8-Day Cruise Touring the Islands of the Caribbean Sea on the CARIBBEAN PRINCESS

Ship: Caribbean Princess

Sailing: October 18-30, 2026, round trip from Port Canaveral to Fort Lauderdale

Cabin: Reserve Class Mini Suite

Overall

Overall this was a really good trip, and I’d recommend it. The itinerary is the draw: Aruba, Curaçao and Bonaire, plus Amber Cove, Grand Turk and Nassau on the way back. The ship was comfortable, the naturalist talks were excellent, and the trivia and entertainment schedule kept two of us busy all day. The weak spots were the Sabatini’s menu, one tour, and the logistics of getting off the ship and to the airport.

Embarkation

We took the GoPort shuttle from our Orlando hotel to Port Canaveral. It was quick and smooth. We forgot to order our medallions, so we were in the blue lane, but we were still checked in and aboard in about an hour.

Cabin and Service

We had Reserve Class Mini Suite. Our steward, Manard, kept everything in order. The Reserve dining room team was the highlight of the trip:

Carlos (Maître d’): Fixed the one issue we had quickly and efficiently.

Alex (head waiter): Awesome. Ask him about his mother's cow.

Richard (junior waiter): Excellent and kept us well hydrated.

Kaytel (hostess): Always greeted us with the biggest smile.

Dining

Reserve dining room: Our favorite. Standouts were the beef Wellington, lobster Thermidor, beef tenderloin, scallops, salmon poke and pot roast.

Crown Grill: The first visit was just ok, and the porterhouse wasn’t as good as past experiences. The second was much better, with lobster bisque (though I would get the French onion soup next time), a perfectly cooked NY strip and a perfectly cooked filet.

Sabatini’s: Disappointing. The menu is now a single entrée rather than primi and secondi. The carbonara portion was small, and the osso buco was good but less tender than on other ships. It’s fine if it’s included in your package, but I wouldn’t pay $55 for it. Another cruiser says asking for a pasta course plus the entrée has worked for them on several ships.

Buffet: Fine for breakfast and lunch. One sea-day dinner had only one side open and limited choices.

Entertainment and Activities

Trivia is huge on this ship, with several sessions a day, and the progressive trivia was our favorite. Highlights were Nathan Phan’s musical theater show, comedy juggler Pete Matthews, the Liars Club and big band night. The naturalist, Paul, gave excellent talks on ABC island birds, sea birds and sea turtles, so don’t miss them. One complaint: the Princess app’s schedule was wrong one evening, so rely on the printed Patter.

Ports and Excursions

Aruba: The island tour covered the rock formations, the collapsed natural bridge, Alto Vista Chapel and the lighthouse. It was a good overview.

Curaçao: Excellent tour. We saw the museum and the Hato Caves, then visited the Curaçao liqueur factory for samples. In the afternoon we walked over the pontoon bridge into town.

Bonaire: Bonaire is getting harder to visit because the island has sharply cut the number of ships it allows, so grab it if you get the chance. The salt lagoons were fascinating. But our van held 12, the guide focused on the front seats and moved on as soon as they were satisfied. I would have liked to get out at Goto Lake for photos. Sit up front if you can.

Amber Cove: The Ocean World capybara encounter was a highlight and the park felt uncrowded. The port itself was fine, but having been twice, I don’t feel the need to return. Bring a rain jacket.

Grand Turk: The two-hour tram tour was fine, but the lighthouse stop (about 10 minutes) felt rushed. An osprey nest on a pier piling by the ship is a treat for birders.

Nassau: If you’ve been once, there isn’t much to do unless you’re a beach club person. We wandered town and I went birding.

Disembarkation

Our group was called at the published time and customs went quickly. The airport transfer was the problem. The bus stopped at each terminal and the driver had to unload lots of luggage to reach each airline’s bags, and then we were told check-in wouldn’t open for 90 minutes. That’s more about airport logistics than the cruise.

Bottom line: Great itinerary, a lively ship and a standout dining room team. I’d go again.

Ratings: Overall 4.5/5, Dining 4.5, Entertainment 4.5, Service 4.5, Itinerary/Ports 4.5, Embarkation/Disembarkation 4.

We are experienced cruisers in our 60's and have been on Royal, NCL, Carnival, Virgin, Celebrity, MSC, Margaritaville at Sea and Princess. We cruised on this ship back when it first started back in 2004 so thought we'd go again. I rely alot on reviews so I'm going to go into a lot of detail to help others.

EMBARKATION: Fast and easy. Had to pick up our medallion at the port and it was a quick process. We were on the ship within about 30 minutes.

Cruise Director Josh and Activity Director Oz were SO MUCH FUN! We loved them and would love to be on another cruise with them. They are both leaving the Caribbean Princess soon.

CABIN: The cabin was old style, which was fine, the bed was super comfortable, nice size tv, bathroom was small with a curtain for the shower instead of a door. Good water pressure. We did have a few times where the toilet would not flush right away, but eventually did. That was strange. The big issue was there were only 2 outlets. One on one side of the bed and the other behind the tv on the wall. That should really be addressed. We had an extension cord but it was very inconvenient. Plenty of storage, room to store your luggage under the bed. Our cabin steward was very nice, but seemed very stressed.

MEDALLION: Loved the ease of using it. Best feature being the locate option where you could see exactly where your cabinmates were. Used it for everything, on and off the ship, into your room, tap to order your drinks, even some of the shops in port. That was definitely a plus for Princess exclusively.

ENTERTAINMENT: For the most part it was incredible. Some of the standouts were Naathan Phan, the magician, singer, comedian all rolled up in one. He was amazing. There was a juggler, (Pete Matthews) group called Legacy, Duo Gravity, Billy Joel/Elton John tribute singer (Kyle Martin) country singer, (Shea Rafferty), comedians Ken Boyd, Phil Tag. All were excellent. The shows put on by the crew were just ok. We only went to a few game shows and they were entertaining.

CASINO: We love to gamble and spent a lot of time in the casino. It was small and had a smoking side and non-smoking side. Unfortunately, the smoke seemed to drift over to the tables in the middle of the room and it was not pleasant. Also my favorite slots happened to be in the smoking area so I only played them when no one was smoking. The dealers were friendly and we did quite well on the Ultimate Texas Hold Em table with a straight flush on the 3rd day! Also had some luck on the slots. So it was fun using their money for the rest of our trip! The one thing was many tables were empty because the minimums were too high! I love playing blackjack, but not for $15 a hand.

FOOD: Very disappointed. There were a few standouts. The made to order omelets were great, the French onion soup and creme Brule in the MDR was great. Most of the main entrees in the MDR were just not up to par. The buffet food was bland and really hit or miss. The food in the International Cafe was great, including the desserts. The pizza also was excellent. The specialty restaurants were a bit disappointing. My ribeye at the Crown was tough, but the Filet Mignon was excellent which I got the 2nd and 3rd time, mainly because I was afraid to try something else. Hubby said the Lamb Chops were excellent. The food at Sabatinis was mostly good and I loved the bread and the lasagna! Also went to Planks which was very good but did not make it to Steamers. I think Virgin Voyages has totally spoiled us when it comes to food because theirs is TOP NOTCH!

SERVICE: I have no complaints about the service. Everyone we encountered was friendly and went out of their way to please us.

We did not use the gym and didn't go to any of the Art related events.

PORTS: Aruba we did a shore excursion through the ship which we usually do not do because we don't like bus tours with lots of people. Only did it because it was part of the premier package. It was just ok. Curacao we did an excursion through Viator with 4 wheeler e-bikes. It was fun! Bonaire we did an amazing snorkeling tour, also through Viator. Small group of 10, two different reefs and so so many beautiful fish. Felt like we were in an aquarium, it was so crystal clear. Dominican Republic we did another ship excursion on a bus with lots of others, but this time we had an incredible leader, Manny who kept us entertained the entire time on the bus. The tour was called Eat, Drink and Dance. It was a great excursion. In Grand Turk we rented a golf cart and just toured on our own. Nassau we stayed on the ship mostly because there were 5 other ships in port! Much better prices in the spa when in port, so we got massages and my husband got his first pedicure!

Having the premier package was nice, even though we are not huge drinkers. Having the wifi, gratuities, $200 each for excursions, unlimited drinks, specialty coffee, juices, soda, no-fee room service and the ability to download all the photos they took with 3 free prints was worth it. They said they had priority seating in the theatre, but I don't think anyone enforced it. Some of the shows were PACKED and standing room only.

So all in all it was not a bad cruise, but we have been on better. Being an older ship, there were alot of maintenance issues, including something going on right outside our room where they had to have fans going nonstop for the last 4 days.. Disembarkation was also pretty easy.

Would we do another Princess cruise? Maybe. I would have to read reviews that say the food has gotten better and we would pick a newer ship.

Not much changed in the 4 years since my last time on this cruise ship. The good..food and cabin comfort and cleanliness. The need improvement.. internet speed and still have to get help to login as instructions useless. The staff are courteous but not happy to help. The still haven’t cleaned windows on the outside, particularly at the disco and ocean view cabins. Entertainment is the recycled Princess shows and has been entertainers. The price of this cruise combined with a good selection of ports is why you come on this ship. If you don’t expect much you will not be disappointed. The passengers are older, with most Princess loyalists complaining about how Princess has gone down hill. The promenade deck is the best place on the ship to walk and enjoy the sea views It’s an ok ship with just ok staff and responsiveness. There won’t be a third time.