Sailing the

Caribbean

on Princess

Cruises 

By Georgina Cruz

Ask any person on the street to name cruise lines and the chances are very good that Princess Cruises will be among the top names mentioned. These are, well, the Love Boats!

Today, however, they're much more. Princess Cruises has a new fleet of amenity-filled ships, a dining philosophy that emphasizes "choice" and many new shore options.

Overview

Princess Cruises had modest beginnings in 1965, when it operated just one ship that cruised to Mexico. Since then it has grown to become one of the world's top lines carrying more than a million passengers each year.

Formerly owned by P&O Princess Cruises, Princess has a decidedly British feel. Its front-desk staff, for example, often have a British accent and its ships are registered in Bermuda.

Today, however, Princess is owned by Carnival Corporation. But as with other Carnival brands, it maintains its independence and operates separately from other Carnival entities.

Coral Princess' elegant atrium sparkles.* 

Princess certainly is one of the most recognized cruise lines on the planet, thanks to television. In 1977,  the world was introduced to the Pacific Princess on a new television show called "The Love Boat." The hit weekly series introduced millions of viewers to the still fairly new concept of a sea-going vacation.

Princess' fleet has grown considerably. Its 17 ships include Caribbean Princess (2004), Coral Princess (2003), Crown Princess (2006), Dawn Princess (1997), Diamond Princess (2004), Island Princess (2003), Pacific Princess (1999), Regal Princess (1991), Golden Princess (2001), Grand Princess (1998), Sapphire Princess (2004), Sea Princess (1998), Star Princess (2002), Sun Princess (1995) and Tahitian Princess (1999). 

The newest ships to sail for the premium line are the 113,000-ton Emerald Princess launched this spring and the 30,000-ton Royal Princess, christened in June. The new 113,000-ton Ruby Princess, a sister to Emerald Princess, will also launch in 2008. About half the ships mentioned above sail voyages from the southern U.S.

Hallmarks of the line include Personal Choice Cruising, which gives guests the freedom to select from a wide choice of flexible facilities, amenities and services.

This is particularly true for dining. Guests may choose a traditional, fixed dining room dinner seating or, alternatively, open seating at a variety of restaurants.

Other signature elements include a full-bodied enrichment program called ScholarShip@Sea; an extensive number of balconies at affordable prices in a variety of categories; and worldwide itineraries - nearly 100 itineraries ranging from seven to 102 days. Passengers choose from more than 2,000 shore excursions worldwide.

In addition, Princess, due to its Bermudian ship registry, has the ability to legally "marry" guests at sea, unlike most other cruise lines (they will do legal marriages onboard in certain ports but generally not at sea).

 So all Princess ships have a small wedding chapel, and on some ships, a Web cam will allow family and friends back home to see the ceremony. (One of the ship wedding chapels is shown at left.)

Ambience/Style of Cruising

Princess delivers relaxed, resort-style cruising with an ocean of choices in activities, entertainment and dining. It's a popular choice for couples and families. 

Accommodations

Dining Choices

Princess offers multiple dining rooms, alternative restaurants, flexible dining times and delicious food, particularly the pastas.

In all, more than 450 items are prepared on each cruise by a staff of 150 or more in the ship's various galleys. 

Personal Choice Dining has everybody covered with two options for the main dining rooms: restaurant-style Anytime Dining and traditional fixed-seating. The extensive menus of dishes also include Lotus Spa selections, for those who want to eat light. 

Pizzerias on four ships (Sun Princess, Dawn Princess, Sea Princess and Regal Princess) offer Italian-style pies for lunch and dinner. Often the pizzerias are open late into the night.

Poolside pizzerias are on Grand Princess, Golden Princess, Star Princess, Island Princess, Coral Princess, Caribbean Princess, Crown Princess, Diamond Princess, Emerald Princess, Sapphire Princess.

Emerald Princess also has a new service -- delivery of pizza to your stateroom for $3. 

Cruisers won't go hungry with the 'round the clock casual buffets on the Horizon Court; this venue is also known as Lido Café or Panorama Buffet on some vessels.

These buffet restaurants operate a late-night bistro with a set menu and sit-down service from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. 

Often, they feature dishes from the region the ship is visiting.  

Café Caribe on Caribbean Princess and Crown Princess is a themed buffet featuring the flavors of the Caribbean. 

Specialties include grilled Caribbean rock lobster, paella-style prawns and whole roast suckling pig.

Cafe Caribe's casual but elegant flair with cloth table cloths is shown at left.*

Another option for munching include the Poolside Grill, for burgers and fries. 

Patisserie is the place for pastries. The latter serves an excellent British-style afternoon tea (see photo at right.*)

If all else fails, call for 24-hour room service. While room service is free, two special room service options -- well worth the price -- feature a charge.

The Champagne Balcony Breakfast ($25 per couple) and an elegant four-course Ultimate Balcony Dinner ($50 per person and featuring lobster tail and many nice touches) are available on most vessels.

Dining Alternatives

While there are plenty of free dining options onboard, you'll likely want to try out one or two alternative dining venues, which carry a modest fee.

Well worth the price, these are "experiences" in many cases, not just a new place to dine. 

The delightful Sabatini's Trattoria reminds us of an Italian wedding banquet. Dish after dish just keep on coming -- from antipasto to tiramisu. This venue is very popular so make your reservations early. 

Sabatini's (shown above*) is found on Emerald Princess, Grand Princess, Golden Princess, Star Princess, Coral Princess, Island Princess, Tahitian Princess, Pacific Princess, Diamond Princess, Sapphire Princess, Caribbean Princess, and Crown Princess. Cost is $25 per person.

The Bayou Café and Steakhouse on Coral Princess  and Island Princess offers New Orleans cuisine. So chow down on peel-and-eat shrimp, gumbos and jambalaya. The cost is $15 per person. 

The Sterling Steakhouse, ideal for meat lovers, offers cuts of beef from the "Sterling Silver" brand cooked to order, as well as other steakhouse fare.

This venue (shown at left.*) is found on Sun Princess, Dawn Princess, Sea Princess, Pacific Princess, Tahitian Princess, Star Princess, Golden Princess, Grand Princess, Caribbean Princess, Diamond Princess, Sapphire Princess. The fee is $15 per person.

Crown Grill on Crown Princess and Emerald Princess has an open kitchen. Its specialties are beef and seafood items. You might order steamed shellfish - such as lobster, scallops, clams and mussels - or cooked-to-order steaks and chops. The per person charge is $25. 

Open evenings on Crown Princess and Emerald Princess, Vines is a wine and seafood bar. Its wine and cocktail pairings are accompanied by a selection of chilled seafood "cocktails"- appetizers include salmon, oysters, sushi, gravlax and other treats. 

The wine menu features a by-the-glass selection and a series of wine flights. Seafood appetizers are available for a per-item charge 

Activities and Edu-Tainment

But it truly excells with its  ScholarShip@Sea program, which offers enriching "edu-tainment" courses. Guest lecturers and shipboard experts present courses on such topics as cooking, visual arts, computer skills, photography and, a first in the industry, pottery.

The pottery program debuted aboard Coral Princess in early 2003 and expanded fleetwide in less than a year. Today, every Princess ship has been equipped with onboard pottery kilns.

Passengers can choose from approximately 20 different ScholarShip@Sea courses per voyage. At least six difference courses are offered each sea day. There are four core subject areas -- Culinary Arts, Visual/Creative Arts, Photography and Computer Technology.

Italian cooking, ceramics or pottery, digital travel photography, web page design, and watercolor techniques are among the enrichment courses offered.

Guest speakers may present courses on additional topics, such as destination; history; arts and world affairs. Many courses are free, others have fees.

Smaller, more in-depth classes, which expand upon the curriculum offered in the larger courses, are also available. These specialized hands-on classes, which focus on such areas as hand-building pottery, photography and computer training, are offered for nominal fees, beginning at $10.

Spa and Fitness

The Lotus Spa is an enclave of pampering service, with many exotic treatments and places like this to just relax.*

The Asian-inspired Lotus Spa offers dozens of exotic therapies. First introduced aboard Golden Princess in 2001, the Lotus Spa has state-of-the-art facilities. These include steam and sauna, fitness rooms with the latest equipment and classes, and a salon featuring hair and nail services.

Treatments may be reserved prior to the cruise through Princess' Cruise Personalizer.  Princess pioneered pre-reservation capability with the debut of Caribbean Princess in 2004, and the service has now been expanded to sailings aboard Crown Princess, Emerald Princess, Sapphire Princess, Diamond Princess, Island Princess, Golden Princess, Grand Princess, Coral Princess and Star Princess.

Among the many treatments are aroma stone therapy and a lime and ginger salt glow. Also available is a suite for a couples' massage. Princess' larger vessels also feature a popular swim-against-the-current spa pool.

All Princess ships feature a full-range of fitness facilities including large gyms with state-of-the-art machines; aerobics and other fitness classes; a jogging track; and much more.

Ships also have multiple pools. Some ships have swim-against-the-current pools in their spa areas or Magra-dome pool areas. Even in bad weather, the line can extend the roof so guests enjoy a swim in comfort.

Organized Kids' Programs

Yes. See the separate story summarizing all the lines' children's programs on our Family Fun page

Tipping Policy

A gratuity of $10 per person, per day is automatically charged to passengers' accounts and guests may adjust it up or down. A 15 percent tip is added to bar bills. Room service personnel may be tipped as service is rendered.

Fleet