Hi, I’m Julie McCoy, Your TR Director

[jenseib]

While in the area I wanted to take a look at the spa. I am not a spa type of person either, but I always enjoy touring them. I do think one of these days I am going to schedule a massage though.



It was kind of odd as they had the entrance blocked off so you had to go to a side entrance.



I did not ask for a guided tour as I just like to wander and take a few pictures.



I went into the salon first…as I am a licensed hair stylist, even though I no longer practice in a salon….by choice!









They really like these Statues on Princess. I have seen quite a few around the ship.



I always have intentions of going to the gym. I have yet to make it and work out on a ship yet.







I assume these are for spinning with no seats? Doesn’t look comfy to me at all? LOL!!!!!









The CM insisted I take a picture of her set up so I obliged.













It looked like a nice spa. Is it better than Disney or other lines? I really don’t know. I am not a spa person so I really can’t compare. This seemed to be a bit smaller and that could very well be that this is an older ship and the new Princess ones probably have a lot more to them.

 

[dolphingirl47]

The spa looks nice, but I think all the ship spas are pretty similar. They all tend to be run by the same company, too.

Corinna

 

[mom2rtk]

Sounds like it's time for you to schedule something on one of those spas you keep showing us!

 

[Timon]

All caught up! Okay, a few notes...


1- WTH! You ride the Manta 17 times in a row and risk your life in a dinky little boat with freaking hungry man-eating giant gators and you still won't get on Mickey's freaking FUN wheel???

B- Something tells me that it's probably time to stop asking Siri for directions Just sayin'

3- Your momma's got spunk! I love how she just went down and TOLD them to do up your room I am shocked she waited so long for her coffee on the ship

Okay, that's it for now...continue on with the entertainment....

 

[ilovedevin]

I 100% agree with you Disney does have the best looking ships!

 

[heaven2dc]

Really enjoying your Princess cruise TR! Such a fun exciting and interesting time before you finally left on your cruise!

I sailed on the Grand Princess (my one and only cruise) so I wouldn't know how to compare it to the Disney cruise ships but from what I've seen on here from other TR's, Disney definitely has much prettier ships. It seems there are less children on the Princess ships which I noticed when I was on my cruise back in 2001 as it seems non-Disney ships have less for kids to do.

Loved the layout of your room - much better than mine (I had an inside cabin too). Can't wait to see how you like the rest of the cruise!

 

[rndmr2]

Getting caught up on your last couple of updates. Your lunch looked pretty good, That strawberry shortcake did look yummy!

When we were on the Grand Princess, it had that spoiler thing (I have heard it called the "Shopping cart handle" too) but the Golden and Grand were both refurbished recently and had those removed, strange that they kept it on the Caribbean Princess.

That spa and fitness center looks nice!

 

[JKSWonder]

I don't know if the spa would be the same, better or worse than Disney's as far as services is concerned, but I would say based upon the pictures I probably give the edge to the spas on Disney, the Fantasy especially, for overall ambiance.

I've used the spas on Disney 3 times, but booked nothing on our last cruise in August 2014. I joined Massage Envy here at home and pay half the price for the same exact massage I have received on the Disney cruise. Once I figured that out, I had a hard time justifying the additional cruise expense to myself.

 

[jenseib]

The spa looks nice, but I think all the ship spas are pretty similar. They all tend to be run by the same company, too.

Corinna

they really are all very similar.

Sounds like it's time for you to schedule something on one of those spas you keep showing us!

I know, I really should!

All caught up! Okay, a few notes...


1- WTH! You ride the Manta 17 times in a row and risk your life in a dinky little boat with freaking hungry man-eating giant gators and you still won't get on Mickey's freaking FUN wheel???

I know! I am just crazy. Some things I can do without thinking and others are terrifying....the wheel being terrifying!

B- Something tells me that it's probably time to stop asking Siri for directions Just sayin'

she really has let me down more than once.

3- Your momma's got spunk! I love how she just went down and TOLD them to do up your room I am shocked she waited so long for her coffee on the ship

She gets so impatient with things like that.
She is a huge coffee lover too so it surprised me she waited...but really she was griping the whole time, so she wasn't waiting patiently.

Okay, that's it for now...continue on with the entertainment....

I will say, there were definately not as many laughs this trip. Things that I know you would die laughing about didn't happen with mom.

I 100% agree with you Disney does have the best looking ships!

They are such a nice look compared to many other lines. I always think the flat back sides of ships is such an odd look.

Really enjoying your Princess cruise TR! Such a fun exciting and interesting time before you finally left on your cruise!

I sailed on the Grand Princess (my one and only cruise) so I wouldn't know how to compare it to the Disney cruise ships but from what I've seen on here from other TR's, Disney definitely has much prettier ships. It seems there are less children on the Princess ships which I noticed when I was on my cruise back in 2001 as it seems non-Disney ships have less for kids to do.

I hear a lot of good things about the Grand. I do hope to try more Princess ships in the future too.
There were not many kids on this ship at all.

Loved the layout of your room - much better than mine (I had an inside cabin too). Can't wait to see how you like the rest of the cruise!

This was a great layout and felt so spacious!

Getting caught up on your last couple of updates. Your lunch looked pretty good, That strawberry shortcake did look yummy!

It was very tasty. Similar to the one at Sunshine Seasons and Epcot.

When we were on the Grand Princess, it had that spoiler thing (I have heard it called the "Shopping cart handle" too) but the Golden and Grand were both refurbished recently and had those removed, strange that they kept it on the Caribbean Princess.

That spa and fitness center looks nice!

I have heard that the Caribbean Princess is going to be sold in a couple of years and that is why they are not doing many updates to it. I am not sure if that is true or not, but it was a rumor I heard floating around more than once.

 

[jenseib]

Mom decided to head back to the room to rest. I headed off near Trade winds and decided it was time for a mocktail!



I was really happy I got the drink card as I had several of these over the course of the cruise. Super yummy!



I sat and observed some people. There were a group of about 3 couples that came by. I noticed the one guy had a seed company logo on his hat. FARMER! I can spot them a mile away. He even had mannerisms of my husband. I would guess at least one of his buddies was one as well.
I then met a lady who said hello and introduced herself as M (I won’t post names here). She was friendly but promptly told me she hated the ship. LOL! I just totally laughed to myself. She had been on the previous cruise as well. I wondered why in the heck one would keep sailing the same ship? She told me this was around her 8th cruise on this ship alone. I later found out it was because it just wasn’t very accessible for someone in a scooter. And she had been on several Princess ships and this one just wasn’t her favorite. They lived in the area so they did like to cruise a lot and were close to being Elite.

After chatting a bit I decided to explore some more.

This place had pizza and it was very good. It was a thin pizza and I really thought Princess had good pizza especially compared to Disney ships…which are pretty much known for bad pizza.



I had seen a deck out very far towards the front so I decided to go in search of it.





A nice view from the front. I never did make it back here again to take more pictures while out at sea.





Looking to my right.



I could see the gangways to the ship and the terminal.





I believe that is the spa/gym up there.



Just looking out and enjoying the views.



And this was looking to my left.



I then left that area and headed towards the back of the ship.



A little kiddie pool.



Speaking of kids…I did not see many at all on the ship. Yes there were some, but it was rare when I did see them. One thing I failed to do was find the actual kids clubs and go in for a peak. I saw some outdoor play areas, but I never made an effort to find the inside areas. I really wish I had checked them out for Claire.

A look down at the aft of the ship.



The bridge is going up again!



I walked through Horizons then.



They were offering different drink packages all over the ship today. I am glad I did sign up for mine beforehand, but you can do it once onboard as well.

Tables and chairs to eat at out near the pools.



The ice-cream shop!



You can get hard dipped and soft serve here and it’s free. You can also get shakes, but those cost, but were included with my drink package.



I also believe this is where you could get popcorn during the Movies Under the Stars, though I never did look into it.



Even though I really wasn’t hungry and actually still quite full from the drink I had recently had, I got a vanilla hard dip cone. It was delicious!

 

[Flossbolna]

I am really enjoying your tour of the ship! The thin pizza and the "real" ice cream sound great! Definite bonus compared to Disney!

I like the look of that aft pool. I guess this is one of the things that you can do better with the ugly flat back of the ships (I concur with the general opinion of the Disney ships being among the prettiest out there). And as a bonus, you could see the hotel I stayed at in Fort Lauderdale last year - the Hilton directly next to the bridge!

 

[dolphingirl47]

I am really enjoying all the photos from the ship. The real ice cream would have been a big temptation for me.

Corinna

 

[jenseib]

I am really enjoying your tour of the ship! The thin pizza and the "real" ice cream sound great! Definite bonus compared to Disney!

It was...very good. I never had the soft serve on Princess but I heard it was very good as well. I never think Disney's is all that great.

I like the look of that aft pool. I guess this is one of the things that you can do better with the ugly flat back of the ships (I concur with the general opinion of the Disney ships being among the prettiest out there). And as a bonus, you could see the hotel I stayed at in Fort Lauderdale last year - the Hilton directly next to the bridge!

I do like the Aft pool too. This seemed to be a pretty popular area.

I am really enjoying all the photos from the ship. The real ice cream would have been a big temptation for me.

Corinna

It was VERY good!

 

[Beth D]

Great updates as always! I'm comparing everything to Disney, and I have to agree, they are the prettiest ships!

Did you hear that DCL has changed their onboard booking policy again? You can now push dummy dates out to 24 months, it's no longer only 18 months long. This is great news for us, as we liked the every other year pattern better with our budget, and now we can keep our dummy date. I'm off now to the DCL website to look at 2016 dates!

 

[jenseib]

Great updates as always! I'm comparing everything to Disney, and I have to agree, they are the prettiest ships!

Did you hear that DCL has changed their onboard booking policy again? You can now push dummy dates out to 24 months, it's no longer only 18 months long. This is great news for us, as we liked the every other year pattern better with our budget, and now we can keep our dummy date. I'm off now to the DCL website to look at 2016 dates!

Yes...many people are very happy about that.

I do have an early cruise booked for 2016. It will be work related once again....but it will be fun!

 

[jenseib]

More exploring to be done…I made my way to the Princess Theatre to see what that looked like.



And then a walk through the Casino.



Warning, the Casino allows smoking on one side. It can get quite smokey in there and you can even smell it drift out into the Atrium area. There was one night that it was smoke free though.





I wandered out towards the Atrium then.



And took a look down in the Piazza.





I really liked the light….I liked it much better than the new one they put on the Disney Magic.



Though I kept thinking it looked like fly eyes! LOL.

One of the bar areas. (I believe this was Crooners)





And then I walked towards the aft of Deck 7 and found the Explorers Lounge, which I never went in to.





This is outside the Explorers Lounge.





Next was the Wheelhouse Bar.



Another place I never went in to, but I may have peeked in the door a time or 2. It was really hopping in the afternoon one sea day.

This is Sabatini’s which is an Italian restaurant that you pay an upcharge for. I hear it is really good but we never ventured to any of the specialty restaurants.



It was now getting close to the Muster Drill time so I went back to the room to fetch Mom, who had been unpacking her suitcases instead of resting.
We went in search of our station and wouldn’t you know, it was in Sabatini’s, right where I had just come from. We asked to be sure we were at the right place and they directed us inside to take a seat and someone would be inside to check us off. NOT! They were actually scanning cards outside, but evidently the CM I had talked to didn’t know that. That’s OK we did eventually get taken care of.
We sat and waited and the restaurant really filled up.
One thing I need to mention now is the heat. It was really hot outside today again. I don’t mind that so much if I can escape inside to cool off. The ship was not cool at all. Our room was hot and we did set the AC to the lowest it could go, many of the halls and areas were also hot. Cooler than outside, but not refreshing at all. I did worry this may become an issue.

Sabatini’s was hot. Sitting there with a lot of people in there was quite warm and many people were fanning themselves.

As we waited an older 4 some of 2 couples came in. The place was pretty full now. A CM directed them to a table and said 2 can sit here. This guy screams WE NEED A PLACE FOR 4!!!!! We all busted out laughing. First, don’t be late if you want to sit together. 2nd, it’s only for a short time and it won’t kill you to be apart from your friends for a little while. This guy refused to sit there though and they hung out by the door. I think some people actually moved so this 4some could sit together. I wouldn’t have. LOL. Now if it was a family with kids, I would’ve, I’m not completely heartless.
It also made me laugh because this would be my dad. He is attached to my mom at the hip and if he had to be separated from her for a few minutes he would’ve had a fit.

This is the table those couples had been directed to and refused. LOL!



They announced that anyone who had not been scanned to raise their hands so we did and no one came. I gave up when my arm got tired and it was actually about 15 minutes later before they came in to scan us.
The Muster Drill was painless. One thing to note as well, Princess no longer requires you to bring your life jacket to the Muster Drill. This is a very new change for Princess. Disney has been doing this for a couple of years now (as well as many other lines). They had several announcements before the drill about this and that you could take the jacket with you if you were new to cruising or felt the need to refresh, and they also encouraged you to try on your life jacket when you got back to the room. I am sad to say I never actually did do that.

After the drill we headed outside. It was crowded and hard to get around so we just took a breather.



We went in near the Circle Host Desk and Future Cruise sales area and looked around. Many people were already ready to book a future cruise.



The Crown Grill is also located right in that area. That is another specialty upcharge restaurant.





The Shore Excursions desk is opposite the Crown Grill.

 

[dolphingirl47]

Sabatini's looks great. I tend to forget that other cruise lines have casinos. I am very much enjoying all the photos from around the ship.

Corinna

 

[mom2rtk]

The ship really looks beautiful. I'm not sure I could ever do it though. I'd be forever wondering how cool it would be to meet Mickey in that glorious atrium.

And I agree the light fixture looks like fly eyes! Although I didn't see it until you said it.

 

[jenseib]

Sabatini's looks great. I tend to forget that other cruise lines have casinos. I am very much enjoying all the photos from around the ship.

Corinna

I know I actually forgot about that till I got onboard. I am not very good at gambling and I never miss it on DCL, but I will admit i did have some cheap fun in there a few times.

The ship really looks beautiful. I'm not sure I could ever do it though. I'd be forever wondering how cool it would be to meet Mickey in that glorious atrium.

And I agree the light fixture looks like fly eyes! Although I didn't see it until you said it.

It is a nice ship, but yeah you do miss the characters and all the Disney charm. I was ok with it though. I met a lot of nice people on this cruise that I chatted with too.

It took me about 2 or 3 days till it dawned on me that it looked like fly eyes.

 

[jenseib]

We made the circle and took a look at the Piazza.





I took a lot of pictures of the Piazza throughout the cruise.

We walked around the area and I took several pictures.



One of the dining rooms, I believe this is the Coral but I could be wrong. The dining rooms look very similar and the colors are just slightly different.









I guess I visited the Island dining room as well.





Time for a snack again! Actually I wanted just the cheesecake but the CM didn’t understand me and put other things on first, so he just kept adding till I got the right one.



Looks like I ate the cheesecake before I even took a picture. LOL…..well it was good!

It was now about time to sail away. I went up top and called Claire to say goodbye. I told my MIL I would have a friend post the Port Everglades webcam link to my facebook page and she could let Claire watch me sail away. I then contacted one of my friends and of course she was away and not answering me. In the end another friend was able to do it for me and Claire said she did watch us sail out. My MIL said she was glued to the computer screen watching me sail away.

I believe we found a spot on deck 17 right behind the Caribbean Princess sign on the Port side to watch as we sailed out. I kept waving for the off chance that they zoomed in and Claire could see us.







Being the dork I am, I also turned on the webcam on my phone and watched us sail that way too.

I was also messaging 2 of my friends as we sailed out and they were watching as well.



I must admit this is a little more of an interesting port to sail out of verses Port Canaveral.





As we sailed by these apartments we saw a few guys out waving. One had an air horn and did a few blasts. The ship then did the same rhythm of blasts back. Now I am not sure if this guy knows the routine and just blasts right beforehand as he knows what is coming or if our ship was truly answering him, but he did it several times and each time we would blast the same way. It was kind of cool. My friend, Brook, said she could hear it on the webcam too.



The guy above looks like he has some Mickey hands….the guy in the next picture…..well he looks naked.



What a pretty shoreline.





A little boat out there.



We then walked over to the other side of the ship to see the view over there.



I could be wrong, but I think that is the pier we saw from Hollywood Beach yesterday.



Being close to the airport, the planes were flying right over us.



The Vision was still docked.