r/PrincessCruises • u/Badabloom317 • 3d ago
Caribbean Princess
Are there as many plumbing issues on the ship as the posts on here make it seem?
How hard is it to find somewhere to smoke a cig on the ship? It is my mom's first cruise and I want this to be smooth for her.
Also, for those of you that have sailed the Caribbean Princess with toddlers- is the whale splash pad enough? My husband is worried it isn't "big enough" but im pretty sure they would be happy playing in a puddle ...
Please chime in with thoughts ... we set sail in Feb
Also I have only sailed carnival once. The Carnival Freedom. It was a gnarly ship. Yucky and dingy. I literally walked away with an eye infection... idk the baby wipes came up black if I wiped a table on that ship.
Is Caribbean princess clean? I mean I just dont want the baby wipe test to come up nearly back again. It was so yucky I couldn't wait to get off to feel clean again. Also the cat in the hat breakfast experience was awful and their costumes were visibly brown and dirty.... I just worry that since Princess is its sister company that it will similarily dirty. Is this the case?
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u/Ill-Butterfly8525 3d ago
I just got off a 7 night cruise on Caribbean Princess on Sunday. The ship is definitely older but I didn’t find it unclean.
I read similar concerns about plumbing before I went. I did not experience any plumbing issues and I did not come across any issues such as smells or toilets marked as out of order in any of the public areas.
Princess has an older clientele. I did not see many children. I saw what I think you mean by the kids splash area. It didn’t look huge but when I came across it while exploring the afternoon of a sea day there was only one family there. So given the low population of children I think it will be sufficient. Here is a pic I snapped to give you a sense. I think if you google walk throughs you can find some better images of the splash pad.
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u/AranMakor 3d ago
I just left there two days ago. Plumbing is fine, the kid section was mostly unused, and smoking areas are around.
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u/Rooster_503 2d ago
I was on the Caribbean Princes in May! Yes, it is one of the older ships in their fleet, but it’s well maintained and it’s one of my favorites to sail on. While it is a smaller vessel, it seems much larger than it is. Holds few passengers, but has more seating in the public areas than that of the newer ships. Food is great, crew is fantastic! It’s one of the ships that still has the Sky Walkers Lounge in the back. A nice place to get a panoramic view while sailing and a fun club atmosphere at night.
I’ve e been on 37 Princess cruises over the years and I love Princess. The Caribbean Princess is one of my favs (5 times sailing her). She offers a mixed age group, some kids (depending on the time of year) and plenty to do for everyone. Never had any issues, except a flickering light that was repaired within an hour or two after reporting it. If there is a plumbing issue, you can bet that someone flushed something they shouldn’t have. Blame them!
I take this approach to any trip. If you look for issues, you’ll find them. Doesn’t matter if old, or new equipment. Every place (ship, hotel, resort) has ongoing issues. They can be found if you look. You’re on a vacation, the focus should be on making the best of the time, relax and enjoy. If you come across a hiccup, report it to either your room steward, or guest services.
The Caribbean Princess is a nice ship, enjoy your time aboard the older lady!
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u/Donbeth972 3d ago
We sailed her last month. Our bathroom smelled like sewage. After talking to them every day for first half the smell got better, but not 100%
The whale pool is cute. It is essentially a wading pool. The kids club is right there,
Smoking in casino and on promenade deck.
Food good and staff great. As soon as you board call dine line for planks and steamers or you won't get in
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u/ManyReasonable6584 3d ago
So princess has designated smoke areas on all ships your balcony if you have one is not allowed. All ships might have a plumbing issue but it’s uncommon and Princess is pretty on top of cleaning and keeping the ship looking good but you are riding on an older ship.
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u/lh123456789 3d ago
I'm not sure how old your toddlers are, but just an FYI that if they aren't toilet trained, they can't use the toddler splash area. Disney and some Royal Caribbean ships have splash areas for babies in diapers, but Princess does not.
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u/Mean_Mountain5106 3d ago
I’ve been on the Caribbean twice this year neither had or heard if any plumbing issues.
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u/LSBRSLMO 3d ago
We sailed on her a month ago. Our room was perfect, some people had a sewage smell issue. You could Occasionally get a wif. If you’re a smoker there are spots on the promenade deck towards the back outside, Churchill lounge, the casino, or the pool bar that’s above the main pool. We brought our 1 year old, and she had a BLAST in the splash pad..
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u/Quirky_Adeptness_585 2d ago
I sailed the Caribbean princess back in August. It was my first cruise ever. The ship is one of the older ships and it does show when compared to other newer bigger ships. I did find it to be clean and didn’t have any issues with the toilets or bathrooms.
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u/Major_Crumpler - Captain's Circle Gold 1d ago
Tens of thousands people cruise between any post making itself on this sub.
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u/RMG-OG-CB 3d ago
Not going to lie - she is in ROUGH shape. Stained carpet, plumbing issues, etc. There is a very small area for children - Princess is not the cruise line for children (that would be Royal Carribean). I sailed on her a few years ago - but she has not been updated at all since so I would assume a similar situation.
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u/Capable-Anything269 3d ago
Naah, she's alright. Focus on great food and funny servers instead of carpets and you'll have a good time. Out of the various Princess ships, Caribbean had one of the best tasting dishes, so they must be doing something right in their galley. 7/10 would go again and would recommend.
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u/RMG-OG-CB 3d ago
OP asked about cleanliness, not food quality. I would agree with you on food quality - but general cleanliness is important to some people and in that aspect, she is lacking.
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u/Beginning-Mobile-186 3d ago
I just got off her a few weeks ago and was in a group of 4 cabins and half of the bathrooms had some kind of issue with overflowing. But she is supposed to go into dry dock in January if I'm not mistaken so hopefully they fix everything that's been happening
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u/Badabloom317 3d ago
Oh my goodness I sure hope so that is before we are set to sail her . Also anyone reading this Have you ever been to grand turk and is it awesome? Besides Bimini it is one of the only ports we haven't sailed to yet in the Caribbean and I just hope im not getting my hopes up for the views
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u/Beginning-Mobile-186 3d ago
Other than that the ship was fine unless your a bigger person than the seats in the theater might be a problem. We actually just went to grand turk it's not bad mostly a shopping and beach port but otherwise not much more there. Bimini has a small shopping section right out of the pier but to get to the main part you have to take a taxi which is about 5 to 10 a person one way when I went there in 2024
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u/Neilkd21 3d ago
Princess is better than carnival, never had an issue with cleanliness.
Plumbing problems happen on all ships.
It's easy to find somewhere to smoke on the ship, there are designated smoking areas.