Regent ship departed, we docked a few minutes later than our scheduled arrival time.

Knowing this would be a short duration call and an afternoon arrival (a recipe for everyone trying to leave at once), we waited a bit for the masses of humanity to depart the ship before heading out. Grand Turk is a small and uninteresting island for sightseeing. Knowing this, we planned to just stroll around the port area, replace a favorite Margaritaville t-shirt of mine that met an untimely demise in a washing machine mishap, look at the beaches (surf was too high to take Emerson swimming), and enjoy a couple of drinks with fruit slices and cute little umbrellas. And, that’s pretty much exactly what we did.

On returning to the ship, I noticed that HAL’s Nieuw Amsterdam was stopped in the channel a few ship lengths behind our stern on the starboard side. Shortly after, she steamed away. I have to imagine that she too was here for a medical evacuation, which is not surprising given HAL’s manifest of ancient mariners… but still… two unplanned stops in Grand Turk in one day? WTF?

Here’s a photo of sunset (and the HAL ship):

Tonight we (aside from Libby’s parents, who are now both in norovirus purgatory) had dinner at the Crown Grill, Princess’s steakhouse at sea. It was excellent. Libby and Pop had huge veal chops. Mom and I ate beef tenderloin. As usual, I asked to make mine ‘surf and turf.’ But, our waiter produced five lobster tails for the entire table! As not everyone wanted lobster, let’s just say I ate well more than my fair share, lest I completely embarrass my gluttonous self. The ‘Black and Blue Onion Soup’–basically French Onion soup made with Jack Daniel’s and blue cheese added to the gruyere–was also a highlight and better than I’d remember. The only disappointment was the smoked scallop appetizer. While the scallops were fine, I thought the dish generally lacked flavor and the potato plank was undercooked (unless you’re eating fries, potatoes shouldn’t be al dente).

Emerson was very good at dinner (as she’s been all trip), but she grew tired before dessert. So, I finished up with Mom and Pop and then returned to the cabin with a molten lava cake and double chocolate ice cream for Libby. She ate it while we chatted on the balcony, Emerson sleeping peacefully inside the cabin.

What a good day!

Today’s box score: +1 country (Turks and Caicos)

We awoke early today in order to take full advantage of our 7:00am arrival in St. Thomas. While most the the ship was still waking up, we three were taking a private tour of the island with my grandfather and mother. On prior visit to St. Thomas, Libby and I hung out only in downtown Charlotte Amalie, which was a mistake. St. Thomas is beautiful!

Megan’s Bay and Atlantic Ocean view:

Caribbean view, including our ship:

Unfortunately, Libby’s parents weren’t able to join us or take the optional excursion they’d booked. Instead, they were in the ship’s infirmary, as Dad came down with the norovirus. He’s now quarantined for 24 hours. All in all, the stomach flu isn’t a gift to be thankful for. It’s especially unfortunate/unlucky as they cruise less frequently than us. Poor guy–he’ll be spending his Thanksgiving in his cabin.

Libby and I also did some shopping today in Charlotte Amalie while Mom and Pop watched Emerson. No major purchases for us… honestly, I don’t think St. Thomas is a bargain paradise. We can do as well or better at home or on the Internet…

Tonight’s our second and final formal night, a Thanksgiving feast with all the trimmings (though I’m going to have the beef tenderloin in brioche).

That’s all for now… gotta go: the ice is melting in my rum and Coke (and, yes, I snuck the rum aboard, being the rebel that I am).

Happy Thanksgiving!

This truism pretty much sums up our day. We passed up an otherwise delightful destination and leisurely day to go island hoping in search of additional “countries.” In this case, our objective was Anguilla — a British outpost that I couldn’t have identified on a map a few years ago, back when I didn’t know Anguilla from Antigua or Barbados from Barbuda.

To get to Anguilla, we took a a shared taxi ($20) from Dutch St. Martin (#69) to French St. Maarten (#70). We then proceeded through short ferry booking, embarkation tax ($5/pp.), and immigration queues in order to board the boat for Anguilla ($15/pp.). Paperwork in order, we embarked on a blissfully pacific ride over to Anguilla at which we cleared immigration and customs.

Anguilla (#71) done.

Of course, getting right back on the boat would have seemed a bit lame, even if technically allowable. So, we took a quick island tour (45 or so minutes; $30) before returning to the ferry pier. Tour “highlights” included the airport and high school.

We then repeated the process in reverse, spending an extra half hour or so in Marigot (the primary town on the French side of the island) before returning to the pier.

Mission accomplished! We had only eight hours from docking to departure, but we managed to do everything in about five hours. I figured we could do it in three at best (with no sightseeing), and I think my calculations were largely correct.

I sometimes think Libby humors me on days like today. She doesn’t quite have my sense of adventure. And, while this was fairly “mild” in reality, there’s a certain uneasiness associated with independently island hopping when a) having no prior local knowledge, b) only a scant amount of information to go on, and c) needing to be back aboard a ship on the first island in only a matter of hours. Nonetheless, our confidence as world travelers grows each time we so something a little less ordinary (such as driving across the UAE).

It’s the journey that is so much fun!

Today’s box score: +3 countries

Now they’re old hat: wake up, have breakfast, waste some time, have lunch, waste some more time, have dinner, waste yet more time… go to bed. Cruise ship activities don’t hold much allure anymore (to the degree they ever did), especially when there are no compelling port lectures. It all makes we wonder how much I’d really like to do a transoceanic passage? Or, sail around the world on one? Certainly not with a toddler. What would we do for days on end with one who’s too young to participate in the ship’s formal kids program?

No, for us, sea days are just a means to an ends.

Tomorrow will be far more interesting. We’re going to make a run for Anguilla and bring Emerson along with us. I figure that we’ll need to take her on ferries next summer in less hospitable places. So, we might as well give it a go here in the Caribbean.

Emerson had a blast in the water. I’ve been paying seemingly ridiculous rates for months at what Libby tells me is an “elite swim school” (whatever that means) for her. On this trip, I could finally see some return on our investment as she was far more comfortable and capable in the ocean than other kids around her age. All told, she spent the entire morning in the surf with us before heading back to the ship.

For lunch, we had pizza (IMHO, Princess offers the best at sea). We then headed back to our cabin to shower off the sand and salt, as well as to take an afternoon nap. Dinner was once again in the main dining room–Italian theme night–and generally very good. After dinner, we took Emerson to the Explorer’s Lounge to see/hear a vocalist perform.

Tomorrow’s a ‘relaxing’ day at sea…

Here’s a view of Princess Cays from our balcony.

Hungry, we headed for lunch in the Da Vinci dining room. In the interest of time, I won’t recount everything we ate, but I’ll say the food was very good, especially my mother’s fettuccine alfredo in a crisp parmesan basket. After lunch, we headed to our cabins to unpack and get settled in.

Sail away was scheduled for four o’clock, but we departed closer to five.

With the entire family aboard, we opted for traditional fixed seating dining at 5:30. It’s a little early, but it works well for our schedule. We met up with Libby’s parents (who arrived at the port an hour or so later than us) for the first time just before dinner.

Our meal was enjoyable and ran very smoothly. The menus (both for adults and kids) are nicely varied with a good number of selections. Too many selections to talk about, but I’ll note the creme brûlée was especially a hit with those who tried it (though mine is better).

We retired fairly early given the early morning drive down from Tampa.

It’s good to be back aboard Princess. We enjoyed our cruise on the Caribbean Princess out of San Juan in 2011. Ruby Princess, our current ship, is very similar — so, Libby and I feel right at home.

Here’s a view of the Ruby Princess’s atrium:

7 Day Eastern Caribbean on Ruby Princess

We’ll be aboard the Ruby Princess, adding at least three new “countries” to the total (St. Martin, St. Maarten, and the Turks and Carcos). If I can pull it off, Libby and I might also try to make a run for Anguilla from St. Martin / St.Maarten as well, which would give us one more. Emerson, on the other hand, will bag at least five: she’s not been to the Bahamas nor the US Virgin Islands yet.

More to follow… I’ll try to write most days from the ship.

I’ve actually managed to post new photos from a recent trip!

Here’s the link to the photo album:

Southern Caribbean (2011), Caribbean Princess (San Juan Roundtrip)

Having spent a fair amount of time in Old San Juan, we opted for a shore excursion / airport transfer ($39/pp.) to visit El Yunque, the Caribbean National Forest. We departed the ship at 8:00am and were on our way to the rain forest about 30 minutes later. The drive takes 45-60 minutes (each way). We made a number of stops in the forest, including a 20-25 minute walk along a nature trail. Today officially starts the rainy season… a fact that wasn’t lost on us during the visit.

Here’s a photo of one of the waterfalls in the park:

Like our other rain forest experiences, this too was lovely. Who knew? Puerto Rico is great!

We returned to the airport around 1:00. Since we have only carry on luggage and because I snagged an upgrade again for us on AirTran, we were able to skip the LONG check-in lines and the LONG security lines. All told, we managed to zip through in less than 15 minutes (versus what I have to imagine could have been a 1-2 hour process).

We’re now awaiting our flight which departs in a few hours.

Another successful trip! Six more countries (making the total 45)!

Next up (in July) will be our beloved London and then on to Northern Europe.

Usual warning: this assessment is more-or-less subjective and based on our experiences. Your mileage may vary.

Ship

Overall, we weren’t wowed by the look and feel of the Caribbean Princess. Despite its size (as of this writing it’s the second largest ship we’ve ever sailed on), it doesn’t feel especially “grand” in either its bulk or appointments. The décor seems relatively nondescript. Let’s call it classic “Cruise Ship-esque” (you know, stylized nods to traditional travel-centric motifs, especially Mediterranean).

Highlights include the Crown Grill (art deco-inspired with lovely wood wainscoting), some of the more nautically-themed bars (which always feel apropos to me on a ship), the casino (while non-descript, feels open, airy, and inviting), and the outside pool decks (again, not a riot for the senses, but well configured).

The lowlight has to be the main stage theatre (very low ceiling; utterly devoid of style or charm). I think it’s the single most underwhelming theatre I’ve ever experienced on a cruise ship. The other trouble spot seems to be the Horizon Court / Café Caribe area: here the décor is very nice (one of the better looking Lido buffets we’ve seen), but the design/layout is suspect (too little space for too many passengers; poor foot traffic flow, especially around the food).

Overall, Caribbean Princess is tidy, well cared for, and pleasing but somewhat forgettable.

Cabin

We’re in cabin #B201. This is a forward balcony stateroom on the Baja deck. Like the rest of the ship, the décor is fairly nondescript and the layout is a little “different.” Instead of the more typical layout with the entryway split by the bathroom on one side and the closest on the other, the cabin has a doorway to one side of the room. This configuration allows for a sort of “walk-in” closet / dressing area and a squarer (rather than rectangular) bathroom. The upside: a lot more storage space and dressing privacy. The downside: it makes the cabin feel smaller than the actual square footage.

Three additional pluses for the cabin: 1) the balcony seems a little larger than some others we’ve had in the past, 2) it has a mini-fridge (always useful), and 3) it has a relatively new flat-screen television (with jacks for hooking up iPads, etc.). Two other minor gripes about the cabin: 1) it lacks a loveseat / couch, so comfortable seating is limited, and 2) the shower has a curtain rather than a door (not uncommon, but always annoying).

In all, it’s a comfortable cabin. It would be less than ideal for three people, but it’s well suited to two people, especially those who pack more heavily, are on longer voyages, or sharing a cabin with someone who’s “close but not that close” (given the more private dressing area).

Sonia, our cabin attendant, has been very good throughout the trip. She’s efficient, unobtrusive, and friendly, though not especially personable. She just quietly goes about doing her job well.

Dining

On our last cruise (aboard Celebrity), we went in with high expectations for food and service, but we came away less than impressed. On this cruise, we went in with no preconceived notions (or maybe even a slightly negative bias, based on my mother’s prior experience some years ago and a slight theme of “Princess now isn’t the Princess of old” that I’d seen in online reviews and message boards). Yet, we’re coming away favorably impressed—almost uniformly good (or better) food paired with good (or better) service.

Let’s start with the main dining room. Although none of the dishes have been wildly memorable, the overall quality has been consistently high. Indeed, I think the main dining room food has been as good as (and perhaps better than) that of any prior cruise. What’s more, the service—despite using AnyTime Dining (the “eat when you want” option, which usually seems to degrade service slightly)—has also been exceptional. Based on our experience, we’d rank Princess #1 in main dining room performance.

Moving on to the buffet, we’ve also found high levels of quality and service. It reminds us most of Holland America’s buffet venue. Unfortunately also like HAL, the selections are somewhat more limited too (relative to say the offerings at Royal Caribbean’s Windjammer Buffet). However, unlike HAL and (to a lesser degree) Celebrity, the operating hours of Horizon Court / Café Caribe (as well as the burger/hot dog grill and pizza station) are much better / later. For example, dinner is available until 11pm (as are burgers and pizza). Indeed, the buffet is basically a 24-hour operation aboard Princess—that could be especially helpful when traveling with Emerson or on less leisurely itineraries (such as late nights in port in Europe). On a related note, we agree that Princess deserves the title for providing the “Best Pizza At Sea.”

I’ve already talked about the specialty dining venues extensively. So, I’ll attempt to summarize here.

The Crown Grill ($25/pp.) was excellent. “Best at Sea” worthy? Maybe. We thought it a notch above Cagney’s on NCL. It’s probably better than Chops aboard RCI, though Libby’s slow braised BBQ pork shank aboard Brilliance remains etched in our minds. It seemed roughly on par with the Pinnacle Grill aboard HAL in terms of food and service quality. Yet, somehow, we enjoyed it more than HAL’s offering, which might have been more due to the selections available or our collective mood. In the end, we liked that the Crown Grill’s approach is to simply prepare really good food… rather than attempting to make dishes ‘sophisticated’ merely by tarting them up unnecessarily.

Sabatini’s ($20/pp.)—the Princess Italian offering—is also probably “Best at Sea” worthy. But, that’s mostly due to weak competition rather than the strength of the Princess showing. Sadly, nearly every cruise line with an Italian offering goes in one of two tragic directions: 1) a poor attempt at Olive Garden cuisine (e.g., NCL), or 2) a bad rendition of 1980’s Italian fine dining (e.g., Royal Caribbean). Princess falls into the second category… they just execute it better than others, which isn’t exactly an accolade.

Now, let’s talk about Ultimate Balcony Dining. At $100 per couple, it ain’t exactly cheap. But, it’s excellent value for money. You get specialty restaurant caliber food (let’s call that $25/pp. in ‘retail’ price), two cocktails (avg. $6/pp.), a half bottle of sparkling wine ($20), flowers ($10), and an 8×10 photo ($20). By my calculation, that’s $112 in goods/services for $100… plus you get a unique experience, dedicated wait staff (two servers), and the luxury of a leisurely, relaxing meal on your private balcony. To us, that’s MasterCard commercial “priceless” worthy. So, if you have the means, I highly recommend it.

Finally, I have a few random notes: the beer selection is pretty good (e.g., Blue Moon, Franziskiner). The wine selection is mediocre (but as a plus Princess allows you to bring wine aboard the ship!). The specialty coffees are good, but the coffee card makes them an excellent value (15 drinks for $30—if only Starbucks had such a card!). The International Cafe also offers good breakfast pastries, sandwiches, soups, and desserts. And, the “Power Hours” drink specials ($2.99 from 8pm until late at all bars) are actually a special price (unlike most ships’ “drink of the day” offerings).

Entertainment

We saw relatively few shows and guest performances (in part or whole). Therefore, I can’t comment on these extensively other than to say that the ship’s performers seemed to be somewhat below par relative to our past cruise experiences (which, I might add, isn’t generally an especially high standard to start).

As this was a port intensive cruise in the Caribbean, there was little in the way of enrichment and nothing in the way of guest/port lecturers (other than the usual inane ‘port shopping expert’ presentations—message: “buy crap from stores where gets a commission).

In the food/wine enrichment department, nothing really can compare to Holland America with its dedicated culinary showroom, guest chefs, and partnership with Food & Wine magazine. As such, Princess’s program seemed more typical of most cruise lines (cooking / cake decorating demonstrations, ice carving, wine tastings, etc.).

Itinerary / Ports

Like dining, I’ve talked about the ports extensively in earlier posts. So, I’ll attempt to summarize here:

San Juan, Puerto Rico – we really liked historic and charming Old San Juan. We wouldn’t hesitate to sail out of here again. And, we’re looking forward to seeing more of the island after disembarking from the ship.

St. Thomas – for good or bad, this is what you might expect from a Caribbean island port of call. It has attractive surf and sand, lots of duty free shopping (of potentially dubious value), and little in the way of cultural or historical significance readily on display.

Dominica – a less developed island, yet rich in natural beauty. While Roseau is underwhelming, the rainforest is breathtaking and not to be missed.

Grenada – much like Dominica, it could be a textbook definition of a ‘tropical paradise’ with its amazing diversity of natural spices and fruit growing in a beautiful environment.

Bonaire – the port town of Kralendijk, while clearly tourism oriented, seemed unbothered by the arrival of our ship (indeed, many of the beach bars were closed) – ultimately, the best aspects of the island are along its shores: have a beach day or enjoy the water by diving / snorkeling.

Aruba – similar to Bonaire but more populated and developed (for good or bad). Here again, the island’s shores are a great asset, but it’s a fine port for shopping as well (and, unlike St. Thomas, a bit more upscale in form and substance).

Summary

All in all, a very good—maybe even a great—vacation.

While the Caribbean isn’t our favorite destination, we really enjoyed most of these ports. Highlights included Old San Juan (for its history and charm), Dominica and Grenada (for scenic splendor and natural beauty), and Aruba (as a shopping destination).

As for Princess, we’ve come away very impressed.

Like every cruise line, Princess has its positives and negatives. That said, the highs have greatly outnumbered the lows on this cruise. Princess also offers some unique features such as “Ultimate Balcony Dining” and has pioneered other innovations like “Movies Under the Stars.” Finally, Princess doesn’t seem to nickel-and-dime passengers as much as some lines once they’re aboard ship. Here are some examples of good value: the soda package price is reasonable, the bring-your-own-wine policy is liberal, the nightly drink specials represent a decent value, and the specialty coffee card provides real savings. Finally, the food (and associated service) has been consistently some of the best we’ve experienced on any cruise.

We definitely plan to sail with Princess again. What else can I say?